How many of you would say that you love change? I would say the same about myself. I get bored fairly easily. If I walk one path to my destination, I usually choose to return a different way. San Francisco is a great city to live in if you like change. There’s always something new happening here, except for the weather in July – that didn’t seem to change at all.

We tend to like change until it requires us to change.

Change is inevitable. The world is always changing. Your kids don’t stop growing up. Once you finally learn how to operate your favorite technology, it soon becomes obsolete. When families or companies or churches grow, by necessity, this brings about change. And change, even when it’s for a good reason, can still be quite disorienting.

You’ll see this effect in our passage of Scripture for today.

We’re ending a series we’ve been in all summer called The Making of a Movement. Last week, we established that the movement of Jesus is unstoppable and because of this, we can put our full confidence in Him. If the mission of Jesus is unstoppable, does that mean that it doesn’t matter what we do or whether we choose to participate in his mission?

Is there anything we can do to accelerate the mission and movement of Jesus?

Let’s carry this question throughout the message today.

Acts 6:1-7 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

The number of disciples was increasing. How exciting! This is the very thing Jesus had called them to do. These were His last words to them after his resurrection:

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

The very plan Jesus had given them was working. Their vision was becoming a reality. We articulate the same idea in our vision here at Epic.

The vision of Epic Church is to see an increasing number of people in San Francisco orient their entire lives around Jesus.

And we celebrate how much of this vision has become a reality so far. But what was true for this first century church in Jerusalem has become true for our church in San Francisco:

Growth always brings new opportunities and new challenges.

For this church in Acts, the Hellenistic Jews complained against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. The Hellenistic Jews were the Greek-speaking Jews, outsiders in the sense that they were not Jewish Christians like many in this church, including the disciples. This could have divided the early church.

This was a serious issue, even though it was not intentional on the part of the church’s leaders. These widows felt unseen and overlooked. I am aware that some of you have felt overlooked here at Epic. I am so sorry. That’s not our heart for you. That’s actually the opposite of what I and our staff team desire for you. We want you to be seen, known, and cared for here. And we know that how that happens has to look different in this season of our church.

These leaders in Acts 6 have a decision to make. Will they ignore this group that is being overlooked? Or will they try to take care of them and everything else in the church, all by themselves?

Thankfully they say “yes” to a strategy that God gives all throughout Scripture. They make a commitment to stay focused on their calling and they bring in other leaders to accelerate the vision and make sure everyone is cared for. Let me show you how this is in the heart of Jesus.

Matthew 9:35-38 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing ever disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Jesus was on a mission. And though He is the Chief Shepherd, he’s so clear that there are more human shepherds needed to fulfill the mission. Pay attention to Jesus’s motive here. He’s not simply trying to grow something that looks impressive. His desire is birthed from the deep compassion he has for this sea of humanity. The word that gets translated compassion means that it’s something Jesus feels deeply in his gut or his bowels. And because he cares for humanity so deeply, He wants to see the right kinds of leaders taking care of them.

I’m so grateful for the kinds of leaders we have all throughout our church. Men and women who care about people and are using their God-given gifts to serve others. I’m especially grateful for every man and woman who is leading a group this season. This is how you can be kept from being overlooked. Join a group today so you can be seen, known, and cared for. And think about how Jesus might want to use you to fulfill His mission here. Jesus gives us this framework for His mission.

Vision: Harvest is Plentiful

Current Reality: Workers are Few

Fill the Gap: Pray for More Workers

I want to ask you to join me in doing this for our church in this season. Pray for important staff hires to make. We have our first class of interns – 7 of them. We’re seeking to see more people in our church step onto a serving team. And I have a personal passion to see hundreds of leaders stepping up and playing key roles all throughout our church.

What kind of leaders do we need in the church?

There are 3 qualifications given in Acts 6:3. KNOWN – “Choose seven men from among you who are known.” The disciples no longer knew every one of the 5,000 plus people who were now a part of this church. Epic is nowhere near 5,000 people, but our staff team can’t know everyone. There was a day when we did. So now for us, it looks like trusting people we do know to let us know potential leaders we may not know.

A second thing these new leaders needed to show is that they were full of the Spirit. It needed to be clear that the Holy Spirit was operating in their lives. The third criteria was that they were known to be full of wisdom. This word for wisdom refers to practical know-how. This is about their skill and competency.

Notice that they were not just giving these 7 new leaders a task to accomplish. They were given them RESPONSIBILITY. And this freed the apostles to continue giving their time and attention to prayer and ministry of the word. The beauty of the church is when every person in the church uses the gifts they’ve been given to build up the church and reach those who don’t know Jesus yet.

Is there anything holding you back from serving as a leader at Epic Church?

Maybe it’s that you are new and we need to get to know you. We want this. Maybe it’s a lack of desire or willingness on your part. Maybe you aren’t sure there’s a place for you. I want to ensure you that there is.

They choose 7 people and we can read each of their names in verse 5. They presented them to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. We’re going to do this today for all of you who are current leaders here at Epic and all of you who have a desire to become leaders here. Well, what were the results of this strategy?

The word of God spread. More people were hearing and responding to the preaching of the gospel. Those called to do this were freed to continue giving their time and energy to it.

The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly. Wouldn’t you love to be part of a movement where we and every other Christian church in San Francisco sees the number of disciples increasing rapidly?! Not only that, but a number of the Jewish priests put their faith in Jesus as King.

As we think about what Jesus taught and what we see happen here, consider this: Jesus sets the vision for the mission. And Jesus invites us to set the pace for the vision being accomplished.

“As the body of Christ, every member of every church congregation has a part to play in the fulfillment of that church’s vision. Most people are longing to be involved. Their participation enables them to assume ownership of the church’s ministries. With the participation of the whole congregation, a church can afford a big vision.” Tricia Neil, From Vision to Action

We want to see more people finding Jesus and orienting their entire lives around Him. We want this for you. And we want you to help us do this for others.