Today marks the official release date of a new stewardship book edited by yours truly! Titled, Beyond the Offering Plate: A Holistic Approach to Stewardship, in ten approachable chapters written by seminary professors, engaged pastors, and church leaders, the book aims to expand our notion of—and approaches to—holistic stewardship. For the next several weeks, this…
While many congregations long for more funds to sustain their ministries, the shadow side of stewardship is that receiving too many funds also presents a ministry conundrum. What’s the right balance of mission and saving for a rainy day? Were the right gift policies in place? How does the congregation take part of the discernment…
Stewardship, like much of ministry, quickly pushes congregations back to mission and vision. It causes us to ask questions like: What is the Spirit up to in this place? Where are hearts committed? What must we stop to make room to start a new ministry? And then, once a mission is discerned, how is that…
This week, Charles “Chick” Lane continues his two-week series on stewardship ministry with retired people. I read it on my laptop, but even so, I wanted to underline and highlight each point, plus write a star in the margin! What a fine list of strategies—particularly for retired members, but certainly not limited to them. All…
It’s a true pleasure to welcome back Charles “Chick” Lane to this blog. I commend Chick’s wise words on a seldom-addressed topic. Speaking of unusual topics, I’d also share the good news that Luther Seminary is hosting a stewardship conference this summer, August 23, titled Beyond Abundance: Faithful Stewardship Language to Fit Our Realities. As…
As the old saying goes, “change is the only constant.” In today’s post, Angela Denker considers what change has to do with stewardship. On one hand, stewardship always implies change—of giving, of accomplishing mission, of work together. On the other hand, though, stewardship is about constants, the grace of Jesus Christ and his call upon…
I recently found myself exploring a new bookstore in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. For an airport bookstore, its selection is amazing and I could tell had been curated with an expert hand. This is no store that pushed merely the latest best-sellers. Instead, I sensed a loving, careful design behind the selections. This point hit…
Ding. Beep. Chirp. Flash. These days, it’s hard to find time to pay attention to what matters when so many competing gadgets are alerting us to their priorities. But, when we do make space for what matters, what, well, does matter? Today’s post begins a three-week series on Stewarding Attention by Jason Misselt. I hope…
The phrase, “more than enough,” has begun to take root in church stewardship circles. Perhaps it’s a helpful reframing of “abundance” language. Additionally, it’s the title of a new book by Lee Hull Moses reviewed this week by the Center for Stewardship Leaders’ own Alex Benson. I commend it to the church. Yours truly, Adam…
In preparation for Thanksgiving Day last November, there were dozens of articles and interviews concerning the challenges of sharing a meal—a cordial meal—with relatives and friends holding wildly differing political views. We are now in the season of Easter, but that challenge remains. I’ve been wondering what it might have to do with stewardship and…
This week, I reflect on a topic I’ve noticed is fairly rampant in stewardship circles: individualism. But, how might we combat it? I suggest three ways congregations and their leaders might chart another course towards community, connection, and relationships. Yours truly, Adam Copeland, Center for Stewardship Leaders Making Stewardship Corporate Adam J. Copeland American culture…
We conclude our Stewardship this Lent series today with a post from Rolf Jacobson, professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. His post reminds me of a phrase from the education world. The “null curriculum” is sort of the shadow curriculum for teachers (or preachers!). If the regular curriculum is what we teach, the null…
Our “Stewardship this Lent” series continues this week with Dr. Benjamin Stewart, a worship professor at The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Perhaps you’re like me and have heard many sermons on Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones over the years. I think it’s a passage that’s particularly difficult to preach in…
I don’t know about you, but Lent often calls me to assess where I’ve been. Not where in a geographical sense, but where in terms of my relationship with God, my care for neighbors, and my spiritual practices. Today’s post by Columbia Theological Seminary’s Israel Galindo draws upon the beloved Psalm 23. Galindo considers a…
Week two of our Stewardship this Lent series takes us to Exodus 17, the story of the Water from the Rock. Cameron Howard, assistant professor of Old Testament, guides us from the grumblings of the Israelites to the longings of our church today. Longing for water, longing for conservation, longing for life. Lent, she argues,…
