Biblical Stewardship: Connecting Across Cultures

George Thompson

In this month’s episode of the CSN Podcast, called Biblical Stewardship: Connecting Across Cultures, our Host George B. Thompson welcomes special guest, Paola Easton. Paola is the Finance Director and Stewardship Pastor at Birmingham City Church (BCC) in the United Kingdom.

George and Paola discuss the three biggest areas of financial concern that people are facing right now. Serving in churches in California and in the United Kingdom, they find common ground on the topic of Biblical Stewardship and how to minister to people inside and outside of the church. During this conversation, you will hear how similar our cultures are across the nations when it comes to God and money.

If you have questions or to provide feedback on this podcast, please contact us at info@christianstewardshipnetwork.com. We would love to hear from you!

Did you know? You can listen and subscribe to the CSN Podcast on iTunes or Google​ Play

Biblical Stewardship: Connecting In Every Culture

Paola Easton is the Finance Director and Stewardship Pastor at Birmingham City Church (BCC) in the United Kingdom and has been an active member there since 1998.

She joined the staff team in 2008 in response to a need and as a step into deeper ministry. Since 2013, Paola has been developing the Stewardship Ministry within BCC; this is something she is profoundly passionate about and eager to teach. Her desire is to see people transformed in their daily lives through implementing Godly principles and perspectives to the way that they manage not only their finances, but also their abilities, from God as they step into greater service for Him.

Paola is married to Danny, an Elder within BCC, and they have two children – Jake and Alessia. Paola enjoys traveling and cooking, and both her tiramisu and banana and nutella muffins have an ever increasing fan club.

 

 

Can’t listen right now or rather read a transcript of this episode of the CSN Podcast?

The following transcript* has been edited for space and clarity.

George: Welcome to the Christian Stewardship Network. We are here to empower pastors and leaders in the local church to be the best they can be for their congregations and to be kingdom builders in the community. You can learn more about CSN by going to the christianstewardshipnetwork.com.

My name is George B. Thomson, your host for the CSN Podcast. I serve as the Pastor of Stewardship and Finance at Faithful Central Bible Church in Los Angeles, California. It is my honor to host today’s conversation. Praise the Lord!

I am excited today! We are going to be interviewing Paola Easton from Birmingham City Church (BCC), where she is the Pastor of Stewardship and the Director of Finance. Good day, Paola as we talk about biblical stewardship.

Paola: Hi George, thanks for having me today.

George: Thank you, so glad you are here. There’s so much information that I want to go over with you, so, I want to get right into it. First of all, how did you start off in ministry?

Paola: It’s quite a long story actually, so; I’ve tried to condense it for you.

I grew up in a Christian home and have been fortunate to have good mentoring by my parents in the area of finance. I often thought that that was what everybody experienced with their parents or guidants. I grew up in church. I had very strong convictions on biblical principles and didn’t always appreciate just how deep those principles were in me.

So often, I would have conversations with people who just did not understand church people, who would often ridicule my stance on biblical financial principles. This was quite a difficult thing for me, and so I would often not talk about these things.

About six years ago, God really challenged me during a prayer time. I had talked about being more generous; I considered myself to be a very generous person. I’d heard very inspirational stories about people who lived on small portions of their income and gave away large portions. I said to myself, “I want to be that sort of person.”

So, God challenged me in a prayer time and said, “You know, you’ve said this about yourself that this is a goal. But I’m saying to you today; this is not a goal. And the reason it’s not a goal is because you’re not doing anything about it. You’re saying you want to be a generous person, but you’re not being generous.”

I was fully aware that generosity starts beyond the tithe and yet I had somehow convinced myself that being an obedient, faithful tither that I was now generous.

God challenged me in that area and then told me, “I want you to double what you give as your benchmark and baseline for generosity.”

This was quite a shock for me because I was comfortable in the position that I was in. I would often talk and encourage people to begin stepping out and trusting God and tithing, knowing that they were fearful, that they were nervous about it.

And God said, “I want you to feel that again because you run on auto-pilot. You’re not scared, you trust me, you have faith in me. But I want you to start trusting me again at a deeper level.”

So, this whole process took about 18 months, from God telling me to me having the faith and the trust in Him actually to step out and do that. But what happened, as a result, was I believed that God began to open some serious doors for me.

About nine months after I was obedient to what God has asked me to do, we were invited as a church to participate in a learning community that was run by our leadership network. The whole theme of this learning community was how to cultivate generosity within your church. We attended the first meeting, not really knowing what to expect, and we were introduced to people from Gateway Church. The whole concept of stewardship was laid out before us.

And I’m sitting there thinking, all of these years I’ve had this within me. I didn’t know it had a title. I didn’t know it was a ministry and you’re telling me that there are pastors out there doing this full-time, who are seeing great results, impacting their churches and communities and now this is being presented to me. And I felt…well, I went away from that event with a clear call on the meaning of my life.

I felt like now God was saying, “You’ve kept it quiet for so long, now I’m giving you the platform to be able to speak this for me. Will you do this for me?”

And that’s really in a nutshell how this has all come about. By total surprise on my part, how through an act of obedience, God has opened doors and how quickly things have started to fall into place and happen for us.

George: Wow, that’s amazing. I didn’t know all that. At the beginning, you said that your parents taught you a lot of stewardship and things about finance and different things.

Paola: Yeah.

George: What are some of the things that they taught you about generosity and managing your own personal tithes?

Paola: Yeah, more on the side of managing finances really. Because my parents didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up and I was acutely aware of that. In fact, there was a period where on one of the days I’d come home from school and my dad had turned around and said, “I’ve now invested in this ice-cream truck to sell ice-cream.” And I’m thinking, great, I’m six years old, and my dad sells ice-cream. “I get free ice-cream!”

But the reality of the situation was that interest rates on mortgages were at 15% plus and he had been reduced to a three-day week at work; he had to put food on the table, he had to pay the bills. And what they did back then was they didn’t go and get money from a loan, they worked harder. They financed their needs that way. So, I didn’t know that at the time, obviously, but now I do.

My parents were very open about the difficulties that they had, the fact that you can’t just have everything that school kids have. I learned very early on that I needed to be careful and that it wasn’t that they were withholding things from me because they didn’t love me or anything of that nature, but it was because they simply didn’t have the funds to do that. And so there was a lot of the management side things, not so much on the generosity side. But looking after being careful with what we had at that time.

George: It appears they taught entrepreneurship and then also just to work harder and to save up to be able to do certain things, which is good.

Paola: Exactly, yeah.

George: You said that you also began work with the leadership network. Is that how you learned about the Christian Stewardship Network?

Paola: Yes, yes, because of our connections with getting to know some of the people like Gunnar Johnson, who was serving at Gateway church at the time. It was Gunnar who actually invited me to come along to the CSN Forum in Dallas, which I was able to attend last year.

That was my first encounter with CSN as a group and what they stood for and what they were trying to do, which was just so exciting because it’s unheard of as a ministry in the U.K. really.

George: Also, that’s actually true in the United States actually too, is that a lot of times with CSN as a Christian Stewardship Network and when we come, and we meet, I actually thought…I didn’t know any other pastors of stewardship. Then, I met Pastor Robert Morris; he set for me to meet Gunnar Johnson.

I started coming to meetings, and then I found out there’s a group of people who are not only in the areas of stewardship, but making it a whole life issue.

You know, your time, how well you measure time, your talent, and your treasure (to be very generous.) How was all of that spoke about translated into how you teach at the church? How did you get the position at your church?

Paola: One thing that I’ve picked up on in my time with getting to know the CSN group and also being part of the learning community was how often there are difficulties with the senior leaders of churches not getting on board with the stewardship ministry or not seeing it as important.

When we embarked on this learning community, my senior minister, Pastor Mark Ryan, was equally taken with it. There was no need to convince him that this was something that needed to happen.

He could, also, clearly see what God had been doing in me over the years that he’d known me. And for him, it was easy fitting two pieces of the puzzle together. It was a little bit harder for me because I started to doubt whether I was the right person for the role.

Do I really want the title of a pastor? Am I good enough to do this? I’m not sure I am.

But then I began to realize, all the years of preparation, all the things that God has been speaking to me, that I’ve been doing against the odds. I’ve still stuck to it.

God has been faithful; God has opened doors.

Why would this not be right for me to do that? So, it was sort of at the end of our two-year learning community process that we decided to make it official and announce it to the church that I would now take on this role, at the same time as still doing my finance director role.

George: Right, so you were already a member of the church, and you were already on staff. The, you switched over to also doing stewardship in that area.

There are some burning questions I had (I had these before we started our conversation) so, I have to ask them.

If I went to your church, and I just walked in, sat down, and started asking people, “What’s your biggest financial concern?” Then, I started polling the next person, “What’s your biggest financial concern?” What would they say?

Paola: I think there are a lot of concerns about just the general cost of living at the moment. How do we make ends meet?

A lot of people are in debt, and I think they see debt as a solution to their issues.

And what we have been trying to do over the last three or four years is in presenting the message of stewardship and managing things differently, in a godly way. That debt doesn’t have to be what often is termed as a necessary part of our lives. You can operate without debt but they just need to be shown how. And have never had that option presented to them before.

George: Right. The cost of living is rising with inflation.

When you go to a movie, or buy food or do everyday things, prices are rising, and we’re not seeing people’s salary increase at the same rate. Things are becoming more expensive. (And just so you know, these same issues are the exact same ones in the United States.)

So that’s why I want to make sure we talk about them because we understand the biblical way of approaching them. One of the principles is just learning to be content with what you have. You know, a lot of times people are trying to get more and more and more. With the rising cost of living in the U.K, I’m sure it’s getting more expensive.

The area of contentment is one that people really struggle in. Are there certain classes or how do you teach that to people?

Paola: Well, when we came away from the learning community, I begun to just soak and saturate myself in whatever books I could find, whatever messages I could listen to, to get more and more of the language to use to present this to other people, to be able to qualify the things that I felt deeply convicted by.

So we started to drip feed that into the congregation, whether that was just through an announcement part way through a service, we do offering talks every week. So the offering is never just…you know, we don’t just pass that along and ignore it and try and forget that is happening. We make a point of teaching in that. It’s not always myself. So we try as well to make sure that people see this is not just Paola’s issue, this is not just what she’s passionate about. But the whole church is really behind this in terms of the leadership, we all believe this. So we’ll share that out.

George: On a previous episode of the CSN Podcast, Chris Willard said,

1. You want to teach it,
2. You want to preach it.
3. Then, you want to have a testimony about it (celebrate it.)

It’s good that we’re sharing this. It’s similar in the sense that we’re talking about what the issues are. So, that’s humanizing it for the people that are feeling alienated, saying, “I’m the only one that has this financial issue.”

But, you know, everyone has the same issues. Thinking about debt, many times people think that whenever someone gives them a loan, they’re handing them a rope. But they’re actually handing them a shovel, and they’re getting deeper in a hole.

So, one of the things is just showing them just to stop, just stop.

And then not only are we going to pray for you, but we’re also going to work for you and then we’re going to show you how to get out.

But you have to teach people to get out on their own; it’s not going to take 15 minutes in doing it. It didn’t take you 15 minutes to get in; we’re going actually to have to get out. You show people the method.

Just as in using and leveraging that offering time and communicating with the people, so it goes both ways.

You’re not saying just figure it out, but hey, we have resources available to help you. And then it’s great because, at the Christian Stewardship Network, we have a lot of resources to help in that area but also that you’re reaching out and doing it.

1. So, the first area of financial concern you said was that the cost of living is continuing to rise.

2. Then, there’s debt.

3. What’s another big area of financial concern?

(By the way, we can talk about debt for a long time because we also taught a class where we went out in the community. We asked people what class they wanted. One of them was how to get out of student loan debt. We had people come to that class, and they were wrapped around the room. As we were getting started to pray, people raised their hands and had questions. We were like, “Hey, can we present a little bit of the material first?” You’re in a different area, so I don’t know if it’s the same. I want to find out what your third biggest area of financial concern is, but just to let you know, here there is student loan debt. I don’t know if that is an issue (in the U.K.?)

Paola: It is, it’s a very big issue, too. It’s not something that I’m getting many questions about currently, but we have got sort of a thriving student ministry developing now.

One of my plans is to take some of the courses into their group, take it to them. Because they’re not likely to come to me, so I’m going to go to them.

And really just to put some foundations in for them, so that they can start to think about things differently. Because they’ve grown not knowing anything different, but I’ve grown up knowing things a lot different.

Just 20 years ago, things were so different. Whereas now debt is the normal. Twenty years ago it wasn’t.

And so I’m very conscious that they don’t know anything differently about it, they’ve not been modeled anything differently. Then, why do we expect them to know what to do unless we show them?

George: Then again, do the numbers shock you? Like when you sit in a class and someone says, “I have $100,000 in debt.” They just say it, like it’s not a big deal. Or some people go to law school, and they hear it’s $200,000, and they’re just like…I’m just like that’s a high number.

Paola: I think people are a little bit more reserved in the U.K. in sharing that type of information. So, they may honestly say yes, I have debt but to give you the figure, what I’m finding is that they actually don’t know the figure is more of the reality.

They don’t like talking about money and that’s been one of the things that we found difficult in getting the ministry off the ground is getting people to attend a class. Because they feel a degree of shame or there is a stigma attached to that because if I attend your class, then I’m admitting to everybody that I have a problem.

That made me reconsider the way that we advertise the classes. We started to talk to people more in lines of this is a discipleship class, it’s just another element of what we do, it’s a Bible study.

I didn’t want to jump straight in with just a practical budgeting class because I didn’t want to get people out of a messy situation but then not teach them how to stay out of it.

So, I tended to go with more the foundations first saying let’s lay that principle that God gives us, let’s tackle some of those mental pressures that we have, the external culture that is always fighting against us, trying to get us to do things in a certain way.

Well, how does that marry up with what God wants us to do? And so, are we overspending because we’re not content? Are we overspending because we’re simply out of control and that we don’t see the consequences of what we’re doing?

So, I started to tackle those issues first.

Then, once they begin to realize God’s heart, once they began to see, “Oh, there’s another way of doing it,” then I started to give them the practical ways of how to deal with whatever situation they were in at that time and so marry the two together that way.

George: That’s good because it’s one of the things that’s important (from what you’re saying), is to have the biblical content. When they understand what God’s plan and purpose is for their life, they’re much more able to receive the practical portions.

Because that’s one of the things, we’ve always struggled with in doing this.

Many times, we tend to break people up into different groups:

• There are people that are struggling and sinking, that means they can’t pay their bills.
• Then, there are steady people, meaning they pay their bills.
• Then, there are solid people, and they’re doing pretty good.
• And in the last group, there are surplus people, those with extra money, highest level service and able to give.

One of the things I see (that you, also, talked a little bit about) is we want to teach all the classes, to everybody in the church. Because then, it’s not that someone is coming to the class because they’re in debt or trouble or going into the hospital.

Everybody needs to have a consultant or a coach. Continuing to do that, but do it biblically.

This is what separates us from the other people that are doing that. So, that’s a very good point that you brought up.

Paola: Yeah, it just makes it a very safe environment.

People are very skeptical about classes of this nature, especially in the U.K. And I find it’s helpful to break down that, in some ways we’ve had almost to undo certain things.

We haven’t even started at zero, we’ve had to go backward and undo things in people’s minds and attitudes so that we can then start at zero and build from there. And it’s just been a very safe and trusting way to do that.

George: That’s great. What’s another financial concern that someone in your church has asked about?

Paola: I think one of the other ones that comes out is sort of the other end of the scale about the future and pensions, savings, retirement. What sort of investments do I need to have?

Sometimes, there’s an indication there that people are scared of their future. An indication that they’re not really trusting that God’s got them and that God is their provider. That they are looking to an insurance policy or a pension or an investment, stocks, and shares and that type of thing is, you know, that’s where my security is.

And so I’m saying, you know, it’s not wrong to plan for the future, it’s not wrong to have a retirement investment plan or savings. But are you doing it for the right reason?

Yes, God wants us to plan, but he doesn’t want you to have your reliance totally on that rather than on him. There has to be that balance.

George: That’s why it’s the Biblical stewardship principles that you must be teaching.

I’d love to get a lot more information on this beyond this podcast. But, for us to understand that point because that’s where it’s them understanding God’s plan and purpose for them other than just being content.

Secretly people don’t wanna share, where they should be saying, “I want to share.” We had those same issues here in Los Angeles and across the United States in 2008.

Then, the economy got bad; everybody was like, “Hey, look I’m in trouble.” They just started setting up the life preservers.

They were saying, “Hey, I just need help.” So actually, when you get into difficult economies, people just want help. So, it’s great that you use that particular method.

I have one more question about your church. You know, every church has a slogan, or there’s something that their church has a mission in their area.

So I just want to know what the mission was of your church and then how you bring stewardship into the mission of the church and what the senior pastor also believes.

Paola: Well, for Birmingham City Church, our mission statement really is “transformed lives transforming lives.”

There’s an emphasis on we have to be transformed in whatever area that is, continually through our growth as Christians, so that we can then impart something to somebody else and transform and be a part of the transformation of somebody else’s life.

In terms of stewardship, I was really taken with how I picked up from the Forum that I attended in Dallas last year, that the connection between the amount of growing spiritually and the fruit that we bear is directly related to our attitudes towards finance and how we handle them. And if we have that wrong, it is going to hinder our spiritual growth.

And so, in terms of looking within our congregation of believers, I’ve really tried to get that point across.

Look, this is really important that you understand God’s heart because He wants you to grow, He wants you to be more like Him, he wants you to be generous like Him. He wants you to be loving and caring and reach out to your fellow neighbors and community and be a part of their life transformation. But you have to allow God to transform you too. And money is such a big part of that. If I can help you to understand that and release more of God’s blessing through you to affect somebody else, then we can start this snowball effect.

And then on the other side of things, in terms of non-Christians in our community, one of our biggest expressions is through our food bank. We have people who really are on the poverty line.

Maybe, their benefits have been stopped. They’ve lost jobs quite suddenly. They have no means of buying food for themselves or their family. So, they will come along to the food bank, and we will sit with them while food is being prepared for them, offer to pray with them. They know that we are the church. We don’t ram that down their throats, but we offer it to them if they want that.

One of the things that I wanted to do was to see how I can teach to impact non-Christians, how can I get non-Christians to come into a church venue maybe?

We have an organization in the U.K. called Christians Against Poverty. And they work primarily through churches. So they are very evangelistic in their approach, and their heart is to win the lost and secondly, to help them get out of debt. They are well-known and respected in the U.K. You do not have to be a Christian to get help from them. And so I started to look at, what would it be like to have maybe a partnership with this organization?

They had courses that they’ve put together that work really well, so I tried that. And it’s currently something that I’m looking to put on so that people at the food bank can come to our church venue and go through a practical financial course showing them how just to make the most of what they have.

But, we’ve got them through the doors, and they are thinking, you know, the church is just a steeple and a cross on the top of the roof and wooden pews and people singing hymns and have no idea what a city church in their context is like.

And so to be able to get them through the doors and actually say, “Hey, why don’t you come along and see what we’re about. But let us help you with this financial situation and teach you how to make things work better for you.”

That’s a tool that we’re currently exploring at the moment. We haven’t done that side of things yet, but I’m hopeful that that’s going to bear a lot of fruit for us.

George: Yeah, I focus on that, too.

Over the last few years, our church growth has been about 30% of the people that come to one of our financial classes.

They know nothing about our church since they’re not members. It’s the way we reach out to them. We’re out here not only trying to save lost souls but, also, helping the people then they begin to tell their friends.

Then, they all find out that, hey, this isn’t the church they went to 20 years ago or 30 years ago. (Because sometimes people have been hurt in the church in the past and they say that I’m not coming back.)

Then, they come back and say, “Hey, they’re here, they’re helping us, and they’re doing this for the community and in different areas.” It’s just a great way to reach out to people and also to assist them.

So again, I’d encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing in those areas, and that will help you grow. And about Christians Against Poverty, that is a great way to get involved and to continue to work together.

Also, there are a lot of resources that CSN can help with in those areas. I think that is a really good opportunity. I’d like you to tell us if somebody is in the Birmingham area or the U.K. and they wanted to learn more about you or be able to utilize some of the resources, how do they get in contact with you or how do they get more information about what you’re doing?

Paola: The website for our church is bcc.life, short and sweet.

We have details of all of our ministries on there. And you could contact me through there, but we’re also looking at putting on our website an online version of our courses. (That’s sort of in its pilot stage too.) So even if you can’t come to our venue, you can access a stewardship course online. We’re looking to develop that with maybe videos and testimonies, too.

There is a little piece on there about what we believe concerning giving and generosity and God’s heart and why we think stewardship is important, so that message is there. But we’re still very much in the infancy stage of the ministry, but we’re just looking at different models, different churches and saying I think that will work for us, let’s give that a go. Adapting it, trying it, not being scared to say, you know, that wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be, let’s try something else. So we’re just trying to see the right fit for different areas of the ministry at the moment.

George: Thank you so much, Paola. That is excellent in which you’re already doing in your church. And I look forward to our networking and doing even more in these areas and helping and growing people.

Also, if you’d like more information regarding the Christian Stewardship Network, you can go to our website at christianstewardshipnetwork.com. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Paola: You’re welcome, thanks for having me.

George: We want to thank you, Paola, for being on our call today and we want to thank you just for all of the information and everything, that will be very valuable for our listeners.

Paola: Thank you so much, George, for inviting me. It’s been a great, great experience, thank you.

George: God bless you. I

want to thank you, listener’s, for joining us on today’s show.

Whether it’s your first podcast or you’ve listened to several, thank you, for going on the journey with us. It is our goal to equip you and empower you with the tools to be a blessing to the kingdom.

For more information about the podcast or other great resources, visit us at christianstewardshipnetwork.com.

And if this was a blessing to you, please consider making a donation to CSN, subscribe, and share us with others. Let’s do kingdom building together.

Look forward to you joining us on the next show.

*Transcript edits were made for grammatical corrections and clarification purposes. To use a portion of this transcript for publication, you must send a request in writing to info@christianstewardshipnetwork.com

Subscribe to the CSN Podcast on iTunes or Google​ Play

The post Biblical Stewardship: Connecting Across Cultures appeared first on Christian Stewardship Network.

The Truth About Biblical Stewardship (Part 2)

Your relationship to money always impacts your relationship with God and others.

Dave Briggs

Stewardship Director, Central Christian Church of Arizona

As discussed previously in The Truth About Biblical Stewardship (Part 1), the true meaning of biblical stewardship is often lost by the fact that modern church language frequently uses stewardship as just another word for giving.

 

How many of us grew up knowing that on “Stewardship Sunday” the message was going to be about increasing our giving to the church?

 

Giving is one responsibility of a steward, but it goes far beyond that.

 

In fact, stewardship has more to do with how one manages what he doesn’t give away because once something is given away, it becomes the responsibility of someone else to steward.

 

The Bible often speaks and in great detail about money and possessions.

 

Over 2,000 verses and nearly half of the parables of Jesus deal directly or indirectly with the topic.

 

If Jesus and the entirety of God’s Word spend that much time addressing money and possession, then we should pay close attention.

 

It was by paying close attention to these teachings that I discovered something significant that doesn’t often get talked about.

 

Read the words of Jesus carefully when He addresses money, wealth, and possessions, and you will conclude the following:

 

1. Jesus did not spend the majority of His time talking about giving.

 

2. Jesus did not talk much at all about “wisely managing money” or living a frugal lifestyle.

 

3. Jesus did not speak about the benefits of staying out of debt or saving for later years.

 

4. Jesus never once mentioned the need to develop a budget.

 

Don’t get me wrong, these are all very important to lead a financially healthy life, but these were not the things that Jesus focused on.

 

If you look for a common theme in almost every discussion Jesus had about money, he was addressing the impact that a person’s relationship to money had on their relationship to God and others.

In short, Jesus was teaching us that money is more about relationships than it is about finances.

 

Examples of this are everywhere. We can observe both the positive and the negative.

 

We see healthy relationships to money drawing people closer to God and others, and destructive relationships to money doing the opposite.

 

It was a very selfish and self-centered relationship to money that characterized the Rich Fool in Luke 12:14-21.

 

… “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

 

The Rich Fool’s relationship to his wealth kept him from seeing God.

 

His role in his abundance and kept him from using the wealth to make a difference in anyone else’s life but his own.

 

Money is about a relationship.

 

We see the same in Luke 18:18-24 as Jesus interacts with the man often referred to as the Rich Young Ruler.

 

A certain ruler asked (Jesus), “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

 

The Rich Young Ruler asked the right person the right question.

 

Jesus knew the relationship the young man had to his wealth was an obstacle to his relationship with Jesus.

It directly impacted his ability to experience the eternal life he desired.

 

When Jesus asked the young man to choose between his relationship with money and his relationship with the Son of God, he chose money.

 

The young ruler walked away sad because he could not have both.

 

Money is about a relationship.

 

Notable examples also exist where a God-centered relationship to money drew people closer to God and others.

 

In Mark 14:3-6 we read about a woman, we know to be Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, displaying a markedly different relationship to money.

 

While (Jesus) was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

 

It is easy to miss the fact that, in modern terms, Mary had just poured $50,000 worth of precious oil on Jesus!

 

The disciples watched and were horrified at the waste of money that could have been used for ministry.

 

But, Jesus recognized the love and devotion Mary had for Him.

 

He even made a point to rebuke the disciples for not seeing the motivation behind Mary’s act of love because her relationship to Jesus was far more important to her than her relationship to her expensive perfume.

 

Money is about a relationship.

 

For another example, we read Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-35.

 

Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

 

At the end of the parable, Jesus asks the question, “Who was the neighbor to the one who was in need?”

 

The answer was clearly the one who invested his time and money in helping.

 

It is interesting to note how little the Samaritan could have helped if he was unwilling to spend his money and resources.

 

He poured his own oil and wine on the wounded man and then paid to have him stay with the innkeeper for as long as it took for him to recover.

 

The Samaritan invested his wealth in building a relationship with one in need.

 

His relationship to money was not as important as his relationship with the man who had been robbed and beaten.

 

Money is about a relationship.

 

Allow me to issue you a challenge…

 

Go back and study the passages where Jesus deals with money, looking carefully for the theme woven throughout:

 

“Your relationship to money always impacts your relationship with God and others.”

 

A God-centered relationship to money is an overarching characteristic of those who are truly seeking to be good stewards of what God has entrusted.

 

Money is about a relationship.

The post The Truth About Biblical Stewardship (Part 2) appeared first on Christian Stewardship Network.

Contagious Generosity

George Thompson

In August’s episode of the CSN Podcast, our Host George B. Thompson welcomes special guest, Chris Willard. As Keynote Speaker for our CSN Forum Dallas in February, Chris presented a message titled, “Accelerating Generosity In Your Church.” In this conversation, you’ll hear George and Chris talk through biblical stewardship strategies and practical approaches to help people take their next steps in discipleship in the areas of stewardship and generosity. We hope you find this discussion helpful as you a build healthy stewardship ministry and develop new ways to connect with people in your church. If you have questions or to provide feedback on this podcast, please contact us at info@christianstewardshipnetwork.com. We would love to hear from you!

 

Listen and Subscribe to the CSN Podcast on iTunes or Google​ Play

Contagious Generosity: Creating A Church Culture of Stewardship and Generosity

Chris Willard

Chris Willard is a connector, consultant and communicator and is the co-author of Contagious Generosity, Creating a Culture of Giving in Church.  He has more than 30 years of ministry leadership experience and served as the executive pastor of Discovery Church in Orlando. During his tenure there, Discovery launched three multi-site venues and experienced a season of unprecedented growth.  Chris also is a member of the team of elders at Discovery. Currently, Chris serves as director of generosity initiatives for Leadership Network and as a senior generosity strategist for Generis. He has consulted with the leaders of many of the largest and most effective churches in America and Europe, helping them to accelerate growth, spiritual health and a culture of generosity, stewardship and giving. Chris and his wife Susan live in Orlando and are the parents of three young adult children.

Want to read more about this month’s episode? Here’s our transcript*:

George: Welcome to the Christian Stewardship Network. We are here to empower pastors and leaders in the local church to be the best they can be for their congregations and to be kingdom builders in the community. You can learn more about CSN by going to christianstewardshipnetwork.com. My name is George B. Thompson, your host for the Christian Stewardship Network. I serve as pastor of stewardship and finance at Faithful Central Bible Church in Los Angeles, California. It is my honor to host today’s conversation. “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) We are honored to have Chris Willard with us here today. Chris is the Co-Author of “Contagious Generosity.” Welcome, Chris.

Chris: Thanks, George. It’s really good to be with you.

George: I want to ask you a question. What made you write the book “Contagious Generosity”?

Chris: That’s a great question. It started with someone inviting me to speak at a conference, a pastors’ conference. I was asked to speak on some of the things that I have been learning in working with so many churches on this topic of how do you accelerate generosity and stewardship, how do you create a culture of giving. So, I put together an outline and delivered that breakout session. Someone in the room said, “You know, that’d be a good book.” I thought, “Well, it wasn’t even really that good of a breakout session, but; maybe it could be one day.” Then, I got smart and invited my dear friend and colleague Jim Sheppard, who is the CEO of Generis, to help co-write the book with me. That’s when it turned into something that we think can be helpful to pastors. Essentially, the book “Contagious Generosity” just answers the questions: What does it take to create a culture of generosity, stewardship and giving in the church? Jim and I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of churches over the years, and we’ve learned an awful lot from them. We share this in the book.

George: I want to talk about how to make a church have contagious generosity. When I listened to your session at the Christian Stewardship Network Forum, one of the things I realized is that you have a very extensive background. You’ve worked inside of churches for over 25 years, you’re an executive pastor, have been in Orlando for quite some time, and you’re also setting up satellite churches. So, my question to you is, “How does a church get contagious about being generous? How do you start a generous church?”

Chris: Well, I would say that it starts with the church figuring out what they believe the Bible says about generosity, stewardship, and giving. Meaning a church has to identify what they want to teach, what they want to preach, and what they are going to communicate about what they think the Bible says. And I’ll tell you George, one of the fundamental questions that a church is going to need to answer is, “Are we going to teach generosity and stewardship in giving because we wanna raise money? Or are we going to teach it because we believe that stewardship is part of discipleship? That giving is part of growing, and this issue is fundamental to spiritual formation? Because that answer will dramatically change the way, a church tackles this issue. If they’re trying to raise money, they’ll do the fundraising strategies. If they’re trying to grow people, they’ll do discipleship in this area of stewardship. So I would say that’s the place they start.

George: My hands are raised right now because I’m so excited about what you just said. I think there’s been a big change in the decision are we doing fundraising or are we growing disciples? So, how do you differentiate the two and do you think fundraising works without doing discipleship?

Chris: Yeah, you know what? Fundraising works actually. If all you want to do is raise money, then you can just borrow the tactics that are used out there in the world, apply them in the church, and you’ll raise the money. But I don’t think you’ll do it in a way that helps people’s hearts be expanded and assist them to grow spiritually. So, yeah, it works. I’m not going to tell you it doesn’t work because it does, but it’s so much better for us that we use a more spiritually-minded approach to this and think about helping people take whatever their next step is in discipleship in the area of generosity and giving. That’s the approach from the churches that we like, respect, and have worked with over the years. We have seen that approach works best.

George: It appears when you work with churches that you have a very specific strategy as to how it works and how you do it. What are some of the biblical-based strategies that help grow people in areas of discipleship? How does that work when you collaborate with a church, or when you start a church, and you want them to have a culture of generosity?

Chris: Andy Stanley framed this up nicely some years ago. He said if you want to inspire generosity and stewardship in the church, I’m paraphrasing now, but essentially he told me you have to do four things. You have to preach it, you have to teach it, you have to celebrate it, and you have to model it. So, preaching is what we do on the weekend, what we do in our printed stuff, on the web, in a video. Teaching is what we do in small groups. If life change happens in circles not rows, then we have to teach generosity and stewardship in small groups. You preach it; you teach it, you celebrate it—you say thank you, you tell stories, you inspire people—and then finally, you model it. A church has to spend and share money well. The church should use the resources God entrusted to them well if they want to expect that others will be generous with the church. So that would be one way of thinking about a strategy for creating a culture of generosity.

Another way that churches do this is they think about the different audiences in the church. The various kinds of people in the church and they ask, “What are we uniquely doing to encourage and inspire and teach these different audiences?” So, George, I know you’re familiar with our friends down at Gateway Church in Dallas, their model is that they have different strategies for different kinds of individuals. So, they talk to people who are struggling financially; they talk to those who are stable, maybe they’re not. They’re one paycheck away from being in trouble, but they’re not in trouble, yet. They talk to those who are solid financially, maybe they’ve got some margin, and then finally, they have strategies for those who have a surplus. So their model, if you will, is more looking at the different kinds of people in the church. There’s a lot of ways to go at it, but you just have to take a comprehensive approach and tackle this thing strategically. Hope, George, is not a strategy. Wishing that to have a strategy.

George: How you teach, it’s almost like layering it. You want to teach it; then you have small groups. But, one of the biggest things, I think that is hidden that people don’t do as much, is celebrating. Like in testimonies. When we started using testimonies at our church, it was just great to see people celebrating because what people were saying was, “Oh my goodness, that’s Shirley. If Shirley can do it, I can do it.” We’re sharing testimonies in different ways, also. Just let me know if you agree with this, where you have people get up and share their story live. When you do a video, it’s really nice. And now with an iPhone or another device, you can just shoot a video now very easily. Even shooting video at events and things that you’re doing. Then, being able to edit them. That’s been very helpful.

Chris: Yeah. The power of story is incredible. When you can have someone in your congregation say something like, “Listen, we were afraid to give. We didn’t have enough money. We were struggling every month. Then, we sensed the Lord wanted us to step out in faith and so, we started to go for it, and the Lord met us there. And it’s been a great journey, and we really have seen the Lord.” You know, those stories are inspiring to others, and you’re right, George, it causes that person who’s in the fifth row to think, “Well, that’s kind of like me. I’m like that. So maybe, Lord, maybe I could step out and maybe you’d meet me too.” So I do think that you…the way Jim and I phrased it in the book, you accelerate what you celebrate. You get more of what you make a big deal out of. So, we need to celebrate people taking steps of faith in this area of generosity and giving.

George: Right. Then your fourth area, I just wanted also to highlight because I think that you hit them, but I believe that these are huge points. The fourth is modeling. I just want to talk about the importance of modeling because in the Bible, follow me as I follow Christ is that we need to model as good behavior. So, what are some ways that you can look at and show to people opportunities for them to be able to model behaviors of stewardship and generosity?

Chris: Well, one of the very first things I would say is that the pastor needs to recognize that generous pastors lead generous churches. I have never encountered a church, which I would say is truly a generous church, which did not have generous leadership, people who were truly generous leading. Now, I have encountered generous pastors, generous church leaders whose churches were not yet generous, but; that’s normally because they weren’t teaching. preaching, modeling, and celebrating. So, here’s what I would say, first thing is a pastor needs to realize that they have to be on this journey personally of growing in their generosity and telling that story to others. Then, I would say in this area of modeling, you know, how a church spends the money that it already has is a powerful message to the congregation. I worked with a church, a large multi-site Church, and I asked one of the leading donors, a young woman, in the church a question. I said, “what prevents you from giving more than you do in your church right now?” Her answer stunned me. She said, “I feel like if I give more money here at our church, they’ll just buy more flat-screen TVs and technology.” So, you see, what she was observing was, “Man, they spend a lot of money on technology around here.” Now, I knew the church leadership had a good reason for why they were spending money on technology, but they had not communicated that to her in a way that made sense. It looked to her like bad stewardship, and it was actually causing her not to be enthusiastic about giving.

George: This goes back to number three, which is celebrating. Maybe saying like, “We use these screens to interact with the younger generation. Those aren’t just flat-screen TVs; those are ministry tools.” Like she didn’t see it that way. It goes back to how they’re celebrating or how the messaging is going out in those areas. That’s great.

Chris: I, also, think that you’ve got a church in this whole area of modeling has to be really careful in thinking about how dollars leave the four walls of our church? Meaning, is our church also being generous in the kingdom? Because if everything is about building our church, building our ministry, making our stuff better, that also can be kind of demotivating to givers who are thinking about where they could give.

George: That’s why you always talk about the kingdom. But, you, also, speak of the city, your city. Like in Inglewood, California, one of the things we do is to always talk about the city, not necessarily our church. You know, we read about this happening in the Bible, in Judea, Samaria and the other areas. Speaking messages in this way would also be helpful.

Chris: Absolutely. You just got to let people know what it is that you’re doing and let them know that the dollars that they’re giving in your church are actually being freed up and sent out to do some good in the community and that motivates them to give more.

George: As I was listening to you, I heard you talk a lot about accelerating generosity in a church. I used to play sports and played collegiately and on the US team while in high school. One of the things we always had is a DNA of a team. You know, like you guys are either winning and you always have a culture. Everybody has a culture. I’ve noticed the churches have the same thing. So, how does somebody accelerate generosity in the DNA in their church? What are some things they could do to get their church to be more generous?

Chris: Well, again, I would say it’s about having that comprehensive strategy. That is preaching and teaching and modeling and celebrating. That is going to help to bubble up and create movement in the culture.

George: Got you.

Chris: I would also say that one of the things that we need to do is what Jim and I in the book called “The Ministry of Asking.” If you want to accelerate generosity in your church, you have to invite people to give, and you have to challenge them to step out in faith. It’s been said that people don’t give to need, they give to the vision, which is kind-of silly frankly. Well, if there’s a hurricane or a tornado, people love to give to need. They, also, love to give to vision, but the other thing they like to give to is expectation. So you have to invite people to give, you have to expect that people who are going to share, you know, you have to normalize that around here, we’re a generous church. God gave first, so we give, too. You’ve got to expect that from people, and I think that can really impact the church.

George: Right. You talked about casting the vision. That’s very important. But, another area you spoke about during the Forum was that the church needs to build trust. Create a culture where everyone trusts and understands why they’re giving, and then we cast the vision. Also, I would like to talk to you about relationships. As far as the relationships that people have within the church, such as the leaders of the members of the church in different areas, what is a way, having the DNA of very good churches, what role do these relationships play?

Chris: Well, it’s huge, right? Because it’s all about people and it’s all about connecting with them. Pastors love to get givers to give to their vision. I’ll tell you what the wise pastor (especially, when he’s working with a high capacity giver, somebody that God has blessed with wealth), is not just asking that giver to give to the church’s vision. He’s trying to figure out, “what is the vision that God has given you?” What do you think God wants you, as a giver, as an individual, to do with the resources that he’s entrusted to you? Because, as your pastor, I want to help you make those dreams come true. That takes relationship, that takes conversations, that just doesn’t happen on its’ own. It’s not just standing in front of a group and saying here’s the plan, help me pay for it. It’s about really working with people and getting in their life. This illustrates the broader principle that in the church, with regard to generosity and stewardship in giving, we have to talk to different kinds of givers differently. You got to have a different kind of conversation with the person that God has blessed with wealth in your church, for example, then you will have with the individual who attends your church but doesn’t give it all.

George: Right. And Chris I don’t mean to interrupt you, but what you’re saying is so critical to…if you remember everyone, we’re always taught as pastors of stewardship to divide the people up, you know, and we have the categories. Members are struggling and sinking, steady, solid means they’re doing pretty good, surplus, service. But this is the problem; we always tend to tilt toward the people that are struggling and sinking because they scream the loudest. We’re focusing on that struggling, sinking, and steady, and then some of the solid. Because one of the mistakes that a lot of ministries make, that we even made in the very beginning was, if you just focus in on that area then people think, “I only come to stewardship if I have a problem as opposed to the other areas.” Then the people that are the top givers, we just send them a letter, and that’s it. Once a year and in doing that. I guess my question is, “how are the churches supposed to engage with people who are doing well financially and just some strategies to be able to do that”

Chris: I think you’re exactly right, George, you could argue that the most overlooked group of people in a church are the people that God has blessed with wealth. And that sounds funny, but it’s really true because most churches have specific ministries for people who are struggling financially. They have budget counseling, they have benevolence programs. What strategy does the typical church have to encourage and disciple and equip the person that God has blessed with wealth to really see what it is that God wants them to do with those dollars? So, I would say one of the most important things you can do in that area is to recognize that it’s valuable to put the people that God has blessed financially in your congregation, bring them in a relationship with one another so that they can encourage and inspire and help one another. It’s very difficult. As you said, the reason why people that have money are blessed with wealth don’t go to any stewardship meetings is because they can’t share what’s really going on. The lady next to them, the lady sitting next to them is thinking about canceling her cable because she can’t pay her rent and the person that God has blessed with wealth is trying to decide if he should sell his plane. You know, and he can’t have that conversation with her, but he can have it with another person in the congregation who also understands those issues.

George: Right. And we started that a few years ago. Having the people meet and one thing we found out is that, actually, the people that are up in the surplus and the service level, they have a lot of issues and concerns. too. One of their problems is time. I mean like they want to spend more time. They run a business, it’s doing extremely well, but they’re working six days a week, 12 hours a day. By meeting, they can talk to another person, and then while they’re talking they find out, “Hey, I see how you manage your kids.” They start to do things differently or hire another person or just learn differently about things that will help them and just have a Bible study where they can find that also in God’s Word. So I’ve seen that a lot.

Chris: Yeah, and I would say too, the lead pastor is very instrumental in this because in many churches the lead pastor is leading a complicated enterprise. He’s the guy doing hiring and firing and budgeting and risk management and forecasting. All of those are the similar kinds of things that the business owners or the business leaders in your church are doing. So that lead pastor needs to realize he has something to offer that group of people, not to mention what he has to offer from a pastor point of view in terms of his expertise with regard to understanding the Scriptures and being able to really help people navigate some of those personal issues as well.

George: Great. You know when you were an executive pastor, how did you teach stewardship to the church? That’s my first part of the question. The second one is regarding multi-site. How’d you get that all broken apart to where you could go out to a site and get the same thing that you are getting at the main campus? So, the first question is how did you teach stewardship and how did you get it out to the people on a consistent basis based on the four things you said earlier?

Chris: Yeah. Well, we use that strategy. We preached and taught and celebrated and modeled. One of the things that we made an effort to do well was the moments during the service when you receive the offering. We worked at, and continue to work at this to this day in our church; we worked at making sure that we were highly leveraging those few moments. I mean it’s really crazy to think of how often in churches that offering time is just kind of “blah blah blah.” Now is the time of the service when we’re going to give back to the Lord a portion of the blah blah blah. It sounds the same this week as it did last week and it’s probably going to sound the same next week. We need to do a better job than that. So, one of the most important strategies that a church can do is make sure that they’re highly leveraging those few moments during the service.

George: Right. And leveraging means, so I’m translating, just as someone that’s listening that’s a volunteer, someone may be a stewardship pastor that just started or working with the churches. When we say leveraging, so I’m just translating then you let me know if that’s what you’re saying is that. That time to make sure during that time period that you have something new, something different, but then you’re also engaging people on different levels. Meaning that you’re you’re sharing a scripture with them, but then also you may be telling a story one time, or you may be celebrating a person. Or doing it in different ways, but actually, have a game plan and have it set up, so you’re able to do that.

Chris: Exactly, George. Because most mean I think many of us would have to admit that when we’re leading in this church service, we think about what we’re going to say for the offering time as our feet are moving to the microphone and that’s not good enough.

George: Oh, no.

Chris: We got to really plan that thing out and know what you’re doing. Now, with regard to multi-site, I think one of the most important issues we need to address is we need to realize the campus pastor, the lead person on that campus, has to carry this message of generosity and stewardship and giving. Because for many people, that’s the person who is viewed as that’s my pastor. I mean that’s the guy I’ll call in the middle of the night if there’s a problem, that’s the guy who’s praying for me and knows my story. As church leaders, when we identify and select campus pastors for these roles, we’re not just looking for someone who’s a good organizer or somebody who’s a good shepherd. We need a leader who is committed to this generosity and stewardship message, too. We know that generous leaders lead generous churches. The campus pastor’s influence is going to be significant.

George: That’s great. Good. Hey, could you just tell me a little bit about Generis, your role and what they will be doing in the future?

Chris: Yeah, sure. So, Generis is a company that’s committed to helping churches accelerate generosity and stewardship and giving and create cultures in the church that support those things. We work with churches around the country. Many of the churches we’re working with want to do some sort of giving campaign or capital campaign or accelerated giving initiative. And so, we’ll help them put together a strategy that really makes that special for the church and doesn’t just raise money, but as we were saying earlier, really does help grow people spiritually and helps to change the culture of the church. And so, that’s the work that we do at Generis, and I’ve had a ball working with some just amazing churches around the country over the past several years. And then of course, as you know, George, I also serve as the director of Generosity Initiatives for Leadership Network. And in that context, I helped put together cohorts groups of churches that really want to tackle this generosity stewardship issue, and together we tackle those things, and it’s been a great experience as well.

George: Yeah, I get so excited when I listen to you speak because I want people to be generous because we just love giving, and then we receive so much, but I just love giving. And it is not just about giving. It’s in just being content, too. I want to thank you for taking the time today to just come by and let us talk to you a little bit about generosity. And, also, your book “Contagious Generosity,” it’s on Amazon. It’s an excellent book, and I’d like to call you back someday and check-in with a couple of areas that we have about having a culture of generosity and helping people, not only throughout the United States but the world in the area generosity.

Chris: It’s been my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

George: Good. It’s been a pleasure. To our audience, once again, you can go online for more information about Chris Willard’s book, “Contagious Generosity”. Also, you can find everything we’re doing at the Christian Stewardship Network by going to christianstewardshipnetwork.com. Visit us online to receive a free e-book through our ministry partner, Generis. We want to give you practical help to grow and do Kingdom business. Thank you so much and good talking to you, Chris.

Chris: Take care.

George: I want to thank you for joining us on today’s episode. Whether this is your first podcast or you’ve experienced several with us, thank you for going on the journey with us today. It is our goal to equip you and empower you with the tools to be a blessing to the kingdom. For more information about podcasts or other great resources, visit us at christianstewardshipnetwork.com. And if this was a blessing to you, please subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play and share us with others. Let’s do Kingdom building together. Look forward to you joining us for the next episode of the CSN Podcast.

*Transcript edits were made for grammatical corrections and clarification purposes. To use a portion of this transcript for publication, you must send a request in writing to info@christianstewardshipnetwork.com

Listen and Subscribe to the CSN Podcast on iTunes or Google​ Play

The post Contagious Generosity appeared first on Christian Stewardship Network.

Contagious Generosity

The post Contagious Generosity appeared first on Christian Stewardship Network.

Christian Stewardship Quotes

The word Christian is used only three times in the Bible. The first mention is in Acts 11:26. Christian was the name given to the Greeks and Romans who believed in Christ at Antioch. The meaning of the word is, “belonging to the party of.” The group at Antioch belonged to the party of Christ and were followers of his doctrine. This identity is one that all Christians share.

Being a Christian is not just a title, it’s a position. The position is that of a steward; a person responsible and entrusted with the management of another’s possessions. As stewards, all we do should be directed by the desires of the owner, God. And the owner’s desires and instructions are clearly understood by what He said, His Word, the Bible.

The following quotes are written and shared to help you, the steward. They are meant to challenge, instruct, and encourage you to be the best steward you can be. In the end, all that will matter, all that will last, is what we did for the one whom we follow, Jesus our Lord.

 

Christian Stewardship Quotes

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

“Money is not the only commodity that is fun to give. We can give time; we can give our expertise; we can give our love or simply give a smile. What does that cost? The point is, none of us can ever run out of something worthwhile to give.” – Steve Goodier

“Tithing is not giving; it is bringing.” – Unknown

“The greatest lesson you might ever learn in this life is this: It is not about you.” – Shannon L. Alder

“Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessities for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud the Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?” ― John Wesley

“‪You would not be able to manage millions of dollars well when you are not managing thousands of dollars ‬well” – Manuel Corazzari‬

“Stewardship is not about raising money; it’s about raising Christians who willingly trust God.” – Unknown

“When a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy and prosperous. Now, if that man when he gets all he can and saves all he can, does not give all he can, I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that man!” – John Wesley

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”—Missionary Jim Elliott

“Money is so intimately related to the possessor, that we cannot give money without giving ourselves.” – Unknown

“Abundance isn’t God’s provision for me to live in luxury. It’s his provision for me to help others live. God entrusts me with his money not to build my kingdom on earth, but to build his kingdom in heaven.” – Randy Alcorn

“Poverty is not God’s norm, but neither is lavishness.” – Larry Burkett

“..the best strategy for giving is a two-fold approach: a basic plan combined with a willingness to consider spontaneous giving when unique opportunities arise.” – Andy Stanley

“To be dishonest means that you’ve gone outside the structure of God’s word in making financial decisions: you’ve cheated another person and, in reality, you’ve cheated God.” – Larry Burkett

“Be wise and attend to obeying. Let Christ manage the providing.” – Charles Spurgeon

“The happiest people on earth are the people who have discovered the joy of giving.” – Unknown

“It really comes down to one question, do you trust God, or have you just been saying you trust God.” – Larry Burkett

“..tithing isn’t something I do to clear my conscience so I can do whatever I want with the 90 percent–it also belongs to God! I must seek his direction and permission for whatever I do with the full amount. I may discover that God has different ideas than I do.” – Randy Alcorn

“You show me your checkbook and I will show you where your heart is.” –Larry Burkett

“There are 2 questions a steward needs to consider. 1. Who owns it? 2. How much is enough?” –Ron Blue

“All of us can learn good stewardship by enacting the following: Spend Less than You Earn, Give Generously, Avoid Debt, Plan for Financial Margin, and Set Long Term Goals.” –Ron Blue

“Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else, and give like no one else.” –Dave Ramsey

 

Wherever you are on your stewardship journey, I hope you’ll take this list of quotes, perhaps jot one or two down on a 3 by 5 card and kept it in focus, to motivate you to be that good and faithful steward you were meant to be.

Your stewardship has the potential to influence lives, provide hope to others, and make an eternal difference.

