Based on my years in ministry, I believe the average Christian would associate the office of deacon in their local church with three things:
Aiding in the Lord’s Supper
Facilitating the Sunday morning offering
Acting as a veto army against the pastor’s ideas
Men, this is the highest office you can hold in the church without being a pastor.
This tends to be the standard perception of the purpose of deacons in Baptist churches. It’s important to establish that there are only two biblical offices in the church: bishop (also called pastor) and deacon. I recall sitting in a meeting with my then senior pastor after I had been elected to the office of deacon. To the deacons who were continuing in that role and to the newly elected deacons such as myself, he said, “Men, this is the highest office you can hold in the church without being a pastor.”
I was obviously familiar with the qualifications of this office, but I had questions about the day-to-day functions of the role. After hearing that statement, I realized that it had to be more than the typical associations that I’d attached to it. Ultimately, the qualifications demand this. According to 1 Tim. 3:8-12, deacons must:
Be grave: This is a man who clearly walks with God before men.
Not doubletongued: This is a man who does not alternate between two opinions in his speech. His speech is consistently biblical.
Not given to much wine: This is a man who does not get drunk, nor is he mastered by anything in his flesh.
Not greedy of filthy lucre: This is a man who does not love money. Therefore, he is upright in all his financial dealings (in ministry, business, and personal life).
Hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience: This is a man of sound doctrine.
Be proved: This is a man who has demonstrated a right walk with God over time.
Be blameless: This is a man who confesses and forsakes sin in his life. He does not justify and excuse sin, which renders him blameable before others.
Have a godly wife: If a deacon is a married man, his wife must also exhibit the same testimony as he does.
Faithful in all things: This is a man who does all things heartily, as unto the Lord. His work is done well and never left undone.
Be a husband of one wife: A married deacon is married to one woman and is faithful and true to her alone.
Rule their children and houses well: This is a man who has his house in godly order. His children are not rebellious and are clearly being brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
The qualifications to hold the office of deacon convey that this is an office of significance in the church.
After considering this list, the question which naturally arises for me is this: If the office of deacon is to solely serve the Lord’s table and collect the offering, why would God issue such lofty qualifications?
In no way is this question meant to take an irreverent swipe at the Lord’s Supper! The premium that God places on the Lord Supper is very high (1 Cor. 11:17-34). I also understand the delicacy of handling money in the church (Acts 5:1-11). The point is this: The qualifications to hold the office of deacon convey that this is an office of significance in the church. Not just any man in the church can hold this office. After considering the qualifications to hold this office and the significance of this office, the question to be answered is, “What is the role of the deacon?”
The answer to this question is simple but requires proper explanation. Few phrases in the Bible are as sweet as, “…when the number of the disciples was multiplied…” (Acts 6:1). We want to see the multiplication of disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, what follows the multiplication of disciples is sure: “there arose a murmuring…” (Acts 6:1) The Greek-speaking Jewish widows were being neglected in the daily ministration, and the Greek believers began to murmur about this issue. To address this, the apostles instituted the office of deacon to handle this ministry need (Acts 6:2-3). It is here that the groundwork is laid for the role of the deacon in the church. From the narrative in Acts 6, four areas of responsibility are central to the office of deacon:
1. Deacons handle problems in the church
This speaks to why the qualifications are what they are for the office of deacon. A deacon must be spiritually mature enough to handle problems that arise within the church. There was a problem between the Grecians and the Hebrews and it had to be dealt with. The issue was the apostles didn’t have the capacity to fix the problem.
Obviously, there are some problems that the head pastor needs to handle. But there are many cases where, if deacons are using the office well, problems are handled without ever landing on a pastor’s desk.
2. Deacons protect the pastors of the church
The reason the apostles instituted deacons was because it was not expedient for them to stop preaching the gospel and labor over this physical need. By handling this problem, the deacons protected the apostles from being pulled away from prayer and the ministry of the word. While a deacon must hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, he does not have to be apt to teach.
In churches where the word of God is magnified (Psa 138:2), not only is great priority given to the teaching of the word of God, but the desire of those in leadership is to teach it. If not careful, deacons can become interested only in using their office to teach. But deacons who use their office well are zealous to protect their pastors from problems and even people who threaten to pull them away from prayer and the ministry of the word.
3. Deacons focus on administrative issues in the church
The men who were being added to the office of deacon were to focus on an administrative issue. Especially as a church grows, the amount of administrative demands that grow with it can devour a pastor’s time, focus, and energy. Deacons who allow their pastors to get entangled with the mountain of administrative demands are missing the basic essence of why they hold their office. Undoubtedly, these matters call for the pastor(s) to come away from prayer and the ministry of the word.
While deacons are accountable to their pastors, which involves reporting and occasional meetings, the deacon must own the heavy lifting of administering the business of the church. Again, this is why they cannot be greedy of filthy lucre.
4. Deacons serve their local church
It was not expedient for the apostles to leave prayer and the ministry of the word to serve tables, but it was the main function of the new deacons. In fact, the word itself means servant. It must be strongly emphasized that the office of deacon is not like holding an office in congress. The office of congressman comes with legislative powers. These powers can even challenge presidential decisions. Sadly, some men who hold the office of deacon view their office this way. That heart attitude does not help or protect the pastor. Deacons are preoccupied with serving their pastors and serving with their pastors, not challenging and undermining them.
From the account in Acts 6, we know deacons should be very visible servants in the church and the body should know who the deacons are. If a church is in the dark regarding who the deacons are, it can only mean that the deacons are not serving properly. This also likely means that, in addition to giving themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word, the pastors are being worn out as they are trying to meet a growing list of needs (hospital visits, food pantry issues, building maintenance, benevolence needs, and more).
pastors must envision and empower deacons to execute their office.
Some might still be wondering, what does a deacon actually do? This office could be called a help meet. Each husband determines how his wife helps him in ministry and that will look different marriage to marriage. The same can be said about how deacons execute their office in a local church. As the apostles did in Acts 6, the pastors in each local church must determine how they need the deacons to hold their office in that local church. This means that pastors must identify where they are being called away from prayer and the ministry of the word. From there, pastors must envision and empower deacons to execute their office.
What can be said definitively though is this: pastors should be free to give themselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the word. If this is not the case, the deacons in that local church are not using their office well.
Kenny Morgan is the Discipleship Pastor at Midtown Baptist Temple and leads the Life Fellowship adult class.