Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Exodus 21-24
     New Testament Reading: Acts 6

In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. (Acts 6:1)

In the second chapter of Acts, the Lord added to His church. In the fifth chapter, the Lord subtracted Ananias and Sapphira from the church. Here in the sixth chapter, the mathematics are completed as the number of disciples multiplied, and unfortunately, the church was divided.

Whenever you have many people together, there will be disagreement and division and the early church was no different. What’s important for us to know is not the fact that the church in Jerusalem had division, but how the Apostles handled and ultimately solved the problem.

The real problem was not the disagreement between the Hellenistic (Greek speaking) Jews and the Hebraic (Arabic speaking) Jews, but a lack of leadership. As the number of disciples grew, the twelve Apostles could not possibly tend to all the issues facing the people.

Why they choose seven men, we are not told. The obvious reason is that the apostles determined they needed seven men to accomplish the task. Since it was for the daily distribution, it may be simply choosing one man to handle the job each day of the week.

There are two important points in this passage regarding the selection of leaders in the church. First, there was a plurality of leaders chosen and not just one person to head up a task force or to chair a committee. Whenever church leadership is mentioned in the New Testament, it always references a plurality of leaders. There is a synergy created when a group of spirit-filled Christians works together to determine God’s will for a church or ministry.

Second, is the list of qualifications for those who serve in a leadership position. Often, we are like Samuel as he set out to anoint a new king to replace King Saul. When he went to the house of Jesse and saw his eldest son Eliab, Samuel said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart” (1 Samuel 16:6b-7).

How often do we look at the outward behaviors of a person we choose as a leader in our churches rather than on the condition of their hearts? Instead of looking for men with accounting degrees to handle the money and quick on their feet to wait tables, the Apostles chose humble servants of the Lord. Men who had a good reputation among the church members, men whose lives demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit, and those who had God-given wisdom to accomplish the needed ministry.

Conflict will certainly arise in any church. Rather than see it as a problem, we should view it as an opportunity to exercise our faith. Faith not only in the Lord but also faith in one another. Then together seek a Holy Spirit lead solution based on the spiritual gifts of the members.

The early church was not afraid to make changes and adjust its structure to solve a conflict. Problems in the church provide an opportunity for the leadership and members to examine their ministry and discover what changes need to be made and trust God for a solution.