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LEADERSHIP LETTER ARCHIVES
A
MONTHLY READING FOR ALL ARC LEADERS
STEWARDSHIP
The earth is the Lord's as are all of its fruits. Men and women were created to rule the world under God, but sin has corrupted that rule, which has become a selfish acquisitiveness for wealth and an arrogant abuse of the goods of the creation. Our redemption carries with it a call for an attitude of stewardship toward our material possessions and for a conscientious use of the resources of the earth.
We hold our material possessions as stewards only, not as owners. We reject the materialism of our age which amounts to idolatry, and we seek instead to live simply and openly, sharing our possessions as need arises. We also reject the ungodly exploitation of the earth so prevalent in our day, and we seek instead to work toward a use of the earth's goods while treating the good of the earth itself as a value. --ARC Common Concerns
What is the reason for the power outage in Western Christianity? “To whom much is given, much is expected”
I have a question. What do we actually know for sure about the church in the United States? Regions are different. For the past week I have been in Ohio. The differences between Mansfield and New York City are fairly significant. Certain things work in Mansfield I would never try in New Jersey. Is there anything at all that we can say about Mansfield and New Jersey that is irrefutably true with regards to the condition of the church? I believe there are two things; first, the number of people coming to faith in Christ is pretty small. In fact, all things considered some say that the actual rate of conversion growth is nearly flat for the past twenty years. Second, whether its Mansfield or metropolitan New York City, Christians are no longer tithing. Only 1 out of 10 self identified evangelicals tithe. Are we who are called to give oversight to the body of Christ prepared to connect the dots?
If we dare to connect the dots each of us who lead will be required to give some serious consideration to moving a little more forcefully into the realm of the prophetic. This is not really a time to think about a “stewardship campaign,” rather it seems to me it is a time to think about calling the people of God out of their Laodician slumber to face the hard reality that we have been completely co-opted by the spirit of materialism. I am suggesting that because we have been terrified by the grotesque teaching on “prosperity” present in so many churches in the United States, and by financial scandals in evangelical organizations that we have said to ourselves “I think I will not mention this.” You have to admit it’s pretty bad when a hipster doofus like me ends up becoming the “tithing” man of the ARC.
I want to invite you fellow leaders to go for a swim in the stream of Jesus teaching on money and stewardship. It is really quite remarkable how forcefully it connects the flow of money to the real direction of your heart. The Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon ever preached and the most important manifesto for how to actually live in the Kingdom of God, makes a great deal about money. In chapter Matthew 6 Jesus states that what you treasure reveals everything and just in case we lack the sophistication to get what he means he just flat out says – “You can’t serve God and money.” Over and over Jesus either explicitly or implicitly states that following him will immediately translate into a profound change in how we relate to money. Whether it’s the widow who puts in her last pennies, or Zacchaeus who gives away half of everything he has, or the Rich Young Ruler who is turned away from the Kingdom because he will not sell everything to follow Jesus makes it clear – follow the money trail and it will lead you to the truth about a person.
There is no place that I know of in scripture where the connection between spiritual power and how one should handle money is made more explicit then in Jesus parable in Luke 16 about the scheming manager. First, I have to say that this is a weird parable. I sometimes think that Jesus uses the weirdness factor to bypass your rational mind in order to make a beeline for your heart. In the story a guy is commended for his shrewdness, even though the deals he makes on behalf of his master lose him money. That being said, it’s what Jesus says by way of commentary on the story which is devastating. 10“Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12And if you are not faithful with other people’s money, why should you be trusted with money of your own? 13“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” As I understand this it seems to me that Jesus is connecting together how we handle money with whether we will be found trustworthy to handle “true wealth.” (“The true riches of heaven”) What might that be? If faith alone pleases God and if a principal way in which the people of God express faith has to do with how they handle their resources, then wouldn’t that mean that there has to be a connection between the pathetic level of tithing present in American Evangelical Christianity and the lack of spiritual power and effectiveness?
Isn’t this what Jesus is teaching? Deuteronomy 14 suggests that the purpose of the tithing is so that we might learn to revere the Lord. Let me state that once more: the reason for tithing is that by sacrificing ten percent of our income we can learn, as almost nothing else can teach us what the real source of our provision is – God himself. For a culture as awash in commercialism as ours the danger that we will spend up to and beyond our resources is always present. The possibility that we will be so indebted that we will not be able to give as we should is a constant threat to Christians living in a culture where having stuff is the name of the game. But even more terrifying than either of these possibilities is the prospect that God would withdrawal his manifest presence from the church and leave us to build the kingdom with the paltry resources that are left to us when we don’t give and trust him.
Hey – this is how I see it. What has become the norm in American Evangelism is an understanding of faithfulness that no longer regards sacrifice as a necessary part of following Jesus. 1 out of 10 Christians believes that God can be trusted to provide for their needs. That means no matter what that 90% may chose to believe they in fact have said with their money “we do not trust that God will provide.” Does that seem like a huge problem to you? There is right before our eyes measurable, statistically verifiable proof that the vast majority of Christians do not trust God enough to be obedient when it comes to money. Help us Lord; please send the prophetic voice of godly preachers to call us back to truth before our generation squanders its stewardship.
- Scott Pursley Hipster Doofus and Senior Pastor Lamb of God Fellowship
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