Battle Royale: Actions Versus Affiliations

Hello again, Shiloh!
As you've probably noticed, we've been placing a lot of emphasis on "ownership" in relation to our stewardship and spirituality. I've decided to go ahead and approach that from kind of a different angle this evening here at the Shiloh Stewardship Blog, using an idea of Carl's as a springboard of sorts. At Bible study, and probably at some point on Carl's blog (carlrobinson.blogspot.com), the idea keeps coming up about, "Why are religious people so mean?" This isn't a concept that applies exclusively to Christianity, but across all religions. This week, I've decided to try to take a stab at explaining some of my ideas on this problem.
I think it is fair to say that a good amount of these "mean" religious people can be explained by these individuals being "blinded by faith" if you will... However, this is not their faith in their God or any sort of spiritual faith that is blinding them... It is their faith in the institutional church. It is their faith in this organization that was created and is maintained by man. This institution that assures these individuals that, no matter what religious group the church may represent, the individuals have chosen the one, true path to salvation. Of all of the spiritual avenues that their lives could have taken them down, these individuals have all chosen the one, correct spiritual pathway. And the institution pumps them up as such. The institution tells the individuals that they are superior because they have made this excellent spiritual decision, and thus creates a structured hierarchy in the minds of the individuals in which they are superior to those who believe differently, or those they would even claim believe "wrongly." Thus, it could be said that the institutional church fuels these individuals to be so "mean."
Here at Shiloh, we look at things a bit differently. We see everyone of every faith as brothers and sisters, all working towards Kingdom though they may be working from different angles. It is our actions that define and develop our stewardship and our spirituality, not our religious affiliations. So we have to take back the power and the responsibility of managing our own stewardship away from an institution that tries to make us feel superior to our brothers and sisters, and realize that the responsibility falls on us, not the institutional church, to use our actions through stewardship to bring about Kingdom. We can no longer sit back and allow the church to tell the world what WE are all about. This is OUR stewardship. OUR actions. It is up to us to go out into the world, and bring about change and ultimately Kingdom. No longer can we check our spirituality at the door as we leave church on Sundays and then pick it back up on our way in a week later. It's time for change.
So what do you think Shiloh? Do we want to just sit back and wait for the institutional church to bring about Kingdom (because I'm pretty sure they have concerns higher up on their priority list) or are we going to take the responsibility to go out and live the word by serving the world?
Isn't it about time we took back OUR stewardship and OUR own spiritual development?

Justin

Does Ownership have its PRIVILEGES?????

Catchy title to our next installment into our quest for understanding Stewardship. Ownership is all about stewardship in so many ways. Many of us have owned different items in our lives, from a house to maybe a vehicle. And with our ownership we work hard each day trying to get the most out of our ownership. We try to get the most out of our house, or as much mileage out of a vehicle. But, when it comes to our faith and stewardship, where does our ownership stand. Let me give you another analogy. I have been building a fence lately and I've come to the realization that the fence will be strong with a good foundation. Otherwise the fence will look good for awhile and then will start to crumble. Our stewardship, our faith, our ownership is all about building a strong foundation of love and support for the kingdom in which God calls us to bring. Yes we all own a piece of this kingdom, but what are we doing to sustain its strong foundation. Do we realize that with every light turned on ministry happens? Or how about when someone is in need and we reach out to them, ministry happens? Or when a door is opened in this church, ministry happens? Or when we shake hands in worship, or at a meeting, or a mission activity, ministry happens? The ownership of God's ministry happens each and every day. When we wake up and say with one voice that I own a piece of this kingdom and I need to do my part will the foundation on what we're building grow and prosper. Take a few moments after reading this and ask yourself the question, what can I do more? How can I share my talents more with the kingdom? How can I give my time to what God has called me to do? How can my treasure be shared in the world to benefit others in ministry and service? That my friends is the stewardship model of ownership. We must forge ahead as one and continue to build upon the principles of our faith. The love of Christ is the perfect example for us to live. Let us now take the ownership of our faith and stewardship and move it in ways that brings about the opportunities of kingdom.

God Bless
Pastor Jay