Acts 6 paints a picture of a church under pressure. They were facing external persecution. There were disagreements and divisions over fair distribution of resources. They even had to deal with internal corruption (in the form of Ananias and Saphira—check out Acts 5 to learn more). With all of these issues combined, it was difficult for the leaders of this early church to focus their energy on prayer and the ministry of the Word of God.

The solution to their problem is found in Acts 6:3-4: “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

These two verses paint the picture of the complementary roles held by leaders and disciples in the early church. For the church’s mission to thrive, just one wasn’t enough. Both were essential. And the same is true of our churches today.

Our two ministries at Strategic Renewal—the 6:4 Fellowship and the 6:3 Discipleship—are built on this foundation set by the early church. And the same thing that was true then is still true now—one can’t succeed without the other. If our churches are going to thrive, it’s going to take all of us.

Engaging 6:3 Disciples

The picture of the early church painted in this passage is clear: there was a lot of important work to be done. But it would be impossible for church leaders to do it all and still perform any kind of ministry. That’s why the role of disciples within the church is so essential—without the responsibility they take on, their leaders wouldn’t be able to focus their time and attention on ministry.

But the call in this passage isn’t to pass these responsibilities off to just anyone who happens to be available. The instruction in Acts 6:3 is to choose disciples who are “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty”. Those three elements describe what 6:3 Disciples look like: people of good reputation, full of the Spirit, and full of wisdom.

Let’s briefly look at each of these three elements:

• Of good repute – This isn’t about crafting a careful curated image. The call here is to live a consistent, honorable life, both among believers and unbelievers (as described in 1 Peter 2:12). Our character should testify louder than any words we could say about ourselves.
• Full of the Spirit – Being full of the Spirit is characterized by a daily surrender to the power and presence of the resurrected Christ. Disciples filled with the Holy Spirit are controlled by Him in their decisions, actions, words, and relationships.
• Full of wisdom – James 3:17 describes what true wisdom looks like: “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” Simply put, it’s the life of Jesus living through us—not to make ourselves seem better, but to humbly benefit those around us.

The leaders of the early church recognized that they didn’t have capacity to take on all the church’s responsibilities and still lead well. But they also recognized that those responsibilities couldn’t be passed off to just anyone.

That’s what the 6:3 Discipleship is all about—building and supporting disciples who are fit to carry these responsibilities within their own churches, so that their leaders can focus on prayer and the Word. 6:3 Disciples may not be the ones leading. But thriving, flourishing churches cannot exist without them.

Empowering 6:4 Leaders

The other side of the coin is found in Acts 6:4, and the instruction is clear: as church leaders turn these responsibilities over to trustworthy disciples, they are to give their attention to “prayer and the ministry of the Word.”

We see this same pattern in other places in scripture as well. In Exodus 18:17-23, Jethro advises Moses in this same way, recognizing that carrying all of the work of leading the people of Israel himself will eventually be too much for him. He first highlights the importance of prayer in Moses’s role as a leader, telling him to “represent the people before God and bring their cases to God” (18:19).  He then tells Moses that he should “warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do” (18:20), and to “look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens” (18:21).

Scripture makes the importance of this pattern clear. But putting it into action requires something of leaders—something that doesn’t come naturally to many of us. 

If we’re going to lead our churches well, we have to learn to say “no.”

To weaken your church, the devil doesn’t have to destroy you—he only has to distract you. Leaders must reject distractions so they can focus on the essentials of ministry: leading their congregations through prayer and the Word. 

Too many churches are outwardly busy, but spiritually stagnant. Learning to say “no” to things that don’t need their attention allows leaders to say “yes” to the right things. The true power of “no” is in a stronger “yes”. 

This is the challenge for 6:4 Leaders: to trust those handling their church’s responsibilities so that they can give their strongest “yes” to leading their churches in prayer and the ministry of the Word.

6:3 + 6:3 = 6:7

When both leaders and disciples are playing their roles together, it creates what we call the Divine Pattern, described in Acts 6:7: “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.”

Is that not a perfect description of the vision all of us have for the gospel? To see the Word of God spreading. To see more people come to faith in Jesus, and to see obedience to our King  increase. This is what we want for all of our churches. And we all have a role to play.

Our two ministries will continue to work together in support of this mission. And no matter what role you play in your church, you can be a part of it. You can find resources for church leaders at the 6:4 Fellowship or for disciples at the 6:3 Discipleship. 

If you’d like to support this ongoing ministry of helping churches thrive, join us by making a donation to Strategic Renewal today.