Let’s look one more time into Acts 6:1-7.
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
(Acts 6:1-7)
The Effect on Evangelism
Here are two observations for today about getting everyone’s input.
The effect on reaching the lost. Verse 7 happened AFTER verses 1-6. It’s really hard to be effective reaching the lost when you have a dysfunctional local church. It often happens that we talk about how we need to evangelize the lost more. We’ve got to get out there and talk to the lost. Yes, that is absolutely right, but, did you see that there was a problem here in Jerusalem that had to be dealt with first? What happens in the Jerusalem church if these neglected widows continue to be neglected? What impact will that have on the community when they hear how the Jerusalem congregation is dealing with its own? You can see why verse 7 comes after verses 1-6. Sometimes we have to make some corrections/adjustments within so that we can be effective in reaching the community.
This was not a lifetime appointment. These seven men went on later to other responsibilities. Stephen and Philip both went on to preach. Philip went to Samaria later as a missionary and preached the word there. He then went on to Caesarea, where it seems he lived for quite a long time. They were appointed to oversee a need in the congregation, but later at least two of them went on to other responsibilities, specifically preaching the word.
When we appoint a man to a position in the congregation (preacher, elder, deacon) we should not assume this is a lifetime appointment. Maybe a man can only effectively serve as a shepherd for a few years, and for a few years he takes some time to do other things for God. It might be that we appoint a deacon to take on a certain task for which he is perfectly suited, but then later he will not have to serve in that role. That should be OK in our thinking.
Here are the other articles in the series: