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.

Who wants to be waited on by a drunk person badgering you for bigger tips or trying to get you to order much more than you need so the restaurants profits would be greater? Having an intoxicated person fumbling around you and breathing fermented drink on you as you order or eat isn't a pleasant dining experience. Nor is it pleasant to have greed show itself in poor service for fear of not getting a big enough tip.

Not only should deacons be men and women full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6), it follows that they should also be "sincere" (1 Tim. 3:8). The deacon must not be "double tongued" or "two-faced" or "indulging in double talk." A person may be double-tongued in two ways. They may say one thing to one person and another thing to someone else. Or, they may say one thing and do another. In either case, their tongues are forked and they are not reliable persons for serving as deacons. The deacon's "yes" must be yes, and "no" no (2 Cor. 1:17-18). Bunyan's "Mr. Two Tongues" is not a suitable candidate for this important office.Why sincere? A couple of reasons come to mind.

By God's grace and kindness to me, He has allowed me to serve as a senior pastor for just under two years now. The longer record of His kindness includes the blessing of watching and serving as an elder at two other churches over the course of the last 10 years. I'm a young pastor, but the longer the Lord allows me to serve in pastoral ministry the deeper He impresses the importance upon me of praying for faithful men and women to serve as deacons in the church.

Last night at our members' meeting, the congregation had opportunity to celebrate the ministry of a brother who is ending his term as our deacon of personnel. Tim Adam heads the country's largest telecom corporation, and yet person after person remembered him for his humility, spiritual focus, eagerness to serve, and wisdom.

I was reminded of the Spirit-given wisdom and insight of the apostles in Acts 6 when they instructed the young and rapidly growing church in Jerusalem to "choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom" (v. 3). Tim certainly met those qualifications, and as elders we are gripped with the importance of praying for many others in the body to use, show, and grow in these qualities.

When looking for deacons, it is imperative to look for men and women full of the Spirit. The office is a spiritual office. It's discharge is a spiritual work, even if you organize your deacons around specific primary tasks as we do. There is no advantage to the church and the gospel in seeking those who are not full of the Spirit.

Some Questions to Ask When Looking for Deacons Filled with the Spirit

1. Does the man put the ministry of the word and prayer above the "practical" needs of the church? The very purpose for which the apostles appointed deacons was to make sure the ministry of the word was not neglected. Does the potential deacon understand his or her role in terms of freeing up the ministry of the word and prayer, and not as competition with it? Do they recognize the facilitating aspect of their role, or are they "advocates" for more attention to this or that "practical need"? Lloyd-Jones, commenting on this verse, noted three ways in which the deacon must recognize the priority of spiritual matters and the ministry of the word:

It is wrong to put 'serving tables' before the preaching of the Word of God because it is always wrong to put man before God. That, in a nutshell, is the real trouble with the world. Man is at the center; man is everything....

So it is wrong to put man before God, and, second, in exactly the same way, it is wrong to put the body before the soul. In other words, we are not only wrong about God, we are wrong about man. What is man? According to the modern theory, man is only body, and so you must attend to everything to with the body; give it plenty of food, plenty of drink, clothing, shelter, medical care, plenty of sex. Oh, the tragedy that humanity should think it is complimenting itself and exalting itself by turning its back upon God to concentrate on physical needs. And this is what this Word of God encounters, what it denounces....

Finally, is it not the height of folly and indeed the greatest tragedy to put time before eternity? The feeding of the body only belongs to time. A day is coming in the life of all of us when we will not be interested in food, and when food will not be able to help us at all; we will be beyond that" (Victorious Christianity: Studies in the Book of Acts, v. 3, p. 236, 237-8).

2. Is the person a servant? Though our culture thinks of table service as demeaning and lowly, we Christians ought not miss the fact that such lowliness and willingness to serve is a mark of Christ's life and humility. He came to serve, not to be served, and to give His life as a ransom (Mark 10:45). He made himself of no reputation, but humbled himself and took on the form of a bondservant (Phil. 2). Does the potential deacon see service as a necessary part of following Christ? Are they happy to accept "menial" tasks, duties that lack glamor? Or, do they want applause and recognition and attention for "their" ministries?

