Those who serve well as deacons [diakonos], gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. (1Timothy 8:13)

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace…whoever serves [diakoneo], as one who serves [diakoneo] by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10–11)

MOTION

To be presented at the business meeting on Sunday, July 27, 2008: That the members of Bethlehem Baptist Church elect the following people as Deacons:

Organizational

1. Brad Arthur (Properties Administrator)
2. Thayne Rossiter (Financial Administrator)
3. Scott Rebney (Treasurer)
4. Paul Johnson (Financial Secretary)
5. Joby Morgan (Office Manager)

Congregational

1. Joe Krekelberg (Helping Hand Committee Chair)

Note: Additional Congregational Deacons will be added at a later date.

ELDER ACTIONS

As a means of spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ by honoring the God-ordained New Testament office of “deacon,” the Council of Elders has taken the following actions:

On May 8, 2007, the Council of Elders approved the following definition of the office of deacon at Bethlehem Baptist Church (BBC):

A Deacon is an administrative officer within the church who is set apart to ensure that 1) the elders are freed up to focus on prayer and ministry of the Word and 2) the practical needs within the church at corporate and individual levels are met.

On January 29, 2008, the Council of Elders passed the following motion:

To establish “Organizational Deacons” and “Congregational Deacons” at BBC. Also to recommend to the congregation the following individuals: 1) Brad Arthur (Properties Administrator), Thayne Rossiter (Financial Administrator), Scott Rebney (Treasurer), Paul Johnson (Financial Secretary), and Joby Morgan (Office Manager) as Organizational Deacons. 2) Joe Krekelberg (Helping Hand Chairman) and a Congregational Deacon that would serve under the supervision of the Congregational Elders, who would oversee the diaconal workers to meet the practical needs of the people of their campus.

BACKGROUND

There are two church offices listed in the New Testament; the office of elder and the office of deacon.

Philippians 1:1: 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons

1 Timothy 3:8–13: 8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.  9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

On this basis, BBC has established both the office of elder and the office of deacon, reflected in its constitution.

The offices of the Church shall be Elder and Deacon. The purpose of the officers of the Church is to lovingly govern, care for, and equip the membership to do the work of the ministry. (Bethlehem Baptist Church Constitution, Article 4, Section 2.)

The Officers of the Church shall be a Council of Elders and the Deacons. Officers shall be called to office by vote of the membership of the Church... (Ibid., Art. 2, Sec. 5.)

While there is a great deal of clarity regarding the nature of the office of elder at BBC, the office of deacon is clouded in ambiguity and has fallen into disuse.

RESPONSIBILITIES & QUALIFICATIONS

The office of deacon is not a teaching office, but exists in part to free up the elders to focus on teaching. When comparing the qualifications for overseers to the qualifications for deacons in 1 Timothy 3, the overseer qualification of being “able to teach” (v. 2) is noticeably absent in the list of qualifications for deacons (v. 12).

Qualifications for Overseers
1 Timothy 3:2–7 {Ital. added}: 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 6 He must not be a recent convert, 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders.

Qualifications for Deacons
1 Timothy 3:8–12: 8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

Further indication that the office of deacon did not involve teaching can be found in Acts 6:1-7. In this account, seven men in the church in Jerusalem were set apart to ensure that the Hellenistic widows were not being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Though these men were not referred to as “Deacons,” their appointment seems to at least foreshadow the office of Deacon. (Paul Dreblow, Dan Holst and Kenny Stokes, An Overview of the Biblical Teaching on Deacons, November 13, 2000.)

Acts 6:1–5 {Ital. added}: 1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

These men were set apart to enable the apostles to devote themselves to “prayer and the ministry of the word” (v. 4). It would not have been right for the apostles to “give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (v. 2).

Though the office of deacon is not a teaching office within the church, a person holding the office is not necessarily prohibited from preaching and teaching. Of the seven men set apart in Acts 6, Philip is referred to as “Philip the evangelist” (Acts 21:8). Similarly, Stephen was preaching when he was stoned to death (Acts 7:1–52).

The office of deacon also exists to ensure that the practical needs of people within the church are being met.

Acts 6:1–3: 1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

These men were not focused on meeting the practical needs of people outside of the church. Rather, their focus was on people who were part of the flock. Just as elders oversee the flock, so deacons ensure that the practical needs of the flock are met.

Summary

Therefore, a deacon appears to be someone within the church who is set apart to ensure that 1) the elders are freed up to focus on prayer and ministry of the word and 2) the practical needs within the church are met.

Application to BBC

Within the context of BBC, we believe that deacons should ensure that practical needs are met both at the individual and corporate levels. Practical needs at the corporate level would include things like finances, property, etc.

Considering the size of the flock at BBC, we believe that the office of deacon should primarily be an administrative office of equipping others within the church to meet practical needs, rather than being an office in which deacons are primarily doing the front-line ministry.

There is potential support for the idea that this office is administrative in nature based on “the seven” who were set apart in Acts 6, though we would not want to press this too far. The church in Jerusalem included over 5,000 men in addition to women and children (Acts 4:4), yet only seven men were appointed to the task of ensuring that the Hellenistic widows were not overlooked. Assuming that there would have been many widows among this large church, these seven men most likely had assistants who helped them accomplish this task. (Mike Rusten, The Office of Deacon, p. 8.)  One could argue that other deacons were added to the group of seven at a later date. However, by the time the events of Acts 21 take place, these men were still referred to as “the seven” (Acts 21:8, 27), most likely indicating that additional deacons had not been added to their number. This could be an indication that “the seven” were more administrative in nature.

WOMEN DEACONS

The phrase “Gune hosautos” (1 Timothy 3:11) could be translated “Their wives likewise” (ESV) or as “Women likewise” (NASB). The qualifications refer either to the wives of male deacons or women deacons. We believe that the best interpretation is “Women likewise” and that the office of deacon is open to biblically qualified women. A strong case for the inclusion of women in the office of deacon has been made in John Piper’s paper, Rethinking the Governance Structure at Bethlehem Baptist Church (Rev. Apr. 27, 2000):

Were Women Deacons?

Probably yes. There are four observations that incline us to think that this office was held by both men and women.

1. The Greek word for Deacon can be masculine or feminine in the same form. So the word does not settle the issue.

2. In the middle of the qualifications for Deacons in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 Paul says, “The women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things.” This could be the wives of the Deacons, but could also be the women Deacons. The latter is suggested by the fact that no reference to women is made in 3:1-7. Since women were not candidates for the eldership in the New Testament (1 Timothy 2:12-13) because of its authoritative function in teaching and oversight, the absence of the reference to women in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 would be expected. But this confirms the probability that the reference to women in 3:11 is to women Deacons, not merely to wives of Deacons.

3. The Deacons were distinguished from the elders in that they were not the governing body in the church nor were they charged with the duty of authoritative teaching. So the role of Deacon seems not to involve anything that Paul taught (in 1 Timothy 2:12 or anywhere else) is inappropriate for women to perform in the church.

4. In Romans, Phoebe is very probably called a Deacon. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a Deacon(ess) of the church at Cenchreae, that you may receive her in the Lord as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many and of myself as well.”

It appears then that the role of Deacon is of such a nature that nothing stands in the way of women's full participation in it. Within the Deaconate itself the way the men and women relate to each other would be guided by the sense of appropriateness growing out of the Biblical teaching of male and female complementarity.

In addition to the above observations, we would add the following:

1. There is an absence of qualifiers like “their” referring to women or wives. (Ibid., p. 16.)

2. That Phoebe was a deacon “of the church” seems to favor the view that this is a reference to the office of deacon. (Mike Rusten, The Office of Deacon, p. 1.)

3. If the qualifications were referring to the wives of deacons rather than women deacons, it is strange that there are no qualifications listed for the wives of overseers in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, since the office of overseer is a higher office in the church. (Andreas J. Köstenberger, The New Testament Pattern of Church Government (Midwestern Lecture #3), p. 15.)

4. The existence of the list of qualifications for the women (1 Timothy 3:11) indicates that they were being selected as well as the male deacons being selected in 1 Timothy 3:8-10. (The Redeemed Presbyterian Church Diaconate Mannual, p.32.)

5. The phrase “Women must likewise” (1 Timothy 3:11) introduces a new group of people, like the phrase “Deacons likewise” (1 Timothy 3:8) introduces a new group of people.

We do not believe that the phrase “husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:12) indicates that only men were supposed to serve as deacons. Rather, this appears to be a return to the list of qualifications for male deacons, after making a list of qualifications for women in v. 11. We believe that the requirement “husband of one wife” was necessary to prohibit men with concubines, a common practice at that time, from holding the office of deacon. (Steven M. Baugh, “Titus,” in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (ed. Clinton E. Arnold; (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 501-2 as quoted in Andreas J. Köstenberger, The New Testament Pattern of Church Government (Midwestern Lecture #3), p. 15.)

PROCESS OF APPOINTING DEACONS

Candidates for the office of deacon will be tested according to 1 Tim. 3:10. After a process of testing, candidates will be elected by the active membership of BBC and appointed by the elders by laying hands on them based on the example in Acts 6:

Acts 6:2–6{Ital. added}: 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

STRUCTURE AND OVERSIGHT

Rather than create a Council of Deacons, deacons will operate within the existing structures of the church and therefore will operate under the oversight of the elders. Just as there are Organizational Elders and Congregational Elders, there will be Organizational Deacons and Congregational Deacons. Organizational Deacons will seek to ensure that practical needs are met at the corporate level. Congregational Deacons will seek to ensure that practical needs of individuals and families are met.

FAQ

1. Do the deacons focus only on ministry within the church? We are inclined to believe that the office of deacon is focused on serving within the church. In Acts 6, the office was created to solve a problem that arose within the church.

2. Is the office of deacon considered a stepping stone to the office of elder? No, there are distinct qualifications for deacons that do not include “ability to teach.” A more likely stepping stone to the office of elder would be the role of shepherd group leader.

3. Does divorce and remarriage disqualify a person from the office of deacon? Since the qualifications for elders and deacons regarding marriage are identical, we propose that BBC practice the same policy for each office. Therefore, the office of deacon would not be open to people who have been divorced and remarried.

4. Will women deacons be called deaconesses? This seems to be the best term to use, though we are not opposed to calling them “Deacons.”

5. Would holding the office of deacon limit the role that a person could play in the areas of “prayer and the ministry of the word” at BBC? No, holding the office of deacon does not relegate a person to non-“prayer and ministry of the word” functions within the church. Two of the seven men set apart in Acts 6, Stephen and Phillip, were also evangelists (Acts 7:1-52; 21:8).

6. Would any person meeting practical needs within BBC hold the office of deacon? No, we believe that in the context of BBC, the office of deacon should be primarily administrative in nature.

7. If deacons are focused on meeting practical needs within the church, why wouldn’t all of the Helping Hand Committee members be deacons? Within the context of BBC, we believe that deacons need to be primarily deploying others to meet practical needs. Most of the committee members are not deploying others, but are doing the front-line care.

8. If a primary purpose of deacons is to free up the elders to focus on prayer and the ministry of the word, couldn’t all ministry assistants be called deacons? No, we believe that the office of deacon should be limited to people who deploy others in the church to meet practical needs at the corporate or individual/family level.

9. Why is it that the task force is proposing that only some of the BBC staff with the title “Administrator” be appointed as deacons? Given the definition that has been adopted by the Council of Elders, some of the “Administrators” at BBC are not deploying other people, or are not primarily focused on meeting practical needs within the church.

10. Would individuals who coordinate communion, baptism, greeting, and food/fellowship ministries of the church be called deacons? No, we would favor a more narrow definition of this office. While these are very important roles within the church, we do not see them as roles that would require deacon qualifications.

11. If deacons are focused on ministry with the church, why do we have a “Global Diaconate”? The use of that term may need to be revisited at some point.

CONCLUSION

After “the seven” were set apart in Acts 6, we are told:

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7)

May God be pleased to make this one of the effects of revitalizing the office of deacon at Bethlehem!