Consulting on the Case
The draft case statement from the planning group is shared with church leaders. The goal: leadership support and personal advocacy.
The planning group draft a case statement which has their confidence, their personal ownership and their personal commitment to respond to the financial challenge. The final step is to share draft case with the church leadership as appropriate: a leadership team, a standing committee, a church council. This is the consultation at Section 5 of the case statement.
Continuing a holy conversation
The case statement that comes to the church leadership is a living document. It is not an argument to be sustained or a position to be defended. It was born out of an honest, holy conversation about the financial challenges facing the church and our stewardship practice. Church leaders are invited to reflect individually and together on the case which can be amended as agreed. The first step is for the church leadership to allocate sufficient time for a thoughtful, undefended and prayerful conversation around the case.
A culture of generous discipleship
The task of the leadership consultation is not to get the job done but to be a part of building a culture of generous discipleship, a community of Christians who know that God is the owner and giver of all things. A community who know they are stewards of personal finance, of the environment and of justice in an unjust world. The hallmark, the litmus test of our stewardship is generosity. It’s a core value. It’s the resource that unlocks ministry. It’s something worth our time and attention.
Two practical steps
First, each church leader is sent a copy of the planning group’s agreed case statement and asked to review it personally, using the simple questions on page 7 of the case as a starter for ten. Next, the church leadership meet together to review the case, to settle on any agreed amends and to sign off a final version of the case statement.
Two blessings
Our leadership consultation can reap rich rewards. The first is the support and investment of church leaders in the giving programme. Where stewardship programmes have limited impact the cause can often be traced to reserved or lukewarm leadership support. Leaders must be champions, advocates, story tellers in support of the programme, in word and deed.
The second blessing of consultation is the personal commitment of leaders. Leaders are not are not asked simply to sign off on a form of words. They are asked in the Consultation about their personal commitment to review - at a later time - their own giving as part of Giving in Grace.
Eager willingness
Paul’s encouragement to generous discipleship in Corinth speaks of the churches not only being first to give but also first to desire to give, their eager willingness. Consultation affirms the ‘eager willingness’ of church leaders.
(2 Cor 8:10-11)