A few weeks ago I attended a seminar in the British Houses Parliament on changes needed to facilitate global sustainable economic development in the future. As often in these discussions, economic inequality was mentioned as one of the priority areas that have to be addressed. The presenter said that for this to happen, we need a global culture change. I therefore asked him how such a culture change could happen. He said that he does not know although such change is possible.

The UK was the most corrupt nation in the 18th Century but the values in the country changed so that businesses started to flourish, jobs being created and the lives of people improved. He mentioned the role of social reformers such as William Wilberforce who facilitated this change. Unfortunately he did not say that the culture change in the 18th Century United Kingdom was actually catalyzed by evangelical Christians.

I left the Houses of Parliament with a real challenge – how can evangelical Christians who are good stewards of the resources God had entrusted to them, who are living generously by sharing what they have with others and who give financially where it is most needed catalyze a global culture change in the 21st Century? But how is that going to happen? That is why I am writing this article. Call it more a stewardship or generosity vision. Perhaps it is more of a dream set out in a manifesto format.

Before I share my dream which is also that of the Global Generosity Network, let me first give definitions for the terms I am using:

• Stewardship is a value that embodies responsible planning and management of resources.
• Generosity is the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets, money, hospitality, talents, prayer, ideas, connections  or any other resources to aid someone or people in need.
• Giving is specific transfer to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation.
• Resource mobilization is the systematic and planned process by which funds are solicited by organizations from donors and partners.

My dream is quite simple:

• that all Christians and groups of Christians will manage what God has given them wisely.That include their time, money, talents, gifts, ideas, connections and any other resources;
• that all Christians and groups of Christians will have the habit of giving freely to others what God had given them including their time, assets, money, hospitality, talents, prayer, ideas and connections . Generous living should become a life-style of every Christian;
• that all Christians and groups of Christians will give to their full potential, so that:
    – ministries, churches and givers will reach their full potential;
    – the Whole Church is resourced to take the Whole Gospel to the Whole World;
    – individuals and communities are transformed;
    – the Kingdom of God becomes a reality in all communities across the world.

My dream is a global Christian culture of Biblical stewardship, generous living and Kingdom focused giving!

A dream has to be based on Biblical principles. Just as my dream is simple, so are the Biblical principles that underpin this dream:

• God is indescribably generous. We see this in his creation and experience it in his redemption plan through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). He is the creator, the source and the sustainer of all things. Paul says in Acts 17:24 ‘The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth’ and 17:25 ‘he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else’.  Because of what He gave us ‘we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28). Without God’s generosity no life would have been possible!
• God is the owner of everything (Psalm 24:1) but from ‘one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth’ (Acts 17:26) and manage the resources of the earth. He gave His resources to steward for His Kingdom purposes. We are therefore accountable to God for the way we manage those resources (Genesis 1:16-30) as is clear from the parable of the wise manager (Luke 12:42-48).
• Generosity is a primary indicator of our understanding of our role as stewards of God’s creation (Matthew 6:21). This generosity is not limited to tangible resources and money but is best understood as an extension of all God has entrusted to our care – that is life, breath, relationships, roles, skills, time, grace and much more (1 Corinthians 4:1). Mankind has the duty and privilege to generate more resources through effective stewardship (Mt 25:14-30).
• Generosity is fundamental in the definition of being a disciple of Christ and in fully reflecting the image of our creator (2 Corinthians 8:7). All believers – rich, poor, young, old, male, female – regardless of position, culture, occupation or nationality, are called to live generously! As such, there are no preconditions to generosity or to encouraging any kind of generosity including financial and material generosity.
• Just as Jesus as ultimate gift from God lived a truly and perfectly generous life to serve and save people (Mark 10:45, 2 Corinthians 9:8-9), it remains fundamental therefore, that Christians model Biblical stewardship, generosity and giving (Mark 10:45, Acts 11:29-30, 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2 Corinthians 9:8-9). This generosity is both a God-given privilege and a learned grace to be modeled and taught by all pastors, ministry leaders and those that teach and equip believers (2 Corinthians 8:1-7, 1 Timothy 6:17-19).
• Personal motivations for giving ought to reflect sound biblical precepts and God-centered concerns (2 Corinthians 9:7). We should give so that the glory of His name will reach the ends of the earth (Revelation 7:9-12) and needs are met (Mt 25:31-46).
• Just as we can ask God for what we need (Mt 7:7) it is not wrong to mention our needs to others either. Resource mobilization whether from God or people is not sin!

