Rediscovering the Office of Deacon, 1 Timothy 3:8-13
It is no secret that the office of deacon in many Baptist churches is not rightly ordered. Because this office, in living memory, has functioned according to practical conventions rather than biblical directives, many people have antidotal stories that illustrate the dysfunction that this has produced. Though these stories are part of our experience, they are not helpful to us today, and I have chosen to give them little attention. Rather, I think it best to give my attention to preaching a biblical understanding of this office.
A disordered church and church leadership create dysfunction. Dysfunction creates dissatisfaction with and confusion over the purpose of biblical offices. There are three common responses to such dissatisfaction and confusion.
Reject and disband the office entirely. There are Baptist churches today that no longer have deacons.
Limit or remove the authority and responsibility from the office. When this response is pursued, the office may remain in theory, and persons may be given the title of deacon, but in practice, the office has no purpose, and the office holders are given no responsibilities or authority.
Create new positions according to human wisdom and practical solutions to perform the tasks formally assigned to deacons. This is a hybrid of the two previous responses. The biblical office of deacon is rejected, and the tasks formerly assigned to deacons are given to new positions created and governed through secular models.
The disorder of the deacon's office resulted from the practical taking precedence over the biblical. These responses continue in this trajectory by attempting to correct the issue with practical and secular solutions.
The only faithful response to disorder in the church is to return to faithful obedience to a biblical order. This includes the biblically assigned responsibilities, tasks, and authorities of the offices of the church.
In verses 8-13, Paul gives the qualifications for deacons. From this passage, I want you to gain a biblical understanding of the office, the qualifications for it, and the honor of it.
