Page 73 - Ecclesiology Textbook Masters

comes from a word meaning “attendant, waiter, or one who ministers to another.” To “deacon” is to
serve. The first deacons were a group of seven men in the Jerusalem church who were appointed to
work in the daily food distribution. A deacon, therefore, is one who serves others in an official capacity
in the church.

The word translated “deacon” in I Timothy 3: 8-13 is a form of the same Greek word used in Acts 6:2, so
we know we are talking about the same office. Their qualifications as outlined in I Timothy are:

1. Worthy of respect
2. Sincere
3. Not given to wine (alcohol)
4. Not pursuing dishonest gain
5. Hold to sound doctrine
6. Faithful to his wife – one woman man.
7. A good manager of his household and his children obey him.

Notice that many of the same qualifications for elder apply to the office of deacon. One great difference
is that the elder, because he serves to lead and teach, must be able to teach, whereas the deacon
primarily functions as a servant and therefore his qualifications are more that he lives a holy life and is
known and respected among the congregation. This suggests that the deacons do not have an official
teaching role in the church.

What do deacons do?

Beyond what we can glean from these differences in qualifications, the Bible does not clearly indicate
the function of deacons. Yet based on the pattern established in Acts 6 with the apostles and the Seven,
it seems best to view deacons as servants who do whatever is necessary to allow the elders to
accomplish their God-given calling of shepherding and teaching the church. Just as the Apostles
delegated administrative responsibilities to the Seven, so the elders are to delegate certain
responsibilities to the deacons so that the elders can focus their efforts elsewhere. As a result, each local
church is free to define the tasks of deacons based on their particular needs.

What are some duties that deacons might be responsible for today? They could be responsible for
anything that’s not related to teaching and shepherding the church. Such duties might include:

• Facilities: The deacons could be responsible for managing the church property. This would
include making sure the place of worship is prepared for the worship service, cleaning up, or
running the sound system. Remember, the early church did not build physical properties in
which to meet – they met in homes. So this was not a need of the early church.
• Benevolence: Similar to what took place in Acts 6:1–6 with the daily distribution to the widows,
the deacons may be involved in administrating funds or other assistance to the needy.
• Finances: While the elders should probably oversee the financial business of the church (Acts
11:30), it may be best left to the deacons to handle the day-to-day matters. This would include
collecting and counting the offering, keeping records, and so on.
• Ushers: The deacons could be responsible for distributing bulletins, seating the congregation, or
preparing the elements for communion.
• Logistics: Deacons should be available to help in variety of ways so that the elders are able to
concentrate on teaching and shepherding the church.

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