Title: A Culture of Godly Leadership
Text: Acts 6:1-7
Thesis: A church is positioned to be most effective when leaders are chosen on the basis of their reputation for living a Christ-like life and having wise discernment.
We are on a Pathway to Congregational Vitality. We want to be a Healthy Missional Church. By Healthy we mean we are pursuing Christ. And by Missioinal we mean we are pursuing what is important to Christ or Christ’s priorities.
In order to understand what being a Healthy Missional Church looks like, we are unpacking a series called: The Marks of a Healthy Missional Church. Researchers have found that there are at least ten marks, characteristics, traits, qualities, etc., that are consistently found in Healthy Missional Churches.
To date we have noted that The Marks of a Healthy Missional Church are:
• Compelling Christian Community
• The Centrality of the Word of God
• Life Transforming Walk with Jesus
• Global Perspective and Intentional Evangelism
• Transforming Communities through Active Compassion, Mercy and Justice Ministries
• Heartfelt Worship
Today we will unpack a seventh Mark of a Healthy Missional Church. We believe the Scripture teaches and history confirms that Healthy Missional Churches are characterized by A Culture of Godly Leadership.
Introduction:
A man was stranded on the proverbial deserted island in the Pacific for years. One day a boat came sailing into view and the man frantically waved and waved until he got the skipper’s attention. The boat landed on the beach and the skipper got out to greet the stranded man.
• After a while the skipper asked the castaway, “What are those three huts you’ve built?”
• The stranded man replied, “That first hut is my house.
• “What’s the next hut?”asked the skipper.
• “I built that for my church,” replied the castaway.
• “And the third hut” queried the skipper?
• “Oh,” the castaway answered solemnly, “that’s where I used to go to church.” (Mikey's Funnies, 8-20-02)
It would seem that even a church of one has trouble getting along.
In our text today the people at First Christian Church in Jerusalem were not getting along.
I. Wicked problems crop up when organizations have to face change or unprecedented challenges.
As the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek speaking believers complained about the Hebrews speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. Acts 6:1
As ideal as we might like to think it must have been in those early days of the church… even then there was discontent.
A. Sometimes people are just chronically discontent.
Take for example, a toddler crying because his mother has left him to play in the living room while she has a cup of coffee with a friend in the kitchen… a simple open doorway away. "Poor thing," says the friend, "he doesn’t like being left in the living room alone." "It's all the same to him," said the mother; "he would cry if I made him play here in the kitchen where I am. It is a peculiarity of that boy, that if he finds himself in one room, he wants to be in the other and rebels accordingly." In other words, he’s never happy.
Sometimes people are like that toddler. Wherever or whatever, they manage to be discontent.
However…
B. Sometimes there is cause for discontent.
It is said, “The greater the disagreement, the more wicked the problem.” Innovation Journal, The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 14, 2009)
The early church had a wicked problem. It was not just some little spat – they were not only dealing with change, they were dealing with unprecedented change. This was a new problem of crisis proportions they had never had to deal with before.
The text says that as new people came into the early church a problem developed that resulted in “rumblings of discontent.” It seems the original group of Christians there in Jerusalem were orthodox Jews or Hebrews, who spoke Aramaic. But after the Day of Pentecost another category of Jewish people became followers of Christ. They were Jews who had been in other countries, so to speak. They are sometimes referred to as Palestinian Jews or Hellenistic Jews. They spoke Greek.
One of the really great things about Judaism is that historically they have maintained a sense of responsibility for the less fortunate. The Synagogue appointed receivers or collectors whose job it was to visit the market place and make rounds to private homes every Friday morning to collect money and goods for the needy. Later that day they distributed their collection to those in need. Those with temporary need received from “The Basket” a lesser amount of assistance but those who were permanently unable to support themselves were given enough for 14 meals… enough to sustain them two meals a day for one week (until the following Friday).
They also had what they called “The Tray” which was a daily collection for those in pressing need. It would be similar to our Samaritan Fund.
The rift developed because of discrimination. It is doubtful that the Greek speaking Jews were simply falling through the cracks. The Greek speaking widows were not receiving their daily distribution of food. The long-timer, old-school, purist Jewish Christians began to resent the new-comer, not-so-ethnically pure, Hellenistic Jewish Christians. Their world was changing and they did not like it. The fallout was reflected in the way they neglected to care for the Greek speaking Jewish widows. It was discrimination.
Their discontent apparently had merit because the apostles immediately took action to correct the inequity in the church.
To their credit, the early church adapted to their changing culture.
II. “We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program [waiting tables].” Acts 6:2
When you read it like that you just want to say, “Well, la-dee-dah, aren’t we special!” It sounds like the apostles thought caring for the needy was below their dignity as spiritual leaders of the church. That simply is not the case. Even before the Apostle Paul wrote Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12… the apostles understood that the church is the Body of Christ and as such is made up of many members. They understood that just as a body had many parts that work in different ways, the church has many members who each work or serve in unique ways. Spiritual gifts are spread around… the disciples did what they did best and there were others who could do what they do best. Serving tables or the care of the poor widows was not a lesser ministry. It was just different.
