By Mike Wall (FCNC)

Each year, I read through the Bible slowly- and I mean that in 2 ways: First, I’m not an exceptionally fast reader! I have observed my son reading, and he is constantly turning pages, whereas I may fall asleep before many pages turn. 

 He will finish a book in a few days that will take me… ah, I may never finish it!

Second, if one reads the Bible too quickly, it may not make sense. We need to allow the Holy Spirit, who is the author, to speak to us about what He has written. There are 1189 chapters in the Bible, so 3 1/2 chapters each day will get you from Genesis 1 > Revelation 22 on December 6 with 25 days to spare in case you miscounted!  Of course, not all chapters are of equal length. Nor are they equally easy!  Those 176 verses in Psalm 119 take a bit longer than the 2 verses of Psalm 117. And the stories of Daniel with Lions, may captivate your attention more than the judging prophecies of Jeremiah. But it’s all the Word of God and worthy of our persistence. It takes a while: listen as you read.

This time, something came to my attention that might be pertinent to Friends Churches? It is in Acts 6 which is only 15 verses. A problem developed in the first weeks of the new church Jesus had just planted. The problem had to do with difference of culture between the two denominations- Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. As is usual within church bodies, the issue causing the disruption was deeper than the focal point. The focal point was that certain people perceived they were not receiving the same attention as others. When a group thinks they are not being treated correctly, humility sometimes drowns in a sea of jealousy. (All that is in verse1.)

Verse 2 tells how the Pastors (apostles) of the church dealt with the issue. They said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the Ministry of the Word to deal with these concerns”- regardless of how important they may be. 

That may be the first Quaker influence in a church! The Pastors told them to appoint a committee! (although it wasn’t a typical Quaker committee- it wasn’t appointed by a nominating committee on a rotation basis, nor by choosing a person from the different groups). This committee was chosen from people “known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.”

The Pastors then said, “We will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word.”

Seems that many Pastors have so many responsibilities in their churches that detract from - prayer and the ministry of the Word, which SHOULD be their focus! It was recently said about one retired pastor that if anything happened in his church, he did it. One church looking for a pastor had in their “job description” mowing the yard and turning on the lights! Routine member visitation uses chunks of time. Supervising VBS and special events drains energy.

Sometimes, maybe a good paperweight is what is needed?  Two garbage collectors had a lot of paper trash in their truck one windy day, and paper kept blowing out of the truck onto the road. Tired of stopping to pick it up, one of them climbed into the back of the truck and laid down on top, spreading his arms and legs, holding everything in place.  A car came up behind the truck and a boy said: “Look mom, somebody threw away a perfectly good man”!    Hmmm?

“A Christian without a Ministry is a Contradiction.” (Credit to whoever said that first!) Yet, how many church people today have no real ministry? A ministry is not just an appointment nor job. It is fulfilling what God gifted / called you to do. 

The early church corrected the situation. Proof is in Vs 7: “So the Word of God spread.” The fact that Christ’s church exists 2000 years later demonstrates how terrific this idea was. Are we effectively spreading the Word today? 

Quakers supposedly believe in a “RELEASED”  Ministry for those whose job is prayer and ministry of the Word.

 

Pray and ask if there is a ministry for you to help release, and spread the Word?

 

Mike