This morning we come to the 2nd problem in the early church.  The first was problem, as you will remember was about… money.  Remember Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Spirit about how much they sold their property for, and were consequently zapped. Well, the 2nd problem in the early church is about… money; well sort of.

Acts 6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

So, the early church has its 2nd problem.  It appears the out of town widows, those who are Greek, are not getting as much of the daily food, as the hometown widows, those who are Jewish Jews.  There is some thought among the scholars that these out of town widows are still hanging around since Pentecost.  They were there for the holiday and liked this Christian stuff so much they just stayed. They didn’t have any family near and needed the meals-on-wheels program. Since they are being missed by the meals-on-wheels driver they think things aren’t fair and they had a problem.

Now compared to last’s week’s sermon and next week’s sermon this little section seems pretty rinky-dink.  Last week the apostles stood before the Sanhedrin and boldly defied their authority and said we will continue to preach Jesus.  And the got the beatin’ because of it.  That is big story.  They rejoiced that they were worthy of the Name!  In the next chapter, we are going to see the first person who actually dies for Jesus.   He too stands up and boldly preaches Jesus. He doesn’t get the beatin’. He gets stoned.  Wow!  Here sandwiched between those two stories of faith and courage and punishment and glory, we have this story of taking care of some whiny widows.  Why, in the grand scheme of Luke’s epic novel of the early church, does he mention the mundane?  Why in the movement of the Spirit to do great things in the world, does Luke throw in this vignette about daily distribution of food to a bunch of old women?   Even the Apostles seem annoyed.

Acts 6:2  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.”

“We are doing the important stuff.  We are praying.  We are doing spectacular miracles.  Even our shadows are healing people!  And when we preach 1,000s are responding.  We don’t have time for the rinky-dink!”   They sound a little annoyed to me. So, why does Luke spend 7 verses on this insignificant story?  Perhaps, Luke knows something that I don’t?  Perhaps, there is a lesson for Theophilus, in these 7 verses, that is noteworthy. Perhaps there is something here for us as well.  Let’s see how they resolve their; I’m not going to say rinky-dink again.  Let’s see how they resolve their; situation.  Let’s give it a shot and see what we learn.

Acts 6:3-6  “Brothers, 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." 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.  They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 

Well, this is interesting.  Rinky-dink or not, there are some practical lessons in how to do church.  These 4 verses are full of instruction for us.  Let’s make some logical assumptions about how to do church.  And perhaps see why Luke sandwiched these few verses in between 2 important stories.  Actually, I have found 10 lessons in just these 4 verses.  You say, “Wow!”

1) Leadership arises from the needs of the church. 
There was a problem; some widows were hungry.  The way things were being handled had become ineffective.  The Apostles could not continue to do it the way it had been done.  It had gotten too big.  So, they had to come up with a new solution. I like this.  It is how I think.  We have a problem.  We come up with a solution.  We pick some guys to handle the situation.  Church leadership is a response to the needs.  I think there is liberty in creating positions to fix problems.  To me this says leadership in the church is more about function than office.  Problem: Leadership: Solution.  I like it. 

2) Programs are okay. 
In recent times programs having taken a hit. “We don’t need more programs we need more relationship.  Programs distract us from being spiritual.”  Okay, but there is a place for programs.  There was already a daily distribution.  They already had their meals-on-wheels program.  It just needed to be administered better.  It is okay to have programs.  We need organization to accomplish some of the stuff the church does.  Another good lesson.   

3) The church cares for its own.
Charity to the needy is a legitimate function of the church.  By being the body of Christ we help people.  Jesus helped people.  We help people.  The church cares, especially for its own.  Well, that seems to be another solid lesson.  But, to me, these lessons still haven’t risen to the level of what is going on around them.  But, let’s keep working. 

4) There are differing roles in the church.
The 12 had their role of preaching and praying.  The 7 had their role of making sure the meals-on-wheels program was equitable.  This is getting there.  This is important.  To be church we find where we fit and do our part.

Luke doesn’t use the noun “deacon” here for the 7.  We kind of assume this is the background for what later is to be known as deacons.   In fact, what both the 12 and the 7 are doing is called, “diakonia.”  Remember what Peter said?  "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry (diakonia) of the word of God in order to wait (diakonia) on tables.” The 7 diakonia tables and the 12 diakonia the word.  Both are deacons/servants. 

