Post by Paddy by Grace on Mar 6, 2010 16:12:26 GMT -7
Bible-based programs for the debt-ridden surge in popularity
www.sun-sentinel.com/features/religion/fl-biblical-finance-20100301,0,6351335.story
Can the Bible help you pay off your credit cards?
Christian debt-elimination programs, which use Old and New Testament passages as a framework to encourage financial responsibility, are surging in popularity, with seminars offered at churches across the United States.
In South Florida, Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University has proven especially popular. Nine Palm Beach County churches and 15 in Broward are offering the course. Across the country, 4,000 churches started classes between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6, said Meg Alcorn, a Dave Ramsey spokeswoman.
Alcorn said the average family that completes the program pays off $5,300 in debt and saves $2,700 within three months.
This promise of a debt-free future is especially appealing during the recession, a "wake-up call" to Americans who pursued the dream of limitless prosperity, said Arthur Ally, president of the National Association of Christian Financial Consultants.
"We are getting people to reassess the direction they've been going in," said Ally, founder of The Timothy Plan, a group of funds that screens for conservative Christian values. The plan has about $500 million in assets and 40,000 shareholders.
For Christians seeking a religious basis for a new financial direction, the Bible has proven a rich resource. According to Crown Financial Ministries, the Bible has more than 2,000 verses related to money and managing assets. Among them, Proverbs 22:7: "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave."
Churches in South Florida are using such verses to get congregants to examine their personal fiscal conduct, an aspect of life not typically scrutinized in the spiritual world. At Parkridge Baptist Church in Coral Springs, pastors began noticing about a year ago that congregants were streaming in with stories of unemployment, foreclosures and unpaid bills.
"Many in our community were living above their means," the Rev. Daryl Brown said. "We started exploring what it would mean for the whole church to reassess on a full-scale basis."
The congregation was invited to participate in Dave Ramsey's 13-week series after services each Sunday. About 150 of 430 members attend, Brown said.
Among them is Duane Hershberger of Coconut Creek. Hershberger said he used to owe about $100,000 on credit cards and a home equity loan, and $150,000 on his mortgage.
About five years ago, Hershberger and his wife, Patti, attended a Crown Financial Ministries series. After learning about their liabilities from a biblical perspective, they sold their house to pay off the loan and credit cards and now rent.
They started a strict household budget which they still follow today. They place all their money in 10 cash envelopes, labeled in categories such as groceries, clothing and gifts, and only buy needed items if they have enough cash set aside.
"Debt is a curse," said Hershberger, 42, a father of two and Motorola program manager. "I hate debt now. I've become really hard-core."
Danny Best, a hairdresser in Boca Raton, is taking the Dave Ramsey series at South Palm Community Church in Boynton Beach, which he has attended for the past six years. Best, 31, said he and his wife, Danielle, entered their marriage three years ago with about $35,000 in debt to their parents and on their cars, student loans and credit cards.
"I felt entitled to have things even though I didn't have the money," he said. Best said the couple has followed Ramsey's advice and created an emergency savings account and paid off their credit cards. Now they are driving aging cars, which they paid for in cash, and building up six months' worth of living expenses.
"God works things out for good if we live by his principles," Best said. "He's entrusted this stuff to me. My job is to be the best manager of it that I can."
www.sun-sentinel.com/features/religion/fl-biblical-finance-20100301,0,6351335.story
Can the Bible help you pay off your credit cards?
Christian debt-elimination programs, which use Old and New Testament passages as a framework to encourage financial responsibility, are surging in popularity, with seminars offered at churches across the United States.
In South Florida, Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University has proven especially popular. Nine Palm Beach County churches and 15 in Broward are offering the course. Across the country, 4,000 churches started classes between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6, said Meg Alcorn, a Dave Ramsey spokeswoman.
Alcorn said the average family that completes the program pays off $5,300 in debt and saves $2,700 within three months.
This promise of a debt-free future is especially appealing during the recession, a "wake-up call" to Americans who pursued the dream of limitless prosperity, said Arthur Ally, president of the National Association of Christian Financial Consultants.
"We are getting people to reassess the direction they've been going in," said Ally, founder of The Timothy Plan, a group of funds that screens for conservative Christian values. The plan has about $500 million in assets and 40,000 shareholders.
For Christians seeking a religious basis for a new financial direction, the Bible has proven a rich resource. According to Crown Financial Ministries, the Bible has more than 2,000 verses related to money and managing assets. Among them, Proverbs 22:7: "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave."
Churches in South Florida are using such verses to get congregants to examine their personal fiscal conduct, an aspect of life not typically scrutinized in the spiritual world. At Parkridge Baptist Church in Coral Springs, pastors began noticing about a year ago that congregants were streaming in with stories of unemployment, foreclosures and unpaid bills.
"Many in our community were living above their means," the Rev. Daryl Brown said. "We started exploring what it would mean for the whole church to reassess on a full-scale basis."
The congregation was invited to participate in Dave Ramsey's 13-week series after services each Sunday. About 150 of 430 members attend, Brown said.
Among them is Duane Hershberger of Coconut Creek. Hershberger said he used to owe about $100,000 on credit cards and a home equity loan, and $150,000 on his mortgage.
About five years ago, Hershberger and his wife, Patti, attended a Crown Financial Ministries series. After learning about their liabilities from a biblical perspective, they sold their house to pay off the loan and credit cards and now rent.
They started a strict household budget which they still follow today. They place all their money in 10 cash envelopes, labeled in categories such as groceries, clothing and gifts, and only buy needed items if they have enough cash set aside.
"Debt is a curse," said Hershberger, 42, a father of two and Motorola program manager. "I hate debt now. I've become really hard-core."
Danny Best, a hairdresser in Boca Raton, is taking the Dave Ramsey series at South Palm Community Church in Boynton Beach, which he has attended for the past six years. Best, 31, said he and his wife, Danielle, entered their marriage three years ago with about $35,000 in debt to their parents and on their cars, student loans and credit cards.
"I felt entitled to have things even though I didn't have the money," he said. Best said the couple has followed Ramsey's advice and created an emergency savings account and paid off their credit cards. Now they are driving aging cars, which they paid for in cash, and building up six months' worth of living expenses.
"God works things out for good if we live by his principles," Best said. "He's entrusted this stuff to me. My job is to be the best manager of it that I can."