Bob’s Blog

Jesus-followers are a purpose giving community, yearning and struggling for the good we can’t see over settling for the satisfactions we can now see.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. –1 Corinthians 15:58

On this Labor Day weekend we are encouraged in God’s Word to know that our “labor in the Lord is not in vain.” And that isn’t always obvious, is it? Too often our labor does seem to be in vain. Faith is easy when the sun’s out. But we find out who we really are when our child has an extra chromosome, or our spouse leaves us for somebody at work, or our medical tests reveal a health problem, or everything we do to get a young man off the streets and out of drug addiction seems to have no effect at all.

We find out what we really believe when we ask, “Is our labor in vain?” and God seems to be silent. God makes us choose the answer for ourselves in his silence. Sooner or later in every life, people come to a fork in the road. And when the road splits, it leads to two very different destinations — two opposite explanations of what life means. Augustine talked about the City of God and the City of Man. John Bunyan wrote about the Celestial City and the City of Destruction. But each of us, at some point, comes to a similar place of testing or crisis where we face the same choice between yearning and struggling for the good we can’t see — or settling for the satisfactions we can see, here and now.

Let’s face it. All Jesus-followers get tired, discouraged, and bummed out in the midst of life’s complex and changing circumstances. Our verse from God’s Word reveals that most of us feel overworked and underappreciated. We need the assurance that God is with us, and he knows fully the work we seek to accomplish in the Lord.

It takes perseverance to stand firm in places of testing or crisis. It takes hard work—constant striving, effort, confidence and endurance to persevere. Otherwise, we will settle for the satisfactions we can see here and now, avoiding the hard times when we yearn and struggle for the good we can’t see.

Perseverance = The quality of trying hard and continuously in spite of obstacles and difficulties.

Wholeness is not realized in a moment. Throughout a lifetime, there must be constant effort and striving toward God-directed purposes. In order to accomplish this, we need the confidence to endure all situations in order to labor in the Lord productively.

Let’s focus for a moment on some citations which help us reflect upon the essence of perseverance…

“Perseverance is another name for success.” Anonymous

“Perseverance shows not only in the ability to persist but in the ability to start over.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Arabian Proverb

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Helen Keller

“The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is that little extra effort called perseverance.” Chinese Proverb

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein

“Failure usually follows the path of least resistance.” Anonymous

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.” Walter Elliott

“You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out, but you gotta suit up for them all.” J. Askenberg

“Life’s challenges present us with three choices: give in, give up, or go on.”

Duane Hodgin

In our Biblical text for this message, Paul shouts out in triumph that we don’t “give in or give up” but we “go on” because of the victory over death we received through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So what God leads us to accomplish for Jesus is never in vain. Death is not the end! Death is a defeated enemy, to be swallowed up in victory when God clothes us with immortality. All that we accomplish for the Lord will reflect his glory for eternity.

The Purpose Giving Church

Paul describes the purpose giving church which “goes on” in its work for the Lord…

My dear brothers and sisters

The Apostle Paul addresses us as family– brothers and sisters. Jesus-followers are part of a family that cares deeply for one another. The church is the visible expression of that caring love. And though we sometimes feel alone, we belong to the family of God.

Stand firm

This means, don’t be always moving around. If we’ve been around children a lot we have an understanding of what is called a “tapping disease.” Children, at the age of nine or ten, drum their fingers on the dinner table, swing their feet, and tap their feet. There is constant motion. They don’t settle down. It can drive parents, grandparents and teachers nuts.

A colleague in ministry once shared with me the experience of picking up his grandson after school. In the car on the way home Andrew, six years old, was excitedly moving his legs up and down, back and forth. My coworker asked his grandson, “Andrew, do you have to go to the bathroom?” Andrew replied, “No, I’m just happy!”

However, let’s not say that the “tapping disease” is an epidemic common only to children. We are all vulnerable to acquiring this syndrome. In fact, so much is pressing in on us today that we do not have time to stand still long enough to evaluate life. We gulp life and taste nothing. We eat life and have no savor. “Stand firm” means “be stable; be firm.” The Greek word alludes to becoming “fixed” rather than pacing around aimlessly. We must be able to stand still long enough to evaluate the work and relationships God has given us in our world. We must not let the world invade our thinking, plans, purposes, and our work.

