Christian Leadership Alliance

Making It Happen

 1 of 4

What is Holistic Stewardship?

To me, holistic stewardship begins with God's intention for His creation and His gracious decision to create humanity in God's image. It is built further on the central Christian tenet that the God in whose image we have been created is the God we know in Jesus Christ. God's self-revelation to us in Jesus Christ is the core of our faith, giving it direction and substance. Our faith assures us that we know our God with certainty, and it is by knowing God in Jesus Christ that we can embrace our call to reflect the image of God. As such, it is a clear and joyous, albeit difficult calling.

We also know that the God that has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ is a Triune God. We were created to bear the image of a God who is, in His very nature, community, fellowship, and interdependence. This triune nature of God, combined with the knowledge that we were created in His image, leads us to one significant conclusion—you and I were created for relationship. Relationship defines what it means to be created in the image of God. The way that we know God is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—eternally three and eternally one. And this God created us in his own image that we might bear God's image as we live in relationship.

This one central teaching dictates the way you and me are to live. It shapes our priorities in life and brings to the center the role of relationships and community. Our identity as children of the Triune God lies in our lives lived in and through community in holistic relationship mutually interdependent and seeking the unity of the spirit. That is how we reflect the image of a Trinitarian God. This life glorifies God because that is precisely why we were created.

Bearing the Image

In Genesis we find that we were created for whole relationships that reflect the image of God on four levels. First, we were created for intimate relationship with God. This is our first and highest calling and joy.

We were created for relationship with our self—to have absolute certainty of who we are, why we are here, and what we are to do. This self understanding was a part of God's loving intent for us when he created humanity in His image.

We were created for relationship with our neighbor; to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We were created to see our neighbors and their well-being in the same way we see our own, which calls us to value relationships as ends, not means, to our own benefit.

Last, we were created for a relationship with creation. God's command is that we "have dominion, rule over and subdue" the earth just as God has dominion, rules over, and subdues us. This requires us to live in harmony with creation; to love it, to tend it, to take care of it.

next page … |  1 of 4

Choose from these membership options:

• Ministry Member

• Business Member

---

See sample

See more …

Average Reader Rating: Not rated

---