Church Stewardship

Every stewardship sermon I've heard has dealt with the stewardship of money, resources, talents, etc. of laymembers. It often seems that we should direct these same messages towards our decision makers within our church staffs. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know of my participation with a couple of different organizations that are aiding Africa. I have chosen this area because of it's historical (biblical and secular) importance and b/c of the true stories of the injustice that is rampant there (that have been told to me by close friends who've actually been there/lived there/seen it first hand. A friend from MI wrote in his blog:

"I still wonder what would happen if the Western church invested as much in education, compassionate ministry and economic development as it does in furniture, choir robes and buildings. What would Africa look like if the church poured its resources into helping these people instead of spending most of its budget on its internal issues?"

Whether it be Africa, or one's own hometown, I beg that our spendings reflect an organization that affects the world around us. We must be good stewards, allotting our moneys to all areas in which we have responsibility. (e.g. we must pay our bills, meet the needs of those we call [church] family, [and/but] we cannot forsake God's mandate of bringing His LOVE into the world. Our moneys, efforts, attentions, must include and be led by a motivation to effect the world with the reflected love of God. I'm not proud of 5% to missions kind of crap -- that is nothing to hang my hat on. Church libraries and gardens aside; does the stewardship of money, resources, talents, awareness, etc. at our churches meet God's expectation...or as Barnard said last week: Are we storing up treasures in heaven or treasures on earth?