Sermon Illustrations

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

BEGINNING - STEWARDSHIP

The Art of Beginning
by Thomas C. Rieke*

Starting is something which is essential to Christian stewardship. Management, caretaking or trusteeship—call it what you will—everything about stewardship relates to action. And unless you begin, there will be no resulting action.

Beginning is more than merely breaking the hold of inertia. For the steward it is the deliberate, active, positive step which can lead to all sorts of good results. It should be intentional and thoughtful. It is more than rolling downhill. There is an art to the start.

In personal experience and within the life of the church there is far too much of the spirit of the person who mounted a horse and rode off in all directions. The attitude expressed by the phrase—"just do something"— does not produce sound stewardship. In order to be faithful stewards we must begin somewhere and somehow. But the "where" and the "how" have a great deal to do with the kind of stewards we are and will become.

To illustrate, let's begin at an unlikely point of beginning and consider the matter of introductions. Perhaps it is just the nature of my work that makes me sensitive at this point. But my experience may turn on some lights in yours.

A frequent spot in which I find myself has me in front of a committee or other group in a church body. Usually there is a need of some sort relating to stewardship and finance which has brought me by invitation to this group. Almost every beginning goes like this: "We are happy to have ______________with us tonight and we will turn it over to him now."

There is no stating of the situation that brought us together nor a discovery of common ground. I find some folks in the group who do not know who I am nor what credentials I may have brought to this situation. Everything is taken for granted. Anything can happen. There are no goals stated and no guidelines set. We are just supposed to begin.

And that is hard! I often find myself feeling as a farmer must who goes out to plow ground that is uncultivated and baked hard by the sun. Even scratching the surface is difficult, much less making a deep impression. How could all of this have been different and what would have made for a better beginning?

Put yourself in that spot and respond as you would feel about it. Would it not have been easier to start by getting acquainted with each other, thus allowing someone to get to know you and share that information? Certainly a statement of the need that brought everyone together would be helpful, as would a thinking-through of the goals of the meeting. Setting a time frame for the meeting and indicating the procedures to be followed would provide perspective for everyone. And then a time of prayer would have laid the matter before God, seeking the mind of Christ for everyone present. What a way to begin!

To Begin

Now move to consider other settings for beginnings. Sometimes a new group has been formed. A program or project is to be brought to life and initiated. A campaign is begun or a new task started. The possibilities are endless. We are always at the point of beginning something.

How and where is the steward to start? I believe a sound point of initiation is with a look over the shoulder at the past. Where have we been and what has brought us to this opportunity for newness? Everything we do is from the perspective of standing on the shoulders of others. In one sense there is really nothing new under the sun, nothing which does not depend on the past and upon others for its present initiation.

Now look at the present. What resources of history and people and ideas and money and possibility do you bring to this particular point of beginning? Consider what is already at hand that will contribute toward the success of this beginning. Lacking in some things you may be. But there will be an adequate supply for which to give thanks. Doing so, and the recognition which it brings, are essential for a good startup.

Finally, look toward the future. What is to be gained by this beginning? Where are you headed and how quickly? What constraints do you face and by what opportunities will these be defeated? How will you know when you have achieved the purposes for which you are now starting?

Center All in God

Allow all of your beginnings to center in God and in the Word. Find a place to relate in the scriptures to other beginnings. From the orderliness of the initial creative process to the final chapter there are myriad beginnings to consider.

For the stewards the exercise of prayer is vital to starting right. We like to quote the injunction—"Except the Lord build a house, they labor in vain who build it" (Psalm 127:1)—but far too often we just begin, without God as a point of reference. Seeking divine direction is not simply a pious exercise. It is the prudent practice of the steward
all of whose works are to begin and end in God.

"Don't just do something, stand there" is a funny way of reversing conventional wisdom in order to make a point. But on second thought, that is not bad advice. Before doing anything, just stand there and consider how best to begin. Doing so will make all the difference in the world how the venture moves ahead.

In the beginning. That is more than a nice phrase with which to begin the Biblical account. There is always a time of beginning. Will it be worth mentioning when the final chapter is written? It will if there are good stewards at work, making certain that the beginning is an adequate preparation for all that is to follow. Now we can put the phrase back in its proper order. "Don't just stand there, do something!"

*Thomas C. Rieke does stewardship and financial consulting for congregations. He lives at 212 Countryside Drive,
Franklin, Tennessee, 37064.