BEN MAXON Director

Come share a vision. A vision of revival. A revival of the human heart. What was once focused on self is now centered on Christ. What was once in control is now in submission to God’s will. What was once bound in rituals of doing is now released in the spontaneity of sharing in love. What was once a mere name in the church books is now a living reflection of the crucified Saviour.

Such a revival can come only from accepting Jesus as Lord. Such a revival is the first step in the making of true stewards—for stewardship is the lifestyle of the one who accepts Christ’s lordship, walks in partnership with God, and acts as His agent to manage His affairs on earth. While money is a part of the relationship, it cannot be the beginning, end, or primary thrust of our stewardship focus. The primary focus must be on the individual walk with God and the integration of that walk into every area of life. Stewardship is based on who God is and who we are in Him. To be a steward means there is a master, and thus leads directly to the relational dynamics between God and humanity. Lordship is based on mutual love and has its best expression and roots in the gospel. The passionate relationship with God builds the trust on which the partnership with God is built.

This compelling vision of intimate partnership with God is exciting. After hearing it at a camp meeting, a young 17-year-old girl in blue jeans celebrated the reality of accepting Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour. Right behind her came an elderly saint in his late 70s rejoicing in the power of the gospel to bring him hope and assurance. The simple beauty of salvation and allowing God to be in control bridges age and cultural gaps.

Aware of the need for heart revival, for a renewed approach to biblical stewardship, the General Conference Stewardship Department began the past quinquennium with the determination that every project, every trip, every seminar, every piece of paper that originates from our office will be motivated by and rooted in our mission statement: To emphasize the lordship of Jesus Christ, to enhance the integration of the gospel into the Christian lifestyle, to encourage faithful stewardship, and to facilitate the individual, corporate, and leadership dimensions of stewardship as partnership with God.

A Working Team
After a number of years of being a part of the Ministerial Association and Church Ministries Department, at the 1995 General Conference session the Stewardship Department was once again made an independent department. With this transition came the need to clearly articulate the biblical stewardship model and find methods to develop and implement a strategic plan for stewardship education. To do this, we began the quinquennium with a world stewardship advisory and a writer’s workshop. The primary attendees for both these events were, of course, division stewardship directors.

The primary focus of the advisory was to form a working team of stewardship leaders—leaders who shared a common understanding of biblical stewardship and a common

methodology to reeducate members worldwide. Directors discussed the decline during the past 30 years in the effective giving level of church members all over the world; acknowledged that “giving”—in both tithes and offerings—is merely a thermometer of a person’s or group’s spiritual walk with God; and determined that the focus for stewardship cannot be on the symptoms, but the causal factors.

The writer’s workshop was a course specifically designed to help the attendees grow in their stewardship understanding as well as in material production. Workshops in biblical stewardship, video production, teaching techniques, creative writing, mind-mapping, and cultural adaptation equipped the attendees to better fulfill their responsibilities.

Training Trainers
We have visited every division at least twice during the past five years to provide stewardship training events for administrators and stewardship directors, as well as large numbers of pastors. All divisions are encouraged to reproduce the stewardship seminars on video or audio to duplicate stewardship education throughout their field. After a given interval following a session of teaching biblical foundations of stewardship, all divisions are encouraged to note changes in lifestyle and giving patterns. After such a revived and refined comprehensive spiritual approach in the Inter-American Division, the following increase in tithe growth was seen in 1997 (the calculations are in dollars after adjusting for their local currency devaluation).

The four key factors contributing to this increase are: (1) the solid biblical focus of our new approach to stewardship; (2) a strong approach to systematic giving; and (3) strong administrative support, involvement, and backing; (4) a minimum of three training events for all pastors across the division. When these four factors come together, the results are obvious.

The key training focus has been expanded with a certification program to equip and certify stewardship leaders through a three-level training program. The first level is that of the basic stewardship educator with a focus on teaching biblical stewardship principles. The professional stewardship trainer is the second level for those who need to be able to train pastors and church leaders. The third level—the stewardship consultant—is still under development, focusing on equipping a select group of individuals with the skills to consult with a local conference or field to help them develop a conference-wide strategy.

Preparing Material
September 1997 saw the first issue of the stewardship resource journal Dynamic Steward. This 16-page thematic journal offers stewardship concepts, small group studies, sermons, book reviews, a youth column, and resource news. Single subscriptions are free, and bulk orders are charged a nominal fee of $1.00 per issue. What began with only 200 subscribers now has 1,300 primary subscribers. A print-ready electronic copy is also sent to all divisions for copyright-free republication; total subscription count after the reprint at union and conference levels is large, but unknown. By keeping the journal free and reproducible, we intend to make biblical stewardship education available at every local church worldwide.

Our Web page is the electronic venue to share material, teach concepts, and communicate effectively. On our Web site one can find:

• links to a variety of stewardship resources, including current and back issues of Dynamic Steward
• tithe and offering readings
• stewardship concepts
• stewardship training materials
• suggested books

Today’s generation tends to feel disconnected—from tradition, from the church, from the generations of yesteryear. To bridge this gap and to help church members feel connected to our church roots and history, the Stewardship Department has published The Spirit of Sacrifice and Commitment, a collection of stories of our pioneers and the establishment of our church. Compiled by Jim Nix, vice director of the White Estate, the book received more than 8,000 prepublication orders—an indicator of the desire of our members to reconnect with beginnings of our church.

The department also offers three professionally produced stewardship seminars available on video and audio. Two of these, Biblical Stewardship and Strategic Stewardship, are specifically designed for administrators, pastors, and church leaders; the other, Normal Christianity, is for church members. The purpose of these seminars is twofold: accurate, consistent training worldwide and reducing the cost associated with live presentations and seminars.

A combination of two seminars was uplinked across most of Europe. We had a total of 18 hours of broadcast time for the members and 12 for the pastors; 400 churches participated.

We continue to provide tithe and offering readings to all divisions and unions who then reproduce them for use in the local churches. The readings have been upgraded in style, content, and length. The readings are now less than 40 seconds in length, use simple language, tell a memorable story or anecdote, and make a personal application.

Also available is a book of stewardship-lifestyle sermons that are categorized into themes such as money, time, discipleship, grace, and lordship. The purpose of this book is to help pastors integrate stewardship into the worship services every week and not limit stewardship to a selected few Sabbaths of the year.

Conclusion
Cultural, economic, and religious change is ongoing and rapid, increasing the complexity of life and ministry. What took the Western church 40-50 years to experience is happening in 8-10 years in developing countries. This has brought a great challenge of discipling and training new members about stewardship. Despite these obstacles, the response to biblical stewardship continues to be encouraging and positive.

Every principle needs to be adapted to local culture and setting. In the South Pacific you can find the tithe house—a small structure up on stilts, built close to island churches. This is where believers bring the tithes of their crops, which are then purchased by other people or taken to market by the deacons. These believers, with very little in the way of worldly possessions, are faithful—doing evangelism with the people around them. This is the reason we exist: to take the love of Jesus to people everywhere, even to the most remote parts.

One young boy brought his tithe to the local elder—a large fish he had just caught. The elder congratulated him on catching 10 fish, to which the 13-year-old responded: “Oh no! The other nine are still out in the ocean. I am going to go catch them now!”

Putting God first in our lives—living out Christ’s lordship in daily life—is the essence of stewardship. Let God be God! Let’s learn to live in partnership with Him (Eph. 2:6).