The Theology of Stewardship

What is meant by a Theology of Stewardship? Let’s define both words separately.

THEOLOGY: The study of God and God’s relationship to the world. The art and science of knowing what we can know and understand about God in an organized and understandable manner.

STEWARDSHIP: The utilization and management of all the resources God provides for His glory and the advancement of His creation. A biblical teaching that defines a person’s relationship to God. It identifies God as owner and the individual as manager. A theology of stewardship for the local church articulates first, what the individual church understands and believes about the character and nature of God as revealed in scripture with respect to God’s entrustments to his people. And second, a biblical response on the part of people back to God in the context of that understanding and beliefs.

4 Reasons Every Church Should Have A Theology Of Stewardship:

1. It will provide confidence for the preaching and teaching on stewardship, giving, and generosity. Preaching and teaching on stewardship is challenging for most pastors. And, truthfully, it should be. It is deeply spiritual. It is intimately relational. It is at the core of what the church is called to do, which is to make disciples. It is a part of a disciple’s path toward becoming more like Jesus. It is probably the one area of biblical teaching that sparks the greatest emotion and debate! Stewardship is the thread that weaves throughout all ministries within the local church. Stewardship touches everything the church does. It is critical to the survival of every church. Always remember—you will never hear a generous Christian complain about a preaching and teaching on stewardship.

2. It will facilitate a common language of stewardship. In the book Authentic Conversations: Moving from Manipulation to Truth and Commitment, authors Jamie and Maren Showkeir state that if you want to change a culture, you start by changing the conversation and you change the conversation by changing the language. What do the conversations about stewardship sound like in your church? How do you as a leader talk about stewardship? What words do you use? Having a biblical foundation of stewardship facilitates a conversation change that talks about giving through the church as opposed to giving to the church. It shifts the conversation from “what the church wants from me” to “what the church wants for me.”

3. Words mean different things to different people. A theology of stewardship will provide a consistency in messaging from the pastor and leaders. Remember - if you want to change a culture, you start by changing the language. It will move a church from a numbers-driven budgeting process only to a vision-driven, ministry focused strategy for funding. A theology of stewardship focused on biblical teachings will naturally move a church from approaching the budgeting process strictly from a numbers perspective to thinking about stewardship from a vision, ministry, and people viewpoint. It changes the perspective of a leaders from merely managing to looking at deeper matters around calling, mission, ministry, and values. It places greater focus and responsibility on where, why, and how the money is allocated and spent. A theology of stewardship challenges church leadership to seek to know where God is leading and calling the church to grow ministry and share His love. People will give more generously to spending plans that are focused on vision, ministry, and life-change than to a numbers-driven spreadsheet called a budget!

4. It will create a platform for embracing the concept of holistic stewardship. It is not uncommon to hear churches use the word stewardship only as it refers to the financial needs of the church. Stewardship is equated with “fundraising.” It is all too common to hear churches talk about giving to the “stewardship” needs of the church or giving to the “capital” needs of the church. As if one was stewardship and the other was something different. A biblical theology of stewardship becomes a springboard to teach about stewardship holistically in a way that includes all conversations around giving, resources, and blessings. Planned giving is about stewardship. Personal money management is about stewardship.

Giving is what God wants for you, not from you. Our need to give is greater than the church’s need to receive. Think about it!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Tom Melzoni is the Senior VP of Horizons Stewardship working with more than 300 clients. Melzoni has personally raised $1 Billion dollars in his career. Melzoni is the President of the Melzoni Foundation. Melzoni is the former Executive Pastor at FBC Dallas under Dr. WA Criswell & Executive Pastor for Jerry Vines. Melzoni has Pastored large churches in TN, KY, & NC and has served at the Executive Level within the Southern Baptist Convention. Melzoni graduated with BS Wright State University, MA Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and PhD Columbia University. Melzoni is married to Trina.