Before we go any further, having highlighted what the challenges are before us, I now want to highlight what we have going for us. In many ways what we have before us is a fight, a struggle to overcome certain threats and challenges to transform lives in the name of Christ. And we come to this fight armed with assets.
We will call these the five captials*. I am using this term not as in “the capitol of Alabama is Montgomery”, but instead the way people in finance us the word, as in “capital investment” or “capital goods”. What are our goods, our assets? Jesus talked about each one of these capitals, how to care and manage them. These capitals are presented in reverse-order, that means they are presented in ascending strength and importance.
5) Financial Capital. Amazing Grace is blessed to have funds. My favorite definition of money in the church is “stored servant hood”. We are blessed to have a group of people invest in and support this ministry. What we do with this money can further the kingdom of God. Jesus talked a lot about money, and demonstrated that money is an asset that can be used to invest in higher capitals.
4) Intellectual Capital. We are blessed to have creative and knowledgeable people in our midst. Intellectual capital is more important than financial capital, because you can’t just go out and buy good ideas. Good ideas need to be generated for a specific time and place. Jesus is the ultimate source of our intellectual capital when it comes to ministry. He used it in his ministry, he invites us to use his intellectual capital in our church. In my view, we are under-using the intellectual capital that exists in our congregation.
3) Time Capital. This is the time and energy we have to invest in Amazing Grace, measured in hours and minutes. Time that can be used for tasks, projects, services and so on. Jesus talks about abiding in him and bearing fruit (John 15), a significant asset we have is people-power; time.
2) Relational Capital. When we think of all the people we have at Amazing Grace, and consider the relationships that exist here, and add the many networks that we as a community are a part of beyond our walls, all this is relational capital.
At the heart of ministry is relationships. We can’t be a church without relationships. We can go out and tell strangers God loves them, but that message doesn’t matter much to that person unless we have a relationship with him or her.
Much of the joy and meaning we get in life is through relationships. Relationships keep us going. Potential relationships with new people give me hope for our future. None of our other capitals can grow without relationship capital. Jesus invested his relational capital in the disciples to begin his movement. It was the disciples’ relationship with Christ that inspired them to follow Jesus and follow his instruction. Jesus then sent the disciples into the world to teach and make more disciples, deepening relational capital in their time and place, creating more relationships still. So it is with us.
1) Spiritual Capital. This is the single most powerful and important asset we have. It comes from Jesus. It that which Jesus “has” that he gives to us. The power of his love, the power of forgiveness, the power of transforming lives, the power of prayer, the power of miracles. All these things and more make-up spiritual capital, the power of God which is mysterious and wondrous .This capital is the ultimate reason for our being. And we at Amazing Grace are rich with spiritual capital. More than many of us realize.
Jesus urged his followers to trade in the lesser forms of capital in exchange for this one. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” (Matt 6) Jesus said. This is the “eternal life” Jesus spoke about, not just going to heaven, but a life lived on this earth rich with spiritual capital. And Jesus said it was worth every sacrifice to attain spiritual capital.
If you wonder what we are ultimately striving for at here at Amazing Grace, it is this one, enhancing and promoting spiritual capital. As you can see, we are rich with assets. Admittedly some capitals can be better managed and promoted, but they are assets just the same. These assets can be life-changing and world-changing.
*These insights are not my own, but taken from a group of church thinkers whose insight I value highly. I have taken this principle and applied it to Amazing Grace. You can read the original article here:
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