A VISION FOR DEACONS

Introduction

-Today is a little bit different in that we as a church body are recognizing men who we will set aside to a special office to serve the kingdom of God by serving the local church.

-While all Christians are called to serve, the Bible recognizes two distinct offices within a local church body that help guide the church for it to fulfill its function as the body of Christ.

-This structure of the church is reflected in the Baptist Faith and Message which is a summary of beliefs that all SBC churches agree to as reflecting Scripture—it states in Part 6 of the BFM about the church:

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor {and I also believe} is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

-The first office goes by several different titles in Scripture, but they all refer to one function. They are called Bishops/Overseers/Elders/Shepherds/ or Pastors. The terms Bishop/Overseer/Pastor would seem to indicate the duties of the office, the term elder would seem to indicate position within the body.

~These are the men who teach the congregation as a whole and lead the church body as they are led by Christ. There is both a combination of service and leadership in this office.

-But the second office of the church (the one that we are looking at today) is the office of deacon. Harvest Baptist Church has voted and approved three new men to join the deacon body. Brother Larry Williams has served as deacon at other churches and has previously been ordained.

~Today we get the privilege to ordain two men to this important office: Mickey Gentle and Walt Williams.

-Our deacons serve three-year terms, then are inactive, and can be brought back to active status by vote of the church after having been inactive for a year or more.

~The men we have selected are men of humble service that I believe represent Christ well and will represent the church well.

-This is a very important duty for our church.

~Last week I began a series on vision where we as a church body will walk the path together to find the vision that God has for us going into the future. Having the right people in the right places will be so important for walking this path and then executing God’s vision.

~That’s why I thought that this service would be perfect as part of that series. The vision of God for our church will not see the light of day without a deacon body that shares the love of Christ and the church, and can join in the vision with the church staff.

-I have to say that, as a pastor, I have been blessed to have a body of men as deacons with whom I can speak freely, share my concerns with, get godly counsel, bounce ideas off of, but most importantly share my heart for Jesus, the Bible, the Great Commission, and vision for this church. HBC, you don’t know how blessed you are. And the men that we have added to join that body will be a great blessing for us as well.

-But I want us to consider what a deacon is according to the Scriptures by looking at a couple of passages. You can consider this a vision for deacons in a church body.

READ ACTS 6:1-7

Acts 6:1–7 ESV

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

-Here is what is generally considered the creation of the deacon office and the choosing of the first deacons to help serve the needs within the church body.

-There was a belief in the middle of the 20th century that the deacon body was some sort of ruling group of the church, and everything that was to happen at the church had to go through them first. That couldn’t be farther from what Scripture portrays for us.

~You may be familiar that the history of the word “deacon” means to wait tables. It is a word of service, and that is what a deacon does for the church as well. Not that the only thing they do is literally go around and wait on tables (although I have often seen our deacons do just that), but they see needs and take care of needs.

-Baptist theologian A. H. Strong described the duties of deacons in this way in his systematic theology. He wrote:

The deacon is helper to the pastor and the church, in both spiritual and temporal things.

First,—relieving the pastor of external labors, informing him of the condition and wants of the church, and forming a bond of union between pastor and people.

Secondly,—helping the church, by relieving the poor and sick and ministering in an informal way to the church’s spiritual needs, and by performing certain external duties connected with the service of the sanctuary.

-Apologist and theologian Norm Geisler, when he described the two offices, said that the deacons free the pastor to concentrate on the very important work of prayer and attending to the Word of God. He then made this distinction, saying:

Elders were overseers of the church’s doctrinal and spiritual matters; deacons, as assistants, were in charge of the social and physical ministries.

-But not just anybody can be a deacon. The other passage I want to read gives us the spiritual and moral qualifications for those who would serve in this capacity:

READ 1 TIMOTHY 3:8-13

1 Timothy 3:8–13 ESV

8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

-As you look at these qualifications, they mare men of integrity who are examples to others on what being a Christian truly means. In no way does it mean that they are perfect, because there is no such human being, but it does mean that others can look to them as someone who will lead the way.

-As J. D. O’Donnell said:

No man elected to the office of deacon will possess all the Biblical qualities in perfection. However, each man elected should be a man of potential, who is yielding himself to growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. A saved man who has a sincere relation to the Lord and a degree of potential will grow in spiritual stature and increase his talents.

~He then later writes:

Every deacon or every man called to the office of deacon should realize that these qualifications represent zeal and willingness to be all that God would have him to be. The call of a church means that the church has faith in his potential. It does not mean that the church believes him to be perfect. Therefore, the deacon should pray constantly for grace from God to make him a better leader and more fit for the office.

-The men who currently serve as deacons, and those coming on board (including the two that we ordain today) are men in whom the grace of God is at work. They are men that I entrust the ministry of this church to. They have been recognized by our church as benefits to the ministry. I believe they are men who will lead others in the church down the path of vision into the future.

~And so, it is our honor to now ordain these two men: Mickey Gentle and Walt Williams.

-Ordination literally means to set apart. We are setting apart these men for this office with these duties, and we do so by prayer over them. While those of us who have already been ordained lay hands and pray for these men (as was demonstrated for us in Scripture), I ask that you, the church family, be in silent prayer for these men and their families, the other deacons and their families, and the staff and their families so that we are able to fulfill our roles, our office, in ways that are pleasing to God.

{Prayer----give certificates}

Conclusion

Invitation

-These men today join us in the gospel ministry, sharing the good news that Jesus saves. Maybe that a message you need to hear today…

-Christian, come to the altar and pray that the Lord leads you to how He would like you to serve Him

~HBC members come and pray that God would grant us wisdom in the path toward vision for our church

-Some here may be looking for a church home through which to serve…