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This e-resource is a ministry of the
Office of the
General Secretary ABCUSA |
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Greetings!
Welcome to GENERO$ITY,
an American Baptist e-resource for pastors and church
leaders, as together we consider what it means to be "nurturing generous disciples to serve as the hands and feet of Christ."
Several years ago I was invited to lead an ecumenical retreat for women in a small, mid-western community. I invited them to share with me using the theme, Living Life in the Key of G as we explored the topics of grace, gratitude and generosity in our lives. The planning team really enjoyed putting the theme into action as they offered only foods that began with the letter "G." Likewise, they encouraged the worship leaders to find songs that began with "G" or could easily be sung in the key of "G."
Throughout the experience, we explored and reflected on our experience of God's grace in our lives and our gratitude for all of God's goodness and blessing. We considered how we might be generous in all areas of our lives, first with God and also with those around us, both near and far. We were challenged to make generosity a defining mark of our character and lifestyle.
When I consider the task before us of "nurturing generous disciples to serve as the hands and feet of Christ," I often think that it is as simple - and as difficult - as Living Life in the Key of G. What could it mean for our families, our communities, our churches and our world if followers of Jesus were known as those who served as the hands and feet of Christ, and whose lives exemplified grace, gratitude and generosity? Perhaps Paul's words (selected from 1 Corinthians 9:10-15, NRSV) to the church at Corinth would be both shouted and sung, "...you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing...Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
Soozi Whitten Ford, Stewardship Facilitator
Mission Resource Development
American Baptist Churches USA |
Stewardship Education Resources
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| If your church uses an annual stewardship emphasis as one part of its overall plan for educating and nurturing persons to be generous disciples, here are two resources that might be helpful.
A newly redesigned version of a popular church stewardship resource, Adventure in Thanks/Giving is a simple and easy-to-use program that invites participants to name the hopes and dreams they have for their church's ministry in the coming year and to share them with one another. It is designed to be directed by three leaders working with the pastor and includes an all-church celebration dinner, the sharing of stories by individuals who have been blessed by giving, worship and communication resources, and much more. Adventure in Thanks/Giving will be available soon for purchase from Judson Press as either a file download or on a CD.
P  ublished annually by the Ecumenical Stewardship Center, Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation includes stimulating articles for church leaders as well as a center pull-out stewardship program. The 2010 theme is "More Than Enough," and the eleven articles in this issue include: - "Sharing Abundantly - A Theological View;"
- "Stewardship With Generation Next;" and
- "So You're The New Stewardship Chair."
For ordering information, click here. |
Book Review
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|  The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, reviewed by Gundar Lamberts
Richard Stearns is the CEO of World Vision and his goal is to help us see this
world like God sees it. Evangelism and discipleship are important, but Richard
Stearns challenges us to put our faith in action to the least of these all
around the world. The book therefore has a strong missions and justice component... American Christians are the
wealthiest of Christians and yet...[if] you think in
terms of giving to the needs of the world, we give only 2% of 2%, or five
ten-thousandths of our income. Later he goes into detail about giving our time,
our talents and our treasures, and notes that one of the hardest for us to give
is our time. Read more...
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A Larger Vision
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| A vision of God's new creation helped one faithful community respond with grace and generosity in the midst of a horrifying experience. Read this article by the author of The Steward
Living in Covenant: A New Perspective on Old Testament Stories, Ron
Vallet, as he challenges us to a larger vision.
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Please feel free to:- forward this issue
on to friends and
colleagues; and
- share your ideas, questions, and resources for
future issues. To do so, simply hit "reply" to this message, or send a
separate e-mail by clicking here.
Trying to Live Life in the Key of G,
Soozi Whitten Ford, Stewardship Facilitator
Mission Resource Development
American Baptist Churches USA
© 2010 Mission Resource Development, American Baptist Churches USA
This resource is a ministry of the Office of the General Secretary ABCUSA
provided to you because American Baptists are united in mission
and have given generously to United Mission. |
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