Read Acts 6:1-7 & some of John Stott’s thoughts on these verses
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 them 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.
The devil’s next attack was the cleverest of the three. Having failed to overcome the church by either persecution or corruption, he now tried distraction. If he could preoccupy the apostles with social administration, which though essential was not their calling, they would neglect their God-given responsibilities to pray and to preach, and so leave the church without any defence against false doctrine.[1]
[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 120.
Three friends decided to go deer hunting together. One was a lawyer, one a doctor, and the other a preacher. As they were walking, along came a big buck. The three of them shot simultaneously. Immediately the buck dropped to the ground and all three rushed up to see how big it actually was. Upon reaching it they found out that it was dead but had only one bullet hole. Thus a debate followed concerning whose buck it was. A few minutes later a game officer came by and asked what the problem was. The doctor told him their reason for the debate. The officer told them he would take a look and tell them who shot it. Within a few seconds the game officer said with much confidence, "The pastor shot the buck!" They all wondered how he knew that so quickly. The officer said, "Easy. The bullet went in one ear and out the other."
Okay, so with the preaching jokes I could justifiably be accused of going for quantity over quality but the point I want to make is this: preaching doesn’t always have the best reputation! Perhaps understandably; I’m sure most of us have sat through sermons we don’t understand, go on for hours or are just plain dull.
However, just as the destruction of your favourite song through bad karaoke doesn’t put you off music for life, so too with preaching, we must be wary of letting our bad experiences taint our view of preaching all together. We must not throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak (nor get this particular saying the wrong way round, as I just did but fortunately corrected before it could be read!).
On the contrary, Jesus’ first followers were adamant that God’s Word must be faithfully taught thus we can be sure that this particular ministry is as important now as it was back then. Perhaps some of the ways this is done might be different – we now have access to resources they wouldn’t have dreamt of! – but one way or another, if Jesus’ church is to have health and life, the Bible must be taught and learned.
However, as Stott goes on to observe, the apostle’s resolute prioritizing of preaching and praying doesn’t mean they viewed practical care and administration as being in any way inferior. Rather, he notes, “it was entirely a question of calling.”[2] Both roles had to be fulfilled by Spirit-filled people and both appear to have been full-time responsibilities.
- Open Heaven is blessed to have an administrator known to be “full of the Spirit and wisdom” in the form of the wonderful Lizzie Bullen. Spend some time today thanking God for her and praying the God would continue to bless her service to his church?
- Within your walk with God, how much do you prioritise engagement with him through the Bible and prayer? What practically could you do this week to develop further in these areas?
- Remember that Open Heaven has loads of great teaching material within its website!
- Also, on the internet, you can access a wealth of Bible teaching. My personal favourite is my Dad! Less biased recommendations would include Tim Keller, Haddon Robinson and the very helpful Bible Fresh website. (NB. If you’re reading this on the Acts blog,[6] please sign in and leave a link to any good talks you’ve listened to in the comments box below.)
If you have a bit longer :-)
Regarding the practical problem that arose in Acts 6, Tom Wright notes: “the apostles were quite clear what they should not do. They shouldn’t at once rush to do the work themselves…they must delegate.”[1]
- Do you find it easy to delegate or do you tend to take on too much yourself? If you take too much on, why do you think this is? What can you do to improve in this area?
The apostles were able to make a quick and decisive decision to delegate because they were clear on their primary calling: to preach and pray. Thus, one way of managing more effectively what to say “yes” and “no” to is to have a clear sense of your gifting and passions.
- What would you identify as your primary gifting and passion? (Or maybe identify a top three).
- Looking back over the past month, what proportion of the things you’ve taken on would fit into these central callings? Are there any things you’ve said “yes” to that have hindered your effectiveness in these key areas? NB. The point of this is not to say that we should never do anything that doesn’t fit with our main calling(s). On the contrary, it is important we are willing to take on things that need doing even if they are not our best fit. Rather, the point is that we need to manage our time so that the things we are primarily called to don’t get neglected.
[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 99.
[2] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 121.
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