3. Does the person evidence the fruit of the Spirit? (Gal. 5:22-23). Are the virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control evident in the way they serve and their conduct? Deacons are people who will attend to any number of thorny frustrations and problems in the local church. So, they need to be people full of grace who are able to address issues with the Spirit's power and qualities. They should be able to "keep in step with the Spirit" and "not become conceited, provoking and envying" others (Gal. 5:25-26). Does the potential deacon stir strife or settle it? Are they talebearers or are they able to keep appropriate confidences and to end murmuring and complaining?

4. Does the person demonstrate Spirit-inspired wisdom? A deacon must be able to resolve problems. Often they must be able to anticipate problems as well, so that the unavoidable bumps along the way don't completely derail the church in her mission. But to do this well, a person needs wisdom. Is the potential deacon known for their discernment, insight, and sound judgment when interacting with people? When addressing problems? Are they slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger? Do they consider the ideas of others, or are they committed to their own thoughts more than others? Do they show wisdom in not only arriving at decisions be in implementing them and in helping others to understand the decision? Are they prudent when it comes to working through a process for arriving at a decision? Wisdom is needed for both the final decision and the process for getting there.

I frequent restaurants fairly often. It's where a good deal of one-on-one discipleship happens, as I meet with men from the church and discuss together the Scripture, their lives, and good Christian books. Aside from the joy of sharing a meal together, one of the things that makes these visits fruitful is having a good waiter. If the waiter enjoys their task as a table server, if they're eager to serve, if they are available when there is need but otherwise not intrusive, then the experience is really quite enjoyable.

The downside, of course, is that restaurant patrons don't generally get the privilege of choosing their waiters. We arrive, are seated by a host/hostess, and then the waiter working that area shows up to provide service. In secular speak, "it's the luck of the draw."

In many ways, our experience in the local church is akin to eating a meal in a favorite restaurant. Just as is the case with restaurants, the local church has table servers as well. We call them "deacons." And as the experience in Acts 6 reveals, the joy, peace, unity and fruitfulness of the local church depends in part on having a cadre of faithful table servants who are there when needed, not intrusive, but eager to serve.

Lord willing, the next several posts will focus on finding deacons in the local church, faithful table servers who give themselves in caring for the needs of the body. With the move of many churches to eldership, the deaconal role has necessarily been redefined and sometimes been neglected. But deacons are an indispensable part of serving the body of Christ and of multiplying the church's ministry.

We see this quite clearly in Acts 6, where the apostles charge the church in Jerusalem with finding deacons among them.

The Opportunity: Acts 6:1 points out that "the number of disciples was increasing." It was a time of spiritual prosperity in the conversion of souls and enrollment in the school of Christ. The word of God was advancing and producing much fruit.

The Threat: However, inside the church complaint was lodged by Greek or Greek-speaking Jews against Hebraic or Hebrew-speaking Jews. The practical challenge was the distribution of foods to widows. There was inequity in the distribution. The related problem was disparity along cultural or ethnic lines. According to the Grecian Jews, the problem wasn't randomly affecting the widows, or affecting widows along income lines, or in accord with spiritual maturity. Greek and Hebraic Jews were treated differently. Cultural or ethnic prejudice threatened the unity of the church as well as the physical well-being of some widows.

The Solution: So, the apostles (a) made the necessary decision to prioritize the ministry of the word and prayer over the real and present physical needs. The squeaky wheel would be oiled, but not at the expense of the very life-giving word of God that had created the church and produced new disciples; and (b) recommended that the brothers choose seven men to "wait on tables," to deacon.

To modern sensibilities, "waiting on tables" is a low-level, sometimes demeaning position. It's what you do when you're working your way through college, or passing time until your career takes off. Many people think serving tables is beneath them, perhaps necessary sacrifice to make ends meet, but altogether undesirable as a way of life.

But how different it is in the Lord's church! The apostles under the inspiration of God's Spirit create an entirely new office in the church for the specific purpose of serving tables. And the loftiness of the office is seen (a) in the character that's required to fill it, (b) the ministry of word and prayer it facilitates, and (c) the unifying and strengthening effect it is designed to have on the church. The deaconate is every bit as essential to the spread of the word as the apostleship and eldership!

