Pure Church

In my first job out of college I served as a "job coach" with a little non-profit that helped people with disabilities integrate into the workplace. It was a great opportunity with a great group of people.

My main task, after helping the person find a job, was to provide on-the-job coaching during the probationary employment period. This was generally a "make or break" period. Either the job was a "good fit" or it was quickly evident that things would not work out.

I've had a number of clients either quit or get fired in just a matter of hours or days. It was a time of testing for the employee, the employer and the job coach. Employees could find themselves in situations too complex given their abilities. Employers could be ill-suited for supporting people with disabilities even if they employee was capable otherwise. And the job coach... well, let's just say the job coach has done everything from scoop poop at a kennel (several actually) to wash windows for an airline to data processing at IBM to flipping burgers at your local fast food joint. It was a time of testing for all.

Serving is not only a joy, it is also at times a real test. Serving others tests the depths of our love, the lengths of our patience, the quality of our endurance, and even the permanence of our joy. Serving brings great rewards, and sometimes those rewards are gift-wrapped in trying situations. Those who lovingly serve others often end up feeling like crash dummies designed specifically to discover the heat, force, and pain tolerance of some new product.

It's not surprising then that Paul should instruct Timothy and the church to find table servers, deacons, who "must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons" (1 Tim. 3:10). We call deacons to a number of difficult situations often in response to serious needs and/or serious sins. So, this is no place for a novice. The battle tested are the best applicants.

Deacons are to be examined or put to the test. As one commentator put it, "How this is to be done is not specified. The letter itself makes the requirements public, and 5:22ff indicates that time must be given to appraise a person's life. From this we can conclude that the testing is to be a thoughtful and careful evaluation of a man's life by a congregation aware of these needed qualifications" (Knight, NIGTC on The Pastoral Epistles, p. 170). The testing most likely involves the kinds of spiritual qualifications found throughout 1 Timothy 3.

Some questions to consider:

1. Is the prospective deacon a mature and growing Christian? Time is not always a predictor of maturity, but generally speaking recent converts are not tested and seasoned. There is no magic number of years to reach before one is regarded as a deacon, but churches are to examine a person for spiritual preparedness and capability before making her or him a deacon. Are the fruit of the Spirit evident in their lives? Are they growing into Christlikeness and contributing to the growth of others so that all may grow up into Christ? (Eph. 4)

2. Does the prospective deacon show competence in the area of service? This is not the equivalent of conducting a professional head hunter search for technical competence. But it is wise to look for persons who have already been serving and display some skill in the area they may be asked to lead. Perhaps they have been volunteering in some related capacity. Or, perhaps they have work-related experience and expertise. Phil Ryken puts it this way: "This is a universal principle of Christian ministry: the way to prepare for greater service is to be diligent in some lesser service. Faithful ministry is both rewarded by God and recognized by the church" (1 Timothy, Reformed Expositor's Commentary, p. 128-9).

3. Is there anything that disqualifies the prospective deacon from serving? Whether in character or in competence, does the church's testing reveal serious deficiencies prohibiting a person's service? That's the negative aspect of the testing.

4. Is the congregation supportive of the potential deacon entering the office? This is the positive aspect of the testing. The person who passes the testing labors with the full support and commendation of the church body and leaders. The testing serves to affirm the person's gifting and character and to endorse the person's ministry. It enables confidence in service.


Deacons are indispensable in the Christian church. The Lord has not established the office as an added extra. And the office does not continue to exist as some obsolete appendage. Rather, deacons serve the table of the Lord in such a way as to facilitate the advance of the gospel, the health of the body, and the rejoicing of the saints. With great reason, then, Paul concludes: "Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 3:13). What a noble calling!

I have a ritual when visiting restaurants, especially restaurants I don't know very well. From time to time, I like to have the waiter surprise me with whatever he or she thinks I will enjoy eating. This got started one day when some co-workers and I went to a restaurant following an excruciatingly long day of meetings and decision-making. I simply didn't have another decision left in me. So, I handed the beautiful menu with all its mouth-watering fare to the waiter and asked, "Could you order something for me? I'm an omnivore, so there isn't much probability of disappointing me." The waiter returned with a scrumptious meal and I was spared the agony of another decision that day.

In the 10 years or so that I've been doing this, I can only count about two instances where a waiter brought back something disappointing. Once, on a day much like the first day when this ritual developed, after telling a young man that I was quite hungry and preferred meat, he brought me a large plate of shrimp and grits! Now, I know that's a S.C. low-country delicacy, but there's no way to fuel this tank with shrimp and grits. My jaw nearly hit the table when he returned with this meal. My bargain with the waiters, so they aren't laboring under too much pressure, is that I will eat whatever they bring and be content. So, I gave thanks to the Lord and enjoyed the shrimp and grits.

This entire ordering philosophy rests on one simple fact: the waiter or waitress should know the menu and the kitchen far better than I can or do. Their knowledge of what the chef cooks well, what customers appreciate, and the ingredients available to make a delicious meal either makes this a great strategy or a grand adventure in culinary tomfoolery. As I said, only twice did I leave feeling like I wore a dunce cap during my meal. Waiters and waitresses generally know their product.

Well, what is true for table servers in restaurants is truer still for table servers in the Lord's church. Deacons must know their "product." In the words of the Apostle Paul, deacons "must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience" (1 Tim. 3:9).

The practical "table server" aspects of deaconal ministry may inadvertently obscure or come to de-emphasize the utter necessity that deacons be people sound in the faith. Because we understand deacons to be people who care for the practical needs of the body, perhaps even being assigned a specific area of service, we may run the risk of thinking of deacons as technocrats, people with specialized skills but little or no theological requirements.

To "keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience" is to grip or possess the gospel of Jesus Christ with full assent. First, the prospective deacon needs to have embraced the faith him or herself. Deacons are not to be unbelievers, people unsound in the faith, or who cannot give a credible profession of faith and knowledge of the gospel. Second, they must know what they have embraced. There is a cognitive requirement here. They must know "the deep truths of the faith." Articulating and explaining the cardinal points of the gospel and of Christianity is a requirement. How else can deacons be the kind of servants that point others to Jesus as they serve? Third, the deacon must hold these truths "with a clear conscience," that is, his life and conscience must conform to the faith he professes. It's not merely that he holds the truth of the gospel without doubt or mental reserve, but that he also lives a life worthy of the Christian calling (Eph. 4:1).

What are we looking for in spiritual table servers? People who know the truth of God's word in their own converting experience and with sufficient understanding to live it out and model it for others. This is important because deacons will inevitably find themselves in gospel conversations, applying the truth of the faith to their ministries and the lives of the people, and modeling the faith to those who look to them. That they "keep hold" is then a must, a necessity.

Some questions to ask:
1. Does the prospective deacon give a credible profession of personal saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? If the church practices some form of membership interview as part of its membership process, they will likely have heard the person's testimony of conversion at some point. But it's good practice, as part of considering a person for service as a deacon, to set apart some time for first the leaders and subsequently the congregation to hear and discuss the potential deacon's testimony. This is not an inquisition. But it is an opportunity to search for and affirm evidences of God's grace in a person's life.

2. Does the prospective deacon understand the gospel? Part of hearing the person's testimony should include a statement of the gospel itself. What has the person believed about God, man, Jesus Christ, repentance and faith? Can they articulate and defend the biblical truth about the triune nature of God, about the creation and fall of man, the Person and work of Jesus Christ, and the nature of true conversion?

3. Does the prospective deacon bring the truth of the gospel and the Scripture to bear on his life and ministry? Is the person known among leaders and others as someone who thinks from the cross outward? Does the Person and work of Christ govern their perspective on service, or are they motivated by other philosophies and ideas? Does the manner in which they now live and think give confidence that their service would be informed by the Word of God? Are they known to open the Bible with others when thinking through issues, or are they mostly reliant on their own understanding? Are they known to live the faith inside and outside the church?

4. Does the prospective deacon hold the deep truths of the faith without reservation? The plethora of rival "Christianities" makes it necessary that the servant-leaders of the church be committed to the truth revealed in Scripture. Does the deacon profess any major doubts or even disagreements with the church's statement of faith? Are they able to sign it in good conscience, indicating their complete agreement and willingness to defend? Are they committed to immediately informing the elders should they find themselves out of agreement with the church's statement of faith? Does the deacon also support and uphold with clear conscience the biblical distinctives of the church? This might include things like baptism, the church's position on women in ministry, gender roles, etc. In so far as a position is shown to be biblical, does the prospective deacon support these positions?

5. Is the prospective deacon someone who perseveres in the faith? This I think is somewhat implicit, but needs to be brought out. The deacon will be someone who often enters into difficulty with the goal of bringing peace, stability, order, and fruit in an otherwise chaotic area. To do that, they must persevere in the faith and in the truth of the faith, applying God's word and patiently awaiting fruit. There may not be, and often will not be, immediate fruit from the labor. So, a patient abiding and persevering are necessary to faithfulness in this ministry.

Conclusion
In many churches, deacons serve in the teaching ministry of the church. That's a good thing where the men have gifts for teaching. But whether a deacon leads a Sunday school class or not, they will inevitably be in a position of professing, living, and modeling the deep truths of the faith. And it's necessary for the God-glorifying and healthy functioning of the church that the deacons be mastered by and be committed to mastering the truth of God's word and the gospel it reveals.

What do you suppose is the most frequent criticism lodged against the local church and Christians?

• The church is not doing enough to address problems (youth, homelessness, etc.)
• The church and Christians are not open-minded; they’re backward and discriminatory.
• The church and Christians—especially preachers—are out for your money.
• If the church has the truth, why are there so many divisions and denominations?
• The church is obsolete and unnecessary, and Christians are dangerous to society.
• The church and Christians are boring, not exciting, killjoys, dead.
• Christians are self-righteous and mean.
• The church is full of hypocrites.

That last complaint, the church is full of hypocrites, probably covers a lot of the other problems and complaints. Many people in the world, in one way or another, consider Christian people and the Christian church as a whole… hypocritical.

And, let’s face it. Many of the critiques I just read out… are on the money—at least for some churches and professing Christians.

• There are Christians who are self-righteous and mean.
• There are Christian preachers and churches who care more about money than people.
• There are Christians and churches that are not open-minded in the best sense of that phrase… who are stuck in some bygone era and unable or unwilling to take the truth and engage contemporary society.
• And Christians are a quarrelsome lot. We divide sometimes over the most insignificant things.

It will not do for us to just ignore such criticisms. Yes, the people who raise them are likely hypocrites themselves. But that’s what we’d expect to find out in the world.

But is it what we should expect in the church? Have our critics done us a service by pointing these things out? Do we agree with them? If we agree, what are we to do?

The Apostle Paul comes to his final qualification for elders/pastors in 1 Timothy 3:7--"Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil."

It turns out that what unbelievers think of us really does matter, especially for potential elders and leaders. A man who desires to be an elder must have a strong reputation with those outside the church. These outsiders, non-Christians, are witnesses certifying and corroborating the potential elders' testimony. It's not that folks are neutral about him; "he must be well thought of." The opinion must be positive. If a man is well-regarded inside church but poorly regarded by non-Christians, he is not a suitable candidate for the Christian ministry.

The reason Paul gives under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is similar to the reason given for why an elders hould not be a new convert but mature. A poor outside reputation makes a man vulnerable to falling into disgrace or a trap of the evil one. How many men in pastoral ministry with poor reputations have tarnished the witness of their local church, the Name of Christ, and the gospel? That's precisely what the enemy of the elect wishes to have happen--men falling on their own sword of poor reputation and bad living in the name of Christ.

Elders are to commend the gospel and everything that conforms to sound doctrine. Even the Christian's enemies should feel ashamed about their evil comments in the face of a life lived well for Christ (1 Pet. 3:16). These are the kind of men we are to pray for and look for when it comes to the office of elder.

Some Questions and Observations (Please feel free to add others)

1. What does the prospective elder's non-Christian neighbors and co-workers report about him? Are they witnesses to what they would consider Christian or un-Christian behavior in the prospective elder?

2. Is there evidence that the outsiders' opinions are accurate or inaccurate? It is improbable that Paul intends the local church to take the opinion of non-Christians without reflection and discernment. Paul himself would not be judged by any man when that judgment was unfounded and where faithfulness was demonstrable (1 Cor. 4:1-4). Likewise, the local church should neither dismiss the opinion of outsiders regarding her leaders or swallow "hook, line, and sinker" any charge brought aagainst a man.

3. Does the prospective elder engage in the affairs of the wider community? A prospective elder should be salt and light in the world. That will be reflected, in part, in the non-Christian relationships he maintains and the civic and community contributions he makes.


Conclusion
The call to serve Christ as an undershepherd is a high call. Not everyone may take the mantle of leadership in the church. Those called must be examples to the flock in every area of life (1 Tim. 4:12). Such men must be models of devout faith inside and outside the church, commending Christ and the gospel to all. And yet, apart from being able to teach, the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 are characteristics that every Christian should increasingly possess by God's grace and the work of His Spirit. May the Lord be pleased to grant us both the blessing of faithful, reliable men to lead our churches and the fruit of His Spirit.


Other posts in this series
Introduction: Finding Reliable Men
Above Reproach
One-Woman Man
Temperate, Self-Controlled, Respectable
Hospitable
Able to Teach
Sober, Gentle, Peacemaking
Not Lovers of Money
Leaders at Home
Mature and Humble

You ever heard the phrase "the zeal of a new convert"? It's used to describe someone who is fervent and boiling over with enthusiasm because of their newfound beliefs or commitments. It's a bit of a cliche, but it's a helpful description of recent initiates. New converts tend to have a great deal of energy and enthusiasm, they're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (to use another cliche) but not according to knowledge.
The Lord's next requirement for those who would lead His church as under-shepherds is that "He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil" (1 Tim. 3:6).