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INTRODUCTION

     As we approach the dawn of the Third Millennium, Pope John Paul II calls us to strengthen and renew our faith; to "open wide the doors to Christ" and to bring about "a new springtime of Christianity." Inspired by the Holy Father's vision, Most Rev. Placido Rodriguez, CMF, Bishop of Lubbock, formed a stewardship committee in mid-1998 in order to help diocesan Catholics renew their commitment and deepen their discipleship in preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.

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     Stewardship is a Catholic Christian way of life based on the spiritual principles of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. When lovingly embraced, Christian stewardship produces a spirituality that refreshes our lives with the Holy Spirit, deepens our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and glorifies our Heavenly Father.
     Simply stated, stewardship is an expression of gratitude to God. It reminds us that we are the administrators, not the owners, of our assets. It fills a need deep within each of us to worship God and to thank Him for the abundant blessings He has showered upon us.
     The "Stewardship: A Way of Life" effort outlined in this manual presents all Catholics with a very realistic and easy-to-understand opportunity to worship God and to express gratitude to Him through the intentional, planned, and proportionate contribution of time, talent, and treasure to the Church and other charities. 

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     We realize that some people in the diocese will try to equate the idea of stewardship with fund raising. This is erroneous. Stewardship's true purpose is to promote the spirituality of "[seeking] first the kingdom of God." The effort's first concern is not money, but to speak to the heart of the individual about seeking always the will of the Father in our day-to-day living. Stewardship includes careful money administration, but stewardship is not about "fund raising."
     Stewardship is the Christian way of life. Its principles leap out at us from the very pages of Scripture. Starting with the story of a creation lovingly entrusted to Adam and Eve, and fulfilled in the life and mission of Christ, who desired that his mission be consummated in the ultimate act of self-giving, we too are called to be loving, giving Christians. Sacred Scripture teaches that it is only in such sacrificial loving that we find out what it means to be fully human.
     Stewardship is based on the fact that all that we have and all that we are comes from God. We commit ourselves to stewardship as a way of thanking God for all his blessings; returning to him a portion of the time, talent, and treasure he has allotted to us:

1. Each week, we choose what will be done with the 168 hours we have available to us. Good stewardship of time means we will share some of that time with God in prayer, praise and thanksgiving, and some time caring for the needs of others.
   
2. Every person has a flair for something. Good stewardship of talent means we identify our talents and use them to glorify God and to help other people;
   
3. Although the amounts vary significantly, we all bring some kind of revenue into our households. Good stewardship of treasure means we intentionally plan to donate a set percentage of our income to the church and other charities. As a final act of stewardship, we should prayerfully consider leaving a portion of our assets to the Church in our wills.

     The stewardship vision is an expression of basic discipleship. If the vision is understood as a scheme for simply meeting financial needs, it loses its essence and its power and it is no longer stewardship.

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THE SPIRITUAL IMPORTANCE OF STEWARDSHIP

     Christian stewardship can be identified by several meaningful characteristics, the most important is that it strengthens our relationship with God.

1. Christian stewardship helps individuals and families develop loving relationships with our Savior, Jesus Christ.
   
2. Christian stewardship provides a spirituality that the lay person can express at work and through personal involvement in family and community.
   
3. Christian stewardship successfully bridges the material world around us to our human need to seek God.
   
4. Embracing stewardship helps Christians to assess their faith in, and love of, Jesus.
   
5. Christian stewardship is a way of life, not a program that has a beginning and an ending.
   
6. Christian stewardship takes a positive view of money. It sees money not simply as a medium of exchange but as an indicator of the person's values. How we acquire it, use it, and share it reveals who we are.
   
7. Christian stewardship helps us to become aware that God is the true source of the gifts we possess. These gifts must be shared and administered from our first fruits and not from what we might have left over.
   
8. Stewardship teaches Christians to be concerned about where and how their parish's time, talent, and treasure can be shared with the Universal Church.
   
9. Jesus Christ is God's greatest gift to us. Christian stewardship leads us to share a portion of our time, talent, and treasure so that the Good News of Jesus Christ may be shared with those who do not know Him.

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STEWARDSHIP OF TIME, TALENT, AND TREASURE

     Christian stewardship is a way of life that expresses gratitude to God through the intentional, planned, and proportionate giving of time, talent, and treasure:

Intentional: Guided by prayer, each Catholic makes a decision to live out the Christian life as a good steward. This decision is an intentional act intended to thank God for all of His blessings by returning to Him a portion of the time, the talent, and the treasure He has given to us.

Planned: Once a year, usually during an effort in the parish, each Catholic household in our Diocese should plan how the stewardship of time and talent will be a part of its lifestyle and how the stewardship of treasure will be a part of its budget. This plan is then lived throughout the year in a regular, consistent manner.

Proportionate: The stewardship plan includes a commitment to donate a set percentage of one's time, one's talent, and one's income to the Church and other charities.

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CONCLUSION

     As the new millennium approaches, the opportunity dawns for all people of the Church of Lubbock to see the call to Christian stewardship as an integral part of their response to the Lord's call to mature discipleship. As we seek to answer Christ's critically important question, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15), we need to see the Lord Jesus as the supreme teacher of Christian stewardship. Our response necessarily entails a vision of sharing, a generous accountability for the gifts we've received and, in turn, rendered back as offerings to the church and the community.
     Living, teaching, and enabling others to embrace this vision is the mission of the diocesan and parish stewardship committees as well as the purpose of this stewardship effort in the Diocese of Lubbock.
     "Others have said, 'We must give until it hurts'," Bishop Rodriguez recently remarked. "I believe it's better for us if, instead, we learn to give until it makes us holy."

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