Karl B. Travis
Westminster John Knox Press, 192 pages
Published August 6, 2024
In God’s Gift of Generosity, Karl Travis has given the church a gift, namely, a work that is deeply personal, profoundly theological and eminently practical. Subtitled Gratitude beyond Stewardship, Travis reframes the stewardship conversation, moving from a dreaded, annual recitation of budgetary woes to a fully joyful exploration of generosity — God’s and ours.
Travis repositions much of the current conversation in a hopeful way, first by shifting us away from understanding stewardship as “management.” Some of the moves he makes are linguistic. Some are strategic. All are flavored with theological and biblical mindfulness, and include:
- Affirming that God’s generosity is a core biblical narrative arc, from creation to covenant to resurrection and beyond; our continuous call is to remember and rehearse God’s generosity.
- Moving from generosity for God, to generosity with God, from transaction to transformation.
- Shifting to “receive offerings,” rather than “take collections.”
- Renaming a congregation’s stewardship committee the “generosity.” committee, a move with profound implications beyond a simple word change.
- Embracing the counter-cultural power of practicing generosity.
- Affirming that congregations and leaders who are open and transparent about money are generally more healthy and vital.
- Compelling thinking about a pastor’s/leader’s roles and responsibilities, including “who knows what,” and why.
- Generosity as a way to counter the cultural forces of materialism, consumerism and acquisition.
- Generosity as spiritual discipline, bringing us into deeper relationship with God and each other.
- Stewardship as a joyful response to God’s generosity, not as reluctant giving to subscribe to a church’s budget.
- Uncoupling budget and generosity/stewardship conversations.
- Reconsidering practices such as tithing and pledge cards.
It is nearly impossible to read this work unaware of Travis’ own health journey from a hospital deathbed and over three years of hospice, leading to a remarkable recovery. His affirmations about God’s generosity and his own echo with authenticity across the months and years of his illness.
Travis is a seasoned Presbyterian minister with decades of stewardship experience. He is aware of his status as a White, male pastor in a mainline Protestant tradition, and writes with that mindfulness. His work is not a how-to manual, though it is filled with practical ideas. It would have benefited from an occasional scenario in which real-life congregations live out his ideas; perhaps this is a task for an online group of readers and leaders, or a local cluster of practitioners.
God’s Gift of Generosity transforms tired tropes. It challenges conventional wisdom. It invites the 21st-century church into a new, often very ancient way of thinking. I am hopeful that this work will draw the attention of congregations and a broader denominational community, navigating the familiar and not always welcome waters of 21st-century, post-COVID American religious life.
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