Leadership Development

A Simple Revolution

Following the Acts 6 Pattern for Ministry

By Lindsey Parsons

I was recruited by the Man who said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Yet somewhere along the road, the yoke became unbearable with extra responsibilities. Constantly pulled by guilt and people’s needs, I felt withered and without focus. Now I have come to Jesus, weary and in need of rest. At His feet, He is showing me revolutionary steps of simplicity.

A powerful event preserved the Early Church in Acts chapter 6. It began when the Grecian Jews complained their widows were being ignored in food distribution. It seems they were pushing for the apostles to personally monitor the tables. In response, the apostles could have agreed to involve themselves. After all, it seemed to be such a small extra task—but where would the involvement end? Would it distract them from their God-given tasks?

The apostles set a pattern we should follow today. I am amazed at the wisdom in their reply:

“It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:2–4).

This passage speaks volumes about the apostles’ ministry mindset. First, they knew what God had asked them to do and who they were working to please. The apostles knew their first priority—to spend time with God and His Word—because they were appointed to teach the Word. As leaders, it is easy to become people pleasers instead of living to please God himself. When this happens, we are in danger of being overwhelmed and unable to fulfill our true duties. The apostles teach us that our job is to be faithful to God, no matter who pushes us for attention. He will provide the wise solution to everyone’s needs—and we won’t burn out in the process.

But why would God choose the Bible and prayer as the top priorities for His leaders?

The Bible

Our question should rather be, do we understand how much this world needs to hear the true and complete Word of God? And how much the enemy wants to keep it muffled? The apostles were committed to writing doctrine. We must be committed to teach God’s Word and strive to preserve its integrity against worldly dilution.

How do we complete our task? We have all been tempted to brainstorm ideas and search multiple translations for a supporting scripture. But we must be careful to never use God’s Word simply to enforce our own ideas.

I have learned that I must allow the Word of God to speak for itself, or I underestimate its power and relevance. We must believe that Scripture has precision and power to “divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow, judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). More than anything else, God’s Word has carried me through the darkest parts of my life. Psalm 119:91–93 says, “Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.” The author believes this with all his heart—he wrote the Bible’s longest chapter, completely devoted to expressing love for God’s Word!

No substitute exists for the Word of God, especially when presented with passion and conviction. In our hostile world, the Word is the only thing we can give to people for their protection and sustenance. It will take root in their hearts and perpetuate its blessing in their lives. The best thing we can do for people is teach them to love the Word of God, and in it find their joy and strength. We can only do this as we study and let it change us first. We will hear the Bible begin to speak for itself, and we will be amazed at the people who respond, “How did you know? That was exactly what I needed to hear!”

Prayer

We may never understand the full value of prayer. No alternative can match the benefits it can give. Rather than spinning our wheels, we will gain wisdom as we spend time with God. Prayer sharpens and protects us from evil. When we pray, it is difficult to ignore our sin, feed wrong attitudes, or nurse our bitterness.

Those we minister to can become unified through prayer. Think about the people with whom you have made the deepest bonds— most likely it is those with whom you have prayed. Prayer is disarming and allows us to gather on even ground. It builds incredible oneness in a group.

Prayer also ushers in the presence of the Holy Spirit. God’s heart is compelled when He hears His children. Praying prepares us to give Him control. When the Holy Spirit is given the opportunity to move, He will accomplish tasks that would take us years to complete. I once heard a pastoral counselor require his counselees to spend 30 minutes in prayer before seeing him. Many would find a resolution to their problem, and not need to see him. I have experienced deep emotional healing at an altar—the kind that would take months or years with a psychologist. I believe in the effectiveness of counseling—in fact it is my college degree—but so often we strive in vain to solve people’s problems. In reality, humans will never be able to match the work of the Wonderful Counselor to heal, convict, lead into truth, and set hearts free. This work is accomplished in an atmosphere of prayer.

NOW WHAT?

Perhaps you have realized that your life and ministry need to change so that the Bible and prayer can be top priorities. Here are some ways you can make change happen:

Simplify

Simplifying is difficult, because we are tempted to try creative ideas that brought good results in someone else’s group. It is a good practice to redefine the purpose of your ministry, and keep the written definition with you as you plan events. Does each event meet a need and accomplish part of your purpose? If not, the activity is unnecessary and should not be included. I am not saying that only Bible studies and prayer meetings should be allowed. Creativity and fellowship are vital in ministry, especially ministry to women! Yet even these should have purpose. Purposeless activities will sap the creative strength of your leaders and exhaust your group. They will leave everyone feeling drained and aimless in the end.

Delegate

Simplifying and delegating go hand in hand. When you plan purposeful activities, do not get burdened with all the preparatory tasks. They will keep you from focusing on prayer and the Word, taking the purpose out of your activity. In Acts 6:3, the apostles delegated responsibility to wise and capable men whose relationship with God was evident. This gave the apostles time to prepare a rich message from the Bible. Delegating also introduced Stephen into the ministry, and the next passage displays how he glorifies God as the first Christian martyr. Delegating releases other leaders who can step out in the Spirit’s bold anointing and bring glory to God!

Spend Time with God

How often do I simplify my life, only to fill my new free time with more busy work! We must be careful to protect our time from being drained without our noticing. We must intentionally plan time to be in God’s presence. We plan 20 minutes for a shower every day, so we can surely plan to spend time with God! And believe me, as soon as you plan, you will be hit with all sorts of distractions! But if you do not intentionally spend time with God, no one else will do it for you. This is not selfish; this is wisdom. We are human, and even Jesus needed to take time away to be with His Father. If Jesus needed to pray daily and needed the Word to get through tempting times, then how much more do we!

Sadly, the path of simplicity is a road less traveled. I wonder how many leaders would experience less burnout and more fruit if they protected the right priorities. While surprising to our driven society, the outcome of the Acts 6 story is quite encouraging: “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” (Acts 6:7). Could it be that doing less yields more?

To all the people-pleasing leaders like me, the answer is a resounding yes!