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          Imagine a congregation of the Lord’s people as a tabletop. We wish it were a smooth, clean and polished tabletop. Instead it’s rugged, rough and has some cracks in it. Perhaps it looks something like a picnic table. Things often fall through the cracks. Of greatest concern is when people fall through the cracks.
            Sometimes people have problems that are not known and consequently not responded to properly. Sometimes they have problems that are known but are not responded to properly. As a result feelings get hurt or people get upset. Sometimes they stop attending. That is they “fall through the cracks.”
            This is what happened in the Jerusalem church in its very early days (Acts 6:1-6). Widows in the church had been neglected. There must have been special attention given to the widows in terms of a food program. The brethren would not have overlooked those widows for anything in the world, but somehow they did.
            A complaint developed because of the neglect. How widespread was the complaint? Perhaps a sizeable number of people were involved. How vocal was the complaint? It was vocal enough to warrant the apostles addressing the problem. Complaints don’t always arise when someone or something is overlooked in a congregation. Brethren may complain inwardly, on the phone to private friends, in family circles or even on social media. Little good comes from such actions. If complaints arose, as in the fashion of Acts 6:1, they might be addressed and corrected.

What is neglect?

            Your dictionary will tell you that it means to give little attention or respect to; disregard. It means to leave something undone or unattended to especially through carelessness. The New Testament shows us how the word is used in various cases. Neglect can be a very malicious thing. Jesus embodied the idea of neglect in the lives of those who are antagonistic to the gospel (Matt. 22:5). Neglect can be aggressive or indifferent.
            Neglect can be carelessness. In 1 Timothy 4:14 Paul asked Timothy not to neglect that gift that was in him. Timothy needed to regard the gift as carrying with it the responsibility to use it. Teachers, preachers and elders can neglect the gifts of ministry, teaching and preaching. Churches suffer when the gospel is neglected.
            How often do people “neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard him” (Heb. 2:3)? The Hebrews writer did not say, “if we reject,” but, “if we neglect.” People may not openly renounce the gospel, but a subtle detachment from its power and influence may reap the same results.
              Neglect can show no concern. For example, in Hebrews 8:9 the Bible says that God showed “no concern” for those who refused to continue in his covenant. They neglected God. God neglected them.
            Neglect can be innocent. People get “busy here & there.” Calendars and plates get full. Agendas get overloaded, sometimes to the neglect of people.
            Neglect is a human shortcoming. We forget. We fail. We get distracted in life.
              In the best of congregations oversights will happen. The Jerusalem church was growing, as verse 1 shows. Were they experiencing growing pains? No congregation will have better leaders than Holy Spirit inspired apostles. Even with the best leadership possible oversights occur. People sometimes slip through the cracks.

What Do We Neglect?

          In Acts 6 the widows of the Jerusalem church were neglected in food distributions. How could that happen? Was the neglect real? Was it racially motivated? Most commentaries will explore the possible tension between Jews and Hellenists that may have existed. Was the problem only imagined? Not in this case. A genuine need was overlooked and addressed. Neglect can happen in any congregation. That does not mean the church is bad or weak. It just means that a human problem occurred.
              The spiritual lives of people may be neglected. Elders are in God’s plan for congregational government to watch for souls (Heb. 13:17). Sometimes people slip through the cracks. Even the best and most watchful shepherds of a thriving congregation might overlook someone.
              The idea of neglect is repeated with the word “leave” (Acts 6:2). The apostles did not feel that they should “leave,” or neglect the word of God in order to attend to physical matters. They arranged for the selection of other men to address those needs with hands-on service. Is it possible that the word of God can be neglected in our attention to physical things? Of course!
            Neglect is a very personal thing. We neglect ourselves in terms of our own spiritual growth. Some neglect personal time in Bible study. Some neglect to pray because they do not believe in the providence of God to work in people’s lives. Brethren neglect Bible study opportunities, worship and fellowship. Some brethren will neglect end-of-the-quarter singings on a Wednesday night because they are not a regular class period. Saints neglect their own spiritual growth (2 Pet. 1:5-11).
              We neglect our spouses, and our marriages suffer (1 Pet. 3:7). We neglect our children and other influencers step in where we fail. We neglect our health and become lazy and out of shape.
              Nothing fares well when neglected. Not long ago I went to see my old high school. The building had stood for 100 years, but in recent decades had fallen into disuse and neglect. It was sad to see what neglect can do to a building. It is even sadder to see what it will do to a soul.
            Neglect in a congregation may not be the crime of the century, but it is never good. When it happens people need to be forgiving. A church will reap benefits when brethren are patient and forgiving of one another, even in our periods of neglect. Neglect does not mean ill will or lack of love. It means a human oversight has occurred. Neglect can be repaired by those who truly care.