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This morning we are picking back up in our study of the book of Acts.
If you’re new to our church, it would be good for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.
What that means is we believe the best way to teach the Bible is to study it book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse in order to understand what the Bible means and how it applies in our lives today.
With that said we are currently doing that through the NT book of Acts. A book that was written for two purposes. First, to tell the story of how the church started and the circumstances that surrounded it. And secondly, and most important, to give us a template for how Jesus intends for us to accomplish the mission of taking the Gospel to the rest of the world.
So, if you haven’t been with us, I would encourage you to go to MCF.LIFE, where you can listen to all of the messages leading up to today.
Today as we jump back into Acts, we are starting chapter 6 as the church continues to grow despite the opposition it faced in chapters 4-5 with the group known as the Sadducees.
You may recall the Sadducees were a Jewish religious group who felt threatened religiously and politically by the popularity and growth of the early church. As a result, they had resorted to threats and fear tactics in order to try and stop the early church’s message and growth.
But as we learned last week, after listening to the wisdom and words of a Pharisee named Gamaliel, the Sadducees have backed off for now, leaving the church to continue its advancement.
And now with this battle behind them, the church now faces a new set of challenges, and not from the outside, but from within the church.
So in order to set up where we are going this morning, I want to begin by giving you a few scenarios to consider that I think when combined will help us build some framework for the message today.
That being said, here’s the first scenario:
SCENARIO 1 - Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were trying to accomplish a task, but in the process of completing the task, something or somebody else needed your time or attention, and as a result, you had to abandon or put your task on hold in order to help them.
For example, maybe you’re trying to get an important project done at work, and every time you go to work on it, your co-worker interrupts you because they need your help on something they’re working on.
Or maybe your trying to focus on an important task your boss gave you, but every-time you to go work on it, the phone won’t stop ringing, and apparently you’re the only one that knows how to answer the phone. Or a customer stops by, and apparently your the only one that is willing to help the customer. And then before you know it the day is almost up, and you’re not even close to accomplishing the task you were given.
Anybody ever been there?
SCENARIO 2 - Have you ever had a job or been in a situation where you had a specific skill set to offer, but because of the workload or lack of staffing, you weren’t able to function in your skill or gift. Instead you had to address multiple jobs and positions, some of which you weren’t equipped or even qualified to address.
For example, maybe you were hired out at Landoll’s to weld, something your’e really good at, but then somebody quits in the paint department leaving them short handed, so they transfer you over to paint, something you’re not good at, and now everybody’s wondering why the paint quality isn’t what it should be.
Or maybe you were hired out at Landoll’s to weld, something your’e really good at, but then somebody quits in the paint department leaving them short handed, so they transfer you over to paint, something you’re not good at, and now everybody’s wondering why the paint quality isn’t what it should be.
I think if we all think about it, we’ve all been in a situation where we were equipped for a certain job, but then we got roped into doing something we weren’t equipped to do, which led to a decrease in quality across the board.
SCENARIO 3 - As a parent, how many of you have discovered how quickly your kids outgrow clothing and shoes? It’s crazy, right? I mean you buy them a new outfit or a pair of shoes, and next thing you know it looks like they’re wearing high waters, forcing you to spend more money to meet the growing need.
I would say all of us have at some point. If
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Or maybe you have a teenager, and you’re quickly discovering that 3 meals a day isn’t enough. No, they have to eat 5-6 times a day as they eat you out of house and home and your food budget goes out the window.
I ask you to consider these three scenarios, because as we come to today, we come to a similar situation.
A situation where certain individuals need to accomplish important tasks, but keep getting distracted to meet the needs of others.
A situation where certain people are equipped with certain skills, but due to a lack of personnel, they are being compelled to work in areas they are less equipped for. A situation where the early church is growing at such a rate that its leaders are at their limits trying to meet the needs of the growing church body.
A situation where certain people are equipped with certain skills, but due to a lack of personnel, they are having to give their time to areas they are less equipped for.