Luke reminds us that administration of and daily care for the internal needs of the congregation is also vital ministry, not something to be disparaged or devalued in the midst of other more exciting and outward acts of witness. Operating the copy machine, planning next Sunday's worship, ministering to the needy, teaching King’s Kids, caring for the elderly, and faithfully administering church funds are also aspects of service to the Spirit.  Luke, rather than shuffling this incident under the carpet and painting this picture of the boldness of the church, he gave honor to those who did their job regardless of what it was.  This is a great lesson we all should be deacons. 

5) Leadership is a bottom up thing.
Church leadership is opposite from the world.  In contrast to the Sanhedrin in chapter 5 which beats the Apostles because they are unwilling to share the power, and the Sanhedrin in chapter 7 which stones the opposition, here in chapter 6 we have the Apostles saying, “Choose 7 from among you.”  Here is a model of church leadership that runs counter to society’s tendency to “Rule and Lord.”  Here we have, “Pick from among you.”  Church leadership is not a hierarchy thing but a servant thing.  I like this as well. 

6) Shared Leadership is appreciated.
“This proposal pleased the whole group.”  Can’t you taste the flavor of these verses?  The problem could have split the early church into ethnic groups;  the Jewish Jews against the Outsider Jews.  But instead because of the wisdom of the Apostles it became a positive thing.  In contrast to the Roman style of rule or the Sanhedrin’s dictatorial rule, the church appreciated the sharing of the solution.  This is another great, but somewhat sidebar, lesson.   

7) Leadership is more about character than qualifications
The 7 were chosen because of wisdom and Spirit.  They wanted 7 guys who were in contact with the Spirit.  Isn’t that amazing?  No discussion of qualification or experience or people skills but spirit and wisdom filled. Now we are getting closer to why Luke has these 7 verses.

8) Leadership should be strategic.
Perhaps this is another minor point. But, all the names of the 7 are Greek.  Which group was being neglected?  The Greek widows.  They were wise in choosing people who knew the problem.  These Greek men could take care of the Greek widows; strategic. 

9) Leadership is a hands-on thing.
This is a little bit of a pun, that may not be very punny.  The Apostles laid their hands on the 7.   There is an official recognition and commission to do their job.  I like that we did this a couple of weeks ago with Deanna.  The elders laid their hands on her and there is power, there is anointing, there is ordination to do the job!  Leadership is a hands-on thing.

10) Leadership is Spirit-filled.
Twice in these 4 verses the Spirit is mentioned.  Leadership in the church must listen to the Spirit.  The guidance of the Spirit is the key to doing church.  As we continue through Acts we are going to keep our eye on this lesson.  Learning the voice of the Spirit is significant to doing church.      

So, we have these 10 lessons from this section, but are they really the point Luke wants us to get?  Are these 10 lessons enough for Luke to insert this pericope or is something more going on?  Read the last verse in this section. 

Acts 6:7 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.

So, the word of God spread.  Because the church was able to turn this 2nd problem into a positive, the word of God continued to spread and grow and even a bunch of the priests became Christians!  This is significant.  Church problems can derail ministry.  Internal fusses directly influence external growth.  A church that is whining is not going to be the church that is growing. So, Luke chooses to show how this problem was handled so it doesn’t hinder the spread of the Gospel.  That fits.  But it gets deeper.

Notice who the first of the 7 was; Stephen.  And notice the 2nd; Philip. Chapter 7 is all about Stephen; his boldness and his martyrdom.  Chapter 8 is about Phillip and his listening to the Spirit.  Here may be the bottom line, for me anyway.  2 of the 7, 2 of the table servers, 2 of the from-among-you guys, 2 of the regular people become great witnesses!  Wow!  It is not just the Apostles who are bold and witness and die.  It is the regular member who rises up and witnesses!  All of us have our roles in this congregation. All of us need to plug into differing ministries so that our church operates.  That is important.  But, more importantly, all of us are witnesses. 

All of us have a story to tell; a story about Jesus and how he has changed our lives!  If God has touched you through the power of his Spirit then you have a story to tell! The church began in Jerusalem it went from 120, to 3,000, to over 5,000 to spreading beyond counting.  Because of chapter 7 we will find in began to spread across Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.  If it is to continue to spread, if it is to continue to have that kind of impact, if it is going to continue to move around the world; all of us must be witnesses!  We all enjoy our fellowship.  We all enjoy our worship.  We all enjoy our ministries in different things.  But we must all be witnesses!  Like Stephen and Philip, regular guys, filled with the Spirit and doing their ministries and then boldly witnessing!  That is the main reason Luke includes this seemly mundane section. It is all of us mundane people who spread the Gospel!  And that is anything but mundane!