Can you imagine how that kind of ministry would look today? A pastor would arrive and move into the parsonage. The elders of the church would pay him a visit… give him the keys to the church, the keys to the shed so he could get to the lawnmower and keep the lawn trimmed up every week. They would give him the keys to the custodial closet so he could keep the place all spiffy every week. They would give him the codes to the copier and computer so he could to all the office work every week. They would give him the keys to the piano and organ and a choir robe. They would give him the Council secretary’s and Treasurer’s books, but we’ll keep the checkbook. They would tell him he had a men’s bible study, a ladies bible study and two youth groups to lead every week. They would tell him he needed to come early on Sunday morning so he could greet everyone and then stay late to lock up. They would tell him that he needed to arrive early enough in winter to have the walks cleared before people arrived. They would tell him that he had to be on call 24/7/365. They would tell him that he needed to gather up all the canned goods and deliver them to the food bank in a timely manner. They would tell him he needed to keep in correspondence with all the missionaries and that he and his wife were responsible for all the hospitality needs of the church… you get the idea. None of the responsibilities I’ve just mentioned is greater or lesser. It’s just that no one person can do it all. It takes us all.
It is an interesting observation to see in our text today how, prior to this crisis, there were 12 men doing all the work. And following the crisis there were 19 men doing the work. The 19 did the work much better than the 12 could ever have done it. The disciples knew that. There are more efficient and effective ways of doing things.
A. They recognized that they could not continue as they were and do what needed to be done.
Up to this point the Twelve Apostles had assumed sole leadership responsibility for all the needs of the church. They did everything until it became painfully apparent that they could not do everything.
I don’t know if it was a big deal or not… it certainly was a departure from the way they had always done it.
Even in our culture we have some preconceived ideas about who should do things and how they should be done and if they aren’t done just so… Jesus simply won’t show up.
Jesus told a story in response to the criticism of a group of religious leaders who were resistant to the way Jesus was doing ministry. Jesus had the audacity to heal a man and tell him that his sins were forgiven. If that were not enough Jesus was inviting people like Matthew, a despicable tax-collector, to become one of his followers. Adding insult to injury Jesus was also observed eating dinner with many tax-collectors and other disreputable sinners. They questioned Jesus’ followers, “{Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” Jesus kindly tried to explain to them that what God really wants is for us to show mercy toward people rather than take pride in their religious righteousness. Matthew 9:1-13
Sometime later, as the religious leaders continued to question Jesus’ way of doing things he explained, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old wineskins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17
Jesus used an image everyone there could understand. He was doing a new thing in a new way. What he was doing could not be contained in the old ways of doing things. Where the Spirit of God is moving we need some flexibility. Where the Spirit of God is at work we need to be adaptable.
Very early on in the life and ministry of the early church the Apostles learned that they must be flexible. They learned that they needed to adapt to the changes and needs of their church.
Their response was to create a culture of godly leadership.
III. The life and ministry of a Healthy Church is characterized by a culture of Godly leadership.
So they selected seven men who were respected, full of the Spirit and wisdom. And gave them this responsibility. And everyone liked this idea… Acts 6:4-5
In our text, at least three things are true of leaders. First of all they are called to serve…
A. Leaders are called to serve.
At first glance one might wonder if the Twelve Apostles thought they were some special class of leader that is above serving the widows their daily distribution of food… that is obviously not the case. They had in fact been doing that as well as their other responsibilities. Unfortunately because of their primary responsibilities they did not do a very good job of caring for the widows. Real leaders understand they are called to serve.
Max DePree, former CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, author of a number of books including Leadership Is an Art, and currently founder of Max DePree Center for Leadership tells of an incident wherein he arrived at a local tennis club just after a group of students had vacated the locker room. They had not bothered to pick up for themselves so towels were strewn about the room. Without thinking much about it, he set about picking up the towels and placing them in the laundry hamper. A friend who had come in a moment later and quietly watched him as he went about picking up the towels asked him, “Do you pick up towels because you’re the president of a company or are you the president of a company because you pick up towels”
In our text those called to serve were entrusted with responsibility and that responsibility was the care of the needy.
Those who were called to serve in this way were not selected willy-nilly.
B. Leaders have discernible characteristics
In my 42 years of ministry I have served in a number of churches and every church has its own social order and culture. Every church as its family systems or ways of doing things. And those ways of doing things and the choosing of leaders is sometimes less that best. Leaders are sometimes chosen because they have a particular skill, i.e., if someone is a CPA he or she should be the church treasurer. If someone is an attorney that person should be on the Council because they are wise. If someone is related to someone they need to be in leadership. If someone is an educator that person should be over the Christian Formation Ministries of the church. If there is a vacancy someone needs to be tapped to fill that vacancy… in which case, any warm body will do. If someone is wealthy they need to be on the Council. If someone knows boilers they need to be on the Council. If necessary, someone may be chosen to maintain the balance of power between ruling families in the church. Or someone may be chosen to upset the balance of power. You get the idea…
Certainly spiritual gifts and skills should be considered for positions of service and they are likely inherent in the selection of leaders. But from the onset we see that the criteria for leadership, in the early church, were based on three things:
1. They are well-respected (reputation for having character)
2. They are full of the Spirit of God
3. They are wise
Isn’t it interesting and insightful how godly character figures so prominently in the selection of leaders?
