As we move on to examine the role of deacons, we look at the commonly used words for "servant" or "service" in the New Testament to ask why one in particular (diakonos) was used as a title for this office within the church. Exploring these words gives us a greater understanding of how we should all be serving God and one another, as well as highlighting the particular role of deacons.
Leadership in the Church pt 6
The Ministry of Deacons
29/11/09
Recap
As we have looked at the topic of leadership in the Church we have spent the last 4 weeks exploring the role of Elders and the qualifications that are necessary for those who would serve God and His people in that noble task. If we want our church to be blessed by God we need to make sure that we have the right people in leadership and that we are clear on what that role requires of them and also what it requires of the congregation.
Today we will move on to explore the ministry of Deacons and the sort of people they are to be.
If you were here for our first session you will remember the basic difference between Elders and Deacons. Elders are responsible for the general oversight of the church – they…
· guard their own lives and the lives of the flock
· care for the needs of the flock
· lead the flock
Deacons, on the other hand are given a specific responsibility in serving the church and are delegated the authority necessary to carry out that responsibility. We are going to clarify this a little more this morning as we go through our study of God’s Word together.
Opening Prayer
Why “Deacon”?
Remember the word “Deacon” simply means “servant”. However there are a number of words in the Greek language that all convey the idea of a servant, and each has a unique slant which is worth exploring.
We’re going to spend a bit of time getting familiar with some of these words today, not just so that we can understand the role of Deacons better, but so that we can all have a mature understanding of what the Bible means when it talks about each of us as servants. I believe that we’ll be quite challenged as we wrestle with the issue of servanthood today in this broader context.
1. doulos /doo·los/]
Means a bonded servant or slave. This person belongs to the one they serve. This is true for all Christians. It emphasises the loyalty we have to our master. The Bible warns us that we can be slaves to sin (eg: John 8:34), but rather we are to be slaves of God which leads to a life of righteousness (Rom.
It is significant that one of the key passages which describes the free gift of salvation through Jesus also highlights the fact that it involves becoming a slave of God instead of a slave to sin. So often people try to use God as a vending machine to try and get what they want, as though He were their servant, not the other way around! We want to go to a better place when we die. We want comfort, protection, meaning and so on, and we think that we have a right to demand these things from God. That is not reality!
The reality is that God is incredibly gracious and generous, and desires to bless us because He loves us. But He is God and we are not! He created us and He redeemed us. We belong to Him and He may do as He wishes with us.
Thanks be to God that His will is always “good, pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:2), even if it doesn’t always make sense to us in the short term.
To be a slave of God requires two things in particular: submission and trust. Submission says that I will come under His rule and do whatever He says, regardless of what I want or what I think is best. Trust says that as I do this I know that He will always prove that His wisdom is true wisdom and His love always prevails.
Are you living as a slave of God right now?
Here’s something even scarier!
Jesus said that greatness in God’s Kingdom is to make yourself a “slave to all” (Mk 10:44)! In 1 Corinthians 9:19 the Apostle Paul is describing the fact that he has paid his own way in ministry and is not obligated to anyone, but then he says that he chooses to consider himself a slave to everyone! He puts his own needs, desires and freedoms as a lesser priority than the needs, desires and freedoms of others. He is completely committed to others above himself. He does this because he wants to be a minister of the gospel, and he does not want anything to get in the way of that.
Is that your attitude? Are you committed to others above yourself? Do you long to get together with other Christians so that you might encourage them and build them up in their faith? Do you long to get together with unbelievers so that you might shine the light of Christ? Or are there other reasons that you want to be with people, or other reasons that keep you away from people?
Are you a slave of God and of others?
This is what God’s Word commands for us.
2. huperetes /hoop·ay·ret·ace/
This literally means an “under-rower”, such as in a galley ship. The rowers were in subordination to the officer who would beat out the time on his drum and would also lead in singing a tune to keep time to. It was essential for the smooth sailing of the ship that all the rowers rowed to the same rhythm. They must follow orders completely and pay attention to the will of their superior. This word is used when the writer wants to emphasise the subordinate position of the servant.
The Apostle Paul applies this word to himself even as he is defending his Apostolic authority in 1 Corinthians 4:1 when he says: “So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God”[1]
So even though he has been entrusted with great responsibility and authority, Paul refers to himself as just another one of the rowers who are listening to the same leader – Jesus Christ. This is the attitude of humble, servant leadership that we have talked about as an essential characteristic of Elders in previous studies.
To see ourselves in the same way is to view ourselves with humility. It is to consider ourselves to be part of the crew, not the one steering the ship! It is to seek the wisdom of God and not our own, and to work hard at putting it into practice in partnership with others.
3. oiketes /oy·ket·ace/
Refers to a household slave. They live and serve in their Master’s house. Again, this is true for all Christians – we are part of God’s household! Paul uses this word in Romans 14 when he says: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.”
Paul is giving a reminder here to people that there is one Master over the house of God – Jesus Christ, and that we are each responsible to Him for our service within that household. Instead of fighting and criticising others we should be mindful of our own service.
It follows very naturally from the first two ideas: we belong to Christ and we listen to His voice, however it emphasises our sense of belonging – we are part of His household, His family. That’s a very privileged position to be in.
In Luke 16 we read Jesus using this word when He says that “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Lk 16:13).
