In the book of Acts we have a record of the early growth in the life of the first church. The number of believers increased from 120 to 3,000 on the Day of Pentecost in chapter 2. By chapter 4, the number of men alone was 5,000—not counting women and children. Multitudes of men and women were added to the Lord in chapter 5. And now in chapter 6, the disciples are “increasing in number,” and that number “multiplied greatly” (v 1, 7). However, as Luke makes clear, this growth did not come without its pain and challenges. Tensions began to arise between two groups within the church: the Hellenists and the Hebrews. The Hellenists were Greek-speaking Jews who weren't raised in the city, but attended synagogues where the prayers and the sermons were in Greek. The Hebrews were raised in Jerusalem, speaking both Aramaic and Hebrew, and worshiping in those Semitic languages. Each group had its own culture, and the church was divided into “us” and “them.” The pressing issue became “the daily distribution“ of food to the needy. The organizational challenge must have been huge. It’s probably no surprise that complaints arose, and that the ethnic minority—the immigrant community—felt they were being discriminated against. In their view, the Hellenist widows were not being treated as well as the Hebrew widows (v 1). So the apostles propose a solution: more leaders! Convinced of their calling to preach God’s Word, they knew the church would not remain healthy if they invested too much time in the administrative details of the meal program. So the congregation is asked to nominate seven qualified men to mobilize this important care-giving ministry, that the apostles can stay focused on “prayer and the ministry of the word” (v 2-4). The whole church was pleased by the apostles’ suggestion, and seven leaders are chosen. Significantly, all seven have Greek names! So the congregation trusted those who had been hurt by the system to fix it and run it fairly. Despite the challenges of working together, the Jerusalem church chose to affirm its multicultural character, even as they adopted new structures to meet new situations. And the result was an expanded ministry (v 5-7). At least one of those new leaders, a man named Stephen, was doing more than serving tables. Filled with the Spirit, he “was doing great wonders and signs,” and debating with hostile opponents of the faith. Unable to answer Stephen’s wisdom, they found false witnesses to accuse him of blasphemy, a capital offense. Yet Stephen’s face was shining like that of an angel (v 8-15). For further meditation: