Biblical and Theological Perspectives for the Missionally Stewarding Church----From "Stewardship for the 21st Century"

From Chapter 3 - Biblical and Theological Perspectives for the Missionally Stewarding Church by Lon Kvanli:"Stewardship has come to be understood as church code for the annual fund-raising campaign ... This functional approach runs counter to stewardship that is rooted in the Trinity. Stewardship and mission are not simply two pieces to the puzzle of winning the offering plate prize. Stewardship needs to be framed theologically, informed by various theories and research on stewardship, and focused on a God-given, communally discerned mission and vision. In this (third) chapter, the focus (is) on the theological framing of stewardship for the sake of the mission."Stewardship and Perichoresis"Perichoresis is a Greek word which means whirl, rotation, or circulation; in addition, the word means the sharing of all things, including hopes and sorrows, joys and fears, and even the daily needs of life. Perichoresis is a wonderful description of the Trinity. The Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a total sharing relationship. The Father shares all, the Son shares all, and the Holy Spirit shares all. This is a different model for giving. In a perichoretic stewardship the giver is motivated to share all that one has to offer. This desire to share all is rooted in the Trinity's complete giving of self for our sake.""There are several Bible stories and texts that illustrate perichoretic giving. In the story of the widow''s mite Mark 12:41-44 the woman held nothing back, but gave everything she had. She had a relationship of trust with God."Stewardship: Abundance and CommunityKvanli posits that anxiety based on scarcity reflects a lack of faith. Likewise, covetousness is "distrust while on the other hand, the cause of generosity is faith. A man is generous because he trusts God and never doubts but that he will always have enough.""A healthy stewardship is rooted in the biblical promises of God's abundant generosity.""Not only is God a generous God, God is also a missionary God - a sending God." God sent Abraham and Moses on a mission. They had faith in God's promises and carried out their missions."God is a generous God, and God frequently promised prosperity ... for the whole community of faith rather than the individual." The prosperity is meant for the common good. " ... the Bible frames stewardship as an understanding of that which encompasses all of life, including the mission of the church." Stewardship, Trinity, and MissionImportant research today is focused on " ... the connections between Trinitarian theology, missional theology, and stewardship ... the Trinity is the source of the mission and the church becomes the mission - the living expression (or manifestation) of that mission." The Missionally Stewarding ChurchIn summary, the missional stewarding church:" ... will be a responsible steward of God's abundant gifts ... in response to the needs of their context and community.""Knows the purpose of stewardship ... is for the building up of the whole church community for the sake of the mission and vision.""Knows it is invited and sent to join in God's mission and vision for the world."" ... lives into the reality of knowing that the mission and vision are the reason for the church."" ... (knows the need for) community because it is only in community that we learn missional stewardship from each other and for each other."" ... trusts in the forgiveness and grace of Christ. " ... knows that it is through Word and Sacrament that God invites us to join in God's mission and vision for the world. " ... knows and lives into the reality of having been abundantly blessed and will use those abundant blessings God has given to restore right relationships with the community. For a fuller reading of the important points Kvanli is making, please go to Chapter 3 - Biblical and Theological Perspectives for the Missionally Stewarding Church.