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Beryl Jantzi shares some thoughts on Stewardship Sunday, which falls on January 14 this year, and shares Everence's 2024 Stewardship Sunday resources. Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of stewardship education. He can be contacted at beryl.jantzi@everence.com, if you would like to continue the conversation about God and mammon. _______________________________ "The word stewardship in the New Testament is used primarily in connection with stewardship of the gospel. … But in the broader sense, stewardship is related to the idea of God as head...
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Beryl Jantzi explores what "mammon" might mean in the New Testament and why Jesus states that a person cannot serve both God and mammon. Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of stewardship education. He can be contacted at beryl.jantzi@everence.com, if you would like to continue the conversation about God and mammon. _______________________________ What does Jesus mean when he says … “you cannot serve both God and mammon?” Mammon in the New Testament There are two passages in the New Testament that use the word mamōnas. In Matthew 6:24, during the Sermon on the Mount,...
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Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of stewardship education. For more information on examples of financial policies and practices congregations might consider adopting, contact beryl.jantzi@everence.com. _______________________________ January is typically a time of the year to look back and to look forward. National news programs take time to remember the highlights of the previous year, and futurist are interviewed to predict what we might expect for the year ahead. When it comes to the church I would suggest you take time to look back and do an audit of your worship and sermon themes...
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Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of stewardship education. For more information on examples of financial policies and practices congregations might consider adopting, contact beryl.jantzi@everence.com. _______________________________ "Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you" — Deuteronomy 16:17 (NIV) In my first pastorate, it took me about three years to figure out an end-of-year ritual that took place in December. A group of businesspeople huddled together in the corner of the foyer, coffee cups in hand, talking and laughing, clearly having a good...
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Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of stewardship education. For more information on examples of financial policies and practices congregations might consider adopting, contact beryl.jantzi@everence.com. ______________ Dietrich Bonhoeffer died in prison at the age of 39, April 9, 1945, at the hands of the Nazi regime. He is probably best known for his book, “The Cost of Discipleship,” a commentary on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, as presented in the Gospel of Matthew. Of all his quotes, one of the most notable is, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and...
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Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of stewardship education. For more information on examples of financial policies and practices congregations might consider adopting, contact beryl.jantzi@everence.com. ______________ When I was starting out in ministry, at the age of 23, I was fortunate to have several wise mentors. One of them was John Drescher, a pastor, author and churchman. He once made a comment that has stayed with me: Stewardship is often best taught in bits and pieces. A pastor doesn’t need to devote an entire message to money each month, but they also shouldn’t...
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Beryl Jantzi is director of stewardship education at Everence. Tikkun olam We’re all familiar with the concept of peacemaking. But have you considered peace giving? Looking back over Old Testament practices and Jewish history, we come across an ancient concept called “tikkun olam” which means repairing the earth. This concept first shows up in the Mishnah, which is a Jewish commentary of writings that was formally organized around 200 AD. Many rabbinic writings from previous generations are included in this work. Tikkun olam is a call to righteousness and social justice. It’s rooted in the broader emphasis of shalom,...
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This blog is in celebration of Stewardship Sunday, January 16. Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of stewardship education. For more information on examples of financial policies and practices congregations might consider adopting, contact beryl.jantzi@everence.com. __________________________________________ “Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of...
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Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of stewardship education. For more information on examples of financial policies and practices congregations might consider adopting, contact beryl.jantzi@everence.com. ______________ When it comes to having cash reserves for your congregation, there are many factors to consider. Since no two churches are exactly alike, there’s no standard formula to recommend, but there are certain guidelines to consider. Cash reserves are best viewed as emergency funds for any unforeseen events or expenses a congregation may experience. This is not the same as a renewal and replacement line item, which...
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Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of Stewardship Education. For more information on examples of financial policies and practices congregations might consider adopting, contact beryl.jantzi@everence.com. _______________ And Jesus concluded, "The Sabbath was made for the good of human beings; they were not made for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27 Good News Translation) Times are changing and sometimes change in church is the hardest of all. From what I’ve observed, many have been offering "church" as a one model fits all. Church history and personal experience reminds us, like it or not, that culture demands...
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Beryl Jantzi is a former pastor and now serves as the Everence director of Stewardship Education. For more information on examples of financial policies and practices congregations might consider adopting submit your requests to beryl.jantzi@everence.com. _______________ The term “white-collar crime” was coined in 1939 and refers to a full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals. These crimes are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust, and are typically nonviolent. As we look at Scripture, there is another form of “crime” that I am naming “clerical crime.” This is sinful (and sometimes criminal) activity committed by members...
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Beryl Jantzi is director of Stewardship Education for Everence, an agency of Mennonite Church USA. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom/aphesis for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19 As Jesus launched his ministry, in Luke 4 there is a call to aphesis, or freedom. This is a direct reference to the principle of Jubilee (year of the Lord’s favor) as described in Leviticus...
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Beryl Jantzi is director of Stewardship Education for Everence, an agency of Mennonite Church USA. According to Scripture, what we do with our money has a profound impact on our relationship with God. If this sounds too strong, consider Luke 12:33-34: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart...
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Beryl Jantzi is director of Stewardship Education for Everence. Wealth and accumulation Slate magazine published a report in 2014 about billionaires. There were 2,325 in the world at that time holding seven trillion dollars, or four percent of the worlds wealth. About 100 billionaires lived in New York City and 85 in Moscow. Europe had more billionaires than any other continent. The average net worth of these persons was 3.1 billion dollars. Most of them have four homes worth about 94 million dollars. Wealth and generosity Paul also wrote about wealth. In his second letter to the church in Corinth...
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Beryl Jantzi is director of Stewardship Education for Everence. “'Tis a gift to be simple” — 19th century Shaker song Living into the spirit of contentment or discontentment is largely a conscious decision. We choose which “tent” to live under by deciding what life is all about and what we want our life to represent. Adam Hamilton, pastor at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, is author of the book Enough: Discovering joy through simplicity and generosity . In this book he takes on the subject of conTENTment and disconTENTment. Choosing contentment is more than just not buying things or getting caught...
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