In general, as I read about the early Church and its believers, I can't help but notice a joy and enthusiasm for sharing the Gospel that feels quite lacking in my life. I'm loving reading about these first followers of The Way and how nothing could stop them.
Today I started in Acts 6 and made it all the way through verse two before I had to stop for a moment.
In those days...the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables."A complaint had risen amongst the believers. Greek widows weren't getting fed, but the Hebrew widows were. The disicples go on to work out a plan to take care of this need, but what gets me is the initial response.
"We have a task at hand, and we can't be hindered by the details. A few of you will stay here and work out the conflict, but the rest of us need to keep moving forward with the Mission."
I'm so convinced we do things backwards.
Make sure the music has enough hymns. Do fun things to keep the youth coming back. Keep doing all our regular programming, because that's the way it's always been. This person did this. That person said that. On and on we go, trying to take care of all the details every time a person raises a fuss. We have to keep everyone happy, because we want everyone to have a positive church experience. (Am I stepping on any toes yet?)
I like to make sure I pray for the right amount of time, read the right amount of Scripture, and worship the right amount of worship. I stress out when things don't "feel" smooth or good, when I can't focus to pray or read, when I oversleep and miss my time with Him.
And in the midst of all our chaotic circles we run around ourselves, we totally lose sight of the Mission.
The one thing that used to take priority over every other detail.
That's not to say that the things I listed above aren't important, nor are they ineffective at helping to complete the Mission. I'm also not pointing fingers at any specific congregation. I'm simply putting into words what I've observed my whole life, both in the Church and my personal journey.
Jesus didn't become sin and die on the cross so we would have more numbers in our pews, so we would run Sunday morning service to keep everyone happy, so that all the details could take precedence.
No, He did all that so every man, woman, and child might have the opportunity to know Him and be saved. He saved us so that we might share that salvation with others, whatever the cost.
2 comments:
This particular passage is one of the hardest ones for me to grapple with. Good post!
Loved this post, even sent it to my pastor as I thought it spoke to exactly what our church has been dealing with and he said it was right on, good job Liz!
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