Saving Grace: A Guide to Financial Well-Being

Saving Grace: A Guide to Financial Well-Being provides the text and tools you need to address the topics of saving, earning, giving, spending, and debt, along with helpful strategies for achieving a sustainable financial life.

This exciting new partnership between Wespath and Abingdon Press draws on the expertise of United Methodist leaders across the connection through videos, a workbook, a leader guide and devotional materials. With study sessions for both pastors and laity, participants will explore money management from a Wesleyan perspective helping you reach personal financial goals as well as address life concerns.

Tom Berlin

Tom Berlin is Senior Pastor of Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, Virginia. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Tom is author of Defying Gravity: Break Free from the Culture of More, 6 Decisions That Will Change Your Life, 6 Things We Should Know About God, and 6 Ways We Encounter God. He is coauthor (with Lovett Weems) of Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results; Overflow: Increase Worship Attendance & Bear More Fruit; and High Yield: Seven Disciplines of the Fruitful Leader.

Jack Brooks is the Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic United Methodist Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Jack was an executive in the investment and financial planning industry. In 2008 Jack joined the MAUMF creating an adaptive organization and leading it through an expansive growth in generosity education, leadership development, and investment management. Jack holds a BS from James Madison University in Harrisonburg Virginia and attended The Pennington School, founded in 1838 by the New Jersey Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Following twenty years in the financial services industry working for non-profit firms, tax, and financial planning as a CPA, Rev. Jodi Smith answered a call to ministry in the United Methodist Church. She earned her MDiv in December 2004 at Perkins School of Theology at SMU. She served as both an associate pastor and as a senior pastor for nine years in the North Texas Annual Conference. In 2011, Rev. Smith stepped into the role of Director of Connectional Resources for the North Texas Conference. The responsibilities of this position include oversight of the treasury, pensions, benefits, trustees, and the IT functions for the Conference office.

The Reverend Cary James, Jr., is an Elder in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist and has served in pastoral ministry for over 20 years. Rev. James has served Reid Temple, Emory Fellowship, Sharp Street Memorial and is currently the senior pastor of Jones Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. Rev. James serves as chairperson of the Conference Board of Pensions and Health Benefits, Conference Investment Committee, Council on Finance and Administration, Coach and Facilitator for the Mid-Atlantic United Methodist Foundation’s Academy for Church Finance and Financial Leadership Academy and Facilitator for Wespath’s revitup! and Clergy Benefits Academy.

The Rev. Twanda Prioleau has been a trained coach since 2013. She has used her gift of coaching and over thirty-five years of experience of working in the accounting field to coach individuals and churches to bring out God’s gifts in them. She is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Baltimore City. A graduate of Morgan State University and Lancaster Theological Seminary, she holds a BA degree in Accounting and a Master of Divinity degree.

Janet Jamieson serves as chief financial officer/treasurer at Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church. She is a certified public accountant as well as an auditor, college professor, speaker and co-author with her husband, Philip Jamieson, and the Rev. Ken Sloane, of the United Methodist denominational Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation: Finance - Handling God's Money in the Church (Abingdon Press, 2016), as well as Ministry and Money: A Practical Guide for Pastors (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2009).

Philip Jamieson is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and President of the United Methodist Foundation of Middle Tennessee. He and his wife, Janet, co-developed the course, “Ministry and Money” travel extensively, offering seminars to clergy and lay leaders regarding the critical nature of financial ministry. They are the coauthors of Ministry and Money: A Practical Guide for Pastors (Westminster/John Knox, 2009) and the 2012, 2016 United Methodist Guidelines for Finance Committees (Abingdon, 2012) with Ken Sloane. Phil is also the author of The Face of Forgiveness: A Pastoral Theology of Shame and Redemption (IVP Academic, 2016).

Money Management from a Wesleyan Perspective

Saving Grace Product Line

Downloads and Sample Chapters

Watch the Saving Grace Webinar: Why Your Church Needs it!

Hear from Alex Joyner about the benefits of Saving Grace for clergy!

DVD Host Presenters

Content Advisors

Jack Brooks

Rev. Jodi Smith

Rev. Cary James, Jr.

Rev. Twanda Prioleau

Mark G. Cooke

Clergy Video Content Presenters

Janet Jamieson

Philip Jamieson

Forms and Worksheets

Promotional Materials