Money Winter 1998

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Giving has become sexy of late. News articles are tracking trends among the cyber-rich, who are changing the face of philanthropy in the western United States. Last February, Ted Turner tried to provoke a philanthropic competition among billionaires by prompting Fortune magazine to profile the "Forty Most Generous Americans." He fears that the image-conscious well-to-do hold onto their shekels in order to make the Forbes 400. Worth Online predicts a "$10 trillion transfer of wealth" in the next generation and asks, "What ethic will govern the disposition of the enormous wealth assembled since the Second World War?"

Dennis and Eileen Bakke's answer is stewardship—a sleeper of a topic that they are determined to make relevant. Solicit Dennis's input on the subject and, if you don't duck fast, you'll get a sermon. "We Christians have distorted a perfectly good word," he says emphatically. "Stewardship is not primarily about the money you give away. It's about the part that you keep." Stewardship Sunday—that staple on the liturgical calendar of North American Protestantism—is misnamed, since it focuses on giving to meet the financial needs in the church budget. Certainly, tithing (the biblical practice of giving away at least ten percent of one's income) is a vital part of worship for Jesus' disciples. Yet when one gives money away, those funds become someone else's responsibility to "steward." Says Dennis, "How you steward that part that you keep—that's the hard question! That's what we need to talk about more often!"

It's not by accident that Dennis holds strong opinions on the topic. Throughout their marriage, Dennis and Eileen Harvey Bakke have made the conscious study and practice of stewardship a central focus. Along the ...

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