Deacons - Journey from self to service - part 1
What is your understanding of deacons?
What are they? What is your experience with them?
What is the definition? - One who serves.
Aren’t we all to serve? Jesus said He came to serve.
We are called to serve God & each other in the church & others outside the church.
What is the difference between one who serves & a servant?
Service - acts of love - doing specific tasks.
Servant - one known for their service, or someone assigned to certain acts of service. If we want to be great in the kingdom we need to be the servant of all.
Does that make us all Deacons?
No, but most of us can & should serve the church or others in some way.
Some can become known as generous & faithful servants & can be called into leadership roles.
A good definition of Deacons would be, one with leadership responsibly for oversight & execution of known, & approved ministry tasks.
Today there are all kinds of different titles, applications, & job descriptions for Deacon type tasks & responsibilities. For this reason many churches don’t use the title or position of deacon. They often use titles like Directors & Coordinators for overseeing these activities in the church & the community. Chaplains are often doing Deacon type tasks outside the confines of the church.
What did it look like back at the beginning? During the formative time of the Church.
They weren’t called deacons, but Acts 6:1-7 is believed to be the first recognized appointment & qualifications for the role.
“A lot of people were now becoming followers of the Lord. But some of the ones who spoke Greek started complaining about the ones who spoke Aramaic. They complained that the Greek-speaking widows were not given their share when the food supplies were handed out each day. The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together and said, “We should not give up preaching God's message in order to serve at tables. My friends, choose seven men who are respected and wise and filled with God's Spirit. We will put them in charge of these things. We can spend our time praying and serving God by preaching.” This suggestion pleased everyone, and they began by choosing Stephen. He had great faith and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and also Nicolaus, who worshiped with the Jewish people in Antioch. These men were brought to the apostles. Then the apostles prayed and placed their hands on the men to show they had been chosen to do this work. God's message spread, and many more people in Jerusalem became followers. Even a large number of priests put their faith in the Lord.”CEV
Why were the 7 needed? & what was the benefit?
1. Conflict was resolved - disparities between Jew & Greek - how important was that to the mission?
2. Apostles were freed to focus on prayer and preaching. - why was that so important? What would have happened if not?
- They had to deal with & discern the unknown. They were the eye witnesses with the knowledge that needed to be passed on. This was similar to the wisdom given by the father in-law of Moses. You most distribute the work, so you can do your unique part.
3. Those in need were served. They were Loved on & groundwork was provided for being able to accommodate increased number of believers.
4. Many were saved - the kingdom advances.
What can we conclude from part 1?
- A Deacon in practice must have some distinct identifiable characteristics & certain qualifications … respected & known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.
- Deacons are appointed to responsibilities for oversight & execution of known, & approved ministry tasks.
- They do tasks needed for the function of the church community & advancement of the Kingdom.
Deacons - Journey from self to service - part 2
So what all can deacons do?
Some denominations have very strict quantification of both tasks & authority given to deacon roles. However When I read Paul’s instructions to Timothy on appointing deacons, they seem more focused on how you are, rather than what you can do. I do believe there is some difference between the Elder role, authority, & responsibility vs the role of Deacons. However in today’s applications there is huge overlap in practice.
Vast array of tasks both inside & outside the church walls.
When we read the last part of Acts 6 :8-15 & part of 8 :1-8 & 11-13 we see Phillip also doing the work of an evangelist.
The fact that Steven was also used powerfully as a preacher clearly demonstrated that power had moved beyond the 12. The point being that Deacon work does not preclude any other gifting from being active in addition to service.
I think the key to understanding the scope of the application of deacons is captured in this sentence.
Deacons are appointed to responsible oversight & execution of known,& approved ministry tasks.
The “known & approved tasks” is the distinctive demarcation. Responsibility given to confident & competent men & women as determined by the church(Elders).
So this can apply to any task or responsibilities permitted within a specific local church. It can also apply to “historic church permissions”. Many activities that happen today outside the church walls are continuations of long ago made church decisions.
Things like hospitals as an example. The whole concept of helping the sick started with Jesus’s instruction to care about them. Then a church decision was made(elders) that became organized & executed(deacons) then became infused into society. Many para church organizations began life through the same process. I would add also that if these organizations lose the identified spiritual & character requirements of Deacons the wheels can fall off of their effectiveness.
So Does God’s Mission Require Deacons?
I say definitely, but I don’t care what you call them.
Even though we don’t see much about specific tasks for Deacons in scripture, we do see them in reference to church leaders & officials.
