Biblical Moorings
The word “steward” is one Jesus used. It refers to a person who has been given charge over property which belongs to another. It is the job of the steward to decide how that property is to be used. He has a very high responsibility and must be a man who can be trusted. Jesus taught that his followers were to be God's stewards.
Actually everything in the world belongs to God. Paul once wrote to some Christians at Corinth, “What have you that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). He could ask the same question of you or me. The more we think of it the more clearly we see that everything we have has been placed in our hands by God. He is the owner, as the Bible says. “The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8).
When the Holy Spirit came upon the Christians on the day of Pentecost they saw this truth clearly, and “no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own” (Acts 4:32). They thought of themselves as stewards who were to use these things to help others and to bring glory to God.
If you are a Christian it will be revealed in the fact that you think of your possessions--your time, money, skills, talent, and your life itself--as things which you can use to bring honor to God. The true Christian gives liberally and proportionately of his time, his talent, and his money to the Church, for there he is able to serve God. Many Christians feel that the practice of giving a tithe (one-tenth of their income) provides a guide to proportionate giving.
Clifford W. Bjorklund (1921-1986), Harry J. Ekstam (1918- ), Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), and Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), According to Thy Word (1954, 1955), pp. 385,386.
Because giving is so critical to Christian growth, to the maintenance of Christ's Church, and to the furthering of the Gospel, it is certain to come under attack by “powers of this dark world” (Ephesians 6.12). Those attacks may be expressed in remarks like, “There is too much emphasis on giving in the Church.” But, as we have seen, the words giving and loving are scripturally synonymous. Can there be too much emphasis on love?
As disciples of Christ, we overcome such attitudes through an understanding of his Word and through wise stewardship of his gifts. When we do, God promises to honor our faithfulness by extending his kingdom.
God has given us all the resources needed to accomplish his work. He trusts our stewardship to reflect the love he modeled in Christ...the love of his Spirit who indwells us. How are we making the things that matter most to God the things that matter most to us?
Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it (Malachi 3:10).
Timothy C. Ek (1943- ), “Loving and Giving,” Covenant Tract (1998).
All our possessions have been given us by God, and we have the privilege of using them for his glory. A traditional standard of giving, based on what was expected of God's people in the Old Testament, is one-tenth of one's income. A good rule is to give so much that it involves some significant sacrifice. For some this will mean much more than a tenth, and for others it may mean less. We should know the financial needs of the Church, including plans for an expanding ministry. Then, considering our means, we should give our share sacrificially. It is always better to give purposefully than to be carried away by the mood of the moment. It is better to give in anticipation that God will continue to bless and care for us than to refrain because of fear of future reverses. The life of faith is always a generous life, and generosity is a source of great blessing. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.
The Meaning of Covenant Church Membership: An Introduction (The Board of Evangelism, 1976), p. 20.
It is a curious fact that only women are mentioned [in the New Testament] as the source of financial support for both Jesus and Paul. In the case of Jesus, Luke 8:1-3 recalls that as he and the twelve traveled from place to place preaching the gospel, a group of women accompanied them, “helping to support them out of their own means.” The inclusion of women among his traveling coterie is of a piece with Jesus' rejection of the traditional domestic stereotyping of women, allowing them to make the same radical commitment in following him as the twelve did. Equally curious is the fact that only men are mentioned in the NT as providing hospitality. Gaius is commended for offering hospitality not only to Paul but to the “whole church” (Romans 16:23), and from Paul's request of Philemon that he “prepare a guest room” for him, it can be inferred that he as well was known for his hospitality (Philemon 22).
Both men and women are singled out in equal numbers for their contribution of personal resources to local congregations (Acts 4:36; 5:1; Romans 16:5, 23; Philemon 1:1-2). Two women are mentioned as having sufficient financial means to own their own homes, which they in turn offered as meeting places for the local body of believers (Mary in Jerusalem [Acts 12:12] and Nympha in Colossae [Colossians 4:151]). A third woman, Lydia--a business woman from Thyatira--opened her home in Philippi to Paul as a base of operations (Acts 16:15). This gesture becomes especially significant when it is remembered that the Philippian church is the only one from which Paul accepted financial support (Philippians 4:10-19; cf 1 Corinthians 9:15-18 and 1 Tbessalonians 2:9).
