Welcome to My Stewardship Web Site!!

This stewardship website contains:

  • documents that I have written on stewardship and related topics,
  •  links to such material on other sites,
  • what the Episcopal Church has officially said on tithing and stewardship,
  • other info which I believe will be useful in parishes

“Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward and learning to enjoy whatever life has, and this requires transforming greed into gratitude. – St. John Chrysostom

The longest document is a pamphlet on practical parish stewardship ("Hints & Tips" - see below) which is downloadable as a file which you can then use to print from your word processing program.

Stewardship

·         "Hints and Tips on Leadership, Stewardship, Money, Parish Canvasses, and Human Spiritual Health" - a pamphlet for lay leaders (and clergy) who have stewardship leadership responsibilities in a congregation, and who want to start out on a sound theological basis, based on biblical teachings.  It includes many practical lessons learned in the 20th century. The first version appeared in 1982; I have made some minor revisions since.  Click here.

  • "Maybe This is What General Convention Meant..." - a witness statement about reaching the decision to tithe which I wrote by invitation for the National Church Center's 1986 pamphlet Ten More Who Tithe.  I have also delivered the same message as a homily (what it's called when a lay person gives a sermon) to about 20 congregations.  It's often helpful to have an outsider (i.e. a visitor, especially a lay person) first introduce the concept of the tithe. Click here.

  • A Summary of My Stewardship Journey presented at the 20009 General Convention. Click here.

  • "The Parable of the Employees" - a familiar parable re-set in modern terms, emphasizing the connection between stewardship and management. It's interesting to see what Jesus said was the reward for being a good steward. Click here.

  • "Christian Leadership" - a short (two page) essay on how to recognize (or be!) a good Christian leader.  Accountability (the dreaded "A" word!) is part of the concept.  Click here.

  • "Three Attitudes Toward Giving " - It helps a leader if she or he has measures of progress, or categories of diagnosis, regarding stewardship.  Here are three.  Click here.

  • "Power" - Many of us are convinced that we have little power, and are poor.  Bosh. (one page.)  Click here.
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  • Slides for Training the Rector & EMV Leaders  - Requires Microsoft PowerPoint or equivalent, of the free PowerPoint reader (Use Google to find it..ï¿¿ Click here.

  • Slides for Training the Visitors - Requires Microsoft PowerPoint or equivalent.   Click here.

Other Stewardship-Related Web Sites and Pages

[You may want to make a note (benchmark/favorites) of the address of this page so you can get back easily.]

  • The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) - Contains excellent downloadable parish resources ("A Treasure Chest") generated/collected/edited by Bruce Rockwell, Stewardship staff member at the Diocese of Rochester and Church-Center-approved stewardship consultant.  Contains other resources prepared by the 815 Stewardship Office staff, and links to still more resources.  Click here to go there.

  • Lutheran [ELCA]  Resources - for purchase, with some free downloadables. This page also has links to related pages with other topics of parish interest. Click here to go there.

  • Presbyterian Church Resources - An excellent set of resources including downloadable clipart on stewardship topics.  Also material that can be purchased.  Many other topics are also available at this site.  Click here to go there.

  • Moody Bible Institute -  Click here to go there.

  • All Saints Church, Pasadena, CA - a parish where the former Rector, The Rev. George Regas, wasn't happy with tithing - he gave thirty+ percent.  He was a believer that people respond well to being held to high standards.  

  • Tithing Statements and their History - Click here for a 1982-91 history of tithing statements by the Episcopal Church's General Convention, the national legislative body of the Episcopal Church.
  • "Stewardship is the Main Work of the Church" - This title won't make any sense if you don't know that stewardship means being in charge of something that is entrusted to you, but is not your own possession.  Click here for this statement, which was adopted by the 1988 General Convention.

Evangelism

ï¿¿ï¿¿ï¿¿ï¿¿ Evangelism is stewardship of the Gospel.

  • "Notes on Personal Evangelism" -  How to do it, written by and for ordinary Episcopalians. (one page).  I can't claim sole authorship of this one, but I was a participant and recording secretary of the parish evangelism committee that produced it in 1977.  Click here.
  • "Jonestown, Waco, and Hale-Bopp" - I finally found a meaningful message coming out of these tragic events. Evangelism isn't optional; it's urgent.  Click here.
  • "Reflections on the Growth of the Episcopal Church in Ecuador" - I went to Connecticut's then companion diocese, The Episcopal Church of Ecuador, in 1984, for 10 days.  I was intrigued by the fact that the Church there was growing rapidly, but the Church in the US is not.  This document gives what I considered (and still consider) to be some lessons learned that might apply in the US.ï¿¿ ï¿¿Click here.  

Episcopal Oversight

  • "Proposed Agenda for Saturdays of Bishop's Visitations to Parishes" - A response to my own concern that although episkope (Gr.) means "oversight", there is little practical accountability in the way bishops and rectors normally relate.  As stewards, we should always be improving the way the Church works. This brief article's concepts could also be used at the diocesan/national level in the relationship between diocesan bishops and the Provincial Synods.ï¿¿ Click here.

  • Also see the document on my visit to the fast growing Episcopal Church of Ecuador, listed three items above.  While it was Bishop Caceres who took the initiative to "make it happen," he systematically leveraged his own efforts by systematically asking others to get involved - and they did.  The Church grew rapidly.

How to Read the Bible

  • "On How to Use (and Not Use) the Bible in Understanding God's Will, and on God's Will Today" - Why bible literalists are wrong. Click here.

 

 

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Thanks for Coming!!