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A couple months ago I began to preach through the first few chapters of the Book of Acts in the New Testament - the story of the first days of the church.  

Then Came Organized Religion -Acts 6: 1-7 - July 25, 2010 - Cicero United Methodist Church - Everett 1. Bassett

            A couple months ago I began to preach through the first few chapters of the Book of Acts in the New Testament - the story of the first days of the church. We looked at Acts 1, the time in-between Easter and Pentecost, and some of the things we do to keep the faith during our own in-between times. Our district superintendent Darryl Barrow helped us look at Acts 2, and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the first disciples. Acts 3 brought us to the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem, where Peter and John healed a lame man; then when they preached about how the Jewish leaders had killed the Author of Life, we looked at some of our own deadly practices and attitudes. Acts 4 depicted the boldness of the apostles, both in their bold words, but also their bold actions, selling their possessions. Then in Acts 5 we read about Ananias and Sapphira, whose withholding from the church cost them their lives. Then last week we read about the steadiness of the apostles' faith, keeping up the ministry of Christ's love, no matter what happened.

            There was a lot in those first five chapters of Acts that might seem strange to us - the
spontaneous speaking of foreign languages, the miraculous healings, the conversion of thousands of people at once, being released from jail by an angel, and so on. Those would be experiences of the early church we might not immediately identify with.

            But when we get to Acts, chapter 6, it starts to sound a little more familiar. For example, in this continuing story of first experiences for the church, in Acts 6: 1 we run across the first complaint. Now, it's certainly never happened in any church I've encountered, but I am told that sometimes in churches people complain. So here in Acts 6: 1, it says that 'the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.' So now we've got another closely related first for the church: the first argument. And again, I'm like a babe in the woods here, but I understand that sometimes in churches, people argue. 1 can't picture it.

            And the resulting action taken to address the complaint and the argument in Acts 6 is very strong evidence that in that early church there were already several Methodists. I had suspected it all along, because they liked to collect money, and they ate every chance they got. But if there were any doubts about the presence of Methodists in the early church, those doubts are swept aside by this one fact: confronted by a controversy, and a disagreement among two different groups of people, the apostles in Acts 6 came up with the ultimate Methodist solution: they referred it to a committee. And the church has been filled with committees ever since. Or, if you were telling this story in Acts as a narrative, now is the point where you would say, "Then came organized religion," and a whole bunch of people, inside and outside the church, would groan. For many people, the point at which religion got 'organized,' was when it all started going down the tubes.

            But here's the nasty little secret that can be seen throughout the Bible - that is, that eligion always had to be organized. If there was ever this idyllic moment when the faith was innocent and pure and unsullied by organization, it couldn't last - because sooner or later a complaint was going to come up, or an argument, or a problem. And the church had to have some kind of structure to deal with these things. There has never been unorganized religion. We see it in xodus 18, when Jethro tells Moses that if faith is going to get anywhere, he's got to divide the people into subgroups, and build a layer of management to make decisions. Surely it wasn't long before someone invented flowcharts and sticky-notes. Then we see how Jesus began his ministry by organizing twelve disciples; and newsprint and Power Point were just around the corner. Then Jesus sent out seventy disciples, two by two, with strict instructions, and careful debriefing afterward, and smart people bought stock in magic markers and file folders. It was carefully structured, and accountable all the way through. And here in Acts 6 we see the beginning of the structuring of the life of the church so there could be a good division of labor, and a multiplication of the tasks that needed to be done.

            So if that is all true, and organizing religion seems to be important almost from the get-go, then what can we learn from this scripture story on organizing our ministry?

            First of all, we should recognize the principle that people will be people. And that Christian people - will be people. As much as that would seem to go without saying, it still seems to surprise a lot of folks when church people act just like any other group - including complaining and arguing. There is this romantic idea that when people get together under the umbrella of faith in Jesus Christ, then the kinds of personality conflicts and misbehaviors that make up the human race will not surface. So it comes as a shock when Christian people turn out to have many of the same foibles and failings as people in general. Now, let me backtrack for a moment. I believe absolutely that Christian faith changes people, and that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, a transformation takes place that enables people to live on a higher plane - to overcome many of those human foibles, and often exhibit lives of breathtaking love and joy. If I didn't believe that with my whole heart, I wouldn't have much to preach. And that is borne out by the fact that in my lifelong experience in the church, I have had the joy of meeting some of the most wonderful people you could ever imagine.

