Be discontent about injustice!
"And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people."
(Acts 4: 1-8)
Captain Sensible writes: Continuing the theme of contentment, never must Christians "be content" with an unjust situation that they can do something about themselves. Yes, pray. But also God has designed us with a body and a brain to actually do something about injustices ourselves.
I think the above passage has several vitally important things to say to us.
1) Note there was a legitimate complaint. The Greek widows were being unfairly treated and not receiving their fair share of the provisions. So did the apostles tell them that they should "be content"? After all, Paul was content even when hungry, right? Of course not. These widows were not imprisoned, nor was there a famine. There was no need to be content with injustice from within the church! They did not scold the Greek widows over a lack of contentment! Rather they decided action must be taken.
2) But then the question arose, who should take charge of seeing that justice was done? They decided that it wouldn't be right for them to "serve tables" and neglect the spreading of the word of God. Instead they called all the disciples together, and told them to choose seven men of "honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom". There are some important lessons here:
3) How much time do church leaders spend doing the equivalent of "serving tables", instead of their primary focus - spreading the word? I think the answer is far too much! That way they busy themselves without actually having to come into contact with unbelievers - something that one leader at least had the honesty to admit to me actually scares him! Far easier for them to get involved in church building meetings and meetings with other church leaders, and generally ensure that they are not guilty of idleness yet are able to neglect their primary role: reaching out to the men in the world.
4) Notice that seven men were to be "appointed" over this ministry. Not women. Men. Even though it was a "women's ministry" no less! Also note, there was no "waiting on the Lord to place it on their hearts". Nope, the job needed doing. Men were appointed to do it.
5) These were not just any men. They were qualified for the task. Namely, of "honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom". Wisdom? Is that a qualification of leadership? Not if you look around at the men (and women!) being offered leadership roles today! It's quite breathtaking really to see the quality of those being offered leadership positions within our churches and local ministries these days. Sadly, it is not much of an exaggeration to say that a lack of wisdom, disbelief in the Bible, an ungodly lifestyle and a pattern of repeated sexual immorality, appear to be the necessary qualifications for a leadership role.
6) Perhaps there are some small churches where they cannot summon seven men that fit the godly criteria? In the UK, that is perfectly possible. However, in most cases that is not the real problem. There are at least seven godly men in most congregations. The problem is, they are never asked to help! Instead, their wives (and of course the godly men - unless very young - are always married) seem to take over. This must not be allowed to happen. The role of a wife is primarily to help her husband. She should be encouraging him, not taking over his role within the church.
7) Finally, how does all this apply to the problem that we face in our churches regarding singleness?
Proposed solution
a) Church leaders need to appoint "seven" men (relative to the size of the church) whose primary goal is to ensure that single Christian women get married. The first thing they need to do is disciple the single men in the congregation very closely to discover why they are not married and get to the root cause of the problem. Has it come about from bad theology? Is it demonic oppression? A result of past hurts? Generational sin? (Which may manifest itself in the divorce of their parents that has given them an unhealthy view of marriage.) Sins of the flesh? Or, most probably, is it a combination of the above? Whatever it is, it is their job to minister God's healing deliverance so the men are free and able to seek a wife.
b) Secondly, they should liaise with other churches, starting in their own area, to see if there are ways in which they can bring the single men and women together. This may involve initiating a regular programme of social activities, but crucially, the men will be closely monitored to see that they don't become habitual attendees that never seem to find a woman to marry! Again, the root of the problem must be addressed if that is happening.
c) There are some single men and women who may need a little extra help. They may be particularly shy or awkward socially, and here the ministry team can take things a little further and actually set up possible matches, as the chances are they would not manage this on their own. What a worthwhile ministry to be a part of!
d) Men's outreach must be made a priority generally, as the current situation is such that even if every single Christian man in our churches was handed a wife on a plate (and some of them seem to expect God to do this!) there will still be some women left single and barren. This is unacceptable. So the singles ministry team of men should liaise closely with the men's outreach team (which of course no church must be without!!!) and not be afraid of inviting the men they are outreaching to, to the singles' socials. Of course, this is a major hurdle for most Christians. But this is one area where I think we all need to take a leap of faith. The men that make up the Body of Christ are out there. We should not be afraid of introducing a believing man who is "unchurched" to our single women. The love of a good woman is a mightily powerful thing! And we simply cannot continue neglecting to outreach to a whole generation of men. That's inexcusable on any level.
So there we have it...I really think we need to start the ball rolling now.
Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people."
