Well Done!

The dictionary defines a steward as “a person charged with the responsibility of managing another person’s assets that have been entrusted to his or her care."

Two weeks ago we set a new attendance high at The Brook for a non-Easter Sunday. We had 467 total in attendance that day… and with 32 cars parked in non-parking spaces (outside the parking lot), we had only 5 spaces available in the 2nd worship hour.

We certainly don’t know what God is going to do in the future, but indicators are that He is blessing The Brook with more people. It seems as though he is charging us with a responsibility to manage gifts precious in His sight and that He is entrusting to our care.

I want to say to our church that all gifts from God are never given separate from the need for responsibility in them. Why? Because of the great potential for things good and godly to come through the gifts He gives. In other words, God blesses us so that we can be a blessing. This in never achieved without cost, faith, courage and sacrifice.

Remember the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30? This passage describes how three servants were given a vast amount of wealth by their master and were charged to put the asset to use. Their job was to go, invest, use and employ what was granted to them. It took effort, energy, and a measure of risk and sacrifice. It would have been much easier for these servants to just sit on the gifts, rather than manage them as the master wanted.

In fact, in the parable the one with 5 talents went and invested them and there was a return on the investment. The one with 2 talents did the same with the same result. However, the servant with only 1 talent went and hid it. He did nothing with what the master had given him. When the master returned there was an accounting. To the ones who were faithful to use the assets entrusted to them there was an amazing commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Notice not “good and fruitful servant.” They were commended for their faithfulness, not primarily for the increase that resulted. However, the one servant who hid the talent in the ground was judged by the master as “wicked and lazy.” His condemnation was not that he did something bad with the talent, but that he did nothing with it. This one was stripped of the gift because he was irresponsible with it, and it was given instead to those who would manage it properly.

Wow! In one sense this is an encouraging story that Jesus tells. It’s one of reward and commendation for those who use God’s gifts accordingly. But in another way, this is a frightening story. To mismanage, to sit on, to do nothing with, to not adjust, to not risk, to not have faith would be “wicked and lazy” in the Master’s eyes and might mean the Master would no longer entrust to us that which is precious to him.

           

I’m trying to challenge our whole church to think carefully about the blessings we are experiencing right now. I am filled with a bit of a holy fear. I fear that we will grow content with more people rather than consider how to minister to them. I’m concerned that with financial blessing we will stop giving sacrificially. I’m concerned that we will have a church with many attenders, but not people connected with God and others in authentic, growing relationships. I’m concerned that with our talent we will find it more comfortable to sit and soak, and simply protect what we already have, rather than adjust and with courage properly steward what God is testing us with— namely, the very precious gift of people.

So what does this mean? It means that we will continue to communicate to our church in themes of responsibility. Responsibility to adjust internally (in our leadership and structure) in order to make sure that our structure facilitates ministry more than bureaucracy. It means responsibility to sacrifice financially (all of us) in order to see For Generations to Come finalized in 2014 and that the ongoing ministry needs of The Brook are taken care of. This will mean that by 3 years from now we can create much-needed space by building our children’s building, renovating worship and thereby accommodating those God is bringing. It also means responsibility to deepen our faith by trusting God for the future He seems to be imposing on us. It means to open ourselves up to the Immeasurably More possibilities before us and give ourselves permission to embrace what God is doing.

More details on all the implications of these matters will be forthcoming. Please pray.

May it be said by the Father to The Brook Church, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”