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This week’s newsletter wraps up our series on preaching stewardship with a final takeaway. It calls for vulnerability and, well, an approach that might challenge many preachers. Yet, I think it’s high time the church — and its preachers — approached stewardship sermons with a posture of openness. Curious what I mean? Read on. Yours…
Fall is busy time for stewardship leaders, and my guest preaching schedule is quite full. While I love to preach about stewardship topics around the church, I’m also aware when I do so of the danger of passing the buck. Preaching on stewardship is a powerful opportunity for local pastors to share the gospel and…
This is the time of year many preachers prepare sermons that focus, particularly, on stewardship. In today’s post (from our archives), David Lose shares his discoveries as a “convert” to stewardship preaching. Next week, we’ll continue our preaching mini-series with a review of the book, Preaching and Stewardship. Yours truly, Adam Copeland, Center for Stewardship…
Our series on the new book, Beyond the Offering Plate: A Holistic Approach to Stewardship, wraps up this week, this time with a post by yours truly. My chapter in the book considers the gifts — and challenges — of technology. Since you are all receiving this newsletter by email, you’re already part of how the…
As new readers consider my new book, Beyond the Offering Plate: A Holistic Approach to Stewardship, many have noted the diversity of new insights into stewardship. Sure, there’s some old topical favorites, but there’s also particularly innovative perspectives like today’s newsletter piece by Mary Hinkle Shore on the stewardship of life at its end. If…
Today we return to the second iteration of the newsletter series on the new book Beyond the Offering Plate: A Holistic Approach to Stewardship. While it was tempting, for the sake of novelty, to publish an entire book on stewardship without addressing money, there was no real doubt that the book must devote a chapter…
The question of language comes up a lot in stewardship circles. I think the search for the right words suggests our discomfort with the present realities of stewardship in congregations. Words matter, and it’s hard to find the right words that connect us to deep, meaningful realities of money, God, and giving. In today’s post,…
I recently attended a large worship conference hosted by a mainline denomination. The liturgy and music was creative, though also on the “traditional” side of the worship spectrum. On the final night of the conference, we sang the hymn, “How Great Thou Art” with 800+ other worshippers. My seat was in the back, so I…
Our series exploring the new book, Beyond the Offering Plate: A Holistic Approach to Stewardship continues this week with the stewardship of mind. I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually think of my mind as something to steward. But our writer, Neal Presa, makes a compelling case that for Christians, stewarding our mind…
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…
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…
