Managing the household of faith with care
I thought about starting today's column sharing my vision
of a 900-foot Jesus and then citing some astronomical sum
of money, pleading with you that if we didn't reach that goal
I would be killed. But since my name is "Don," and
not Oral, and we don't live in Tulsa, Okla., I thought it
best just to skip such foolishness!
Last week I spent time at St. Meinrad's Archabbey and seminary
in Indiana attending a "Healthy Congregations" seminar,
led by Dr. Pete Steinke. It was a wonderful conference and
time well spent. One of the topics we discussed was stewardship.
In short, churches prefer to ignore the issue of stewardship.
Why? Because stewardship has unfortunately become synonymous
with money. And money is an emotional issue that creates a
great deal of anxiety for most people. Therefore, ignore it
and stewardship goes away, right?
Not so fast. The word stewardship (oikonomie) simply
means "management of a household." Steinke writes:
"Stewardship includes one's responsibility for every
aspect of individual and community life. It is managing every
gift one has to offer. Individual gifts are resources for
the well-being all. The scriptures characterize human nature
as communal and interdependent. We are created to share our
gifts, resources, and selves with others."
While the giving of our finances is certainly a part of
stewardship, it is merely one component of a much larger issue.
Let me share some "factoids" shared at the conference
regarding stewardship. These tidbits come from three sources:
The American Paradox (David G. Myers), Bowling Alone (Robert
D. Putnam), and Behind the Stained Glass Windows (John and
Sylvia Ronsvalle). I found this information fascinating and
enlightening. What do you think?
- In America giving has been declining as a portion of
income for almost 30 years.
- Twenty-four percent of people give 45 percent of all charitable
gifts.
- The overall giving patterns of those never attending church
is 1.1 percent of income. The overall giving patterns of
those who attend church weekly is 2.5 times greater.
- The number of households making charitable gifts give
proportionately less, decling from 2.1 percent of income
(1967) to 1.6 percent (1997).
- Volunteering is among the strongest predictors of giving
financially. Sixty-three percent of volunteers are financial
donors, only 17 percent of non-volunteers.
- People earning more than $100,000 annually give away
the same percentage of their income, 2.3 percent, as those
with the lowest incomes.
- In many congregations, the annual give falls within the
$200 to $1600 range, or about $16 to $35 per month, or $4
to $30 per week.
- Volunteering has risen for the average American from six
times a year (1970) to eight times per year. But virtually
the entire increase is among people people aged sixty and
over. It has declined for those aged 30-59, and increased
slightly among twenty somethings.
- Forty-six percent who classified themselves as "highly
spiritually committed" were presently working among
the poor, the infirm, or the elderly, while only 22 percent
of those "highly uncommitted" were doing the same
works of charity.
- Among one notable self-giving group—adoptive parents—63
percent reported attending worship services often.
- When asked, volunteers said they became involved because
"Someone asked me." When non-blood donors
were asked why they didn't give blood, the most common response
was "nobody asked."
- According to David Myers, "people who eat with friends
and are active in their churches are happier than those
who don't.
For your happiness and mine, I look forward to breaking bread
and sharing a meal together at our Lord's table this Sunday.
—Rev. Donald Chase
Pastor, The Harrodsburg Christian Church
Sept. 2003 The Good News
