History Repeating

By Carla Castro

Acts 6 starts out with a situation similar to that which I see occurring at Anchor.

Acts 6:1-7

"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. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."

Now, let's look at it in terms of today:
 
The number of Anchorites are increasing and people have seen the need increasing as well for those in the church and the neighborhood. Up until now, a large amount of responsibility has been set upon the shoulders of Pastor Tim and he found himself trying to balance ministry and helping the needy, leading to a large workload. He has succeeded in doing everything and doing it well; however, as we all know, doing too much all the time leads to burnout. Instead of neglecting any responsibitilies, he opted to hire me on staff to Anchor to assist with helping with the people's needs. He saw in me the experience and knowledge of the social service world and the desire to love people in a Christlike manner. When I began the work at Anchor, Pastor Tim pulled my family and I to the front of the church during service to pray for us and the service that I could offer Anchor. Through this, we hope to see the number of followers increasing and movement towards the ideal circumstances that people at Anchor are no longer needy.
 
History often repeats itself, from small situations to large historical events. In Acts 6, the basic beginnings of the church is described. In the present at Anchor, we are hoping to make a small impact in the world. But, isn't it interesting as we read, how we can draw these connections? Often, I turn to the Bible in times of trouble and just flip it open instead of reading a specific passage, I allow God to show me what he would like me to see. And more often than not, the page or chapter I turn to is more help than I could ever have imagined. How amazing is it that he provides us His wisdom through the Bible when we allow him to?
 
I would be lying if I said that I have ever been devout and good about reading the Bible daily. Until recently, when Tim has shown the value of reading the Bible in our lives, have I realized what I was missing. I'm far from achieving what I would like to in regards to following the Word, but would hope that through the weekly readings of Acts, I continue to form a habit. And I hope that as you follow the reading and blogging, we can together learn more about God, the history of Christianity, and find how truely important it is in our lives as Christians.
 
And I am so grateful to everyone that has supported Anchor's decision to hire me to help with the needs of the church and look forward to the time to come in serving the church and the neighborhood.