A situation where the early church is growing at such a rate that its leaders are at their limits trying to meet the needs of the growing church body.
And as a result, the early church is facing the challenge of continuing its mission.
And to be honest, this is a challenge for any church that is committed to reaching people with the gospel. Because at some point the growth overcomes its leaders causing them to have to shift their focus and gifts in order to meet growing needs within. And and as a result, the ball gets dropped in some critical areas as church leaders struggle to accomplish more than they are equipped to handle.
So, with with that as our basis, we have three goals this morning.
So, with with that as our basis, we have three goals this morning.
First, we’re going to read through the passage and find out what the situation is and why there is a problem.
Second, we’re going to go back through the passage and learn how the disciples addressed it.
Finally, we’re going to discover how this passage applies to our church as we continue to grow.
So, with our goals set, lets pick back up as Luke introduces us to this new challenge the early church is facing. Beginning in chapter 6:1, Luke writes:
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Luke not shifts from the focus of outside persecution to the challenges of growth within the church. And in doing so he highlights four key principles for church growth that we need to understand. Principles that if not understood and addressed could cause a church to move backwards instead of forwards.
So, for the next few minutes, I want to share these principles with you, and then we’ll discuss how they apply to our church.
The first principle is this:
As a church grows, ministry opportunities and needs grow with it.
Luke writes:
Acts 6:1
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
Couple of things Luke says here that I want you to notice.
First he says, “In the days when the disciples were increasing in number...”
What Luke is highlighting here is the challenge he’s about to address isn’t necessarily a negative challenge. It’s just a challenge that comes with reaching people. A challenge that results when more and more people come to faith in Jesus in the church setting.
I think that’s important for us to understand, because as we talk this morning about the current challenges of our church, I want to make sure everybody understands this isn’t a negative challenge. But a challenge that result when a church get serious about reaching people for Jesus. It’s just the result of reaching more people.
Second, after giving context for the challenge, Luke tells us what the challenge is. He writes:
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
Luke says as more and more people come to faith in Jesus, there are some administrative and logistical problems that have arisen. Specifically concerning a group of new believers who are being neglected. How are they being neglected?
Well, Luke implies here that the early church had what we might call a food pantry or food distribution system. A place where people in need can could go and get food.
But apparently not everybody was getting access to it, specifically a group of widows who were in need. And as a result, people within that group were starting to complain that their needs weren’t being met.
And again, this is often the natural result of a growing church. And the problem isn’t that nobody cares about these widows. The problem is in the midst of growing numbers, the established church leaders are running low on capacity. Administratively they can’t handle all of the ministry needs. And as a result, some people are falling through the cracks.
To be honest, this happens all the time in growing churches and can become a significant problem. Because if not addressed, it could send the message to those in need that the church doesn’t care or the church has gotten to big to care for needs. And when that happens, people begin to get critical and complain that the pastor or pastors are just too busy for them, and maybe they need to find a smaller church that cares.
But the truth is, it’s not that the pastors don’t care, or that the church is too big, it’s that with the growing ministry, the pastor or pastors have reached administrative capacity. Because as a church grows, the needs of its people grow with it.
I know this has been a challenge at MCF over the past several years.
For example, when I took the Lead Pastor position at MCF, we had one service and a weekly attendance of 110 people kids and all. And to be honest, pastoring 110 people and caring for the needs of 110 people is doable for most pastors. And for the most part, as long as people shared their needs with me, I was able to help meet minister and meet their needs.
But as our church began to grow, meeting everybody’s needs became a challenge. In fact, just learning everybody’s name became a challenge. Because by the end of my first year at MCF, the church had two services and was running over 200 people on a weekend. And then by the end of my third year the church was running over 300 people. And now seven years later we are averaging around 340-360 people on a weekend, and that’s just the average number that shows up week to week. The truth is, we have a church roster of over 1000 people who call MCF their church home.
And the reality is, even with our full time staff of 3 pastors, we struggle to meet the needs of every attendee in our church to the degree we’d like too. And if I’m honest, some have fallen through the cracks. Some have been overlooked. And as a result, some have complained, some have gotten upset, and some have left because they felt like MCF has gotten too big to meet their needs.
