What Kind of Pain Do You Prefer?

Last night, I preached a sermon on Acts 6:1-7. This is the text that usually is used to talk about the appointment of the first deacons, but I pointed out that we need to keep in mind the reason for this appointment.

The Church was growing rapidly, but, as with any growth, there were growing pains. These seven men were appointed to take care of a specific need that, if left alone, could have divided the early Church. Instead, the apostles handled the situation well, and order and peace was restored. In fact, Acts 6:7 tells us that the church continued to grow rapidly. Partly, this was true because the problem was resolved properly.

In the course of the sermon, I pointed out that even a growing congregation is going to experience problems and pains. Growing pains, even for a faithful church, are very real. How they are handled makes all the difference.

At the end of the sermon, though, I asked this question: “Would you rather have growing pains or slowing pains?”

All of us, I think, would answer that we would rather have growing pains, but are we sure about that?

• If we have growing pains, there will be more people for me to try to get to know, and some of them might be very different from me.
• Growing pains mean that I may not have the opportunity to be as prominent within the congregation as I might like.
• When we grow, we can stop looking to our past as much, and I like to honor the past.
• More people often simply means more problems.

Those are legitimate concerns. Not all of them come from the highest of integrity, but they are, nevertheless, real struggles for some people.

So I would suggest that there are some people who inwardly would prefer “Slowing” pains! The slower the pace; the more we stick with the status quo; the more things stay exactly the same–that’s when we are most comfortable.

But that is exactly what the devil would like to us believe. While we cannot, must not, and will not change doctrine, we are commanded to move forward as congregations. We are commanded to seek the lost and bring them to Jesus. When we do, we will grow.

When we grow, there will be some pains.

…but they are growing pains, and those mean we are doing just what God wants us to do.

QUESTION: What are some common “growing pains” that congregations go through? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo credit: MapBox on Creative Commons

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