The Essential Question (Part 3): The Church Is PersecutedSampel

Trouble in River City

Prepare: Spend a few minutes thanking God for the ministry opportunities he's given you in the past. Then spend time asking him to show you new ways you can serve him in the future.

Read: Acts 6:1-15

Reflect: In the hit Broadway musical The Music Man, con man Harold Hill famously used the line "Ya got trouble, right here in River City" to manufacture a problem. His goal was to swindle the people of River City into paying him lots of money to solve it. Anyone who's seen the play knows that his ploy didn't work out as planned; Harold falls in love and in the end does the right thing. Unlike the musical, our current passage describes two very real sources of trouble in the early church, troubles that, left unaddressed, threatened to derail this growing movement of Christians. The first was internal: church members were arguing about the perceived fairness in the distribution of aid (Acts 6:1). One of the most discouraging things for Christian leaders is when those who want to make a difference for God get caught up in arguing about how to do it. It's a self-defeating waste of energy.

But like it or not, resolving conflict is part of doing ministry, and that's what makes these verses so instructive. Notice that the apostles' first response was to gather everyone together (Acts 6:2). Instead of allowing factions and gossip to take over, the Twelve dealt with the problem straight on with the whole group, just as they had seen Jesus do (see Matthew 20:24-28). Next, the leaders reminded everyone of their main objective. If the enemy can't prevent us from being involved in ministry, he can attempt to make us forget why we're doing it. That's why effective Christian leaders are good at keeping everyone focused on God's priorities. Finally, the solution to the problem was based on the conviction that administration was a spiritual task requiring highly qualified people for it to be done well (Acts 6:3, 6). As a result, the church continued its rapid growth (Acts 6:7). This is a reminder that effective ministry must value and utilize a full range of spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6-8).

The second source of trouble for the church at this moment was external: opposition from the religious establishment to Stephen, someone who had developed a particularly effective ministry (Acts 6:5, 8). Some Christian leaders today use the media to attract opposition in an effort to get more attention for themselves and their organizations. But that's not Christlike ministry; it's spiritual showmanship. Luke makes clear that Stephen's motives and power were rooted in his faith and in the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5, 8, 10), which is why Stephen is such a good model for those in ministry today. As for the opposition, they just couldn't get over their jealousy. They were the ones manufacturing "trouble" (Acts 6:11, 13), but unlike Harold Hill, they weren't open to learning any good lessons (Acts 5:33).

This passage reminds us that even when we are doing the right thing for God, in the right way, we're still going to face trouble and opposition. So rather than being surprised or derailed by it, we should prepare to handle it in the way that these early Christians did.

Apply: Can you think of an area of conflict or disagreement among Christians you know? What practical step could you take in the next week to help resolve it? Call or email someone? Invite someone to breakfast or to your home for dinner? What else?