Congregational Church Government and Baptist Polity — Unit 6: The Deacon Office I: Origin, Name, and Qualifications

Key Verse

"But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless." (1 Timothy 3:10, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain the meaning of the Greek word diakonos and why it makes the deacon a servant before he is an officer.

2. Describe how Acts 6:1-7 gives the pattern for the deacon's work, and state fairly the debate over whether the Seven were "deacons."

3. Name the qualifications of a deacon in Acts 6:3 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13, and explain why character comes before skill.

4. Describe how a Baptist church chooses and sets apart its deacons, according to Howell and the New Testament pattern.

5. Compare the Baptist view of the deacon with the views of other traditions, and explain how the office drifted into a "board" and how it can be recovered.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Baptist tradition, for Baptist pastors and church leaders. We hold that the Bible is the final authority for how a church is ordered. We believe a local church is a gathering of baptized believers under the headship of Christ, and that it has two offices: pastor (also called elder or overseer) and deacon. Other Christians differ. We state their views fairly and then give the Baptist answer.

Units 6 to 9 are about the deacon. They are built on two sources written or adapted by this seminary: Dr. Wayne Cook's course "Deacon Family Ministry Plan" (CTS), and the CTS adaptation of R. B. C. Howell's book The Deaconship (1846). Howell was a Baptist pastor in the nineteenth century, and his book is the required textbook for this course. The full deacon course is the recommended companion to these four units. We give you the main lines here; the full course gives you the detail and the practice.

For Baptist history, see Course 1.

The Word "Deacon"

"Deacon" is the English form of the Greek word diakonos. In ordinary Greek it meant a servant, one who waits on others, the person who serves the meal. The New Testament uses this word and its relatives, the verb diakoneo (to serve) and the noun diakonia (service or ministry), many times, usually of plain, humble service.

This tells us something before we read a single qualification. The deacon is first a servant. He is not first a manager, a board member or a ruler. Paul uses the same word of himself as a servant of the gospel (Ephesians 3:7). The Lord Jesus gave the rule for all leaders in His kingdom: "whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant" (Mark 10:43). The office of deacon is that teaching made permanent in the life of a church. It stands there as a daily reminder that leaders in the church serve the people. They do not lord it over them.

Howell begins in the same place. Every Christian is called to serve, but the church also recognizes some servants publicly and gives them a defined responsibility. That is the difference between serving and holding the office.

The Pattern in Acts 6

The New Testament gives no handbook for deacons. It gives a story, which the church has read as the pattern of the office.

The church in Jerusalem was growing fast. Then "there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution" (Acts 6:1). The Hellenists were Jewish believers who spoke Greek; the Hebrews spoke the local language. Widows from the Greek-speaking group were being overlooked. The problem was not false teaching or persecution. It was hungry widows and the appearance of partiality, and it threatened the unity of the church.

The apostles did not wave the matter away, and they did not try to do it all themselves. They said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables" (Acts 6:2). They did not despise the work; they recognized their own calling. They asked the whole congregation to "seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business" (Acts 6:3), and they promised, "we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4).

From this account we draw five lessons that Howell and the CTS deacon course both stress.

1. Deacon ministry begins where real human need meets the family of God. Caring for widows is worship, as James says (James 1:27).

2. The deacon exists to carry practical care so that the pastor is free for prayer and the Word. The health of the pulpit is tied to the faithfulness of the deacons.

3. The church required character, not technical skill. Good reputation, the Spirit and wisdom are all spiritual marks.

4. The congregation chose the Seven, the apostles confirmed them, and they prayed and laid hands on them (Acts 6:5-6). The office rises from the church.

5. Service bears fruit. "Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem" (Acts 6:7).

Notice also that Stephen preached and died for Christ (Acts 7), and Philip carried the gospel to Samaria (Acts 8). Service made room for the gospel.

Were the Seven really deacons?

An honest student should know the debate. Acts 6 never uses the noun diakonos for these men. It uses the word family: "daily distribution" in verse 1 (diakonia) and "serve tables" in verse 2 (diakonein). Some scholars therefore say the Seven were a special, temporary group, perhaps leaders of the Greek-speaking believers, and that the office of deacon came later. Others think the Seven were something between the two.

