FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
#1 Asked Question
Is the NIV Stewardship Study Bible currently available? Where? When? How Much?
Click here for more information
OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What is Stewardship Council?
2. Why does the Stewardship Council exist?
3. How does the Stewardship Council define ‘stewardship’?
4. What prompted the founding of the Stewardship Council?
5. Aren’t other ministries already effectively addressing the Biblical issues of stewardship?
6. So how is the Stewardship Council different from other Stewardship ministries?
7. Does the world really need another study Bible?
8. What qualifies the Stewardship Council to develop such resources?
9. Is the Stewardship Council affiliated with any denomination or organization?
10. What is the theological perspective of the Stewardship Council?
11. What is your Statement of Perspective on Biblical Stewardship?
1. What is Stewardship Council?
The Stewardship Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry. Our mission is simply to foster a lifestyle of Biblical stewardship.
2. Why does the Stewardship Council exist?
The term stewardship is becoming an increasingly popular term. As the concept of stewardship becomes more common, the terms steward and stewardship have also become increasingly misused, distorted, and even abused.
Unfortunately, when the term stewardship is invoked in non-Christian circles, it is usually in reference to environmental responsibility or perhaps corporate ethics. A simple Google® search will ferret out this assertion. Even more disconcerting, is that within Christian circles the term stewardship is frequently reduced to a discussion of building campaigns, fundraising activities, and techniques.
Some understand tithing and giving to be synonymous with the term stewardship. Others understand the term stewardship to more fully encompass the effective management of finances and material resources that God has entrusted. Still others add the management of time and talent to the ‘treasure’ that has been entrusted by God.
Stewardship can be about all of that...but it is really so much more. An individual's understanding of stewardship will either be shaped by default, i.e. public perception, or by design, i.e. encouraging the Biblical perspective of stewardship.
The Stewardship Council is committed to advancing the understanding and practical expression of Biblical stewardship among Christians around the world.
3. How does the Stewardship Council define ‘stewardship’?
Most all agree that we need to 'be good stewards' but few have stopped to consider the more significant questions.
Webster defines a steward as ‘someone who manages property or affairs of someone else.” The reality is that stewardship doesn't make much sense apart from that ‘someone else’ for whom we steward.
Stewardship is a recurring theme throughout Scripture. An individual’s recognition of God’s role as creator and designer of every aspect of life radically changes how one relates and responds to the Creator. In essence, God has entrusted His people with a profound responsibility; to manage all that He created. This creation goes well beyond giving, sharing, spending, saving, raising money, and care of the environment.
In fact, God has entrusted us with (to name a but a few) gifts, abilities, freedom, relationships, roles, in addition to finances and material resources that we rightly associate with stewardship. Further, Scripture tells us that our very life and breath do not belong to us…but rather to Him (Isaiah 42:5). The Bible reflects on fourteen arenas of life that have been entrusted to our care.
The Stewardship Council believes that our continual striving to know God through His role as the author, creator, and owner of all things makes a significant impact on how we faithfully serve Him as stewards of the mysteries of God (I Corinthians 4:1).
4. What prompted the founding of the Stewardship Council?
The Stewardship Council was founded in May 2005 in response to literally hundreds of requests for resources on stewardship. These requests come from pastors and ministry leaders in developing countries around the world.
In response to this relative void of resources addressing holistic stewardship, the Stewardship Council was launched in order to develop The Stewardship Study Bible--the first of its kind.
Ultimately the Stewardship Council exists to actively participate in a Christian movement to recapture the essence of stewardship - in all its fullness and original intention.
The practical outgrowth of the Stewardship Council is to develop resources and point Christians in the direction of accessible resources that cause us to look at Scripture through a Biblical lens of stewardship. The Stewardship Study Bible, and the extensive research involved in compiling this study Bible, is the basis for this effort is also the basis for future resources that will naturally emanate from this project.
5. Aren’t other ministries already effectively addressing the Biblical issues of stewardship?
Yes! There are some excellent, well-known ministries effectively addressing important aspects of Biblical stewardship—particularly the subjects surrounding money and material possessions. Further, these ministries are making a profound impact assisting individuals, families, and ministry leaders in providing Biblically based tools and resources to encourage effective management of those finances, material possessions, as well as encouraging a Christian’s growth in the grace of giving.
Stewardship Council is intentional as it draws on the wealth of wisdom of those organizations and individuals as well as the existing current resources available.
6. So how is the Stewardship Council different from other Stewardship ministries?
Though several excellent organizations and names come to mind when one thinks of financial stewardship, the arena of financial stewardship is just one of at least 14 arenas of life for which we have been called to be stewards.
The Stewardship Council certainly does not claim to be the only ministry attempting to address the subject of stewardship from a holistic perspective. It is, however, working to fill a significant void and reclaim the richness and privilege of what it means to be a steward of the living God.
Our strategy is to promote an understanding and lifestyle of Christian stewardship—by developing resources that can and will be distributed through those organizations and networks who are most likely to influence the landscape of stewardship.
7. Does the world really need another edition of the Bible?
If the production of another Bible were the only purpose, the answer is unequivocally ‘no.”
