Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

Foreword
In The Passionate Steward: Recovering Christian
Stewardship from Secular Fundraising, Michael
O’Hurley-Pitts raises some basic questions which it would be
prudent for the Church to address as it faces the need for money to
carry out its Mission in the world.
His basic premise is the Scriptural affirmation that the Church
is called to be “in the world” but not “of the world.” It is called to
bring about change in the world, not to be “conformed to the world.”
Michael challenges his readers, and those who hear him
speak, to give careful thought to what this involves in practice.
Does it mean that the Church should reject the ever increasing
knowledge flowing from the constant research which characterizes
western culture? Few persons would take this view, particularly in
light of John’s oft quoted Verse 3:16 and the seldom quoted verse
which follows, John 3:17, both of which affirm that the focus of
God’s love is the world—the cosmos, the total creation.
If it does not mean this, what does it mean?
Let us reflect briefly on what is involved in research and the
new knowledge it brings. Research is undertaken by human beings