Good stewardship training needed, says final speaker in Theologian-in-Residence series

Churches should focus on developing good stewardship among members rather than raising funds for projects, according to the final speaker in this year's Theologian-in-Residence lecture series at Tusculum College.

The Bible provides a plan for how to fund church ministries, "and it is one so obvious that sometimes we miss it: build God-glorifying stewards. We think we want the money, and God wants the heart," said Chuck Bentley, vice president of the U.S. staff of Crown Financial Ministries.

Bentley was the fourth and final speaker in this year's lecture series, which focused on Christian principles for managing personal and business finances. The annual lecture series, now in its 13th year, is sponsored by Tusculum College and the Holston Presbytery.

If people are taught to be good stewards of the resources God has provided them, they will be able and want to give to work that glorifies God and furthers His kingdom, Bentley said.

Bentley described how he had come to learn about good stewardship in his own life. A salesman by trade, Bentley said he was offered the opportunity to form a promising Internet-based business with a partner.

The business, focusing on sales of equipment from Fortune 500 companies, soon gained the support of wealthy investors who contributed millions toward the startup. Within two months the company was recognized by Reuters as one of the best Internet startups, Bentley said. Analysts said the company's stock could sell from $100 to $300 per share once it went public.

"The culture of the Internet startup was so competitive that you had to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said. "We had several wealthy investors who wanted you to increase their wealth, and what I did was get greedy."

At about this time, Bentley said, his wife noticed an item in their church bulletin about a financial management class and expressed interest in attending. Although he didn't really feel the need or desire to attend, Bentley said, he went because of his wife's urging and the fact it was an evening he could attend. The class turned out to be the Biblically-based Crown Financial Ministries' small group study.

"What impressed me the most was that there are no examples in the Bible of God blessing greedy people," he said. As he began to analyze his life, Bentley said he realized that money had become his master rather than God, and he repented, turning his life back to God's leadership.

Not long after, he continued, an article came out in the Wall Street Journal stating that the bubble of Internet startups was about to burst. Investors in Bentley's company backed out, leading to its demise. Bentley then went to work for Crown Financial Ministries, trusting that God would provide for his and his family's needs.

Although he deeply regrets that investors lost money in the Internet start-up, Bentley said, the situation taught him a great lesson he would have missed if not for his biblical study.

In the Great Commission, Jesus gives a command to make disciples, and teaching what the Bible says about money is one of the ways the church can fulfill that responsibility, Bentley said. "Who is going to teach them if we don't?" he asked. "The world certainly isn't."

The Bible provides guidance for earning, saving, and investing, not just giving money, he said, and people should learn these principles for overall sound financial management.

Christians comprise the majority of people who give to churches and other social and charitable causes, but that level of giving has been consistently falling, he said.

Some people cannot give because of financial difficulties and others would like to be able to contribute more but are limited by their financial situation, Bentley said.

The ease of receiving personal credit and the use of the stock market to invest savings are among primary reasons for tight financial situations in which many find themselves, he said, as consumer debt has skyrocketed and savings have dwindled.

While the Bible does not prohibit borrowing, it does warn people to be careful in this and other money matters, Bentley said, but this is not the message being conveyed in our culture.

Although it does not appear that there will be sweeping changes in society to change attitudes and habits about money, he continued, the church can teach people how to be financially sound and these people can then help others whose financial situation leads to personal crisis.