Read Philippians 1:1 - Paul & Timothy to the saints, overseers, & Deacons.
The need followed the early church, during & past the persecution. We know that they existed.
So we know they:
Provided Leadership & had responsibility for local church activity that enabled the local church to function. There is consistent work that somebody has to do, & somebody has to be responsible for it.
Encouraging, developing, & recognizing servants to become service focused leaders is an important church responsibility.
Deacons - Journey from self to service - part 3
Why do Character Attributes of a deacon matter?
Why did Paul give Specific instructions to Timothy for appointing both Elders & Deacons?
I believe there are several reasons.
- A growing, spreading, planting, multi cultural church movement did not have the benefit of the God familiarity of the first Jewish Jesus followers & believers. These new church’s needed leaders that were dependent on Faith, the Spirits direction, & character, to shepherd the sanctification of the new flocks.
- Men & Women who demonstrated application of Kingdom living principles were needed to produce consistent fruit. Not being perfect, yet validating Jesus’s teachings.
- Discipleship was still the primary teaching method. How can you effectively disciple if you don’t live a good example. Wisdom is often learned by observing.
As you read Pauls instructions below ask yourself these questions, particularly focused on the Deacon part.
- Can I see that they make sense for the healthy functioning of church ministry?
- Do I understand them in todays context?
- Have I seen the results of poor examples in some leaders?
- Do I have to be perfect in every area to even be considered?
1 Timothy 3:1-13 NLT
“This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.”
So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach.
He must be faithful to his wife.
He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation.
He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.
He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent.
He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money.
He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall.
Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.
In the same way,
deacons,must be well respected and have integrity.
They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money.
They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience.
Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons.
In the same way, their wives must be respected and must not slander others.
They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do.
A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and household well.
Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.”
Paul’s language infers a standard that can be quite intimidating, especially the “being tested” used here in the NLT. I prefer the terms used by some other translations. Like proven, demonstrated, or observed. Good character is generally observable & good existing leadership should be observing it. If someone has a calling they have a standard to both aspire to & from which to examine themselves. Also as women deacons are mentioned in scripture, & single people ministry too, it is character that is the point.
Responsibilities should be given in proportion to the degree of character allowing for growth in both. To me the standards are not so much a judgment issue because none of us are perfect. But it is an effectiveness issue. We must be credible to be effective. If you are reading this & want to talk about it. Let me know & we can plan a meet.
Deacons - Journey from self to service - part 4
Character, Calling, & Competence
As I mentioned previously many churches use a lot of different titles for people who are essentially exercising Deacon responsibilities. Some work in teams, some individual assignments. But all should meet the criteria of having Character, Calling, & Competence, if they are going to be effective in leadership assignments. In fact I’m convinced that these three things are necessary for effective leadership in any context both inside & outside the church. Most of the painful personal & ministry failures we hear about are the result of failure in one of the 3 c’s.
In my association with quite a few churches I have observed a continuous challenge to fill leadership roles. I also believe we do not have enough Deacons inside the church’s today. And we don’t have enough Deacon equivalent leaders working outside the church in the community either.
So it causes me to ponder these questions.
- Why do i perceive this lack?
- If we are to serve God & each other, & If God’s Mission Takes Deacons, why wouldn’t everyone aspire to be a deacon?
- Is it possible we are not discipling people towards significant service?
- Are we not recognizing those that are being called towards servant leadership?
- Perhaps we have unintentionally put barriers in place that discourage interest?
- Perhaps we are over dependent on paid professional staff to do Deacon tasks.
I think the Authority of the believer calls & equips every member to minister in some capacity in or outside the church. So with that as a foundational thought, I have this encouragement for existing leaders.
- Be active in observing for people with leadership character.
- Listen for servants who show signs of calling.
- Disciple towards leadership.
- Offer both opportunities & training to increase competency for ministry tasks.
- Try to minimize the gap between clergy & laity.
- Disperse the tasks & responsibilities as broadly as you can rather than concentrating in a few.
For those aspiring to leadership, think about these things.
- Self examine yourselves against the character attributes listed by Paul in 1 Timothy 3. Work on gaps. You can develop good character.
- Willingness is not the same as calling. Many should be willing to serve when needs are obvious or when asked. But being called is being compelled. There is a bit of restlessness when a calling or gift is constrained so look for opportunities to serve, they are there. A sense of calling is the intrinsic motivation needed to serve for the long journey of leadership
- So find the area of need where you can serve & equip yourself with competency to do it with excellence.
