Why Is Stewardship Important To Me?

Church Development Founder and President, Denis Greene, shares an analogy of how the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are representative of using the blessings God has given.

When my son, John, was age six, he was always eager for a story, a lecture, a math quiz–anything to delay bedtime. Sometimes I would pull out The Dangerous Book For Boys and read a chapter like How To Build A Go-kart, Insects That Are Edible, or Five Poems That All Boys Should Know (like “Invictus” by Henley and “If” by Rudyard Kipling).

Sometimes I would read him a chapter out of his children’s illustrated bible. The Holy Land became a real place through the stories he heard. When John heard that Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan and walked on the Sea of Galilee, he was surprised to hear that it was the same water.

Here is how that conversation went: “So John, when rain falls on the Holy Land, a lot of it flows into the Jordan River, which then flows downstream and ends up in the Sea of Galilee. People who live around the Sea of Galilee go fishing and swimming there, they take water out for drinking, for crops and animals–it sustains life. Then the water flows downstream to the Dead Sea. But things are different there. The Dead Sea takes in, but there is no outlet.

As I explained to John, this is why stewardship is important to me, so we can learn to share.

The Dead Sea (by David Shankbone)

As John learned, the Dead Sea does not share. As a result it becomes stagnant, sour, and nothing can live in it. I think that God wants us to be like the Sea of Galilee. God blessed each of us with something, sharing that blessing is the reason that God created us. Sharing is a natural response to receiving a blessing.”

“Hmm. So, dad, does the sharing part make the Sea of Galilee full of life?”

“Yes, John, I think so.”

“Well dad, if the Sea of Galilee was a person, would it have to share its Halloween candy?”   

Being a parent is the hardest, best job I ever had.

I could have told John about the research on how generous people live longer. I could have shared with him my favorite scripture on generosity (from Malachi 3:10 – my translation is: “Test me with your generosity and see what happens…”), but instead, I told him to think about it. It was totally up to him.

In my whole life, I don’t think I ever enjoyed a malted milk ball more than the one he gave me that night. 

*     *     *

Denis Greene is the Founder and President of Church Development.  He is the author of The Stewardship System, Stewardship-Based Capital Campaigns, and How To Ask For Donations as well as numerous articles on stewardship. Denis has helped over 200 churches across the USA raise more than $200,000,000. 

A complete list of Church Development’s services (including capital campaign management and consultation, feasibility studies, and year-round stewardship ministry programming) is available here.