Stewardship isn’t the most important aspect of our faith, but it is way too important to ignore.

In my talks with pastors and lay leaders, I note there is not one life transition or challenge that comes without a financial component:

• starting a business costs money
• getting married costs money
• having a child costs money
• going to college costs money
• receiving medical care costs money
• even dying costs money, and the list goes on.

“An Elder’s Side Job” (page 22) is a wonderful example of how one congregation recognizes that the financial needs and resources of its people are part of the spiritual ministry of the body.

The early church recognized this connection between our faith and our finances. In Romans 15:25b-29, the Apostle Paul says as much: “I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. They were pleased to do this and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. So when I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will set out by way of you to Spain.”

Such mutual care and aid modeled by the church in the first century was not lost to the early Anabaptists as they read Scripture and made applications for their lives. Menno Simons wrote: “True evangelical faith cannot lie dormant. It clothes the naked, it comforts the sorrowful, it shelters the destitute, it serves those that harm it, it binds up that which is wounded.”

Article 21 of Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective says, “As stewards of money and possessions, we are to live simply, practice mutual aid within the church, uphold economic justice and give generously and cheerfully.”

As the stewardship arm of Mennonite Church USA, Everence promotes this emphasis, which has been in place since its founding as MMA in 1945.

The Everence Strategic Plan 2012-2013 states that we are committed to help people

• make financial decisions that include mutual aid and compassionate sharing,
• leverage resources to meet identified needs,
• become equipped to face economic challenges that arise and to respond with generosity when those challenges affect others.

Paul wasn’t the first follower of the Way to pick up on this idea of caring for the physical needs of others as part of our spiritual responsibility. In Acts 2, the early group of believers come together to form Christ’s body on earth. The Holy Spirit shows up accompanied by a sound like the rush of a mighty wind, divided tongues as of fire and many who began speaking other languages. Too often we stop here. But in Acts 2:44 is a fourth manifestation of the Holy Spirit: “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”

It’s easy for us to get excited about the Holy Spirit doing something around us that creates a spectacle of sorts, but when the Spirit does something within us that transforms our hearts and our way of relating, that’s truly amazing. It has been suggested that stewardship is everything you do after you say you believe. Whether we are talking about stewardship of our time or skills or money, how we use these God-given resources says a lot about our faith in God, our worldview and our ultimate sense of ownership.

Jan. 19, 2014, is Stewardship Sunday, and we encourage people to begin planning now to give special attention to this theme that day. Maybe the Scripture texts identified here will help inform planning. It may be a time to examine the way we respond to the needs of those within our congregation and our community.

Is it time to consider identifying an elder of finance who provides financial counseling as well as benevolence assistance?