Imagine two competing households – a bit like the Montague’s and Capulet’s in “Romeo and Juliet”. The servants in each house despise the other house. Loyalty for one produces enmity toward the other. In this case, Jesus says that’s how it is with God and money. Of course, he’s talking about greed or a love of money here. A love of money is directly opposed to the love of God. You cannot serve both.
In your attitude towards sin – whether it’s greed or any other sin – is it clear whose house you belong to? Do you oppose what your Master opposes, and do you love what He loves?
4. latreuo /lat·ryoo·o/
This word describes service as an act of worship. Worship and service go together, as Jesus quoted to Satan during His temptation in the wilderness. In Matthew 4:10 Jesus says: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only”
The word “latreuo” is used to describe the acts of service that come from a heart which worships God. In Romans 9 Paul uses the same word to describe the worship offered by Jews at the temple as service to God. Later in chapter 9 the same word is again used to describe our reasonable act of service, which is to offer our bodies to God as living sacrifices.
This word emphasises the fact that we will always serve what it is that we worship. That’s why we cannot claim to worship God if we continue to live selfishly and sinfully. Our lifestyle shows that our claim to worship God is in fact false, because we are serving our own sinful desires rather than doing the will of God. It doesn’t matter how loudly we sing, dance, speak or anything else on Sunday if we’re not serving God every day.
And finally we come to…
5. diakonos /dee·ak·on·os/
God in His perfect wisdom did not choose any of the previous words to describe this particular office in the Church. He chose another commonly used word, which applies to all Christians just as each of the previous ones do. He chose that word to help Christians in New Testament times as well as today to grasp what this office in the Church is for.
The word “diakonos” is usually translated as “servant” or “deacon”. It’s a very interesting word in that it’s had two common uses in New Testament times.
The first was to describe someone who has been given a task to perform. This is a person who serves a master by carrying out the task entrusted to them – carrying a message or performing some task on behalf of their master or employer.
The second common use was to describe a waiter – someone who ministered to the needs of others. Martha did this for Jesus and His companions.
Both of these things are to be true of believers. We represent Christ in carrying His message and doing good deeds in His name. We are also to minister to the needs of others just as though it were Christ we were serving, as Matthew 25 among many other passages points out very clearly.
Both of these meanings also describe what is involved in the office of deacon.
Deacons are given specific tasks to perform by the Church. In Acts chapter 6 we read of how 7 men were given authority both by the church as a whole and by the Apostles to carry out the task of distributing food to the needy. They represented the Church as a whole. They were given authority to carry out the task by the Apostles, who laid hands on them and commissioned them for service. They ministered to the widows among the congregation who were in need of food. They were commissioned for a specific task.
We need to be careful about falling for a common misunderstanding when it comes to the role of deacons. It is commonly said that Elders look after “spiritual” ministry while Deacons look after “practical” ministries. Elders pray, teach, encourage and discipline while Deacons pay bills, repair buildings, set budgets and so on.
While there is an element of truth in that, there is also a dangerous error. All Christian ministry is spiritual ministry. That’s why the qualifications for Deacons are almost identical to those for Elders. Also, the oversight of Elders applies to the whole life of the church, including practical matters of administration. They entrust particular responsibilities to particular people, but their responsibility for oversight is not diminished. I have seen situations where a Deacons board has allocated finances and made decisions about resources that completely disagreed with the priorities that the Elders had determined. In truth, there were two leadership groups and they didn’t always go in the same direction!
In our church we have a group of deacons who are commissioned to carry out a number of responsibilities. They meet together with the Elders once a month, and carry out their individual duties in between those meetings.
We have an action plan that lists the specific tasks that have been taken on by each person and we review that when we get together. Depending on what needs doing, an Elder may be the best person to take on the job, but care must be taken that Elders are not distracted from their general role of caring for the flock by getting caught up in tasks that can be entrusted to others.
As I mentioned earlier in our series, there are recognised ministry tasks which the church has entrusted to people in our congregation without giving them the title of “Deacon”. We have people who have been entrusted with choosing songs for us to sing, running Kids Club or Youth Group, overseeing our Ladies Ministry or Missions support, teaching Scripture and so on. Each of these responsibilities fits with the New Testament use of the word “diakonos”. Whether we call them deacons or not, what matters is that we treat them as such.
We need to make sure that we are equally careful to make sure that only qualified people are appointed to these roles, and that there is appropriate recognition of people who are working hard in and for our church (See Romans 16:1-16 to see how Paul recognised such people). We also need to make sure they are receiving proper oversight and support from the Elders, just like the Deacons receive.
It is very easy for the church to become a kingdom of kingdoms, with different people who are in charge of their own areas and don’t like any interference from anyone else. However the responsibility of Elders is to make sure that every part of the church is operating in accordance with God’s Word and that every member is being helped to grow in the maturity of their faith and service. Sometimes people don’t want that, they want to be left alone to do things their own way!
It is dangerous when Elders meddle in every part of the church just because they want everything to happen the way they like it - where Elders are on a power trip! However Elders who exhibit the sort of characteristics that we have discussed over recent weeks will not fall into that trap.
A deacon (both by title and by function) – is someone who is entrusted with a task and therefore is accountable in how they carry it out. A deacon is someone who serves the needs of others.
Reflection Questions:
1. Am I living up to what these words describe? What things is God challenging me about from His Word?
2. Does my understanding of the role of deacons fit with what the Bible teaches?
[1]All Scriptures from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids
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