Entrusted

Matthew 25:14-30

 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.  The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Here is a story that Jesus tells of a master who entrusted his wealth to three servants. He didn't hand over his wealth to them to own, this master, this wealthy man says "I'm going to allow you to manage my money while I'm gone and I want you to do with my wealth what I would do with my wealth.

He looks, like any leader would at three of his people, sees what potential they have and entrusts to them a portion of his wealth to see what they will do with that potential and then he empowers them by leaving them alone.

We then see what these servants do with what they've been entrusted with. The first man, who received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work, invests it wisely and gains five bags more. The second, takes his two bags of gold, invests it, uses it wisely and doubles his money as well.

But, the third servant after receiving his one bag, goes out, digs a hole and hides his masters money. He looks at his one bag and says to himself "one bag? what can I do with one bag of gold?" and instead of investing what he has been entrusted with, he buries it.

When the master returns he requests his report. The first servant, can not wait to tell the master what he has done and show him the ten bags of gold he now has. The second is the same, running to tell the master what he has.  They both receive a "well done good and faithful servant" from their master and are entrusted with more to invest.

The third servant sheepishly approaches the Master and where the first two started with "..you entrusted me." he starts with excuses - "you are a hard man" "you are a risky guy" and... "I was afraid" The master replies "you wicked and lazy servant" and the little Greek word for 'wicked' here can also be translated into 'worthless" and perhaps in this context that's a more accurate word - "You worthless, lazy servant. 

The master's anger isn't derived from the servant's immoral nature or something he has done, the master is angry because his servant didn't do anything. He didn't see this as something entrusted to him. He missed the whole point of the exercise. 

The truth is, we all have a bag of gold that has been entrusted to us.You have a unique treasure that is your life, that is who you are and God has entrusted that to you. Your experience, your passion, your history, your story, your skills, talents and gifts all make up a unique treasure that is uinquely you and God has entrusted those things, those core elements of who you are , He has entrusted them to you to sow into those coming along behind you. 

You are a unique combination of successes, failures and experiences, your life is a bag of God - So what are you going to do with it?

I'll tell you what most people do with it. They bury it. But we have an opportunity as servants of the ultimate master to take what we've been entrusted with and invest it in the generations coming up behind us, into tomorrow's leaders. We have a responsibility to hand on the baton and to hand it on in a way that it continues to get handed on for generation and generations.

We all have a bag of gold within us, you and I have been entrusted with a treasure and when your life is over, when you come to the end, will you be able to say "master, see what I have done with what you entrusted to me"? Or will your treasure be buried in the ground when you are? 

The Journey From The Carpet To The Couch

When I first got the job of Children's Pastor, I thought "Fantastic! I'm going to sit on the carpet with kids and colour and do craft and tell stories about Jesus, this is going to be great" Six years into the job and  I hardly spend any time on the carpet with kids and more time sitting on the couch with leaders.

This has been the foundation of my personal leadership journey. I have been challenged and learnt more about God, people and myself sitting on that couch then I ever would have sitting on the carpet colouring in.

The truth is I already knew how to sit on the carpet and tell kids about Jesus. What God was calling me to do was take a step up and use what I already knew about kids ministry to inspire, encourage and empower others around me. When I finally settled into this new call I realised that my passion to see kids come to know Jesus hadn't disappeared (I don't think it ever will) but the most joy I was experiencing was seeing young leaders under my stewardship realise their potential and stepping up  to discover how God had gifted them and placed them in the world to make a difference.

I remember when I was searching for a teaching team for our Sunday morning program, my inner most desire was just to do all the teaching myself but I knew God had called me to more. So I sent out some cards to leaders I thought my be interested in having a go at teaching a couple of hundred kids about Jesus.

On the card I had a few tick boxes where I wanted leaders to indicate their interest in different aspects of leadership. One particular young, male leader filled in the card and gave it back to me. He had ticked the "I would like to join the teaching team" box but then put a big question mark beside it. When I saw his card I felt the whisper of the Holy Spirit say to me "Yes, this is it, push him, encourage him, empower him. I knew in that moment that God had a significant purpose for this young man and what was really exciting was that I going to be a part of it.

I approached him and asked him to join the team, I gave him some training, resourced him and then gave him one more nudge on his big Sunday debut. He got up on stage, nervously took the microphone and... absolutely nailed it. I don't think I have ever watched any communicator (in the world of kids or otherwise) do better their first time on stage. He was a natural and I had the absolute privilege  to continue to work with him, nurture him and see God use him more and more in powerful ways. I had the amazing opportunity to see God work in him and through him to see young lives changed and to extend the Kingdom of God.

This for me, is what starting up in leadership is all about. Taking a step back and seeing those around you who have the potential to take a step forward.

When Jesus ascended to heaven he said to his disciples "you will receive power when he Holy Spirit come on you; an you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts1:7) He said to a group of ordinary people "Go! It's your turn now, I'll be with you to the ends of the earth, but it's up to you now. Go and build my kingdom."

The greatest joy in my leadership is to see others developed into leaders. I continue to step more and more backward in ministry, to give more and more opportunities for others to step forward. That has been my journey from the carpet to the couch.