And the truth is, we haven’t gotten too big. In my opinion, a church should never reach a point where it says, “Well, that’s enough people, we're big enough.” No. Jesus designed the church to grow. Jesus is for big churches full of people who are following Him. His desire is that everybody would come to faith and become a part of the church. So big church isn’t the problem. The problem is one of capacity. The problem is there reaches a point for a growing church where its pastors can’t do everything, and to be honest, shouldn’t.
Because when that happens the pastors end up getting spread thin, and a couple of unfortunate results take place:
First, as we just said, people get neglected or overlooked.
But secondly, in trying to meet everybody’s needs, the pastors put their primary tasks on the back burner in order to address the growing needs.
And as a result, the church suffers. Because now not just a few are being neglected, but many are being neglected as the pastors aren’t able to focus on their primary gifting of teaching and preaching, which is what has spawned the growth to begin with.
And that’s exactly what was happening in the early church. Listen to how Luke says the apostles viewed this dilemma. Luke writes:
As a church grows, it needs to raise up new qualified
Acts 6:2
2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
You see what was happening is the apostles were having to set their teaching ministry on the back burner in order to address the widows needs. And now the ministry as a whole is suffering because the apostles are no longer functioning in their primary role, purpose, and gifting. Now the teaching ministry is suffering. Now the apostles aren’t able to devote their time to preparing and teaching the gospel, which is their primary calling and gift to the church.
Everybody with me so far?
And to be honest with you, over the past couple of years I have experienced this challenge. Because the truth is, in order to address the growing needs that have come with our growth, I find myself week to week sacrificing time I previously used for study and preparation for the teaching of the word.
And please hear me, when I say that, I’m not complaining, I’m not saying I don’t want to help people or work harder. I’m just saying like you, I have a certain capacity. Like you, I only have a certain amount of hours in the week. Like you, I have a family at home that needs my attention. Like you, I’m a human being.
So, how can this challenge be addressed? Well, the disciples had a solution, which leads us to the second principle:
2. As a church grows, church members must be willing to step up and meet the growing needs.
Luke says in response to this challenge, the apostles come up with the following solution. Luke writes:
Acts 6:3
3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
Luke says in response to the growing and neglected needs, the apostles decided the best course of action would be to ask other disciples to step up and help meet the needs. And now, for the first time in the book of Acts, we see the church developing what we might call a volunteer ministry.
So, to help us understand how this ministry worked and who was involved, I want to take a few minutes and look at some key details of their plan.
First, I want you to notice they selected people from the church body. Luke writes, “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you...”
Luke says in order to solve the “needs” challenge, the apostles said to pick out people from the church body to help.
A. ___________________________________________________________
We know this because in verse 2 Luke says, “They summoned the full number of disciples.” Which represents everybody to this point that had joined the early church. And then in verse 3 they say, “pick out from among you...” In other words, select some people from the church body.
______________________________________________________________ and those “among” you represent the entire body of believers.
We know this because in verse 2 Luke says, “They summoned the full number of disciples.” So, this is everybody currently in the church.
Second, they viewed this ministry opportunity to serve tables as an important spiritual responsibility. Notice what Luke says:
3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
Luke says those selected to serve tables were to be of good reputation and full of the Spirit and wisdom. In other words, they needed to be people who would see this as a spiritual matter.
In other words, his wasn’t just a job to wait on tables and serve food to widows. Fulfilling this need was seen as a spiritual responsibility to minister. Meaning, this isn’t like serving tables at the Wagon Wheel or making somebody’s sandwich at Subway. This isn’t just a job somebody is working to make a living. To serve tables in this case is to devote ones time to service in order to minister to people in need. It’s a ministry opportunity.
This is important for us to understand, because the challenge in many churches is people tend to see ministry needs as jobs.
For example, when it comes to kids ministry, I often hear people say, “We need more people to work in the kids area.” Like its a job.
Or they say, “We need more people to hand out bulletins at the door.” Like it’s some kind of chore.
Or, “We need more people to sign up and work that outreach event.” Like its some sort of obligation.
And the problem with that is often times we see ministry needs as jobs. But ministry needs aren’t jobs. Ministry needs are spiritual opportunities to serve the needs of others. Opportunities for Christians to use their gifts. Opportunities for Christians to display the love of Christ to another person.
That’s why kid’s ministry isn’t a job. It’s a spiritual opportunity to invest in the life of a child or young person who needs to know Jesus. To show them a love they may not be receiving at home. To give them a hope they aren’t experiencing at school.
Handing out bulletins at the door isn’t a job. It’s a spiritual opportunity to extend a spirit of welcomeness and friendliness to someone who maybe hasn’t seen a smile all week. To greet someone and welcome them to a service that may change their life and eternal destiny forever.
Being a part of an outreach event isn’t an obligation. It’s a spiritual opportunity to share the love of Jesus with people in our community. To show people through our time and commitment that we truly care.for them.
You see, the disciples understood, serving tables was just as important as preaching the word, and so they wanted people who understood that this isn’t a job. This is a ministry opportunity to be used by God. So they said, “We need spiritually minded people.”
Third, when the ministry opportunity was presented, seven specific men were chosen. Luke writes:
5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
I think it’s important to note that we aren’t just told seven men were selected, but we are specifically told their names. So, a good question might be, “Why does Luke give us their names?”
Well, to answer that question, we are going just look at the first two names, because this won’t be the first time we hear about Stephen and Philip in the book of Acts.
Not to give away any spoilers, but in chapter 7, Stephen will go on to become a great Christian preacher and the first Christian martyr that is killed for his faith.
In chapter 8, Philip will go on to become a great evangelist who performs one of the first baptisms of a foreign Christian convert and takes the message of the gospel to the first city outside of Jerusalem.
Why is it important we understand this? It’s important because these great men of God who went on to do great things for God started their ministries by serving tables. By doing something many people would have seen beneath them. By stepping up for a ministry opportunity to help some widows in need.
And the result was, God elevated them to greater works of ministry, greater influence, and greater impact. And so great was their impact, that 2000 years later we are still reading about them.
Here’s what this is saying to us, If you want to be used by God, it starts with waiting tables. It starts with you being willing to meet a need that may not appear super glamorous or fun.
It starts with you serving in the kids ministry. It starts with you passing out a bulletin. It starts with you serving at an outreach.
And its that willingness to be used that not only helps the church move forward and meet a need, but opens up God’s plan for your life. For God to do a greater work in and through you.
But that can’t happen if you don’t step up. You see, the problem for a lot of Christians in a lot of churches, is they get frustrated because they can’t figure out what God’s plan is for their life. And the reason they can’t figure it out is, they aren’t willing to wait on tables. They aren’t willing to step up and meet the ministry needs that are staring them in the face.
Illustration - Serving donuts and making coffee at JRC.
The fact of the matter is, God has a ministry plan for you. God has a ministry purpose for you. A a plan that will not only help move our church forward, but at the same time, move you forward in God’s plan for your life.
Finally, I want you to notice how serious the disciples took this. Because as seven men were selected for this task, the church gathered around them and prayed that God would empower and equip them for the work. Luke writes:
6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
Acts 6:
I want you to think about this for a second. These guys volunteered to wait on tables and serve food to some widows. And the disciples saw it being so important and so significant that they had the entire church gather around them and pray for them. Pray that God would help them serve these widows. Pray that God would equip them with everything they need to accomplish the ministry task.
And God did help them, and eventually elevated them to meet greater needs.
Can you imagine if we did that for people who volunteered to work in the kids area. For people who volunteered to pass out bulletins, run a camera, or open a door. What might happen if we started looking at every ministry need, not matter how small or how big, has a spiritual opportunity to advance the Gospel. Can you imagine what might happen?
I can tell you what will happen, because Luke tells us. Verse 7:
7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Luke says because some people stepped up to meet a need, a couple of things happened.
And as a result, the apostles are free to go back to teaching and preaching the gospel. With volunteers now in place to meet the need, they can continue to teach and preach the Word.
First, the apostles were able to give their attention 100% to teaching and preaching.
Second, because the Word of God was being taught once again in full force, more and more people started to get saved, including the temple priests, the ones who had been opposing the gospel.
How did this happen? It happened because some people stepped up.
How did this happen? It happened because more people stepped up. More people got involved. More people came alongside the apostles to help them meet growing needs so the apostles could continue to preach the Word.
So, that’s a picture of the volunteer ministry at First Century Church. A ministry that calls church members to step up to meet needs. A ministry that creates opportunity for believers to be used by God. A ministry that opens the door for greater works of ministry in a persons life. A ministry that allowed the apostles to continue to do what God had called them to do.
7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Luke says more and more people came to faith in Jesus. But not only that, even those who had opposed them earlier, the temple priests, put their faith in Jesus.
How did this happen? It happened because more people stepped up. More people got involved. More people came alongside the apostles to help them meet growing needs so the apostles could continue to preach the Word.
Now, you might be wondering, “Pastor how does this apply to my life and our church?” I was hoping you would ask that question.
The truth is, over the past 7 years we have seen some amazing growth at MCF.
For example, since 2012 MCF we have seen our Sunday morning attendance from from an average attendance of 110 to 360. On top of that, we now have an active roster of 1200 people who call this their church home.
In addition to that, since 2012 we have seen nearly 400 people make decisions for Jesus and we have water baptized over 200 people.
Because of our growth we also had to add 12,000 square feet of space and double the size of our sanctuary, lobby, and kids area.
The fact of the matter is, since 2012 God has been blessing and growing our church in an amazing way.
And while we celebrate that and we are excited about that, the reality is, we are now at a place as a church where we need more people to step up. Our growth has brought us to this point. And now more than ever I’m beginning to realize as your pastor that if we want to keep growing and reaching more people for Jesus, we need more people to step up.
More people to serve in kid’s ministry, more people to serve in first impressions, more people to join ministry teams. Because the truth is, myself, the staff, and the volunteers we currently have have reached their point of capacity.
And as a result, I fear there will be people who fall through the cracks. I fear there will be some ministry needs that we aren’t going to be able to meet. And I now for certain, already I find myself having to divert some of my time and attention from sermon preparation and teaching to address the growing needs.
Now, you might be thinking, “Ok pastor, I get what you are saying, but can you give me some examples of what needs you are referring to?”
Again, I’m so glad you asked.
Let’s start with the kid’s area. On an average week we have anywhere from 75-90 kids downstairs in the kids area. And I’m going to tell you right now, that’s amazing. We celebrate that! But the challenge is, every week we are literally begging people to serve downstairs. And as a result, pastor Jacob spends his entire morning in a classroom.
Now, you might be thinking, “But pastor, isn’t that his job?” No, it’s not. We’ll get to what his job is here in a second.
When it comes to First Impressions ministry, while we have great volunteers greeting at the doors, passing buckets, and distributing communion, we have several empty spots where we need people to minister.
For example, ideally, I would like to not only have somebody at the door to greet a new guest and hand them sermon notes, but also somebody to take them down to the kid’s area and help them get their kids situated. Somebody to take them over to get a cup of coffee, and then help them find a seat, and maybe introduce them to a few people. Somebody to greet them after service, make sure they filled out a connect card, and maybe even offer to take them out to lunch, and then follow up with them later in the week.
Can imagine the difference that might make for somebody who is visiting MCF for the first time?
Now, you might be thinking, “But pastor, isn’t it your job to greet new guests. Isn’t it your job to follow up on new people? Isn’t that what we are paying you to do?”
We’ll get to that in a minute.
Let’s talk about Facilities and grounds first, because taking care of our property and building is quite an undertaking. I mean think about it, in the the past 7 years we’ve gone from a 9200 square foot facility to a 22,000 square foot facility.
