Challenges of Church growth
Read together: Acts 6: 1-7
Notes:
It is interesting to note that serving requires spirit and wisdom. When people step up to serve it releases everyone into calling and
enables growth and salvation. This is the journey we are on as church together.
For a long time the work of church has been left to professionals – the danger of church is that people see those of us in leadership
and think that the work of the church is ours – the even worse danger is for those of us who work for the church thinking we ought
to do the work because we’re on staff, rather than giving others the room to step up – maybe a slight martyr mentality, needing to
be seen to be integral and important to the running of everything – that things would fall apart if we weren’t there. I know I’ve
been guilty of this at times. What is your experience of this? Do you feel there is opportunity and room to step up?
The truth is though that we cannot do everything – nor are we meant to. We see in this passage that the early church suffered
with the same thing – the church has grown and there are those that are feeling neglected – the apostles (church leaders) are
being pulled all over the place to meet needs whereas their calling is to lead the church, teach people, help people walk in the
revelation of God.
Rather than get trapped they look to release people to fulfil the serving roles to ensure they themselves are free to follow their
calling.
They called people to step up – those filled with the Spirit and wisdom (not just anyone who wanted some recognition) – they
served, not necessarily in glamorous roles, but to serve the big picture and release their leaders. Maybe being filled with the Spirit
and having wisdom is necessary to serve effectively, because it isn’t always easy, it often feels unseen, it isn’t always given public
recognition, reward or encouragement, and it can feel like we’re not doing what God has called us to personally.
There are two things I want to pick up on – firstly serving, secondly being released into our calling and destiny – which flows out of
serving. We have seen already that the fear of God through miraculous signs and wonders lead to salvation and growth – today
we’re exploring another key.
Like the early church, we too need people to step up – to serve the family, serving the church and the work of the church – putting
out chairs, being welcoming and hospitable, joining the PA team, being behaviour coaches in schools, giving debt advice, giving out
food, joining one of the family outreach teams, helping with admin – whatever it might be.
There are many who have time and capacity to serve in these areas – as we do it releases right alignment, we serve the big picture
vision ushering in growth and salvation.
I want us to consider how we can serve – the danger is that those of us with calling miss out as we serve and fill the gaps instead.
Bob is called to be an evangelist – to reach people on the estate, but over the years because he has seen people saved has ended
up serving them as pastor – Bob needs to be released again – when he is allowed to do what he is called and gifted for this will
release salvation and growth.
I have a calling, and hopefully some gifting, in helping the church engage creatively with society, in reshaping and reforming
church, encouraging and growing people to step into calling for God and releasing people into their destinies – the danger is in
starting to do these things, without others stepping up I can easily get caught in stuff like moving chairs around. Some joke that
those who work for the church are seen by those in the world as spending most of their time on the golf course having an easy life,
church members see us as holy – spending our time in prayer and bible study, but the reality is mostly moving chairs around.
There is a sad truth in jokes like this that those who have been appointed and commissioned by God and the church to lead the
church forwards, building people up and releasing them into their destinies, transforming the world around, are generally trapped
in doing things like setting up for meetings, having endless debates about church buildings or trivial decisions.
This is not an elitist family with paid staff, butlers and maids, to do the chores - we all have a role to play in serving the family and in
doing so we release one another into our calling and gifting.
In a family all of us have to play a role in serving one another for the sake of the whole. When Mel and I take the kids back to see
their grandparents we don’t just turn up, gate crash their house and sit back doing nothing – we help with the washing up, tidy the
house, make the tea and coffee – and the grandparents pitch in and help with the kids. Not all of these things are things we want
to do – I don’t know many people who like washing up, some do, but I don’t – that doesn’t mean we don’t do it. I don’t have a
calling to wash up. I don’t particularly enjoy it, but there is a need to serve, because I am called to be family and that is part of it.
Part of wisdom and the spirit is seeing beyond the task to seeing the purpose – you may not be called to put chairs out or serve tea
and coffee, but you are called to this family – the family that has come to town. As we serve one another we create a loving
welcoming environment that attracts the attention of the angelic, releases heaven and draws in the community around.
The most spirit-led, wisdom filled person in history was Jesus and we read in Philippians 2 that the example he gave us was one of
serving. Read / consider / discuss.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
did not
consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the
very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
Phil 2:5-7
Are we like this?
There has to be a place for serving in our lives - there are some roles that need doing regardless of what we’re called to and the
attitude of Christ being servant of all needs to be the attitude of all of us - we should be seeking to outdo one another in good
works, not siting back and seeing if someone else will do it so we don’t have to.
The spirit and wisdom are key to ensure that we remain balanced in this, not getting so stuck in with serving that we do so at the
expense of any higher calling – be that our destiny in God – e.g. staying to put out the chairs because no-one else will, when God
has called us to move overseas, or at the expense of our family life which must be prioritised – the way we do family, honouring
our wives and husbands, being good parents, or children is a prophetic sign to the world.
