The Value of Stewardship in Missional Enterprise

One of the key perspectives guiding missional enterprise is to see ourselves not as owners, but as stewards.1 But what is Stewardship and what does it mean when we say that leaders of missional enterprises are stewards?

The Biblical Foundation of Stewardship

Hugh Whelchel, Executive Director for the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics explains biblical stewardship in this way:

In the beginning of Genesis, God creates everything and puts Adam in the Garden to work it and to take care of it. It is clear that man was created to work and that work is the stewardship of all of the creation that God has given him.

This is the fundamental principle of biblical stewardship. God owns everything, we are simply managers or administrators acting on his behalf.

Whelchel goes on to explain that a steward is responsible and accountable to the owner, but also receives a reward for faithful service. Jesus makes clear in the Parable of the Talents that faithful servants receive affirmation, greater responsibility, and entry into “the joy of [the] master.”

The Stewardship Perspective in Missional Enterprise

Understanding stewardship changes how we view our roles in business. Those who are “owners” from the world’s perspective must realize that they don’t ultimately own anything. God owns it all. On the other hand, those considered “hired hands” must realize that they too are stewards, and are “working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23).

Veteran business-as-mission practitioner Bill Job describes how the stewardship principle radically changed his perspective when dealing with a crisis in the company he led:

One day, my finance manager informed me I must provide $350,000 in 14 days, or we would have to close the business.

Years earlier, when I believed I was the owner, it would be my problem and I would worry, lose sleep, and pressure my friends to get the money to save the business. You probably already know how anxiety feels.

But this time I believed I stewarded the company, so I reported the problem to the true owner [God]. I told Him He needed to come up with $350,000 in 14 days, or I, His faithful steward, would have to close His company.

Then I asked, “What do you want me to do?”

Bill Job goes on to describe how God provided miraculously by the end of those two weeks. However, even more importantly, he shares that he was able to live free of anxiety during that critical time.

For another inspiring example of what the Stewardship perspective can do to transform a missional business, check out this video (11 minutes) from the Faith & Co. documentary film series created by Seattle Pacific University. It tells some of the story of Bertie Lourens, CEO of WastePlan in South Africa, who transferred a 51% share in his company to a Christian educational development non-profit as a response to the conviction that God owned the company.

Verse(s) of the Week:

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)

May God grant us the grace to live as stewards, serving joyfully with the gifts God has entrusted to us.