Develop a Discipleship System
SPARK: Are We Stewards?
I was honored when I was asked to be the stewardship team leader for Smyrna First United Methodist Church (okay, right now I’m the “leader” of a team of one). Stewardship is my passion, and it’s great when your passion is your job as well.
I love to help people see stewardship in a broader sense than simply making the budget and paying the bills (certainly, those are important). Jesus spoke often in the Bible about stewards – those stories about people who are entrusted by “the master” (some important person who has property or monetary resources of value) to care for what the master owns while he is somewhere far away. In each story, there is a moment when the master returns to hold these stewards accountable for how well they have watched over what has been put in their care.
When we see ourselves as stewards of all God has entrusted to us, we begin to see that it’s not just about what we give, but how we live faithfully with all we have. We remember that we have nothing that doesn’t come from God's goodness and love for us.
When we see ourselves as stewards of all God has entrusted to us, we begin to see that it’s not just about what we give, but how we live faithfully with all we have.
More than fifty years ago, the world set aside April 22 as Earth Day, and since then it has been a month when we try to bring people’s attention to care for this planet. I believe our stewardship extends to God making us stewards of God’s good creation. So, this is an appropriate month for us to ponder a definition of stewardship that is broad.
If there is hope of reversing the growing climate crisis, it will happen when our leaders, our neighbors, and all of us take seriously our role as stewards of God’s creation. As people of faith who have been taught what it means to be faithful stewards, we can lead the way!
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