Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
Where Your Treasure Is
A monthly stewardship update from the CCCC January 2010
Treasure
 
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Please read this latest edition of the monthly devotional message, "Where Your Treasure Is".   Our goal is to deliver an email devotional from the CCCC office to your inbox on the 15th of every month, to remind us of biblical principles of stewardship. This initiative was launched because our Lord has said much about Stewardship, but too often His people are unaware or not listening.  We all need to listen!  We hope you find these devotionals helpful.  We also hope you will forward this publication to others, inviting them to join our mailing list to receive it directly in the future.  If you do not wish to receive this monthly devotional an unsubscribe link is provided on the bottom of this page.

This series of monthly devotionals, Where Your Treasure Is, has focused on several critical principles from God's Word that shape our view and our use of the resources He gives us in this life.  It's important to note, however, that these principles are not just for individuals, but for congregations as well.  What applies to the individual believer also applies to all the believers together in the body of Christ.

 

For years, I have been amazed at a paradox I see lived out in so many local churches.  These precious bodies worry and fret over the lack of financial support they are receiving (especially in these tough economic times), cutting back both staff and ministry, and yet they often times have large amounts of money stored up in investment accounts that they refuse to touch.  I know of more than one case where a pastoral staff member was let go at a time when the church desperately needed the added ministry presence, while at the same time the congregation held anywhere from $100,000 to over $500,000 in investments.  A key leader in one such church lamented, "I just don't understand why God isn't blessing our church!"  My response was, "He already has."

 

Certainly, investing for future ministry is a wise thing to do.  But most churches allow their treasure to be stored away with no particular plan in place for its use.  When this happens, the money then becomes its own goal, with members looking to their leadership as investment brokers and pouring over financial reports to see "how much our accounts made this month."  We do not practice the very stewardship principles our Lord has taught us.

 

Christ is the greatest treasure of all.  Every believer gives a hearty "amen!" to this statement.  Our relationships with Jesus are based (from our standpoint) primarily on two things: loving Him and trusting Him.  If one truly loves and trusts Jesus, then faithfulness and obedience flow (John 14:1, 15).  But if either our loving Christ or our trusting Christ wavers, then the human heart defaults to finding comfort in tangible things we can control.  It's been a very hard realization for me, but I have come to the conclusion that a church which amasses large amounts of money in investments with no specific kingdom plan on how those funds will eventually be used does not trust God as she should.  She finds her security in the wealth, not in the One who provided it for her to use.

 

God is the owner of all.  When the Bride of Christ finds her security in wealth, then she automatically defaults back to "owner" status.  The people and leaders may give mental assent to God's lordship over their finances, but in reality emotion is now attached to the funds as if they belong to "us."  I hear way too many reports about battles over church accounts.  Why?  Because someone is wresting control (ownership) of those funds away from God - as if that were even possible!

 

We are stewards, not owners.  The September issue of this devotional did a wonderful job addressing this principle, so I won't belabor this point.  But following the lead of that article, what might happen if every congregation actually prayed and waited for God's response about how they used every penny of the funds He entrusted to them?  How would this change the way budgets are set?  How might your own congregation's ministry priorities and spending change?  As stewards, we are servants that follow the lead and instructions of the Owner.  This should not be a foreign idea to His people.

 

We are blessed to bless others.  Herein we find the answer to the question, "Why isn't God blessing our church?"  He already has.  God bestows blessing upon His Church so that the Church can be a blessing.  This has been His intent from the very beginning.  In fact, it was even a part of His call to Abram:

"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;

And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:2-3, italics mine).

Do you know why the Dead Sea is dead?  Because all of the salt water from the bodies above it flow into it but nothing flows out of it!  God has always called His people to be a conduit of His blessing - that includes financial blessing.  When a local body hordes the resources of God, demonstrating a lack of trust, an "owner" mentality and a refusal to prayerfully go back to Him about how those resources should be used, it is His right to withhold additional blessing until we realign everything back to Him! 

 

Stewardship is not just a "personal" thing - it is required of the Church as well.  What is the Holy Spirit saying to your Church family?

 
John Kimball, CCCC Director of Conference Care and Church Redevelopment