Archives by: Gary Hoag

“Stewardship is about much more than how we give. Stewardship is about how we live.”

Mark Alan Powell, professor at Luther Seminary, excerpt from preface to “Stewardship for the Missional Church” video of February 23, 2012.

“One there was a group of people who surveyed the resources of the world and said to each other: “How can we be sure that we have enough in hard times? We want to survive whatever happens. Let us start collecting food and knowledge so that we are safe and secure when a crisis occurs.”

So they started hoarding, so much and so eagerly that other people protested and said, “You have much more than you need, while we don’t have enough to survive. Give us part of your wealth!” But the fearful hoarders said: “No, no, we need to keep this incase of an emergency, in case things go bad for us too, in case our lives are threatened.” But the others said, “We are dying now; please give us food and materials and knowledge to survive. We can’t wait, we need it now!”

Then the fearful hoarders became even more fearful, since they became afraid that the poor and hungry would attack them. So they said to one another: “Let us build walls around our wealth so that no stranger can take it from us.” They started erecting walls so high that they could not even see anymore whether there were enemies outside the walls or not!

As their fear increased they told each other: “Our enemies have become so numerous that they may be able to tear down our walls. Our walls are not strong enough to keep them away. We need to put explosives and barbed wire on top of the walls so that nobody will dare to even come close to us. But instead of feeling safe and secure behind their armed walls they found themselves trapped in the prison they had built with their own fear.”

Henri Nouwen’s “Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Breakfast” address as recounted in Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit (New York: HarperOne, 2000) 73-74.

“That we may not become weary of doing well, for which the danger is near, the apostle has added that “love suffers long, and is not easily provoked.”

The Lord commands us to do good unto all men without exception, though the majority are very undeserving when judged according to their own merits.

But Scripture here helps us out with an excellent argument when it teaches us that we must not think of many’s real value, but only of his creation in the image of God to which we owe all possible honor and love…

If anyone, therefore, appears before you who is in need of your kind services, you have no reason to refuse him your help.

Suppose he is a stranger; yet the Lord has pressed his own stamp on him and made him as one of your family, as he forbids you to despise your own flesh and blood…

Suppose that you have no obligation toward him for services; yet the Lord has made him as it were his substitute…for numerous and unforgettable benefits…

Suppose that he is unworthy of your least exertion; but the image of God which recommends him to you deserves that you surrender yourself and all your possessions to him.

If he has deserved no kindness, but just the opposite, because he has maddened you with his injuries and insults, even this is no reason you should not surround him with your affection and show him all sorts of favors.

You may say that he has deserved a very different treatment, but what does the Lord command but to forgive all men their offenses and to charge them against himself?

This is the only way to attain that which is not only difficult, but utterly repugnant to a man’s nature: to love those who hate us, to requite injuries with kindness and to return blessings for curses.”

John Calvin (1509-1564) in The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life ed. Henry Van Andel (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952) 36-38.

“Society says: God plays no role in handling money, and my happiness is based on being able to afford my desired standard of living. Scripture says: As you learn and follow the Scriptural principles of how to handle money, you will draw close to Christ and learn to be content in every circumstance.

Society says: What I possess, I alone own, and I alone control my destiny. Scripture says: What I possess, God owns. He is the sovereign living God who controls all events.

Society says: You earned your money, now spend it any way you choose and you will be happy. Scripture says: You can only be content if you have been a faithful steward handling money from the Lord’s perspective.

Society says: Use debt as often as you wish, buy now, pay later. Scripture says: The Lord discourages the use of debt because He wants us free to serve Him.”

Howard Dayton in Your Money Counts (Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1996) 13, 23, 31, 53.

“The indispensable condition of receiving the kingdom of God is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty. To the poor in spirit, and only to the poor in spirit, the kingdom of God is given. For God’s rule which brings salvation is a gift as absolutely free as it is utterly undeserved…Pray for a fresh awareness of your spiritual poverty and his generosity.”

John Stott, The Beatitudes: Developing Spiritual Character (Downers Grove: IVP, 1998) 14.

“Accept, O Lord, my thanks and praise for all that you have done. I thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of your love. You’ve lavished gift upon gift and blessing upon blessing. And I joyfully offer back my life to you in devotion and praise. I gratefully give you all praise, honor, and glory. Amen”

Stephen Macchia in SILENCIO, a resource of Leadership Transformations, Inc., November 2013, eleventh edition.

“When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”

G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) as recounted by Stephen Macchia in SILENCIO, a resource of Leadership Transformations, Inc., November 2013, eleventh edition.

“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us—and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) as recounted by Stephen Macchia in SILENCIO, a resource of Leadership Transformations, Inc., November 2013, eleventh edition.

“God’s great generosity to us sets us free to model that generosity toward others. Because He gave we are enabled to give.”

Richard Foster, Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World (New York: HarperCollins, 2005) 24.

“In the biblical understanding of giftedness, gifts are never really ours for ourselves. We have nothing that was not given us. Our gifts are ultimately God’s, and we are only “stewards”–responsible for the prudent management of property that is not our own. This is why our gifts are always “our for others,” whether in the community of Christ or the broader society outside, especially the neighbor in need.

This is also why it is wrong to treat God as a grand employment agency, a celestial executive searcher to find perfect fits for our perfect gifts. The truth is not that God is finding us a place for our gifts but that God has created us and our gifts for a place of His choosing–and we will only be ourselves when we are finally there.”

Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2993) 46.