Let nothing move you

This command means “not to be moved from its place.” Perhaps people have called us “stubborn” from time to time. Now we can be stubbornly opposed to God’s will. That’s bad. But we can be stubbornly, doggedly devoted to God, so that complex circumstances and people don’t distract us from him. That’s good. We call it determination, we call it faithfulness.

Always give yourselves fully

The words translated “give yourselves fully” mean “exceeding a fixed number or measure; over-and- above.” Some people do what is expected. Others, out of love, go far beyond that. Their lives pour out and overflow. “Doing what?” we may ask.

To the work of the Lord

This is the answer. Work? “Not a good word,” we say. “We work five or six days a week. When we get home we just want to rest.” That’s understandable. Do we have any loafers at work? We know, people who only do the minimum, and only that if the boss is looking over their shoulder. And who takes up the slack?—we and the other conscientious workers.

God’s work is the same way. Just a few of the ways we do his work, build his kingdom here on earth, is to teach our children about Jesus at home and at church school. We serve as an usher, greeter, and praise team or choir member on Sundays. We teach a class or lead a small group. We encourage those believers who are down. We make a meal for a family when one of the parents is sick. A church is a caring body. But when loafers don’t pull their part of the load, it falls on others to do. These words are for us as brothers and sisters—always giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord…always, over-and-above.

Because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain

Some people hate washing dishes because more dirty dishes magically appear over night. Sweeping and vacuuming are the same way. Things never stay clean. Someone is always tracking dirt on the carpet. Is there no end? We get discouraged. It’s only when we consider the alternatives that we get out our vacuum cleaner and have another go at it. Women may not keep track of how often men change the oil in their cars. Men have little understanding of how often homes need to be dusted. Children have no idea of the sacrifices their parents perform day-in and day-out. But God keeps track of our faithfulness in his work. God sees us serving him when no one else sees. And seeing us hanging in there pleases God. Our Christian service is not done in vain for three reasons:

Christ’s kingdom is built on our service, stone upon stone.

Seeing our faithful service brings joy to God’s heart.

God will reward us for our faithfulness, even when no one else notices.

The writer to the Hebrews encourages us in a couple of ways to persevere…

Hebrews 10:36

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Hebrews 6:10-12

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

So we can be certain that God is perceptive concerning our faithfulness. God’s ledger book gets fresh notations every time we serve him. In short, our labor in the Lord is not in vain!

How can we persevere to the very end?

7 Tips for Persevering—

We clarify our work. We base it on our mission/passion, needs and abilities. We know why we want to work and how we and others will benefit. We state our purpose in the present. We write desired outcomes, what we want to accomplish. Our work is purpose giving—it’s detailed, specific and positive.

We intend to achieve our work. We outline the work, strategies and timeline. We know resources that can help us attain our purpose giving work, such as people, associations and even the Internet. We break the goal into small steps, working backward by forming our desired outcome and achievement date.

We develop support systems. We meet regularly with positive, encouraging people who support our work and celebrate our achievements. We select other sources of positive reinforcement such as books or tapes with uplifting themes.

We choose productive attitudes and behaviors. We don’t dwell in the past or worry about what might happen or view ourselves as victims. We maintain optimism. We reinforce the positive in ourselves and others. We expect good things. We watch self-talk. We replace negative thoughts or statements with positive ones. We focus on what we can do with God’s help. We acknowledge our God-honoring accomplishments. We judge our accomplishments against personal standards of self-improvements. We have the courage of our convictions. We don’t change for others or compare ourselves with others.

We develop the will to risk. We don fear mistakes. We ask: “What’s the worst that can happen?” We decide whether we could live with the worst or take steps to reduce the chance of it happening. We live in the present. We don’t worry about what might happen. We view mistakes as opportunities to grow. We release our grip on our attachments and place them in God’s hand. The more attached we are to someone or something, the greater the fear of losing it.

We maintain a healthy lifestyle. We care for our mind, body, emotions and spirit. We schedule quiet times with God to think and reassess. We practice stress relievers such as deep breathing, exercise, and meditation in God’s Word. We get sufficient sleep and eat healthy. We take time for fun and friends.

We carry on daily in our work. With every “no” of defeat we’re closer to a “yes” of success. If we learn from set-backs and stay on course, success will follow. Every day, at regular intervals, we ask ourselves whether our activities are helping us attain purpose giving work. We believe our work in the Lord in not in vain. So we constantly stand firm with confidence. Our mind, emotions and activities focus on our God-given work, we can achieve the extraordinary.

Paul can identify with God’s worker, contrasting the weak and ordinary character of the messenger with the overwhelming power of the message. He describes the fact that we all find ourselves today under pressure, perplexed and often knocked to the ground. Let’s note his words in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9…

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Like Paul, everything in our experience reminds us that the dynamic power in our lives has no source in us. We must not let a sense of personal weakness keep us from serving God and becoming God’s chosen worker. We don’t rely on the evidence of our senses—the things seen, but we rely on the utter reality of what has been revealed to us by God in Jesus Christ—the things unseen.

Max Lucado, in his book entitled On the Anvil, writes about the different types of tools available to the blacksmith…

In the shop of a blacksmith, there are three types of tools:

There are tools on the junk pile: outdated, broken, dull, rusty. They sit in the cobwebbed corner, useless to their master, oblivious to their calling. There are tools on the anvil: melted down, molten hot, moldable, changeable. They lie on the anvil, being shaped by their master, accepting their calling. There are tools of usefulness: sharpened, primed, defined, mobile. They lie ready in the blacksmith’s tool chest, available to their master, fulfilling their calling.

Some people lie useless: lives broken, talents wasting, fires quenched, dreams dashed. They are tossed in with the scrap iron, in desperate need of repair, with no notion of purpose. Others lie on the anvil: hearts open, hungry to change, wounds healing, visions clearing. They welcome the painful pounding of the blacksmith’s hammer, longing to be rebuilt, begging to be called. Others lie in their Master’s hands: well, tuned, uncompromising, polished, productive. They respond to their Master’s forearm, demanding nothing, surrendering all.

We are all somewhere in the blacksmith’s shop on this Labor Day weekend. We are either on the scrap pile, in the Master’s hands on the anvil, or in the tool chest. (Some of us have been in all three.) Where is each of us presently today? We are God’s workers for noble purposes. The rubbish pile of broken tools, the anvil of recasting, the hands of the Master—it’s a simultaneously joyful and painful voyage. We are on a journey, as clay jars, awaiting the privilege of being God’s chosen workers.

Yes, we still may get discouraged. But God keeps bringing us back to this verse to rear us up and help us to see the importance of faithful service. So we don’t give up. Our labor in Jesus Christ is not in vain.

What kind of congregation do we want to support in our work:

an agreeable “give in,” comfortable church that does little and expects little of us?

an amusing “give up,” compromising church that engages in all sorts of fun activities?

an alive “go on,” committed church that diligently does the Lord’s work and expects us to pull our share of the load?

Our choice reflects what we want to be in our work for the Lord. We are to be zealous in the Lord’s work and be a member of a local purpose giving church that diligently does what God directs! Amen.

Jesus-followers are to become a renewed community, obediently following the creativity of God to the people, and life situations into which he leads us.

God continues to disclose to us in this message series that Jesus-followers in the book of Acts experienced a renewed community. God stirred the early church through four movements. The church was renewed through the first movement of God: a renewed community, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The second movement of God highlighted a renewed community, living boldly for the Lord and showing loyalty to one another. The third movement of God transitioned the believers into a renewed community, concerned about caring and sharing with others the joy of their circle of fellowship. In our last message the disciples were concerned about caring for the perceived needs of one another, even in the midst of prevailing conflict. God will disclose to us through his Word in this message the renewal of creativity.

Creativity basically symbolizes imaginative skill. It brings to life invention, intuition, and inspiration. To create means to be open to learning in more than one way. One of the ways we create is to express in words what we imagine or wonder about life. For example, writing is a discipline of creativity.

One of my greatest joys in ministry is creatively handcrafting a message from God’s Word. I write not because I am educated but because I am called by the need to communicate the Word of God with clarity and conviction. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood. I’m discovering that I want to be understood much more than I want to be respected or praised or even loved. And that perhaps is what may make writers creatively different from let’s say artists or musicians.