The post Christian Stewardship Quotes appeared first on Christian Stewardship Network.

The Truth About Biblical Stewardship (Part 1)

The Bible makes it clear that God created everything and even though He has entrusted much to each of us, His name is still on the title. God is the owner, and we are His stewards.

Dave Briggs

Stewardship Director, Central Christian Church of Arizona

Stewardship is a popular word today. Go to almost any church on any given Sunday, and you will most likely hear stewardship used to set up the offering or introduce a building program or a capital campaign.

Unfortunately, today’s prominent usage of the word stewardship no longer represents the biblical definition and requires us to look deeper into its true meaning.

Biblical Stewardship Explained

Stewardship is the act of living as a steward. What is a steward? In modern society, a steward is often seen as a low-level position as in a cabin steward on a cruise ship. But in biblical times a steward was a very highly regarded person who had proven himself to be exceptionally trustworthy. As a result, a wealthy master would have complete confidence entrusting his significant possessions to the steward. The steward would be expected to manage the wealth of his master in the same way the master would manage it himself. No one got to serve as a steward if they were not proven trustworthy.

In short, a steward is one who has been entrusted with the possessions of another to use in the best interest of the owner. A steward is never under the false impression that he owns any of what he is managing. If the steward began to act like an owner, he would no longer be qualified to be a steward. Both master and steward were crystal clear as to who the true owner was.

I think it was Larry Burkett who used the analogy of a modern day steward as a bank president. The president of a bank has a significant stewardship responsibility to every single “owner” of the funds in his bank. He knows he does not own the money in the bank although he is held accountable for the wise management of the funds. The reason people deposit their money in the bank is that they trust their money will be stewarded well knowing the bank president has no claim of ownership over the money.

But what if the bank president started to act as an owner and not a steward? How would the true owners respond if the bank president started moving the money into his personal account? Very quickly the owners would demand their money back, and the president would be facing some jail time. Ownership versus stewardship matters in the banking world and it matters in our personal and spiritual lives as well.

The Bible makes it clear that God created everything and even though He has entrusted much to each of us, His name is still on the title. God is the owner, and we are His stewards. If we become confused about that and begin to act as owners, we lose the right to be considered a steward.

The Parable Of The Talents

Perhaps the single clearest example of the relationship between the owner and the steward is seen in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-29, which says,

“… a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest. “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

Here we see the master entrusting different amounts of his wealth to his “stewards” to manage just before leaving on a long journey. This passage points out some important characteristics of the role of a steward and his relationship with the master.

• The master determined the amount each steward was to manage. The steward did not control the amount to be managed only the decisions regarding its usage.
• The master expected each steward to be faithful with his wealth. A steward who is unwise in managing the master’s money loses the right be called a steward.
• Even though it may take a while, there will eventually be a time when each steward is called to account by the master for his stewardship. A steward will be asked the question, “What did you do with what I gave you?”
• The amount gained was not the issue, but the faithfulness displayed. The master gave the same hearty, “Well done, my good a faithful servant (steward)” to the one who doubled his five bags of gold as the one who gained only two.
• Observing faithfulness in his stewards brought happiness to the master. The master’s reaction shows not only his joy but a desire to share an even closer relationship with his stewards.
• The unfaithful steward failed in his role as steward driven by fear. “I was afraid and went and hid your gold in the ground.” His fear was so great it clouded his logical thinking. He did not even consider leaving it with the bankers to at least gain some interest.
• There are negative ramifications to unfaithfulness by a steward. Not only is the trust relationship with the master damaged but his unfaithfulness disqualified him from being a steward in the future. The gold he failed to steward wisely was given to another who had proven himself to be trustworthy.

In the greater context, each of us has been called to be God’s steward of His resources. May we take that role seriously as we seek to hear someday from the Father—“Well done my good a faithful steward!”

The post The Truth About Biblical Stewardship (Part 1) appeared first on Christian Stewardship Network.

Financial Peace University, Compass and Other Classes: Why You Need a Multi-Dimensional Stewardship Ministry

The purpose of financial ministry is to change hearts—not merely financial balance sheets.

Pastor Gunnar Johnson

We are incredibly blessed in this day and age to have so many great resources to minister to people in the area of biblical, financial stewardship. I remember back in the old days when there were limited options for generosity and stewardship materials. Today that is not the case. Before I get into specific tools, let’s take a step back and examine why we use the tools.

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

 

The purpose of financial ministry is to change hearts—not merely financial balance sheets.

 

Jesus also said in Mark 8:36, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”

Once spiritual transformation takes place, then the financial application must happen to fully embrace the life calling that God has given an individual.

Some stewardship ministry tools I enjoy are Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, Compass Financial Ministries’ Navigating Your Finances God’s Way, and Financial Freedom, a course that I wrote with Jeff Letz from Hillsong Church London. Let me explain how each one has helped me personally.

Compass Financial Ministry

The first biblical financial class I ever took was Howard Dayton’s small group study back in 1999. I was an unwilling participant because I didn’t think the Bible said anything about money. However, I was curious enough to go to the class.

Howard’s biblical financial study showed me a catalog of what the Bible says on many topics related to finance. Even more importantly, I learned about the heart connection between faith and finances. Each week it was the same pattern: read the weekly commentary, look up Bible verses, answer questions related to them, then fill out my prayer request form and memorize scripture. This process sounds very simple, but Compass was utterly life-changing for my wife and me! 

Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU)

The next study that had a significant impact on our family was Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (often referred to by its acronym, FPU.) Dave is so motivational and fun to listen to that you can’t help but be inspired to become the best money manager you can be. Dave’s class is geared more toward financial management and motivation than Bible study, which was exactly what I needed after taking Howard’s Bible study. Financial Peace University covered insurance, investing, budgets, and marketing tricks retailers use on consumers, how to deal with creditors, and many other topics. For years, I would lead at least one FPU class and one of Howard’s Bible study classes just to keep motivated and in the Word of God.

Financial Freedom Curriculum

The third biblical, financial stewardship tool I recommend is Financial Freedom, which I wrote with Jeff Letz, the Stewardship Pastor from Hillsong Church in London.

We developed a simple, six-week course that gives biblical insight and understanding from the scriptures, yet also provides easy, practical financial application. The uniqueness of the Financial Freedom is that it is a lighter study geared to reach people who may not be excited to be in a financial class. We designed the class to be used by pre-existing life groups. We filmed it in a London coffee shop in a conversational style so that it feels like you’re listening in on a discussion among friends. There are both American and European versions available. We have also included financial forms like the “fat finder” and a debt snowball tool, as well as spending plan tools to help people get their money organized. Our primary target audience would be a life group that already exists or an individual doing it online or with the phone app if they can’t take the class in a group meeting. I have found it beneficial to listen to teachings on my smartphone while commuting to the office or working around the house, so I wanted that as an option for people who are in a time crunch but still want the education.

Use a Multi-Dimensional Stewarship Approach

As a leader, you have to figure out what would work best in your church setting and season. All these classes are great and life-changing. Both Howard and Dave are my friends and, quite frankly, they have been my heroes for twenty years!

I wish you all the best as you seek to help people conform more to the image of Jesus Christ through financial discipleship. God is going to use you to make a significant difference in the Kingdom!

The post Financial Peace University, Compass and Other Classes: Why You Need a Multi-Dimensional Stewardship Ministry appeared first on Christian Stewardship Network.