STEPHEN GOT IT

One on one, face to face, hands on Presence is my preference for all aspects of my life.  In that there is more than an exchange of information; there is an exchange of life energy that is necessary for true transformation.  I believe that is why the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.

 Jesus instructed people with his teachings but he inspired them with his life that he shared with them, and that was the seed of transformation.  Those who followed him walked with him 24/7 for three years.  He was imparting his life into them as they walked together, ate together, laughed together, and cried together.  There was no pretense or performance; simply Presence.  That Presence worked within them invisible in their souls making them ready to receive the seed of the Holy Spirit that would be planted in them at Pentecost.  It takes life energy to break up the fallow ground of the heart.  That is what one on one, face to face, hands on Presence does.

One of the concerns I have in my experiences with institutional and organized religion is the division between the Clergy and the Laity.  The Clergy is set apart from the Laity by the responsibilities they have, the collars and clothing that they wear, and the persona they carry into the public arena.  It’s a hierarchy very close to the world’s way of running organizations and I find no foundation for it in the teachings of Jesus. 

As a matter of fact I find Jesus giving strong admonitions against it to his disciples and followers.

I remember pondering this as I was reading Acts 6 one day.  There was a complaint by some that widows were being neglected in the distribution of food in the gatherings.  The disciples all got together and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.  So they picked out seven good men to serve tables while they devoted themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.  Among the seven were Stephen and Phillip.

When I read that I balked and wondered, “Where did they get that from?”  A decision without much discernment, prayer, or advice from God, but pleasing to everyone was made and blessed by the Apostles.  Unfortunately that became a seed that grew into what we have today in institutional church and organized religion; designated Clergy and designated Laity.

The teaching and example of Jesus offers no foundation for this and actually speaks against it.  This is made clear in John 13 where Jesus washes the disciple’s feet.  Jesus said, “Do you understand what I have done for you?  You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for I am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done” (John 13: 12-15).  Just to reiterate the lesson the last thing he does for them is cook breakfast and tells them to “Feed my sheep”.  (John 21.)

Jesus didn’t put a division between devoting oneself to prayer and ministering the word and serving tables.  It is all one in his thinking and teaching and should be in mine.  As a postscript, I find it amusing that it is the striking ministry of the word by Stephen and by Phillip recorded in the Scriptures and not those of the disciples who set themselves apart to do that. Jesus desires all of those who follow him to devote ourselves to prayer and ministering the word, as well as serving tables and feeding those who are hungry.

Stephen got it.  He obviously devoted himself to prayer, ministering the word, and serving tables as he gave a striking speech that got him stoned to death, as recorded in Acts 6, 7.  The fruit of that speech grew in he heart of a young man named Saul who was there watching and listening. I would believe that was the beginning of the breaking up of the fallow ground of his heart and soul, preparing him for the seed that would later be planted by the Holy Spirit and would change Saul into Paul.