Friday, May 5 – Acts 6
How well do you delegate tasks or work with a team? For some, this might come naturally. It’s exciting to you to include others in your work or ministry. For others, we might prefer to hold on to our work or ministry and remain in control. Acts 6 is a beautiful example of building teams and equipping leaders. As believers in the early church multiplied, more and more issues arose. Growing pains!
Before the twelve encouraged the others to pick seven leaders, they first recognized their call. “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.” Sometimes I read this, and it sounds harsh — like the apostles were above the menial task of providing for basic needs of their people. I don’t think that’s the case, though. The twelve realized their call was to continue to spread God’s word, and recognized an urgent need that their communities had. Rather than dismissing the need to feed people, the twelve recognized the need and figured out a way to appoint others to take care of that need.
We read that “God’s message continued to spread.” (Acts 6:7) By stepping into their calling, and building teams that could meet the needs of others, the early church continued to grow! What are some healthy leadership lessons we can learn from the twelve, the seven, and the nature of the early church?
Questions for reflection:
- What is God calling you to? Do you have support structures in place that help you step into that calling?
- Are there things in life that might be good to release control of and ask for help? What if the twelve never delegated? Do you think the church would’ve continued to grow?
- Stephen becomes the first martyr. What can we learn from Stephen’s leadership and conviction?