Diocese of Hawaii Leadership Training

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Diocese of HawaiiLeadership Training

• Parish Stewardship
• Like trying to teach a bear to ride a motorcycle?

Brought to you by the Stewardship
Commission Presented by The Rev. Ben Nelson, All
Saints Kauai
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A Prayer of Self-dedication
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to
you, so guide our minds, so fill our
imaginations, so control our wills, that we may
be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you and
then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to
your glory and the welfare of your people
through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen (paraphrased from The Book of Common
Prayer, p 832)
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew
2819-20a RSV).
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1 Peter 11-8
I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus,
the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the
four winds. Not one is missing, not one
forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of
you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit
to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of
Jesus. May everything good from God be
yours! What a God we have! And how fortunate we
are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus!
Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've
been given a brand-new life and have everything
to live for, including a future in heavenand the
future starts now! God is keeping careful watch
over us and the future. The Day is coming when
you'll have it alllife healed and whole. I know
how great this makes you feel, even though you
have to put up with every kind of aggravation in
the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out
of it proved pure genuine faith put through this
suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus
wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your
gold, that God will have on display as evidence
of his victory. You never saw him, yet you love
him. You still don't see him, yet you trust
himwith laughter and singing. Because you kept
on believing, you'll get what you're looking
forward to total salvation.
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Parish stewardship is like teaching a bear to
ride a motorcycle
It can be done! And its awesome!
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What is Stewardship?

• Stewardship has been kidnapped and is being held
  hostage by a sinister villain named Paying the
  Bills.
• Chick Lane,
• author of Ask, Thank, Tell
• Our Goal today is to Rescue and Renew our
  understanding of stewardship in the parish.

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What is Stewardship?

• Start with the Basics
• What does the word Stewardship mean?

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What is the ministry of the Laity?

• To represent Christ and his church
• To bear witness to him wherever they may be
• To carry on Christs work of reconciliation in
  the world
• To take their place in the life, worship, and
  governance of the Church.
• To follow Christ, To come together week by week
  for corporate worship and to work, pray, and
  GIVE for the spread of the kingdom of God! (BCP
  p856)
• According to the gifts given them!

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steward 'st(y)oo?rdnoun 1 a person who looks
after the passengers on a ship, aircraft, or
train and brings them meals. a person
responsible for supplies of food to a college,
club, or other institution. 2 an official
appointed to supervise arrangements or keep order
at a large public event, for example a sporting
event. short for shop steward . 3 a person
employed to manage another's property, esp. a
large house or estate. a person whose
responsibility it is to take care of something
farmers pride themselves on being stewards of the
countryside. verb trans. 1 (of an official)
supervise arrangements or keep order at (a large
public event) the event was organized and
stewarded properly.2 manage or look after
(another's property). DERIVATIVES stewardship
noun ORIGIN Old English stiweard, from stig
(probably in the sense house, hall ) weard
ward. The verb dates from the early 17th cent.
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We are Wardens of the Sty

• There is something wonderfully rewarding in
  being part of an effort that does make a
  difference. And theres something sparkling
  about being among other people when they're at
  their best, too.
• Brian OConnell, non-profit leader and educator

Oikonomia The Greek word which is translated as
Stewardship in the bible. It connects several
motifs of the Gospel and responsible living in
community! Namely, that all persons are
considered stewards by virtue of our creation of
the image an likeness of God.
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Re-Imagining Stewardship

• Stewardship Discipleship
• Following Christ changes ways of thinking
• Membership vs. Discipleship
• Elks Lodge vs. Apostolic Mission
• Education Opportunities for Commitment Parish
  Stewardship
• There are no experts only participants.
• How do we participate? Reluctantly? Joyfully?

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How do we fish?

• We Share our Stories!
• Stories of Reconciliation
• Stories of Gratitude
• Stories of Generosity

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Discipleship vs. Membership

• Members are expected to

• Members assume

• Give money to support others who do ministry.
  Professionals
• Maintain the institution lights on, children
  Sunday schooled, committees filled
• Be good citizens- dont embarrass.

• The mission field is elsewhere.
• The goal of the congregation is to get and keep
  members. Add to the rolls before the old members
  die.
• Low expectations for membership.

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Discipleship vs. Membership

• Disciples hope to grow in their relationships by

• Disciples assume

• Doing the ministry.
• Giving radically out of who they are.
• Living life in community.
• Reinforcing the notion that the primary
  relationship is not with the congregation, but
  with God in Christ.
• Congregation is a means to an end.

• The mission field is right out the front door.
• The Goal is to make other disciples membership
  isnt enough.
• Higher expectations
• Daily Prayer, Daily Scripture, weekly worship,
  tithing and beyond, serving in Jesus name,
  sharing our stories!

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Small Group Discussion
Think about the language used in your own
congregation. Discuss times when your
congregation has used membership
language. Discuss times when your congregation
has used discipleship language. What are some
action items you could use to make
discipleship language more prevalent in your
own life? How does your congregation talk about
or demonstrate the need of the giver to give,
rather than the need of the congregation to
receive?
The Givers need to Give vs. The
Congregations need to Receive.
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Good Stewardship

• Focuses on conversion of people
• Enables leaders to talk about money in ways that
  transform lives
• Calls for recruiting leaders, not taking
  volunteers.
• Means developing people who are committed and
  competent
• Values the time and talent of all Gods people!

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Using Ask, Thank, Tell in Congregations
Chapter 1 Discipleship, Not Membership Chapter
2 It All Belongs to God Chapter 3 Money
Possessions in the New Testament Chapter 4
Portrait of a Biblical Giver Chapter 5
Practicing Biblical Stewardship Chapter 6 Ask
The Annual Response Program Chapter 7 Ask
Making the Pie Larger Chapter 8 Improving How
You Ask Chapter 9 Thank Chapter 10
Tell Chapter 11 Organizing for Your Stewardship
Ministry
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What is the Stewardship Commission?

• Pam McCoy, Stewardship Commission Chair

Louise Aloy Peter Denman John Hawkins Lindsay
Kamm The Rev. Paul Lillie The Rev. Ben
Nelson Wayne Yoshigai Peter Pereira
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Final Thoughts

• Conversion, not collection!
• Accepting people wherever they may be on this
  wonderful stewardship journey
• Using our God-Given Imagination to create
  opportunity and excitement!
• Generational differences what is the future of
  Stewardship?
• The Pledge, the tithe, annual giving, and other
  thoughts.

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Seven Truths about Financial Development
Programs by The Rev. J. Hugh Magers, TENS board
of directors
1. The first place to look for money is in the
heart, not the wallet.
2. Most people find it hard to talk about God and
money.
3. We still have to talk about the tithe.
3 (a) YES, we really do.
4. We aren't saved because we give money to God.
5. Everyone is already doing the very best they
can.
6. Yes, we really do need to sign pledge cards.
7. If you are not smiling when you sign your
pledge card, then you have filled in the wrong
amount.