LEADERSHIP CAPSULE
Committed to raising and equipping leaders to ultimately fulfill the Great Commission....

Thursday, December 08, 2016

TITLE : LEADERSHIP IS STEWARDSHIP 4

1 Peter 4:10 " And serve each other according to the gift each person has received, as good stewards of God's diverse gifts - CEB

Luke 16:2 "And he called him, and said to him..Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward" RSV

WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP?

My philosophy is based on this statement "the essence of human existence can be summed up in one word leadership". When it comes to leadership, we like to grade skills, measure character, and add up accomplishment. However, the essence of leadership is broader than skills and expertise. It's deeper than what any leadership assessment can reveal.

Business global consult and author Peter Block suggests that "leadership should be viewed more as stewardship." But not only should leadership be viewed more as stewardship, leadership is simply stewardship!

If the term stewardship makes you think of giving money to support church budgets, or being a worker in your local church, think again. It's much more than that. We are all stewards - one called and appointed by God to serve others in an area of specific or unique gifting in the light of God's purpose for our lives for the purpose of profit, increase and the advancement of the kingdom of God. That's a great definition!!

The doctrine of stewardship is so important as it reveals God as a business man. God is a business man you say? Yeah Jesus said He must manage his father's business (Luke 2:49). If you belong to God's family you must understand that your father owns a business and that you are responsible and accountable to God for the resources entrusted to you. We are all stewards of the father's business. We all know that the aim or motive of every business or investment is profit, increase and expansion. This is seen in the first instruction to the first man Adam "Be fruitful" This word fruitful in Hebrew means to grow, increase greatly, expand, enlarge. This means God expect us to grow and expand whatever He has given to us as stewards.

In the ancient world, stewardship was not a religious or Christian term. Rather it was a key component of commerce. Almost every business concern had a steward who served like a chief manager, running the affairs of the master of the house. Simply put, a steward was one entrusted with the management of someone else's household affairs. In the Bible, stewardship is the inherent standard to which God calls leaders- whether we are leading a country, business, church, family, organization. Contrary to popular understanding the opposite of a leader is not a follower - it is a passive spectator someone waits for others to take responsibility. Rather than stepping forward, a nonleader steps back. Leaders don't wait for someone to tell them what to do. Leaders take the initiative and responsibility to be a faithful steward in God's kingdom in both public and private life.

The Greek word for stewardship, oikonomia, is a compound of two words : oikos meaning household and nomos meaning rule. The words used together meant that stewardship is the adminstration or management of a household. We get our English word economy from this compound. And that's a huge insight.
Most Bible translators uses the words stewards or manager to translate oikonomos. But none of these English words capture the deep picture of leadership that the original Greek word portray.
An oikonomos, or steward, was indeed the "ruler of the house" but he wasn't the ultimate ruler. Just as God created man to rule but man is not the ultimate ruler. In the New Testament times the steward was almost a slave to the head of house. Although he was slave, he was second in command, entrusted to manage household affairs. He was in authority as well as under authority. The lesson here is :

The authority (resources, giftings) granted to him was never to be used for his personal gain or selfish interests. He was to use it to advance the interests and purposes of the master to whom he is accountable. As a steward we must have a clear understanding of the purpose of God.

By definition, a steward is responsible for the management of resources entrusted to his care. A steward owns nothing he has but he is accountable to everything he has. Being a steward means we are not the owner but have been entrusted with unique giftings for the sake of kingdom or business advancement. Stewardship is about choosing to serve the interest of the master over self interest.

So how this apply to you and I?
Since God is Lord, it means He is the owner and lord over all things. We do not own a single thing we have. That gift of time is not yours, gift of music isn't yours. He distributes all this diverse gifts and resources to each of us at His discretion and different measure for the purpose of making profit or for the benefits of others.
God does not want you to be ignorant of the gift He has given to you. He says you are expected to serve that gift to yield profit (1Cor 12:1, 4-5).
We are stewards, accountable to God for all that we do with all that we are given.

Finally beloved, good stewardship demands, means knowing the master's purpose (his likes, dislikes, vision, values and principles)for your life, discovering your unique gifting and sowing seeds that benefit others.

Do you know what God expects of you in each area of your life? Are you serving others??

Confession : In the name of Jesus, I admit that I am a steward of God's manifold grace. I declare that I am faithful and diligent in all gifts and divine resources that is entrusted to me. Amen.