Listen

“Brothers and sisters, carefully choose seven well-respected men from among you. They must be well-respected and endowed by the Spirit with exceptional wisdom. We will put them in charge of this concern. As for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and the service of proclaiming the word.”

Acts 6:3-4

Think

Have you ever heard the phrase “it takes a village”? It means that an entire community is needed for positive growth. In today’s passage, we see that the disciples have made their decision on how to delegate serving the widows in their community. The disciples show not only trust in those who will serve but also trust in the community to choose these leaders.

This practice of asking the church to nominate leaders to carry out the needs of the church may sound familiar to you. In many churches, they nominate leaders called deacons to support the church’s many needs.

What the disciples started and what many churches have continued to follow exhibits the necessity of a BIG community. It truly takes a village for the church to run smoothly. A church needs pastors, ministers, support staff, deacons, and church members to be the Body of Christ. It takes all of us to be the hands and feet of Christ.

Meg Rooney

Pray

God, thank you for trusting me to carry out your love, grace, and peace to others.

Thank you for allowing me to lead and be led through the Body of Christ.

Amen.

Go

Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us.

Frederick Buechner in Wishful Thinking (1973)