(Acts 4: 1-8)
Captain Sensible writes: Continuing the theme of contentment, never must Christians "be content" with an unjust situation that they can do something about themselves. Yes, pray. But also God has designed us with a body and a brain to actually do something about injustices ourselves.
I think the above passage has several vitally important things to say to us.
1) Note there was a legitimate complaint. The Greek widows were being unfairly treated and not receiving their fair share of the provisions. So did the apostles tell them that they should "be content"? After all, Paul was content even when hungry, right? Of course not. These widows were not imprisoned, nor was there a famine. There was no need to be content with injustice from within the church! They did not scold the Greek widows over a lack of contentment! Rather they decided action must be taken.
2) But then the question arose, who should take charge of seeing that justice was done? They decided that it wouldn't be right for them to "serve tables" and neglect the spreading of the word of God. Instead they called all the disciples together, and told them to choose seven men of "honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom". There are some important lessons here:
3) How much time do church leaders spend doing the equivalent of "serving tables", instead of their primary focus - spreading the word? I think the answer is far too much! That way they busy themselves without actually having to come into contact with unbelievers - something that one leader at least had the honesty to admit to me actually scares him! Far easier for them to get involved in church building meetings and meetings with other church leaders, and generally ensure that they are not guilty of idleness yet are able to neglect their primary role: reaching out to the men in the world.
4) Notice that seven men were to be "appointed" over this ministry. Not women. Men. Even though it was a "women's ministry" no less! Also note, there was no "waiting on the Lord to place it on their hearts". Nope, the job needed doing. Men were appointed to do it.
5) These were not just any men. They were qualified for the task. Namely, of "honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom". Wisdom? Is that a qualification of leadership? Not if you look around at the men (and women!) being offered leadership roles today! It's quite breathtaking really to see the quality of those being offered leadership positions within our churches and local ministries these days. Sadly, it is not much of an exaggeration to say that a lack of wisdom, disbelief in the Bible, an ungodly lifestyle and a pattern of repeated sexual immorality, appear to be the necessary qualifications for a leadership role.
6) Perhaps there are some small churches where they cannot summon seven men that fit the godly criteria? In the UK, that is perfectly possible. However, in most cases that is not the real problem. There are at least seven godly men in most congregations. The problem is, they are never asked to help! Instead, their wives (and of course the godly men - unless very young - are always married) seem to take over. This must not be allowed to happen. The role of a wife is primarily to help her husband. She should be encouraging him, not taking over his role within the church.
7) Finally, how does all this apply to the problem that we face in our churches regarding singleness?
Proposed solution
a) Church leaders need to appoint "seven" men (relative to the size of the church) whose primary goal is to ensure that single Christian women get married. The first thing they need to do is disciple the single men in the congregation very closely to discover why they are not married and get to the root cause of the problem. Has it come about from bad theology? Is it demonic oppression? A result of past hurts? Generational sin? (Which may manifest itself in the divorce of their parents that has given them an unhealthy view of marriage.) Sins of the flesh? Or, most probably, is it a combination of the above? Whatever it is, it is their job to minister God's healing deliverance so the men are free and able to seek a wife.
b) Secondly, they should liaise with other churches, starting in their own area, to see if there are ways in which they can bring the single men and women together. This may involve initiating a regular programme of social activities, but crucially, the men will be closely monitored to see that they don't become habitual attendees that never seem to find a woman to marry! Again, the root of the problem must be addressed if that is happening.
c) There are some single men and women who may need a little extra help. They may be particularly shy or awkward socially, and here the ministry team can take things a little further and actually set up possible matches, as the chances are they would not manage this on their own. What a worthwhile ministry to be a part of!
d) Men's outreach must be made a priority generally, as the current situation is such that even if every single Christian man in our churches was handed a wife on a plate (and some of them seem to expect God to do this!) there will still be some women left single and barren. This is unacceptable. So the singles ministry team of men should liaise closely with the men's outreach team (which of course no church must be without!!!) and not be afraid of inviting the men they are outreaching to, to the singles' socials. Of course, this is a major hurdle for most Christians. But this is one area where I think we all need to take a leap of faith. The men that make up the Body of Christ are out there. We should not be afraid of introducing a believing man who is "unchurched" to our single women. The love of a good woman is a mightily powerful thing! And we simply cannot continue neglecting to outreach to a whole generation of men. That's inexcusable on any level.
So there we have it...I really think we need to start the ball rolling now.
posted by Captain Sensible at 10:13 AM
1 Comments:
Every church should be actively supporting the ministry of Living Waters UK, which works in the area of healing and discipleship regarding relationships and gender issues. They do leadership training for local volunteers.
http://www.living-waters-uk.com
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