STEWARDSHIP

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STEWARDSHIP

• Were going to start out this morning with the
  topic of stewardship, by which most of us mean
  the soliciting of pledges to support the church
  budget
• Worst job ever, except maybe the Nominating
  Committee
• But lets first consider some Biblical aspects of
  stewardship, starting with our understanding and
  then Jesuss take on the topic of money

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THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF MONEY

• In your own life
• What good things does money enable?
• What problems does money create?
• In the church
• What does money enable your congregation to do?
• How does money bring about anxiety or conflict in
  your congregation?

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THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF MONEY

• In the gospels, Jesus talks about money a lot
• By one estimate, 62 of the parables are about
  money or possessions
• According to another estimate, one out of every
  10 verses in the gospels refer to money
• But its not the money that Jesus is concerned
  about, it is ones attitude about money that he
  keeps returning to

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THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF MONEY

• Three scriptures about money
• Luke 2019-26 Then give to the emperor that
  which is the emperors, and to God the things
  that are Gods
• Luke 1818-27 Sell all that you own and
  distribute the money to the poor, and you will
  have treasure in heaven then come, follow me
• Luke 1222-34 For where your treasure is, there
  your heart will be also

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THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF MONEY

• In the Bible, wealth is value-neutral
• It might be a sign of Gods blessing, or
  alternatively of responsibility
• The Bible is much more concerned with what we do
  with our wealth, what happens to us when we have
  it (or dont)
• Stewardship is therefore about attitudes and
  choices
• Abundance vs. scarcity
• The Kingdom of God vs. the kingdom of this world

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THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF MONEY

• Jesus understands that it is easy for our money
  and our possessions to own us, rather than the
  other way around
• Trust in God are more difficult but infinitely
  more rewarding
• Rely on me for what you need, God says, and I
  will provide
• And if we can rely on God, then we can afford to
  be generous

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THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF MONEY

• Our attitude towards money speaks volumes about
  our attitude toward God
• Tongue-in-cheek offertory prayer Lord, no
  matter what we say or do, here is what we think
  of you
• In Matt. 66, Jesus says, But whenever you pray,
  go into your room the word for room is
  literally the place where you keep your money
• Will I try to achieve a quality life by focusing
  on money or focusing on God?

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THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF MONEY

• At the same time, someone does need to be
  concerned about the churchs money, because the
  bills need to be paid
• There needs to be a balance between trusting God
  and making sure our congregations finances work
• We need to be careful about going too far in
  either direction
• Our goal today is to help you to hopefully to see
  the value of both of these two views on the
  church and money

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STEWARDSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• Lets move from the topic of money to the topic
  of stewardship why do we give to the church?
• As individuals and families, we give for many
  reasons
• Because of guilt, habit, family expectations
• Out of gratitude for the congregation that loves
  and supports us and encourages us to work for
  Gods kingdom
• Because the church needs our financial support

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STEWARDSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• As congregations, we give because we understand
  that the church is called to be the eyes, ears,
  and hands of God on earth
• Acts of ministry (individual and corporate)
• Ongoing missional activities
• Support of other organizations whose work
  contributes to Gods kingdom

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STEWARDSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• The Biblical reason for giving is because
• God has been generous with us
• By bringing the Israelites out of slavery in
  Egypt and to the Promised Land
• By giving us Jesus Christ, who gave up his own
  life for our sakes
• The appropriate response to Gods generosity is
  to be generous in turn with the resources God has
  given us, to give back to God by giving to Gods
  kingdom

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STEWARDSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• Ultimately, giving is about our sacrifice and our
  willingness to trust in God
• We dont feel financially secure because of what
  we have, but because we trust God to provide what
  we need
• Giving teaches us to be unselfish, to put God
  first
• In the worship service, offering is about the
  need of the giver to give, not the need of the
  church to receive

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STEWARDSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• Stewardship is not fundraising
• It is a spiritual discipline on a par with
  prayer, worship, service, and study
• Whether the church budget gets balanced is not a
  matter of ultimate importance whether our lives
  get balanced is
• Giving of our resources is one way to balance our
  lives as God intends

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STEWARDSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• How do you respond to this?
• What rings true?
• What is hard for you to buy into?

