Difference between revisions of "Sermon for April 6th, 2025"

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Acts 6:1-7 (NT p.123)

6 Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. 2 And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.[a] 3 Therefore, brothers and sisters, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, 4 while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” 5 What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Word & Table: Leadership at First Presbyterian Church

An out-of-towner drove his car into a ditch in a desolated area. Luckily, a local farmer came to help with his big strong horse named Buddy. He hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn't move. Then the farmer hollered, "Pull, Buster, pull!" Buddy didn't respond. Once more the farmer commanded, "Pull, Coco, pull!" Nothing. Then the farmer nonchalantly said, "Pull, Buddy, pull!" And the horse easily dragged the car out of the ditch. The motorist was most appreciative but very curious. He asked the farmer why he called his horse by the wrong name three times. The farmer said, "Oh, Buddy is blind and if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn't even try!"

We, as human beings, are a lot like Buddy. Most of us are capable of doing incredible things, but we don’t like to think we are the only one pulling! Fortunately, in a healthy church, we really do share the workload.

In most churches, if you asked the question, "Who's in charge here?" you would probably be directed to the church secretary. Coming in at a distant second, someone might answer, "the pastor." And while both of those answers are certainly understandable, in a Presbyterian church neither one is correct.

Well, who is it then? Is it the church officers? The elders, the deacons, the trustees? We are going to talk about them today, and all the things they do...but still, no. By now you've probably guessed where I'm going with this, but just in case you're still wondering, it's a pretty simple answer:

The Second Helvetic Confession, which is part of the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA), teaches that the one and ONLY head of the church is Jesus Christ, from whom all other leaders derive their authority. This is supported by scripture, in Paul's letter to the Ephesians and to the Colossians, both of which name Jesus as the head of the church.

For the 16th century Reformers who gave birth to the Presbyterian movement (and wrote the Second Helvetic Confession), when they said that Christ was the ONLY head of the church, by implication they were sending a clear message to the world that the Roman Catholic Pope was NOT the head of the church, nor any King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, or any of the other pieces on a medieval chess board!

Just Jesus. So where Jesus speaks to us through the words of Scripture, we as the church, cannot follow any other voice. Of course, the problem with this is that Jesus, in the Bible, is pretty silent about what date and time would be most appropriate for our monthly potluck luncheon, or what the check-in procedure ought to be for children's programs, or how many times a year should we have the church rain gutters cleaned out? And while those may not be the MOST important things, they are still reasonably important things in the life of any local church.

In the medieval Catholic church, the Pope appointed the cardinals, the cardinals appointed the bishops, the bishops appointed the priests, and the priests made the decisions for each local church, or else delegated them to others. But the Presbyterians of the 16th century took a different approach: They turned to the scriptures, and asked the question, "How were decisions made in the early church, by the earliest followers of Jesus?"

And they found this story in the Book of Acts, chapter 6, which is our two scripture passage today.

So already, in the earliest days of the church, there are two factions arguing with each other--what a surprise! The Hebrews are the Jewish Christians, like Peter, Paul, Mary, the disciples. They are the "originals," the "O.G"'s, many of whom knew and vividly remembered Jesus. The Hellenist faction are the Greek-speaking converts like Mark, Luke, and Cornelius. They are the "newbies"--and they were probably responsible for most of the rapid growth of the early church. You can see how tensions would arise: "Hey--you're taking care of their people better than our people!"

Now that sounds pretty harsh, and possibly even like a false dichotomy. But you have to remember that when they say it's not right for them to "neglect the word of God" they are referring to the very last command that Jesus gave them after his resurrection and before he ascended in to heaven: GO into all the world and preach the gospel (or the Word of God), making disciples and teaching them all that I've taught you. We call that the GREAT commission for a reason: It's great. It's important. It's the MOST important thing a church can (and should) do. It's our prime directive. Mission and purpose numero uno! And the 12 apostles are killing it--I mean that in a positive sense--they are doing great, and so the church, the faith, is growing like crazy.

Feeding the poor (or in this case, the widows), what the disciples call "waiting on tables" is also important. Jesus said to do that, too. But here's the twist: It's not the MOST important thing. In order for people to understand WHY they should take care of the poor, in order for them to have the right motivation, first you have to teach them, you have to share the gospel with them. And you want your most passionate, most committed people to do that.

So the twelve apostles are not wrong. But they're also not without compassion. They see the validity, the importance of the request, so they say, in verses 3 through the end:

Ok, now fast forward back to the 16th century, and to our early Presbyterian ancestors in the faith: They took several guiding principles from this text and put them into effect in their churches:

1. A local church community should choose (or elect) its own leaders from among its membership. No one from the outside gets to impose a leader upon you without your consent. By the way, this is an early example of democracy in action.
2. To be a leader, one should be in good standing with the community, full of the Spirit, and full of wisdom. Those are the only criteria, regardless of the office.
3. Leaders, when elected, should be recognized publicly, with prayer and the laying on of hands (we still do that--you'll see it later in the service today!)
4. There should be a division of labor--different offices to focus on different things, each important, but also in the right order, the right "flow." For the early church in Acts, this was Apostles... and Table-Waiters (by the way, the Greek word for "waiters" was διακονεῖν, which is where we get the word "deacon" from.).

Now, fast-forward to the 21st century, and the present day right here at First Presbyterian Church of El Paso: As a Presbyterian Congregation, we elect Elders, whose ministry corresponds to that of the 12 apostles in our scripture passage. Like the apostles, the Elders are responsible for the total ministry of the church, but focus specifically on what we believe are the MOST important things: Evangelism, Mission, and Vision--basically, spreading the gospel in our community.

Two fun facts about Elders in the Presbyterian Church: First, it's where we got our name from--Elder in Greek is the word πρεσβύτερος, and a group or council of elders is the Greek word πρεσβυτέριον, hence Presbyterian. Second fun fact about Elders: In the Presbyterian Church, pastors are considered a specialized type of elder--we are called "Teaching Elders" and we are elected, ordained, and installed by the local congregation in the same way as the other elders (who are sometimes called "Ruling Elders"). How much power does a Presbyterian Pastor officially have? Well, I have one vote on the Board of Elders (which is often called the "Session").

In addition to Elders, at First Presbyterian Church we also elect Deacons, which corresponds to the ministry of the Deacons (the table-waiters) in the Book of Acts. Most Presbyterian Churches (but not all) have Deacons, and just like in Acts, they form a ministry of caring and service to those in our community with great needs. In our church specifically, the Elders have delegated to the Deacons responsibility for all things pertaining to Worship services and Christian Education.

In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul uses the human body as a beautiful analogy for the church: One body with several parts, each doing its own thing but all working together. I like to imagine our church leaders as a body, too: The Elders are the legs that walk, leap, and run, bringing the gospel out into the community. The Deacons are the arms that reach down to lift up someone in need, or hold them in a loving embrace. The Trustees are the torso, pumping blood and oxygen to the legs and arms so they can run, lift, and carry. And of course, Jesus is the head--guiding and directing the entire body to a higher and greater purpose than any of its parts could ever achieve (or even conceive of) on their own.