Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

Recovering Christian Stewardship from Secular Fundraising 61
The foregoing chart is by no means a complete contrast
between good stewardship practices, values and motivation, and
secular fundraising. It is, however, an evaluative tool by which an
individual and/or a faith community might begin to identify those
premises which have shaped their own practices. It is especially
important to examine the theological suitability of the assumptions
upon which our practices are based.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ treatment of Charity in the Summa
Theologica can be instructive in exploring our practice and
understanding of stewardship. In his reply to the question, “Whether
Charity is a Special Virtue, Objection 1,” Thomas instructs us
according to Aristotle’s Ethic, “Charity is included in the definition
of every virtue, not as being essentially every virtue, but because
every virtue depends on it in a way...” 25 This has, in addition to
scriptural teachings, been at the core of the Catholic ethos of charity
and generosity as lived out in our vocation as stewards.
The Roman Catholic tradition is not alone, however, in the
correlation of charity and stewardship. Although reprinted here in
extract form, I would commend all of Article 21 of the Mennonite
Confession of Faith as one of the most erudite, poetic, and faithfilled
declarations concerning stewardship in the Christian corpus:
As servants of God, our primary vocation is to be
stewards in God’s household. God, who in Christ
has given us new life, has also given us spiritual
gifts to use for the Church’s nurture and
mission… We believe that time also belongs to
God and that we are to use with care the time of
which we are stewards... We acknowledge that
God as Creator is owner of all things… The first
church in Jerusalem put Jubilee into practice by
preaching the gospel, healing the sick and sharing
25 Thomas Aquinas, The Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English
Dominican Province (New York: Benziger Bros., 1947), II-II, 23, 4 – Reply to Objection 1.
Used by permission of Eyre & Spottis Woode Publishing, Ltd.