Stewardship is Discipleship

BY PASTOR JASON WILLIAMS Volunteer Stewardship Coordinator, Alberta Conference

It might come as a surprise to some. It might not be what we’ve always heard. It might be different than what you’ve believed for many years. Are you ready for this truth? Here it is:  Stewardship isn’t just a teaching about how to manage money. Stewardship is the lifestyle of the Christian.

Stewardship is discipleship!

That’s right, stewardship is discipleship —as in, living our lives following Jesus in every way.  When rightly understood, the Bible teaches us that stewardship is the balanced development of all of our faculties for God’s glory —not just our finances.  It’s a process of wholistic life growth that comes as a result of living out salvation and our faith in God through Christ.  That growth and development isn’t just the growth of inner faith and spiritual understandings. The growth and development that God calls for is wholistic, touching every area of our lives - time management, health of body and mind, the truth we’ve learned, the possessions and resources we have, the job we work, the learning we do, and the relationships we foster. We are called to grow and develop, as disciples of Christ, in each of these areas. This is the stewardship of ourselves.

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (NKJV). Truly, our spirituality should not be something that is disembodied or disconnected from the rest of our tangible and material lives. On the contrary, there should be an integration of our spirituality with the other aspects of life.  The lives we live are wholistic in nature —a union of physical, mental/emotional, social, and spiritual considerations. Thus, as we live and work in this world, and participate in even the routine actions of daily living, we are living a spiritual experience. Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief #11 states that, “His [Christ’s] constant presence with us through the Spirit transforms every moment and every task into a spiritual experience.”

Being a disciple of Christ assumes there is a faith experience. Having faith implies a quest for Christ, Christlikeness, and obedience to Christ. As “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26 NKJV), having faith requires an action plan for that faith to be lived out and applied in tangible and concrete ways. Stewardship is that action plan. It is managing what we have been entrusted with, in every area of life, for the purposes and glory of God. “Therefore… whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV).

Do you have a plan in place for the growth of your faith? Do you have a plan for the development of your body and physical well-being?

Do you have a plan for the advancement of learning and intellectual growth? Do you have a plan for the fostering of godly relationships? Do you have a plan for the effective management of finances and possessions for God’s glory?

To grow in our stewardship as dynamic and faithful disciples of Christ does require a careful plan of action. It has been said that “to fail to plan is to plan to fail.” As Christian stewards of a whole life, we should plan for the balanced, healthful and appropriate use and management of all God has given to us. Such a plan will become a process of growth that is rich and abundant, supportive to the development of our characters, and our depth of faith in Christ.   The development of our character, the growth and maturation of our lives and how we live them, and our progress toward better reflection of the life and character of Jesus, are all expressions of the same things - the stewardship of our lives, living as dynamic and faithful disciples of Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24 NKJV “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

*If you would like to learn more about the goals and objectives of the Alberta Conference Stewardship Ministries department, or learn about resources available to help you or your church grow in faithfulness, please visit albertaadventist.ca/stewardship, or contact Pastor Jason Williams at stewardship@albertaadventist.ca