By Al Curry, Member of Diocese of Texas Stewardship Commission and St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, Nassau Bay
Years ago there was a young man in his thirties, he was at a business meeting and during the social hour he was observing “Mr. Jones”, the president of a very large world wide engineering and construction company. There were five or six people in the circle of conversation, all were “much older that he”, and all very successful both financially and in business. He observed that Mr. Jones said little while the other gentlemen talked extensively. After the circle broke he asked Mr. Jones why he said very little to these prominent gentlemen, to whom he sternly replied to the quite young man who had the audacity to ask, “I never learned anything with my mouth open.”
Listening is an art form, it takes determination to listen and hear what others are saying. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
If we are to be true Disciples of Jesus we need to practice listening, not only to what God is calling us to do, but listening to those around us so that we may understand their needs and be in a position to help then. Stewardship is saving souls, sharing love, transforming lives. So when we listen as Jesus has suggested we do in order to carry out his Ministry, we hear those talking whose souls need saving, we hear those who need a little love, we encounter those who want to be transformed by Jesus and his disciples.
James 1:19 says “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
Now contemplate that, “quick to listen”. If in our typical conversation we use the words I, me, need, want, had, have and so forth too much, then we likely are not listening enough. Safe to say that if most of us would pray a little more and listen a lot more then we would find a lot more spiritual joy in our lives.
Mission and Ministry are what we are about as Baptized Christians. Listen to what God is calling you to do, find your Ministry here at your Church home and find the joy God has in store for you!
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We are all encouraged to spend time in quite reflection and prayer, listening to what God is calling us to do and then engage in God’s Mission, raise your cross at the center of the marketplace, feel the spiritual joy and rejoice in Christ’s work.
Stewardship for the Congregation: The Basics
1. Make the decision to switch the emphasis on money and budgets to helping persons gain insight and commitment to understanding the theology of stewardship, its place in their spiritual formation and their church community.
Some components of this theology:
+ Scriptural references
+ Tithing is the biblical minimum when referring to the stewardship of material possessions
+ Emphasis on God’s abundance vs. scarcity
+ Everything is from God, we are called to be stewards of all God has entrusted to our care
+ Stewardship is holistic in the context of a congregation which includes:
* Thoughtful stewardship of persons who are a part of this community includes knowing them, the gifts and talents they bring into the congregation, and their empowerment for ministry
* Environmental stewardship of the physical plant and surroundings
* Faithful, honest and trustworthy practices when it comes to financial oversight
* Prayerful, discerning leadership around decisions to set budgets and spend money
* Spiritual development of the stewardship of time for individuals and the congregation
* A theological perspective of being stewards of the "other"
2. Putting people with gifts and passion for stewardship together, empowering them to be integral in the design and implementation of programs and activities that will foster good stewardship practices and understanding in a congregation.
Often this means the formation of a stewardship ministry team apart from the finance ministry team or vestry but may include a few members of either group who have a passion/giftedness for stewardship. It is not unusual to find persons who tithe from their income that truly understand the theology of stewardship who want to be a part of an organized effort for responsible Christian stewardship. This group’s motivation is a theological one.
They work with the rector and/or the vestry to approve program design and plans for the congregation. A stewardship ministry team could be large enough to have sub groups if needed to address specific aspects of congregational stewardship. This ministry team should meet year round and have a distinct, clear charge and mutually understood objective. These meetings are to help foster development of all areas of Christian stewardship, not only the annual pledge campaign.
3. The growth of healthy stewardship in a congregation takes intentionality, risk taking, creativity, trust and commitment on the part of the leaders of a congregation.
All leaders model for others behaviors that are desired in the community. Leaders must be visibly engaged through liturgical practices, witness, commitment of time, giftedness, treasure, other assets, and must “walk the talk”. If the leaders aren’t committed to living out the theology of stewardship, others will not follow. “The leaders” include everyone in leadership in the congregation: clergy, staff who are members, vestry, leaders of ministries and stewardship leaders.
4. The leaders of the stewardship efforts must understand the organic and relational nature of congregations. Regular assessment of stewardship efforts, having an openness to change in order to maximize effectiveness, and building in relational and spiritual aspects to stewardship efforts are keys to increasing the commitment to it.
Change in practices can be unsettling but are often necessary to move a congregation forward. Congregations are subtly but constantly changing. The stewardship efforts must be responsive to these changes yet sensitive to the culture of the group. The handling of finances is inherently conservative. Healthy monetary stewardship practices demonstrate fiscal responsibility coupled with faithful response to God’s mission (purpose) and vision for the congregation.
Submitted by Mary M. MacGregor
Director of Leadership Development
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas
Some components of this theology:
+ Scriptural references
+ Tithing is the biblical minimum when referring to the stewardship of material possessions
+ Emphasis on God’s abundance vs. scarcity
+ Everything is from God, we are called to be stewards of all God has entrusted to our care
+ Stewardship is holistic in the context of a congregation which includes:
* Thoughtful stewardship of persons who are a part of this community includes knowing them, the gifts and talents they bring into the congregation, and their empowerment for ministry
* Environmental stewardship of the physical plant and surroundings
* Faithful, honest and trustworthy practices when it comes to financial oversight
* Prayerful, discerning leadership around decisions to set budgets and spend money
* Spiritual development of the stewardship of time for individuals and the congregation
* A theological perspective of being stewards of the "other"
2. Putting people with gifts and passion for stewardship together, empowering them to be integral in the design and implementation of programs and activities that will foster good stewardship practices and understanding in a congregation.
Often this means the formation of a stewardship ministry team apart from the finance ministry team or vestry but may include a few members of either group who have a passion/giftedness for stewardship. It is not unusual to find persons who tithe from their income that truly understand the theology of stewardship who want to be a part of an organized effort for responsible Christian stewardship. This group’s motivation is a theological one.
They work with the rector and/or the vestry to approve program design and plans for the congregation. A stewardship ministry team could be large enough to have sub groups if needed to address specific aspects of congregational stewardship. This ministry team should meet year round and have a distinct, clear charge and mutually understood objective. These meetings are to help foster development of all areas of Christian stewardship, not only the annual pledge campaign.
3. The growth of healthy stewardship in a congregation takes intentionality, risk taking, creativity, trust and commitment on the part of the leaders of a congregation.
All leaders model for others behaviors that are desired in the community. Leaders must be visibly engaged through liturgical practices, witness, commitment of time, giftedness, treasure, other assets, and must “walk the talk”. If the leaders aren’t committed to living out the theology of stewardship, others will not follow. “The leaders” include everyone in leadership in the congregation: clergy, staff who are members, vestry, leaders of ministries and stewardship leaders.
4. The leaders of the stewardship efforts must understand the organic and relational nature of congregations. Regular assessment of stewardship efforts, having an openness to change in order to maximize effectiveness, and building in relational and spiritual aspects to stewardship efforts are keys to increasing the commitment to it.
Change in practices can be unsettling but are often necessary to move a congregation forward. Congregations are subtly but constantly changing. The stewardship efforts must be responsive to these changes yet sensitive to the culture of the group. The handling of finances is inherently conservative. Healthy monetary stewardship practices demonstrate fiscal responsibility coupled with faithful response to God’s mission (purpose) and vision for the congregation.
Submitted by Mary M. MacGregor
Director of Leadership Development
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas
Articles on Various Aspects of our Stewardship Ministry
"Stewardship is not a choice. The choice is whether or not we will be good stewards or poor stewards."
- The Rev. P. Lance Ousley
- The Rev. P. Lance Ousley
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