Stewardship

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Since the type of leadership I advocate is often referred to as servant leadership, stewardship is a similar concept.  Peter Block wrote on stewardship as a form of leading and his ideas resonated with mine in terms of what is expected of us as leaders.  Basically, this is a philosophy where serving others is more important than serving self.

My pastor, Jim Wallace, shared his thoughts on stewardship in a sermon that had some interesting insights about leadership for these economic times.  Because I perceive leadership as a holistic endeavor, I wanted to share some of his comments with the readers of my blog (if there are any of you out there) An excerpt is printed below:

"For me, like much of Presbyterian theology, stewardship is a holistic way of making sense of life, a way of being in the world ... For example, a cornerstone of our economic systems is the idea of private ownership.  her is is the home I live in, my belongings, my portfolio, they belong and are restricted to me as an individual person.  It is mine, not yours, for me to determine.  Stewardship, on the other hand, says these gifts have been entrusted to you completely, but they are not yours.  They belong to God and you need to be conscious of how you use them because someday you must give an account to the real owner.

Same thing with the idea of a consumer driven culture.  We live in a system where the consumer is foremost, catering to your wants and needs.  Stewardship moves the spotlight from what the consumer wants to your neighbor's well-being.  Stewardship says we have a larger moral responsibility than to self.

We live in economic realities, but with a larger moral responsibility for the well-being of neighbor and under the spiritual directive that says all we have has been entrusted to us by God for God's use.  This is what it means to practice stewardship and to live with a different set of values and agenda than those found in the world as we know it.  Think of stewardship as a holistic way of making sense of life, a wonderful way of being in the world."

Peter Vaill talks about learning as a way of being and I always liked that phrase.  Now Reverand Jim Wallace talks about stewardship as a holistic way of making sense of life, a wonderful way of being in the world.  I really like that perspective. 

Isn't that what we should be doing as leaders by helping others see this holistic perspective?  Wouldn't we be better as people and the world would be a better place if we saw our role as through this stewardship lens?

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Comments

[Katlyn Bargren]

This reminds me of what my grandmother said on her 65th birthday a while ago. I remember she said that considered herself a servant, to both her family and god. For some reason this stayed with me. She is a mother of seven. She sacrificed becoming a doctor and furthering her career to raise a big family. What she wanted was never a priority. It was all about her kids. I think that this is so noble. I think that what you said about stewardship being a holistic way of making sense of life rings true to my grandmother. She is very wise and strong in her faith.

[Jann Freed]

That is a great story about your grandmother. But I will say her age sounds too young! She was noble and it sounds as if she was successful in raising a large family--not an easy task for most people. She is to be admired. Who did you send your note of gratitude to? Thanks