Rethinking Stewardship

Treasures New and Old

Welcome, Introductions, Thanksgivings, & Opening Devotions

Mission Support TableKim Krogstad (Chair)

Andy Taylor, Darin Johnson, Derek Fossey, Greg Shepherd, John

Knudson, Cheryl Corneliussen, Hitoshi Adachi, Murray Finck

Opening Devotions

Matthew 13:44-52

The kingdom of heaven is like……a treasure hidden in a field…a merchant in search of fine pearls…a net thrown into the sea

the treasure in the field

…the finder sells all to buy the field

the one pearl of great value

…the merchant sells all he has to buy it

the caught fish of every kind

…the fishermen separated the good fish from the bad and threw away the bad

at the end of the age

…the angels will separate the righteous from the evil

And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

Matthew 13:52

the master (steward) of the household…

…brings out of his treasures what is new and what is old

VideoDr. (Professor) Mary Sue Dreier Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN

Click to start video

Memory“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”

Small Group ConversationThink of a particularly memorable stewardship time, event, or milestone in your congregation’s history. +Who made it possible? +Who are the heroes in your congregation, those whose faith was/is evident in their actions? +What can we learn from these witnesses to the goodness and grace of God?

Weight & Sin“…let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely…”

Small Group Conversation +What “old” practices in your congregation no longer facilitate the race, but are actually wearing down your congregation’s stewardship enthusiasm? +What sins weigh down your congregation – in other words, how have such things as covetousness, self-righteousness or fear affected the ways your congregation talks about stewardship?  On a continuum of survival/guilt-producing/financing the budget/faith-based/thriving, where do you see your congregation? 

SurvivalGuilt-producingFinancing the

budgetFaith-based

Thriving

Small Group Conversation +What “old” practices in your congregation no longer facilitate the race, but are actually wearing down your congregation’s stewardship enthusiasm? +What sins weigh down your congregation – in other words, how have such things as covetousness, self-righteousness or fear affected the ways your congregation talks about stewardship?  On a continuum of survival/guilt-producing/financing the budget/faith-based/thriving, where do you see your congregation? 

Salvation“…looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…”

Small Group Conversation +In what ways is your congregation generous …with another … with the greater church … with your community … with the world? +How do you celebrate that generosity? +How do you share the stories of your generosity to encourage the generosity of others?   +How does knowing Christ generously gave himself for you help you to be generous with what you have received?   

Freedom“…let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…”

Small Group Conversation +What are your congregation’s stories? +How do they fuel your present stewardship “run”? +What is God’s vision for your life and for your community of faith (to what are you running?)

Now what?.

Two essentials for running a

race…

.

…getting off the couch, putting on your shoes, and “just doing it”

…knowing where you will find the finish line

Small Group Conversation +What are you aiming for, not just in terms of dollar amounts, but also in terms of thinking about the role of stewardship in the lives of individuals and the congregation? +What further tools and resources do you need to get you from start to finish? +How might a transformed stewardship emphasis influence and flavor other ministries of your congregation?

Challenge

Dr. Mary Sue Dreier’s Points for

Consideration

+Consider a large and

generous vision of what God is about in the

world

+Consider listening deeply

to what motivates and what

prevents people from being generous

+Consider if your stewardship

culture is one of paying the bills or one of living the

vision

+Consider what are you really trying to do – fix current stewardship

practices or are you open to a more transformative

change in one’s whole life that will release

stewardship from being a thing of the law to being a

thing of the gospel.

Small Group Conversation +How does what you’ve discussed affect your planning for your stewardship emphasis this fall and year-round? +What further tools and resources do you need to get you from start to finish? +What are your next steps? Timeline?

Other opportunities

within Pacifica

Order copies for

your congregation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Resource from the

Ecumenical Stewardship

Center.

Order individual copies for

your Stewardship

Team Members

Two Additional Synodical

Opportunities OVER AND ABOVE

the ongoing Mission Support

ELCA Malaria

Campaign

Order copies for

your congregation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

A Threefold CordShared Ministry with

ELCA Congregations

The Pacifica Synod

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

A Threefold CordShared Ministry with and Support

for

New Start Congregation

Campus Ministry

Ministry to the Poor

A Threefold Cord supports……A NEW MISSION congregation in South Central Orange County…LUTHERAN CAMPUS MINISTRY at San Diego State…CENTRAL CITY LUTHERAN MISSION in San Bernardino…ONE POT, ONE HOPE in Hawaii

Closing, Thanksgiving, and Sending