Stewardship as Discipleship: The Art of Being “Normal”

Money, money, money, money…MONEY! We all need it; most want more of it; many individuals and churches feel as if they do not have enough of it. So what’s a pastor or ruling elder to do?
Yesterday within Presbytery de Cristo we had the Rev. Bob Sheldon talk about stewardship to a group of pastors during the day and to our mission partners in the evening. Bob’s energetic presentation attempted to “normalize” our conversations about money, (to the extent any of us are “normal”), by first acknowledging that most of us are allergic to talking about money. It is as if, like having a peanut allergy, our throats constrict and we break out in hives at the thought of talking openly about stewardship. But imagine another way:

What if, instead of being a big secret, we saw stewardship as a way to invite people deeper into faithful discipleship? What if, instead of begging people for money or trying to guilt them, which may work but you’ll feel icky, we approached stewardship the way we approach prayer or mission or visiting a friend in the hospital: by affirming openness and honesty, and simply talking about the needs of the church for ministry and mission. You’ll be surprised how well people react to openness and honesty.

There were several strong take-aways from Bob’s presentation that I will highlight in today’s missive:

The Three C’s – Stewardship is like all ministry: it is a relational sport. The three c’s of stewardship are connection, concern, and capacity, in that order. Connection: people give to others – to God, to friends, to those they know. Concern: people give from a place of compassion and love for Jesus so helping people understand needs in specific and concrete ways (as opposed to vague requests for generic help) create enthusiasm. Capacity: we usually start here but capacity without connection or concern is meaningless.

A Team Sport – Stewardship is not the job of the pastor but the pastor is the team captain. Other players include the entire Session, the deacons, generous and consistent givers, and those willing to serve in other capacities. Bob made an interesting point about one’s willingness to serve: “Most people, if you ask them to serve on the Stewardship committee, will not only say no but h*** no! But if you ask them if they’ll help plan a thank you dinner for Consecration Sunday they’ll be glad to do it. By designing things in segments, you widen your participation and draw more people into the fun!”

Thank You! – Amazingly, most churches do not say thank you to those who give. Bob suggested that it is easy to forget but a missed opportunity. The easiest way to change a church’s culture from “we don’t talk about money” to one of openness is by being normal and polite: say thank you! Thank you’s are best within 24 hours of receiving a gift and preferably a hand-written note or personal phone call. In churches Bob has served, he has enlisted the youth to do a Thank You-athon by phone to express the Session’s appreciation to everyone who pledged. His concluding comments to us were, “Remember it’s all about relationship! Good, old-fashioned, “normal” relationships.”

Seeking to be normal in unusual times,

Brad Munroe