Course BB-03 - Stewardship In Scripture

by Bruce Barkhauer

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With the understanding that stewardship encompasses more than money, “Stewardship in Scripture” students will gain a rich and diverse understanding of biblical stewardship principles. Topics include the theology of abundance, the importance of generosity, stewardship as transformation, stewardship of the Gospel, and more.

The primary objective of this course is for students to engage the biblical witness and its broad perspective of the concept of stewardship. Participants in the class will develop an understanding that stewardship is about more than money. The successful student will be able to articulate stewardship as a spiritual discipline and point to passages the elucidate concepts of creation care, Sabbath observation, self-care, gospel care, and the management of resources.

There are four video sessions in this course. Students are expected to watch each video and post comments and respond to the questions posed for each session. In addition, it is suggested that class participants purchase and read Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News About Living a Generous Life by Mark Allen Powell (there is an Amazon link in the BB-03 Virtual Classroom.)

There are two class-wide live conference calls in this course:

• First live class-wide conference call: September 5, 2016, 7-8pm Central Time.
• Second live class-wide conference call: September 28, 2016, 7-8pm Central Time.

A Low Price To Make The Course Accessible

We have made a special pricing of the fully-interactive version of this course order to make this course available to individual people or groups of clergy, lay leaders, and congregants of churches in small study groups. We have endeavored to make this course as RELEVANT and as ACCESSIBLE to as many people as possible. Our goal is to foster a broad understanding of personal finance as a basis for creating the capacity for generosity. We offer this course to the Church and Her Servants with hopes that you can participate. Group discounts are also available for study groups of three or more.

An Ideal Course for Both Individuals and Small Groups

This course is designed for both individuals and small groups who wish to learn more about stewardship. The course makes an excellent small-group study or a church-wide study. The material is condensed enough so each Lesson can also be used in a workshop format and still allow plenty of time for group discussions. The price of the course is purposely low enough to allow each member of the group to purchase their own access to the course materials to study individually either before or after a group meeting.

Online Distance Learning

This a distance-learning course that can be completed online without the need for travel; either across town or to another city. The course can be taken from home, office or even a coffee shop. All you need is a web browser and a broadband Internet connection. The course can be successfully used by people with only the most basic of computer skills.

CEU Credit

We're happy to announce that “Holistic Stewardship” students can earn 0.8 continuing-education-unit credits (CEUs) for their participation in this course. CEUs will be administered by the Ecumenical Stewardship Center through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. The Academy facilitates CEUs for the Church of the Brethren and other organizations. 

Use any Device From Anywhere

Access this course from anywhere; at home, at the office or when out on the run. You can access our course videos 24x7 from anywhere you choose; you are in complete control. We fully support desktop devices as well as mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. The responsive design of all of our web pages and video players will automatically size our materials and rearrange page regions to best fit the particular device you choose to use. Included in this support is our Adaptive Streaming technology that will automatically and dynamically adjust our streaming speed to best fit your particular broadband connection. Go as slow as a 3G wireless connection or as fast as a fiber-to-the-home connection allows. Rest assured that for any type of device or connection speed you elect to use, we will support it to the best possible quality the device allows.

Additional Information About This Stewardship Course

In the sidebar on the right side of the page, there is additional information about this course. Please explore these pages for more information.

Course Instructor: Rev. Bruce Barkhauer

The Reverend Bruce A. Barkhauer was called as the first “Minister for Faith and Giving for Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)” in 2010. He is the Director of the Center for Faith and Giving, a General Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in North America.

For twenty-five years, he has led congregations in Ohio and Indiana in achieving high levels of financial support for local and global missions, and he now shares his experience across the life of the whole church.

His energy, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit enhance gifts in both business and ministry. He brings a biblically based understanding about stewardship combined with theological integrity and weds them to the current trends and best practices related to spirituality and money. In his workshops and writings, Rev. Barkhauer also talks about the multiple understandings about stewardship in the biblical witness as they touch the whole life of a person of faith.

He is a graduate of Ohio University (Athens), Christian Theological Seminary (Indianapolis) and did Doctor of Ministry studies at Ashland Theological Seminary (Ashland, OH). During his ministry he has served both the Regional and General Manifestations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) by providing leadership in areas of stewardship and finance, personnel management, video production and direction, as a parliamentarian, and with matters of spiritual discernment. He has served as adjunct faculty at Lexington Theological Seminary and Claremont School of Theology as well as a Field Work Supervisor for Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

First In the Series "Steward Leaders Engaging God’s Mission"

Brought to you by Ecumenical Stewardship Center and TransformingTheChurch.org, “Stewardship and Scripture” is the first in a series titled "Steward Leaders Engaging God’s Mission" consisting of a total of six courses. Students enrolled in the series will learn principles and practices relating to stewardship and leadership through studying Scripture, exploring holistic perspectives, critiquing culture, developing healthy relationships, and achieving financial health.

About the Ecumenical Stewardship Center

As a Network for Growing Stewards, the Ecumenical Stewardship Center provides resources that encourage the development of generous giving and faithful stewardship as transformational spiritual practices for faith communities and their leaders. Twenty denominations and several stewardship-related organizations in the US and Canada are partners in ESC's mission and ministry. You can find them on the ESC website at www.stewardshipresources.org.

About TransformingTheChurch.org

TransformingTheChurch.org is a state-of-the-art online resource that provides high-quality distance education for churches and congregations; both clergy and laity. For additional information about TransformingTheChurch.org, see: https://www.transformingthechurch.org/who-we-are