3.3.23 5.3.2020 When the Spirit Comes to town He Expands Operations. Acts 6.1-7

Engage: And to be quite honest--we suck at it. For the last 300 years the church has been behind the social and technological curve. Much the pity. The first 3 centuries of the "common era" the Church was at the cutting edge (Manuscript technology, mass-communication). During the reformation the church pioneered the use of printing and the new emerging "technologies" of vernacular languages and "advertising." The Church sponsored the Renaissance for crying out loud!

What happened?

For some reason we decided that relevance was risky and that being nimble in thought and deed left us vulnerable to insiders who would deceive us and outsiders who would divide us.

Expand: Very early the apostles discovered that evangelistic momentum would be forever tied to creatively, adaptively, and flexibly addressing new circumstances with solidly Biblical responses.

Acts 6:1–7 ESV

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.

So now-now we must go back to the Lab! This is not some outlandish Frankenstein experiment seeking to create a newly-animated body apart from the bestowed Spirit of the Risen Christ! NO! NO! This is our re-birth right-to reinvent, re-establish, relaunch, revision, renew, reform, restore and recast the message of Christ in the tangible, changeable, frustratingly real world.

Excite: I am excited to be serving Jesus, leading the church, and preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ in one of the most challenging times we can imagine. I am honored to serve with our Elders, Deacons, Teachers, Servants. I am curious to see how Jesus shall use us as we evolve new Biblical realizations of the ever-living Body of Christ. Because essentially

Explore:

Biblical leadership is about creative, adaptive, flexible service in the most difficult of times.

Explain: The Spirit teaches us to distinguish helpful and unhelpful approaches to ministry when the pace increases and our sense of certainty has been blown to smithereens... So when the Spirit comes to town we learn to

1. Address distractions not divisions.

Act 6.1-2

1.1. Hear and acknowledge.

Real difficulties; not imagined nor the hobby-horse of idle people.

1.2 Articulate and act.

Name the issue

Move beyond it.

2. Solve problems not people.

Acts 6.3-4

The difference between leadership and management, the distinction between pastoring sheep and herding sheep. People have problems. People exhibit problematic behavior. They have ideas which can be heretical-that is the ideas. The Apostles provide a great example of not overly personalizing or making every conflict a personal battle. Problems are bad enough without reducing every issue to us vs. them.

2.1 Delegate.

(More than management.)

2.2 Consolidate.

You do that…we’ll do this.

2.3 Activate

3. Recruit servants not substitutes.

Acts 6.5-7

3.1 Clarity creates ownership

3.2 Commission communicates authority.

3.3 Continuity confirms trajectory.

Here and Now:

I miss the body gathered...but I want to get better at what we are doing. I miss "how things were" but I am willing to burn the bridges of the past. We have go be mature enough to not allow distractions to divide us. We must encourage people while laboring to solve problems. New servants don't replace the old...they work along side the old...new gifts, new contexts, new talents, new abilities-helping us to expand our reach and extend the borders of the Kingdom.

If you are not a Christian...You need to be. Not just to be saved from sin, not just to go to heaven-but to be engaged in the great adventure of serving your creator.

If you are a Christian...break time's about over Bucky...When the Spirit comes to town all the challenges dissipate and He will use you to expand operations.

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