The Office of the Deacon How are Deacons chosen? Deacons are generally chosen in three ways: By the congregation By the pastor By the pastor with recommendations from the Deacon Board What occurs after selection?  After selection, the prospective deacon: Serves as a trial deacon performing the duties of a deacon along with other deacons. Given training.  Training should include training on the duties of the deacon as well as Biblical training.  Tested.  When the prospective deacon is ready he is ordained.  During the ordination process the prospective deacon is catechized; questioned about the faith and the office of deacons.  The catechism is usually done by ministers.  On some occasions, the congregation takes part in the questioning. What is the term of office of the deacon? The term of office for deacons varies.  Some churches limit the term of membership to the board while others give deacons life time membership.  Today, the days of life time membership is coming to an end.  The reasons against life time membership to the deacon board include: After a period of time some deacons prove to be unworthy or incapable of handling the duties of the office. As deacons advance in age many are less able to perform the duties of the office. Modern churches seek new ideas and new ways of doing things.  This is usually done by bringing younger men on the board.   What happens to honored and faithful servants whose time has come to retire from the board? Most modern churches have a way to honor those who have served faithfully in the office of deacon.  They give those deacons the title of “Deacon Emeritus.”  These deacons retain the respect and honor of the office, but they don’t have the problems or responsibilities of the office. Deacons and Pastor Relationship Deacons are teammates with the pastor in the ministry of the church.  The deacons are to assist the pastor in the administration of the church and with his caring for the congregation.  Some use the example of a football team where the pastor is the quarterback and the deacons are the other members of the team.  Each team member is seeking the same goal.  As a ministry team, the pastor and the deacons are yoked with Christ to fulfill his mission on earth. The Baptist church follows the Congregational form of church government.  The ecclesiastical power resides in the local church assembled as a congregation. If you look at a diagram of the Baptist churches distributed ministry, you would see God at the top, then the congregation, then the pastor and to his side is the deacons.  In the book, Developing Deacon Ministry Teams, the author provided the following diagram to illustrate the structure of the church.  GOD CONGREGATION PASTOR -- DEACONS Being a teammate with the pastor, deacons should: Try to understand him and his work Pray for and with him Affirm and support him Encourage him and fellowship with him. Bishops (pastors) and deacons are the only leaders mentioned by Paul in 1 Timothy 3.  A healthy relationship must exist between them.   As leaders of the church go, so goes the church. What is the Deacons ministry; What do Deacons Do? What is the Deacon’s ministry in the church?  Ministry can be defined as anything we do to fulfill God’s purpose for His church.  Knowing this, what do Deacons do? If I were to ask you what do deacons do?  I would probably get a lot of different answers.  Some would say deacons help in church services.  Some would say deacons are leaders in the church.  Still others would say deacons help the pastor and still others would say deacons care for the congregation. Deacons do those things and more.  The modern day church has extended the office of deacon so that it now has no basis in scripture.  These churches have: Made deacons the ruling board of the church. Elevated deacons to the position of executive board members. Placed deacons in a competitive role with the pastor. Reduced deacons to building maintenance people. The New Testament teaches that deacons are church leaders who: Are to be involved in a compassionate ministry of caring for the poor and needy of the congregation Are to emulate Jesus’ humble, loving leadership style. Deacons provide leadership in various ways.  Deacons should: Be role models for the church congregation.  They should be visible.  They should be active in the life of the church and participate in church auxiliaries. Support the church through prayer, attendance, and stewardship. Assist in church ordinances. Assist the pastor with the administration of the church Assist the pastor in caring for the congregation of the church. The leadership role of the deacon is servant leadership.  A deacon’s example of leadership is Jesus Christ.  Jesus came to this world not to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45).