Owners, not managers

There is a modern-day idiom: “Drive it like you stole it!” It implies that if the driver does not own the car, they will recklessly mistreat it. Ownership makes all the difference in the care given toward an object. In working with churches, charities and Christian schools, I often think of this idiom. I’ve seen leaders behave like spectators or managers rather than “owners.” They act as though their role is limited to addressing the day-to-day operations of the church, school or charity, rather than engaging in the joyful work of making the serious, challenging, and right decisions that require ownership-level effort.

I’ve heard from one reliable source that a prominent church leader has spoken about their participation in regional and binational church meetings this way:

“I have had to learn to just witness some of these conversations as they happen. I have to separate myself a little bit. You know, almost like I’m at the zoo and watching it behind glass. Like if I see a lion attacking a lamb, I look over and go ‘interesting – that doesn’t look great.’”

That’s nothing like “ownership.” It is even less than “management.” It’s simply spectating.

Two examples

So, who owns the future of your Christian church, school, or charity?

If you’re reformed, you likely want to say “the membership” because it seems to fit with the reformational thinking around “the priesthood of all believers.” Or perhaps others want to say the straightforward Christianese response, “God owns the church, nobody else!” Neither answer is sufficient. Both might be covered under the term stakeholder, because each has something at stake, but let me cite two biblical leaders who took their “ownership” duty seriously – Joseph and Jesus.

Joseph became second in command of all of Egypt. Pharaoh may have been the true owner, but because of Joseph’s God-given wisdom, he was commissioned by Pharaoh to be a true steward: one who acts like an owner, but in the place of the owner. Listen for the transfer of ownership language in the biblical texts:

“You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger [. . .] He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command [. . . ] and people shouted before him, ‘Bow Down!’ Thus, he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

And here is Jesus speaking about the authority God granted him:

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. [. . .] While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe [. . .] I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known [. . .]”

Not steward-‘managers’

The etymology of the word “steward” also helps us with a solution. A “steward,” in Old English society, or stiġweard, was no mere manager. He was entrusted to act with the full weight of the lord’s authority, carrying out decisions as if they were his own. Though he did not hold the title of master, he bore the master’s trust and stood in his place, responsible for the household, its people, and its resources. To be a steward was to shoulder ownership without possession — an office of profound seriousness and consequence. To me, that sounds like Joseph and/or Jesus!

This understanding of stewardship reframes how leaders should see their role in Christian nonprofit life. The work of being a steward often demands great sacrifice (eg. Joseph and Jesus). I wonder if that is why so many leaders shy away from the biblical ideal of stewardship/ownership? The cost is massive.

Stay tuned for next month to find out who really carries the true weight of “ownership” in an organization.