Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

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Chapter I
An Introduction to Stewardship
The Passionate Steward: Recovering Christian Stewardship
from Secular Fundraising is not a “how to” manual;
it is not an exegesis of pertinent scriptural passages; nor is it a
handbook for program implementation. This work is primarily
concerned with naming the current crisis in Christian stewardship,
identifying its underlying causes, elucidating the ways in which we
have lost touch with the fundamental wisdom of the Christian
tradition, and suggesting a way forward which is in keeping with
our Christian faith and ancient traditions. In this sense, this work is
a “why to” treatment of Christian stewardship for the Church today.
Only once we have dealt with first principles can we properly turn
to questions of method and practice, issues for a more in-depth
treatment in a different publication.
As attendance in the historic, mainline Churches declines
across North America, congregations are getting smaller, slowly
shrinking with the diminished importance of the Church to society,