"Everybody cannot do everything"

As the church and her leaders continue to be bombarded with urgent needs from every direction, John Stott draws out an important and urgent ministry insight as he reflects on Acts 6:1-7 in conjunction with his lifelong pastoral ministry:

A vital principle is embedded in this incident [i.e. the choosing of the Seven], which the church urgently needs to re-learn in every generation, namely that 'everybody cannot do everything'. Indeed, everybody is not called to do everything.

Or let me express this principle in three positive statements:

1. God calls all his people to ministry (diakonia). 
2. God calls different people to different ministries.
3. God expects those called to the ministry of the word to concentrate on their calling and on no account to allow themselves to be distracted by social administration.

It is obviously deliberate that the work of the Twelve and the work of the Seven are both called diakonia ('ministry'). The Twelve were called to the diakonia of the word (verse 4) or to pastoral ministry, while the Seven were called to the diakonia of tables (verse 2) or to social ministry. Neither ministry is inferior to the other. On the contrary, both are Christian ministries (ways of serving God). Both require Spirit-filled people to exercise them. And both can be full-time Christian ministries. The only difference between them is that they are different!

Quoted from John Stott, The Living Church: Convictions of a lifelong pastor (IVP).

On church planting

We thank God for the wonderful privilege for the opportunity to serve as part of a church planting team in a growing township in Malaysia. The process of planning and planting a new congregation, a new community of God's people (or "City within the City", to borrow Tim Keller's terminology) has been for us thoroughly exciting ... and yet, terribly confusing at the same time.

The words of Mark Dever proves helpful in encouraging us to stay the course, to keep our focus on what we're really on about:

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe (Heb 1:1-2)"

Living as we do after the Fall but before the Heavenly City, we are in a time when faith is central, and so the Word must be central - because God's Holy Spirit creates His people by His Word! We can create a people by other means, and this is the great temptation of churches. We can created a people around a certain ethnicity. We can create a people around a fully-graded choir program. We can find people who get excited about a building project or a denomination identity. We can create a people around a series of care groups, where each feels loved and cared for. We can create a people around a community service project. We can create a people around social opportunities for young mothers or Caribbean cruises for singles. We can create a people around men's groups. We can even create a people around the personality of a preacher. And God can surely use all of these things. But in the final analysis the people of God, the church of God, can only be created around the Word of God.

Asked about his accomplishments as a Reformer, Martin Luther said, "I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word: otherwise I did nothing ... The Word did it all." The Word of God brings life.

Quoted from Mark Dever, "Expositional Preaching" in Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway).