Posted: 3/14/07
BaptistWay Bible Series for March 25
Ready to do ministry in a new way
• Acts 6:1-7
Baptist Standard, Dallas
A church prognosticator once asked his mother why she continued to go to the little church she attended. After a few moments of meditation, she responded, “I keep going there because it is the only thing in my life that doesn’t change.”
Someone said the only thing that is certain is change. Change is taking place everywhere in life. Why not the church? Had Jesus and the disciples listened to the Pharisees, we still would be practicing the traditions of sacrificing animals and making trips back to Jerusalem for ancient festivals.
Not changing is most often a cop-out for convenience and selfishness. Change must include mindset as well as stale structures. Church simply cannot be about me and my desire, but rather must be about fulfilling the calling of the Great Commission, becoming all things to all men in order to win some. When programs and structures do not work and cannot be revitalized, change becomes necessary to give the church relevance and impact.
The past has a powerful hold on mind and heart and incorporates itself into traditions that can bind creativity and curtail ingenuity. Congregations are notorious for letting once-noble practices become etched in stone and the only way to function even though the people of the world have become unresponsive and jaded to congregational habits.
The dichotomy of change is the thirst to be different while resisting that which could make a difference. Someone said insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. The anticipation of a better spiritual future is to change into a better spiritual organization. God is in the business of changing people who then bend organizations to help encourage excitement and success. Structure and governance are only tools and not ends within themselves.
Churches tend to be 50 years behind the cultural and economic development of society. Playing catch-up puts the church at a major disadvantage. Challenging the mindset and attitudes of a contemporary world is like putting new wine in old wineskins. The result is disastrous.
Change for change’s sake may have its reward but change for ministry’s sake pays great dividends. Age-old truths that never change can be carried to the cutting edge of culture, pointing to the future, addressing needs and building relationships.
Jesus was a new teacher with new teachings and a new spiritual kingdom, not of this world. Jesus and the disciples were change agents who put God and his kingdom over tradition, ritual and comfort. To create new things to stimulate better results is a characteristic of Christ, the Lord of the church.
The church, changing in an unchanging culture
Acts 3:1-5:42 provides insight to the new church’s response to opposition. The Spirit of Christ fills the new church with power, courage, strength and insight, and many responded favorably while others resisted very strongly. As one might expect, the opposition came from the religious traditionalists. The priest, temple guards and Sadducees were “greatly disturbed” (4:2), captured Peter and John and “put them in jail” (v. 3). The following day, “the rulers, elders and teachers of the law,” “the high priest” and “other men of the high priest’s family” questioned the apostles (vv. 5-7) about whom they represented. In spite of opposition, the number of believers grew to about 5,000 (v. 4). Ordered out of the Sanhedrin, the apostles refused to stop preaching, “for we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (v. 20).
Unsuccessful in destroying the church from the outside, Satan attacks within. Barnabas sold a field and brought the money to the apostles (v. 36). Ananias and Sapphira, following that example, sold a piece of property but held back part of the money for themselves and brought the other part to the apostles, pretending to have given it all.
Accused of lying to the Holy Spirit, Ananias “fell down and died” (5:5). When Sapphira conspired and lied too, she “fell down at his feet and died” (v. 10) and was buried beside her husband. Death was the punishment for lying to God, for pretending with the utmost hypocrisy.
How pretentious and hypocritical churches can be, hiding behind the façade of big buildings, perky programs, skilled performers, wealthy budgets and prestigious positions. The affluent society and the affluent church may be in great danger of self-destruction. Perhaps the church has died but no one has noticed and called for its funeral.
The persecution intensified, and the apostles were again thrown into jail. Upon their miraculous release through an angel of the Lord, the apostles began again to teach and preach (vv. 19-21). Thanks to the wisdom of Gamaliel, the Pharisee (vv. 33-40) who addressed the court with a practical appeal, the apostles were “flogged” (v. 40) and released.
The apostles left “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (v. 41) and “from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ” (v. 41). This new faith, the work of the risen Christ, inspired by the filling of the Holy Spirit, was creating great success in an environment of opposition by the old guard who said, “We have never done it that way before.” Unashamedly, this group of new believers refused to bow down and courageously marched against the powers and authorities of this world, giving God the glory for turning the world upside down.
The church, changing to meet human need
The church continued to increase (6:1), and size always brings problems and a need for administrative creativity. New problems required new answers and new energy. Some ingenuity was needed to organize the masses into effective cohesive structures to maximize ministry effectiveness.
The key to understanding the servant role in this passage is to understand that organizing to serve was shaped by human need. Existing for others, the church constructed a plan to accomplish a specific task. Though there were thousands of believers, a simple plan was devised by the apostles with sufficient manpower to meet the need. The apostles had caught the vision of a Christ who cared and a crowd of people that needed care.
Luke records here the first organized ministry of the church, remembering that Christ said: “The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
From the immediate response, it may be concluded the neglect of the widows was not intentional. The apostles gathered the disciples together (6:2) to find a solution. The apostles had given their gifts and knowledge to the preaching and teaching ministry, a ministry to which they had been chosen and that must be continued (vv, 2,4). The apostles decided on the number. The gathered church made the selection of those who would serve, but they were to be individuals “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (6:3,5).
The apostles understood the magnitude of the need, while the congregation knew the individuals who had these proven qualities and capabilities. The seven chosen were not selected for honor or for a position but for serving the needs of the widows who felt neglected.
It seems that the church of today should take to heart this lesson. The shape of ministry should form around the need and those who serve should be equipped and capable of meeting that need. A general selection for no specific purpose usually means poor use of resources.
The laity that can serve should do so in order that those who proclaim the word can give of themselves to the ministry of reconciliation. Most churches today expect the pastor to do the ministry and the proclamation. It is very near impossible today to be a great preacher and a great pastor at the same time. The demands are too great.
The pastor’s family sits at home without father or husband while he is out administering the church, ministering to the community and struggling to find time to prepare himself for the hour of preaching.
Every Christian should see himself as a minister, a servant. Sharing respected responsibilities would do wonders to enable the church to impact its world. Find new ways and means to meet human needs and find those servant-minded folk to compassionately help touch lives and change hearts.
Discussion question
• Why do we get stuck in doing ministry the same old ways when new situations call for new approaches?
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