{"id":585,"date":"2024-08-02T09:09:27","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T14:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nad.https:\/\/central-states.org\/offices\/wills-trusts-2\/stewardship-resources-2\/"},"modified":"2024-09-27T14:11:38","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T19:11:38","slug":"what-is-stewardship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/?page_id=585","title":{"rendered":"What Is Stewardship?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"cs-content\" class=\"cs-content\"><section class=\"x-div e585-e1-v0 mg9-0 mg9-1 mg9-2 mg9-3 mg9-4 mg9-5 mg9-6 mg9-7 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-16 exp03-section\" style=\"--tco-dcg9-2:;\"><div class=\"x-div e585-e1-v1 mg9-5 mg9-6 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-a mg9-b mg9-c mg9-d mg9-e mg9-x mg9-y has-fade-mask-left\" style=\"--tco-dcg9-5:normal;\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><div class=\"x-div e585-e1-v2 mg9-5 mg9-6 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-b mg9-c mg9-e mg9-f mg9-g mg9-z exp03-simple-bg is-pattern\" style=\"--tco-dcg9-6:url(https:\/\/central-states.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/pexels-pixabay-159711-scaled.jpg);--tco-dcg9-7:50% 50%;--tco-dcg9-8:100%;\"><div class=\"x-bg\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><div class=\"x-bg-layer-lower-image\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-div x-container max width e585-e1-v3 mg9-1 mg9-5 mg9-6 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-b mg9-e mg9-h mg9-i\"><div class=\"x-div e585-e3-v0 mg9-1 mg9-2 mg9-4 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-j mg9-k mg9-17\" style=\"--tco-dcg9-9:transparent;--tco-dcg9-c:transparent;--tco-dcg9-e:transparent;--tco-dcg9-h:transparent;--tco-dcg9-j:transparent;--tco-dcg9-l:transparent;\"><div class=\"x-div e585-e3-v3 mg9-1 mg9-3 mg9-6 mg9-9 mg9-e mg9-h mg9-o mg9-p\"><nav class=\"x-crumbs e585-e5 mg9-1v\" role=\"navigation\"><ol class=\"x-crumbs-list\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/BreadcrumbList\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb Navigation\"><li class=\"x-crumbs-list-item\" itemprop=\"itemListElement\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ListItem\"><a class=\"x-crumbs-current x-crumbs-link\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Thing\" itemprop=\"item\" href=\"https:\/\/central-states.org\/\" title=\"You Are Here\"><span itemprop=\"name\"><i class=\"x-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-x-icon-sr=\"&#xe3af;\"><\/i><span class=\"visually-hidden\">Home<\/span><\/span><\/a><meta itemprop=\"position\" content=\"1\"><\/li><\/ol><\/nav><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e6-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1x mg9-1y mg9-18 exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h2 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">What Is Stewardship?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-v:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--tco-dcg9-y:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);\" class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e10-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1z mg9-19 exp03-heading\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><p class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\"><strong>by Harold Lee.<\/strong>\u00a0NAD Stewardship Resources # 315004<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"x-div e585-e11-v0 mg9-1 mg9-2 mg9-3 mg9-4 mg9-5 mg9-6 mg9-7 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-q mg9-1a exp03-section\" style=\"--tco-dcg9-11:;\"><div class=\"x-div x-container max width e585-e11-v3 mg9-1 mg9-5 mg9-6 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-b mg9-e mg9-h mg9-s\"><div class=\"x-div e585-e13-v0 mg9-1 mg9-2 mg9-4 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-k mg9-t mg9-1b\" style=\"--tco-dcg9-18:transparent;--tco-dcg9-1b:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--tco-dcg9-1d:transparent;--tco-dcg9-1g:transparent;--tco-dcg9-1i:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--tco-dcg9-1k:transparent;\"><div class=\"x-div e585-e13-v3 mg9-1 mg9-3 mg9-6 mg9-9 mg9-e mg9-h mg9-p mg9-v\"><div class=\"x-div e585-e15-v0 mg9-1 mg9-2 mg9-5 mg9-6 mg9-8 mg9-9 mg9-b mg9-w mg9-1c\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e16-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-20 mg9-1d exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h2 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">What Is <strong>Stewardship<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-1u:;--tco-dcg9-1v:;--tco-dcg9-1w:;--tco-dcg9-1x:;--tco-dcg9-1y:;--tco-dcg9-1z:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e17-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2a mg9-1e x-content exp03-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stewardship is a vital partnership encompassing various aspects beyond God. It influences every facet of life, urging us to responsibly manage God\u2019s resources. Stewardship involves applying Scriptural principles to further the church\u2019s mission and ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the key to Christian stewardship lies in the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart. This divine-human union produces love, gratitude, and loyalty - for God and his creation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The word \u201cstewardship\u201d sums up the meaning of Christian life. Biblical writers used it to describe several elements of faith: Peter said, \u201cEach of us, as good [stewards] . . . must use for the good of others the special gifts we have received from God\u201d<\/span><a href=\"#endnotes\"><sup><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2<\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><div class=\"x-section e585-e18 mg9-2j\"><div class=\"x-row x-container max width e585-e19 mg9-2k mg9-2l\"><div class=\"x-row-inner\"><div class=\"x-col e585-e20 mg9-2m\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e21-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-21 mg9-1f exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h3 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">Stewardship is <strong>Partnership<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-20:;--tco-dcg9-21:;--tco-dcg9-22:;--tco-dcg9-23:;--tco-dcg9-24:;--tco-dcg9-25:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e22-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2b mg9-1g x-content exp03-content\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God calls everyone into partnership, and this yields a proper perspective of God. We can be more effective in working among God\u2019s people, the unchurched, and natural creation, by remembering <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He owns everything<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We\u2019re not \u201call by ourselves.\u201d Stewardship is God\u2019s way of raising Christians as stewards. Stewards manage the many entrusted gifts of this life - the environment, time, talents, possessions, money, our bodies, the gospel, the church, spiritual gifts, etc., we become partners with God. What a partnership! God\u2019s unlimited resources supplement our limited means - enabling us to do what He asks.<\/span><\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-col e585-e23 mg9-2m\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e24-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-22 mg9-1h exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h3 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">Stewardship is <strong>Personal<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-26:;--tco-dcg9-27:;--tco-dcg9-28:;--tco-dcg9-29:;--tco-dcg9-2a:;--tco-dcg9-2b:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e25-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2c mg9-1i x-content exp03-content\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stewardship is the personal acknowledgement on our part that God is the owner and provider of all the basic goods of life - spiritual, physical, and material. Everyone is God\u2019s steward, yet each of us has our own personal relationship with Him. We can\u2019t gauge another\u2019s responsibility. Each has a divine purpose in life which we discover for ourselves. But our overall objective is to restore God\u2019s image in ourselves and in others.<\/span><\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-col e585-e26 mg9-2m\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e27-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-23 mg9-1j exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h3 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">Stewardship is <strong>Giving<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-2c:;--tco-dcg9-2d:;--tco-dcg9-2e:;--tco-dcg9-2f:;--tco-dcg9-2g:;--tco-dcg9-2h:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e28-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2d mg9-1k x-content exp03-content\">Sometimes people balk at the Bible\u2019s \u201crules.\u201d They think God wants us to give . . . so He can get. But God\u2019s not getting - He\u2019s giving. \u201cGod so loved the world that he gave . . .\u201d<a href=\"#endnotes\"><sup>3<\/sup><\/a> It\u2019s God\u2019s nature to give, and He made us in His image. We can\u2019t be happy unless we give. As God gave, so we give to Him. We don\u2019t give, for example, to \u201cmeet the budget.\u201d No. We give because we love God. Then we assign our gifts to various church offerings. God gave us life and made us His stewards. In return we give Him our time, talents, money, and the use of our spiritual gifts.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-col e585-e29 mg9-2m\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e30-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-24 mg9-1l exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h3 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">Stewardship is <strong>Christian Discipleship<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-2i:;--tco-dcg9-2j:;--tco-dcg9-2k:;--tco-dcg9-2l:;--tco-dcg9-2m:;--tco-dcg9-2n:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e31-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2e mg9-1m x-content exp03-content\">When Jesus called us to follow Him we became disciples - and stewards, too. We accept God\u2019s gift of creation, redemption, and the indwelling Holy Spirit. And as Christian stewards, we take full responsibility for managing these God-entrusted gifts.