Stewardship Summit 2014 Report
It was a great Summit with over 65 registrants. We had people from Nigeria, Lebanon, Canada, South Africa, and the Philippines as well as from all over the U.S. Here are the papers and authors that were presented and then discussed.
- Dr. R. Scott Rodin — Stewardship and the Power of the Narrative
- Ron Frey — Stewards of our Calling
- Dr. Terry Zeitlow — Pastoral Preaching on Financially Related Topics
- Rev. Matthew M. Thomas — Five Opportunities for Steward Leaders
- Rev. Brian Kluth — 20 Truths about Tithers/State of the Plate
- Dr. Sas Conradie — Mission Giving in the 21st Century
- Dr. Zenet Maramara — Biblical Stewardship and Corporate Social Responsibility
As you can see it was a very full and enriching experience. Someone said that the first year was an experiment, and this year it has become a community; a community of people who are dedicated to bring biblical stewardship to the church, to the parachurch, to denominations, and most importantly, to the teaching of discipleship.
So what can the Stewardship Summit mean for you? If you are a parachurch leader, the concepts, questions, debate, and eBook can be a resource for your personal and professional journey. There were many new concepts presented, and old concepts presented in new ways.
For those of you in the church, seminary, and education, these papers should be a part of your library as you train the next generation of ministry leaders, whether for vocational ministry, or lay ministry. Stewardship is the missing piece in our churches today.
The need for more training, writing, and research is now getting noticed. Dr. Maramara shared about the stewardship courses in her seminary in the Philippines. The local pastors and churches are reaping the benefits of positioning stewardship as a holistic component of discipleship.
Dr. Rodin, Ron Frey, Rev. Kluth, Rev. Thomas and Dr. Zeitlow all shared perspectives on stewardship that benefit the pastor, church, development officer, and all types of lay leadership. Their training and information brought a great response of thinking and application.
Dr. Sas Conradie and Dr. Maramara brought the international perspective and shared how generosity is being studied and implemented throughout the globe. Yet, they also shared how far we have to go, when even at the Lausanne event of 2010, generosity was still quite misunderstood, according to Dr. Conradie.
The real success of the Stewardship Summit as reported by the participants was the interaction with the presenters. The questions, comments, and even debates presented a real life engagement in the issues presented in each paper.
Another important discussion at the Summit was bringing the church and parachurch together on this topic. The two have separate seminars, education, and communication of the stewardship. All felt the Summit could be a catalyst for change if we could get more pastors and church leaders to attend the Summit. Those pastors and denomination leaders who were at the Summit promised to lead the charge.
The Stewardship Summit presents an opportunity to teach, learn, and share about stewardship and all related topics. It is hoped the holistic message of stewardship will bring a fresh change in thinking on generosity and discipleship.
Be sure to look for the 2014 Stewardship Summit eBook soon to be published and available on the website. www.StewardshipSummit.org
Keep watching for news of the 2015 Stewardship Summit, during the first week of January.
For any questions contact JohnRFrank@StewardshipSummit.org