I find it inspiring to see how God orchestrates the life of the Church, how without human interaction themes of Sabbath School, preaching emphasis and other events just “coincide.” The Sabbath School quarterly is focusing us on Discipleship, and the Elders Board agreed to preach the Kingdom of God for the first half of the year. These two themes are more than interconnected – they are about the same thing: discipleship is the radical call to leave the kingdom of this world and come under the Rule and Reign of God.
Today more and more denominations are speaking of the “crisis in Christianity” where churches are struggling to reach their financial goals and fund their visions. This is not a struggle of stewardship – it is a discipleship crisis. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in the 21st century? Isn’t discipleship a call to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God?
Somehow last few generations defined disciples as those who do not mind taking up their cross, so long as it is not too heavy, fits into their schedule and does not conflict with their lifestyle. Preaching a bloodless cross has robbed Christianity of its power and has turned the biblical teaching of stewardship into a task most preachers would rather avoid.
Dallas Willard paraphrases Mark 1:14-15 this way “Jesus then came into Galilee announcing the good news from God. "All the preliminaries have been taken care of,’ he said, ‘and the rule of God is now accessible to everyone. Review your plans for living and base your life on this remarkable new opportunity.’
The Kingdom of God requires to repent – to change one’s mind and purpose, to turn around from the way you lived. You can enter into the Kingdom of God only if you are willing to let go of the “apparent” control you have over your own life. Jesus preached about the Kingdom by using parables, and one term that was frequently used to illustrate the new economy of the Kingdom was “manager” (Greek: oikonomos “house rule, law of the dwelling place”). Typical use of that word in the time of Jesus was to describe a person who was responsible for property that wasn’t his, and was accountable for what he did with it. The concept of stewardship is build on the promise that the real owner will return one day – the expectation of Christ soon coming, and all in His Kingdom will give an answer how they managed what was entrusted to them.
Our stewardship consists in more than just material things. In 1st Corinthians 4:1, Paul says Christian workers are stewards of “the mysteries of God,” referring to the gospel, the mystery of “the manifold wisdom of God,” which the church has been entrusted to make known (Ephesians 3:9,10). Related to this is his use of the word “stewardship” to describe preaching of the gospel (1st Corinthians 9:16-17).
In Titus 1:7, while listing the qualifications for elders, Paul describes the overseer as God’s “steward.” Church leaders who are entrusted with God’s church are accountable to God for their oversight. Finally, 1st Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God,” going on to list speaking and serving gifts as the domain of our stewardship. The gospel, our churches, the gifts of the Holy Spirit – none of these wonderful blessings belongs to us. We are just recipients of the good things of God. Therefore, we are responsible for their use on this earth, and we will ultimately be held accountable for our faithfulness with them (Matthew 16:27; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Consider how you are stewarding God’s grace in your life.
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