Brothers and sisters, we in the conservative American church have gotten into our blood this idea that caring for the needs of the poor, especially the unchurched poor, is not something that the church should do. But the early church of Acts 6 begs to differ with us. What the early church teaches us, though, is that caring for the poor is not the job of the pastor and elders. The congregation as a whole needs to be engaged and involved in meeting community needs, and deacons need to be our point men on that task. If we aren’t giving as generously as the early church, why not? Is the good news not as good to us as it was to them? Are we smarter and holier than they were? I doubt it. We need to outgive and outcare the liberal church and secular relief organizations. Deacons and future deacons, get ready. Remember, once the church got deacons and got organized in its charitable giving, what happened? Acts 6 tells us that the word of God just took off. Tons of people joined themselves to the Jesus movement — including a great many priests. People invested in the old Levitical system came to Jesus Christ as the true High Priest and true sacrifice. Can you believe it? This is what happens when the church actually shows love in a tangible, organized way. This what God did when His people made use of the office of mercy that He set up in the church.
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Caleb Nelson grew up in Ft. Collins, CO. Born into a Christian home, where he eventually became the eldest of 11 children, he has been a lifelong Presbyterian. He professed faith at the age of six, and was homeschooled through high school. He then attended Patrick Henry College...