We look yet, another time, at a passage from the experiences of the early church from the Book of Acts. We are discovering in our message series on Acts the principle that out of the insignificant can come the significant, infinitely important things the Holy Spirit is trying to teach us and is using for a greater strategy.

This passage from Acts is a dynamic gem of scripture on creative guidance. The basis for our message is the story of Philip. It is the story of God; it highlights the way God creatively works with us. It is primarily the story of the indwelling, guiding Holy Spirit who leads us in our daily decisions for living. The setting for the story is Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel. And the feast of Pentecost had just occurred when the Holy Spirit had come down and was living inside of the people. There was an incredible amount of inner power and guidance. The experience of the Holy Spirit was fresh and new.

Luke records how Philip shows us receptivity to the Spirit and obedience in Acts 8:26-27…

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship.

We know from our last message that Philip was appointed as a deacon. He wasn’t a famous preacher like Peter who went and preached a grand sermon and three thousand people were converted in one day. He wasn’t like the famous missionary like Paul who went with the Gospel of Jesus from nation to nation throughout his world. We can observe from these verses how God’s indwelling power came down on Philip, the evangelist. Philip was empowered to talk to people one-on-one about Jesus Christ and his love for all people.

Communicating with the Sprit’s Power

What happened to Philip is a powerful analysis of communication to others about what Christ means to us. Philip has much to teach us from what he did to share with others the joy of his circle of fellowship. His ministry brought about conversion and new life in Christ. Like Philip, God presses us on to another challenge that keeps our eyes on him and his power. God has someone waiting when he has prepared us to be ready for what we have to say.

1. God’s guidance begins through receptivity and obedience

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

Most people who ask, “How can I know God’s will for my life?” are really asking, “How can I find guidance from the Lord for my daily choices and decisions?” Philip shows us how. It requires receptivity to the Spirit and obedience. Often the guidance we get does not fit with our practicality or prejudices.

The key to understand this passage is the Greek words for “south to the road—the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” These words can also mean “at high noon along the road.” The Greek understanding here can mean middle-day or south. Now Philip already knew that Gaza was south. He did not need that for guidance. And the instruction to go on the sun-baked Gaza south in the desert must have seemed strange.

The issue is obedience. We don’t know what the Lord has planned in the circumstances into which he leads us. In this case with Philip, God had a meeting with an Ethiopian eunuch planned. God often guides us to people and situations we wonder about at the time. Looking back, we can see that God used what was at the time a difficult order to follow but that blessings flowed from it. God will use everything available to convince us of a direction…

the prompting of the Holy Spirit

insight from Scripture

discernment from Prayer

wise counsel

changing circumstances or events

consecrated thinking

When we are willing, God will help us to want what he wants for us. God can lead us when we are on the move for him. Guidance is difficult when we are stopped on dead center with our volitional gearshift set in neutral!

Now at this moment in time, we need to remember that the Jesus-followers wanted to remain in Jerusalem with all the other Jewish Christians. They didn’t want to advance out into the countryside or out into other villages or out into other nations with the Gospel; these first Jesus-followers basically wanted to remain just in Jerusalem where they could huddle together in numbers and safety. So what did God do? God sent a believer like Philip to go out and share the Gospel, even if it was one-on-one! What was Philip’s response?

2. God’s guidance continues through rightness and closeness

27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship.

The Scripture says that Philip obediently “started out.” There were no arguments or discussion of the hour of the day. Philip didn’t question, whine or moan, “Hey, God? Don’t you know that high noon in the desert is not the place to go, let alone to minister? Nobody in their right mind will be caught dead in a wasteland during that time of day. Besides, I’ve been successful in ministering to the masses and now you’re asking me to go to the desert where I might share Jesus Christ with only one person? Come on God, don’t you have a different direction and assignment?

Guidance comes from…

habitual prayer

consistent Bible study

total surrender to be used

teachable spirit

Out of the flow of the Holy Spirit, the next move in an ongoing obedience is baptized with a feeling of “rightness,” not because it is logical but because closeness with Jesus Christ has made it the thing we want to do. When an opportunity comes, we are ready. What happened to Philip because he obeyed has given us a rich treasure of how we can share our faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Ethiopian treasurer was probably a convert to Judaism. He had a great yearning to know the God of Israel, as demonstrated by his reading of Isaiah 53 and by the fact that he had to travel at least 750 miles one way to worship in Jerusalem. The trip would have taken him and his servants at least 30 days by chariot. How long would he have stayed? A month? Then he faced a return trip. So he spent at least a quarter of a year to travel to Jerusalem to worship God. Reading ahead in Philip’s encounter with this Ethiopian treasurer records the fact that he responded warmly to Philip and the message about Jesus Christ, and became the first known witness—black or white—to Africa.

