Stewardship as a Model for Congregational Ministry

Rolf Jacobson, Asst. Prof. of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, wrote an excellent article entitled “Stewards of God’s Mysteries: Stewarding as a Model for Congregational Ministry” in Word & World 26, No. 3 (Summer, 2006)

The key question Jacobson asks is this: “Are we MEMBERS of OUR congregation or STEWARDS of GOD’S mysteries? Our model for ministry makes all the difference.”

Many congregations today operate with a “membership” or “ownership” model of congregational ministry. “In today’s culture, the membership model leads people to construe the congregation as similar to a club that people join of their own free will for the purpose of having their needs met.” The focus of ministry to such a congregation is on the membership, meeting its needs, avoiding conflict, keeping people happy. The ownership model often speaks of “my congregation,” “my church,” “my ministry”. That focus is often exclusive rather than inclusive.

In place of the ownership model, Jacobson proposes the stewardship model based on I Corinthians 4:1-2 – “ Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

“According to St. Paul, a congregation – its building and grounds, its finances and assets, its people and program, its mission and ministry—does not belong to us. Rather, each Christian congregation belongs to God.”

This moves from a cultural framework (membership by voluntary association—to which we pay dues and volunteer time) to a biblical framework (communal stewardship of God’s mission and ministry—in which we are called to be stewards of the gifts God has given us.)

Some ramifications of the stewardship model:

• God’s mission and the means to sustain that mission belong to God and not to humans. Neither the mission, the people, nor the resources are ours as owners.
• God calls the people of God to be stewards of God’s mission.
• A congregation—both its clergy and lay members—is a group who together act as stewards of God’s mission. The members of a congregation, corporately, are not members of an organization, but fellow stewards of God’s mission in a particular place and time. The church is a called community, not a volunteer organization.
• To join a congregation is to respond to God’s call—God’s call!—to join in God’s mission as a steward. The question is not do you want to join our church, but is God calling you to be a fellow steward of God’s mission in this place?
• God requires of stewards that they act and live in a trustworthy manner. Fidelity is not just about believing the right way. It is also about acting faithfully on those beliefs.
• God will hold stewards accountable. God’s stewards labor now trusting the one who will later hold us accountable, for he who judges is also our savior, and he judges by his standard, not earthly standards.

-----------------
For reference to Jacobson’s article and copies, click here. Full text is not available online.