From the Pastor…

Throughout my almost four years of pastoral ministry here at Grace Baptist Church of Blue Bell, I have written about many subjects in this column. Quite often, the columns have focused around how to be a disciple of Jesus. I have sought to share with you how to spend time in God’s word, how to pray, how to share your faith, etc. But there is one discipleship subject I don’t believe I’ve written about in this column. If I have, it’s only been on an annual basis in the fall of each year. What is this taboo discipleship subject? It is stewardship.

Recently, I read the book Maximize by Nelson Searcy. I was convicted by his book in treating stewardship as a taboo subject. I want to share with you a little of what he wrote. In his book he tells the following story about taking his nephew, who was about 8 at the time, to a baseball game. He writes,

“As the 4th inning wound down, he turned to me and said, ‘Uncle Nelson, can I have some Skittles?’ Well, I love my nephew, and I want to grant him the desires of his heart, so of course I said yes. I pulled a couple of dollars out of my pocket, put them in his eager little hand, and watched as he walked the short distance to the concession stand. A few minutes later he returned, al- ready digging hungrily into the bag of candy. Watching him eat those Skit- tles brought out my sweet tooth. So, I asked him, ‘Can I have a few of those?’ Without hesitating, he answered, ‘No, Uncle Nelson, they’re almost gone.’

Nelson writes, “Though I didn’t say it aloud, I have to admit my instinctive response was, ‘Look, kid, I gave you the money for those Skittles. Not to mention I am a lot big- ger than you are. If I wanted to, I could take the whole bag of Skittles away from you right now.’ Instead, I let him continue eating his Skittles in silence.”

Nelson concludes the story with these reflections, “As I sat there listening to my nephew chew and watching him wipe red, yellow and green coloring off his mouth with his shirtsleeve, I couldn’t help but think about how often I have watched people within the church–myself and other leaders included–treat God the same way this child had just treated me. How often have we taken the resources and gifts God has given us and set about consuming them, with little regard for his ultimate ownership? And how often has he looked on, refraining from using his position and power to force us into obedience?”

The question is, “Did Nelson do the right thing by keeping his mouth closed about the Skittles?” Do I do the right thing when I keep my mouth closed about money and stewardship within the church? I know we can think of many reasons why we should keep our mouth closed, but ultimately, if I keep my mouth closed, I will not be caring for you or teaching you how to become a fully committed disciple of Jesus. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I can spend lots of time teaching people how to pray, how to study the Bible, how to witness, etc., but as Nelson Searcy writes, “It is impossible to become a fully developing follower of Jesus without also becoming a fully devel- oping steward of financial resources.” (Again, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.)

Throughout this year, I and other church leaders will be implementing some new stewardship ideas to help us grow in our discipleship. I realize that talking about money and stewardship can strike at the core of our being, and for many we’re hesitant to talk about it. But my hope is that through God’s grace we will encourage each other to grow spiritually through our stewardship.

Pastor David