So we are led into relationships with people who don’t know Jesus Christ. We remember again, this story in the book of Acts is about a lay person who shared his faith with a stranger. This story is not about Peter, the gifted preacher, who preached and three thousand people were converted in one day. This story is not about the Apostle Paul who courageously traveled through the whole world as the greatest missionary for Jesus Christ who ever lived. This story is not about Peter or Paul but about Philip, the deacon who cares for poor people in his church. Philip goes and has a one-on-one relationship with someone, the Ethiopian eunuch. God’s word to Philip was “go”. We go to that person and share with that person what we know about Jesus. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus’ love, we go to others and share our faith in Christ, what we know and have experienced with Jesus, one-on-one.

The lesson to be learned from Philip is that he was the kind of Jesus-follower who listened to the guiding voice of God inside of him. It wasn’t merely his conscience. It wasn’t an angel with wings; it wasn’t an auditory voice; it was not a delusion or a nightmare. It was the inner guiding voice of God, the Spirit of Jesus. And so we like Philip, listen to the inner guiding voice as God talks with us about our marriage, our kids, buying a car, finding a house, getting an education, being on the track team, or even changing jobs or vocations. What do we want to learn from this story? We listen through a rightness and closeness. We listen to the voice of God inside us as we approach our daily decisions.

Jesus-followers are to become a renewed community, concerned about caring for the perceived needs of one another even in the center of prevailing conflict.

God has been disclosing to us in this message series that Jesus-followers in the book of Acts experienced a renewed community. God stirred the early church through four movements. The church was renewed through the first movement of God: a renewed community, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The second movement of God highlighted a renewed community, living boldly for the Lord and showing loyalty to one another. In our last message the boldness the disciples displayed beyond the fellowship was dependent on the loyalty they experienced in that fellowship.

The third movement of God transitioned the believers into a renewed community, concerned about caring and sharing with others the joy of their circle of fellowship. God will disclose to us through his Word in this message the renewal of caring. The outward characteristics of the first church community were quite different, but early on the apostles had to make decisions regarding the division of responsibility and the logistics of maintaining a fair and caring community in the midst of existing conflict.

Caring, in essence, denotes watchful attention. It personifies concern, compassion and cooperativeness. Caring is advocacy. To care means to advocate for the needs of others by developing the characteristics of understanding, action, and perseverance.

The words conflict and caring are seldom linked. They do not enjoy the complementary relationship shared by peanut butter and jelly, knife and fork, salt and pepper, love and marriage, and other common pairs. Yet what two words are more strategically complementary than conflict and caring? Tragically, they are usually viewed as counter to one another, mutually exclusive. So this is not just a message about caring; it is also a message about conflict. It is a message that explains why conflict developed, not only in the first church, but also among some of the finest people and in some of the best churches today. What may be unique is that this message also suggests how conflict and caring interact.

Care-fronting = offering genuine concern that stimulates others to grow

Now, we won’t find this word in the dictionary, but care-fronting is offering real confrontation that calls out careful insight and understanding. It unites love and power. It unifies concern for relationship with concerns for purpose. So we can have something to stand for (purpose) as well as someone to stand with (relationship) without sacrificing one for the other. They are complementary. Care-fronting is the way to communicate with both impact and respect, with truth and love.

We are discovering in our message series on Acts the principle that out of the insignificant can come the infinitely important things the Holy Spirit is trying to teach us and is using for a greater strategy. The organization of the first church was not laid out for the apostles by the Holy Spirit. They simply were in the flow of his power; and when a conflict arose, they did what seemed guided by the Spirit.

This transitional chapter of Acts tells us that we should be open to the Spirit’s guidance in the mundane of life’s common experiences. Luke uses his narrative as a step onward from something mundane to magnificent in Acts 6:1-7…

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 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.

