Making Stewardship A Way of Life
14 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago -Father Andrew Kemberling, an expert on the practice of stewardship in faith life, explains how stewardship is a spirituality that is anchored in thanksgiving for God's many blessings. He explains how stewardship is practiced through commitments of time, talent, and treasure. Listening to this 13 episode podcast series, you'll develop a new and exciting perspective on a life of stewardship and how you can make it your own.
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Episodes
Episode 13: Stewardship is a Means to an End: Evangelization
March 01, 2023 23:00 - 12 minutes - 8.66 MBIs this final episode of the series, Father Andrew explains the connection between stewardship and evangelization, Both of these support the core Catholic directives to 1) know your faith; 2) live your faith; and 3) share your faith. As committed parishioners come to know their faith better, a commitment to stewardship enables them to live their faith. Then, in living their faith, they become disciples to others in sharing their faith. That outcome is evangelization. Finally, Father Andrew a...
Episode 12: Make A Commitment To God
February 07, 2023 03:00 - 13 minutes - 9.09 MBWhy do organizations building a stewardship spirituality ask us to make a commitment to God? As Father Andrew explains in this episode, making a commitment moves us from merely intending to embrace stewardship to owning our stewardship. We evolve from being simple helpers to active ministers. We anticipate needs and lean forward to serve. Our commitment becomes the foundation of our character. And how can this change a faith community? Father Andrew has seen Catholic parishes where just 20%...
Episode 11: A Life of Thanksgiving: Biblical Passages on Thanksgiving
January 25, 2023 03:00 - 13 minutes - 9.07 MBHow is stewardship inspired by the Bible? Father Andrew quotes several passages from the Bible that demonstrate that the concept of stewardship and its core theme of thanksgiving are deeply embedded in scripture. He references Psalm 50:14, Psalms 106:1 and 107:1, Psalm 118:4, and Sirach 51. He explains how our stewardship gifts, including money and time, become "holy" when they are precious and worthy and given to support the work of God. And he answers the question of how fixed assets can b...
Episode 10: We Have A Need To Give, Before Giving To A Need
January 08, 2023 19:00 - 13 minutes - 9.11 MBAre we obligated to give to others simply because they have needs? In this episode, Father Andrew explains that, in a well-formed spirituality of stewardship, Christians have have a need to give which will drive their giving. He points out that giving based on others' needs can leave us with feelings of guilt, not satisfaction. Instead, if we have embraced the stewardship values of identity, trust, gratitude, and love, we will find in ourselves a need to give, and our giving will then be ful...
Episode 9: Give Us This Day, Our Daily Bread
December 20, 2022 03:00 - 13 minutes - 8.97 MBHow do we trust that God will give us what we really need? In this episode, Father Andrew examines the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, where we ask God to give us, every day, our daily bread. He explains how this "bread" we ask for is in fact all the sustenance we need, including the Holy Eucharist. He explains how we participate in God's plan to give everyone their daily bread when we give our tithes, and those tithes become the daily bread of others. And he responds to this frequent...
Episode 8: Giving God The First and Best
December 02, 2022 22:00 - 13 minutes - 9.21 MBWhat it the quality of the gifts we should give to God? In this episode, Father Andrew explains how our gifts should be "holy." That means we set aside the first 10% of what we have received and give it to God honestly and charitably. And our gifts should be "precious." Thus they should be the best of what we have to offer. This is in thanksgiving for what God has done for us. Father Andrew notes that tithing is modeled in the Bible. 11 of the 12 tribes of Israel inherited land. The 12th tr...
Episode 8: Giving God The First and Best
December 02, 2022 22:00 - 13 minutes - 9.21 MBWhat it the quality of the gifts we should give to God? In this episode, Father Andrew explains how our gifts should be "holy." That means we set aside the first 10% of what we have received and give it to God honestly and charitably. And our gifts should be "precious." Thus they should be the best of what we have to offer. This is in thanksgiving for what God has done for us. Father Andrew notes that tithing is modeled in the Bible. 11 of the 12 tribes of Israel inherited land. The 12th tr...
Episode 7: Make Time, Not Find Time, For God
November 24, 2022 04:00 - 13 minutes - 9 MBHow does time apply to stewardship? In this episode, Father Andrew explores our understanding of time and why it is important to be in the "present moment" when we pray. He points out why "finding time" for God usually fails, and why instead we need to proactively "make time" to engage with God in service and prayer. He highlights how the Benedictine concept of "in all things God be glorified" can inspire us to incorporate prayer into nearly all of our daily lives. And he explains how period...
Episode 6: Redemptive Suffering: More Valuable Than A Gift of Money
November 02, 2022 21:00 - 13 minutes - 9.06 MBAs humans, we are blessed by God. But we also experience suffering. Can anything virtuous come from our suffering? In this episode, Father Andrew explores how offering the suffering that we experience as a gift to God can be a more valuable form of stewardship that offering tangible gifts to God's community. Christians see challenges and difficulties as an opportunity to bring good out of evil. When we are dealing with adversity, we have a heightened opportunity to expand our stewardship by ...
Episode 5: Evangelical Poverty
September 27, 2022 19:00 - 12 minutes - 8.92 MBAre we "possessed" by our possessions? If so, we may be driven to own and acquire even more, which can separate us from God. In this episode, Father Andrew explains how practicing "evangelical poverty" can help us let go of being "owned" by our material things and trust God to provide the essentials we need. Evangelical poverty helps us adopt a mindset of being "poor in spirit," which, as Jesus said, leads to inheriting the "kingdom of heaven." Furthermore, even the poor and the poor in spir...
Episode 4: Faith, Vocations, and the Earth
August 21, 2022 23:00 - 12 minutes - 8.57 MBIn this episode, Father Andrew introduces three more areas that are important elements of stewardship: faith, vocations, and the earth. Faith is a treasure that has been handed down to us; we need to grow our own faith and transmit it to the next generation. Clergy members are essential to the ability of the church to serve its faithful; one element of stewardship is encouraging those who live the virtues we would expect from God's servants to consider a commitment to religious service. As w...
Episode 3: The Three "Ts:" Time, Talent, Treasure
May 16, 2022 00:00 - 13 minutes - 9.09 MBTime, Talent and Treasure: the basic components of stewardship. But what do they mean? In this episode, Father Andrew Kemberling explores the deeper meaning of these stewardship themes. From the gift of time that God has given to us, Father Andrew shows how to calculate a "tithe," or portion of that time, that can be returned to God in service and prayer. The "talents" that we have are also gifts of God. Thus it is appropriate to show gratitude for our talents by using them in service of fai...
Episode 2: The Core Values of Stewardship: Identity, Trust, Gratitude, Love
March 07, 2022 03:00 - 12 minutes - 8.79 MBIn this episode, Father Andrew Kemberling reminds us that "stewardship" is a spirituality, not just a theology. The spirituality is based on four core values: identity, trust, gratitude, and love. Identity is anchored in the fact that we were created by God to love Him and serve Him. We belong to Him. Trust is believing that God will provide for our needs, not just our wants. Gratitude tells us to focus on everything we've been blessed with as gifts, and especially the spiritual gifts. When ...
Episode 1: Stewardship Is A Way Of Life
March 29, 2021 21:00 - 12 minutes - 8.91 MBIs stewardship just about money? Father Andrew Kemberling, an expert on the practice of stewardship in one's faith life, explains how stewardship is actually a spirituality that is anchored in thanksgiving for God's many blessings. Father Kemberling points out that fund raising in faith organizations is usually focused on simply meeting needs. Fully-formed stewardship, on the other hand, is based on the spirituality of recognizing that God has given us many blessings, and in acknowledging t...