And [we] will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Acts 6:4
The young church grew and grew, but there were a lot of problems between the people of the church. For example, the care for the widows was not always done properly. Those problems caused conflict. The apostles wanted to take care of it, but they did not have enough time to do so in addition to their regular duties. They called together the whole church and called out for seven good men that would take care of all the social work. The apostles explained, they wanted to concentrate on their regular duties which was prayer and the ministry of the word. Seven men of good reputation and full of faith and the Holy Ghost were chosen to do the social work. This way, the apostles had time for their work again.
In the Kingdom of God there are no lesser or better duties, everyone should do their best regardless of position or prestige. There are only a hand full of outstanding leaders, most of the time there is a team of leaders that works together. If someone has or wants to do everything, one’s strength will run out and nothing will be done properly – everything will be insufficient.The bible speaks a lot about a team of people of different abilities that complement each other and lead together. A leader has to be able to recognize the abilities of others. A leader has to see what duties someone can do and if that person follows God, if so, someone can be trusted with responsibility. The more responsibilities a leader gives away, the more one can concentrate on one’s real duties. The church is like a family – everyone has to work together, no one can lay back and let the others work. And no one is irreplaceable, especially a leader that loves that power. Only together we will succeed. Most of us are leading somewhere – the home group, the youth group, the choir, sports, profession, or family – we are leading and influencing other people. Even within a family it is important that everyone has one’s duties. Parents need to recognize and encourage the abilities of their children. They have to delegate responsibilities and duties early, this way the children will be self reliant and become confident adults. No one should keep their power and position for themself, but should delegate!
Even God delegates a lot of responsibilities to the church when HE wants to build the Kingdom of God together with humans.Jesus, thank you for your trust! You trust in us to do your work But we need the Holy Ghost to give us wisdom, patience, and compassion. We rely on you, since we can not build the Kingdom of God by our own means. Come and give us your Holy Ghost.Bible reading today: Psalm 101: 1-8