Luke’s words help us to understand that conflict should not signal the departure of caring. Instead, it should elevate the urgency of caring. The Jerusalem church was experiencing rapid growth. We can imagine the excitement that growth generated. Their group was constantly growing and changing. There was amazing agreement among them. And their material needs were being met through sacrificial generosity. Nevertheless, a situation developed that threatened to fracture this growing movement.

The Potential in Every Problem

Growth never means the end of problems; it just means a new set of potentials. The community of believers discovered this reality as they experienced significant development in their life together. However, a variety of conflict stands out. The first church experienced the problems of discrimination, and distraction from the ministry of prayer and the word. These same problems still exist today in many twenty-first century churches.

1. The problem of discrimination

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.

The immediate problem had to do with the fair treatment to Greek widows in the daily food distribution, but the underlying issue was ethnic tension between the Hebrews, Jews born in Judea and Galilee, and the Hellenists, Greek-speaking Jews born outside of Palestine. A complaint arose from the Greek-speaking widows.

The church’s responsibility was to help the needy. In this case, it was the Greek-speaking widows. We discovered the fact in our last message that the believers contributed to a common fund and placed their offerings at the feet of the apostles. Each day the church would take something from that account and use it to help the widows. The problem began with the new kid in town. A different kind of person came to church. The congregation was no longer made exclusively of Palestinian Jews. There was an immigrant emergence from Greek-speaking lands. The Greek-speaking Jewish Christians did things differently. They spoke Greek and not the more common Palestinian language of Aramaic. That is the only difference our text mentions, but the language barrier illustrates the larger cultural barrier. Such barriers often lead to discrimination.

Many people experienced ethnic discriminations when they first immigrated to the United States. We had a boarder living with us as I was growing up. His name was Sven. He was a citizen of Denmark, and he came to the United States to become an American citizen. His accent differed from our neighbors; his native tongue was not English. He felt second class as a result. Sometimes those feelings were warranted and sometimes imagined. Either way, he felt discriminated against. The same was true in the early church—cultural barriers resulted in neglect and ultimately discord. In addition, there are other forms of discrimination as well. It may be that a poor church refuses wealthier Jesus-followers, or a cushy, elegant church has lost contact with the poor. It may be that the spiritual gifts of women are not recognized. It may be the distinction between worship and learning styles. Paul says, “there is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:11). No Jew or Greek; no slave or free; no male or female. It need not be as blatant as language or race discrimination. Sometimes we discriminate merely because we resist change due to the personal preferences and persuasions we hold.

This issue describes the perception that a five generation church like Christ First has concerning multiple ministry needs and age-groups.

We want engaging worship with sound biblical preaching and variety in music styles.

We want edifying discipleship opportunities in classes, studies, and small groups.

We want enriching fellowship events that are relational and seasonal.

We want practical service/outreach opportunities that are local and global.

We want a trustworthy governing structure in which to function in ministry.

Age 55 and under Age 55 and older

Worship

celebrative with praise team, band reflective with choir, organ, piano,

and choruses. handbells and hymns.

Discipleship

small groups and faith-based seminars. Sunday school classes and Bible studies.

Fellowship

activities which affirm seasons of activities which affirm seasons of

Easter, Christmas, camping along Easter, Christmas, patriotic celebrations

with family related events, etc. along with hymn sings, etc.

Service/Outreach

sponsor local and global ministry sponsor local and global ministry

through prayer, service mission trips through prayer, financial mission support

and community events. and community events.

Structure

biblical model of church structure institutional model of church structure

that is Council protected, staff led, that is Council led, staff run, congregation

Congregation serving and outward served and inward focused.

focused.

We need to note in the above comparison in multiple ministry needs that this contrast is not meant to stereotype one age-grouping over another or to infer that one age-grouping is more important than the other, but merely shows by distinction between the preferences and persuasions towards which each particular age group may lean.

Oftentimes the values that a culture holds are reflected in and embraced by the church whether they are biblical or not. Coming to faith in Christ does not automatically change our view of the world and its people. We may reproduce and even defend sinful attitudes and actions that are normal for our surrounding culture. The gospel of Jesus must challenge and change these attitudes as evidenced in the early church in dealing with the problem of discrimination.

2. The problem of distraction

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 hands on them.