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STEWARDSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• Our corporate practices need to reflect the
  spiritual nature of giving, and allow members to
  give as an act of worship
• Passing the offering plate and receiving the
  offering is an important moment in the worship
  service, even if many members are giving
  electronically
• Stewardship should be a regular emphasis in
  sermons, and not just during the annual campaign
  to underwrite the budget

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STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

• The role of the stewardship committee is to
  support the congregation in the practice of
  giving
• Not just to identify needed financial resources
  for the coming year
• Also to encourage the spiritual practice of good
  stewardship
• The best people to be on the stewardship
  committee are those who give generously

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STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

• The role of the Stewardship Committee can be
  taken as a year-round committee rather than a
  short-term commitment, with the major
  responsibility of educating the congregation
  about stewardship of all our resources
• Care of ones self
• Stewardship of the environment
• Stewardship of relationships
• Stewardship of the gospel

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STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

• Educational activities of the stewardship
  committee might include
• Regular Moments for Mission
• Focus on stewardship of the earth and
  sustainability practices
• Personal testimonies about how God has been
  generous in the lives of committee members
• Classes on personal finances

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STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

• Talking about stewardship is important, because
  generational differences around money are
  significant
• Many of the Greatest Generation give out of a
  strong sense of obligation
• More recent generations want to be sure their
  values and their money are aligned
• One way to encourage everyone to examine their
  own attitudes toward money is to sponsor a class
  on personal finances

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STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

• One of the functions of the Stewardship Committee
  is the annual campaign to underwrite the churchs
  budget
• The Center for Faith and Giving (our
  denominations stewardship arm) has complete
  materials for an annual campaign for 20
• It has a number of additional resources,
  including
• Annual Campaign Tip Sheet
• Stewardship Q and A
• Sermon resources around stewardship

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STEWARDSHIP AS AN ENABLER OF MINISTRY

• The church asks for money to support its ministry
• Vision dictates expenditures
• Church budgets, like personal checkbooks, are
  theological documents they tell us what we
  really feel about God
• Always include at least a short version of your
  vision or mission statement with your budget
• Expect to adjust your expenditures as the
  congregations vision changes

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STEWARDSHIP AS AN ENABLER OF MINISTRY

• The churchs budget (TH pp. 6-10) is a concrete
  expression of its sense of call
• A budget is both
• A spending plan, the financial aspect of
  implementing your congregations ministry
• The most concrete statement of a congregations
  faith and commitment, and how it understands its
  calling by God
• A narrative budget can be a way of helping the
  congregation see beyond the dollars to what they
  allow the congregation to accomplish

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STEWARDSHIP AS AN ENABLER OF MINISTRY

• A narrative budget helps a congregation to
• Identify and fund its priority activities
• Move mission and ministry from vision to
  implementation
• Revisit and examine its activities in the light
  of current circumstances as well as past practice
• Examples
• The Treasury Handbook, p. 10
• Community Christian Church, Tempe, AZ
• See also www.centerforfaithandgiving.org

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GIVING FOR MISSION

• Most churches allocate a portion of their budget
  to go toward other organizations
• Outreach budget
• Should a congregation be expected to tithe (give
  away 10 of its budget)?
• How do you decide what organizations to give to?
• How often do you reconsider your outreach giving?
• Does outreach giving get cut when money is tight?

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GIVING FOR MISSION

• We would like to suggest that giving to support
  the larger church be a part of your
  congregations outreach giving
• Disciples Mission Fund supports general-church
  activities, including ministries, publications,
  educational institutions
• When NW regional congregations give to DMF, 67
  returns to support regional church efforts

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GIVING FOR MISSION

• Special Day offerings
• Each special-day offering is allocated toward a
  specific aspect of general and regional church
  activities (TH p. 46)
• Some of this money also returns to the region
• Pentecost for new church development
• Christmas all of this offering returns to the
  region
• It is helpful to make the intent of each
  special-day offering known to your congregation
  (educational ministry of the Stewardship Comm)

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GIVING FOR MISSION

• Should special offerings be included in the
  congregations income statement?
• Yes this represents giving by the members of
  the congregation
• But it is passed through to the General Church,
  it does not stay in your bank account
• Being explicit about the pass-through is a vital
  aspect of building trust

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STEWARDSHIP AS SPIRITUALITY AND MINISTRY -
CONCLUSIONS

• The call to be generous is deeply embedded in
  Scripture and in our understanding of our call as
  Christians
• Education about stewardship is a large part of
  the work of the Stewardship Committee
• A churchs budget and its fundraising should
  reflect its sense of Gods calling
• The congregation as a whole should practice
  generosity