Our answer is as follows. We can grant that Luke does not say, "these were the first deacons." But the work is the same work, the root word is the same, the qualifications match those later given for deacons, and Paul, writing years later, greets "the bishops and deacons" as the two settled groups of leaders in a church (Philippians 1:1). Baptists have therefore held that Acts 6 shows us the purpose and spirit of the office, and that 1 Timothy 3 and Philippians 1:1 show us the office itself. Howell takes the same view: the event in Acts is the practical origin, and the need it answered did not disappear when the apostles died. Churches still have widows, poor members, funds, buildings and practical work that needs trustworthy servants. The office continues because the need continues.

The Qualifications

When Paul wrote to Timothy, he set down the character the church must look for:

"Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless." (1 Timothy 3:8-10)

Character

Paul begins with what the deacon must be, then lists what he must not be. He must be reverent, a person of weight, who takes holy things seriously. He must not be double-tongued, saying one thing to one person and another to the next. A deacon goes from home to home, and he must carry the same truth into every house. He must not be given to much wine, because a man who cannot master his own appetites cannot be trusted with delicate matters. And he must not be greedy for money, because he will handle gifts given by the poor to help the poor. These are quiet sins that do their damage in private. Howell says a church must not choose a deacon because he is rich, popular or willing to work. These cannot replace biblical character, for the deacon handles funds and hears private needs.

Conviction

The deacon must hold "the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience" (1 Timothy 3:9). The "mystery of the faith" is the gospel, once hidden and now revealed in Christ. A deacon is not a hired manager of a religious organization. He is a believer who stands on the truth he serves, and his life agrees with his creed. Howell asks not for advanced education but for practical wisdom and a faith the man can live and humbly defend.

Proven worth

"Let these also first be tested" (1 Timothy 3:10). The order is fixed: first tested, then placed. The test is not a written examination. It is a life observed over time in the ordinary trials of church life. Paul warns Timothy elsewhere not to lay hands on anyone hastily (1 Timothy 5:22). Howell says the same thing in modern words: church office should not be an experiment to find out whether someone is responsible. The candidate should already have shown faithfulness, self-control and reliability.

A well-ordered home

Paul adds, "Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well" (1 Timothy 3:12). The core of this is marital faithfulness and a home that is in order, since the home is the proving ground for service in God's household. Howell reads "husband of one wife" chiefly as a demand for sexual and marital integrity, not as a rule that every deacon must be married, and he does not treat an unmarried man as automatically disqualified. Other Baptists read the phrase more strictly. Both agree that unfaithfulness in marriage disqualifies, and that the office is not for men whose homes are in disorder.

Verse 11 about "their wives" or "the women" is debated and is taken up in Unit 9.

The promise

Paul ends with a promise: "For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 3:13). Howell sees this as spiritual fruit, not worldly promotion.

Choosing and Setting Apart Deacons

It helps to separate two things. The qualifications in Acts 6:3 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13 are biblical, and Baptists hold them in common. The ways of choosing, ordaining and organizing deacons are denominational customs that Baptists have developed, and they vary. Some churches elect deacons for a term and others for life, some rotate them, some use a nominating committee, and some ordain every deacon while others do not. Baptists also differ on whether women may serve as deacons: some read Romans 16:1 (Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrea) and the debated words "their wives" or "the women" in 1 Timothy 3:11 as allowing women deacons, and others read 1 Timothy 3:12 ("husbands of one wife") as limiting the office to men. We state both views with respect. What follows describes the pattern most Baptist churches use, and your own church's constitution and practice are the final word.

Here the Baptist conviction about congregational government appears. In Acts 6 the apostles stated the qualifications, but the gathered believers chose the men. Howell insists that this fits the Baptist view that a local church is responsible under Christ for its own officers. The practical steps are these.

• The church teaches the qualifications from Scripture.

• Members nominate prayerfully, and candidates are told plainly what the work involves before they accept.

• The church observes the candidate's life over time and discerns whether he is "tested."

• The congregation votes. The vote is an act of discernment, not a popularity contest.

• The church sets the man apart with prayer and, in most Baptist churches, the laying on of hands, as in Acts 6:6. This is a custom of most, not all, Baptist churches.

