Motives of the Heart

Stewardship’s Theological Roots

It was in preparation for the historic Stewardship Summit and Stewardship Consultation, March 20-23, 1994, in Cohutta Springs, Georgia, USA, that Dr. Angel Manuel Rodriguez, Associate Director in the GC Biblical Research Institute, was requested to prepare two documents—one on the Theology of Tithe and the other on the Theology of Offerings.

Dr. Rodriguez has had a keen interest in the subject of Stewardship, including tithe and offerings, for a number of years. Despite his busy schedule, Dr. Rodriguez laid aside his regular responsibilities and devoted several weeks to this important Stewardship assignment. The presentations at Cohutta Springs were outstanding. Church adminstrators and Stewardship directors listened with interest to this “first attempt” to present a written theology of tithe and offerings.

At the close of the Stewardship Summit and Consultation, Dr. Rodriguez was asked to prepare the final versions of the above documents as quickly as possible, and also to develop another document on the Theology of Stewardship. Church leaders and Stewardship directors urged the early printing and distribution of these three documents.

This is a brief background of the development and publication of Stewardship Roots, which contains all three of the above-mentioned papers by Dr. Rodriguez.

As Stewardship revivals begin in many countries, it is the prayer of Dr. Rodriguez and the staff of GC Stewardship Ministries that your personal spiritual life will be enriched, your thinking stimulated, and you will sense a new appreciation of these important subjects that describe the very unique relationship between God and man. At the end of each major section, you will find questions to consider that have been designed to lead into in-depth discussions of key issues.