Acts 6:1-7
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. 2 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. 3 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 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 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. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Deacons: An Origin Story
The need for Deacons arose because the early Church was feeling the tension between the time and resources it took to fulfill their two ministries—preaching and teaching—and the ministry of distributing food to the needy.
This is too simplistic a delineation, but there are the spiritual needs of the church and the practical needs of the church. Deacons most often address practical needs.
Churches today have so many more things to get done than they did in Acts 6: Administration, building maintenance, handling complex financial platforms, communications, rentals, marketing, hospitality, tech, etc.
We believe that the church is meant to be shepherded by Elders. Elders set the spiritual temperature of the church. But what happens when the primary role of spiritual shepherding—visioning, leading, praying, teaching, counselling—becomes subservient to the day-to-day tasks of keeping the “ship afloat”? A small and overworked staff of paid or unpaid leaders, carrying the weight of the entire church, is not God’s plan for the Church.
The early Church faced this very dilemma. Enter, the Deacons.
The Greek word diakonos (Deacon) simply means “servant.” Some interpreters make the more specific translation of “Servant of the King,” which in our Christian context has such a profound meaning. And while every Christian is called to serve, there remains an important distinction between the office of Deacon and the Christian attribute of serving. Deacons aren’t just supposed to serve; they’re supposed to lead the rest of the church in service by their faithful example. Deacons reflect Jesus’s servant heart.
You could say Elders are to be servant leaders while Deacons are to be lead servants. In that sense, all Deacons are servants, but not all servants are Deacons.
I like this origin story of Acts 6, and I like the Biblical name “Deacon,” but I’m more interested in the principle than the branding. Our Church only just implemented this role recently. But as a principle, a church without biblically functioning deacons (or whatever language a Church uses for this role) will be a church perpetually distracted from its central mission of making disciples. Again, the delineation may be unfair, as we’ve seen discipling opportunities happen all the time within the scope of what would be considered areas of Deacon oversight, but I think you get the dilemma. The answer in Acts 6 was not to cancel the great community feeding program, and certainly not to stop preaching the gospel. The answer was (to borrow a concept from business author Jim Collins) “to get the right people not only ON the bus but also sitting in the right seat.”
I’m not sure there’s been a more fulfilling aspect of Pastoral ministry than seeing people discover their gifting and be excited about how that gifting makes a Kingdom difference. Would it surprise you to know there are those in your congregation who absolutely love administration and policy and bean-counting and hospital visitation? They LOVE it. And even if one of those areas (or all of them) gives you a sense of dread, don’t worry; God has given you everything you need in your Church to accomplish what needs to be done. I believe that.
Too often my problem was just “doing it myself” for any number of well or not-so-well-intentioned motives. I’ll bet the “team” of Deacons the Apostles appointed to fulfill this food program absolutely LOVED and were uniquely wired for the role.
And what was the result of what some might call a simple “governance” change? It’s found in verse 7. “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”
May it be so of your church in your town and for all of our Alliance family churches.
Amen.
Author Bio
Jonathan Gonyou is now entering his 25th year in full time Pastoral ministry, following a career in Youth Counselling, and for the last 7 years has been the lead Pastor at Newmarket Alliance. Previously he had the national CBC radio moniker of “Pop Culture Pastor,” and still reaches many people through his Liberian/Saharan radio show “Now, Go Be the Church.”
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Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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