Thinking about Deacons (Part Three)

[Our friend and frequent contributor, Thomas Overmiller, is working through a series of studies on the office of deacon. He is posting these as short studies, we are combining several posts into this post. We hope it is profitable for you. See part one and part two.– Editor.]

In a previous study, we learned that a deacon should be a man who is reverent, not double-tongued, and not a heavy drinker. In this study, we’ll consider several more qualities that a deacon must exhibit.

Not Greedy for Money

Deacons handle the financial affairs of a church firsthand by receiving, allocating and disbursing the funds. Because of this, they may be tempted to use their office for personal advantage. This requires the absence of any personal conflicts of interest regarding financial gain. No prospective deacon should manifest a tendency, desire or need to improve his own financial standing or meet his own financial needs through his position as a deacon.

Evidence of such a conflict includes: 1) excessive debt, 2) wasteful spending, 3) extravagant living, 4) workaholism, 5) financial dependency, 6) unemployment due to laziness, 7) gambling and playing the lottery, 7) tax evasion, and 8) questionable business practices. Prospective deacons should be faithful, content, and impartial stewards in the financial realm.

Committed to a Pure Conscience

Paul teaches that deacons should “hold the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience” (1 Tim 3:9). Mystery means a secret that has been revealed. The faith refers to the content of the Christian faith, especially the truth about Jesus Christ revealed in the gospel (1 Tim 3:16). So, a prospective deacon must be a man who applies the truth of the gospel consistently and conscientiously to all aspects of his life, morally and otherwise.

To do this, he allows the gospel to train every aspect of his conscience so that the choices he makes in daily life match the kind of genuine, godliness revealed in Christ (1 Tim 1:5, 19; 4:2; 2 Tim 1:3; Titus 1:15). Deacons must be men who cherish the gospel and reject worldliness, believing that the gospel is both a holy message and a holy calling. They do not separate their lives into separate compartments, secular and sacred. They believe that all of life is sacred and must be governed by the gospel. Their life matches this belief.

Proven

A church should not appoint a new convert to the office of a deacon, nor should they appoint a man with whom they are not familiar. We learn the importance of this by noticing the word first. Paul said that prospective deacons must “first be tested.” Before a church chooses a new deacon, they must test him first, verifying his character. To rush forward and disregard this stipulation will lead to unfortunate results. Such a man will eventually either hurt the church or become hurt himself because he was not qualified. To avoid this, churches should train and mentor men to become qualified deacons over time. When the need for new deacons arises, they should select from among those men who have proven themselves to be reliable in an unofficial capacity.

Good Family Relationships

This qualification encompasses the domestic reputation of a prospective deacon, as a husband and a father. Though this does not require a deacon to be married or to have children, this domestic experience certainly gives a man an advantage of increased perspective, experience, and maturity. That said, it is also true that unmarried men are more available to do the work of the Lord in an undistracted way (1 Cor 7:32).

Regarding marriage, a prospective deacon must be “a one-woman man.” This requirement prohibits polygamy, adultery, pornography addiction, and requires that a man have a testimony of faithfulness to his wife if married.

The nature of a deacon’s ministry requires that his wife also exhibits certain qualities of a godly woman and helpmate. Like him, she must be reverent and serious-minded about life and ministry. She should be free from any tendency towards gossip, insulting language, false accusations, and hurtful speech. Furthermore, she should conduct her life in a balanced way that demonstrates clear thinking, emotional stability, self-control, and freedom from intoxicants like alcohol. She should be trustworthy and reliable.

In addition to his marriage, a prospective deacon who has children living under his care at home should demonstrate competency as a father. He should guide his family in such a way that his children respect his leadership and follow his instructions. This qualification is especially important because the home provides the truest test of a man’s character.

Questions to Discuss

1. Why is it important that a deacon not be greedy for money?
2. What does it mean to practice “the mystery of the faith”?
3. What does it mean to “test” a deacon first?
4. What can a church do to prepare future deacons who are qualified?
5. Why does a man’s home life qualify or disqualify him from being a deacon?
6. What kind of relationship and reputation must a deacon have towards his wife?
7. Describe the reputation that is required for the wife of a deacon.
8. Describe the kind of relationship a deacon should have with the children who are in his care.

Not Necessarily Able to Teach

Having considered the qualifications for prospective deacons, churches should also recognize one noteworthy quality that Scripture does not require. They must not be required to show an aptitude for teaching ministry. Scripture strongly requires that pastors be able to teach, but there is no such requirement for deacons (1 Tim 3:2). Though a deacon may certainly be able to teach, this ability is not required. If churches fail to recognize this, they will overlook God-given, qualified men for serving as deacons in the church.

Not Perfect

Altogether, the deacon qualities and qualifications may be combined and summarized as being “blameless” (1 Tim 3:10). This does not mean perfection or no man could ever serve as a deacon. What this means instead is that no one should be able to accuse a prospective deacon of noteworthy misconduct or inconsistency. From a theological standpoint, we know that every Christian is blameless before God. Paul tells us that Christ will present every genuine believer blameless before God (Col 1:22-23). This is encouraging news!

But the matter of a deacon’s blameless reputation concerns something else. It concerns the accusations of people around us and not our gracious, forgiving God. It especially concerns the accusations of unsaved people (1 Tim 3:7). Whereas brothers and sisters in Christ will generally be forgiving towards one another, the unsaved often look for opportunities to point fingers at the church and the gospel she represents. For this reason, prospective deacons should not carry with them any valid charge of known wrongdoing which has not satisfactorily been reversed or made right.

Not Equal by Comparison

As a church learns to identify potential deacons, they also should not expect every candidate to exhibit necessary qualities to the same degree. While all candidates should exhibit the qualities prescribed by Scripture, some will do so more distinctly. Luke hints at this by the way he lists the men chosen by the church at Jerusalem. He names Stephen first, then mentions some of his personal qualities immediately afterward. By doing this, he does not imply that Stephen was the only deacon who possessed these qualities.

Instead, he indicates that while these qualities described all seven men, they described Stephen in a very distinct way. In fact, Luke reiterates this man’s outstanding testimony in subsequent statements (Acts 6:8, 10; 7:55). Knowing this, congregations should refrain from comparing deacons against one another, whether active or prospective, just as they should refrain from doing so with pastors or with each other (1 Cor 10:12). Though some candidates will exhibit certain qualities more distinctly than others, none will do so perfectly or to the same degree.

Questions to Discuss

1. What is one requirement for pastors that is not a requirement for deacons?
2. Why is it important for a church to recognize this?
3. What does being blameless not mean?
4. What does it mean to be blameless?
5. How does Luke indicate that the qualifications of some deacons may be more obvious than others?
6. Why is it important not to compare one deacon with another?

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Thomas Overmiller is the pastor of Brookdale Baptist Church in Moorhead, MN and blogs at Shepherd Thoughts. This article first appeared at Shepherd Thoughts, used here with permission.