Having said this, serving could well be the key to seeing us released into our own destiny and calling in God. There is something
that happens in us as we humble ourselves and serve the body, serving the larger vision, serving someone else’s vision that
transforms our attitudes and our understanding of the heart of God towards us and helps us to see the bigger picture more clearly,
recognising where we fit. Those called to serve in this passage in Acts came from no-where but we see Stephen going on and
serving God in bigger ways –declaring the truth of who Jesus is in the most hostile of environments – part of the conversion
process for Paul who witness heaven open over Stephen as he was stoned to death. Paul, of course, is then probably had the
biggest impact on the world outside of Jesus himself, taking the gospel to the gentiles, and writing most of the New Testament.
Philip later mentioned in Acts 21 is operating in his own ministry as evangelist in Samaria.
Procorus seems to end up as Bishop of Nicomedia in Bithynia.
Nicanor became a missionary to Cyprus.
Parmenas preached all over Asia Minor (modern day Turkey)
Less is known about the others – but these men of God stepped into their calling through stepping into a serving role first.
These 7 men aren’t the only examples of this principle in action – take Joshua for example – Moses servant for many years, serving
him, being in the presence of God, laying aside his own dreams and ambitions, then raised up to lead an entire nation. Elisha –
servant of Elijah – the man that washed his hands. His own ministry was laid aside in service but then he was raised up by God and
given a double portion of anointing, doing twice the number of miracles that Elijah performed. David spent years, even after being
anointed and called to be King in his own right, serving King Saul. His heart attitude of not pushing himself forward and going after
his own calling, but serving in the role he already had been given demonstrated his understanding of right authority and (along
with his worshipping) was part of why God was able to declare him to be a man after his own heart.
Many of us here are called to great things – many of us are gifted. This isn’t enough for God – he wants men and women of
character, with good attitudes who reflect his heart.
What are we called to? What are we gifted for?
Do we have character and attitude to match? What things need to shift?
In serving we have the opportunity to develop our character and attitude – it has certainly helped shape who I am, it has helped
me see more of the picture than simply pursuing what was on my heart could have achieved, it has embedded in me a heart for
unity and partnership that probably wouldn’t have been there otherwise – most likely I would have gone off and been
independent, building up my own thing, my own ministry.
It is as we serve in the day-to-day roles of being family together, with all the things we do as family, that we will find the destiny
and calling of us all being released, because in serving and in being family – preferring one another, demonstrating our love for
each other we are changed and our attitudes and heart align more fully with Heaven and this naturally attracts the presence of
God.
And as we all know it is the presence of God that changes things – it is the presence of God that brings transformation to the world
around us, releases the miraculous and brings salvation.
The story of Acts 6 is that as those within the church body were raised up to serve the church, caring for those that were part of
their community, the apostles were released into fulfilling their calling and salvation and growth were the result. If we want to see
Salvation and growth, which I believe we do, one of the keys to this is our serving. Partly because, as Jesus himself said, that as we
love one another, as we build community together, that is how people will know our identity in him – it attracts and wins people
because people see a community that is different to that of the world, a community that they want to be part of and take their
place within – not just to be loved and supported, but a place to make their contribution and for it to be valid, to be part of
something bigger and purposeful. The other part is that in serving the bigger picture, being part of the whole it changes our
attitude and heart, it helps us see that the thing that is our thing, the thing that God has called us to is not the whole thing – it is
part of a bigger plan and purpose – in discovering this we are more able to be released into our own calling releasing the
transformation of God through our lives.
Are we able to see the bigger picture and where we fit?
The challenge for us then is how we respond to this. To serve in this way, to have the same attitude as Jesus requires us to be
secure in our identity and calling, to be Spirit and wisdom filled and to prefer the needs of others over our own, maybe serving
someone else’s vision.
Are we willing to humble ourselves and place our hopes and dreams into the hands of God for the sake of the bigger picture?
Are we willing to release control and take the risk of letting go of making our dreams and callings come to pass in order to serve?
Are we willing to trust God to do the rest?
We know there are opportunities to serve and be family together that welcomes others in - from putting out chairs to offering
hospitality on a Sunday or in our outreach activities to giving out food to the needy.
In Acts 6 we see the apostles lay hands on those that are put forward to serve – they were already spirit filled (that was a selection
criteria) the laying on of hands was a commissioning and anointing, a conferring of authority for the task. If you want to respond
today – if you want to step up and serve this community for the sake of the bigger picture, for growth and salvation, releasing all of
us into our destiny and calling then I’d like you to come forward and as we hand back to the band I’m going to ask those who are
part of the leadership team to come and lay hands on you.
Where can you serve, what part can you play? There will be a role for everyone who wants one!
Email [email protected] if you want to respond by finding out where you can serve the family and all we do for one another and
the communities we serve as a church.