Where Did We Get Deacons?

Chapter 6

v.1 - things don't change much - after the church got off the ground and began to flourish, it hit its first speedbump: favoritism of one widow group over another group. While this is not the issue most churches are dealing with today, it is interesting that the church couldn't go very long without some disagreements arising. This is NOT a sign that God is not working in a church - how people respond to the disagreements tells more about how Spirit-led a church is.

vv.2-7 - choosing Deacons - while the term is not used here, this is how deacons came to be. As anyone can plainly see, their job was not to check and balance the church leadership/elders/pastors/Apostles. Their job was to handle some issues so the Big 12 could focus on what they should be doing. Their job (and future jobs) were probably not too fun and not (initially) rewarding. Thus the requirement that they be full of the Holy Spirit and wise. Our church has many such men. Unfortunately, most churches have deacons because they've been around a while or they give money - not exactly the reasons listed in the Bible. The thing I find most noteworthy is the result of this good decision in verse 7: So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. The church works better if people play their role in the Body and nobody is trying to get any of the glory.

vv.8-15 - Stephen is seized - this story is very similar to how it went down with Jesus - makes the religious guys mad, they seize him, drum up some charges they can't really prove - all the while he doesn't fight them (although he's about to break it all down for them in chapter 7).