Membership Update - Exercising Stewardship (October)

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , , , | Posted On Monday, October 25, 2010 at 5:24 PM

This month I'm wrapping up my Membership Series for our Gateway members (and anyone else). I began this series in May, and each month I've added more to this series, explaining what we call our GUIDE. The GUIDE (part of our Membership Covenant) is a tool we use here at Gateway that not only describes what a "fully devoted follower of Christ" looks like, but also lists biblical practices and disciplines that help guide us in our spiritual journey.

This month I conclude by examining the "E" of GUIDE: Exercising Stewardship. I'm defining stewardship as the process of managing that which belongs to another. Modern-day examples in the business world include bankers and managers.

The biblical idea of stewardship is rooted in the belief that God created all there is, and it is all His. Because God is the Owner, He has rights, while we, the "renters" or "stewards" have responsibilities.
“‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.’” (Revelation 4:11 NLT2)
“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” (Psalm 24:1 NLT2)
The implications of this belief underlie much of how Christ followers are called to live their lives. It calls us to care for the earth, because it is God's, and we have been entrusted with the care of the planet and all that is on it. To that end, Gateway has begun recycling. Our church family has really helped us here as we've sought to learn what that means and looks like here.

Another implication of this belief is that our lives are gifts from God to be used for His purposes. Christ followers have been bought for a price - our lives are no longer ours but belong to God to be used for His purposes and His glory. We were created to love God and love our neighbors. We were created to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Quite simply, we were created to do good for God's sake and glory.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT2)
But perhaps the most difficult implication for us to accept is how we use the resources we have. The Bible tells us that everything we have, all our resources and even our ability to produce those resources, belong to God. Yet, our sinful nature too often grabs these resources for ourselves as means of security and greed and idolatry. We may not do this consciously, but we do it none the less. 

“…What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7 NLT2)
“If you start thinking to yourselves, ‘I did all this. And all by myself. I’m rich. It’s all mine!’—well, think again. Remember that GOD, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth….” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18 Message)
Out of gratitude and obedience God calls us and invites us to exercise faithful stewardship of all He has entrusted to us. But perhaps even more importantly, God calls us to give back a portion of all we've received - the tithe, or 10% of our income - as a concrete statement of faith in God and His provision for our lives. God understands this is a challenge for us, so in this one instance He allows us to test Him.
“‘Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! ‘But you ask, “What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?” You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,’ says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!’” (Malachi 3:8-10 NLT2)
For all these reasons, we believe it's important to exercise stewardship in our lives as testimonies of faith and faith-building tools. I encourage you to be good stewards of our earth by recycling. I encourage you to be good stewards of your life by using it to bless others and by serving. And I encourage you to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to you by tithing. And to help you do that, we've set up our 90-Day Challenge. The details about it are below if you'd like to take God at His Word and discover how trustworthy He really is.

As member of Gateway, stewardship is an important part of our spiritual journeys. I hope you will allow God to encourage you in this area. It has the potential to grow your faith like few disciplines do. Susan and I have tithed (and given above) for over 25 years. I've discovered time and time again God is faithful, and I've been blessed - not necessarily with more resources, but with the experience of knowing I can put my whole faith in God through Jesus Christ. Stewardship has been a great guide for my life!
The 90-Day Challenge
I would like to test God's faithfulness by accepting the 90-Day Tithe Challenge. I agree that for the 90-day period, my household will contribute to God, through Gateway Community Church, a tithe equal to 10% of our income. At the end of the 90-day period, if I am not convinced of God's faithfulness to bless my life as a result of my obedience to His Word, then I will be entitled to request a refund, up to the full amount of contributions made during that 90-day period.
To begin, I will mark my first tithe “90-Day Challenge” or contact Elsa Salinas: esalinas@gateway-community.org or (281) 286-1515. (Gateway must be told you are beginning this challenge for this refund offer to be in effect.)