A look at Stephen

[Arc]

Okay please take the time to read Acts 6:1 - 8:3

The three big questions are:

What were the requirements for the men chosen to lead the church in ministries? Why are these Qualities important, and lastly Which do you possess and need improvement on?

How would you characterize Stephens message to the Jews? Was it "seeker sensitive"? Hot-Headed? Misguided? What were Stephens major points?

What happened directly after Stephens death, and what does this have to do with modern day ministries?

A question that we all discussed is about Stephens delivery of his message. We felt that it was not hot headed, or an angry rant, but rather very direct and calm. An "in your face" to the Jews, even in the face of certain death. He knew jewish law and he knew what they were going to do to him once he spoke. At what points in our ministry do we need to be Direct and not sugarcoat everything when we preach. Most people are turned away from a preacher who comes off as direct or aggressive, but in Stephens case, he preformed exactly how he should have. Discuss...

[PassionForHisWord]

Okay please take the time to read Acts 6:1 - 8:3

The three big questions are:

What were the requirements for the men chosen to lead the church in ministries? Why are these Qualities important, and lastly Which do you possess and need improvement on?

How would you characterize Stephens message to the Jews? Was it "seeker sensitive"? Hot-Headed? Misguided? What were Stephens major points?

What happened directly after Stephens death, and what does this have to do with modern day ministries?

A question that we all discussed is about Stephens delivery of his message. We felt that it was not hot headed, or an angry rant, but rather very direct and calm. An "in your face" to the Jews, even in the face of certain death. He knew jewish law and he knew what they were going to do to him once he spoke. At what points in our ministry do we need to be Direct and not sugarcoat everything when we preach. Most people are turned away from a preacher who comes off as direct or aggressive, but in Stephens case, he preformed exactly how he should have. Discuss...

According to Acts 6:3-4, the requirements for men chosen to lead church ministries would be those who are "men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom" and give themselves "continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word". Apparently Stephen met these requirements, because of the men that were appointed he was the only one described as "a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit" (6:5).

I would say that Stephens message was just flat out truth. It may not be what they wanted to hear, but it was the truth that needed to be brought forth. He pointed out that despite God's faithfulness to them, the Jewish ancestors had a consistency of killing prophets and backsliding away from God. He sort of sums this up like this:

You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. - Acts 7:51-53

Directly after Stephens death, Saul came and began to persecute the church (I think it was because he saw what it stood for after hearing Stephen). It should also be pointed out that directly after Stephen summed up his message, the Jewish leaders "were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth" (7:54). I think that this is sort of how the world responds to the truth. The world doesn't like the truth, because it reveals the world for what it really is: wicked. It likes to deny this fact and think that it's basically good all the time. But when truth is suddenly shouted out at it, it gets cut to the heart and gnashes at it with their teeth. Then they try to get rid of truth by putting it to death, just like with Stephen.
I think that this relates to the modern church. The church today likes to be "seeker friendly". It doesn't want to point out just how wicked people really are so that it can draw more people to it. Just look at Joel Osteen! His book about becoming a "better you" says nothing about the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. It talks about your own self-righteous efforts to make yourself "better". Jesus told us to be PERFECT. That's only possible by the Holy Spirit, and it will only be finished after the day we die.
The church also doesn't want to preach direct truth because of the consequences that can come of doing so. Stephen was martyred, and the church fears that persecution will be the same method that the world uses against it if it were to preach direct truth. If that's true, then the church doesn't really stand for truth at all! It may believe what the pure truth is, but if it isn't willing to preach it, it doesn't really stand for it. That means they're compromising the truth for lies, which inevitably leads to lukewarm faith and marginality. I think that's exactly what's happened to the church today.