In my 42 years of pastoral ministry I have often found that whenever leaders are chosen by any other criteria than their character, evidence of Christ-like living and discernment there are problems. There is a discernible lack of collegiality and teamwork. There is conflict of interest. There is incongruity with the goals and vision of the church. There is disunity. There is distrust. There are conflicts of egos… and so on.
Those who are chosen to serve are “set apart” for that service.
C. Leaders are consecrated for their ministry
In verse 6 we see that the seven who were chosen to care for the needy were brought before the apostles who laid hands on them and consecrated or set them apart for their ministry. The congregation affirmed them and the apostles prayed for them seeking God’s blessing upon them for their service.
These seven leaders were given the responsibility for carrying out the ministry of caring for the needy. They were entrusted with that responsibility. They were released to serve.
The outcome of selecting godly leadership was and is fruitful ministry.
IV. Healthy Churches are also Missional Churches
So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted too. Acts 6:7
When godly leaders are entrusted with ministry and function as people of character who are guided by the leading of the Holy Spirit and are wise and discerning a church will be spiritually healthy and missional. The needs of the church will be met and people will be reached for Christ.
I don’t believe any of those whom you’ve chosen to serve here at Heritage lay any claim to being all that godly or wise and discerning… but my observation is that on our Church Council and among our Ministry Team Leaders is that we are in good stead. Our leaders are good people. They are godly people. And they do business and ministry in dependence on the guidance of the Holy Spirit for discernment.
It is our hope that as we make our way along the Path of Congregational Vitality we will be diligent in the selection of godly leaders in every facet of our life and ministry as a church.
Conclusion
We have taken some steps to become a more nimble or agile and effective church in adopting a Council form of governance. Our Council has officers: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Our Council has Team Leaders who oversee: Our church resources; Christian Formation; Congregational Life; Worship; Outreach; Welcome and Discovery.
Council members are elected and assigned roles as Team Leaders. As Team Leaders they each recruit a team who to do the work of ministry in key aspects of our life and ministry as a church. Our governance empowers leaders and entrusts areas of ministry to them. Within each Ministry Team are many smaller teams of committed individuals who get things done in and through a wide spectrum of ministries.
So if we, as a church, are committed to creating and maintaining A Culture of Godly Leadership… the criteria of having a reputation for Christ-like or Spirit-filled living and being a wise and discerning person needs to be on the forefront of our process of choosing leaders.
Every leader needs our support and encouragement.
Let me tell you about the “Great Pew Stink.” In one of the churches we served was a wide center aisle, narrow side aisles and a very narrow aisle behind the pews in the back so you either got on the elevator or took the stairs to go to the basement or outside.
At a business meeting the congregation discussed removing the back row of pews. We had a balcony so there was sufficient seating and it would make it feel much more spacious.
One of the men in the church got all red-faced and raised a ruckus… the pews would be removed over his dead body!
A few days later the city Fire Chief showed up to do a building inspection… The Fire Chief wrote up a report stating the pews had to be removed because they posed a fire hazard that would impede people getting to the exit were there a fire.
The Fire Chief told me who had asked him to do the inspection. It was very prominent man in the city and in our church, who wanted the pews removed. He had asked him to do the inspection… and to especially look at those back pews.
When the church was notified of the Fire Chief’s order the red-faced man went ballistic and accused me of contacting the Fire Chief. I went to his home to assure him that it was not me… but his parting words to me were, “You are a liar! I don’t believe you.” Of course his rage spilled over and I fully expected that the man who had done the deed would step forward and clear it up but he did not. In fact he was rather amused by the whole thing.
So one man went to his grave angry at me for being a liar and another man left me to swing in the breeze. Hence “The Great Pew Stink.”
“Great Pew Stinks” happen in the absence of Christ-likeness and discernment. “Great Pew Stinks” happen when two individuals want to be in control and act outside the purview of godly leadership.
I like a passage from Hebrews 13 that speaks of respecting leaders and appreciating their delicate responsibility of caring for the ministry of Christ’s church as stewards accountable to God, while trying to keep everyone happy so there is no discontent in hopes of avoiding “A Great Pew Stink.” And I particularly like this: “Give them reason to do their ministry with joy and not with sorrow.” In other words be encouraging and supportive and pray for those who serve Christ and his church.
Let me leave you with two thoughts… the first has to do with the choosing of godly leaders and the second had to do with encouraging them. We choose godly leaders on the basis of their reputation for Christ-like character and discernment. We can make leadership a joy by praying for and encouraging our leaders.
A Healthy Missional Church has a Culture of Godly Leadership.
