As Maria sings in “The Sound of Music,” let’s start at the very beginning: All things belong to God. Our task is to steward – or manage – what we have in a way that gives honor to God. These dual beliefs (all things belong to God and our task is to steward them well) are foundational to all we say and do as followers of Jesus.
Building upon last week’s post, I suggest that a deeper understanding of biblical stewardship is an ideal place to begin a conversation about developing a healthy organizational culture. If we think about culture as a foundation within an organization, then stewardship can be considered a “cornerstone” of Winebrenner’s organizational culture.
A very simple way to think about culture is as the collection of practices, routines, and rituals that are passed from one generation to the next. In other words, there should be evidence that a particular culture exists. Pushing this point forward, there should be evidence at Winebrenner that stewardship is a central component of the organizational culture. Everything at Winebrenner begins with the Board; therefore, there should certainly be evidence from the Board that stewardship is a central priority. (You can read more about how the Board is the starting point by clicking on the following)
Everything starts with…Governance
Everything starts with…Governance, Part Two
Everything starts with…Governance, Part Three
At last week’s Board of Trustees meeting there was extensive conversation about the various financial policies at Winebrenner. In the coming weeks, InDepth will provide updates and additional information about some of the extraordinary steps the Board has taken to live out a profound trust in God’s provision as well as deep commitment to his generosity.
- Brent C. Sleasman, President
[…] upon various aspects of stewardship. Demonstrating that stewardship is a key component of Winebrenner’s culture requires some kind of evidence, so these posts have included several updates about changes to […]