Howell is careful on two points. First, ordination does not create character. It recognizes what should already be present. Second, ordination gives no permanent immunity. If serious moral, doctrinal or practical unfaithfulness develops, the church must deal with it and must not let the title protect the man.

How Other Traditions Use the Word

The same word is used very differently. Many Presbyterian and Reformed churches keep deacons as an ordained office devoted to mercy and benevolence, while a separate body of elders governs. In Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist churches, "deacon" often names an order of ordained clergy, and in several of these the diaconate is a step toward the priesthood. Some churches keep the role informal.

We respect the Reformed care for the poor. But the Baptist answer is that the New Testament gives us a servant of the local church, not a rank in a clerical ladder. Philippians 1:1 puts the deacons beside the overseers as one of two groups in a congregation, and 1 Timothy 3 gives a list of qualifications for the office, not stages of a career. Baptists therefore do not treat a deacon as clergy. He is a member set apart to serve under and alongside the pastor, with no authority of his own to rule the church.

The Drift and the Recovery

Baptists have not always lived up to this. In many churches the deacons became in practice a board of directors. They managed the budget, controlled the property, hired and fired staff and made the governing decisions, and the pastor was made to answer to them. The towel was traded for the gavel. As churches grew into institutions, they borrowed the business board, and the deacons' meeting became a business meeting. Pastor-deacon conflict is the bitter fruit.

Some Baptist churches defend a strong deacon board as their tradition. We answer that Baptist tradition, rightly understood, puts final authority in the congregation under Christ (Unit 2), that the pastor is the shepherd-leader of the flock (Unit 4), and that nothing in Acts 6 or 1 Timothy 3 gives deacons rule over either. The recovery is a return to Acts 6. In the twentieth century, Southern Baptists promoted a plan that gave each deacon a number of families to know and serve. That plan, called the Deacon Family Ministry Plan, is the subject of Unit 8.

Pastoral Application

Your church of about eighty members in a growing town has two deacons, both elderly, and the congregation wants to elect three more. At the church meeting someone nominates a well-known businessman who gives generously and has a strong voice in meetings. He has been a member for only eight months. He has been divorced and remarried, and some members whisper about a business dispute. Another nominee is a quiet bus driver who has visited the sick for years and has never asked for a title.

A wise pastor does four things. First, he teaches Acts 6:3 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13 before the vote, so that members choose with the Bible open and not by favor. Second, he asks the church to wait. "First tested" means that eight months is a short test, and a church that rushes will carry the cost for years. Third, he speaks privately and gently with the businessman, thanking him, explaining that this is a matter of time and proving, and giving him a way to serve now. Fourth, he does not decide alone. The church chooses, and he guides. Baptists differ on how to apply the passage to divorce and remarriage, so the pastor leads the church in humble study and does not settle it by his own opinion.

Summary

The word "deacon" means servant, and the office is the teaching of Jesus about servant leadership made permanent in the church. Acts 6 shows its purpose: care for the neglected, protection of the ministry of the Word, spiritual character, choice by the congregation and fruit for the gospel. Whether the Seven were the first deacons is debated, but Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3 show the office clearly, and Baptists treat Acts 6 as its pattern. Paul's qualifications are character, conviction, proven worth and a well-ordered home, with a promise of good standing and boldness. The Baptist church teaches the qualifications, tests the candidates, elects by congregational vote and sets the men apart with prayer. Ordination recognizes character and gives no permanent immunity. Other traditions use the word differently, but Baptists hold that the deacon is a servant of the local church, not a rank of clergy and not a board of rulers. Where the office has drifted, the answer is to return to Acts 6. The full CTS deacon course is the recommended companion to this unit.

Further Reading

• R. B. C. Howell, The Deaconship (1846), chapters 1 to 3, in the CTS adaptation (required textbook for this course).

• Dr. Wayne Cook, "Deacon Family Ministry Plan" (CTS), Units 1 to 3.

• The Baptist Faith and Message (2000), article VI, on the church and its two offices.

• J. M. Pendleton, Church Manual (1867), a Baptist primary source.

• The New Hampshire Confession (1833) and the Second London Confession (1689), on the church and its officers.

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