Acts 6: When Leaders Refuse to Serve

There's a moment in Acts 6 that should make every church leader squirm a little. The apostles—the guys who walked with Jesus, heard his teachings firsthand, witnessed his servant leadership up close—look at their growing church and declare: "It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables."

They said this in response to their own church's widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of resources. And (despite the fact that most translations say "distribution of food," the words "of food" aren't present in the the Greek of Acts 6:1) we're not just talking about missing a meal here. This was about the entire socialistic system the early church had established to care for one another. Housing, clothing, medical care, financial support—the whole network of mutual aid that made the Jesus movement so radically compelling.

Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. In his gospel, he records Jesus saying explicitly:

"The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' But it is not this way for you; rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves."

Then this same Luke turns around in Acts 6 and shows us the apostles doing exactly what Jesus warned against. It's hard not to see this as an intentional literary barb—Luke setting up a contrast between Jesus's clear teaching about servant leadership and the apostles' disappointing response when push came to shove.

Spiritual Bypassing in Action

When the apostles say they can't wait tables because they need to focus on "the word of God," that's poor leadership. It's an example of spiritual bypassing—using God-language to avoid the actual work of caring for people.

Now, to their credit, the apostles did get some things right. They listened when the Greek-speaking widows complained about being overlooked. They didn't dismiss the complaints or spiritualize the problem away with toxic positivity. They took action. That part they nailed.

But the guys they appointed to "just serve tables"? Well, they turned the tables on the apostles. Stephen becomes the first martyr, a man "full of grace and power" who "did great wonders and signs among the people." Philip becomes this powerful evangelist who baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch and turns Samaria upside down with the gospel. These "table servers" end up being the spiritual powerhouses in Acts.

The apostles missed something crucial: serving tables IS the way we teach the word. Caring for widows IS ministry. If you don't want to "neglect the word of God" then you put on your apron and serve.

The Difference Between Delegation and Abdication

Now I do understand they couldn't personally serve everyone as the church grew to thousands. That makes sense. Healthy delegation is wisdom. There is work that is yours to do and work that isn't.

But completely removing yourself from service? That's not delegation—that's abdication.

In my own church, it's personally important to me that I serve in our nursery, set up potluck tables, and run sound cables. Not because I think I'm too humble for "real ministry," but because this IS real ministry. This is how we embody the word instead of just talking about it.

I've seen too many church leaders hide behind pulpits instead of getting their hands dirty with the actual work of love. I recently sent a text to someone whose parent had passed away. They said, "I've never had a Pastor follow up with me like this before." I'm not particularly proud of meeting that very low bar.

We've professionalized ministry so much that we've forgotten that Jesus knelt down with a towel.

The Challenge

So here's my challenge to every church leader—paid or unpaid—reading this: What would it look like if we all stopped using "spiritual responsibilities" as an excuse to avoid practically serving people? What if our leadership looked more like Jesus washing feet and less like protecting our positions of "teacher and preacher"?

Because the moment we think we're too important to serve, we've missed the entire point of following the Guy who said "the last shall be first."

The widows weren't wrong to complain. The Greek-speaking Christians weren't being divisive by pointing out inequity. And the solution wasn't to create a two-tiered system where some people do "spiritual work" and others do "practical work."

The solution was—and remains—leaders who understand that in the kingdom of God, there is no hierarchy of service. There's just service. And if you're not willing to get your hands dirty with the actual work of love, you might want to ask yourself who you're really following.