Acts 6
Seven Men Chosen to Serve
1But as the believersa rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.
2So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”
5Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). 6These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.
7So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.
Stephen Is Arrested
8Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.
11So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.b
13The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazarethc will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
15At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.
We live in fascinating times. In 2022, the Finding Jesus report told us that 1 out of 3 of our friends are open to a conversation about faith. This year, the Quiet Revival report shocked the country by stating that Christianity is on the rise and that more people are going to church than before the Pandemic. This trend is led by young men, usually having spiritual encounters, and is happening all over the country.
However, at the same time, the church is tired. People are both attending church and serving less than they used, leaving more pressure and responsibilities for those who do. This has led to a tension between the pastoral and the evangelistic which has left many churches at breaking point. We can not let go of the mission to look after one another. Yet, we also can not abandon the needs of our community in order to reach others. What do we do?
In the early church they had a similar tension:
So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.
Acts 6:2-3
What they were saying is, we can not abandon the needs of the widows, nor should we abandon our responsibility. We need to find a both/and solution where we can do both well. Ray Dalio, in his book Principles, says that when there are two things that you want before you choose one over the other, you should slow down and think deeply about it: there is always a way to get both.
The disciples chose several men and prayed for God to pour out on them. This was a significant moment as it showed that the anointing passed onto them from Jesus could be passed onto others as well. Others could receive the same power as Christ had and which he passed onto his disciples. Anointing could be passed from human to human. One of these men was Stephen who, once prayed for, started to perform miracles and seeing hundreds turn to Christ.
This tension between purpose and rest is felt in our own lives as much as it is seen on the wider church picture. As followers of Jesus, we are not called to live comfortable, quiet lives. We are invited, like Stephen, into an empowered life, where we bring hope and healing to the world around us. However, too many people take on too much and then end up quitting altogether. Or they wait for a day when they have everything in order and feel like they have it all together -which inevitably never comes. We must lean in but not burn out in the process - we have capacity and can not/must not do everything. But do something!
If we hold carefully and humbly the tension of impact and rest then just like a guitar string, our lives will make a beautiful song to the world around us.
