stewardship

New Starts

September is a time of "new starts" because, for many congregations, the regular ongoing ministries pick up again after a summer break. Children and young people are back in school. Rally Day Services will be taking place, the church's committees are planning their ministries, and the congregational leaders start putting their plans into action.

"New starts" are very helpful for Christian stewards. The best "new start" for Christian stewards is that, because of Christ's forgiveness of our sins and failures, we have the opportunity to start with a clean slate.

In Christ the past is over and done with. We do not have to be nagged with the baggage of the past, but have the opportunity for a fresh start each new day. Besides, we cannot change the past even if we tried to.

The present is here and is really the only time we can actually take action steps. As St. Paul encourages us: "Let us make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16) and "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

The future provides us with another opportunity for planning and dreaming, but the future is beyond our reach. "Tomorrow I will do better" is often only an excuse for doing nothing today. At best it is procrastination and at worst it is laziness.

As mentioned before, "new starts" are truly important for Christian stewards. They provide us with the opportunity to put our plans into action. We can forget about those "what ifs," or "that didn't work because we tried it before," or "we've never done it that way before." The "new starts" can take many shapes. Perhaps we have wanted to be more generous when it comes to the giving of our time, talent, and treasure for the work of Christ's church! Perhaps we have intended to participate in this or that ministry or activity! Now is the time to seize the moment and go to work in a fresh and different way! Putting it off to the future will only add another negative day to the past.

"Christian stewardship is the free and joyous activity of the child of God and God's family, the church, in managing all of life and life's resources for God's purposes."

Today is the ideal time to put those nice sounding words into practice!