Stewardshift

I attended a seminary yesterday for clergy entitled Stewardshift. You can guess that it was about Stewardship. My church is on the cusp on the annual Stewardship drive and I must admit that I feel a sense of dread about it. Why is that?

It is because I don't like asking for money? Is it because I don't think I should be asking for money or that I think people will be offended by such a request?

I think the real reason I dread it is because maybe the church doesn't do Stewardship very well. By that I mean, we devote a few weeks a year to it and then avoid the subject like the plague the rest of the year.

True Stewardship is more than about filling out a pledge card once a year...it is something that should be lived out in every moment of life.

I am starting to realize how many messages about money we get on a daily basis (it's funny that you see so many commercials, you start to just expect them to be there and don't realize the subtle effect they have on your thinking). Media and news culture sends us messages every day--buy this thing and you'll be happy; earn more, get more and you'll feel secure.

And beyond commercials and advertisements there is news that fuels our fears of scarcity: the housing market has tanked, social security will go bankrupt, if a disaster hits your area, be prepared to go it alone for at least 7 days.

The messages that we are bombarded with daily tell us that money is equated with fear--fear of not having enough. So it is no wonder we fear the annual Stewardship Campaign. Churches (at least my church) never seem to have enough.

I'm beginning to think that this is not because people don't have more to give, but that we've all been taught by those daily messages to grasp tightly to what we have because enough is never enough.

So how do we truly shift our thinking from scarcity to abundance, from fear to peace, from apprehension to joy? We have to get the word out, circulate the message for more than just a few weeks in November. Stewardship is more than just about filling out a pledge card once a year, it is about knowing a God who changes our perceptions on wants and needs...it is about being thankful for what we have right now...it is about knowing a God who provides enough for every moment of life and wanting to share that rich abundance and grace in all areas of life.

It's a start...

Journey on...