The word for repute here means “the state of being highly regarded.” In other words, these were individuals others looked up to. Men and women who people who had honorable reputations and were respected.
And as you can imagine, the weekly cleaning alone amounts to hours of work a week.
And would you believe that the entire cleaning of our building is currently taken care of by 6 volunteers, 3 of which spend 10-12 hours a week here on Friday’s and Saturday’s mopping floors, taking out trash, cleaning toilets, and making sure everything is clean and ready to go on Sunday. Only 6 volunteers, each of which hav full time jobs.
I think that’s an important quality for us to note. Because the mistake a lot of ch
Second, they had to be men or women who could be trusted. That’s what the phrase “full of faith” implies. In other words, they were trustworthy committed Christians. People you could count on and rely on. If they said they were going to do it, you could count on them no matters what. Which went hand in hand with their reputation.
Now, can you imagine how much easier it would be if we had 10-20 people who owned that need. How quickly that would go.
And that if the goal each week was to make the building look like new every Sunday. If we had volunteers that walked around and did paint touch up. Volunteers who wiped down tables and counters. Volunteers who helped organized closets that were getting out of control. Volunteers who worked side by side to make sure that when a new guest showed up on Sunday they would be blown away by how clean the facility is.
Now, again, some might be thinking, “But pastor, isn’t that part of you and your staff’s job? I mean you’re here all week. Can’t you vacuum. Can’t you do some cleaning?” Sure, I can, and we do. But if I’m being frank with you, that’s not what you have hired me to do.
The same goes for our grounds. Like you, I’m getting tired of the snow. And this year it’s been excessive. Which means in order to make sure people can get in the building, we need to have the walks cleared not only on Sunday morning but throughout the week. So that when people show up, they don’t slip and fall.
So, who takes care of that? Here’s how that currently works. On the Sunday’s it snows, which has been about every Sunday, I get here at 5am to go over my message. Jacob gets here at 6, and then from 6-7 we gear up to get all the walks cleared.
Now, again, some might be thinking, “But pastor, isn’t that what we are paying you to do? Isn’t that part of your job?”
Let’s answer that question with another question. As your pastor, if I’m going to exert a a lot of energy on a Sunday morning, where do you think that energy should be focused and used?
Should it be on shoveling walks or preaching the Word? I mean, what’s more important for me to focus on? For me to be 100% ready to preach the Word when people show up for church, or to be at 75% because I’ve already used up some of my energy for the day.
And please hear me, I’m not complaining and don’t mind doing it one bit. I grew up on a farm feeding cows and breaking ice at 5am. I just want you to consider how you think my time might be most effectively used on a Sunday.
And the truth is, I could go on. I could talk about the media ministry needs, and our need for camera operators. Our need for people to monitor and interact with the 200-300 people online who are listening and need prayer.
I could talk about our care needs for people in the community. I could talk about our outreach opportunity needs. To be honest, the list is extensive.
Here’s where I’m going with this. In a church that is small and isn’t growing, the pastor and his staff can do most everything, that’s true.
But in a church where God is moving and the church is growing, at some point the pastor and staff reach a capacity. And if their not careful, they could caught up in meeting all the needs instead of focusing on what they were called to do.
Paul understood this. Because when it came to the job of the pastor, outside of preaching and teaching Paul makes it clear what a pastor should focus on. Listen to what he says in Ephesians 4:
Third, they had to be individuals full of the Spirit. In other words, they were believers who were All IN and their lives represented that. They were individuals whose lives modeled a close walk with Christ.
Finally, they were to be selected. In other words, these individuals didn’t volunteer, they were selected. Luke writes, “Therefore brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit...” Luke says after careful observation and investigation, they picked them out. They selected them. In other words, these were individuals who stood out without having to promote or volunteer themselves. They were the obvious picks for the needed position.
Now, the other side of that coin is that individuals like this must be willing to make themselves available. Willing to step up when asked to lead. And in this case they did as seven men were chosen. Listen to what Luke tells us:
5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
Acts 6:5
Luke says after laying out the qualifications, seven men were nominated and selected. Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus. And apparently, these men didn’t deny or resist the calling and accepted the appointed positions.
So, a good question migh
Second,
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Paul says if you want to know what your pastors job is, it’s to teach church members how to serve others and do the work of ministry. That’s what you are paying me to do. To challenge you to be part of an Outreach Team, Care Team, Facilities Team, Grounds Team, Media Team, Kids Team, or First Impressions Team. To challenge you to embrace the ministry opportunities that God has given us to lead more people to Jesus.
Because the fact is, as a church grows, future growth and salvations are dependent on people stepping up and helping to meet the growing needs and opportunities.
To be honest, I went back and forth on how to share this message with you. Because it could come across as me scolding you or trying to make you feel bad. And that’s not my goal at all.
My goal this morning is to simply make you aware that as a church we are at a place where we need more people to step up. In fact, I believe the future growth and ability of MCF to reach more people for Jesus is dependent on that.
Because at this point it’s not the size of our facility that’s going to hinder our growth. We have an amazing facility and plenty of chairs.
It’s not going to be limited parking. We have two lots.
What will limit our growth and effectiveness will be your pastors and a handful of volunteers trying to do everything. What will limit our growth will be our inability to meet growing needs and ministry opportunities because we are spread to thin.
That being the case, here’s what I’m asking you to consider. In your sermon notes is a handout. And on that handout there are several ministry team opportunities with a brief description of each. And what I’m asking for this morning is for some spiritually minded people to step up to meet some growing needs. To put your name down on at least one of these ministry opportunities.
I’m asking for some spiritually minded people to step up and volunteer. To put your name down on at least one of these ministry opportunities.
Because over the next 3-6 months, our goal as a staff is to bring every one of these ministry areas up to 100% operating capacity. To be at a place that when we get to the Fall, MCF is a place where every need can be met. Where each of us is functioning at maximum ministry capacity. To be a church with no limitations as together we reach more people for Jesus than we ever could have possibly imagined.
But for that to happen, we need some people to step up.
So, real quick, as we close, here’s what we’re going to do.
First, I’m going to briefly highlight what each team represents.
Second, I’m going to ask you to put your name down on at least one area.
Finally, in two weeks, we’re going to have everybody that signed up to serve stand up on a Sunday morning so we can pray for you. Because you’re not signing up for a job. You’re singing up for a spiritual endeavor that could potentially lead somebody to faith in Jesus. And so you need to be prayed for. You need God’s anointing on you. And as your pastor, I want to pray for God to equip you to serve.
So, real quick, let me explain each area.
Explain:
Now, there’s a chance some of you aren’t very happy with me right now. You’re thinking, “Wow, what a guilt trip. Wow, sounds like pastor doesn’t want to work hard anymore.”
And if that’s you, I have two pieces of advice for you.
Number 1 - You totally missed what this message was about, and it’s obvious that your heart isn’t in the right place. Because what I’m asking you to do comes straight from God’s Word. It’s Biblical and it’s how God designed a church to grow.
Number 2- If this message upsets you and you feel guilted into signing up, then I would ask that you not sign up. Honesty, I don’t want anybody serving our church that doesn’t want to serve and is going to have a bad attitude. I want spiritually minded people who understand we are trying to accomplish the mission that Jesus gave us. And that the only way we accomplish this mission is if we do it together as the body of Christ.
Now, I know that may sound harsh, but until you get your heart right, best you not serve. Instead, what I would challenge you to do is ask God why you are struggling with this. To ask the Lord to show you why you are being so resistent to His Word.
Now, I’m going to pray, the worship team is going to come, and as we close out the service, if you’re willing to step up, I want you to fill out the sheet, and give it to an usher at the door as you leave. And then in two weeks, as a church, we’re going to pray for you as you step into the ministry opportunity God has given you.
We all good? Good. So let’s stand and thank God one more time as we close with this song.
Pray
Acts 6:
7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.