Since Stepehen occupies the story for a couple of chapters, I want to focus on verses 1-7 today and talk about church organization. Especially at our stage of development, this is a great conversation for us to have at the Springs.
When the church was born, there was almost no organizational structure. Since I believe Jesus was very intentional in everything he did, I think this was intentional. Just as he had done in his own three-year ministry, Jesus established the church to be bare-bones simple. We see some organization take place as the need arises, but even by the end of Acts there's not much complexity. That's a big lesson all by itself. Keep it simple! Don't let the church become a bureaucracy! Don't hand out a bunch of titles! The church is a body, not a machine. If it was good enough for Jesus, who changed the world with little more organization than 12 disciples, it should be good enough for us.
Before chapter 6, there was only one titled position in the church: apostle. "Apostle" means "one who is sent out," referring to the fact that Jesus personally gave the apostles the task of telling others all they had personally experienced with him. As we have already seen, the role of apostle also carried a great deal of spiritual authority. The apostles were the communicators of the early church, and the believers devoted themselves to their teaching in Acts 2. Later, "apostle" shows up in lists of spiritual gifts - see 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. Since the role of an apostle is to be sent out, many consider missionaries and church planters (no different from missionaries except in location) to be the apostles of today's church.
Which brings us to Acts 6:1-7, where seven men are appointed to oversee the church's benevolence ministry. These are the first deacons. The Greek word and its derivatives are used 63 times in the New Testament, and always refer to the role of a servant, especially one who waits on tables. "Waiter" might be the closest English word we have for the role. The first deacons were appointed to relieve the apostles of the responsibilities of distributing food to widows in the church, so they could focus on telling people about Jesus. Here are just a few observations:
- The first titled role the church establishes is table-waiter. Awesome.
- It is a humble job, but is considered an honor and they choose their best guys for it.
- The deacons were not businessmen who ran the church's affairs as they were in the church I grew up in. The qualifications were Spirit distinction and wisdom, not whether they also serve on the local chamber of commerce. They did not serve on a board, like directors, but on a team.
- We will see the role of elder (also called overseer or bishop) form later in Acts. We will see this is a disctinctly different role than deacon.
- Although no titles have been assigned, do you see individuals in our church who are functioning as deacons?
- At the Springs, we have intentionally downplayed organizational complexity. Few people have titled roles, there are no committees, no boards. How does the lack of organizational structure at the Springs strike you? What do you like about it, and what causes tension for you?
One of the things I love about the Springs is that (by this definition) we are all Deacons. You and Brad give/provide the ability and right and opportunity to serve the church and serve our communities in a way that isn't really seen in other churches. And I like how this chapter demonstrates the importance of the deacons doing their jobs - without them the leaders can't do theirs.
ReplyDeleteI really like the second half of the chapter, though - that is what spoke to me today. A man, full of God's grace and power, had the face of an angel when he was accused of blasphemy. Almost like God said "See me? I am in this man. These accusations are false." I wonder what Stephens relationship was to Luke because verses 8 and 15 seemed to be written in such respect and love.
Ok - so a follow up. I just found out Stephen was stoned. I stand by what I said regarding his face, but I'm curious to learn more in the following chapters. Why did they not believe him? Why did they stone him? Were they smote like Ananias and Sapphira? If not, why not?
ReplyDelete"deacons doing their jobs - without them the leaders can't do theirs." That's golden right there. It flips your whole idea of how the church actually works.
ReplyDeleteSince all of ch. 7 is on Stephen, I'm going to hold off on that until tomorrow. We can refer back to ch. 6 also since it's all part of the same story.
I think the phrase that stands out to me in the choosing of the 7 is found in v3: "from among you." The selected servants from among those in need. Interesting because when we have a group that is in need - often a ministry leadership void, we go outside and say, "We need to find someone to come in and work with our..." Right now, we have a need in our student ministry, so should we choose a servant from among them? Not the students themselves (the apostles didn't choose widows), but men or women whom we trust and are full of the Holy Spirit and good sense - moms, dads, brothers or sisters?
ReplyDeleteI do think that the format for The Springs allows for leaders to rise up among us. It gives an opportunity for everyone. I've spent a lot of my life in a small town where the guy who's decided he wants a city council seat suddenly wants a spot on the church board earlier that election year. I don't get that feeling here. I was on the outskirts of a conversation today about it being unfashionable for churches to be identified with a denomination anymore, but maybe the church/denominations did that to themselves. It's not supposed to be a platform. At The Springs, I don't feel like I'm part of an organization. It feels more and more like family. As far as the deacons go, I see those as the people who lead the table groups. I know there's no formal "leading" there, but sending out emails, making plans, and making sure everyone is informed and feels welcome is a huge deal. As for student ministry, I remember connecting more with people who were like an older brother or sister. I loved the parents who volunteered with us, but my real learning and connection came from a leader who was about 7 or 8 years older...someone who'd recently been through what I was going through. I can't relate to growing up in this age of myspace, facebook, texting, etc. They need someone who can.
ReplyDelete"Although no titles have been assigned, do you see individuals in our church who are functioning as deacons?"
ReplyDeleteYes, very much so. MANY, MANY people help set up KidSprings stuff on Sundays, but 2 gentlemen came to mind immediately when I read the above sentence. I always feel bad asking for help...don't know why, but I do. One man, every Sunday service, always has the BIGGEST smile on his face when I ask him to help me set up the chairs and tables in KidSplash. He usually says something like, "Kris, don't feel bad asking. We're all in this together." Something to that degree. That's awesome! To Pete and Craig....thank you for being deacons @ the Springs.