In a world that is characterized by socio-economic inequality[2], materialism, greed, dependency on others to give to us and corruption this dream is urgently needed. With ongoing economic challenges in many countries, many churches and ministries struggle financially.

The World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission leaders expect that world mission and churches will be impacted by changing economic realities[3]. But financial difficulties should not be the real reason for my dream.

Rev. Niek Tramper wrote in the October 2012 European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) Newsletter “‘Generosity’ (the art of giving) will become an increasingly important subject to deal with in churches and organizations. It is necessary that the European church shows a more convincing example of hospitality, care, giving time, energy and money for the case of others, in particular those who are marginalized, in distress and persecuted. For no other reason than the full and unconditional grace of God in His Son, given to us who didn’t deserve it at all[4]”.

It is also clearly stated in the Cape Town Commitment that a Biblical lifestyle includes generosity, self-denial and hospitality – ‘Above all we must replace self-interest and greed with the biblical teaching on self-sacrifice and generous giving as the marks of true discipleship to Christ’[5].  The Cape Town Commitment continues ‘We urgently seek a new global partnership within the body of Christ across all continents, rooted in profound mutual love, mutual submission, and dramatic economic sharing without paternalism or unhealthy dependency. And we seek this not only as a demonstration of our unity in the gospel, but also for the sake of the name of Christ and the mission of God in all the world’[6].

Generosity and the sharing of resources within the Body of Christ is therefore an essential part of the Christian community’s witness in the world. Or as Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard says a life ‘that is characterized by generosity may be the most compelling, effective evangelism strategy we have as followers of Christ’[7].

Unfortunately this emphasis on stewardship, generous living and giving as an integrated part of whole-life discipleship is not always evident in the evangelical community. The following are just a few examples:

• Some of the countries with the highest percentages of Christians are also some of the most unequal societies. Unfortunately my home country of South Africa tops the inequality index list. Should we then be surprised if South Africa is also one of the countries with the highest crime rates? Countries where the evangelical church is growing fastest are also some of the most corrupt countries. It seems as if there is little stewardship teaching.
• I was shocked when a leading Evangelical Alliance in Europe excluded any reference to stewardship, generosity and giving in an otherwise excellent strategy document;
• One of the leaders in the Global Generosity Network did research on churches linked to an Evangelical Alliance to determine whether they have a broad stewardship, generosity and giving focus. In the end he could find few church leaders with such a focus;
• Despite regional indications that Christians can be very generous in their giving, Todd Johnson estimates that in general evangelical Christians still give only 2% of their income to Kingdom causes;
• According to ‘The State of Church Giving through 2009’[8] report on church giving in the US, ofevery dollar donated in 2009 to a congregation, an average of 14¢ went beyond local operations for the larger mission of the church. What is even worse is that of each dollar donated to a congregation in 2009, an average of 2¢ was spent on overseas missions (7.9¢ between 1916 and 1927). And that includes giving to areas that are well evangelised! I know from experience in other countries that it is not only the US church that is lacking when it comes to mission giving. As somebody said ‘we cannot simply rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic in the hope that all will be well’.  Radical action is needed.

It seems that we face serious obstacles before the dream of a global Christian culture of Biblical stewardship, generous living and Kingdom focused giving can become a reality.

But praise God there are also indications that the dream can become a reality. Here are just a few of many examples:

