STEWARDSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR MINISTRY TODAY
TOPIC:
STEWARDSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR MINISTRY TODAY
TEXT:
1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-2
INTRODUCTION:
Looking at ministry today as against ministry in the past, we are brought to a boundary of many comparisons. Usually, there are conflicts at boundaries. One of the conflicts between ministry today and ministry in the past is the question of integrity
- FACTORS THAT SHAPES PEOPLES PERFECTION OF THE MINISTRY
- Lack of trust: People want to share intimate information with someone they can trust; they want to put their money in the hands of those they can trust.
- Collective responsibility and subjective judgment; this is where one ministers offence is presumed to be the offence of everyone else in ministry. Frankly many of the challenges in ministry today are self-imposed
- QUALITY/RESPONSIBILITY OF A STEWARD
- Faithfulness: this is the hallmark of stewardship in ministry. it covers all areas of life, especially the highly promoted money in ministry syndrome. A steward is a minister driven by a two –directional sense of responsibility. he is responsible to his employer and to the beneficiaries of his ministry
- Accountability: this is his primary responsibility. Personal qualities and ministerial responsibilities are a yardstick to measure every minister’s life. a ministry, or being given a free hand to operate in one’s ministerial capacities, should never be construed with being absolutely independent. The moment a minister thinks he is independent, his accountability becomes doubtful.
- Leadership: A steward is both a servant and a leader. A leader shows the right way by walking in it. The best leaders are the best followers. The faithfulness required of a steward compels him to be explicitly accountable.
CONCLUSION
Stewardship is the centre growth. Leadership and accountability are basic responsibilities of a faithful steward. The integrity question facing the church today begins with the integrity question the minister is unable to answer. This means, the minister’s failure begins with a loss or a lack of the right perception of what ministry entails. Therefore everything goes wrong with the ministry when something goes wrong with the minister.