- The Explore the Bible Lesson for Aug. 7 focuses on 2 Kings 12:4-16.
As a professor of Christian ministry, I have heard some of my students voice their concerns about administration skills within church ministry. Most of my students enjoy ministering to people, but some rarely enjoy the planning, budgeting and calendaring component of ministry.
The reality is a good minister needs both skill sets—people and planning. Moving a ministry forward requires people skills, administration, planning and organizing. In my opinion, a competent minister should view these skill sets as a type of stewardship. A good steward understands the responsibility of ministry, the funds given to sustain the ministry, and the transparency required to do all of it ethically.
In this week’s scripture, King Joash has commissioned priests to collect money for temple repairs. Unfortunately, these plans for the temple repair never got done. Poor stewardship was taking place, and changes needed to happen for the repairs to get done. This week might be a good time to consider our stewardship and administrative skills. Are we good stewards of what God has given us?
Inefficiency (2 Kings 12:4-8)
King Joash implemented a plan to make repairs to the temple. The plan called for the temple priests to collect funds, then make the repairs accordingly. However, sometimes the best-laid plans go awry. The Scripture reveals some time had passed; it was now the 23rd year of the reign of King Joash, and none of the repairs had been accomplished. A cycle of inefficiency had set in, which suspended any progress towards the repairs. Nothing stops kingdom work as quickly as inefficiency and poor follow-through.
King Joash understood if the temple repairs were going to get accomplished, some changes were needed. He summons the priests and holds them accountable for their lack of progress. Kingdom work also calls for accountability. As ministers, we should always be ready to be held responsible for how we minister.
Proper accountability allowed for a better plan moving forward. The new repair plan allowed the priests to give over the money collected and placed the temple repair responsibilities to skilled workers and no longer with the inefficient priests.
The Solution (2 Kings 12:9-12)
In remarkable unity, the priests agreed they should not take up any further collections for the temple repairs, and they should not be the ones doing the repairs but, rather, skilled laborers. At times it is hard to admit shortcomings, yet, the priests were well aware they were part of the problem. Identifying issues to be solved and challenges to overcome in ministry is always wise. Once the problem or challenge is identified, solutions can be found. The solution called for a chest to be placed at the temple entrance for the Israelites to deposit their donations for the repairs.
The solution also provided a system to ensure transparency in collecting funds from the chest. When there were large amounts of money to be collected, the royal secretary and the high priest counted the money and placed them in bags. Once the amount was verified, the funds could be given to the skilled laborers doing the repairs. The solution allowed for transparency in handling the finances and efficiency in having skilled workers make better progress on the repairs.
The Results (2 Kings 12:13-16)
Accountability and efficiency lead to a better way of prioritizing doing things right. The Scripture points out the funds collected never went toward purchasing items for worship, nor were any funds that went towards the sin and guilt offering used for repairs. The priority of worship and the offerings were given the correct focus, and the funds for temple repairs only went towards temple repairs.
God always honors our work when it is done transparently, wisely and with the proper priority. Any plan going forward in ministry must be bathed in prayer, properly planned for, and done with the highest ethics. Let us commit to doing kingdom work in a manner that reflects what God expects from us and as a testimony to others. Let us be good stewards of all God has given us and be better administrators of the plans and processes within the ministry. By doing this, I believe God will bless our endeavors.
Dr. Joe Rangel is the associate dean of the School of Christian Studies and teaches Christian ministry at Wayland Baptist University.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.