Chapter 6

1As the number of followers kept growing, there was a complaint. The Greek-speaking ones said the Hebrew-speaking ones were shortchanging their widows on the daily food. Bad distribution. Very bad.

2So the twelve called everybody together and said, “It's not right for us to stop working on the message to go wait tables. We're not caterers. We're the top people.

3Brothers, pick seven guys from your own group. Good reputation. Full of the Spirit. Smart. We'll put them in charge of this.

4And we'll focus on prayer and the message. Delegate. That's how you run a big operation. You hire good people and you delegate.”

5Everybody liked the plan. They picked Stephen, a guy full of faith and the Holy Spirit, plus Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a convert from Antioch.

6They brought them to the apostles, who prayed and laid hands on them. Sworn in. Great ceremony.

7And the message kept spreading. The number of followers in Jerusalem went way up, and a lot of priests switched sides too. Priests. Even the establishment was coming over.

8Stephen was full of grace and power, doing big miracles and signs among the people. Star player. Rising star.

9But some guys from the so-called Synagogue of the Freedmen, plus people from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia, started arguing with him.

10They couldn't beat him. He was too smart, and the Spirit was behind every word. He destroyed them in every debate.

11So they paid some guys to lie. “We heard him say terrible things about Moses and about God.” Paid witnesses. Bought and paid for.

12They whipped up the people, the elders, and the scribes. Then they grabbed Stephen and dragged him in front of the council.

13They brought in fake witnesses who said, “This man never stops saying bad things about this holy place and the law.

14We heard him say that Trump of Queens is going to tear this place down and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” Taken out of context. Totally out of context.

15And everybody on the council stared at Stephen, and his face looked like the face of an angel. Calm. Very calm. He wasn't worried at all. He knew he was right.