By Michael J. Brooks
Many pastors and congregations dread the tithing sermon that surfaces every so often, but “stewardship is part of our desire to give back to God’s work,” Bobby DuBois told Shelby Baptist Association pastors earlier in September.
DuBois, associate executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM), encouraged pastors to preach boldly on the biblical principles of giving.
“The first law of stewardship is that we can’t out give God,” he said. “The Bible is filled with reminders of how much God gives to us.”
Parable of the talents
DuBois referenced Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14–30.
“A wealthy businessman prepared to go on a journey,” DuBois said. “The first two servants took the talents given them and doubled them. The first man had more than the second but that was unimportant. The important thing is that both were responsible with what they were given.”
The third servant dug a hole and buried what the master gave him and was unfaithful, DuBois said.
“I’ve heard some people pray at offertory time asking God to bless the tithes that we’re responsible for,” he said. “Actually we’re responsible to God for all that He’s given. We must wisely use everything we have, not just what we give back to Him, and we’re responsible to do so in a way that honors Him.”
In addition to talents and treasure, DuBois said Christians are responsible for their testimony and their time.
Churches as a whole also are accountable to God, he added.
DuBois said SBOM develops a unified budget to fund ministries collaboratively. Some of these ministries are “fostered entities” that were founded by the state convention, such as the three Baptist colleges and The Alabama Baptist newspaper. Others have been selected for support over the years by messengers to state conventions.
“Churches do the same thing,” he said. “A unified budget is a helpful tool because we try to thoughtfully support ministries important to the congregation rather than every giver deciding what ministry to support.”
Casting the vision
DuBois said the pastor must cast the vision and is usually the driver in helping the church determine priorities, even while sometimes having to deal with strong personalities on the budget team.
“I think of one pastor in our state whose church gave hardly anything through the Cooperative Program,” he said. “He told the church he wanted to lead them to do better and after five years the church is giving about 10 percent of their receipts to missions.
“The genius of the Cooperative Program is that it helps us minister beyond our local church. It’s the model given in the book of Acts when the church began in Jerusalem and carried the gospel to the ends of the earth.
“We’re a convention of small churches, by and large, but most of our churches want to be part of the larger Baptist family,” he said. “The gifts of every church are significant as we work together to do missions.”
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