Theology of Stewardship

Quino Al Color hands signing pot

The Bible and Simple Living

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | January 8, 2014

And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. – 2 Corinthians 9:8 “Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say. “More, more.” I have God’s more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than…

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United Methodist Stewardship Creed

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | January 8, 2014

UNITED METHODIST CREED FOR CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP Approved by 1988 General Conference “We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.” From “The Social…

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Teaching First Fruits Living

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | September 1, 2011

Teaching First Fruits Living helps people put God first in their daily lives. Christian educators not only get to share the priceless knowledge about God’s presence, but also can guide people to respond to God through an essential pattern of “first fruits living.” What is “first fruits living?” It is giving to God the first…

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James 5: A Community of Stewards

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | May 3, 2011

Daily devotions often bring surprises. Take James, chapter 5, for example, which I encountered recently as if for the very first time. In verses 13-20, James describes the basics of Christian community. Pray in your suffering, he says. Sing songs of praise. Pray for the sick. Confess your sins and pray to be forgiven. Pray…

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Basic Training

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | January 11, 2011

Written 1/11/2011 for the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church       After an extended time off, my spunky horse needed to go back to basic training. For horses, this instructional time includes ground work, safety issues, and fundamental cues for mutual respect and attentiveness. It emphasizes communication and affirms our core relationship…

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First Fruits Living

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | June 10, 2010

Okay, so our financial lives have been stretched greatly in this worldwide recession – and some people a whole lot more than others. But here’s one lesson hopefully all of us have learned: Whatever money we do have, we can choose to put it on God’s priorities instead of into greedy speculation, tight-fisted hoarding, or…

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A Wesleyan Perspective on Christian Stewardship

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | February 1, 2003

Introduction Stewardship is at the heart of the Wesleyan revival, and John Wesley considered it an integral component of Christian discipleship. Careful reading of Wesley will demonstrate that he had much more to say about the necessity of stewardship in the Christian life than “a heart warming experience.” Stewardship was a consistent theme of his…

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