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. (Acts 6:3)
Recently I had the opportunity to observe a national church conference elect its executive board.
Taking in the proceedings and following on from my post about reference to personal examples, I asked myself how many of those men who went on the board, lived transparently exemplary lives? How would people know that these men met a similar criteria for service that the apostles set for the people in the Acts episode above?
It’s not unreasonable to suggest that the seven men selected were deemed to have met the criteria based on their conduct. Conduct that was evident to those who selected them. Indeed what I love about the verse is the phrase from among you.
It is such a pity that for some reason some believe that to be leadership material in church, you have to be able to separate yourself from the others. Your life needs to be so distinct from everyone else, so private and withdrawn that it’s difficult to really know you. Access to you is by your oratory and perhaps charisma and maybe even your skill at motivating people to get the job done.
In all that, however, we hardly know you. We hardly know if indeed you are full of the Spirit, because life in the Spirit is about how you are relationally. How can we know that if our interactions with you are so contrived and restricted? How can we know that if the engagement is not that different to only seeing a doctor when you’re sick?
I believe in the power of prayer and the spirit of discernment that can influence people to make the right decisions. Yet that does not negate the importance of being among each other and from that capture the essence of their good rep, wise handling of life and living in the Spirit.
As I observed that board election I noted how little of the character of the individuals’ character was know to those voting for them. I appreciate that as numbers grow and if you’re dealing with hundreds of people, it won’t be possible to live such a transparent life for all to see. Appreciating that, however, is not the same as suggesting that there is no alternative.
On the contrary, appreciating that energises me to pursue more of that transparent living among those with whom I share life. Not in the hope of being recognised and ascend to that class of service/leadership to go from among to above the people. Rather, so that in sharing life, and being developed in Christ’s image in the context of those relationships, I’ll get to witness and wholeheartedly support those I recognise with those qualities that marked the seven men out.
Not only that, but in living this way, others can encourage me and others who may not be at the place yet, to pursue those qualities in Christ and mature.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 
Another great post, Chris. I do love reading what you write and always look forward to the next post. There’s always a fresh perspective here.
Thanks for your encouraging words Chris. It’s good fellows like yourself and Alan and Kathleen (honorary fellow) and Arthur and Miguel and Guy and Eric and so on and so forth who set the pace for me. You set the standard – and the standard remains Jesus and so we flow from there.
Thanks again.