Forget what you know about the church. Make your mind blank. Imagine that you have never heard about Christians. I know that I am asking for the impossible. We have too much history. Even those who are quite new to church participation have too much exposure to come without any preconceived notions. Yet, trying to unlearn some of what we know is what we need to do as we read the New Testament book of Acts. For this story of the early church should help us to think rightly about the church and about what it means to be a Christ follower. Often it is what we already know, or think that we know, that keeps us from seeing things rightly.
Therefore, as I read the first seven verses of the sixth chapter of the Book of Acts try to imagine that you know nothing about the church.
1 Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. 2 And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, 4 while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word." 5 What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (NRSV)
Luke reports that the church is growing. People are being drawn to these Christ-followers. They are receiving the good news. People are being healed and made new and others are seeing that and are being drawn to this fledgling movement. But growth always has it problems. The particular problem for the church at this time is that food is not being distributed evenly. Remember that the first disciples were so moved by God's grace to them, that they gladly shared their possessions with the community. It was distributed by the apostles to those who had need. Widows were particularly needy, given that it was a partriarchical society, women were often ineligible to receive an inheritance. Therefore, widows depended upon the generosity of others.
These Greek-speaking widows would be even more vulnerable as they often had no extended family to depend upon. Many Jews who lived around the Roman Empire would retire in Jerusalem. So if you were a wife, whose husband died after retiring to Jerusalem from Greece or present-day Turkey, your situation might be quite desperate.
It is remarkable that giving and sharing and sacrificing for those who have less has been a mark of the church from its earliest days. Their faith makes them generous people. This continues to be the case even today.
In this political season we have become accustomed to viewing the nation as divided between red and blue states. There really is a divide between Americans, that is between givers and non-givers, those who are charitable and those who aren't. Arthur C. Brooks has spent years researching this trend, and even he was surprised by what he found.
Brooks is Professor of Public Administration and Director of the Nonprofit Studies Program at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He holds a PhD and MPhil in policy analysis, and an MA and BA in economics. Over the past 8 years his research has discovered this divide, which he published in a book called, Who Really Cares: America's Charity Divide.
"These are not the sort of conclusions I ever thought I would reach when I started looking at charitable giving in graduate school, 10 years ago," he writes in the introduction. "I have to admit I probably would have hated what I have to say in this book."
His research was so clear that he concludes that there really are two different America's or cultures. In the uncharitable nation reside some 75 million Americans who never donate their money and 130 million who never donate their time. Meanwhile, Americans who give their time and money tend to give alot of both. Thus, Brooks concludes there is a "very bright line" between "Charitable America" and "Selfish America." What would cause such a divide? What is it that motivates folks to give and to sacrifice?
Drawing on ten data sets, Brooks finds that religiosity is among the best predictors of charitable giving. Religious Americans are not only much more likely to give money and volunteer their time to religious and secular institutions, they are a lot more likely to provide aid to family members, return incorrect change, help a homeless person, and donate blood. In fact, despite expecting the opposite, Brooks concluded: "I have never found a measurable way in which secularists are more charitable than religious people."
Moreover, those who insist that "beliefs don't matter as long as you're a good person" are not as good as those who do think beliefs matter. In other words, just a commitment to being a good person is not enough of a motivator. In fact those people that are proponents of the government redistributing income are much less charitable personally.
If you look back to the New Testament, you see the early Christians being transformed by the grace and good news of Jesus. They have received the message that God gave his Son and his salvation and his Spirit for them, even though they didn't deserve it. He pour this new life into their hearts as in an unearned act of charity. And it changed them. They are moved to sacrifice and to give to each other and to those who have need. This is the power of the gospel in the early church and today. We as a church and a community of Christ-followers should be marked as those who are moved by the situation of the less fortunate and are open-handed with all of our resources. Our faith must make us generous.
We learn something else from the reaction of the early believers to this situation that also pertains to us today as we are about this project called Church. We learn not just about their heart for ministry and service but also how they thought about and organized themselves to carry out the ministry.
For some reason, these Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily food distribution. Other Greek-speakers complained against the native Hebrew speakers about this situation as it was unjust. There was no prejudice going on here; the load on the apostles had just become too much. They were unable to preach, and to pray, and to be in charge of the distribution of food and the care of the widows.
The apostles called the community together and put forth a plan, which was that seven people be selected, who had demonstrated wisdom and were full of the Spirit. These seven would be put in charge of serving the tables while the apostles focused on the preaching of the good news and on devoting themselves to prayer.
When I read this passage I am struck by how different the organization of this church is from most churches that we are used to. Those who have been around church a long time have been trained to think that it is the pastor's job to do the ministry -- he's the minister after all! The pastor does the ministry and the laity receive the ministry. Why? Because the pastor is paid and educated. It's the pastor's job to preach and visit and organize and lead and keep track of folks, etc.
But this is not the idea that we see in this passage. The work of ministry is the task of the whole congregation. Initially, people looked to the apostles for leadership in many areas of the church, but this soon became unworkable. Very quickly they moved to a division of labor. The apostles needed to be spending their time studying the Scriptures, praying and proclaiming the good news. If they got derailed from that, they whole church would get derailed. Others in the community could tend to the care of the needy, and so other ministers were appointed.