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-col e585-e32 mg9-2m\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e33-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-25 mg9-1n exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h3 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">Stewardship is <strong>Management<\/strong> \u2014 Not Ownership<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-2o:;--tco-dcg9-2p:;--tco-dcg9-2q:;--tco-dcg9-2r:;--tco-dcg9-2s:;--tco-dcg9-2t:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e34-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2f mg9-1o x-content exp03-content\">When we recognize that God owns everything,<a href=\"#endnotes\"><sup>4<\/sup><\/a> we also realize that we own nothing. Our houses, cars, TVs, computers, books - even our bodies - belong to God.<a href=\"#endnotes\"><sup>5<\/sup><\/a> Since we own nothing, we\u2019re managing God\u2019s things for Him. So Christians replace the notion of ownership with the concept of stewardship. We live by new principles that govern our relationship to God and His world.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-col e585-e35 mg9-2m\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e36-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-26 mg9-1p exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h3 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">Stewardship <strong>Reveals our Worth<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-2u:;--tco-dcg9-2v:;--tco-dcg9-2w:;--tco-dcg9-2x:;--tco-dcg9-2y:;--tco-dcg9-2z:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e37-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2g mg9-1q x-content exp03-content\">In our crime-ridden age, violent death lurks on every hand, divorce weakens the family structure, and joblessness saps the souls of millions. We conclude that nobody cares, and life declines in value. But Christian stewardship restores value to individuals. God made us and redeemed us. He valued each person so much that He left heaven and laid down His life - just for us! Eden and Calvary trumpet the worth of the individual. God made us for a purpose, and saved us with His own blood. He entrusts us with great responsibility. If God values us so highly, shouldn\u2019t we value ourselves as well?<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-col e585-e38 mg9-2m\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e39-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-27 mg9-1r exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h3 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">Stewardship is <strong>Practical<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-30:;--tco-dcg9-31:;--tco-dcg9-32:;--tco-dcg9-33:;--tco-dcg9-34:;--tco-dcg9-35:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e40-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2h mg9-1s x-content exp03-content\">It is faith in action: the believer\u2019s response to the redeeming grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christian stewardship gives hands and feet to faith so it can live and act. Stewardship touches every part of the life - our attitudes and actions, our convictions and commitments, and our desires and deeds. Christian stewardship is faith made practical.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-col e585-e41 mg9-2m\" id=\"endnotes\"><div class=\"x-text x-text-headline e585-e42-v0 mg9-1w mg9-1y mg9-28 mg9-1t exp03-hero-heading\" data-rvt-inner-wrap=\".x-text-content-text-primary &gt; strong\"><div class=\"x-text-content\"><div class=\"x-text-content-text\"><h3 class=\"x-text-content-text-primary\">ENDNOTES<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"--tco-dcg9-36:;--tco-dcg9-37:;--tco-dcg9-38:;--tco-dcg9-39:;--tco-dcg9-3a:;--tco-dcg9-3b:;\" class=\"x-text x-content e585-e43-v0 mg9-29 mg9-2i mg9-1u x-content exp03-content\"><ol>\n \t<li>Compare Matt 25:14-30; 1 Cor 4:2<\/li>\n \t<li>1 Peter 4:10 TEV interpretation supplied<\/li>\n \t<li>John 3:16<\/li>\n \t<li>Ps. 24:1<\/li>\n \t<li>1 Cor. 6:19, 20<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HomeWhat Is Stewardship? by Harold Lee.\u00a0NAD Stewardship Resources # 315004 What Is Stewardship? Stewardship is a vital partnership encompassing various aspects beyond God. It influences every facet of life, urging us to responsibly manage God\u2019s resources. Stewardship involves applying Scriptural principles to further the church\u2019s mission and ministry. But the key to Christian stewardship lies in the work of the&hellip; <a class=\"continue\" href=\"https:\/\/central-states.org\/?page_id=585\">Continue Reading<span> What Is Stewardship?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":576,"parent":574,"menu_order":40,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-blank-4.php","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-585","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"campaignId":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=585"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1050,"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/585\/revisions\/1050"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central-states.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}