“1 In those days, as the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. 2 Then the Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching about God to handle financial matters. 3 Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching ministry.” 5 The proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the preaching about God flourished, the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.”

Acts 6:1-7

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There are bookcases that fill the shelves in pastor’s offices that don’t say any more than what can be found right here in Acts 6:1-7. There are countless workshops to attend, formulas to implement, articles to read, podcasts to listen to and pages and pages of results from polls and studies that repeat in their various ways what is so siml[y stated here in Acts 6:1-7. There’s not a magic formula to attain, no super secret plan that only the ‘elite’ churches and authors get to figure out. The difficulty isn’t in knowing what to do, it comes from actually following through and being consistent. Here is what must be done, and I’m not even going to charge you for it: discipleship & giving away ministry to the proper people. 

That’s it, that’s the ‘secret formula.’ But again, it’s not hard to identify. IT’s the implementation that gets most of us. People like to find shortcuts, easy ways around. Go to any public park, look at the sidewalks, find a corner and see where there is a path that has been worn through where people cut corners. Go to an office where standards are not held very high, see how production slips as people cut corners. Look at any place, any time, where people can let loose a little because an expectation is not held, and see where corners are cut so they can get by with less. 

Somewhere along the line, someone in a church setting decided that getting people in the doors was more important than doing what Jesus told us to do: “make disciples,”  “baptizing them,” “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” and corners were cut. Then they brought their friends into this place with lowered expectations, who brought theirs and so on…and the bar dropped a little every time. 

Now, we’re not called to legalism. “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is Gods gift — 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) 

But we see verse 10 sitting there telling us that we have been saved & created to do good works. And what are those good works? What is the standard, the rule, for which there are no corners to cut? To make disciples. ANd How do we make disciples? By following the Great Commission & the Great Commandment. We love people, teaching them about Jesus, baptizing them, serving them through further teaching, holding up a banner of obedience in love &thanksgiving and we get them plugged in with a ministry that makes sense with the giftings that God has given to them through the Holy Spirit. We encourage them in their service and obedience as we continue to follow along with them, bringing others in on this joyful journey so that they can GoLove and do likewise. 

It’s a self-perpetuating cycle of teaching, salvation, redemption, service and love. We give away ministry, watch people get excited about their new purpose in Christ, and then we help them do the same for others. That’s our gold standard. That’s what Jesus did and told us to do. The formula isn’t a mystery, it’s the dedication to see it through that lacks so often. And where it lacks, people cut corners, and where people cut corners, expectations drop and where expectations drop, ‘easy faith’ comes into play and we forget what we’ve been saved for and resort to an attitude that asks ‘what can be done for me?’ 

The life of faith is a life of sacrifice. But the sacrifice brings joy & is born from thanksgiving, and so it isn’t a burden to do. 

Stick with what Jesus told us to do. Invite someone to Him. Serve them. Teach them. Equip them to do likewise and watch what happens as disciples make disciples who make more disciples. That is our goal. We must rely on Christ to do the heavy lifting here, we must trust in the Holy Spirit to do His Work. We must look to the Father for wisdom and direction, but the task itself is clear as crystal. Until the day we die, we all have a purpose to fulfill. Until Christ calls us home, we have a meaning in our life that cannot be denied: we have been created & saved to do good works, and to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

Peter & the Apostles trained men to do the work of the church, work that was valuable, needed and necessary. These men became excited about the work given to them, they in turn asked others to come and see what this new work and life was about and they discipled them into their new roles that God had designed them for, and so on and so on. And so the church grew, and had greater influence, and she still can today if we will just submit to the reign and rule of Christ in our own lives, working out the salvation that has been given to us by being obedient to His call.