More than Money
Patrick H. McNamara -
More Than Money is a collection of real-life stories and insights from 11 vibrant churches known for their effectiveness in whole-life stewardship. Church leaders will uncover a rich source of inspiration, ideas, examples, and pitfalls as they consider effective stewardship approaches in their own churches.
Strengths
More than Money is a breath of fresh air for pastors and lay leaders who feel their efforts in stewardship have lost traction because the subject has been too often associated with fund raising or budget problems. Instead, this book presents stewardship as a matter of spiritual health, ministry focus, and an inside-out transformation that requires time and consistency.
Readers will encounter a range of thought-provoking perspectives on important stewardship issues, such as how pastors relate to their congregation, approaches to pledging, how to address stewardship of time and talent, and how to integrate with other church ministries.
A key strength of this book is how it integrates individual and corporate responses to God's blessings. More than Money shows that pastors who help church members see the importance of their personal role in light of the collective mission have proven to be most effective.
Part of the value of this book is what it does off the page in the mind of the reader. Because of the variety of perspective shared from the front lines, church leaders will find themselves imagining new possibilities in their own churches both in their thinking and approach to stewardship.
Interestingly, the main point of More than Money is not money, but rather a whole-life approach to stewardship and how it can transform and revitalize people and congregations.
Two essentials that need to intersect for an effective stewardship ministry are woven through More than Money - clearly communicating the biblical vision of stewardship and communicating concrete ministry needs.
More than Money unpacks several helpful themes that church leaders will find useful, such as a practical theology of stewardship, pastoral leadership issues, the experience of God’s grace, stewardship vs. philanthropy, an emphasis on service, and people challenging each other to give.
It’s interesting to note that the author, by his own admission, profiled churches from “ailing” denominations, which serves to make the examples cited seem all the more within reach for the average church.
Things to be Aware of:
Some readers may note More than Money's emphasis on self-described “liberal” or “moderate” churches which emphasize social action over evangelism.
More than Money is not a "cookie cutter" recipe for successful stewardship, and avoids trying to offer simple solutions to complex stewardship issues. While the stories and examples will certainly encourage and inform the reader, church leaders will need to contextualize the lessons learned to apply them in their own situation.
Available at: Alban.org