Comment
Dorothy and David McMillan

From the Director
David Porter

Good Living in Bad Circumstances
Glenn Jordan

Readers Survey Report
Ruth Hutchinson

The Local Church and The Local Community
Norman Hamilton

Hospitality for Ministers
Graham Cheesman

Too Many Partnerships...not enough partners?
Maurice Kinkead

Community and Conflict...a Restorative Approach
Debbie Watters

Letters page

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STEWARDSHIP
As a guiding principle for social engagement and community development the Christian concept of stewardship offers a radical alternative to the controlling forms of leadership and decision making that have characterised most organisations.

Traditionally leadership has been defined in authoritarian terms. Leaders make the decisions about strategy and policy and those below implement them. Although management gurus have advocated the redistribution of power as a technique for greater efficiency, by and large real power is still the prerogative of a privilege few, and remains the form of governance that orders the major institutions of church, state and commerce.

Stewardship is essentially a willingness to take responsibility for our social institutions, community needs and political structures without resorting to over-control or the need to hold all the power. Stewardship emphasises ownership, empowerment and partnership as a value system at the heart of our organisations. It stresses that, without the power to participate in the decision-making process, people will not take ownership and responsibility for the outcome. For democracy to succeed and communities to develop, ownership and empowerment have to be experienced by all participants at every level. This is an insight slowing and painfully emerging from the failed politics and cultural exclusion of the past.

Partnership is equally important to the concept of stewardship. Partnership is the experience of working with others for a common good through a balance of power. If a partnership is to be credible, joint power, and consequently joint accountability, is necessary. Partnerships are based on inclusivity, interdependence and the responsibility at every level to define the vision and values of a programme or organisation.

In this edition of Lion & Lamb these issues are given importance by the concerns of our main contributors who consider the relationship of the Church to the community. Although these articles wrestle with varied and complex problems, what they collectively raise are questions about the nature of the church's engagement with society and the values that undergird our service. I don't think it's unfair to suggest that the Church has not always been concerned about partnership and the practice of stewardship in the wider community. However, beneath our exclusion and control, lie other values, that if allowed to inform our engagement will make our contribution a vital and transformative one. As Peter Block reminds us, the spiritual meaning of stewardship is, 'to honour what has been given to us, to use power with a sense of grace, and to pursue purposes that transcend short-term self-interest'.

ECONI WELCOMES the submission of unsolicited articles, but does not guarantee publication, and manuscripts cannot be returned. Opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECONI. Permission to reprint any original article in Lion & Lamb should be sought from the Editor.

Editor   Derek Poole
Asst Editor   Ruth Hutchinson
Design   Colin Maguire
Cover   Spring Graphic