Growing Concerns
Handle Growing Concerns with Discernment (Acts 6:1-2)
Handle Growing Concerns by Delegating (Acts 6:3-6)
Delegate to those who are of good reputation
Delegate to those who are full of the Spirit
Delegate to those who are wise
Handling Growing Concerns in a godly way Produces Disciples (Acts 6:7)
Slide
If you have been at Hickory Creek over this past year or longer, you have been able to see the work that God is doing in reaching more people and expanding His Kingdom through this ministry.
Every ministry we have has been growing incredibly
While our weekend services have grown quite a bit - we are averaging over 600 people each weekend - our mid-week ministries are growing even more rapidly.
Our Tuesday night AWANA ministry
Slide
is having a record year with nearly 130 to 150 kids coming on Tuesday evenings to memorize God’s word, learn the story of the Bible and enjoy some games with other kids.
Our Wednesday evening Reach Student Ministries
Slide
is hitting records as well with about 80 Students here on Wednesday evening to connect with other kids and grow in their knowledge of and relationship with the Lord.
Our Powerzone Kids ministry is continuing to grow as more people come. We have just recently added a new 3 -4 yr old class to manage our class size a little better.
We praise God for what He is doing through this ministry, but this growth has brought with it some challenges.
We are challenged with our space, especially for our ministries.
Update on plans
To deal with those space challenges we began a campaign last fall to raise the resources necessary to expand and to continue to be used to Advance the Kingdom.
We were able to raise $1Million dollars in commitments over the next 2 years and in fact we are averaging so far this year total giving that will equal more than $1million this year, praise the Lord!
So we have developed some plans to expand our facility and add parking that will cost us about $2.3 million in this first phase which will expand our ministry space by more than 70% from what we currently have.
The Sanctuary expansion will be in a second phase at some point in the future.
Here are the plans for the sanctuary and you have an insert in your bulletin with some of the details as well so you can check those out.
Slide
Transition
Facility expansion is one of the ways we are dealing with our growth.
But accommodating growth requires more than just having a facility to accommodate people. As we grow we have to be able to minister to more people.
If we don’t make preparations for that, we will
Fall short in our communication
Miss opportunities
to minister to people,
to care for them,
to love them.
The kind of growth we have been experiencing will bring about some of these challenges.
The question becomes how will we deal with these issues because they will require more than just having space.
Thankfully, the early church faced some of these growth challenges as well so we can learn from them.
They had to deal with similar “Growing Concerns” just like we will deal with.
Turn with me to Acts 6
Slide
and let’s see what we can learn from the early church so we can meet these growing concerns head on.
Acts 6:1-7
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Pray
Ok, we have seen since we have been going through the book of Acts that Satan has tried to thwart the work of the church through attacks from outside the church.
Church leaders and members have been getting flogged and threatened and thrown into prison, but so far it has not stopped the church from growing and the message of the gospel from getting out.
When one type of attack doesn’t seem to be working, Satan will often try a new type while he continues the former type as well. We will see that attacks from outside the church will continue, but now we are seeing that he is trying to cause dissension in the church
While the problem of some widows being overlooked is not the attack, Instead it is the stirring up of hard feelings and a complaining spirit.
It says the Grecian Jews Complained against the Hebraic Jews.
Questions
How is this problem going to be handled by the Apostles?
How are they going to face these concerns among the people caused by this growth?
How will they face these Growing Concerns?
The first thing we need to learn is to
Handle Growing Concerns with Discernment
Slide
Acts 6:1-2
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
They recognized that there was a problem, but also realized that God had called them to a specific role. Because of their faithfulness, they were seeing more and more people come to Christ, but it was bringing about new challenges.
Imagine the type of growth they experienced. Let me share with you a few verses in Acts that detail the number of disciples and the growth of the church.
Acts 1:15 – 120 people
Acts 2:41 – 3000 added on that day.
Acts 2:47 – Lord added daily those being saved.
Acts 4:4 – number of men grew to about 5,000
Acts 5:14 – more and more men and women believed and were added to their number.
Acts 6:1 – number of disciples increasing
There were more and more people being added to the church which means more and more people to minister to for the Apostles.
And it was beginning to get a little overwhelming for them.
And it was starting to show among the people. There were some who were starting to feel neglected and began to complain.
