The first reading for this Fifth Sunday of Easter contains these words:

Acts 6:1–6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

My experience in ministry was in smaller congregations, which have been defined as those having less than 200 in worship each week. In congregations that size, the pastor is often a jack of all trades, doing lots of things that would not normally be considered “ministry.”

Over the years, I did lots of building maintenance and lawn care at the church. I was called upon to climb into the attic to relight the furnace pilot light, go up a ladder to change light bulbs in a tower, fix a stopped up toilet, set up a sound system, or fix a malfunctioning computer network.  While I am grateful God gave me the ability to do those things, and I enjoyed doing them for the most part, I sometimes felt I could have used that time better by studying, praying, preparing for worship and Bible Class, or just out visiting with the members of the congregation and community.

I share this with you today to encourage you to ask yourselves: “What could I be doing at my congregation to allow my pastor to devote more time to prayer and ministry?”