February 27, 2023 | Be On Mission
Solving Church Growth Problems
Scripture: Acts 6:1-7 (NIV)
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Devotional
People sometimes get disillusioned when they discover that the church they attend is not perfect. There is a naïve expectation that church leaders and members should be conflict-free all the time. But where two or three are gathered together, there is usually disagreement!
This truth was evident even in the first years of Christianity. In today’s reading, we see conflict over who had access to the food pantry. The Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews were being overlooked in favor of the local Hebraic (Hebrew-speaking) Jews. All of them were Messianic Jews, that is, they believed in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. They were all Christians! Yet favoritism reared its ugly head when it came to distributing food to the poor.
Look at the qualifications of people like Stephen who were selected to take care of this responsibility of equitably managing the food pantry:
“Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom” (v. 3).
“They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (v. 5).
“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people” (v. 8).
Do any of these qualities surprise you? Why were they essential to creating a team to oversee food distribution? Which of these qualifications are still important for church leadership today? Why? What did their selection free the apostles to focus on in verse 4? What was the result in verse 7? How should this guide us today?
Prayer
Lord, You are full of wisdom and solutions concerning church growth and the needs of Your people. As numbers increase, needs increase. When problems come our way as a church family, grant our leaders, pastors, staff and influencers the wisdom to handle each situation in truth and love. In order to avoid distractions, continue to raise up willing leaders full of Your Holy Spirit and wisdom. Keep the "main thing being the main thing" which is the single purpose of making disciples and advancing the Kingdom of God here in this place. To the One who has all Wisdom. Amen.
Poem
Give Me Some Men!
Give me some men who are soft-hearted men
Who have planted God’s word in their hearts
Give me some men who are brave-hearted men
Who when pressed will from God not depart
Give me some men who will kneel down to serve
Who see each one as precious to God
Give me some men who will share the Good News
Who will travel with feet gospel shod
Give me some men who will stand all alone
And will speak truth to all who will heed
Give me some men who will wait on the Lord
And stoop down, orphan, widows to feed
Give me some men who inspire all around
As they pray fervently, Spirit-clad
Give me some men and the church will arise
And will shout, “Let the righteous be glad!”
