So…I almost learned a lesson about being too cheap. At Annual Conference, I almost ended up paying way more because I was trying to be cheap. Almost. Instead, I ended up with a pretty good story.
Sometimes you can be too cheap…almost
Estimating Cost of Disaffiliation
I’m always looking for a reason to create a new spreadsheet. Since I’ve received a lot of call and emails asking me to run the numbers on disaffiliation, I figured I would create a spreadsheet to help churches estimate their own cost of disaffiliation in the Dakotas UMC.
Foundation Series: Reporting and Use of Assets
Money is such a tricky thing. It can make you feel important and powerful. The same is true for a church foundation. The policies I go over in this week’s video help fight the tendency of money to warp our perspective.
Ode to Jeff by Sheri Meister & Rebecca Trefz
This week was my 15th and final Annual Conference as conference treasurer for the Dakotas UMC. There were a lot of great moments, but one of the best was when my good friends and co-workers shared a tribute called “Ode to Jeff.” I embedded the video in the post.
Foundation Series: Receiving Donations & Managing Funds
What are the key functions of a church foundation? Receiving gifts, investing, and honoring donor restrictions would probably be near the top of the list.
As I continue my work on church foundations, I dive into this section of the governing documents.
How the Disaffiliation Process works in the Dakotas UMC
Does anybody understand the process for leaving the United Methodist denomination? I’m in leadership, and I only had a rough idea because, like almost every United Methodist process, the Disaffiliation process seems confusing and overly complicated. Partially this is on purpose so that somebody doesn’t get mad one day and disaffiliation the next. The process allows a church to work through disaffiliation rationally.
This post covers step-by-step the process to disaffiliate in the Dakotas UMC.
The UMC Split: A Separation that Encourages Future Cooperation
In the split of the United Methodist denomination, what are fair terms for a church to be able to leave the UMC to join the Global Methodist denomination? This is such a cruddy deal that I doubt either side will be perfectly happy with any terms. Are there terms that seem fair and allow us not to feel taken advantage of? I hope so.
In this post, I share some thoughts from the leadership of the Dakotas UMC as we try to navigate this issue.
JCT Accounting Co 