Touring Party or Official Delegate?

Message and photo by Phyllis Wong, posting by James Wong.
Last year the Girls’ Brigade Malaysia sent our three official delegates to the International Conference Girls' Brigade in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There were three other sisters who also joined the conference. In one of the Exco meetings, the three were referred as “touring party”. One of the sisters strongly objected, “We are participating in all the programmes and meetings of the official delegates, we are not touring party.”

How do we fit in this world? How do we fit in the Church? How are we connected? Where are our places? Where are our people? What are our activities?

The fact is sometimes we act like a member of the touring party. We come and see. We are not engaged. We are not involved. We watch and seek our own pleasure. When we have enough of the place, we leave. We are never meant to serve. We are never meant to stay.

Official delegates are stewards. The word for steward is oikonomos, meaning “housekeeper”. When we are on an airplane we find a stewardess or a steward who serves coffee or tea and food at the proper time. They have been entrusted with certain valuable commodities which they are responsible for dispensing. That is what a steward is.

Yes, life is short and unpredictable. We are only pilgrims and sojourners. This earth is not our ultimate home. But it is our home now. While we are here, we are charged with the responsibility of being stewards. Stewards are not owners. Stewards are agents of the Owner, charged by the Owner with responsibility to tend to the Owner’s interests.

Being a steward means that we belong here. We did not just happen to pass by. We were sent to this place on purpose, and we have our work to do.

So if we quit acting like tourists and start working faithfully with duties charged on us like stewards, we just might discover that we have found the place where we belong.

Have we found a place of stewardship in the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign as official delegates? Or we just want to be a member of the touring party?

If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10b)

(Phyllis Wong worships at Wesley Methodist Church, Sibu. Wesley will launch its 40 Days of Purpose Campaign on July 5^th. She is a key member of the Wesley 40DOP Communications Team. We are grateful and wish to thank Phyllis for her inspiring message.)