• Mision Urbana (www.musevilla.org, www.misionurbana.org, www.misionurbanavalencia.org,www.meuz.org) in Spain encourages generosity through local Christian involvement. Many evangelical Christians in different Spanish cities are actively involved in these initiatives. They give their time, skills, finances and other resources to people in their local communities. Already similar initiatives are emerging in the UK, South Africa and other countries.
• The ‘Handful of Rice’ movement by Christians in Mizoram, India has become world famous.Thousands of dollars are mobilised for the local church and mission through this initiative in one of the poorest parts of India. May God raise similar movements in other parts of the world.
• Generosity and a proper understanding of stewardship have helped to transform an entirecommunity in Uganda through the vision of one person, Bishop Hannington.  We need to pray for many more Bishop Hanningtons!
• There is a growing movement of Generous Businesses where all assets are seen as belonging to God and managed as such. Millions of dollars of wealth are transformed into supporting ministry while the lives of owners, their families, and employees, are being changed in the process.  In 2007 Christian owners of a company in the US decided to contribute 99% of their ownership interests into an irrevocable charitable trust, effectively giving away their multi-million dollar company to charity.
• Churches in Guatemala used the 40 Day Generous Life devotional to instruct people in Biblical principles of finances, to inspire greater generosity, and to increase giving to serve those in need. On the 40th day churches collected a special offering to help people with needs. One church in Guatemala City raised $440,000 in their special offering and used it to build 263 homes for impoverished people. As Brian Kluth remarks ‘When churches teach generosity because of the Bible and not the budget, God can move in incredible ways to change lives and transform communities’. The 40 Day Generous Life devotional had been distributed in over 3000 churches in America and had been translated into over 40 languages.
• The Mission Africa Trust Fund is a new initiative to encourage mission giving from within Africa. When it was launched in Ghana in October 2012 a local minister gave the first $1,000 to the leaders.
• The Church of England has developed an excellent stewardship structure with a Christian Stewardship Committee, National Stewardship Department, National Stewardship Officer, Stewardship Departments in Dioceses and local church stewardship officers. A wide range of resources to support all aspects of stewardship and giving in the local church is provided through National Stewardship Department website called Parish Resources and websites of Dioceses such as that of the Diocese of Liverpool called Giving in Grace.  Money Revolution[9], one of the best booklets helping Christians to engage with generosity and giving issues had been written by Dr. John Preston, the Church of England National Stewardship Officer.
• The generosity resources that the Global Generosity Network posts on the Lausanne Conversation website and the Global Generosity Movement website receive widespread interest. We find that these resources are then used in preaching, teaching and publications – sometimes in the most unexpected places.

I believe that these examples are the first glimpses of a movement that will catalyse a global Christian culture of Biblical stewardship, generous living and Kingdom focused giving. My dream is definitely not only my dream. It is not only even the dream of the Global Generosity Network. This dream is today shared by a growing number of Christians and especially evangelical Christians across the world. I want to invite you to become part this movement. Again it is quite easy:

• Sign the Individual Generosity Declaration as your commitment to a generous life-style and start living generously;
• Ask your Alliance, church, ministry or whichever corporate Christian body you are involved with tosign the Corporate Generosity Declaration and help them design a stewardship, generosity and giving plan of action;
• Encourage other Christians, churches, ministries, fellowships and networks you know about to sign the Generosity Declarations;
• Use the resources posted on the Global Generosity Movement website in preaching, teaching and living;
• Send stories and information of stewardship, generous living and Kingdom focused giving that will inspire others to my e-mail address [email protected] or post them here;
• Read more about the GGN on the WEA website or the Global Generosity Movement website to see what God is doing across the world in the area of stewardship, generosity, giving and resource mobilization.

Please, contact me to discuss how the Global Generosity Network, an initiative of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Lausanne Movement can help you, your church and ministry in making radical generosity and wise stewardship part of whole-life discipleship.

I am looking forward to hear from Christian leaders who want to catalyze with me and many others a global culture of Biblical stewardship, generous living and Kingdom focused giving. Let us make this dream not only the dream of one individual or a group of Christians. This dream is clearly God’s dream as well. So, let us make it the dream of the whole Christian community!
 

[1] Dr Sas Conradie is the coordinator of the Lausanne/WEA Global Generosity Network based in London. His e-mail address is [email protected].

[2] See for example ’Global Trends 2030 – Citizens in an Interconnected and Polycentric World’ and ‘Global Trends: Alternative Worlds’

[3] http://agoraweamc.com/2012/09/30/streams-under-an-oak-musings/

[4] www.europeanea.org/documents/Newsletter_EEA_October_2012.pdf

[5] www.lausanne.org/en/documents/ctcommitment.html

[6] www.lausanne.org/en/documents/ctcommitment.html p.19

[7] Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard, Contagious Generosity: Creating a culture of generosity in your church’, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), p.175.

[8] Ronsvalle, John L. and Ronsvalle: The State of Church Giving Through 2009: 

Jesus Christ, the Church in the U. S.  and the 16 No-Progress-in-Child Deaths Nations, 10 Being 84% Christian, (Champaign, Illinois: Empty Tomb, 2011)

[9] http://community.generositymovement.org/en/resources/detail/12979#.UWba–SG2So