There is a wonderful and illuminating parallel use of words in this story. The seven are commissioned to "serve tables" while the apostles are to "serve the word." Both groups are servants, or we could call them ministers, since the word "to minister" means to serve. We learn from this that there is no hierarchy of jobs in the church. Each act of "service" is ministry, whether you are preaching or keeping the nursery, whether you are leading a small group or setting up chairs. We are all ministers.
The apostle Paul, in his letters later in the New Testament, develops a whole theology around this view of the church. The church is never where a few people "minister" to the rest, but a community where everyone ministers to one another. Paul gave us the image of the human body, where each part plays an essential role, whether the hand, the foot, or the eye. All of different but all are equally important. These means that you too have a unique part and a unique role. You are a part of the body.
For many of us, it is our past experience with the church that keeps us from operating with this truth in mind. We have been conditioned to think that unless the pastor makes the visit, it doesn't really count. Or, unless the pastor teaches the Bible study, the spirit can't really work. This is unbiblical thinking about the church. We have become accustomed to thinking of the pastor as some kind of professional that renders a service that we pay for, instead of one person exercising a key function in the life of the church.
So all in all, I am trying to get you to think less of me as your pastor. I know that for some of you that will be impossible -- you couldn't think any less of me than you already do. If that is the case, I guess that I am speaking to the rest of you.
This passage provides a great context to talk about the new Congregational Care Team. This is the group of folks from the church that are gathering together to use their gifts of mercy in order to care for those in need and to strengthen the community. They are offering their time and talents to Christ for the sake of his people. If you get a call or a card from this team, you have been cared for by the church just as if I had done it. In fact, it might be better than if I had done it. I have no doubt that folks whom God has called and gifted will do a better job than I could do.
See, I do not have those kinds of spiritual gifts. I am much better at preaching, at teaching, and at leading than I am at caring. I tend to think more about the life of the community as a whole. I am constantly thinking and praying about where God is leading us and what decisions we need to make, and so sometimes I can't keep in my head all of the issues that people have going in their families and at work and with themselves. Fortunately, I don't have to. The Congregational Care Team will help us as a community to tend to those things. Then, we don't have to neglect either the concerns of the whole community or the concerns of the individuals. That would be a horrible decision to have to make.
So, if you have a heart for those who are going through struggles and are facing problems and sorrows in their lives, you need to consider being on this team. For God calls each one of us to serve him and to contribute to the common good of the community, which we call the church. If you are interested talk to me, talk to my wife Kari, or talk to Cathy Duncan. We want to help you use your gifts, so we all can benefit. Not only will our church be stronger, but our witness to those outside of the church will be more effective.
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is based on the true story of Gladys Aylward (played by Ingrid Bergman), a faithful missionary in a remote Chinese village who helped run an inn for traveling mule drivers. The China Inland Mission Center in England refused to sponsor her due to her lack of vocation and experience, so in 1932 she set out on her own, believing with all her heart it was God's call on her life.After years of service, the Chinese Mandarin (governor) of the town of Yang Cheng (played by Robert Donat) made Gladys the official "foot inspector," a position that required her to convince the town's aristocracy to cease the injurious tradition of binding young women's feet to prevent them from growing. Because of her demonstrated love, she was given the name Jennai, meaning "one who loves people."When the Japanese army invades northern China, the village Mandarin, elders, and Jennai enter a conference room and take a seat around a large circular table. The Mandarin offers a toast saying farewell to the past: "In a little while we must leave our city, perhaps for years, perhaps forever. For those of us who are old, certainly forever."Elders of Yang Cheng, I thank you for your help in this time of trouble. But we were born to our trouble. There is one who has taken it upon herself not from necessity, but from love." He stands up and all the elders follow. Jennai, however, remains seated. "Jennai, we thank you from those who are not here, whose children you have taken as your own, for the poor, and the sick, and the afflicted, from all the people of Yang Cheng, for the past and for the future."I honor you for your strength. I wish to share with you the faith from which it comes."Jennai, realizing he is talking about her Christian faith, is overcome with emotion."City recorder, close the book of Yang Cheng with this entry: As a sign of respect for the honored foot inspector of this city, the Shian Sang of Yang Cheng has become a Christian."Jennai lifts her head slightly and begins to weep openly. "Oh, I thank you for this great gift.""Jennai," the Mandarin says as he puts his hand on her shoulder, "accept my gift. It is offered with love."
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (20th Century Fox, 1958), directed by Mark Robson; submitted by Jerry De Luca, Montreal West, Quebec, Canada
We all have struggles and suffering in life. What really stands is when when someone willingly takes on the suffering of another. This is what made such an impression in this village. It also made a difference in the early church.
The last line of our text reports the following:
7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (NRSV)
It is love -- generously given -- that the world needs. If we really understand what Christ has done for us, we should be moved to give to others, to minister to others. Each one of us is a minister and each must share their gifts and talents. And people will be drawn to us as well.