Deacons in the Church

Preaching on "DEACONS in the church" today! We ordained Elders at the church in Huntington last December. As the church considers ordaining Deacons, I pray that they will have God's grace and favor. One of the elders asked me to teach on deacons before I left for Louisiana.

Everytime I study the New Testament teaching on church government I am struck by the clear development of roles within the apostolic age. This development of church government is no more clear than in the role of the official and permanent deaconate. Acts 6:1-7 is often cited as the beginning stages of the development of this permanent office in the church--it is clearly prototypical to the deaconate. The only NT scriptures that use the word diakonos in an official sense are Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8, 12. In each of these scriptures, the order suggests the precedence of the overseers/bishops to the deacon. This fits the development of this role as it began in Acts 6. It was a pragmatic discernment of gifts and stewardship within the church. Just as Moses used reason to delegate his work with Israel (Deuteronomy 1:9-12), the apostles used reason to delegate the work of serving "tables" to others, so they might continue in prayer and the ministry of the Word. Pragmatism is not the only consideration. But, the apostles seemed to adapt to the needs of the situation as seemed best. I believe we would do well to follow this example of pragmatism in church leadership.

Also, I should point out that Acts 6 does not suggest that the Ministry of the Word and the Ministry of Tables are somehow mutually exclusive. Sadly, in reaction to a reductionistic social gospel, some have taken the statement of the twelve in Acts 6:2 to mean that serving "tables" has no part in "the work of the church." Ridiculous! How could the apostles not attend to this serious need? The question was about efficiency and stewardship of gifts. Will not the Ministry of the Word fall on deaf ears when the Ministry of Tables is ignored? How long will the modern church insist on preaching the good news without demonstrating it in loving action? The gospel may not be merely social, but it is about people and their lives in the world. Instead of selling eternal life insurance, the apostles made sure they were offering life in the here and now for those to whom they preached eternal life in the hereafter.

Deacons in the church are an indicator that the Ministry of Tables is an ongoing cause within the Body of Christ.

God bless our deacons!