At our point in history, ongoing change is inevitable. Yet as believers, we don’t need to worry or be afraid of the negative influences of disruption that are all around us. Instead, let’s look to what God is doing, because what He has planned is amazing. The Holy Spirit is beginning to move in a way that is going to initiate many new and interesting changes in our world and we need to be ready to adjust and move with Him.
So how do we do this? How do we ensure we are ready to pivot as the Holy Spirit leads? There’s an interesting story in Acts 6 that provides some guidelines.
A ‘growing’ problem
At the beginning of Acts we find the church is growing exponentially. The 12 Apostles are doing well as they lead the church in Jerusalem. However, as the church grows, they find themselves more and more thinly spread. A rising pastoral care need forces a rethink of their model of leadership.
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic [Greek-speaking] Jews among them complained against the Hebraic [Hebrew-speaking] Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 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. 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 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
Acts 6:1-4 (NIV)
What would you do in this situation? I find it interesting to notice what the Apostles did not do at in this instance:
- They did not preach on the effects of complaining, encouraging the people to have a good attitude instead.
- They did not teach on the need for unity. In fact, they didn’t teach or preach at all!
- They didn’t search out those responsible and try to pin the blame on someone.
- They didn’t initiate a committee to investigate and report back with some recommendations for consideration.
- They also didn’t try and bring reconciliation between the two groups of people.
How many of us would immediately respond with one or more of the above? But we need to learn to do things differently. We need to learn how to respond to issues using Holy Spirit wisdom rather than react with human solutions or emotions.
The Apostles did not react to directly address the problem. Instead, they actually looked at themselves. They examined their own responsibilities. And they saw the wider need to raise everyone up to a new level of responsibility.
A ‘growth’ solution
The Apostles gathered all the followers of Jesus together. This would have been a very large public gathering! They laid out both the problem and the solution. Together, they were to choose seven men to take responsibility for serving the needs of the congregation – in this case distributing food. Everyone was involved in the decision-making, and therefore everyone was part of the solution. As a result, every person grew. Now that’s good leadership!
The people were also quite strategic in who they chose. The seven men were Greek-speakers. We can tell this because their names are Greek rather than Hebrew. They were therefore chosen specifically for the current need in the church.
If you read further, you see that things did not stay that way for long, and more rapid changes were forced on the fledgling church in Jerusalem. Stephen, one of the seven, was arrested and martyred (Acts 7:59-60) and the believers were scattered by persecution (Acts 8:1). Phillip, another of the seven, left Jerusalem for the despised territory of Samaria where he preached with amazing signs and miracles (Acts 8:5-6). So those in the Jerusalem church had to pivot again as the Holy Spirit began to include Gentiles into the church.
Keep the main thing the main thing
The Apostles could easily have been distracted and caught up in solving problems as the early church grew. But they rightly identified the main thing they were called to. This was to pay attention to prayer and to focusing on the Word of God. In other words, as leaders, they needed to pay attention to God, rather than people. And that can be a very real tension for many leaders. Others were chosen to look after the pastoral care needs of the people.
What is the main thing God has called you to focus on at this time? Is there anything that is seeking to distract you from this?
Change is inevitable. As things move and change around us today, we know Who holds the future. And we take courage from the certainty that He is unchanging. So let’s be sure to keep Him as the main thing, as the Apostles did.
