Stewardship Quotes Stewardship Committee - Wisconsin Conference UMC Making Disciples - Making Stewards

The tithe is a wonderufl goal but a terrible place to stop. - Bill Hybels

Stewardship always starts with a repentatnt heart, a change of mind concerning our opinion about earthly values. - John A. Knight

Stewardship is not humanity's way of raising money, but rather God's way of raising people into the likeness of His Son. - Doug Carter

God has given us two hands--one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing. - Billy Graham

Givng needs no more apology than does praying. In the Bible there are 1,539 passages that reference giving, while there are only 523 that refer to praying!

It's not how much of my money will I give to God, but how much of God's money will I keep for myself. -- Oswald Smith

Mke all you can, save all you can, give all you can. - John Wesley

If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life. - Billy Graham

Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege. = John D. Rockefeller Jr.

In Revelation we read of a book which no man could open. Some believe that was the pocketbook. - Anonymous

When it comes to giving until it hurts, most people have a very low threshold of pain. - Anonymous

To be clever enough to get a great deal of money, one must be stupid enough to want it. - G.K. Chesterton

I do not believe we can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. - C.S. Lewis

Many people give a tenth to the Lord--a tenth of what they ought to give. - Anonymous

We should travel light and live simply. Our enemy is not possessions, but excess. - John Stott

A lot of people are willing to give God the credit, but not too many are willing to give God the cash. - Anonymous

If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life. - Billy Graham

About all some people are giving these days is advice. - Anonymous

The most important aspect of tithing and stewardship is not the raising of money for the church, but the development of devoted Christians. - Fred M. Wood

These calculations are based on information from the The Federal Reserve Board:

Each $1 given in 1985 requires $1.60 today - a 1985 $1 is worth $.40 in today's market place.

Each 1985 $5/wk gift is worth $2 today. It takes $8 to purchase those same goods & services in 2000. A 1985 annual gift of $260 ($5/wk) now needs to be $416 annually.

Each 1990 $5 gift is now worth $3. $7 is needed in 2000 to purchase the same goods and services. A 1990 $260 annual gift now needs to be $364.

Each 1995 $5/wk gift is now worth $4.35. That gift now needs to be $5.65/wk or $294 annually

from "The Caller" Sun Prairie UMC, October 2000

"Christian stewardship begins with God at the center. When stewardship revolves around any other center, it is misconceived. The institution of the church is an inadequate substitute for the incarnate body of Christ. The church as institution is a means to the end of the church as the fellowship of all believers. Stewardship is servanthood to God through the church, not to the church institution. Though this is a subtle distinction, it is significant."

from Revolutionizing Christian Stewardship for the 21st Century: Lessons from Copernicus by Dan R. Dick, p. 6; Copyright 1997 Discipleship Resources

What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of mission out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself. (Luke 12:29-31)

from The Message: The New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs by Eugene H. Peterson, Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995 NavPress

We believe that the spiritual needs of the church members and the temporal needs of the church organization need not be in direct conflict. An authentic stewardship message requires that spiritual motivation be basic to financial giving. An Episcopal priest said it this way:
We are talking about your relationship with God. Before we even mention the world money, we are going to talk about what it means to know you have life as a gift. What does it mean to know that everything you have is a gift? What does it mean to know that the whole world is a gift of a gracious God? So I'm aggressive about that as a way of saying, 'Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm not just asking you to give money. I'm talking about your spiritual life, which is what my job is.' So that's how I deal with asking people for money.

from Plain Talk about Churches and Money by Dean Hoge, Patrick McNamara and Charles Zech, p. 9; Copyright 1997 by the Alban Institute, Inc.

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