The Three T's Reconsidered
By the Rev. Robert A. Hoffman

Time - Talent - Treasure
Stewardship ministry is filled with preconceptions and misconceptions. Example: When we say the word "stewardship" in most of our congregations, the word that comes to mind for most of our people is all, "money."

The connection is understandable, but unfortunate!

In many cases the only time our people have heard the word "stewardship" used is just prior to somebody asking them to make financial commitments to next year’s budget.

There are those who would argue that we made some progress in getting out of this rut when we moved stewardship talk away from just money, and into the realm of the now famous 3 T’s: time, talent, and treasure. I am not so sure. Why do I say this? Because even when we add time and talent to treasure, we are still focusing our attention in the wrong place. We perpetuate the erroneous assumption that stewardship is concerned, first of with giving something.

In fact, the opposite is true; stewardship does not begin with giving, but with receiving. It does not begin with an action, but with an attitude; everything that I have has been given to me. Martin Luther, in his Small Catechism, in his explanations to the three articles of the Apostles’ Creed makes this clear:

I believe that God has created me and all that exists ... God provides me with food and clothing, home and family, daily work, and all that I need from day to day ... I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord. At great cost he saved and redeemed me, a lost and condemned person ... I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts..."

Throughout this explanation we see God’s graceful action towards us. What, asks Luther, is the appropriate response to this grace? "I surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey him."

Therefore, I propose a new Three T’s and the place to start is with the word Thanksgiving. Indeed, we’ve been singing and saying this all along: "Praise and thanksgiving, Father we offer, For all things living, created good" (LBW hymn #409). "Mercjful Father, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us ... "(LBW, Offertory Prayer).

The primary motivation of a steward is thankfulness. But as we know, we cannot really give thanks within our hearts unless we deeply feel the "undeserved quality" of the gifts we have received. The great tragedy of our day is the ability of so many people to be indifferent before what we have been given. The sin of our day, as I see it, is the carefree assumption that we "deserve" what God gives us and that we are free to do with it as we please.

However, once this sense of thanksgiving begins to pervade my life, and I begin to look back over all the days, months, and years that God has been doing this providing, it begins to occur to me that, not only has God been totally faithful and graceful towards me in the past, but will continue to be so in the future. God’s steadfast love can be relied on. In other words, I can begin to truly trust the Lord. It is not that God changes, but that I do. As I begin to more fully rely on God’s promise, I can begin to let go of other things that I used to cling to and rely on.

In his explanation to the First Commandment in the Large Catechism, Luther says, "That to which my heart clings is my God".

As my sense of God’s grace increases, my gratitude increases, and my natural response will be one of generosity. "With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you my brothers and sisters, to give him your bodies as a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1).

As T. A. Kantonen commented on this verse, "To give and keep on giving is the very nature of God who is love. Love can never be close-lipped or tight-fisted. It is impelled from within to share, to sacrifice, to give. Christian giving can therefore never be an occasional performance or a special ceremony." Notice the change in motivation: from compelled (from outside, by duty, guilt, paying the bills, etc.) to impelled (from inside, from the heart, in response to God’s grace).

Once God’s people begin living with a sense of thanksgiving and trust, a strange, wonderful, and scary thing happens. They cease to live like all of their neighbors; they are no longer simply "conformed to the world," but begin becoming "transformed by the renewing of their minds" (Romans 12:2). Stewardship ministry, seem this light, is clearly not primarily concerned with funding anything. It does not begin with giving money, or recruiting gifted and willing volunteers to serve in a congregation. (Yes, these are desirable, but they are not the focus.)

Its primary focus is attitude adjustment, so that all of God’s people may live thankful, trusting, and transformed lives.

* A stewardship specialist, the Rev. Robert A. Hoffman now works as a pastor serving "Ground Zero" -- the site of the World Trade Center disaster in New York City.


 © Copyright 1994, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
This essay first appeared in the Spring 1994 issue of Faith in Action. Articles in Faith in Action may be reproduced for use in ELCA and ELCIC congregations provided each copy carries the note:
© Copyright 1996, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Reprinted with permission.