Two DOXOLOGY ‘More Than Giving’ workshops set for fall

Attendees at a DOXOLOGY “More Than Giving” conference work on congregational stewardship action plans on Aug. 19, 2016, in Springfield, Ill. (DOXOLOGY/Beverly Yahnke)

DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel is partnering with the LCMS Office of National Mission to present two opportunities this fall to attend a conference on stewardship.

The conference, titled “More Than Giving,” is offered as part of DOXOLOGY’s Insight series, which the DOXOLOGY website describes as “unique perspectives into an application of the faith we believe, teach and confess … rich with teaching, conversation, worship and fellowship.”

Insight conferences are open to both laity and pastors. They are typically 24 hours in length, starting one day and ending the next.

The first of the upcoming stewardship conferences is scheduled for Sept. 28–29 at Concordia University, Chicago, River Forest, Ill., with registration accepted through Sept. 13.

The second is scheduled for Nov. 30–Dec. 1 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, St. Cloud, Minn., with registration accepted through Nov. 15. Cost varies by location.

Led by LCMS Stewardship Coordinator Rev. Heath Curtis and Assistant Coordinator Rev. Dr. Nathan Meador, the conference features a biblical and Lutheran perspective on stewardship. Attendees will gain:

A fresh view of the undergirding theology of stewardship.

A candid overview of the financial challenges facing churches large and small.

A preview of quality resources available.

Practical tools for stewardship flowing from the presence of Christ through His Means of Grace.

The Rev. Greg Michel, pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in New Berlin, Wis., attended a “More Than Giving” conference in Springfield, Ill., in 2016.

At the time, Michel was serving as pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Milan, Ill., and he attended the conference with his congregational treasurer to learn how they might enhance and develop the congregation’s stewardship practice. Michel says they were “not disappointed.”

Michel continues: “I personally appreciated that the presenters did not give us a ‘one-size-fits-all’ program. Instead, they helped us see how stewardship is the fulfilling of our God-given vocations in the realms of home, church and state. They also emphasized a year-round approach to stewardship education, as opposed to merely a three- to four-week series in the fall.

“I would most definitely recommend the conference to both pastors and laypeople of any congregation in any setting. My recommendation to any pastor would be to bring as many interested laypeople as possible. … Our congregational treasurer said that she wished other church leaders could have attended and learned as much as she did.”

DOXOLOGY Executive Director for Spiritual Care Rev. Dr. Harold L. Senkbeil describes “More Than Giving” as “a one-of-a-kind stewardship education opportunity, built solidly on Scripture and our Lutheran theology, organized around the faithful care of souls.”

Senkbeil encourages churches to send not just one or two people, but a group: “Pastors and laity learn both separately and jointly, then form a team to design a stewardship plan tailored to the unique needs of their own parish.”

Register: Sept. 28-29 event      Register: Nov. 30-Dec. 1 event

Posted Aug. 2, 2018