            But a vital quality in the most radiant of those people was humility about how they got
there. Christian folks at their best understand that they are redeemed sinners - capable of saying and doing some pretty nasty things if we're not careful. We are always people in process. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, was one of those who believed that as Christian people we were moving toward perfection - but we would never quite attain it in this lifetime. And so human imperfection shows up in the church - we shouldn't be shocked when it does. Much of the New Testament was written to address disagreements and human issues among Christians. It's never been any different.

            But the second point is that despite that reality, the Bible still sets a high bar for how we should behave. We are still accountable for personal growth. We see this throughout, even with the greatest of leaders - Moses, David, Peter, Paul - they were all fallible - they all goofed up. Yet they all were still expected to strive for exemplary character. And we see that reflected in our story from Acts. The situation is this: the apostles need to organize a team to make sure that the distribution of goods to the widows is done fairly. So who do we need to be on that team? We might start looking for people with good business sense, good people skills, good bookkeeping skills. And I'm sure all of those things were important considerations, but the scripture lists it this way in Acts 6: 2 - "And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, 'It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables.' Therefore,
friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task." It may dismay some women that all those who were chosen here were men - this is before the full understanding of the God - given role of women in leadership in the church. But, on the other hand, women might take some comfort in noticing that the best translation for what these men were asked to do was to wait on tables. So, at the next church dinner, if I were a woman, I might point out Acts 6: 2, and ask the men to fulfill their biblical responsibility. It's worth a try.

            But the more serious point is that the vital qualification, even for waiting on tables, keeping accounts, caring for widows - whatever the job - was being full of the Spirit. When we think of a 'church leader being full of the Spirit, we might imagine that they will be teachers or prayer leaders or preachers and such. But in God's family every job is a spiritual job. These new church officers, even though their task was on what we might call the more practical side, were still to be full of the Spirit. In the church, I've heard people refer to a Spirit-filled prayer, or a Spirit-filled teaching, or a Spirit-filled sermon or anthem. But maybe we should also talk about a Spirit-filled paintbrush, like those used by all the painters who got ready for Vacation Bible School this week - that was a spiritual ministry; or how about a Spirit-filled coffee pot - like the ones prepared for our coffee hour today - again, that is Spirit-filled work; or how about a Spirit-filled computer program - maybe when we're moving a cursor around the computer, we don't feel very spiritual; but I will tell you from a computer bozo like myself that when someone comes along who can fix my computer, or get me out of one of my technical messes - that is a spiritual gift. God has put that ability in certain people - most of them under the age of fourteen - but when our practical talents are offered to God's service, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, then painting murals, making coffee, fixing computers - they are powerful and wonderful ministries. And that's what we see beginning in the church in Acts 6.

            The apostle Paul called it the Body of Christ - a place where we all bring our unique talents and gifts. And God organizes it by filling us with the Holy Spirit and making it all work together in a way that is greater than the sum of its parts. Imagine a place that sends tutors to the inner city, and takes meals and sends cards to those who are sick, and settles refugee families, and sends kids to camp, and prepares visitors' bags, and folds bulletins, and makes beautiful music, and pays bills, and fixes leaks, and keeps flower beds -- and these are just a few things at the tip of the iceberg. These things are possible because Spirit-filled people bring their gifts, and God uses organized religion and a strong measure of love and grace to put the pieces together into a Body that shares the Good News of Jesus Christ. I can't imagine anything more exciting.

            In case it has not been affirmed enough, you are an essential part of this Body of Christ called Cicero United Methodist Church. This is not a perfect place. There are complaints and arguments, and people are people. But there is also a spirit of compassionate accountability, where people of faith challenge each other to move the bar of Christian service up a little higher. And there are a multitude of Spirit-filled people bringing their gifts. When we are at our best Jesus comes alive, and great things happen in Cicero, in Syracuse, in the Upper New York Conference of the United Methodist Church, and even around the world. That requires organization; and that organization can drive us nuts. But Spirit-filled organization has always been one of God's essential instruments. When it's working, it connects us and calls out the best in us. I feel blessed to be a part of this Body of Christ with all of you.