An Overlooked Passage for Officer Qualifications
In the life of my church we currently find ourselves considering the offices of Christ’s church. I am confident that all of us have thought not infrequently of the qualifications for office in the last few years, especially in the wake of Mars Hill in Seattle; perhaps the pages of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 in our Bibles are a little more well-worn than before. I think those pages provide wonderful explanations of the expectations of the character of the elders and deacons in the Church.
Yet, not to downplay the significance of these portions of Paul’s epistles, I think there are a few other passages that are worth exploring in this season, in particular the passage of Acts 6:1-7. In this portion of the Church’s early history, a few things stand out that are noteworthy in this story.
The first thing is that officers are the Apostles’ outlet for problem-solving in the Church. The issue facing the Church is that Greek-speaking Jews (“Hellenists” in v. 1) had cause to complain due to the negligence facing their widows in the distribution of resources. In other words, a problem arose in the public life of the Church; that is, the interpersonal relationships of the people there. Rather than sitting down and judging the matter for themselves, the Apostles gather the disciples and indicate their task is in a different area, and that rather than giving them a direct answer to the problem, they provide a framework to solve this problem and more. Officers are therefore tasked with addressing the concerns facing the people of the Church.
Second, the Apostles tell the disciples to “pick out from among you seven men of good repute” (v. 3). Here we find a remarkable principle in the Church’s selection of officers: they are to be selected not by a select group, but from the “full number of the disciples” (v. 2). The Apostles could have forced officers upon the Church, but instead they follow the example Moses set in selecting elders over the tribes of Israel (Exod 18:13-27; cf. Deut 1:13). In both cases, the people of God were to find faithful and godly men to rule over them, and they were granted their authority by God’s representatives. We see this process mirrored in the Church today through our nomination and examination process; the congregation nominates and the elders examine, ordain, and install those qualified. The Church is granted both the privilege and the responsibility in discipling, encouraging, training, and choosing leaders for herself.
Third, not only do we see the Apostles commend the choosing of officers by the Church for herself, but also from herself. The apostolic requirement here includes the provision that the Church select “from among you.” These officers are not chosen from a distance, then, but from within the Church’s life. These officers should be people known to the congregation, who have shown themselves to love and care for the well-being of the members and community. In a sense, this provision means that those selected are up to the task because they are familiar with both the people in the Church and the processes there. Can you imagine if the Apostles let the Church pick officers who did not even know what the problem was?
Fourth, we need to deal with the Apostles’ response about their own responsibility in verse 2: “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.” At first glance, this phrase seems dismissive. Are the Apostles saying service is beneath them? As Paul is famed for saying, “by no means!” In fact, the way they put it only confirms that they believe what the Church needs is a different type of service. The Apostles serve in a unique way (preaching) and if they overburden themselves with two sets of responsibility, then the ministry overall will suffer. Not only will the widows continue to be neglected, but the preaching of the word will likewise suffer. Instead, they institute by their authority a new office (namely, that of deacon). Not that the Apostles don't want to do the work, but rather to ensure what they are not called to do actually gets done. Think about it in terms of 1 Corinthians 12:18-20: But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The Apostles’ wisdom comes through clearly with this in mind. The Church needs leaders who are equipped, qualified, and gifted by God in different areas. They all find unity in their work (and thus, often work together!), but are given complementary tasks. So, the passage ends with the Lord approving of this advice: And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem (v. 7).
Finally, and I personally believe most amazingly, we see that the men the Church selects are all from a specific side of the issue. All 7 men listed in v. 5 have Greek names. This means that in the wake of the problem facing specifically the Greek-speaking widows, the Hebrew-speaking Christians entrusted the entirety of their widows to Greek-speaking officers! The implications of this are staggering, but most notably it reveals to us that the Church ought to be careful in its selection of officers to choose men who are trustworthy to handle things impartially. The Church’s selection is wise; the Hebrew-speaking disciples want unity, peace, and especially comfort for those suffering in the church. Choosing officers, then, is not a time to elevate the desires of self, and most certainly not an outlet for seeking position, privilege, and power. Rather, it is to further the Gospel through choosing others’ needs over our own.
Taken all together, what I find most breathtaking about Acts 6 is that it puts the beauty of the Church on display. Only Jesus’ life-changing work can turn a group of people from self-serving and impatient into a community of people focused on serving one another. Officers, then, are to imitate Christ in this chief way, by serving the needs of the Church that chooses them. In this way, Acts 6 is just as important to the officer nomination and election process as 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