Linda L. Belleville (1950- ), “Male and Female Leadership Roles in the New Testament.” From Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson and Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp.29,30.
Leadership and Service
...Can the church as an organization be managed with servant leadership as described in Scripture? James and Evelyn Whitehead raise the question very clearly: “How can we reconcile the image of servant with the demands of the leadership role?” To answer the question they explore the meaning of the New Testament idea of steward. They state that this is “a leadership position reserved for experienced, capable persons. Stewards exercise considerable authority, but not in their own name. Stewardship links power with service (of the community) and authority with dependence (on the Lord).
In the exercise of leadership, the Whiteheads suggest three tasks for leaders as stewards of God: “1) to nurture commitment, 2) to enhance the group's power, and 3) to face the group toward its future.” They define the nurturing of commitment as reinforcing our interdependence--our need for one another in accomplishing the task. Thus, effective leaders work to shape individual interests into shared goals for the good of the community. In their discussion of enhancing the group's power, the management dimension of leadership comes into play. Responsibility for managing the organization--staffing, recruiting, training, and monitoring the use of resources--is a part of the organizational leadership role. In Acts, 6:1-7, the early church leaders organized a special group to give attention and care to widows. They were acting with accountability to the gospel and in the service of the common good, and in that management enlarged the church's power to serve. The third dynamic is to work with people to “construct the future together.” Perhaps this is where the distinction between management and leadership can be seen most clearly. Good organizational management leads to organizational health and stability that can confront and integrate the changes of innovative and creative strategies designed in envisioning an effective future. Management fails if it guards the status quo and is not open and flexible in the light of needed change.
Church leaders act as stewards in these tasks, not owners. As stewards they function as Christ's servants-with authority until he returns.
Frances M. Anderson (1931- ), “Sounding the Distinct Notes of Leadership”
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 81.
Leadership is also required in the formation of church budgets. Allocating some minimum portion (10 percent?) of the congregational budget for the direct social ministries of the church, for ministries of love and care for neighbors in need, not only helps those who are served but leads the congregation itself toward a higher view of the importance of God's social concern. This occurs most successfully, of course, when laity involved in social ministry are the advocates for budget additions or restructuring. But the pastor's leadership role in identifying relative financial priorities will be crucial at various points.
David W. Gill (1946- ), “The Unique Role of the Church in a Troubled Society”
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 75.
There is nothing that convinces the world of our sincerity as much as our willingness to sacrifice for our faith. If anyone would be an effective soul-winner, let [that person] demonstrate their discipline as a steward first of all. Unless Jesus Christ means enough to us so that we are willing to give him a proportionate share of our income regularly and ungrudgingly, we shall never convince anyone else that our faith has meaning.
Glenn L. Lindell (1920- ), The Church and Its Mission (1959), p. 75.
Gratitude and Thanksgiving
Sometimes I feel that we in the evangelical world promote insensitivity to the wonder of life God gives us. We assume we only experience God through the fierce growth of repentance, or by doing beneficial ministry. No wonder television portrays Christians as long-faced, austere individuals full of do's and don'ts. As if God lives only in the channels of human process! God's presence and gifts of love are freely, easily placed all around us. It is up to us to touch, taste, feel, smell, hear, and take pleasure in them!
The Mishnah teaches that in the day of the Lord believers will be held accountable for all the goodness God has shown them. We will be judged for that in which we did not take delight. What is there in your life that sings with God's goodness? Are you finding and noting new channels of God's gift of love? Are your receptors open to noting it? Is your church family sensitizing you to the joys and surprises of God's life around you? A committee in my former church recorded four core purposes of fellowship together. The last one reads, “We will seek opportunities to celebrate the goodness of God.”
