Deacons do not appear on the ministry office lists in Ephesians or First Corinthians. So, what are they, where did they come from, and what do they do?
The office of deacon rose out of the need to expand church ministries yet keep the called leadership focused on why God called them—to feed the sheep. Deacons were first selected to look after the needs of the poor and to free the apostles to give themselves to prayer, preaching, and teaching.
The account is given in Acts 6:1-6:
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
The Apostles asked the people to give them qualified men to whom they could give the responsibilities of food distribution. Then, they prayed and laid hands on them to commission them with the authority necessary to fulfill their tasks.
Deacons, from the Greek diakonos for “servant,” were introduced to address a problem. Deacons address problems. The Jerusalem church had mushroomed so that the daily administration and ministry operation required more people to get everything done. Someone needed to organize and oversee and someone had to do the work.
People had begun to complain because they thought they were not getting what was fair. This remains a common pattern in local churches. A shortage of workers, lack of administration, and poor ministry coordination will produce complaints.
The Apostles told the congregation they could not take over serving tables, the food distribution, because it would force them to neglect serving the Word of God. Getting caught up in the daily operations and handling complaints would keep them from feeding the sheep and putting each one of them into God-called service.
They called on the people to choose seven men from their ranks, respected and recognized as full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to whom they could commit these necessary duties.
“Full of the Spirit” describes a current condition in their relationship with God, not a past experience. The seven were to manifest the initial physical evidence of Baptism in the Spirit, speaking in other tongues, and the continuing evidence of power to be witnesses in word and deed. The fruit of the Spirit, the character traits of Christ Himself, were to flourish in their lives.
Later, Paul would tell the churches not to present a novice or new convert for this responsibility.²⁰ Smaller churches, especially, are tempted to rush people into leadership. They say something like, “Well, we have enough men for deacons now, Pastor. Ol’ John got saved last week.”
Paul instructed the churches not to lay hands hastily on anyone. That is, do not commission an unready candidate for service as a church leader. If you do not have truly qualified deacons, leave the spot open. Again, if God has not provided for the quality you need, leave the post vacant. If anyone questions, tell them, “We dare not do it any other way. It will save us all a lot of trouble.”
Rushing a candidate prematurely into leadership diminishes the church and disserves the individual. The church misses the spiritual maturity and wisdom needed for essential tasks, and the individual may be injured, overwhelmed, and, even, corrupted by having to “wing it” in the face of high expectations and low expertise.
The Jerusalem disciples brought to the apostles seven qualified men. Prayer and laying on of hands by the Apostles, the original pastors of the Jerusalem church, recognized the divine channels of authority²¹ in the church. The implication is, “The authority in the church is ours from the Lord, and we give it to you to operate in the ministry of servanthood. You have authority as delegated through the pastors.”
Incredible things happened when the deacons began to serve. They straightened out the benevolence ministry, got involved in the daily administration, and restored unity to the church family. Meanwhile, the apostles continued praying and preaching and a new surge of revival multiplied the ranks of believers.
The pastor should not be mired in the details of the church operation. Being God’s businessman can consume him. Ultimately, it is the pastor’s responsibility. He has to make sure it is happening, but, if he has to take care of it all, he will wear himself out. He will have little left to give on Sundays. Deacons should help carry the load.
Good deacons also help the pastor and serve the church by responding to complainers. Some people believe deacons exist so they will have somebody on whom to dump their criticism of the pastor. The unwary deacon often plays into their hands and becomes their advocate, “Pastor, Brother Jones is all upset and he wants you to…”
A better way to process complaints says, “Thank you for telling me that. It’s my job to hear the complaints. Now, my first responsibility is to see whether or not there is any validity to your complaint.”
Validity means substance. Are the issues real or is this merely a case of someone ruffled by not getting his or her way? When you say you will check it out, not infrequently, the plaintiff will downsize the issue with “It’s really no big deal, now that I’m thinking about it.”
If there is credibility, do not rush to the pastor with the report. Pray and think through the situation asking, “What can we do to fix this problem?”
By the time you get to the pastor, you can say, “We heard about some stuff going on and we checked it out. It’s probably happening, and here’s an idea for what we can do to fix it. If you will give me the authority, I’ll take care of it for you.”
That is being a good deacon. That is an Acts 6 caliber deacon. Then the pastor can say, “Thanks for keeping me informed and keeping me free for prayer and study.”
When deacons serve in the ongoing functions of the church and help to field complaints, they release the pastor to pray and prepare for his priority. They release him to feed the people.
When you really get it right, so that the pastor is feeding the people the way they need, they can mature. They will become so much more healthy and happy that you will have far fewer problems to confront. It all connects.
Deacons who submit and serve well in the church will have greater authority at home and elsewhere. They also will have more spiritual power and the hope of a great eternal reward. Paul instructed the young pastor Timothy, “Those who are deacons and do it well will receive a great reward.”²²
A Special Note for Deacons
Deacon, this suggests a wonderful scene at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Your pastor will be called up and the whole church will witness and wonder, “What reward will God give our pastor?”
Christ will say, “Pastor, you did well. You influenced your city and faithfully preached to the people. They matured and everywhere they went they preached the gospel because you poured life into them. You poured truth into them. You encouraged them, and, when they needed it, you scolded for their sakes. You are a great shepherd. You did an excellent job.
“Well done! I have a great reward for you, but first, I’d like all your deacons to come stand with you. You could not have done it had they not been faithful in what I called them to do. I am giving you the reward, and I am going to give to them the same reward because they enabled you to be all I called you to be.”
Ultimately, that is what being a deacon is all about.