Lead
Acts 6:1-7
The impact of Jesus on the world is limited to
the impact of His followers on the world
Follow
Influence
Connect
Lead
When God’s hand is on a church, there will be more:
1. Followers v.1a
2. Ministry v.1b
Human needs are always spiritual.
3. Leaders vv.2-6
Strategic leaders see the big picture and direct others accordingly
Tactical leaders understand the big picture and see how their piece fits in the puzzle
God does the calling:
Burning Desire
Appropriate Gifting
Godly Affirmation
Timely Opportunity
4. Impact v.7
Biography on Eisenhower: though he was the master designer of the D-Day invasion strategy and planning, he well knew that the success depended on the captains and lieutenants. In fact, after the dust settled, almost every general involved and the overwhelming opinion of historians is that it was the captains and lieutenants on the ground, improvising and persisting that carried the allies to success in June of 1944.
Turn to Acts 6:1-7 This morning we continue our series on the impact Jesus has had and is having on the world. How has He had impact? He’s made it through people like you and me. Crazy thought: The impact of Jesus on the world is limited to the impact of His followers on the world. What kind of impact are you making for Jesus in your world?
The book of Acts serves as a guide for Jesus followers in making that impact. To make an impact, we must Follow Him. Followers, not fans, are the ones God uses to make an impact. To make an impact we must Influence those in our lives. What would happen if you got up each morning praying that you would be an influencer for Him that day? To make an impact, you MUST Connect with other believers. The Christ-life is not a Lone Ranger existence; the concept of biblical community requires that believers gain strength and protection when they connect with a small group of Christ-followers on a regular basis.
This morning we see another directive the increases our impact for Jesus, and that is we must Lead Do you see yourself as a leader? You should.
READ Acts 6:1-7 (on screen)
Think about what a leader is; what he/she does:
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way (John Maxwell)
Leadership is influence (Russ Barksdale)
The leaders is the one who has the courage to act on what he/she sees (Andy Stanley)
Everything rises and falls on leadership (John Maxwell)
That last quote is captivating. Everything rises and falls on leadership. A church’s impact on its community and the world depends on the kind, the number, and the quality of its leaders. Let me ask you a question: can a church have too many great leaders? Absolutely not. Now when you think leaders in a church, you probably think about the pastors and other high profile individuals. But the truth is, there are different kinds of leaders, leading in different environments and at different levels. And the church is always in need of more and better leaders. No matter who you are, if you call Rush Creek home, this message is for you. It’s time you stepped up your game; it’s time you became a better leader in your home and in your church.
The early church in the book of Acts was experiencing growing pains. God was sending them people just like He’s sending people to us.
When God’s hand is on a church, there will be more:
1. Followers v.1a “In those days, as the number of the disciples was multiplying”
How many of you are new to Rush Creek; started coming in the past 6-8 months? God continues to send us people. Some are seekers: never really had a relationship with God and are seeking how to know Him. Some are dechurched: they were involved in a church when they were younger, but drifted away and now want to make church a staple in their lives. Some are just moving into our area; they were in a church where they moved from and they want to find a vibrant church to plug into. Whatever the reason, God is sending us more people all the time.
Not just our campus, but the other two campuses. Our Mansfield West campus is up about 12% over last year! Exciting!
Our Mira Lagos campus is exploding! They had 800 this past Sunday. So far this year they are averaging 30% more than the same period last year. They’re talking about going to 3 services after the 1st of the year.
Now the cynic may say: “well, sounds like you’re just interested in numbers Pastor.” You bet I’m interested in numbers. There’s a whole book in the Bible called Numbers. How many times in the Bible does God make sure people are counted? From the number of people on the Ark to the number of soldiers Gideon had to the number of people Jesus fed on the mountainside, God cares about numbers. Why? Because each one represents a human being with needs.
When God’s hand is on a church, there will be more followers. And, there will be more..
2. Ministry v.1b “there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution”
Remember what we talked about last week: that in the early days of the church, there were Jews in from all over the Mediterranean world for Passover and Pentecost. The early church grew exclusively at first through the Jews, both local Jews and diaspora Jews. They physical need was such that many were selling property and giving the cash to the apostles to buy food.
Ministry is all about meeting needs. Sometimes those needs are physical, sometimes those needs are relational. But Human needs are always spiritual. That’s what ministry is all about: meeting human needs. And the more people God sends our way, the more needs we have. And the more needs we have, guess what? The more leaders we need.
3. Leaders vv.2-6 “Then the Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching about God to handle financial matters. 3 Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching ministry.” 5 The proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.”
Although the widow’s needs were important to the apostles, their role was not to address it in a hands-on manner. They needed someone else to address and handle it. Here we see the difference between strategic leaders and tactical leaders.
Strategic leaders see the big picture and direct others accordingly
Tactical leaders understand the big picture and see how their piece fits in the puzzle. **** (Can I get a picture of a piece of a puzzle going in to complete a puzzle?)
A church has to have lots of both kinds of leaders. Lots of strategic leaders to see and guide and motivate. Lots of tactical leaders to implement the vision.
Remember one of the definitions of leadership? Leadership is influence. Because God is sending us more people and giving us more ministry, we need more leaders. Leaders influencing young children for Jesus. Leaders influencing students for Jesus. Leaders influencing young couples for Jesus. Leaders influencing senior adults for Jesus. Leaders influencing the overwhelmed for Jesus.
Tonight is the GroupLink that we talked about last week. Do you know how many new Life Groups we could launch if all you folks turn up tonight? Over 40 new groups because we have over 40 new leaders willing to influence a small group for Jesus.
Brian McFadden share: ministering as a layman; tactical; then strategic
How many Brians are out there?
God does the calling: (Build slide)
Burning Desire
Appropriate Gifting
Godly Affirmation
Timely Opportunity
My call
4. Impact v.7 “So the preaching about God flourished, the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.”
That was no slight deal. Not just regular, garden variety Jews were professing Jesus as the Messiah. There were many of the priests, the very ones who convinced Pilate to crucify Jesus, were now professing Jesus as the Messiah.
When God’s hand is on a church, there are more followers. Because there are more followers, there are more needs and there is more ministry. Because there is more ministry, there needs to be more leaders. And the result is a greater impact for the King and His kingdom.
If you are a Christ-follower, God has called you to lead, to influence for Jesus. It may be in the nursery, singing praise songs over the bed babies. It may be mentoring a student. It may be teaching ESL in our compassion center. But maybe, just maybe God is calling you to career ministry.
Regardless, the only sane response to His call must be YES. Have you been telling no? Not a more insane response to the God who made you and saved you than to say no to Him.
(Band come to place. Have various staff around the room, when “Give myself away” begins, people who want to be a better leader go to them for prayer. Come to me if you’re sensing God’s call to career ministry.)
