Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

43
Chapter V
Nurturing the Vocation –
Corporate Stewardship
While the vocation to good stewardship belongs first to
every Christian individually, it belongs also to all
Christians collectively, which is to say, to the whole company of the
faithful acting as the Body of Christ. God has entrusted the Church
with marvelous gifts—including the faithful themselves; and for
our benefit, he has bestowed resources such as property, food,
shelter, the gospel, and the very Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. How
the Church in its corporate life manages these riches is every bit as
important as the carefulness and generosity with which individual
Christians manage their own time, talent, and treasure. Moreover,
the Church has a role as exemplar and teacher, and can expect that
its members will take their cue from its corporate habits and rhetoric
concerning stewardship. This responsibility is lodged on the one
hand with the diocese/presbytery, or whatever body has authority to
make decisions about the management of ecclesial resources; and
on the other, with individual congregations, where the Word is
proclaimed, practiced and preached.