Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-26
Seven Servants Selected.

While some have conidered that the
of the charity work of the church
marks the commencement Of the dia-
conate in the church the seven are
not referred to as deacon, who latter
become church officers. The wisdom
of the apostles advice appealed to the
church, who selected men not because
of their social or business connection,
but because of the moral and religious
character possessed by the seven men,
who were to care for the widows and
orphans, who depended upon the church
for support. The apostle required that
the men chosen by the congregation
should be not only of good reputation,
but full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom
The board of charities would need not
only spiritual gifts but also wisdom
to tactfully deal with the widows after
listening to their complaints.
The division of the work in the
church harmonized the factions. One
OF the greatest sources of murmurings
in modern church WORK come from the
failure to properly assign to every
work of the church. The burdens
placed upon the pastors of our city
churches could be lightened and they
would be able to give more time to
every member was willing to do his
Or her part in the work of the church
The removal from the minister's shout
ders of the responsibilities that ought
to be shared by tho brethren would
increase the efficiency and power Of the
church.
When the multitude had selected
the seven. the apostles. following the
ancient Jewish custom of laying on of
hands, set them apart as members Of
Gals selected by the church were or
dained to systematic the charitable
work OF the church SO that all would
be treated according to their needs
The seven selected all bear Creek
names This does not prove that they
were all Helenistic Jews but it points
to the possibilities that in the Greek
party were influential men and that
ity of members in the new board of
charities or as some claim deacons
The fact that one was proselyte ap-
pears to indicate that the church did
not share the prejudices of the Pales-
tinian Jews toward the Greek prose-
1ytes.
Luke attributes the rapid increase in
membership to the appointment of the
when free from the burden of the poor.
were enabled to give more time to
preaching. Another important reason
is the fact that when any Christian or
ternal differences 1T makes strong
appeal to those without the fold of the
church. The spiritual power of the
brotherhood was quicker by the APP
pointment Of the board of charities. 1t
started the church upon its mission for
the evangelization of the world. 1t
reached the priests Of the temple for
the first time and the church was in q
position for expansion and extension
of the gospel through the activities
of men that were being developed by
the apostles within the Jerusalem
Church.
Christianity has in its growth helped
modernize the methods of philanthropy.
Social service has always been a great
factor in evangelistic work The church
has been the source of supply both OF
workers and philanthropic motives.
Public as well as church charity nave
been fostered by the Christian people
rect appeals for aid are mot now
looked upon with favor and the
worthiness of the appeal is questioned.
While benevolent institutions ana So
cieties have done much to relieve the
sorrows, sufferings and sickness among
men, there are many cases Of real need
and suffering right near the doors OF
every city dweller that calls for the
personal response of every citizen. The
needs of the Associated Charities. the
| Red Cross. the Belgians, Serbians, Poles.
Bulgarians and Jews all appeal to the
! philanthropic spirit fostered by the
church OF Christ. but they are not as
heart, even II they are greater, as the
suffering of the loved ones near the
home that all are called upon to help,
! aid and assist. for the teaching OF the
golden rule of this week is Bear ye
one another's burdens, and SO fulfll the