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A Healthy Leadership Team
Devotional
While it is true that there wasn’t an organized ecclesiology (Structure/ Government) of the church at this time, we do see inkling into what God, and later Paul had in mind for the church. These 2 branches of government for the church are absolutely needed and I believe genius! Both the preaching/teaching of the word, and the physical acts of mercy are part of what it means to be the church, and I believe God gifts churches to make this a regular part of their ‘programs.’ In this case, as the church was becoming more diverse, and there were people from different races coming together, and what we’d expect is the problems that occur with diversity. Bias, partiality, distrust are all part of the human condition and though we are called to a multicultural platform, the problems aren’t easily erased. In this setting it is the problem with Greek (Hellenist) and Jewish widows and the favoritism being afforded to the indigenous Hebrews. It is interesting to see how the apostle handled this. They didn’t split into homogenous preference groups, nor did they necessarily deal with it themselves; but they empowered certain other men to deal with the problem. Too often, people in the church assume that all of the issues and counseling should be done by the pastor(s), but this is simply not the case. This passage and later Paul (With Elders and Deacons), demonstrates that the word and prayer, as well as the mercy ministries are important, and it is the people in the church that should head up these ministries. This assures that theology is being taught and guarded, and that the physical actions and implications of the gospel are being handled.
Questions
Why do we assume that the work of the ministry should be done by hired guns?
What is the problem inherent in this belief?
Does any one man/woman have all of the gifts of God? If not, then why do we assume one person can do all the work in the church?
How does this type of passage speak to consumerism in the church?
How did the Apostles handle the problem?
Why was it handled this way?
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By Anchor Community ChurchDevotional
While it is true that there wasn’t an organized ecclesiology (Structure/ Government) of the church at this time, we do see inkling into what God, and later Paul had in mind for the church. These 2 branches of government for the church are absolutely needed and I believe genius! Both the preaching/teaching of the word, and the physical acts of mercy are part of what it means to be the church, and I believe God gifts churches to make this a regular part of their ‘programs.’ In this case, as the church was becoming more diverse, and there were people from different races coming together, and what we’d expect is the problems that occur with diversity. Bias, partiality, distrust are all part of the human condition and though we are called to a multicultural platform, the problems aren’t easily erased. In this setting it is the problem with Greek (Hellenist) and Jewish widows and the favoritism being afforded to the indigenous Hebrews. It is interesting to see how the apostle handled this. They didn’t split into homogenous preference groups, nor did they necessarily deal with it themselves; but they empowered certain other men to deal with the problem. Too often, people in the church assume that all of the issues and counseling should be done by the pastor(s), but this is simply not the case. This passage and later Paul (With Elders and Deacons), demonstrates that the word and prayer, as well as the mercy ministries are important, and it is the people in the church that should head up these ministries. This assures that theology is being taught and guarded, and that the physical actions and implications of the gospel are being handled.
Questions
Why do we assume that the work of the ministry should be done by hired guns?
What is the problem inherent in this belief?
Does any one man/woman have all of the gifts of God? If not, then why do we assume one person can do all the work in the church?
How does this type of passage speak to consumerism in the church?
How did the Apostles handle the problem?
Why was it handled this way?