Sermon Tone Analysis

Deacons: Agents of Change

Acts 6:8-15

 

 

Do you like change?

You probably heard about the man from the mountains of Tennessee who found himself in a large city for the first time, standing outside the door of an elevator.

He watched with interest as an old, haggard woman hobbled on the elevator, and the door closed.

Just a couple of minutes later the doors of the elevator opened and out stepped a young, attractive woman .

The father turned to his youngest son and said, “Hey, Billie, go get your ma!”

Change for some people is a dirty word.

For others, change is an exciting possibility.

Edwin McManus writes in his book /Seizing the Divine Moment /(pp.

161-162), of “adopter catergorizations.”

This, according to McManus is a sociological phenomenon that describes how people respond to change.

According to “adopter categorizations,” fifty percent of the population lean forward and fifty percent of the population lean backward.

More specifically,

·         2 percent are called innovators

·         13 percent are early adopters

·         34 percent are described as early majority

·         34 percent are described as late majority

·         13 percent are late adopters

·         2 percent are described as laggards

McManus concludes, “In other words, 15 percent of us are on the ball of our feet ready to move forward and about 15 percent of us are on the backs of our heels digging them in.”

Are you on the balls of your feet, or are your heels dug in?

It would be an interesting exercise for each of us to discover which of those 15 percent groups we belong to.

We’re been focusing on deacons and their ministry over the past few weeks.

A new slate of deacons will be elected soon.

This morning our focus is on deacons as agents of change.

Yet, who has ever heard of deacons being agents of change?

Aren’t deacons more adept at being agents of the “status quo?”

We’re going to highlight the ministry of Stephen, one of the very first deacons.

Stephen’s ministry as a deacon brought revolutionary change to the world, and to the church.

He was an agent of change.

Our church needs deacons who are agents of change if we are to fulfill our mission statement: /Reaching our changing world for Christ.

/ We’re not likely to reach a world that’s constantly changing if we’re in a rut.

Acts, chapter 6, tells us about those first seven deacons who were chosen by the church to “serve tables.”

Whether they liked it or not, they were thrust into change.

Those Jews in the church who were Greeks complained that they were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food, while the Jews from Jerusalem were not.

Right off the bat these Spirit-filled deacons had to serve people who weren’t happy with the current state of affairs.

The text doesn’t reveal it, but Greek Jews didn’t think, talk, or even act exactly like the Jews from Jerusalem.

Yet these deacons met the situation head on and ministered to those in need in the name of the LORD Jesus.

Those who serve as deacons in today’s church must make friends with change.

What does that require?

Let’s talk about it.

*Deacons who are agents of change understand change.

*They not only understand that change is inevitable, but they also understand the types of change that are all around them.

/Structural.

/There’s changes in structure.

I think we all understand what kind of change this is.

Our structure changed when we built the new Family Life Center.

Our structure changes when we called Josh to be our youth minister.

As we offer new discipleship classes at different times during the week, and even on Sundays, that’s structural change.

And, as systems theory teaches, when one part of the system, or structure, is changed, it requires that something else change to accommodate it.

Change is a sign of a healthy church.

The pastor and deacons play a vital role in monitoring and promoting the change that’s necessary for us to reach our changing world for Christ.

/Technological.

/Next, there’s technological change.

I guess the use of computers and the internet, digital cameras and phones top the list of technological changes that have influenced the church in the past two decades.

There was a time when churches fought and even split over technological changes.

Believe it or not, indoor restrooms were one such touchy issue in years past.

Also, the use of kitchens in the church was another resisted change.

But can we even imagine a church without a kitchen today.

*ILLUS.

Buying a new electric typewriter at Burgaw Baptist Church.

The preacher’s trying to spend too much money.*

Computers are used in the great majority of churches today, and I for one am glad.

They help us do ministry in ways some of us haven’t even learned yet.

(By the way, if you have internet access, a complete text of the Sunday morning services can be found on our church web site.

Just yesterday a friend asked me if my sermons were available on the web, and I proudly told him yes.

/Behavioral.

/Then there are behavioral changes.

Any time change takes place, we tend to change along with the times.

For instance, have you noticed the changes in how we dress for church as compared to ten years ago?

What about churches?

More and more “churches without walls” are popping up everywhere in an attempt to reach those who are completely turned off by “institutional religion.”

What are some other behavioral changes you have noticed?

/Values.

/Finally, there’s changes in values.

Some churches have become bastions of rules and regulations, dos and don’ts.

Other churches think you must worship at 11:00 a.m. because we have to have time to get the cows milked and the chickens fed!

Some of us have forgotten where our neckties are, and can’t imagine wearing one.

But they still require the pastor to wear one in the pulpit.

*ILLUS.

Donnie Christian’s experience at Moffet Memorial Church.

*

Understanding change is imperative for deacons, as it is for us all.

If deacons are to lead out in it, they must understand it.

*Deacons who are agents of change understand its effects.

*As we’ve said, change doesn’t happen without its effects.

How we handle change affects whether the change benefits the church or doesn’t.

*[[READ ACTS 6:8-15]]*

We see, hear about, and experience change every day.

But what does scripture have to say about change?

The story of Stephen tells us that, as a deacon, the reality of Jesus Christ, and His presence in the Spirit in Stephen, forced change in Jewish society that Jews couldn’t bear.

Stephen stood in the center of freedom in Christ.

The Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria, as well as those from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia, who belonged to what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, which most likely was attended by God-fearers who were Gentiles but worshiped the God of the Jews, began to argue with Stephen.

Yet they were unable to stand against his wisdom or the power of the Holy Spirit with which he spoke.

So, not being able to debate him down, they do what many do when they face what they consider to be a foe, they proceeded to defeat him by force.

They dug in their heels, brought Stephen before the Sanhedrin, which was the ruing body, the Supreme Court of Israel, if you will, and told lies about him.

*“This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.

For wqe have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”*

There it is.

Change.