Because Americans are comfortable keeping faith and money separate, whenever we start a conversation about stewardship by talking about money or financial need, we immediately arouse hostility. All stewardship talk which begins with money starts at the wrong place. The place to begin meaningful stewardship conversation is with the concept of freedom. (Photo (c) 2006 Jgroup, via bigstock.com.)
One aspect of the Christian life that often gets little attention in most Lutheran confirmation programs is environmental stewardship. Following is a six-session program that concentrates on how each individual person interacts with his or her surrounding environment. The program has three basic goals; an awareness of how many resources it takes for each of us to live, an awareness of the amounts and kinds of waste each of us generates, and an awareness of our human and Christian responsibility to steward the use of God’s creation.
When Zacchaeus encountered Jesus, he did not promise to read scripture more faithfully nor to attend the synagogue more regularly. On this occasion he was not pledging his time or his talent to the programmatic mission of the faith community. Worthy as those are — and necessary for the life of the people of God — this visit was about something else.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and […]
For me the Apostle’s Creed is a starting place for this personal witness, for this living out of the Christian faith, because in the Creed I state personally — as well as corporately and publicly — what I believe. It’s an oral confession. My life must be “in sync” with what I confess in the Creed. (Photo by Graye, used by Creative Commons license. Thanks!)
We shall never know the true meaning of being faithful stewards until we are prepared to risk the transitory for the sake of the ethereal. In other words, there has to come a time when we are willing to turn on all the lights and burn all the candles for the sake of the least of these. (Photo by allegri used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!)
Many people throughout the church are concerned about ecological issues. The health and well-being of our planet affects everyone. What does the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the ministry of his church, have to offer a world concerned about its natural environment? (NASA photo taken by astronauts on the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.)
You and I learn much about living as faithful stewards from the examples of others. For example, let’s examine the calls of two men, hoping thereby that we can examine, accept, and renew our own calls. (Illustration is Michaelangelo’s depiction of Isaiah at the Sistine Chapel.)
By the Rev. Marcus C. Lohrmann
By Clint Schroeder In my 30-plus years of being involved in stewardship programming across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, I have heard a lot of comments about pledging. Many were negative. Let me proclaim the positives of pledging: Pledging is spiritual Pledging is discipline Pledging is practical Giving the first fruits […]
