Generous Theology and Church Culture
Generosity at Christmas
Giving and Hoping – Generosity during Advent
Please use the slider below to discover an introduction and four reflective sessions for Advent, looking at generosity through the eyes of characters in the biblical Christmas story.
Giving and Hoping Introduction
This is a series of four sessions looking at generosity as we prepare to celebrate the greatest of gifts at Christmas
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Mary and Joseph
Mary and Joseph are at the heart of the story of the birth and life of Jesus Christ
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The Shepherds
The shepherds are presented by Luke as ‘everymen’ and allow us to witness events through the eyes of ordinary people
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The Wise Men
The story of the wise men traditionally sits alongside the Christmas story although it is separate and probably happened years later
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The Innkeeper
The character of the innkeeper only appears in the bible stories by implication, yet is a popular figure in our traditional Christmas story and school nativity plays
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‘All things come from you and of your own do we give you’
1 Chronicles 29:14 and Common Worship
There are more Bible verses on money, wealth and possessions (2,450) than anything apart from love, with four times more than on faith or prayer. Jesus warns explicitly about the danger of focusing on wealth, as does Paul. 16 of the 38 recorded parables are about money and possessions. One of our challenges is that, whilst we as a church often hate talking about money, Jesus never stopped. Giving is neither forbidden nor commanded by scripture, but wholly integrated within our discipleship, our following of Jesus, and our desire and calling to be Christ-like. Generosity is a hallmark of a lived-out faith and a testament to it.
Further resources
A Generous Theology
A short paper looking at what the Bible says about generosity
The Generosity of God
A three-part blog looking at the theology of Christian giving
The Principles of Christian Giving
A handy guide to 2 Corinthians 8 & 9
First to the Lord
Key principles on giving
Related resources
As Christians, and disciples of Christ, we believe in a generous God, who longs for us to share his generosity with others. A generous life is therefore a hallmark of our faith and a testament to it, as the more generous we are, the more we reflect the generous God we believe in.
A generous culture is also essential for a church to develop a sustainable ministry. That generosity can be expressed in many different ways. It is not only about financial giving, but then financial giving is part of living generously. To cultivate a generous culture, there are four areas we need to focus on:
Generous Church Culture
Inspire people through generous leadership and celebrating generosity within the life of the church.
Disciple members, through resources, teaching and learning ,so people can grow in an understanding of God’s generosity towards them, and how they can live generous lives.
Embed generosity in the life of the church, in its plans, services and ministry and weave it into everything the church does.
Activate generosity, by providing opportunities for people to grow in generosity and apply what they have discovered.
Understanding how to grow a culture is critically important. This is not about delivering a series of initiatives, but about changing our way of being and behaving. It requires patience, commitment and determination and above all prayer. Leadership is crucial, but this is something that all need to be committed to so that we become the generous community we are called to be.
There are many ways in which we can develop as a generous community, and many actions we take which help in this. If your parish would welcome further support in developing generosity, please contact the Generous Living Team