SUMMARY
Many of the forms of charitable exercises, while they may have been fueled by authentic Christian concern, were performed outside of the life of the church. These efforts, when taken up by a caring public, lost any sense as being ministry of the church, and became known merely as doing one’s “christian duty,” and that of the community as a whole, and ultimately, the government’s. Separating this hospitality from the duty of the people of God leaves it lacking heart. Newbigin puts it directly,
Christian programs for justice and compassion are severed from their proper roots in the liturgical and sacramental life of the congregation, and so lose their character as signs of the presence of Christ and risk becoming mere crusades fueled by a moralism that can become self-righteous. In addition, the life of the worshipping congregation, severed from its proper expression in compassionate service to the secular community around it, risks becoming a self-centered existence serving only the needs and desires of its members. (Newbigin 1995:11)
In these later years, some churches began to see “services” to the homeless and needy as an integral part of the Christian mission of the church. Many christians now see the duty in proclaiming the gospel and acting with justice as part and parcel of that gospel.
As an active participant in missio Dei, the church must then fully understand that God wants us to be His “conduit” for ministry. Alcorn points out that God having made all things equal at the start would have precluded the people of God from their duty as His conduit to the poor and needy. (Alcorn 2003:86) We need to see ourselves as the channel for God’s gifts. In C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as Aslan gifted Lucy with a healing cordial, he charged her: “If you or any of your friends is hurt, a few drops of this will restore them.” (Lewis 1978:109) As with Lucy’s gift, Abraham received a promise from God to be blessed, and he was also charged to be a blessing. (Gen 12:1-3)
What we need now is a people of God who recognizes its mission of being a provider of charity as an extension of God’s mission and not merely a duty we must perform. The dutiful giver accepts only the moral leadership of a Jesus (without divinity), whose service leads to a mere “social gospel”—as Rodin states, in doing “the Great Commandment at the expense of the Great Commission”. . . winding up working out their salvation, rather than demonstrating a living and holy Jesus to others. (Rodin 2000:68) A renewed theology of stewardship in the church can be developed through its “praxis” as it translates a reflection on the needs of the world and its duty to live out Christ to the world as stewards of all that He owns—for which it is responsible. Charles Van Engen says this praxis will lead us to comprehend how to move from “reflection” to “participation” as a steward . . . a “theology-on-the-way” to action; (quoting J. Verkuyl) “if study does not lead to participation . . . missiology has lost her humble calling.” (Engen:140-141) It is the role of the church to serve the community in which it finds itself—engaged and unselfishly serving the needs of others as though serving Christ—as Matthew 25:40 states, “to the extent that you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me.”
I would like to take this discussion one step further, into a broader stewardship role for the church. Even if we were to increase charitable giving exponentially, Dallas Willard makes an excellent point in The Spirit of the Disciplines that “charity and social welfare programs, while good and clearly our duty, cannot even begin to fulfill our responsibility as children of the light to a needy world.” He then calls upon the people of God to “assume the responsibility, under God and by his power, of owning and directing the world’s wealth and goods.” (Willard 1988:202) He points out that by doing so, with Christ the church would be able to reduce the causes of poverty. That is a level of stewardship the church has not attempted on such a large scale—and likely will not without realizing that the sacred calling of God is not just within the church, but in all vocations and careers. The church should commission men and women into “farming, industry, law, education, banking, and journalism with the same zeal previously given to evangelism and missionary work.” (Willard 1988:214)
Once the people of God are involved as stewards in influencing the marketplace for the community’s good, they can have a hand in advising public agencies in serving the truly needy. This culminates in the people of God showing how the church “enters into full participation in the rule of God where they are.” (Willard 1988:218) That is true stewardship of all that God has made and put under our authority, including social service to those in need. Religious control of social functions, as it has been in the past, can be seen as an authentic Christian response to need. P. Beyer, in Religion and Globalization states that this validates the Christian message. (Beyer 1994:197) By becoming stewards of God’s love and compassion through charity, the church becomes a centripetal force in the world. Serving societal needs as part of the soteriological effort of the church is the greatest stewardship of all God’s resources, and becomes the attracting light the world seeks. In the words of Bernhard W. Anderson, “The nations are attracted to Zion, the spiritual center, because the teaching that goes forth from that source appeals to the deeper human longings for šālom (peace, welfare). Mission is at its best when it brings something to a people that respond to their deepest desire and quest.” (Okoye 2006:116)
As our mission statement at the Long Beach Rescue Mission outlines, we seek to improve the quality of life of the city’s homeless and needy through providing reconciliation: to God, to self, and to society. Without providing all three, our work is not complete. In order to provide the “full” gospel to those who walk through our doors—and the doors of innumerable ministries at home and worldwide—the people of God must become stewards of the grace of God in their own lives—our time, treasure, and talent—in order to fully practice stewardship toward others. This requires a new perspective on possessions, ownership and personal stewardship. The people of God need to freely give of their resources with an open hand, because “the Lord needs it.” This is reason enough: when we give to the least, the last, and the lost . . . we give to our Lord and Savior.
References Cited
Alcorn, Randy. Money, Possessions and Eternity. Carol Stream: Tyndale, 2003.
Beyer, P. Religion and Globalization. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1994.
Bosch, David J. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2005.
Bosch, David. "Syllabus and Reader." for MT520 Biblical Foundations of Mission. Pasadena: Fuller Theological Seminary, Winter 2004.
Guinness, Os. Doing Well and Doing Good: Money, Giving and Caring in a Free Society. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2001.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: Scholastic, 1978.
Moll, Rob. "Scrooge Lives! Why we're not putting more in the offering plate. And what we can do about it." Christianity Today. October 24, 2008. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/december/10.24.html (accessed August 22, 2009).
Montgomery, Helen Barrett. The Bible and Missions. Waco, TX: Baylor Press, 2009.
Newbigin, Lesslie. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Nouwen, Henri. Reaching out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life. New York: Image Books, 1975.
Okoye, James. Israel and the Nations: A Mission Theology of the Old Testament. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2006.
Pohl, Christine D. Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
Rodin, R. Scott. Stewards of the Kingdom: A Theology of Life in All its Fullness. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
Stevens, R. Paul. The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
Van Engen, Charles E., and Shawn B. Reford. "Syllabus and Reader." for MT520 Biblical Foundations of Mission. Pasadena: Fuller Theological Seminary, Winter 2004.
Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. New York: HarperCollins, 1988.
Wilmer, Wesley. God and Your Stuff: The Vital Link Between Your Possesions and Your Soul. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002.
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