Church doctrine defines "Stewardship is a theological belief that humans are responsible for taking care of the world. People who believe in stewardship are usually people who believe in one God who created the universe and all that is within it, also believing that they must take care of creation and look after it forever."
We alone out of all creation have been given the responsibility to protect and nurture the rest of it. Yet as stewards we seemed to have failed to both emulate God in loving all he has done, and in trying to achieve a likeness to Christ.
This has troubled me for many years as a Christian and passionate environmentalist. Why are we as humans and as Christians failing to do this? We seemed to have struggled throughout the Old Testament and then until the arrival of Jesus to help guide us, but it still seems we still don't get it - ours is the first generation to see the full impact of the lack of stewardship of this precious world we live on.
I found the Gospel and the Environment video from Disciple Science highlighted one reason - care for each other and for the rest of creation are not mutually exclusive, they are hand in hand and perhaps in the past we have not realized that?
So what can we do about it? Part of the answer I believe is in the changing role of the Church and Christians (going back to the 98/ 95 model) - the role of the Church is changing and working in areas that perhaps traditionally the Church would not have been seen as a leader in - in this case Care for Creation. Indeed one of the five marks of mission of the Church of England is “To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth”. Creation care is not simply an add-on to the usual business of being a church – it is integral to all we do.
We can all make a difference, small changes add up to bigger ones and I've learnt during this course that my vocation is helping to care for God's creation which has given me the faith and courage to pursue this with more energy and enthusiasm!
What do others think of both the challenge and ways we as Christians can help?
Hi Phil
I find it really encouraging to read about your commitment as an environmentalist.
I agree with the point you raise from the Disciple Science video that highlighted one reason, 'care for each other and for the rest of creation are not mutually exclusive,'
Your musing that they are hand in hand and perhaps in the past we have not realised this really resonates with me on a personal level. It is only in more recent years that I have tried to be more conscious about personal choices. I think I did consider a level of accountability to God about potential wrong choices that are not helpful for our planet but it was more on a sub-conscious level.
I am very thankful for people like you who have been very conscious and passionate about this issue for a long time.
Tracey
For far too long rather than think of ourselves (humankind) as stewards and part of creation, we have set ourselves apart and acted in a way that suggests we think we can do what we like to the world, and that is our right. I find it upsetting when less developed countries and communities claim a right to continue to pollute and 'plunder' on the grounds that more well-developed nations did so in the past, or when 'green' legislation is watered down to keep industies 'sweet' and profits high. In the long run this can't be sustainable: short-term gains leading to long-term catastrophe! Rant over!
On an individual basis, yes, I think as Christians we should be encouraging everyone to do their bit, when and where they can. For some of us changing our shopping habits is a good place to start, but this is still beyond many families and individuals, so perhaps in the first instance we need to encourage people to reconnect with creation (I love the idea of muddy church), and I know this is very much on your heart Philip. Like others who have posted here, I do see this as a very real and important part of our faith and obedience to God, and I know I should be doing more.
Amanda
I think churches are starting to embrace their responsibility for caring for God's creation. There's a whole range of activities that congregations can get involved with and be a hub for conservation activities in their community. Our church in Chesterfield is aiming for the gold Eco Church Award this year and is one of our central objectives as a fellowship. We've also started doing Muddy Church, which as the name suggests is an variation of Messy Church. One of these events had over 40 people attending, many of whom were not regular attenders. We've also rented at a very low rent a field next to the church where we are planning to create an eco garden. I've put a link in, if anyone is interested. It would be really good to know what other activities their church is doing. https://www.stjohnswalton.co.uk/index.php/connect/vision-day/eco-group/land