This morning's First Lesson from Acts is about a man who could have made the Bible's Guinness Book of Records twice. We remember St. Stephen as the first Christian to be martyred for his faith. He was an outgoing man whose eagerness to tell others of Christ got him in trouble with the Jewish authorities. They had him killed.

Just as importantly Stephen was the first Christian deacon. Actually Stephen wasn't expected to be preaching Christ at all. His job was as an administrator, not a pastor. Of more significance than how Stephen died was how he lived. For this man was a crucial member of the early church, although he had no credentials as disciple, apostle, or cleric. What was important about Stephen - and significant for us today - is told as a story earlier in the book of Acts. It's a …