Touching Base! Part 90

Ownership
(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called “Blog”)

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God’s Word needs to be discussed in community.

What do you own? Not “what have you purchased with cash and own”… but what do you feel a loyalty to, commitment to, take a personal interest in, and are willing to expend some energy and effort to guard, and invest in?

For example, I know people who “own” the cause of putting a halt to human sex trafficking and will expend large amounts of time and energy to slow the “traffic.” Talk with these kinds of people and it’s what bubbles to the surface rather quickly.

I know of a man who rises every morning to pray because he has taken ownership of the need and duty to pray for the nations. Faithful prayer, early in the morning demonstrates the seriousness of his sense of duty.

There is a family who has taken it upon itself to minister to foster children. They have a sense of ownership to demonstrate God’s love in tangible ways to children who in many cases have known nothing but abuse and neglect. Ownership can change a life!

I have watched a whole group own a cause to raise money for a camp or an orphanage. Ownership galvanizes a team, sharpens the focus and energizes the members to reach the goal.

Taking ownership of some cause reflects what or whom we value. Ownership is a window into people’s souls, showing what makes people tick, what they are passionate about, what really matters to them.

At Bethel, we believe that something worth owning is the local church. A cause worth investing in is the local church, seeing it flourish, mature, expand and become a blessing, not just to the attendees but those who might never darken the door of our building. In some cases, instead of people taking ownership, they attend but do not invest, show up but do not give up much beyond their couple of hours on a Sunday morning. Spectatorship has replaced participation; loose association has replaced signing on the dotted line.

Scripture conveys a very high view of the Church. Paul says that it is the “pillar and foundation of the truth.” Paul says that “Husbands are to love their wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...” Paul took ownership of what happened in the Church and He had to look no further than Christ, to figure out the incredible value of the Church in God’s scheme of things.

One of our emerging values at Bethel is excellence. One of the ways excellence is achieved in a local church is when everyone takes ownership of the local church. Whether gathered or scattered, the Church is God’s way of working in these “last days” to bring His Kingdom to earth.

So, let me wrap with some ways you can express ownership.

1. Either download (or pick up at the back) our proposed budget for the new fiscal year. Don’t attend a church and be in the dark about how we disburse funds. Ignorance is not excellence, and ignorance is not ownership.
2. Either download (or pick up at the back) our Old Gym Renovation Proposal. As we move ahead, we want to leverage our building as best we can. Read the report, ask questions, and take ownership!
3. Choose to attend our pre-huddle meeting on June 13 and our Congregational Meeting on June 22. Stay informed and put yourself in a place where you can contribute and own what is unfolding at Bethel.
4. Ask yourself the question: How can I make a difference at this church? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that we have lots to work on at Bethel. We are not a perfect Church.
5. Practice the art of “P.I.E.ing” a face every Sunday. Pursue, Include and Engage with people. Do it in your way and in keeping with your temperament, but just do it. Take ownership.
6. Get some offering envelopes and begin to give faithfully. We don’t talk about money much around Bethel, but it is no secret that ministry costs and taking ownership means parting with some of the greenbacks.
7. Pray for your local church. Not necessarily on your knees but as you walk and talk and live your life. God may bring issues to mind - when that happens, pray.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com