Are We Faithful Stewards

1 Cor 4:2  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 

We were praying about churches without pastors on Wednesday. Someone asked that God would send men to pastor them and I said He might, but pulpit committees are way too picky especially when the new pastor will have no help and finances are tight. You must be able to discern, but most "requirements" by the committee have nothing to do with biblical requirements.

I thought of this verse and while it speaks directly to pastors, we can see that the staff and congregation are to be good stewards of God's resources and manpower as well.

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oikonomos

oy-kon-om'-os

From G3624 and the base of G3551; a house distributor (that is, manager), or overseer, that is, an employee in that capacity; by extension a fiscal agent (treasurer); figuratively a preacher (of the Gospel): - chamberlain, governor, steward.

Total KJV occurrences: 10 Strong's concordance

As you can see, the word steward is tied to financial management. Again, while the context is to the pastor in our culture both deacons and the congregation are also stewards.

Having interviewed at one of the churches in town, I saw what I have seen in many such churches. They are down to a small group that have a median age of eighty. They are having financial issues as the congregation dwindles and upkeep costs keep rising. They had a young man for four years and he could not change the downward spiral. They now have an interim that may be there longer than the young lad as they have nothing to draw a new pastor there.

The demographics have changed and it would be great if they turned the building over to a Latinx congregation and the people there merge with one of the other churches of like faith in town.

I have not seen the other pastorless churches in the area, but I suspect they are pretty much in the same condition. Indeed, if all of the pastorless churches of like faith merged and sold the buildings keeping the best of them all they would have money to hire staff that could possibly build that one church.

I understand the sentimentality issue, but we are to be good stewards. I asked a lady from there that if the church was a business and in the shape it is what would she recommend. She replied, "file bankruptcy." That is the correct response.

Is it good stewardship to keep a building open only for the sake of the building? Indeed, if four churches of forty or less merged into one it would be a better testimony to the community and relieve that souls that are stressing out trying to keep the doors open.

Indeed, there are much larger churches of like faith in the area that could easily absorb most, if not all of the members of the churches without pastors.

One of the issues is that we forget whose church it is and cling to our church. It is supposed to be His church and if He is not maintaining it we are unwise to do so. If you build a church and not the Lord you labor in vain. How much more so trying to maintain one by the sheer will of the people?

I do not absolutely know how each church was formed and why they are in the shape they are in, but I can make some educated guesses from my experience and the experience of others.

The point is that He is not growing that church. Most will die in the next five years or less because the people will die, move in with a relative or enter the nursing home.

In the end, God's sheep, manpower and money was not properly stewarded. God is interested in people, which are His temple, not buildings. I would love to see ten churches merge into one that can impact the community than have ten nearly empty buildings that no one knows exist and would not miss them when they are gone.

If God called us, and He did, to be one then all of this division is not of Him. Some of it is carnal and some even of demonic influence. As the day approaches should we not be a part of answering Christ's prayer instead of fighting against it?

John 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 

21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 

22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: