More Deacons, Please Acts 6:1-6:6

More Deacons, Please = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Mark 10:42-45

42Jesus called them together and said, "You k= now that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be s= lave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to = be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."=

More deacons, please!= This church and every church needs more deacons. It’s true! Now, some of you = may think that’s an odd thing for a pastor to say. And due to some of your past experiences, you may not agree with it.

But maybe that’s because you don’t underst= and what I’m

asking for. There are few aspects of church life more misunderstood than deacons= .

How many different answers do you suppose we would get= if I asked right now, “What are Deacons and what are they supposed to do?&= #8221; Well, we would get a variety of an= swers depending, again, on each person’s past experiences and the kinds of churches th= ey’ve been part of over the years.

Some would see Deacons as very godly individuals that = the rest of the congregation should aspire to be more like—outstanding examples of Christian character and servanthood.

Unfortunately, others have a different perception of deacons—even a negative perception, because, frankly, they know deaco= ns who have “earned it!”

Most of us are familiar with a Baptist school in North Carolina w= ho call themselves “the Demon Deacons.” Wonder where they got that from?

In some places, Deacons rule the church with an iron fist. In others, they just ma= ke the pastor’s life miserable. Or they consider it their job to discipline church members who they feel are getting out of line.

Now I hope all this seems foreign to you. It does to me. Fortunately, this has not been my experience with deacons. When= I think of Deacons, I remember people like Joe Jones, Howard Smith, and Harry Taylor--to name just a few Life Deacons who are now with the Lord—Dea= cons who have left an important mark on the life and ministry of this church.

But I have heard enough stories from enough people to = know that all deacons are not created equal—so to speak. One lady shared with me about a particularly stuffy old deacon that she had had a few run-ins with. “His name was Gestant,”= ; she said.

“Gestant?” I asked. “I’ve never heard that= name before.” “Well, t= hat was his name,” she said, “and it fit, too--stuffy old Deacon-Gestant.” (Yeah,= it took me a while, too.)

Anyway, even though they may occasionally malfunction,= deacons are vital to this church’s life and ministry—and I promise you:= we need more of them—and once I explain this from a Biblical perspective= , I trust you will agree.

Let’s see what the Bible says. The Greek word translated as ̶= 0;deacon” is “diakonos.” We= find this word all through the New Testament, and it’s usually translated = simply as “servant.”

It’s not primarily about an office, you see, but= a commitment to servanthood in the life of the church and its community. We need to understand that this se= rvanthood exists on three different levels.

1) First, we find in Scripture what we might call “General Servanthoo= d.” This is the calling and responsibi= lity of every follower of Jesus Christ. We’re all called to serve the Lord

and His Church.

There are hundreds of Bible verses that include the wo= rd “diakonos” where it is translated as “servant.” Here are

a few examples:

1) At the marriage Je= sus attended in Cana, we find this account: “His mother said to the serva= nts, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5) 2) And in John 12:2: “Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among th= ose reclining at the table with him.”

3) In Luke 4:39, we find Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law. It says: ̶= 0;So Jesus bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.” I= n each of these cases, a “diakonos” is a servant in the general sense = of being one who cooks the food or waits on tables.

But the word includes other kinds of service as well…for example: Rom= ans 13:4--“For he is God's servan= t to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sw= ord for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

What kind of servant is this? Law enforcement officers, and othe= rs in places of authority who serve the public.

Now consider what Jesus did with the word “diakonos”: John 12:2= 6 –“Whoever serves me must follow me; and w= here I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serve= s me.” Every follower of = Christ is a deacon in this sense of the word—so, again, we always need more deacons in the church—more Christians who take seriously Christ’= ;s call to servanthood.

Being a Christian is not a spectator sport! In recent days, many of us watched= some football. A relatively small = number of young men play the game while millions of us watch them. But that’s not Christ’s model for the church—He wants us in the game.

On January first, of course, before we went home to wa= tch those Bowl Games, our church hosted a community meal—and there were deacons everywhere you turned—some of those serving were ordained as Deacons—but we had servants everywhere “deaconing” people whom Jesus might refer to as “the least of these.” And when we served them, we served Christ Himself. We were His d= eacons, His servants!

2) But now I want us to focus on another category of servanthood, what coul= d be referred to as “Gifted Servanthood”:

Here’s an example in Romans 12:5-8: “̷= 0;so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gif= ts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him us= e it in proportion to his faith. I= f it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him = teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs= of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

We discover here that for some, servanthood is a spiritual gift. It’s also called the gift of ministry or service or helps. These are not just “general servants,” they are “gifted servant= s.”

They don’t have to be a leader. They simply love to serve, behind = the scenes, with no recognition required. Glenn Bolt, on our staff, is a good example of this. So are many of you.

Here are some characteristics of “Gifted Servanthood”:

1. An awareness of practical needs: these folks see what needs to be done, usually without being told. They see those dirty dishes and wa= sh them. Others can walk past th= em ten times and not even notice. Th= ey see the trash in the parking lot and pick it up rather than just complaining ab= out it.

2. A motivation to meet needs quickly: they don’t delay or need to pl= an or talk something to death. T= hey just get it done!

3. A disregard for personal weariness.&nbs= p; They’re like the Eveready Bunny—they just keep on going = and going and going…

4. A great desire to complete a job once it is started. When others want to leave early on= “work day,” gifted servants will say, “Uh, where’re you going? = Just a couple more hours and weR= 17;ll have it all done!”

So, there are “general servants”: all of us qualify here.
Then, there are “gifted servants”: for whom service is one of t= heir spiritual gifts. In both case= s, the Biblical word is diakonos.

3) But there’s a third group of deacons, Deacons= with a capital “D,” because of the office they hold in the life of t= he church.

The first group of deacons are called to be servants i= n a general sense as followers of Christ and members of His Body, the Church. T= he second group has received special gifts for service—they take this ministry to a higher level than the rest of us.

Then we get to the third group—capital “D&= #8221; Deacons—officers of the church, yes—but the meaning of the word hasn’t changed. &= #8220;Diakonos” still means servant—but these servants are set apart—ordained--= for special ministry in the Body.

I sometimes raise the question with deacons or other ministers if being “ordained’ to this role could be called a promotion in the life of the church—what do you think? In a sense, I suppose it is—= your brothers and sisters have chosen you and set you apart for this task.

It’s just that promotions here are different. Out in the world, a promotion mean= s that you’re over more people—but in the church, it means you’re under more people. There are = not more people around to serve you, but more people around for you to serve= 212;when you get promoted in church.

Deacons are not a power group, but a servant group, assisting the Pastor and Staff, who are also “set apart” servan= ts in the life of the church. At th= eir best, they are models of Christian service that all the other servants look= up to and learn from.

God is really big on the concept of being an example to others:
Parents are to teach their children by example. Older women in the church are told= to teach younger women by their example. Paul told Timothy to be an example to the f= lock. We can win people to the Lord by b= eing examples of changed lives!

More things are caught than taught! Capital “D” Deacons are examples, model servants for the rest of the church. This is w= hy the Biblical qualifications for Deacons are so high--the same basically as for = the Pastor!

Any church member should be able to look at one of our deacons and say, = 220;Oh, that’s how it’s supposed to be!” For example, if the deacon is a Su= nday School teacher, he or she should be a “model” S.S. teacher--not necessarily in terms of talent, but in character, and faithfulness, preparedness, and enthusiasm for the task!

Likewise, if a Deacon is in the choir, other choir members should be able t= o say, “That’s how to be a good choir member!”

Family life is another area in which Deacons and Pastors are told to set an example. If their own house i= s not in order, how can they serve, and manage, and lead in the Lord’s Hous= e? We are ordaining three new “capital D” Deacons in our church today, so let me make this a little more personal:

A) Our young couples ought to be able to look at Dan and Peggy Fricks and s= ay, “So that’s how you have a good marriage.= That’s how a husband should treat his wife, and the wife her husband. That’s how you= love your wife as Christ loved the church.”

B) They should look at Wendell and Judith Wright and s= ay, “That’s what it’s like to be mutually submissive one to t= he other and to be faithful to each other and to Christ and His church.”=

C) Those raising children should be able to look at the Wes and Lisa Wallac= e and say, “That’s the way to raise good kids, children who love the = Lord. That’s what it means to teach children values and to help them discern what matters most in life and to l= ive in a way that honors God.”

To all our Deacons, set the right example—in your family life, your p= rofessional life, your spiritual life. Yo= u are not called to be perfect—Christ takes care of that--but always strive to = set the right example: to be good servants, models in every area of personal and practical life!

It’s a high calling and an awesome responsibility. This is why we ordain you—we lay hands on you and pray for you and remind you that you’re not doing this under your own power, but by the Spirit and strength of Christ Jesus who is in you.

This is why I say “More deacons, please!”<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> At every level of deaconing—general servants, gifted servants, ordained servants—=

More serving of others,

More setting the right example,

More lifting up Christ and making Him known:

Hymn No.