In his three packed lectures at 91����Ƶ’s annual , Brueggemann talked about two narratives: the narrative of accumulation, demonstrated by Pharaoh in the Old Testament, and the narrative of abundance, demonstrated by manna in the desert in the Old Testament and the feeding of the 5,000 in the New Testament.

Podcasts of Brueggeman’s lectures and talkback sessions are available online.

Pharaoh and accumulation

“The narrative of accumulation dominates our society and it is enormously seductive,” he said.

Using Pharaoh, Solomon, and the parable of Jesus about the rich man who tore down his barns and built bigger ones, Brueggemann demonstrates that this narrative only leads to death, both the death of the wealthy individual and the death of the poor.

“Accumulation promises to make us safe and happy, but it cannot,” he said. “Anxiety about scarcity leads to accumulation, which leads to monopoly, which leads to violence.

Brueggemann said God is the source of all bounty, including food, and thus is the central player in  the narrative of abundance.

God and abundance

“Moving from scarcity to abundance depends on understanding that the world is God’s creation, not a system of zero-sum economics,” Brueggemann said. He called on his listeners to practice their faith by living gratefully instead of anxiously.

The accumulation narrative and the abundance narrative are “deeply contradictory,” said Brueggemann. Yet most people try “to juggle them and hope no one notices.”

Brueggemann called on the church to do “more truth-telling about the deathliness of the [accumulation] system,” even if the church’s stance is called unrealistic by many. “The gospel is fiction when judged by the empire, but the empire is fiction when judged by the gospel.”

Disengagement with accumulation begins with Sabbath

In his Jan. 18 talk, Brueggemann said that practicing Sabbath is one way to move from accumulation to abundance.

“Sabbath is a deliberate, disciplined pause in the narrative of accumulation,” said Brueggemann. “We are most imitating God when we trust creation enough to rest.

“A society that does not practice Sabbath is a society of depleted selves. And the less self I have the more I want to surround myself with signs and symbols of value to keep persuading myself that there is something good going on in my life even if it is relatively empty at the center.”

The 2012 School for Leadership Training was sold out, with 340 people registered. Several hundred more people attended evening lectures on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

The theme “God and Mammon: Reframing Stewardship Amidst Abundance, Scarcity and Conflict” seemed relevant in the midst of political discussions and debates about the economy, poverty and taxes.

Brueggemann inspires participants

“The way Brueggemann used scripture to read our current situation was helpful in creatively seeing our story in scripture and using that to prod us, ” said Joel Miller, pastor of the Cincinnati (Oh.) Mennonite Church.

Barry Kreider, pastor at Pilgrims Mennonite Church in Akron, Pa., said Brueggeman “breathed life” into familiar Biblical stories: “I appreciated the way Brueggemann used Biblical studies to follow lines through both the Old and New Testament and connect them.”

Workshops followed the themes of money, finances, poverty, stewardship, and business. Referring to a living-more-with-less workshop she attended, seminary student Angela Nash said, “It has been a challenge for me to think about how I can live simply in my community and model that for others, without it becoming like a law, or being judgmental.”

A is available through .

Spaces are filling up fast for this year’s School for Leadership Training (SLT) January 16-18, 2012 at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. Plenary speaker Walter Brueggemann, and workshops on the theme “God and Mammon: Reframing Stewardship Amidst Abundance, Scarcity and Conflict” are contributing to an unprecedented number of early registrations.

“With the economy, jobs and money on the top of nearly everyone’s mind, and a great scholar like Brueggemann, this is a timely event,” said Linda Alley, coordinator for SLT.

Brueggemann, professor emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary, is a prolific author and has written more than 50 books, hundreds of articles, and several commentaries on books of the Bible. He is also a minister of the United Church of Christ. Brueggemann has a ThD from Union Theological Seminary, New York and a PhD from St. Louis University.

“What we do with our money and how that connects to our faith is so vital,” said Alley. “Church budgets are stretched, individual’s budgets are stretched, and we often wonder how that connects with our faith.”

There will be 15 workshops and include a range of topics from living more with less, and preaching on money to faith in work settings.

Several of the workshops will be led by Everence Financial staff. “With our emphasis on faith and finance, this was the perfect opportunity for us to partner with Eastern Mennonite” said Joseph Lapp, managing director of Everence’s Harrisonburg office.

“Sometimes it seems there is a gap between the business world and the church,” said Michael King, EMS dean. “Our hope is Christian business leaders and church leaders will converse deeply about how our handling of money flows out of or impacts our faith.”

The SLT training workshop is the collaborative work of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, the master in business administration program at 91����Ƶ and Everence.

Christian business leaders, stewardship and financial officers in the church, pastors and lay leaders are encouraged to attend this three-day event. Group discounts are available for multiple members from the same church, business or organization when they register together.

For more information or to register visit .