Sadly, the Bible is the least read best seller of all time. The average home in America has at least three Bibles. The average Christian household undoubtedly skews that average having more than three Bibles in their home. Further, a quick survey of your local Christian bookstore will evidence a multitude of study Bibles to choose from—looking at Scripture from a multitude of perspectives and addressing a multitude of audiences. Most are extremely useful and beneficial for looking at Scripture from the perspective of a particular role e.g. parenting or leadership.
Having said all this, the development of a Bible that looks at stewardship through the lens of Scripture is an intentional planned byproduct of our systematic, Biblical research.
The ‘products’ emerging from this flagship study Bible resource and theological research are all equally exciting. They include what some have called ‘collateral resources’ which include:
-thorough research of every Biblical passage addressing stewardship
-identification of profound and accessible sources addressing each of those subjects and passages.
These sources include:
-organizations
-individuals (both present and historical)
-publications
-identification of those subjects that are under-served from the perspective of stewardship
-development of resources that address the under-served subject matter.
-a searchable database of the aforementioned resources
-cross-pollenation of like-minded organization who have developed resources, databases, and repositories addressing various aspects of stewardship.8. What qualifies the Stewardship Council to develop such resources?
The Stewardship Council recognizes that God’s Word is one of the most profound stewardship responsibilities with which we have been entrusted. As such, we take very seriously the admonition we read in James 3:1 that teachers 'will be judged more strictly.'
With this in mind, we want to be clear that the Stewardship Council is not attempting to add to Scripture. Nor is it attempting to promote a particular theological perspective. The intent is to develop resources that stimulate individuals to consider what Scripture says about God’s creation and design, His expectations for us, and our appropriate response to these profound stewardship responsibilities.
The Stewardship Council encourages individuals to sift all material and resources created by the Stewardship Council through Scripture and not simply accept them at face value. We make every effort to identify and develop resources that are rooted in Scripture and sound theology. Further, resources compiled and developed by the Stewardship Council are subject to review by a team of theologians, pastors, ministry leaders, and Christian professionals. In short, they are not the work of just one person or a group of "insiders."
9. Is the Stewardship Council affiliated with any denomination or organization?
No. The Stewardship Council is a parachurch organization that subscribes to a commonly held set of basic theological tenets. For more information, please refer to our Statement of Faith.
The Stewardship Council board and staff both contribute toward and serve in various capacities with other like-minded organizations that are similarly committed to encouraging mature stewardship around the world.
>back to top10. What is the theological perspective of the Stewardship Council?
In addition to the Statement of Faith, the Stewardship Council has developed a Statement of Perspective on Biblical Stewardship to clarify our understanding of Biblical stewardship.
Statement of Faith
We believe that the entire Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God; the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
We believe that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is true Man and true God.
We believe that in this age, God manifests Himself through the Holy Spirit, who is a distinct personality, eternally coexistent with the Father and the Son, whose basic task is to convict sinners, accomplish the process of regeneration, and empower believers to live godly lives who in all things glorify the Father and the Son through His indwelling presence.
We believe that man was created in the image of God. To be human is to be an image-bearer of God, created in His likeness and originally righteous and holy. The whole person is the image of the triune God. But through man's first disobedience, the whole human race fell into sin and came under the just wrath of God, thereby incurring not only physical death but also spiritual death in terms of eternal separation from God.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood and are preserved in sanctity.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected in body, ascended into Heaven, presently lives there for us as High Priest and Advocate, and that His personal, physical return to earth is imminent.
We believe that there will be a bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust, the just to the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the unjust to the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost.
>back to top11. What is Your Statement of Perspective on Biblical Stewardship?
Because the term ‘stewardship’ conjures up differing definitions, perspectives, and understandings even among Christians, the Stewardship Council provides this Statement of Perspective on Biblical Stewardship.
The Stewardship Council understands that:
God is the owner of all things—tangible and intangible, seen and unseen,
Human beings own absolutely nothing. We have been charged with managing what God has graciously entrusted to us even as we may hold legal titles to land, property, capital, and resources both material and immaterial.
Each individual, both Christian and non-Christian, is stewarding God’s resources.
The term ‘stewardship’ refers to the management of God’s creation, resources, and intended design of that creation. As such;
Financial and material resources are a portion of all that God has entrusted into our care.
Other stewardship responsibilities include all gifts and abilities, roles and relationships, tangible and intangible resources, as well as covenants, promises and communication.
Tithing and/or giving are not synonymous with the term stewardship; however, these activities can be a healthy reflection of one important aspect of stewardship.
Financial and material resource management as well as growth in the grace of giving is a primary indicator of an individual’s understanding and maturity as a steward of all of God’s resources.
Stewardship is a learned process. It is not the natural tendency of our fallen nature.
Pastors, Christian leaders, and all Christians are charged with the responsibility of encouraging mature stewardship in all aspects of life in order to make full disciples of Christ.
The historical use and misuse of the the term stewardship have created both a negative orientation as well as an incomplete view and understanding of stewardship.
God’s design for stewardship is our privilege and responsibility to be engaged in for His ultimate purpose.
Among the profound responsibilities and privileges of stewardship are the fact that:
God has entrusted us with His Son
God has entrusted us with His message to take to a world in need
God has entrusted us with His resources to further His kingdom and purposes.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Stewardship Council. All Rights Reserved