Friday, May 26, 2006
Stewardship E-News for May 06
Stewardship E-News May 06
Bob Tallent, 856-778-6117; RGTallent@Concast.com
BobbyBaptist.blogspot.com
“Stewardship is NOT tithing!” Terry Austin, Stewardship Specialist for the Baptist Convention of Texas lead his May newsletter with that headline. He went on to expound the well known text: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! (Matthew 23:23-24)
But I would expand his idea. Tithing might well be a part of an over all practice of stewardship. But a steward was a manager—not just of the money but of the whole house and farm. Early in my young adulthood, I was asked to be the treasurer of a strategic mission church in Hartford, Connecticut. I observed something very interesting. Some people who were very visible and were outspoken—even leaders---did not give very much. But there were others who gave very well and consistently, but were often absent or did not contribute to the mission church in any other way. Now to be sure, we were glad to get their money—just as we were glad for the help of those who did not give---but I often thought that these were gifted people who could have meant so much to the fledgling church.
We are stewards first and foremost of the Gospel! The Gospel is the Pearl of Great Price, the Treasure Found in a Field which we have been given custody of like the Five Talents. If invested, it will multiply. Therefore, we must exercise every gift and capacity we have, certainly including ---but not limited to—our material wealth.
Jesus said, “Where you money is there will your heart be also.” But in our day and in our world, there are some people who are so well endowed materially that they have to give a very large sum before it gets their attention. The fact is, God does not want or need any of our money; He wants us!
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The Hot Topic these days is the Da Vinci Code. Christianity Today did a whole issue on it. It is interesting to me that just one year after The Passion and the same year as the Narnia movie, there has been a spate of “anti” Christian outputs, most notably, The Gospel of Judas, and the Da Vinci Code. These will, no doubt, will do damage in some circles. But I see them as opportunities. They give us the opportunity to assert the Divinity of Christ and to use the extensive biblical material to buttress that argument. Author Dan Brown’s assertion that the Church was restrictive to women can easily be shot down by noting the prominent role of feminine characters in the New Testament. One church, in Leadership, claimed that advertising a discussion of the Da Vinci Code increased Prayer Meeting attendance by ten-fold.
We have several new items in our State Office--free for the requesting:
The Treasurer’s Role is a comprehensive piece about the handling of money in the church.
Catch the Vision gives you a basic outline of how to organize your church for stewardship.
Encourage the Tithe is a plan for a campaign to teach your people the biblical practice of tithing. Missionary Moments are vignettes of Southern Baptist missions around the world and in the USA. This is available in a printed form to be read during worship services and selected vignettes are available on CD for projection for those who have proper equipment. We also have a supply of a new version of the popular “Apple Tract.”
If you are a technology nut like I am (or, at least, would like to be) you might be interested in Christian Computing Magazine’s on-line version: Go to CCMag Web site and enter your e-mail address in their sign up box! (www.ccmag.com ) OR, sign up at the NEW Christian AV Web site (www.christianav. com)
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Bob Tallent, 856-778-6117; RGTallent@Concast.com
BobbyBaptist.blogspot.com
“Stewardship is NOT tithing!” Terry Austin, Stewardship Specialist for the Baptist Convention of Texas lead his May newsletter with that headline. He went on to expound the well known text: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! (Matthew 23:23-24)
But I would expand his idea. Tithing might well be a part of an over all practice of stewardship. But a steward was a manager—not just of the money but of the whole house and farm. Early in my young adulthood, I was asked to be the treasurer of a strategic mission church in Hartford, Connecticut. I observed something very interesting. Some people who were very visible and were outspoken—even leaders---did not give very much. But there were others who gave very well and consistently, but were often absent or did not contribute to the mission church in any other way. Now to be sure, we were glad to get their money—just as we were glad for the help of those who did not give---but I often thought that these were gifted people who could have meant so much to the fledgling church.
We are stewards first and foremost of the Gospel! The Gospel is the Pearl of Great Price, the Treasure Found in a Field which we have been given custody of like the Five Talents. If invested, it will multiply. Therefore, we must exercise every gift and capacity we have, certainly including ---but not limited to—our material wealth.
Jesus said, “Where you money is there will your heart be also.” But in our day and in our world, there are some people who are so well endowed materially that they have to give a very large sum before it gets their attention. The fact is, God does not want or need any of our money; He wants us!
# # #
The Hot Topic these days is the Da Vinci Code. Christianity Today did a whole issue on it. It is interesting to me that just one year after The Passion and the same year as the Narnia movie, there has been a spate of “anti” Christian outputs, most notably, The Gospel of Judas, and the Da Vinci Code. These will, no doubt, will do damage in some circles. But I see them as opportunities. They give us the opportunity to assert the Divinity of Christ and to use the extensive biblical material to buttress that argument. Author Dan Brown’s assertion that the Church was restrictive to women can easily be shot down by noting the prominent role of feminine characters in the New Testament. One church, in Leadership, claimed that advertising a discussion of the Da Vinci Code increased Prayer Meeting attendance by ten-fold.
We have several new items in our State Office--free for the requesting:
The Treasurer’s Role is a comprehensive piece about the handling of money in the church.
Catch the Vision gives you a basic outline of how to organize your church for stewardship.
Encourage the Tithe is a plan for a campaign to teach your people the biblical practice of tithing. Missionary Moments are vignettes of Southern Baptist missions around the world and in the USA. This is available in a printed form to be read during worship services and selected vignettes are available on CD for projection for those who have proper equipment. We also have a supply of a new version of the popular “Apple Tract.”
If you are a technology nut like I am (or, at least, would like to be) you might be interested in Christian Computing Magazine’s on-line version: Go to CCMag Web site and enter your e-mail address in their sign up box! (www.ccmag.com ) OR, sign up at the NEW Christian AV Web site (www.christianav. com)
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# posted by Bob @ 12:05 PM 