Are there widows in our churches that are not well-cared-for? Perhaps we need to consider our work with deacons? Are there inequities in the distribution of benevolence or resources in the church? Sounds like a job for deacons. Are there cultural tensions and threats to unity in the church? Do we wish to see a more diverse church integrated in Christian life? The position of deacon was established with an eye toward harmony across cultural and language lines. Are churches threatened by potential splits? Deacons were the early church's "shock absorbers," able to take complaints and concerns and resolve them in godliness and preserve the unity of the saints.

When Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas were commissioned for the deaconate, "the word of God spread" and "the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7). Who among us would not like to see the word spread, number of disciples rapidly increasing, and large numbers of people and priests becoming obedient to the faith? An effective deacon ministry facilitated this in the early church as it freed the deacons of the word to do their work. It's with this hope in mind, that I pray the Lord would guide us in our consideration of deacons and how to find them.

Probably not. I hadn't either until I read a three-part interview (one, two, three) with her over at Adrian Warnock's blog. Wendy serves as Deacon in Charge of Women's Theology and Training at Mars Hill in Seattle. Now every church ought to have one or two of those!!

The interview is a pretty friendly exploration of Mars Hill and Wendy's role as Deacon. A clip:

Adrian: Going back to your own role in the church, tell me what exactly does a "Deacon in Charge of Women's Theology and Training" do?

Wendy: Originally, I was asked to take over our Practical Theology for Women course. It started more as a women's forum, but has evolved to an eight-week study of the character and attributes of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and how knowing Him equips us for the practical issues of life. The first lesson is "What is Theology and Why Should I Care?" which is an important question for women to ask themselves. I have been stunned over the years by the number of Christian (or at least churched) women who think theology is irrelevant to them. Many think theology is just a bunch of dead men debating Latin phrases. My goal in the Practical Theology for Women class was not to dumb down the deep things of the Word, but to present them in a way that they are accessible to someone who is not schooled in theological phraseology. We've podcast a condensed version of the class, and it's available on our main church website (pardon the shameless plug).

My responsibilities at church have grown, and now I help organize most of the teaching events for women. I try to keep my ear to the ground to understand the "felt needs" of women at church. But then I try (with other godly women in the church) to figure out what the needs reflect about our view of the Gospel and the character of God. We then organize each teaching event with the foundation of knowing the God of the Bible and stripping away the God of our imagination, showing how knowing the truth of God's character rightly addresses the felt problem.

Adrian: How did you come to join the Mars Hill staff? Were you appointed straight from a theological seminary, or did you have other experience before you got this role?

Wendy: I have a minor in Bible from a Christian college. But, honestly, the vast majority of my theological knowledge has been taught me through the church—not necessarily just Sunday sermons, but through contact with the Body, sitting over coffee debating limited atone-ment, dispensationalism, or what have you. I've learned so much just by talking to the right people who direct me to read the right people. It's not that I don't value seminary training. But it's not accessible to the average church member, so surely that's not the most effective way to raise up leaders in the church. My husband has no seminary training whatsoever, but he is a constant source of wisdom to me as I prepare each lesson I teach.

There is a difference in studying theology and getting theological degrees. The first is absolutely necessary and the second is sometimes helpful. There are a number of staff and members at Mars Hill with degrees and/or pursuing degrees. But there are many, many more intent on learning their theology. In fact, I consider that the norm at Mars Hill.

Mars Hill takes seriously their responsibility to train up leaders from within the church. When I first got to Mars Hill, I was really rebuked by the number of relatively new Christians (maybe two to three years in the faith) who could run circles around me in their knowledge of the Word. I recently had dinner with a lady who was saved as a corporate career woman living with an abusive boyfriend. She had been saved maybe two years at the time, her life beautifully transformed, and in the middle of dinner she asked me my views on covenant versus dispensational theology. I thought, "What in the world?!" I had probably been saved twenty years before I ever cracked a book on that one.

Check out the three-parter and counting.