Acts 6:1-7 | the Desperate Need for YouNäide

People like to gripe to their pastors. If there’s an issue in the church, it’s common for people to go to their pastors to fix it. There’s a nod of respect in this. People understand that their pastors are the ones in a place of authority, or at least are the ones who seem to get things done. But sometimes it betrays an assumption that pastors are supposed to fix all the problems and meet every need.

That’s what’s happening here in Acts 6, and the apostles’ answer is enlightening. Imagine how Acts 6:2 might sound in a church today. “We’ve got a job to do—It’s preaching and prayer—Not waiting on you. So figure it out!”

They put it back in the people’s hands. “Choose seven men from among you… We will turn this responsibility over to them” (Acts 6:3).

And the church was better for it.

In what ways are you expecting your pastor to do it all—To wait on you—To address all the church’s challenges? Recognize it. Stop it. And ask instead what you can do to help meet the needs of the immense task of living together as God’s kingdom community.