Pastors and churches should believe in generosity, and talk about it regularly

BALTIMORE — If “stewardship season” brings jitters, maybe it’s time to consider ways to incorporate the giving message into church throughout the year, said the Rev. Dana Waters, Presbyterian Foundation Ministry Relations Officer for the Southeast Region.

In his opening day workshop at Stewardship Kaleidoscope in September in Baltimore, Waters shared how monthly conversations from the pulpit about giving and generosity create a sense of joy. Stewardship Kaleidoscope is an annual conference on generosity and giving sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Presbyterian Foundation is a major sponsor. Waters’ workshop was on Monday, September 21.

Seen as a transaction — “it’s that time of year again” — and reminders about dwindling membership, underpaid staff and mounting facility needs, the money issue in church creates fear, guilt and shame, along with a bit of dread.

But, Waters said, flip the script to one of celebration and the mood shifts. Sharing the message that giving allows us to experience God’s generous heart, and that giving generously shapes us more into Jesus’s image, building joy, excitement and growth in discipleship.

“If we are called to preach that God is generous, then first we have to believe it ourselves,” he said.

“If these anxieties are creeping in to our stewardship sermons, what do you think is going to happen? I think our congregations are smart. I think they can tell when we don’t really believe this, when what drives us more is a fear of not having enough, rather than a trust that the Lord is indeed my shepherd, I shall not want,” Waters said. Quoting from the National Study of Congregations’ Economic Practices, Waters said research shows that “revenue growth was more prevalent among congregations that regularly (at least once a month) discussed the theological importance of giving, whether through biblical passages, sermons, or personal testimonies.”

“If generosity is a spiritual practice, it is something we need to practice regularly, I would say more than one month of the year,” Waters said.

Stories abound in the Bible that can help church leaders weave in the message of giving generously, he said.

In the Old Testament, Genesis opens with the generous act of Creation, followed by God’s promise to Noah after the flood with the phrase: “just as I gave you green plants, I give you everything …”

The Exodus story is full of acts of generosity, he said. God gives the Israelites freedom from bondage, a new home, and the Ten Commandments, and prophet after prophet calls on Israel to remember God’s generosity and respond faithfully because they have forgotten all that God has done for them.

The New Testament centers on the Gospel message that God gave us God's son to save us. Jesus told more parables about money than any other topic — such as the Prodigal Son, the Rich Young Ruler, the Talents, and the Widow’s Offering, Waters said, indicating that even 2,000 years ago, finances were a concern for the masses.

Seasonal opportunities abound as well. Waters provided the following ideas for each liturgical season.

Advent/Christmas 

• Patience and waiting vs. consumerism
• Giving away what is valuable to us

Lent

• Give up something that stands between us and God
• Generous giving is a sacrificial act

Eastertide

• Gift of Jesus, eternal life, salvation from sin
• Spiritual gifts

Ordinary time

• Stewardship includes taking rest, caring for our bodies and sharing our collective stories.

A big fan of reimagining the offering time in church services, Waters encouraged people to revisit the offering as a time to share a story of how the church’s mission and ministry is changing lives, or have a worshiper give a short testimony about what giving to the church means to them personally.

“My guess is you have an offering time in your worship every Sunday and not just during stewardship season,” Waters said. “What would it look like to reframe this, to make it joyful, to make it celebratory? It’s really about celebrating God’s generosity and that we are graced enough to be able to respond.”