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On several occasions over the years, I’ve been a member of my church’s governing body. Inevitably, the subject of fundraising and stewardship would appear on the agenda. With my background in finance, this would soon result in membership of the “Stewardship Campaign Sub Committee”.
Reflecting on these attempts to increase church income by encouraging the membership to “give more” and “give it regularly in a planned way” has reinforced the general contemporary view that stewardship is mostly, if not all, about money.
This has caused me to question whether our understanding of stewardship has become too restrictive and perhaps needs to be revised. In reflecting on this, my question is whether we can discover a fresh perspective that goes beyond money and budgets?
The Oxford Dictionary defines stewardship as: “The act of taking care of or managing something, for example, property, an organization, money or valuable objects”. [1]
Wikipedia has a slightly broader contemporary view: “Stewardship is an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources”. [2]
In our church life, do we limit our understanding of stewardship?
Timothy Dombek, an American Pastor, in an article in “Stewardship News You Can Use” September 2015 wrote, “ the concept of Stewardship as a whole, is far broader than only money and finances.” [3] All of which begs the question: To what extent has the U.K. Church simply got it wrong in its understanding of stewardship by limiting it to finance and the necessity of balancing budgets?
In many churches, the approach to fundraising is based on a scarcity mindset: there’s never enough income to do the things we want and need to do. Costs keep rising faster than income can keep up with.
The demands on church members’ finances, especially in the current general economic climate, only exacerbate the feeling.
Has this mindset prevented us from fully understanding and embracing a truer meaning of stewardship?
The biblical perspective views stewardship as being the delegated responsibility for the management of what has been entrusted: people, property, not just money. In both the Old & New Testament, the role of steward clearly envisages someone with general oversight, extending beyond financial management alone.
In Genesis 43:19 Joseph’s steward appears to have household wide responsibilities. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians 4:2 the Greek word translated as steward is “one to whose care or honour one has been entrusted”, i.e., a guardian or trustee New Bible Dictionary Second Edition, IV Press
So, how should this view of the role of steward and stewardship inform our understanding today?
The American writer Douglas Hall expresses the view that the Church has “truncated the biblical view of stewardship into fundraising”. (The Steward a Biblical Symbol Come of Age , D.J.Hall 2004) and that the wider biblical role of the steward and stewardship has fundamental relevance for the 21st Century Church and its response to contemporary world issues.
In considering a 21st century view of stewardship, where should our starting point be?
Human transformation is at the heart of the Christian gospel and extends to transforming the world we live in. The biblical view of stewardship emphasises personal responsibility for all the resources God has placed at our disposal, not just money. If the world around us matters, then our responsibilities as stewards suddenly takes on a new dimension.
Christ’s commission as recorded by Matthew 28:19 to “Go and make disciples of all nations…” is the foundation from which everything else has historically followed. This should surely continue to underpin our responsibilities as 21st century stewards of the resources at our disposal to ensure the spiritual (and numerical) growth of the Church.
This broader, biblical concept of stewardship has its relevance in ways other than finance.
How should our churches support and transform their local communities? Do environmental issues, matters of social justice, welcoming the dispossessed and those seeking refuge, concern us sufficiently?
Treasurers and church leaders frequently find themselves as facilitators, making things happen through finance. Financial management, however, should extend to supporting initiatives which go beyond keeping the church lights on and replacing the boiler.
Is the contemporary role of steward so different to the biblical steward counterpart? At its heart is the responsibility for ethical management of all resources at a church’s disposal, to bring about transformation in this world.
The challenge therefore is this: how can we become true stewards of the resources with which we have been entrusted and see a transformation come to life in the communities where our ministry takes place and beyond?
