8 September 2016 | St Albans, UK [David Neal] “Faithful stewardship is not a merely optional Christian grace.” (Marguerite Shuster) As I read those words in the July edition of Ministry Magazine, the light went on. Every word Marguerite Shuster uses in that one brief line, sums up for me what the Trans-European Division is seeking to do in raising the new Department of Stewardship Ministries.
Let me unpack for a moment what she’s said and start with her last word first, ‘grace’. John Stott defines Grace as “love that cares and stoops rescues”. This has to be the place where the stewardship conversation starts. It simply cannot start anywhere else, but be my whole life response to God’s outstanding love for me. If it does start somewhere else, it is clearly a distortion of the Gospel.
So what is Faithful Stewardship? It is inviting God to manage me, in response to His grace. On my growing in faith – daily journey, he wants to become ever more trusted to manage my life. Because not only is He my Saviour, but He also offers to be my example, and my guide. In football the role of the manager is critical. When Manchester United was up – it was because of the leadership skill of Sir Alex Ferguson. Under him, Man U was at its peak – an absolute dream for the fans! But you know the story – then followed David Moyes, Ryan Giggs, and Louis van Gall. Under their management, joy for the players and the fans turned to despair. Hope now lies in José Mourinho to bring back the glory.
But in our context, Shuster makes a telling point, for ‘merely optional’ has become the hallmark of the church the Apostle John warned about. “Let God manage all of my life – that’s going a bit far, that is. I’m quite happy as I am, thank you very much.” John calls it Laodicea!
Imagine what would happen to the church in our sphere of influence, if we began a serious, but Spirit-filled conversation, about inviting the Lord to be our Manager in a new, refreshing and joyful way. What if we take the lead with our ministerial team to break through beyond slogans, religious cliché’s and even the corporate strategy. Imagine a church – no, our church – where the problems of leadership, member decline, finance, and the commitment of members were conversations of times past. I will go on this journey with you, because the bible promises that before Christ returns that day will come. Call it what you like, but I like to call it ‘Pentecost Again’.
In times like these, Shuster is right, the biblical principles of Stewardship are not just an optional extra. [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, director; Esti Pujic, editor
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