Day 12

Readings and Thoughts for Thursday, February 14, 2008
Acts 6:1-7 Seven Chosen to Serve

Those annoying Hellenists!

A Hellenist is a Greek speaker. Because of persecution and economic pressures, Jews have settled all across the known world in a process known as “the diaspora.” Just as new immigrants to the United States tend to accept local language and culture in time, the same happened to these diaspora Jews as they spread into the world of the Greek (later Roman) empire. They remained committed to their Jewish faith, but they became Greek speakers and were accustomed to worship and pray in Greek. The Jerusalem church has both "Hellenist" (Greek speaking) and "Hebrew" (Hebrew or Aramaic speaking) members.

While there has been great unity and sharing in the early church, we find a first conflict here: food is given out daily to widows and others who have no means of support. The Hellenists feel that their widows are treated less generously than the Hebrew widows. Out of this conflict and need in the church, a new order of ministry is developed. Later called “deacons,” seven were set aside to care for the mission work of the community and the daily distribution of support to all in need. Five of the seven are themselves Hellenist (they have Greek names), which ensures that those who felt marginalized will now be assured of care.

Over the centuries, many different orders of clergy have developed differently in many different denominations. In The United Methodist Church, an ordained elder typically has a Master of Divinity degree and serves as a local church pastor. For a Baptist or a Presbyterian, however, elders are lay people who form the core leadership of the church. In decades past, United Methodist elders were first ordained deacons as a probationary step along the way toward “full” ordination as an elder. Since 1996, however, deacons have been a separate order of ordained ministry in The United Methodist church, ordained to a ministry of teaching and mission, usually with an area specialization such as music or Christian education.

Contrast all of this to a century or more ago when most Methodist preaching and week-to-week church administration was entirely lay lead – if you were lucky the ordained elder showed up once a quarter to offer you Communion.

My point is that leadership roles and expectations in the church change over time. Even in the earliest church, roles changed as new needs emerged. Jesus did not sit down with the disciples one day by the lakeshore and give detailed definitions of elders, deacons, presbyters, bishops and the like. During his earthly ministry, Jesus never provided for the administration or organization of the church except to select 12 that he especially mentored for future leadership. In other words, there is nothing sacred or holy about the orders of ministry that currently support the ministries of the church – they are roles suited to particular needs, and that is all they are. When the needs of the community change, the ministry roles should also change.

One change we know we can expect over the next few decades is a decrease in clergy in ratio to church members. Like a century ago, laity will again become more active in caring for daily and weekly ministries in the church. As you think of what your pastor does each week (preaching, teaching, counseling, visiting, administrating, planning) – what parts of that role do you think you might be gifted or qualified to handle as times change?

Acts 6:8-15 The Arrest of Stephen

Having asked you to consider yourself in lay-ministry, I now have to follow up with the story of how one of those first laity called to serve in the church came to be arrested for his ministry (how encouraging for all of you!)

Right off, we see that those who are called to ministry in the church are empowered by God to accomplish that ministry. No mere server of tables, Stephen teaches and works miracles in the name of Jesus. He is enough in the forefront to become the center of a controversy in which he is (falsely) accused of blasphemy and of speaking against the teachings of Moses. Like Peter and the other apostles, he is arrested. Unlike their first couple of persecuting encounters, however, God does not intervene to save Stephen. Yet clearly God empowered him and approved of him, for “they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke” (Luke 6:10) and “his face was like the face of an angel (Luke 6:15).”

When have you found yourself in a role (religious or otherwise) that was new to you, or a role that you thought you perhaps could not handle? What happened? Have you ever experienced God empowering you to say or do something you otherwise wouldn’t have been able or willing to say or do?