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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

Afire with God

Becoming Spirited Stewards

Betsy Schwarzentraub • November 2007

BUY Print $15.00

Stewardship is a dirty word in most churches.

Pastors preach about it knowing they must while members sit uncomfortably through the "it's-that-time-again" sermons and other appeals. Afire with God urges ministries and congregations to become stewards-in-action of all God has entrusted to us. Members go beyond thinking in terms of dollars contributed to see stewardship as becoming living examples of the gospel.

"Real stewardship is radical, which means going to the roots of our faith," writes Schwarzentraub. "If we take stewardship seriously—and joyfully—it won't be just another addition to the same old programs we've been doing in our congregations. It will change our thinking, acting, and imagining. And it will change our vision of ministry, working from the inside out."

The book's four chapters are simple and elegant.

  • Chapter 1 addresses our mixed feelings about stewardship and uses the biblical image of the Hebrews as aliens in Egypt.
  • Chapter 2 uses the experience of Moses at the burning bush as a way to explore foundations of stewardship in the Bible.
  • Chapter 3 connects stewardship with the mysteries of faith and with John Wesley's understanding of the means of grace, exploring Wesley's life as a steward.
  • Chapter 4 looks at practical approaches for becoming stewards-in-action.

Included are examples for faithful stewardship of the earth, ways to reinvigorate stewardship in worship, long-range planning ideas and plans for individual ministry growth.

Schwarzentraub will lead you to a spirited stewardship that embraces every dimension of life and alters your ideas about the topic: converting the noun steward into a verb! Transform who you are becoming and what you can do in the world.

Lead in Stewardship Leader's Guide is also available.


Betsey Schwarzentraub is director of stewardship development for the California-Nevada United Methodist Foundation. She is the author of many articles about stewardship and development. An ordained clergy member of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Schwarzentraub leads workshops and training events across the U.S. Schwarzentraub earned her doctorate from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She is the recipient of the Outstanding Stewardship Educator Award, given by the Christian Stewardship Association and is a member of the board of directors of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center.

ISBN: 978-0-88177-520-4

Imprint: Discipleship Resources

Pub Date: November 2007

Trim Size: 5.5 in (w) x 8.5 in (h) x 0.244 in (d)

Page Count: 120

BISAC Categories: RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Pastoral Resources

BISAC1: REL074000

BISAC2: REL012070

BISAC3: REL063000