TAKE THE GOOD PROBLEMS
Acts 6.1-7
S: Leadership
C: Conflict
Th: A People with Purpose
Pr: WE CAN SOLVE CONFLICT.
KW: Stages
Type: Inductive
I. DISCERNMENT (1)
II. DECISIVENESS (2-3)
III. DELEGATION (4-5)
IV. DIVIDENDS (6-7)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Recognize that problems do occur with growth.
• Confront problems (do not ignore them).
• Work as a team.
• Watch God continue to bless.
Version: ESV
RMBC 08 January 06 AM
INTRODUCTION:
How are you with problems?
ILL Problem: guillotine
A minister, a lawyer, and an engineer are being sent to the guillotine.
The minister put his head onto the block, they pulled the rope, and nothing happened. Giving praise to God, he declared that he’d been saved by Divine intervention, and he is released.
The lawyer is then put onto the block, and again the rope did not release the blade. He then claimed he could not be executed twice for the same crime, and so, he is set free.
They grabbed the engineer next and just as he was about to have his head into the guillotine, he looked up at the release mechanism and said, “Wait a minute, I think I see your problem…”
Well, I guess the engineer needs a little work at dealing with his problems!
Sometimes I wonder if we just shouldn’t adapt a “no problem” attitude.
Let me give you an example with a “no problem quiz”:
ILL Problem: No Problem Quiz
For each of these questions, there is a "No Problem!" answer. How many will you have a problem with?
1. How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
This is no problem!
Concrete floors are very hard to crack!
2. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how hard would it be for four men to build it in ten hours?
Again, this is no problem!
After all, the wall is already built, so it takes no time at all.
3. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
No problem!
You will never find an elephant with one hand.
4. How can a man go eight days without sleep and still be well-rested?
Again, no problem!
He sleeps at night.
5. How can you easily determine how much dirt there is in an oblong hole three feet deep at one end and two feet deep at the other end, and four feet wide at one end and two feet wide at the other end?
Once again, no problem!
There is no dirt in the hole.
Those of you that are around me much, know that I have a habit of repeating little sayings.
One of my Decker sayings is…
“There are good problems and there are bad problems. Always take the good problems.”
When we come to our study of Acts 6 today, a problem in the church arises.
And if we are willing to look at fully, we discover that it ends being a good problem.
It is a good problem because of its cause.
It has been said that Christians become unchristian when they get organized.
There is no doubt that this is an overstatement, but there are times when it is true.
And when it is true, it is indeed a sad indictment.
Nevertheless, the nature of the church needs to be understood.
God has not designed the church to be an impersonal corporation, though it does happen.
Neither has God designed the church to be a free and loose commune, though this happens too.
It is much more accurate to describe the church as an organism – alive and functional – enlivened and powered by the Holy Spirit.
But note this – organisms require structure in order to function.
Think about your physical body.
What would it be like if it we were not organized?
We would just be glop!
So, let us consider our biblical story and understand how it unfolds today.
OUR STUDY:
First, we are presented with a problem, and the…
DISCERNMENT
…that follows.
1. When growth comes, conflict seems inevitable.
I just mentioned a moment ago that this was a good problem.
It is good because the church was growing.
The Lord was continuing to add to their number every day.
But when we come to chapter six, we find the church is going through some definite growing pains.
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.
A complaint comes up.
In fact, the original language speaks of it has murmuring, which means we have an unhealthy situation.
You have unhealth and dysfunction when people are complaining to one another, but are not communicating to the people that are in a position to do something about it.
Apparently, the early church was continuing a Jewish custom.
Every Friday, the Jewish custom was that a collection was made at the market and at private homes to help with the poor.
The collection was of both money and provisions.
Then, before sunset – before the beginning of shabat – the money and supplies were distributed.
If a person was completely unable to support their self (perhaps they are handicapped, etc.), they were given fourteen meals.
If they were bad off, but not completely, they were given less to meet the temporary need.
The early Christians were following this custom.
But this was not the only part of Jewish custom that had made its way into the church.
In the area of Palestine, two kinds of Jews existed: those that had been originally of the southern kingdom, and those of the northern kingdom.
Those that found the origination in the north were known as Hellenists, because they had grown up speaking Greek coming from all parts of the world (coming from the ten tribes who were dispersed and scattered, intermingling with other faiths and cultures).
Those that came from the south had grown up speaking Aramaic, which was closely connected to the Hebrew.
There was a tension between these two types of people of Jewish descent.
The south considered themselves pure and therefore a higher quality Jew than their counterparts.
