Page 42 - Pastoral Ministries -Student Textbook

fellowship that had been broken over the issue of serving tables.
The very word deacon is the Greek word, doulos, which means “servant.” He is not one who leads; he is one
who serves. The deacon as well as the pastor is in a place of earned leadership. He leads only because he serves.

Qualifications of a Deacon

The office of deacon was developed to deal with a practical issue in the church: “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’” (Acts 6:2). The word translated “wait on” is the Greek word diakonein, which 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.
• 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.
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