IMPROVE STEWARDSHIP
Guiding believers to consistently improve the stewardship of all parts of their life as unto the Lord Jesus Christ.
time
talents
treasures (things and money)
If the Bible is true then we will continue to live after our physical body dies. We tend to neglect the fact that believers will be justly judged and generously rewarded for the good works that they do in the name of Jesus to further the kingdom of God. Yet in order to find the time or energy to do good works (like serving at the local church, going on a short term mission trip, giving generously to a ministry or leading a backyard Bible club) then that needs to be a high priority. There are always more than enough ways to use up the week and the funds. There are no shortage of possibilities at the mall, online, on TV, with friends, sports, etc.
In my opinion the single most critical teaching that is missing from the Body of Christ today is to bring home to them that as believers in the USA we have been bountifully blessed by God when contrasted with most of the rest of the population on the earth. The Bible says that to whom much is given much is required. The Bible teaches that we are stewards of the blessing He gives us. We do not deserve to have 10 to 100 times as much income as those in rural Africa, urban India or the poor sections of our home town. Often I feel bad when I go to the huge super stores and grocery stores that have so much yet there are many today that have so little. I am not advocating the redistribution of wealth. I am not pro-communism nor anti-wealth. But in order for Americans to get out of the endless cycles of selfish consumption they need to gain an eternal perspective. They need to make the choices about the short term and long term uses of their life to get ready to give an account to a holy God after they leave this planet.
At one time I invested many hundred hours preparing a ministry just around this theme. You can go to this web site to get just a rough sketch of what is in my mind and heart about the subject
www.osuonline.org
In the many years to come no matter what it says on my business card, what I will be doing ultimately is leading believers into understandings, insights, perspectives, commitments, habits, etc. that consistently improve the stewardship of their time talent and treasure. All the other passions will be present but this will be under them and link them together.
Time
The most valuable resource that a human has is time. In order for any of the many items mentioned on this list of passions and my various websites plus blogs the use of time is needed. Generally Americans are far too busy chasing goals that are temporal. They tend to neglect the spiritual and relational. My friendships with international students has repeatedly demonstrated to me that it is possible to have a better balance.
The pace of our society continues to increase. In our unconscious rat race of keeping up with the Joneses we neglect the priorities that we already know would be better for our health, relationships and fellowship with Jesus Christ. It will not be easy, but somehow I hope to be used by God to guide the next generation into more healthy balance in the use of time. This includes factoring in the long term into the context of the short-term commitments.
Talents
God has graciously granted special talents and spiritual gifts to every believer. These are to be discovered and developed. That involves exploring and experimenting. Great joy occurs when a person is using their God-given talents. And those around them are very blessed. A very critical part of the ministry will be oriented to help people in cyberspace find their talents become a better steward of them. The Incubator is an expression of the ministry for the seminary students and graduates. See more on this here http://tinyurl.com/dflye and here http://tinyurl.com/7gmjw
Treasures (things and money)
God Almighty puts things into our hands to be a manager of them as unto Him.
money
Money is neutral all by itself. It has no will of it’s own. It becomes a reflection of the values, priorities, lusts, insecurities, passions, desires, thoughts, and feelings of the one who has the money. The wise use of money from a Christian perspective is being taught well by Crown Ministries www.crown.org and others.
The wise giving of money from a Christian perspective is being taught well by Generous Giving http://www.generousgiving.org/
I will gladly point to them and others to provide the teachings. Plus my passion is that we apply what we know is right in the uses of funds. I want others to wake up and use money as unto Jesus instead of self.
time
talents
treasures (things and money)
If the Bible is true then we will continue to live after our physical body dies. We tend to neglect the fact that believers will be justly judged and generously rewarded for the good works that they do in the name of Jesus to further the kingdom of God. Yet in order to find the time or energy to do good works (like serving at the local church, going on a short term mission trip, giving generously to a ministry or leading a backyard Bible club) then that needs to be a high priority. There are always more than enough ways to use up the week and the funds. There are no shortage of possibilities at the mall, online, on TV, with friends, sports, etc.
In my opinion the single most critical teaching that is missing from the Body of Christ today is to bring home to them that as believers in the USA we have been bountifully blessed by God when contrasted with most of the rest of the population on the earth. The Bible says that to whom much is given much is required. The Bible teaches that we are stewards of the blessing He gives us. We do not deserve to have 10 to 100 times as much income as those in rural Africa, urban India or the poor sections of our home town. Often I feel bad when I go to the huge super stores and grocery stores that have so much yet there are many today that have so little. I am not advocating the redistribution of wealth. I am not pro-communism nor anti-wealth. But in order for Americans to get out of the endless cycles of selfish consumption they need to gain an eternal perspective. They need to make the choices about the short term and long term uses of their life to get ready to give an account to a holy God after they leave this planet.
At one time I invested many hundred hours preparing a ministry just around this theme. You can go to this web site to get just a rough sketch of what is in my mind and heart about the subject
www.osuonline.org
In the many years to come no matter what it says on my business card, what I will be doing ultimately is leading believers into understandings, insights, perspectives, commitments, habits, etc. that consistently improve the stewardship of their time talent and treasure. All the other passions will be present but this will be under them and link them together.
Time
The most valuable resource that a human has is time. In order for any of the many items mentioned on this list of passions and my various websites plus blogs the use of time is needed. Generally Americans are far too busy chasing goals that are temporal. They tend to neglect the spiritual and relational. My friendships with international students has repeatedly demonstrated to me that it is possible to have a better balance.
The pace of our society continues to increase. In our unconscious rat race of keeping up with the Joneses we neglect the priorities that we already know would be better for our health, relationships and fellowship with Jesus Christ. It will not be easy, but somehow I hope to be used by God to guide the next generation into more healthy balance in the use of time. This includes factoring in the long term into the context of the short-term commitments.
Talents
God has graciously granted special talents and spiritual gifts to every believer. These are to be discovered and developed. That involves exploring and experimenting. Great joy occurs when a person is using their God-given talents. And those around them are very blessed. A very critical part of the ministry will be oriented to help people in cyberspace find their talents become a better steward of them. The Incubator is an expression of the ministry for the seminary students and graduates. See more on this here http://tinyurl.com/dflye and here http://tinyurl.com/7gmjw
Treasures (things and money)
God Almighty puts things into our hands to be a manager of them as unto Him.
money
Money is neutral all by itself. It has no will of it’s own. It becomes a reflection of the values, priorities, lusts, insecurities, passions, desires, thoughts, and feelings of the one who has the money. The wise use of money from a Christian perspective is being taught well by Crown Ministries www.crown.org and others.
The wise giving of money from a Christian perspective is being taught well by Generous Giving http://www.generousgiving.org/
I will gladly point to them and others to provide the teachings. Plus my passion is that we apply what we know is right in the uses of funds. I want others to wake up and use money as unto Jesus instead of self.
posted by John @ 7:47 PM
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