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The family has never taken a vacation. Walters drives a 13-year-old pickup. He would like a newer model, but that won't happen until he has cash in hand. Rebecca wants a new dining room table, but the same rules apply.

"We have friends who have much nicer homes and drive much nicer cars," says Brian Walters. "But they have a lot more stress."

On the other end of the spectrum is the Sarasota, Florida–based Gary Moore, who provides "counsel to spiritual and ethical investors." He advises the Templeton Foundation and is a board treasurer of Opportunity International, an organization that sees loans as a means of empowerment for the poor. "Small loans," its website proclaims, "sometimes as little as $50, in the hands of a poor entrepreneur, can transform the lives of individuals, families, and entire communities." Not surprisingly, then, Moore paints a much different picture than Dayton, Ramsey, Blue, and Hunt.

He argues that Americans are in the top 1 percent of all wage earners in history and that less than 2 percent of Americans have serious credit card debt. Federal Reserve reports indicate that of the households that carry a credit card balance (45 percent of all households), the median amount owed is $1,900. "As the average American lives on $40,000 a year, that's hardly an economic earthquake," Moore comments. Only 29 percent of households owe $1,000 or more on their cards, 4 percent owe $10,500 or more, and 1 percent owe $21,400 or more. Moore contends that debt can be empowering rather than enslaving, and that credit is compatible with Christian values.

"Credit card companies probably make credit too available for young people like my son," Moore says, "but for adults to say it's all credit card companies' fault is to imitate Flip Wilson's 'the Devil made me do it' excuse, or to deny personal responsibility."

According to Moore, sages of the Christian personal finance industry in the past quarter century have been disconnected from the reality of prosperity, creating unfounded fears about inflation, stock market collapse, Y2K, and foreign oil dependency. As a result, he believes some Christians have become obsessed with accumulating money to ward off such imagined worries.

Regarding lending and borrowing, Moore notes, "Jesus said to lend to anyone in need." Furthermore, he says, "Free credit and credit forgiveness is clearly the way to abundant life."

Still, even if only 2 percent of Americans have serious debt difficulties, financial ministries report they hear the debtors' anguished cries every day. Apparently, cbs television thinks there are enough of them to create a successful reality show with Ramsey at the helm.

In the end, the different approaches appeal to people in different financial situations. For those who have been able to manage their credit wisely, counselors like Moore make sense. For those who have become addicted to credit, abstinence might be the only way to financial sobriety.

John W. Kennedy is a freelance writer based in Springfield, Missouri. He is a former news editor at Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Dave Ramsey, Mary Hunt and Gary Moore's websites have more information about their ministries, money management, and what the Bible has to say about giving.

Good $ense and Crown Financial Ministry have more information about handling money as well as ways to start a money ministry at your church.

More recent articles on personal finance include:

Salary Quandary | Ministries pay executives less than their secular nonprofit counterparts. Should they? (April 26, 2006)

Profitable Servants | New mutual fund expands the church-bond market. (March 7, 2006)

What Would Jesus Buy? | Saving the world one cashmere sweater at a time. (Jan. 31, 2006)

IRS Changes May Dent Ministries' Car-Donation Programs | New deduction rules dump Blue Book for actual sales value. That could discourage donors. (Dec. 16, 2004)

When More Is Less | We're making more money, but the payoff isn't always positive.—A Christianity Today editorial (July 27, 2004)

Forgive Us Our Debts | Rich Christians in an age of easy credit (June 16, 2000)

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May 2006, Vol. 50, No. 5