They told us in overwhelming numbers that dealing with critics was a huge distraction. To a lesser extent, but still significant, the pastors said conflict among staff and key leaders was a significant distraction as well.

The early church, according to Acts 6, was experiencing phenomenal growth. The author, Luke, simply says, “the number of disciples was multiplying” (Acts 6:1, HCSB). Then the distraction arose. The Hellenistic Jews complained that their widows were not being included in the daily distribution of food.

The need was real. But the complaints had the potential to move the leadership from their primary tasks and thus hinder the momentum of the church. The leaders realized the danger of the distraction and declared to the entire body: “It would not be right for us to give up preaching about God to handle the financial matters” (Acts 6:2, HCSB). Their solution was brilliant in its simplicity. They selected seven wise men of good reputation to handle this matter.

The leaders then returned to their priorities: “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching ministry” (Acts 6:4, HCSB).

The Problem with Distractions

Distractions take our eyes off those things that really matter. For a pastor, the health of the church is greatly at risk when he loses his focus. I recently commissioned LifeWay Research to do a major project on pastors. Over 1,000 pastors were included in the research.

One of our major foci was on the issue of distractions. Are there specific matters that distract the pastor more than others? Is their widespread agreement among pastors on these issues? The pastors answered affirmatively to both questions. They told us in overwhelming numbers that dealing with critics was a huge distraction. To a lesser extent, but still significant, the pastors said conflict among staff and key leaders was a significant distraction as well.

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