Murmuring - Grumbling
The Greek word used here for complain is gongusmos (gong-goos-mos'). It means murmuring or complaining but not openly, but loud enough to be heard. Grumbling.
The Greek Jews weren’t going to the Apostles with their complaint or concern. They were just grumbling and murmuring among the people.
This is just the kind of thing that Satan can use to destroy the church.
Attacks from the outside have not been working, so he works to attack and discourage those inside.
When people start to fall short of expectations, Satan doesn’t want the people to give the benefit of the doubt to the Apostles and think they need more help. Instead, Satan whispers in their ear that
“Nobody cares about you.”
“Look! Other people’s needs being met, but not yours.”
So they start murmuring.
Understand that they have legitimate concerns.
But, the way to handle it is not to murmur and complain among themselves or to others.
They needed to go directly to the Apostles and not let it just get back to the Apostles through the grape vine.
Apostles Face the Problems
Regardless of that however, leaders, no matter how they hear about problems, need to deal with and face those problems.
You can’t just ignore them.
The Apostles don’t ignore the problem. They hear about it and they begin to deal with it.
We also don’t see the Apostles complaining or resenting the people for complaining.
Leaders need to have thick skin and deal with issues even if others don’t handle things properly.
Leaders are called to lead.
We also see that they don’t over-react to the problem trying to just appease the people temporarily, but they realistically assess the problem
Dealing with issues takes some time
Notice that by the time they called together the church, they already had in mind the solution they would offer and the reasons for it.
While we read this section in just under a minute, there was definitely some time that passed from verse 1 to verse 7.
We live in a world where things happen fast. We send an email and expect a response within the hour. If we send a text, we expect immediate response.
Problems are not typically solved in a few minutes and in the age of the Apostles, nor are they typically solved well in a short time in our time.
We see what occurs in 7 short verses, but it may have taken weeks or maybe even months to get from verse 1 to verse 7.
Synopsis of events
The Apostles hear about the situation.
They meet together and talk through what God has called them to do and how they can best address the concerns.
They knew that God called them to lead the church, but their main priority if they were going to lead the church effectively was to be
praying and ministering the word,
sharing the gospel and teaching others sound doctrine.
So they knew that they could not take on this role. It would take them away from the role they were called to fill.
But who? Who could do this?
So they call together the disciples and lay out realistically what the problem is.
Acts 6:2
So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
We see that this is an issue that needs to be resolved, but it would not be right for them to neglect what God has called them to in ministering the word.
So they had realistically assessed the problem. Well, after assessing it realistically, they could now come up with solutions to solve it.
So they handled the growing concerns with discernment and they learned to
Handle Growing Concerns by Delegating
Slide 8
Acts 6:3-6
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
The Apostles did not try to do everything themselves. They recognized what the priorities were and focused on those and were willing to delegate to others.
Hickory Creek needs to Delegate to others
This is something that the church needs to heed. Like I said earlier, the events of these 7 verses did not happen overnight.
As we continue to grow here at Hickory Creek, we recognize that we are going to need more people serving in various roles.
We will need
more elders to help shepherd the people,
deacons helping to minister to and serve the people,
ministry leaders heading up the ministries we have and the new ministries that will be started,
And more staff to help administrate and facilitate the priorities that God is leading the elders to.
But who to delegate to?
Should it be to anyone who is willing or wants a role?
Well the Apostles lay down some requirements in Acts 6:3. They say
“Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.”
The word they translated “known” here is one that is better translated as “Known to have a good reputation”
Other translations, translate it as “men of good reputation” (NKJV) or “men of good Repute” (ESV)
So while the Apostles are getting ready to appoint men into these roles, they aren’t just looking to appoint any warm body, but they are looking to
Delegate to those who are of Good Reputation
Slide
This is basic. You don’t want someone in a position of responsibility who does not have a good reputation among the people they are serving.
The roles that the Apostles are looking to appoint people into are not just any roles.
These are the first, I believe, of those that will occupy the office of Deacon.
But even though these are roles of Deacons, I believe any position of responsibility in the church, ministry leaders, those who serve in visible positions, need to be people of good reputation.
Apply
How is your reputation among the people?
Now, I know there are times when people have a wrong view of a person, but then we need to work hard to correct that view.
This is something that I believe all Christians need to be striving for.
It doesn’t mean that we are sinless, but that when we have done wrong, we seek to correct that through repentance and asking forgiveness and through change so that we do have a good reputation.
