Editor
By Daniel J. Lehmann
Consider goal of stewardship
Another look at Matthew 6:21 Another
bath toy? Encourage young children to splash in the waters of baptism through your gift of The Little Lutheran magazine. Little mariners will meet Mallory, who set nine paralympic swimming records. They’ll learn about Noah’s big boat, Jesus’ baptism and the woman at the well. Subscribe at www.
thelittlelutheran.org or call 800-328-4648.
$2.50 Volume 3, Issue 6 January 2010 I
t’s that time of year when the thoughts of many in ELCA congregations and institutions turn to next year’s budget and … stewardship. Consider the Webster’s Third New Interna- tional Dictionary (unabridged) definition of
stewardship: the individual’s responsibility esp. in certain religious groups for sharing systematically and proportionately his time, talent and material possessions in the service of God and for the benefit of all mankind. Not bad. There’s plenty of material to help those charged with leading stew-
ardship efforts. Start at
www.elca.org/stewardship or go to
www.thelutheran. org and search for the word stewardship. Take your pick from 288 articles. My favorite is the November 2006 cover story by Mark Allan Powell of
Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. It builds on Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Powell argues that where you put your treasure is where your heart will go. “We can decide what sort of people we would like to be and then give generously of our treasure ... to those things that will change us within,” he says.
This rings true in my life. Since joining a congregation nearly three decades ago, my wife and I worked at becoming tithers, following our parents’ exam- ples. That act bound us to the congregation. It is our faith home, where we’ve also given our time and talents over the years. As Powell contends, what we did changed us inside and helped us become more the people we want to be. Still sinners but hopefully better people. Think about it. Switching to a couple odds and ends:
Friends Adults, see back cover
• Anti-Roman Catholicism is alive but certainly not well. William G. Rusch’s article in October (page 14) on the Second Vatican Council prompted some reasonable counterviews (page 69). However, there are still those for whom the denunciations and divisions of centuries past hold sway today. To share some of the bile, one arrived via email under the subject “Pimping For The Pope.” • Darrell H. Jodock’s cover story (October) on the two kingdoms got the let- ters going like few articles in recent years. A substantial majority hailed his work, with one summing it up for most this way: “The ‘rugged individualism’ of the American myth is antithetical to the Bible’s understanding of the human family always in the context of the larger community, be that town, city, state, nation or planet. Jodock and The Lutheran have rendered a real service for us as we address our role as citizens.” • New Life Lutheran Church, 120 Frog Pond Lane, Dripping Springs, Texas, dropped its 10-copy sub- scription to The Lutheran, citing no interest. Sigh. You can’t buy a more one-of-a-kind, unforgettable address than that, and we’ll be the less without it.
We can decide what sort of people we would like to be and then give generously of our treasure to those things that will change us within.
4 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
MICHAEL D. WATSON
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72