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Charles Spurgeon preached wealth as a spiritual commodity based on his Christological exposition which countered the preaching of wealth as a divine right. Some people have come to view earthly wealth as a substance that comes as a result of obedience to God. There are also a number of people that believe that any biblical theology pertaining to wealth is amendable and see no lasting truth in the text. Spurgeon critiques these approaches. He saw earthly wealth primarily as a spiritual commodity and believed it to be a substance that should be utilized for the purpose of bringing glory to God. The researcher will present a study of what the Bible teaches with regards to wealth as perceived by Spurgeon by applying biblical theological categories and an analysis of wealth from its inception until the present day.

Scholarly discussion abounds on the subject of low Bible readership within the Body of Christ. However, gaining an understanding of key the factors that motivate or hinder Bible reading among adult Christians, and developing strategies to reverse this trend through preaching and Christian Education, is an area of the research that was sparsely addressed by the precedent literature. As a result, the purpose of this study is to help pastors and Christian educators better understand the motivating factors that influence regular Bible reading and to propose action steps that can increase Bible reading among the Body of Christ. This study follows a qualitative and phenomenological research design. It is based upon the Bible reading experiences of six adult, Christian, research participants selected from the locales of central California and Norfolk, Virginia. Each research participant completed a single Bible reading questionnaire about their Bible reading beliefs and practices. The results of this study revealed that motivation to read the Bible is significantly influenced by the positive, personal, experience that the reader gains from engaging the teachings of the Scripture. Reading the Bible with others was also found to be crucial to maintaining Bible readership. In contrast, the key hindrance to regular Bible reading was the perceived lack of time created by life and work responsibilities. Based on these motivating factors, this research provides targeted recommendations to help foster regular Bible reading through both preaching and Christian education.

The creation of a new travel website in the early 21st century can naively be mistaken as an easy open window to the world. LuminariaTravel.com is an online travel website recently created to inform visitors about San Antonio, Texas tourism. This paper seeks to analyze the challenges and offer solutions in entering an online market already entered. This paper presents insight into understanding the tourism industry online, and current marketing methods being used. In order for the small, privately-owned travel website to gain online visitors, LuminariaTravel.com must consider utilizing marketing tools for an integrated marketing plan. Luminariatravel.com must also be correctly positioned in the online travel market to have a unique stance and be able to communicate information that will set it apart from other San Antonio travel websites. This paper will include literature reviews and an industry case study. A final recommended marketing plan and strategy will be offered to LuminariaTravel.com

With the VA facing $3 billion per year in outpatient pharmacy costs, Congress implemented the Veterans Health Care Act ('Millennium Bill') in 2002. This new policy raised medication copayments from $2 to $7 for lower priority veterans, with the goal of slowing the 19% annual increase in pharmacy costs. Veterans with schizophrenia constitute a complex, chronically ill population; 40% are already antipsychotic medication non-adherent, substantially increasing their risk of hospitalization and relapse. In this study, the Health Belief Model and Donabedian's concept of benefits equity frame an examination into potential ramifications of higher copayments on medication and health services utilization among these vulnerable patients. Using data from the National Psychosis Registry, this quasi-experimental study employed longitudinal models (20-months Pre and Post copayment increase) to observe changes in the number of prescriptions filled, health services utilization and pharmacy costs between veterans subject to copayments (N = 40,654) and a natural control group of exempt individuals (N = 39,983). Analyses adjusted for relevant patient characteristics. Compared to a continual growth among exempt patients, overall prescriptions were constrained in the Copayment group following the medication cost increase. More conspicuously, refills for psychiatric drugs dropped substantially, nearly 25%. Although outpatient visits did not differ between the two groups, the risk for psychiatric admission and total inpatient days increased slightly for Copayment patients (5--10%), particularly 10--20 months following the policy change. Factoring in additional copayment revenue, the VA would realize a net revenue increase of more than $13 million annually pertaining to pharmacy services from this sub-population alone. The new policy appears to have successfully reduced pharmacy prescriptions and costs as intended. However, the marked decrease in psychiatric drug utilization and small increase in hospitalization among this seriously mentally ill population is troubling. Research studies investigating the longer-term clinical consequences of medication cost increases are required. When balancing budgetary concerns with quality care provision, benefit changes for veterans with debilitating conditions such as schizophrenia should be implemented cautiously and outcomes carefully followed. This is particularly essential within a system responsible for providing care to a rapidly aging population during an era of ongoing Medicare prescription debates.