Two Books on Stewardship: Irresistible Invitation and Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate

Maxie D. Dunnam
Irresistible Invitation: Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God
Abingdon Press, 2008 ISBN 9780687648795
$16.75…$11.73… 30% off until May 1

J. Clif Christopher
Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship
Abingdon Press, 2008 ISBN 9780687648535
$13.00…$9.10… 30% off until May 1

Don’t be misled. Maxie Dunnam’s Irresistible Invitation is much more than a stewardship program. In fact, financial stewardship, or the stewardship of gifts, is but one small sub-chapter in this 40-day program of renewal and growth. It is designed to inspire in many ways, on many levels, as participants come face-to-face with God’s love for them. The full package comes with a book, Leaders’ Guide with DVD, Participant’s Workbook, Campaign Handbook, and Campaign media folio containing two DVDs with a full array of bulletin inserts, sample sermons and so forth.

The overall study takes participants on a journey toward becoming partners in the Gospel. Literally starting with Genesis and continuing through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, it is a compendium of the wisdom, wit, and faith of Dunnam’s decades in ministry. The book and the DVDs will make Maxie Dunnam familiar to the whole congregation, and if there is a downside to this program, it is perhaps an over-emphasis on one, albeit very faithful and talented, individual. Nevertheless, by exploring God’s “extravagant love,” the goal is to experience authentic spiritual growth preparing participants to become more effective agents of Christ in the world.

The study can be done in small groups, supplemented by as many supporting elements as are desired—a parallel sermon series, church-wide media focus, etc. The study may then be augmented to focus on stewardship using the components titled “Cultivating Joyful Giving in Your Church.” All these materials are incredibly user-friendly, given access to a laptop computer, electronic projector, and screen.

The advantage of using the 40-day study is that it thoroughly grounds stewardship theologically in God’s love, bounty, and will for the lives of disciples. It gives the “big picture,” in a way that can be a fruitful review for long-term members and a valuable introduction to the Christian life for newer members. Suggestions are also made for ways to tailor the program so as to include youth and families. This very comprehensive package will be for many in invitation to deeper discipleship, stewardship, and faith.

On the other hand, J. Clif Christopher’s Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship, first referred to me by a thirty-something new pastor, focuses in on stewardship in the context of contemporary attitudes towards all charitable giving. It is very valuable in placing stewardship in the twenty-first century context of attitudes about raising money, giving and fund-raising in the non-profit sector. Christopher, now director of the Horizons Stewardship Company, draws on his vast experience as a pastor and veteran of six major building campaigns and eight capital campaigns.

For congregations with members new to the faith and the practices of the church, or curious about how to reach out to new generations of givers, this book provides many valuable insights into current issues of competing for gifts in the context of aggressive campaigning by a myriad of non-profits. Sharing keys to successful fund-raising, this book assumes that the pastor must be a fund-raiser, and a savvy and skilled one at that. And all of this, Christopher maintains, must be grounded in prayer and a clear sense of oneself. If you’ve ever wondered what makes some non-profit leaders and pastors so successful in raising money to under-gird their mission, this book’s for you. Reading it with the Stewardship Committee will shake up some old assumptions, challenge established ways of “how we’ve always done it,” and create the potential to bring pledge drives into the twenty-first century.

In his Introduction, Bill Easum maintains that it’s not as easy to raise money as it was in the past and that many people who teach stewardship haven’t changed with the times. Clif Christopher has observed, experienced, analyzed, learned—and changed. His insights and perspectives offer a critical look into the attitudes and assumptions contemporary church-goers bring, not only when the offering plate is passed but to the whole gamut of communicating a mission, marketing and planned giving.

Taken in tandem, these two resources have the potential to reach the diversity of generational and experiential realities of people in the pews, especially for those who choose the Dunnam component on stewardship. Christopher’s pointed suggestions, admonitions and challenges to the role of the pastor in the on-going work of stewardship formation compliments well the small-group experience of the Dunnam approach. Pastors and laity growing together to undergird the ministry and mission of the church—these two new resources point the way to renewal that is deep, honest, and faithful