For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. –Matthew 25:14-15
Dear Disciple of Christ,
I expect you know the story about the talents that begins above, right? Those talents are more about the master’s possessions than the traditional meaning of the word, “talent” (as in abilities). It is helpful to keep that in mind so we recognize the message that Jesus is giving. What we have is a gift from God. Each of those receiving the gifts uses them appropriately, the way the master uses what he has. All, that is, except one. That one took what he received and simply buried it. It was wasted by not being used. That is simply poor stewardship.
Sadly, a fair number of churches do not use the resources that God has provided them. There may be a variety of reasons why this is the case but I think much has to do with the foundations. No, I’m not speaking about the foundation of concrete but the grounding principles that bring about some construction. It is important to know what the goal is for the building or addition. There is a real blessing in considering each building as an opportunity for increased ministry.
I will sometimes ask people, during a conversation of building usage, which room or addition we built was the most expensive. People make guesses based on what they see we’ve built. I will finally suggest that the most expensive one is the one that is used the least. Stewardship is a little like gas mileage. The more miles per gallon a car gets, the lower the cost of your transportation. If we build a room that is used 30 or 40 hours a week, it cost less (per ministry hour) than the room that is used for one or two hours a week. So you might think I’m alluding to our sanctuary. Congregations do spend lots of money for their sanctuaries, right? They are most often used for a few hours on Sunday mornings (or for a few additional hours at special seasons of the church year (like midweek services in Advent and Lent). But I would suggest the better a church does in worship and spiritual focus on faith in action, the more “time” the sanctuary is working. It is not taking people from the world but sending them into the world (with Christ’s messages and ministries). As is written on one of our T-shirts, “Ministry is Faith in Action!” Paul described disciples as temples of the Holy Spirit. Our lives should and can present the love and mission of Christ if the Word is continually being planted in our hearts.
When I was in my church in Queens, the mayor of New York starting “encouraging” (even “pushing”) congregations to “do something.” He pointed to the loss of taxes (churches don’t pay taxes) and said it was his expectation that those empty buildings would be filled as much as possible. In those years (in the 80’s), there were about 60,000 homeless in New York City. Many received care in Manhattan (medical, psychological, and with job training) and slept quartered in armories that held more than 600 at one time. It was not a good setting at all. So an organization called, “Partnership for the Homeless” was formed and designed a program working with churches.
The plan called for a church to offer a space for ten homeless (male OR female) to sleep over night in the church. They would arrive by bus about 7pm and be picked up at 7am (the next morning) and brought back to the social service agencies in Manhattan. You can imagine how much nicer (and safer) people felt in a church with 9 others than in a military armory with 599 others. The mayor was right and the churches that participated (like ours) recognized that they had been blessed to be a blessing. An empty room was filled with care for 12 hours. It, in effect, “primed our pump.” It opened up other parts of our facilities for other groups and ministries.
And this applies to each of us individually as well. We are not a church building but we are the church, temples of the Holy Spirit, Paul reminds us (1 Corinthians 6:19). So as buildings are used to God’s glory and for His purposes, each of us is called to be an offering to God by how we use and develop our time, talents and treasures. Paul wrote to the Romans (chapter 12:1) that we should “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship.” Considering all the time and effort God has spent in developing our gifts within us, it is appropriate that they are used according to His will.
That stewardship is both blessing and blessed. It is a blessing to others and the steward is blessed. I expect that your church (as is the case in ours), offer weekly opportunities to serve. They offer specific programs for people with specific gifts. Some sew quilts for overseas and local needs. Some build ramps for those “homebound” by physical issues and the limits of steps. Some do landscaping and others have financial resources to provide supplies for one or more of them. Some are able to make the trip to do the mission work in Peru and others will spend time praying for them or donating for uniforms for the children who have none.
That is healthy stewardship by disciples dedicated to the “cause of Christ.”
I pray you will both recognize the gifts God has given you and find ways to use them.
Peace in His service,
Pastor Johnson