If you want to be used powerfully by God in roles of influence, then protect your reputation by the power of God.
That really leads to the next qualification as well, because it is not only that those who have responsibilities in the church should have a good reputation, but we also want to
Delegate to those who are Full of the Spirit
Slide
Acts 6:3 - seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit …
This is not just signifying a Christian, but a Christian
who is walking in the ways of the Lord,
who is controlled by the Spirit.
Paul writes in Galatians 5:25 - Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
It isn’t enough simply to be a Christian. If you are going to be used by the Lord to be an example and lead others, then you need to be a Christian who is walking in the Spirit and power of the Lord.
You can’t be one person on Sunday and then someone else during the week.
You need to be full of the Spirit and walking in the Spirit daily.
Lastly, we need to
Delegate to those who are Wise
Slide
Acts 6:3 - seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom
When delegating tasks in the church or anywhere, you want to delegate to people who are wise.
What does a wise person look like?
Proverbs gives us much about what a wise person looks like.
We see in Proverbs that a wise person is Humble
Proverbs 11:2 tells us that “with humility comes wisdom.”
We see also that a wise person has self-control.
Proverbs 29:11 - A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
A wise person fears the Lord
Proverbs 9:10 - "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
So requirements to be a servant leader in the church are
to have a good reputation,
to let your walk and your talk be the same.
To be full of the Holy Spirit,
being controlled by the Spirit in the things that we do.
to be Wise,
showing yourself to be a person of humility, with self control, and a proper respect for the Lord.
When we face Growing concerns in the church, it is incumbent on the leaders to recognize the issue and to seek to alleviate those concerns by seeing that the tasks and ministry of the church be delegated to godly individuals so that ministry can be effective. That is the godly way to handle growth. It is not to do it yourself. It is to raise up others and give others with godly character, responsibilities to minister
When that goes on, we see that
Handling Growing Concerns in a godly way produces Disciples
Slide
Acts 6:7
So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
The church grew even more because they handled these growing concerns in a God honoring way.
That is our challenge here at Hickory Creek.
As we grow, we are going to
Need to raise up more leaders
Need more people to take on various ministry positions,
and for our elders and staff to best delegate to people who are
of good reputation
full of the Spirit and
wise
I know that as we grow, we are going to face times where we are not doing as well as we ought, where someone is getting overlooked, where someone falls through the cracks. I don’t want that to happen, but that is probably the reality.
When that does happen, the thing we would like for you to do at those times is come and express your concerns personally to the elders.
Don’t just complain about it. If there are gaps in the ministry to people, then we want to know about it.
It is an opportunity for you to minister
But, if you are seeing gaps in the ministry, then that also indicates opportunity for people to step up into service.
If God is showing you these gaps, perhaps He wants you to step up into some of those roles.
Ask yourself if you meet the requirements that God has laid down.
Am I a person of good reputation?
What do those who know me best think of me?
Am I full of the Spirit?
Not just someone who has received Christ as Savior, but someone who is controlled by the Spirit. Someone whose priority in life is to honor God.
Am I wise?
Am I a person who recognizes that when something is accomplished through me, it is really God who does it?
Am I a person who does not let my sinful nature control my actions?
Am I a person who has a healthy fear and respect for the Lord and His ways?
If you can answer those questions with a yes, God wants to use you and He can use you in major ways right now.
If you can’t answer yes to those questions right now, then I will tell you this. God wants to still use you, but He wants to grow you first so He can use you even more powerfully in the future.
Take a step into what God may be calling you to, to grow you.
Maybe it is serving in a small way right now.
Don’t think there are any jobs that are beneath you. Recognize in humility that God can use you and grow you through any service.
Maybe it is in getting connected.
He wants you to trust Him in making you into a godly man or woman that can be used to effectively be part of the body so that His kingdom continues to grow.
That starts with Receiving Jesus as Savior.
If you have never made a conscious decision to receive Jesus, why not do that today.
Or if you have received Jesus, but you haven’t been letting the Spirit of God control you, then repent and ask for His help in doing that.
Or maybe you have been here and see some areas where Hickory Creek is not being effective in ministering.
Come and talk to me or one of our elders or Deacons so that we can continue to be a church that honors God and handles growing Concerns in a godly way.
If want to begin your walk with Christ, express your heart to Him now and confess your belief as we close in prayer.
Pray.
