Help Wanted

Scripture Reading: Acts 6:1-7

While the first church, the gathering of believers in Jerusalem after Pentecost, was launched with amazing success, it wasn’t long before a problem cropped up that threatened to undermine church unity, distract the apostles from their calling, and stifle the church’s growth. A complaint was lodged. Some believed Hellenistic widows in the church were being treated as less important that Jewish widows. They weren’t being taken care of equally. There are several practical points we can take away from this account.

First, complaining isn’t always sinful. It can be. If you want an example of sinful complaining read about the children of Israel in the days of their wilderness wandering. But here there is no hint that those that complained were out of line to do so. Without dwelling on this point too much, I would just say that it wasn’t condemned because of the way they handled their complaints. They had a legitimate beef. They took it to the right people. They were specific in what the problem was.

Second, the apostles who heard the complaint didn’t ignore it. They realized that there was validity to it. They also quickly realized that root of the problem was a lack of good leadership for this ministry. Reading between the lines, it appears that this ministry had sprung up organically and was being run without any real plan or leadership.

Third, the apostles knew they could solve the problem by taking charge of this widow’s ministry, but they also knew that it would be time-consuming. Taking charge of that ministry would result in them giving themselves to the work they were called to do.

Fourth, the apostles acted. They did something about the problem. They acknowledged the legitimacy of the complaint. But they didn’t take the burden on themselves. They put the responsibility of appointing leadership for this ministry on the church body. They gave the church some guide rails for choosing – seven, men, good repute, full of the Spirit, full of wisdom – and told them to pick leaders within those parameters.

Fifth, the apostles explained clearly why they would not take on the responsibility of that ministry. They needed to devote themselves to the ministry of the word and prayer.

The result was the church continued to prosper and grow.

There are legitimate needs that need to be met within every church. Not every complaint is a sinful complaint. Where pastors and churches often make a mistake is in thinking every job in the church is the pastor’s job, and every burden is the pastor’s burden. Help your pastor. Find a place within the church to serve and minister. If you carry some of the load, he will have more time to do what you need him to do and what God called him to do.

Your church will be a better church if you do.