It may be that church was unintentionally reflecting the Jewish tension, for those of the Greek-speaking background felt they were being slighted by those that were Hebrew-speaking.
Those that were poor and Greek- speaking were, at the very least, perceiving that they were being neglected and the Hebrews-speaking were being favored.
The text does not tell us what the cause is.
We are not told if it was deliberate or whether there was just poor administration.
But we do know this…
Spiritual warfare was going on in the early church.
Satan was trying to stop the church.
In chapter four, Peter and John were persecuted for their faith as they were brought before the council.
In chapter five, a corruption of character occurred when Ananias and Saphira were caught lying about their giving.
Now in chapter six, it is the distraction of dissension.
But Satan’s efforts fail, because of the…
DECISIVENESS
…of the apostles.
Because they did not do what we usually do.
2. When conflict comes, we often avoid it.
We don’t want to bother.
It seems like too much work.
So we avoid it.
We ignore it.
We resent it.
We hope it will all go away
ILL Problems: Sound of Music
In the musical, the Sound of Music, Maria runs away from Captain von Trapp and the children when it is revealed to her that she loves him, and vice versa.
Since it is her goal to be a nun, and she does not want to be interfering with plans of marriage that are already in the work, she returns to the abbey.
But it is there the Reverend Mother sends her back to the family to face her problems. She was not allowed to use the church as a place to hide.
The same is true of us.
We need to face the problems.
But if conflict is left unchecked, the purpose of the church gets lost.
The good news is not communicated because energy is wasted in not dealing with broken relationships.
But…
3. If we desire effectiveness, we will confront the issues.
And the opposite is true.
If we don’t care…
If we don’t care if we are effective with the good news, we will ignore the issues.
But note what the apostles do…
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. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men…”
What I like here is that they do not blame anyone for the problem.
Their approach is rather simple.
They look at the problem, evaluate it, and propose a solution.
And their solution is…
DELEGATION
They delegate because they realize that…
4. Leaders can’t do everything.
I think the apostles would be upset if we interpreted their action as if they were trying to get out of inferior work or that serving widows was beneath their dignity.
That would be a misunderstanding on our part, I believe.
Fortunately, what the apostles understood was that they could not be everything.
They could not do everything.
This kind of ministry was important, but it was not their calling.
What it did mean, in turn, is that it was someone else’s calling.
You know, when there is a problem in the church, leaders often fall prey to “loud things first.”
In other words, the “squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
But the church was growing so much, they could not attend to all the squeaky wheels.
The cares of the congregation were beyond their abilities.
But the needs were very real.
And administration was needed.
So, listen to their solution and its outcome…
“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. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 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. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
What we are taught here is that…
5. Leaders need to keep their priorities.
They understood rightly they had been given specific responsibilities and they had to keep at them.
They were to keep to the studying of Scripture so that they would proclaim and explain them well.
They were to keep to praying.
This applies to today as well.
We want our pastors and teachers to be permeated with prayer.
They must pray for otherwise the teaching will be superficial or dry.
They must pray so that they will be a pure channel for God’s truth.
In succeeding weeks, as I speak more about leadership roles in the church – deacons, elders, and pastors, we will delve into that with more depth.
The apostles, though, did rightly understand and expect that…
6. Those that minister must be of highest quality.
The word that is used throughout the text here is diaconos which will soon be used as a role as well – deacon.
What we do learn here is that character does matter.
These that are going to “deacon” – to minister – to serve – have to be men of integrity.
They would have to have a honorable reputation that possessed the complete confidence of the people.
Practically, they were going to handle money and goods, so trustworthiness was an absolute.
These ministers also had to be spiritual.
They wanted men that were yielded to the Holy Spirit.
In other words, the divine touch of God was to be evident on them.
They also had to be wise.
They had to be biblical thinkers who were competent in administration.
Since they were going to be handling delicate matters, the church could not afford to have leaders who were unwise and unlearned.
When we return to our exegetical study of Acts 6 and 7, we are going to note why Stephen heads the list.
He was a man full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit.
He already was set apart from the rest.
Standing back for a moment, how this all works out is remarkable.
The apostles, the church family and these new ministers work it all out to solve the problem.
And how does it happen?
It reminds me of…
ILL Trust: country inn
…the sign at the desk of a country inn in England:
"Please introduce yourself to your fellow guests since we are one big happy family. Do not leave valuables in your room."
Well, it does all work together because there is an element of trust.
And you will note it is a community effort.
The apostles offer the solution.
The community agrees with the solution, and they select their additional leaders.
