Are you a Servant-Leader? - Act 6

Are you the type of person who wants to inspire others by your example or the type of person who wants to control people?  The type of person you are reveals the type of Christian leader you will be.

The disciples were busy serving the church preaching the Word and serving the people.  A problem arose because the ministry was growing and the apostles were no longer able to keep up with prayer, preaching the Word and serving tables due to the overwhelming needs of the people. 

The apostles then asked the people to select among themselves some others to help them in their ministry to ensure that the needs of the people were being met.

Christ was their example who clearly was a servant leader who had called the disciples to help him in reaching the world with the gospel.  We can see this when he selected the 12 disciples and when he sent out the 70 disciples to preach about the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Acts 6:1-7 tells us two things that I think are important.  First, once a ministry becomes larger, a servant leader will then request that others be appointed so that all the needs are met in a ministry.  Second, the congregation selected among themselves men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom in order to make sure the needs were met of the people they were leading.

Good leadership inspired by the Holy Spirit resulted in the word of God spreading in Jerusalem even to the point that a number of Jewish priests became obedient to the faith.

The people chosen to serve tables were great men of faith who knew the Word.  I think many of us think that serving others is a lower position; however, in the early church this was seen as a sign of Christian maturity. 

Stephen was one of those who were selected to serve tables.  He was passionate about Christ and loved to preach the Word and serve others.  Serving tables was clearly not a job for a weak heart in the early church.  Stephen later died for his faith in Christ while preaching the Word. 

The congregation had selected men who were like the apostles who desired to serve and preach the Word resulting in the ministry multiplying.  Don't be a dictator; rather, be like Christ and be a servant-leader because love is a sign of maturity in the Christian faith.