Deacons: Part 1 What is a Deacon?

Acts 6 v 1-6

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 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. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

According to Luke, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, seven deacons were chosen to support the apostles and the wider Church. They were to help the poor Gentile Christian widows. The Jewish widows seemed to have already been supported by the Church. This freed up the Apostles to continue to preach the Gospel.

Deacons were then mentioned again in 1 Timothy:

1 Timothy 3 v 8-13

In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

In order to qualify as a deacon, a person needed to be:

• Dignified

• Not double-tongued

• Did not drink too much wine

• Not greedy for dishonest gain

• Sound in faith and life

• Blameless

• Godly wife

• Husband of one wife

• Looked after their children and managed their household well

In verse 11, it could be read that this also applies to deaconesses too. I will discuss the role of deaconesses in the early Church in a later post.

What does the word Deacon mean?

Deacon comes from the Greek word diakonos. It is normally translated as servant.

John 12 v 26

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant (diakonos) also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Here we see Jesus using diakonos, when he explains how Christians should act towards Him. We should all be servants, deacons or diakonos of Christ.

In terms of the early Church hierarchy, there are some who were set apart to act in a particular function, in order to organise help for the widows and the poor. Even though we are all called to be diakonos of Christ, not all of us are charged with managing and organising programmes to specifically help the poor and needy.

So there is a difference between the call on every Christian to be a diakonos and the Office of a Deacon.

Church Hierarchy

Here we start to see the early Church Hierarchy take shape. Christ is the Head of the Church, followed by the 12 apostles and now the 7 deacons.

Over time, churches have adopted more complex structures and different ways of setting themselves up. But, the Office of the Diakonos remains either formally or informally. They are for supporting the poor and needy in the Church and the wider community.

Some might disagree with the hierarchy of the Church and believe in a more democratised model. There is a trend in the Modern West to flatten organisational structures, in order, to bring ‘power’ closer to the people.

This misunderstands how the hierarchy of the Church works. The Church is a diakonos or servant organisation. Everyone is expected to serve Christ, each other and then the World.

The local priest/pastor doesn’t have the power or authority to order parishioners around with the threat of force. If they do, then that verges into the territory of a cult. The only person who has power over the whole Church is Christ Himself. And he displays this by being the ultimate diakonos.

Matthew 23 v 11

The greatest among you will be your servant (diakonos).

I believe Jesus is talking about Himself in this verse. And He shows by His life, death and resurrection, that He is the Servant King.

So, with Christ as the model, the more responsibility someone has in the Church, the more they are expected to act like a servant or a diakonos.

Unlike governments and corporations, the authority within the Church is based around servanthood and not power or force.

The Office of the Deacon

This Office organises the structure in a local church to carry out the function of looking after the poor and needy.

Just as the Office of an Evangelist organises the function of heralding the Gospel.

A church may not have an official deacon position, or it may be called something else, but it is imperative to the church and its calling.

The role of the early deacons shows clearly that caring for those in need is near the heart of the Church.

Summary

In summary, there are three ways of interpreting what a deacon is:

• Every member of the Church is expected to be a deacon to Christ.

• Some hold the Office of a Deacon (informally or formally) and work to support the poor and needy in the community.

• And as someone takes on more responsibility in the Church, they are expected to become more like Christ and adopt the role of a deacon. Serving Christ, and those ‘sheep’ Christ has charged them to look after.