Rethinking Stewardship

1. Rethinking Stewardship Treasures New and Old

2. Welcome, Introductions, Thanksgivings, & Opening Devotions

3. Mission Support Table Kim Krogstad (Chair) Andy Taylor, Darin Johnson, Derek Fossey, Greg Shepherd, John Knudson, Cheryl Corneliussen, Hitoshi Adachi, Murray Finck

5. Opening Devotions Matthew 13:44-52

6. 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

7. the treasure in the field …the finder sells all to buy the field

8. the one pearl of great value …the merchant sells all he has to buy it

9. the caught fish of every kind …the fishermen separated the good fish from the bad and threw away the bad

10. at the end of the age …the angels will separate the righteous from the evil

11. 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

12. the master (steward) of the household… …brings out of his treasures what is new and what is old

13. Video Dr. (Professor) Mary Sue Dreier Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN

14. Click to start video

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

16. Small Group Conversation Think 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?

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

18. 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?

19. Survival Guilt-producing Financing the budget Faith-based Thriving

20. 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?

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

22. 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?

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

24. 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?)

25. Now what? .

26. Two essentials for running a race… .

27. …getting off the couch, putting on your shoes, and “just doing it” …knowing where you will find the finish line

28. 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?

29. Challenge

30. Dr. Mary Sue Dreier’s Points for Consideration

31. +Consider a large and generous vision of what God is about in the world

32. +Consider listening deeply to what motivates and what prevents people from being generous

33. +Consider if your stewardship culture is one of paying the bills or one of living the vision

34. +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.

35. 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?

36. Other opportunities within Pacifica

37. Order copies for your congregation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

38. Resource from the Ecumenical Stewardship Center. Order individual copies for your Stewardship Team Members

39. Two Additional Synodical Opportunities OVER AND ABOVEthe ongoing Mission Support

40. ELCA Malaria Campaign

42. Order copies for your congregation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

43. A Threefold Cord Shared Ministry with ELCA Congregations The Pacifica Synod The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

44. A Threefold Cord Shared Ministry with and Support for New Start Congregation Campus Ministry Ministry to the Poor

45. 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

46. Closing, Thanksgiving, and Sending