
One of my favorite books of the Bible is The Acts of the Apostles. It tells a wonderful and rich story of how the followers of Jesus were empowered by the Holy Spirit to go among their communities and tell them how their lives were changed because of him. On fire, excited, their eyes wide open – they prayed, worshipped, and witnessed to all they met. Their lives had changed forever and they never looked back.
Chapter 6 includes my favorite story: the disciples finally realized they could not sustain the pace and activity level without burning out. But instead of throwing their hands up in the air and saying, “I can’t do this anymore,” they devised a plan to bring in others to help them with their growing ministry. So, “they called together the entire community” and included them in the plan. They presented them with ministry opportunities that could be shared by all. The first Deacons were named, and we are told the church increased in number.