The blessings are there. Learn how to touch them.
Mary C. Miller (1952- ), Devotions for Those Living with Loss (1991), p. 106.
[August J.] Almquist preached one stewardship sermon every month, and if there were five Sundays he preached two. The first principle he stressed was that God is a God of abundance who will always be faithful to you. The second truth...was that faith is the basis for giving. “You do not pledge your giving for the coming year on the basis of what you earned last year or even on your current assets,” he always said, “but on the increases in income and investments that you can reasonably expect God to bless you with during the coming year.”
Milton B. Engebretson (1920-1996), “Serving the Church with Uniqueness and Experience.” From A Giving Spirit: the Story of Paul W. Brandel, Eloise V. Nelson, ed. (Published by Covenant Benevolent Institutions, Inc., 1990), p. 27.
Responding somewhat impatiently to a stewardship presentation by Covenant layman Vince Abrahamson of National Car Rental–during which earlier queries on tithing like “Should one tithe on one’s gross income or the net?” seemed not answered satisfactorily, the questioner finally blurted out in frustration, “Well, for goodness’ sake, tell me plainly, how much should I give?”
The response was immediate without being legalistic: “How happy do you want to be?”
Oral Tradition
If Christ’s people in his church would once wake up to the sterling fact that giving money for his work is a service of love and gratitude as precious to him as a prayer or a hymn, every financial need of the kingdom would be richly met. It’s never a good indication when church people have to scratch their heads and say, “How are we going to raise the money?” When John Willis Baer, a Presbyterian banker from the city in which I grew up, was secretary of the World Christian Endeavor organization, he was asked in a Question Hour: “What is the best way to raise money for foreign missions?” Like lightning came his answer: “Don’t raise it–give it!” He was right!
Paul S. Rees (1900-1991), Christian: Commit Yourself (1957), pp. 55,56.
Keep the church in your thoughts. Ideas for new or improved work may come to you. Encourage with a word spoken or written to those who serve your church. The rewards for this are great.
Be a faithful steward--of time, energy, and money. The church represents Christ and the gospel. It is the most important work in the world. It requires the best and the most we can give it. Our time and energy in worship and in work are needed. God has given us talents to use. “There are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:6,7).
No one can specify for another each detail of stewardship in time or money. It is a sense of profound response and love to God that drives us to give far beyond what may seem sufficient. Giving the tithe--ten per cent of income--is a basic, Biblical standard, but equally important is that our giving is done willingly and from the heart. “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). That the major portion of a Christian's giving should be to and through his home church is quite clearly the spirit of the Word of God. Malachi advises: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse” (Malachi 3:10).
Paul P. Fryhling (1912-1973), “Being a Christian and Showing It”
From Donald C. Frisk, Paul P. Fryhling, and Herbert E. Palmquist, The Christian Fellowship: an Introduction to the Church (1958), p. 44.
Some farmers in the West have harvested money this year [May 14, 1902]. All of their products have brought high prices. As a result the value of land has almost doubled. That which was sold for $ 25 an acre a year ago is now $ 40-50 an acre. It is a “boom.” Some get light-headed and lose their balance as they fly higher than their wings can carry them. Speculation's lust drives out godliness. It is tragic to see farmers who have earned $ 3-5000 during the year hardly sparing a $ 10 bill for God's work that very year. Others brag about their tight budgets and how economically spiritual work is conducted while they get away with giving $ 3 to $ 5 during the year for that ministry.
A genuine awakening in stewardship for mission is sorely needed. The Jews gave a tithe of everything--how many Christians do that? We are only managers, not the owners. God have mercy! Some bring huge piles of gold and silver to the altar of Mammon and then give a copper now and then to missions and call that the “widow’s mite.” What are you doing? This is certainly a test if you truly love Jesus.
G. D. Hall (1870-1927), G. D. Hall, Pastor-Journalist: Reports Mission Meetings, 1895-1911, George F. Hall tr. (Typed Script, 1991), p. 69.
