Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

Recovering Christian Stewardship from Secular Fundraising 39
The corporate Church must be brave enough to consider more
than the advice of its insurers, accountants and lawyers when one of
our clergy or lay leaders harms others, and invite the moral
philosopher and theologian to help guide and direct its conduct,
with a constant view to reconciliation. We, as Church, must make
bold to admit our sins and failures, and to reconcile ourselves with
those whom we have hurt. For many people, especially those
directly harmed by a member of the clergy or lay leadership, the
weight the Church has given in the past to legality has served to
undermine the authenticity of its claims to be the champion of
morality. Breaking this cycle is essential to repairing the foundation
of trust upon which stewardship is built.
This being said, those to whom the governance of the
institutional Church has been entrusted are not alone in the need for
forgiveness and repentance. Many Christians have fallen into the
trap of supposing the offences of others to be greater than their own.
In my experience, this is a primary foundation upon which the
faithful offer “reasons” not to be generous with their time, talent,
and treasure. However, holding the Church (through the misconduct
of its representatives, notably a member of the clergy or a highly
visible lay leader) to a higher standard than we hold ourselves
interferes with our sense of justice, mercy and forgiveness. Further,
it is to allow the frailty of a mere human being—even one charged
with the dignity of ministering Christ to us—to come between, and
outweigh, our love for God, and God’s love for us.
In the course of my work with faith communities it is not
uncommon for me to hear, “I won’t give to the Church as long as
there are pedophiles or bad priests,” or, “the Church won’t get a
penny of my money during the Residential Schools lawsuits, since
it will only go to lawyers anyway.” These are certainly legitimate
concerns, but we must ask whether they are genuine reasons, or
mere excuses, for declining to be good stewards. At the same time,
the Church might profitably consider how it has inadvertently