At the end of this month we have our annual 'Pledge Sunday', which will again be combined with the Harvest Festival. I have written before about the value of combining the two, so I will not repeat that here, but I have been thinking about a concept that for many years was linked with pledging: stewardship. Once, churches were always running stewardship schemes. Nowadays the term is seldom heard in church, and used even less often in daily life. However, 'Stewardship' is still probably the best of a wide variety of words used in English Bibles to translate the New Testament Greek word oikonomia (ffrom which we derive our English word 'economy'). It is one of a family of words related to oikos, meaning house, household, or building, and oikodome, 'to build', or 'build up'. This is the word used of God's saving plan for the world (Ephesians 1.10 & 3.9) and for Paul's part in making it happen (Ephesians 3.2). We, as the body of Christ, are God's household, built into a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2.19-21), and we should be Stewards of God's grace, employing the gifts we have received from God for one another (1 Peter 4.10-11). God builds up his house through the work of those whom he has called, and to whom he has entrusted the stewardship of his house, all of whom will be called to account for their stewardship (Luke 16.2).
The New Testament describes many different gifts given by God to his people (e.g. Romans 12.6ff.), and provides for overseers to lead the local church (Titus 1.5), but it allows for only one sort of church member: someone fully active, comnrtitted, and integrated into the local expression of the whole. The pictures used of the Church make the same point: we are parts of the body, stones built into a building, branches of the vine, etc. It may just be possible, as some Claim, to be a Christian without going to church (whatever they may mean by that), but, the New Testament repeats over and over again, it is not possible to be a part of the Church, the Body of Christ, without being built into that body, and functioning as an integral part of it. Once we are part of the Body of Christ, everything about us, our talents, our time, and our money, belongs to Christ, and should be at his disposal for the building up of the body. This does not mean neglecting our families in order to do church work. Ephesians 5 is all about how our witness to Christ and his body begins at home (but do remember to read chapters 1 to 4 first, or you may not get the message of chapter 5 right). It does mean making sure that everything we do, including how we spend our time and our money, should serve the whole body (back to Ephesians-4.12-13, and 1 Peter-4.10-11). Of course, we should do this all the time, but an annual stewardship scheme, gift day, or in our case, Pledge Sunday, is a timely reminder to take our Christian discipleship seriously.
As 1 Corinthians 12 makes clear, the Body of Christ cannot function properly unless every part functions as it is meant to, under the direction of the head, which is Jesus himself. The same passage is also at pains to point out that as every part of a human body is different, so every part, that is every person, is different. This does not so much refer to our appearance or our personalities, as to our function in the local church. All too often we church members talk and act as if we had the right to tell God what we are prepared to do for him, rather than expecting him to call us to do what is required for the good of his body. I have been told that we desperately need more helpers in our crèche, but that everyone who was asked was like the guests at the wedding feast in Luke 14, "they all alike began to make excuses". There is a long list of things needing to be done at church, some practical, some pastoral, some requiring physical effort or presence; others, like prayer support, can be done by almost anyone regardless of their circumstances. This Pledge Sunday, what are you going to pledge to God as your contribution to building up the body of Christ?
The pledge we make to God of our own personal commitment of time and talents is the most important pledge we can make, but there is a second pledge that is vital to the visible Body of Christ here in Berne, and that is our money. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6.21). As you are, presumably, well aware, we need extra money to pay for the new roof on the hall, but we also need adequate funds for our day-to-day life as a church. I have been informed that during the last year our income dropped because of the death or moving away of some generous givers, and also that we did not receive all that had been pledged by people who are still here. We are well aware that a person's financial situation can change during a year, making the pledge inappropriate. Nevertheless, may we all ask God to guide us about the financial pledge we will make to him this Pledge Sunday, and may we be willing to commit to him everything we are and have, to be used according to his will.
Yours in Christ
Richard Pamplin