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Clergy as Wise Stewards
During the ordination of a priest, the Bishop exhorts the candidate to be “a messenger, a watchman, a steward of the Lord,” (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 489). This command to be a steward is made because the ministers of the Church are entrusted with great responsibility regarding shepherding the flock of God’s people.
First, each clergyperson must be a good steward of the gifts and calling God has uniquely and individually entrusted to them. This is one reason why the diocesan process for discerning the call to vocational ministry is so thorough. We want to to make sure the person answering that call knows what the call for their life actually is. How will they most effectively serve God’s Kingdom? What is their place in the Church? What unique gifts do they have to offer? What kind of deacon or priest are they meant to be?
Second, clergy function as stewards of “the flock of God that is among [them]” (BCP, p. 514) by caring well for God’s people and releasing them into ministry. They are to teach the Scriptures. They are “to minister the doctrine, sacraments, and discipline of Christ, as the Lord has commanded and as this Church has received them” so that the people will diligently keep them. They are to defend the congregation from false teaching, and to correct the mature as well as those new to the faith when they fall into error (BCP, p. 490-91).
When our Lord Jesus gave the Great Commission, he did not send only the clergy. Our Lord Jesus commissioned us all to go, to bring people into the community of faith, and to teach them all that we know about God and how he loves us (Matt 28:16-20). Our clergy, therefore, have also been entrusted with the gifts of their parishioners. They must help the people within congregations discern and nurture those gifts, and then help them find the harvest fields to which they have been called.
Congregations as Wise Stewards
Our clergy are likewise gifts that must be stewarded well. As they care for you, will you pray for them, love them, and support them? Will you join them in their Kingdom work? Just as our bishops, priests, and deacons must care for the laity and equip them for ministry, our laypeople must respond and join them in ministry. All are called to go and tell others, wherever we work, wherever we play, even without words; we are called to live our lives so that others might be drawn to Jesus. Many of you are already doing this. Many of you are witnesses in your daily lives, and many of you serve in your churches to ensure ministry is happening to further that charge within your community. Thank you for answering that call as a believer! In doing so, you are in fact being wise stewards not only of your own gifts, but of the clergy set over you in the Lord (1 Thess 5:12). If this all sounds daunting, be encouraged that the last verse in the Great Commission reminds us that Jesus will be with us as we go. We are not alone.
We all have a sacred duty to identify and raise up those whom God has called to give their lives in service to the Church under Holy Orders—those whom God has called to be deacons and priests. Bishop Alex and I cannot possibly know every single person who might be wrestling with such a calling. Keep your eyes and ears open for those who might already be naturally demonstrating the gifts that accompany those vocations (see the Exhortations for a Deacon and for a Priest, or read through the Ordination services found on pp. 472-496).
The Diocese as Wise Steward
Our prayer for all in our Diocese is that we would be wise stewards of what the Lord has given each of us. One of the most important things Bishop Alex and his staff do is to care for and support our clergy. But, this prayer also includes taking care of our church communities, each one a gift to the Diocese. We must be praying, therefore, that God would raise up missional leaders to shepherd and steward those churches. We aren’t stewarding well when those gifts are suppressed. We must also be continually on the lookout (as I have said already, with your help!) for those whom God is raising up to lead His Church. That is why we work hard to identify, equip, and release into ministry those whom God has called, and to develop processes and pipelines that serve that purpose.
I wonder how many of you have ever paused to consider whether God might be calling you to more? Have you ever heard from the Lord that he may be asking you to step into ministry vocationally? Have you ever wondered what that process looks like? I might challenge you to spend some time in prayer regarding your calling. God has a unique call on all of our lives and maybe it is to remain where you are, but maybe it is to step into ordained ministry and devote your gifts and skills to helping the Church on mission.
For more information on what vocational ministry might look like for you, I invite you to join us at Synod this October 18-19, at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, where we will have an informational gathering on Saturday about ordained ministry. Come join God’s work and help answer this prayer.