The apostles then agree with their selection, appoint them and bless them.
There is coordination in the selection process.
There is cooperation.
So what happens next is the…
DIVIDENDS
For…
7. God blesses those that take care of relationships.
Note the newfound success…
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.
The conflict is solved.
The widows are helped.
New leaders are found.
And the apostles keep to what they are supposed to be doing.
Since they are able to keep their focus in the Word, its power is still on display, so much so that even the Jewish priests were receiving Christ.
APPLICATION:
So what do we learn today?
First, I hope that you note that…
WE CAN SOLVE CONFLICT.
Perhaps you should write that down next to the heading of application.
It is the point of the story.
Conflict does have to be left unresolved.
And neither should it.
We can solve conflict because…
1. We are a team.
We are not in competition with one another.
And if you are worried that someone is looking better than you, that is a wrong priority.
It needs to be fixed.
And if you are feeling slighted, that is also wrong and it needs to be fixed.
But if that is so, tell the right person, not to someone who is not in a position to help (otherwise it becomes complaining and gossip – especially if the talk becomes personal).
We really need to discipline ourselves here.
And if you think you can do it better than someone else, be careful.
Pride is at your door.
It needs to be fixed.
We are in this together.
We are called to be together.
So it is time to act like that.
For…
2. We need to take our place on the team (I Corinthians 15.58).
We each have valuable work to do for the cause of Christ.
This is why Paul writes…
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
We all have roles to play.
Some are public; some are private.
Some are in leadership; some are in following.
Some are in speaking; some are in living.
This is why we ask you from time to time to get involved in Network, because it helps you to be the right person, in the right place, for the right reason.
We need to have ministry like that, so that we will be connected together for the glory of God.
ILL Teamwork: Beauty of Unity
The late columnist Mike Royko wrote about a conversation he had with Slats Grobnik, a man who sold Christmas trees. Slats remembered one couple on the hunt for a Christmas tree. The guy was skinny with a big Adam’s apple and small chin, and she was kind of pretty. But both wore clothes from the bottom of the bin of the Salvation Army store.
After finding only trees that were too expensive, they found a Scotch pine that was okay on one side, but pretty bare on the other. Then they picked up another tree that was not much better - full on one side, scraggly on the other. She whispered something, and he asked if $3 would be okay. Slats figured both trees would not be sold, so he agreed.
A few days later Slats was walking down the street and saw a beautiful tree in the couple’s apartment. It was thick and well rounded. He knocked on their door and they told him how they worked the two trees close together where the branches were thin. Then they tied the trunks together. The branches overlapped and formed a tree so thick you couldn’t see the wire. Slats described it as "a tiny forest of its own."
"So that’s the secret," Slats asserts. "You take two trees that aren’t perfect, that have flaws, that might even be homely, that maybe nobody else would want. If you put them together just right, you can come up with something really beautiful."
Mike Royko, One More Time (University of Chicago Press, 1999), pp. 85-87
That’s the way the church is to be as well.
So, let me conclude with one final thought that challenges us to think a little deeper…
3. We can be a Trinitarian community when we are dedicated to unity.
God works together in perfect unity in the Trinity.
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit act in perfect harmony.
So let us understand that God blesses those that desire to be like Him and follow after that kind of unity – a community of unity.
I have been struggling in how to close this study.
Conflict happens.
We know that.
And we also know, it is wrong to leave it unresolved.
I confess, from time to time, I don’t get this right.
I hate conflict.
But I also know this.
If I love God, I will want to respond to His passionate love for us and make sure that His love and grace is heard and understood.
If I know in my mind a conflict exists, I need to allow God to move into my heart so that I can feel how it hurts Him.
Then we can act to solve.
If we are interested in God blessing and the church growing, we will resolve conflict.
It is that simple.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Resolve conflict in recognition that we desire to be a community of unity.
Do so, so that…
…the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
…and the love of God,
…and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit will be with us all.
Amen.
RESOURCES:
Books:
Barclay, William. The Acts of the Apostles. Revised ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1977.
Bruce, F. F. Commentary on the Book of the Acts The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1975.
MacArthur, John, Jr. Acts 1-12 The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.
Stott, John R. W. The Spirit, the Church, and the World. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990.
SermonCentral:
Friesen, Sheldon Ultimate Timing
Hamby, John The Complications of Multiplication
Holwick, David Willing Waiters
Kane, Jim The Church: God’s Imperfect People
Kelly, Chip When Everybody Plays Their Position
Piper, John Serving Widows, Preaching the Word and Winning Priests