The second and compounding problem had to do with the apostles’ concentration on the need to settle this food distribution conflict at the expense of neglecting the ministry of the word of God. We must be impressed with the lack of defensiveness among the apostles as, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, they confronted—may we say?—“care-fronted” the problem head on without causing distraction in the responsibility they had been given to prayer and the ministry of the word.

The apostles could have actually done the work themselves which would have distracted them from their concentration upon the ministry of the word. Instead, the apostles proposed a plan to have the people themselves select from among them men who were full of the Spirit of wisdom to be put in charge of this task. All believers are called to be ministers (diakoneo), which means “to serve.” Some people feel that “the ministers” are the pastoral team and “the ministry” is their profession. But growing churches cannot afford to think this way.

A number of years ago cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was unheard of outside the medical profession. Today, CPR is being taught on college campuses, through the Red Cross, through the training of paramedics, and even many schools and businesses are training their teachers and workers in CPR. As a result, thousands of lives have been saved because lay men and women have learned how to serve in an emergency. The church today faces a similar emergency and we cannot afford to leave its work exclusively to the professionals.

So if the Hellenists were disturbed about a seeming inequality, put Hellenists in charge of the distribution! Ingenious? Yes. But more than that: guided and wise. The qualifications of the Hellenists to be selected are very significant. They were to be “from among you.” Not just Greek-speaking Jews, but people who were involved in the church because of conversion and transformation in the new life.

However, the ultimate quality mentioned for each of these seven servants was that they were… “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.”

Certainly the apostles wanted people reported to have the reputation of impeccable character, but that character should be a witness to Christ in them and activate involvement in communicating that love to others. The test of that character was based upon the certainty that they be full of the Holy Spirit. This was to be exemplified in all dimensions of their lives—intellectually, emotionally, and volitionally. The acid test would be in the gift of wisdom. The evidence of the Spirit’s indwelling would be the gift to penetrate the deep mysteries of God and apply them in guidance for daily life.

These qualities should be the basis of leadership in the church today. So often our temptation is to bypass these criteria and select people with natural abilities or training in an area. Important as these are, without the maximizing power of the Spirit, they can stand in the way of spiritual leadership of the church. It is dangerous to lead a church on human training and conditioning alone.

Let’s summarize seven ways how the apostles responded with care in the midst of discrimination and distraction:

They met face-to-face with the Hellenists (the powerful with the powerless).

They listened to the complaints and acknowledged their legitimacy.

Together with the Hellenists, they devised guidelines for godly leaders and chose seven with names that suggest they were from among the Hellenist minority.

They approved and commissioned the new leaders through the laying on of hands and committed themselves to work with them.

They gave the new leaders authority over the distribution.

They shared power and resources and affirmed the dignity of the newly chosen leaders.

They continued to give their attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.

What was the result of their guidance and wisdom?

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 blessing of God continued and increased! The church was still unified and it multiplied. This verse is one of several “summaries” found in the book, statements that let us know that the story has reached an important juncture. The word of God spread and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increase rapidly. But another amazing result was that a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. It has been estimated that there were 8,000 Jewish priests attached to the temple ministry in Jerusalem, and “a large number” of them trusted Jesus Christ as Savior!

The following illustration affirms the truth that small efforts of care have tremendous impact. A pastor was asked to conduct the funeral for a man who had helped develop the famous Boeing 747 aircraft. After the service, the pastor spoke with the widow and commented on how remarkable it was that her late husband had helped build that marvelous machine. She said, “The truth is, he worked on one little switchbox smaller than a loaf of bread. That’s all he worked on for 15 years. But when that 747 lifted off the ground for the first time, it was the happiest day of his life.” He worked with great care and precision on one small switchbox for more than a decade. Yet the huge plane couldn’t have lifted off without this man’s contribution. Often we see only our seemingly small efforts of caring and feel we aren’t very important. But when the great kingdom of God “lifts off,” we’ll be thrilled to find out that all of our efforts were not only essential, but they were marked by God for eternity!

Our efforts to see the work of Christ advance in this church is dependent upon the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, coupled with our desire to allow problems to give us potential to carefully exercise our faith. We not only exercise our faith in the Lord, but also faith in each other. When structure and ministry collide, conflict and care connect. May the blessing of God be ignited, and may the ministry of caring be rekindled in these challenging, yet exciting days of ministry! Amen.