Seek the Welfare of the City—Citizenship, Benefactors, and Money

December 21, 2005

 

This fall has been one of the most strategic periods of time for the ministry of BILD International and for Oakwood Road Church.  At the center of this strategic fall were 4 weeks of training that occurred here in Ames for all of our international partners and the 2005 BILD International Conference.  Among the leadership of BILD as well as the church, a unique stirring occurred, which was the result of a series of messages that Jeff Reed delivered, somewhat in preparation for the demands of the fall's intensity and the possibility of significantly expanded ministry.  The title of the series was Seek the Welfare of the City—Citizenship, Benefactors, and Money.   Influenced heavily by Bruce Winter's work Seek the Welfare of the City: Christians as Benefactors and Citizens, Jeff made these statements in the introduction to the series:

 

We will address some issues from a very different perspective than a majority of contemporary Christianity holds. Since the West has dominated Christianity since the Early Church, most of the Christian world thinks the same about the fundamental issues we are approaching in this series. I believe that many of the issues addressed in this series are misunderstood by a majority of Christians today—both in American evangelicalism and in global Christianity.  Two thousand years of Western tradition of one form or another has led to a kind of thinking that can only be corrected by going all the way back to the Early Church—to a tradition referred to in church history as the "Antioch tradition."  It is a tradition that was strong in the first 300 years of the church, and was based on the "way of Christ and His Apostles." It is the way described in Acts and the letters of the Apostles to the churches.

 

This series explores, biblically, matters of citizenship and public life; the ideas of good occupations leveraged into collective benefactor communities; welfare and social responsibility as related to the church; and impacting cultures via missionary teams, global benefactors, and churches. The messages draw upon a host of Biblical passages and a number of influential books and articles to draw together a series of very powerful principles around the ideas in the series. These principles are found in three main movements of thinking in this 11 message series and they are as follows:

 

Part 1: Basic Ideas

1. Seeking the Welfare of the City
2. Politeia—Public Life
3. It's All About the Money

 

Part II: Impacting Cities—Church Communities as Benefactors

1. Benefactor Households
2. Good Occupations—Everyone a Benefactor
3. Citizenship, Civic Virtues, and Civil Suits/Rights
4. Wealthy Benefactors, Social Status, and Calling

 

Part III: Impacting Cultures—Missionary Teams, Co-Worker Benefactors, and Partner Churches

1. Competent, Self-Enterprising Missionaries
2. Wealthy Benefactor Partners
3. Global Churches
4. Pressing Needs and International Relief and Development

                                                                                                                              

As the series was delivered this past fall, the main audience was the church community of Oakwood Road Church, as part of the preparation for the church hosting leaders from the global community for 4 weeks.  But the principles in the series have a larger appeal.  They appeal to church leaders worldwide, who have the responsibility of leading their churches—sometimes one church and sometimes thousands of churches—in thinking through these matters. Additionally, portions of the series were used in a two-day seminar during the conference, as a benefactor track, for those who are potential benefactors to the ministry or who are in a position of informing others of the proper stewardship of their lives and resources around these principles. Thus, a third audience has emerged for this series: those who are in positions of influence and financial benefactors who need to understand the ideas of this series.

 

Across a spectrum of believers, there are a wide range of very divergent opinions concerning matters of citizenship, living well among the non-believing world, and using the resources of time and money as a benefit to the cities and the larger culture in which we live. From this series and the impact it has begun to make, the decision was made to put the series into a transferable format that could be used in a number of different settings.  Early in 2006, all 11 messages will be available in DVD format with the graphics that were used to walk participants through the messages embedded.  A companion study guide, which can be used in a number of settings, will also be released.  We hope that many will participate in this learning experience and be transformed in their thinking around the ideas of making an impact in their communities and in the world as good citizens, patrons, and benefactors to churches and communities, that they will generally use their resources and talents for the progress of the Gospel.

 

Doug Shiplett

Executive V.P. and Director of International Partnerships

BILD International