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The author makes a vital point, that the congregation ought to share in the responsibilities attendant in operating the local church. That's why it's called the Body (1Co. 12:12). But the problem is, the author as a pastor is at the top of the leadership pyramid in his church, as is most every other pastor.
However, there is nothing in the Bible about pastors occupying such a position. The church is to be led by a team of mature men:
The Bible is clear that work of deacons is vital to the health and smooth-running of the church, but in recent years there has been such a focus on developing word ministry in the church, it may be that we have sown the seeds of the practical failure of many churches for lack of deacons.
Deacons Are Key
Let me try and explain. In Acts 6:1-7, we hit one of a series of obstacles to the church at the start of the book of Acts. Conflict arises in the Jerusalem church because of the way food is distributed to the widows of the church. The Hebraic Jews seem to be preferred to Hellenistic Jews (Acts 6:1). This is a real problem that needs a practical solution, but it needs to be a solution that does not distract from the word ministry of the apostles (Acts 6:2, 4). So they appoint seven mature and godly men to deal with this practical issue, which ensures the spread of the word of God. (This is incorrect. The apostles did not choose these men, they asked the "brothers" to do so:
These seven have usually been thought of as deacons because of the repeated use of the diakon- word group in vv.1-2 (although it is also used for word ministry in v.3). This office is then picked up in the Pastorals in distinction from the ministry of elders, where the difference is that deacons do not seem to need to be involved in word ministry (1 Timothy 3:8-13).
While there's a bit of debate around these passages and their link to specific offices in the church, I hope that it is reasonable to say that, within the church, it is right to think of word ministers working in partnership with mature Christians who don't necessarily have word ministry gifts, but who are able to lead in practical ministry so that the gospel can spread. That is to say, for effective churches we need people who will take the lead in word and practical ministry (i.e. both elders and deacons).
An Overemphasis on Pastors and Elders?
It is interesting that for some time the paid and trained minister in most churches has been a Bible teacher. While there has been a healthy recovery of the plurality of elders, it has been notable that in recent attempts to bring growth to the church, the emphasis has been on training more people for word ministry.
Now let me be clear, I think word ministry is essential for the growth of the church. That seems to be the focus of a passage like Ephesians 4:7-16 for example. Moreover, the passage I have already mentioned, Acts 6, emphasizes that those with responsibility for teaching the word must not be distracted from doing so. (But this ministry is not pastoral! There is nothing in the Bible about pastors being the teachers.)
However, if the church needs both elders and deacons, then the risk of an emphasis on the pastor/elder and training for word ministry is that we (unintentionally I hope) undermine the importance of the deacon role. If we do so, we risk defeating the very thing we were trying to achieve, as we undermine word ministry by effectively bringing our pastors and elders into diaconal ministry and away from word ministry.
A Looming Problem
One reason I see the lack of deacons as a looming problem for the church is personal experience. It has been especially obvious in trying to plant a church that I have been able to get support with preaching (for which I have been grateful), and people who have been through the church have often wanted to be active in forms of word ministry (especially evangelism, which is also a good thing), but I have never been able to find many people who would help with the practical aspects of church. They don't come to a church plant for that sort of thing. As such, it would be fair to say I have constantly "neglect[ed] the word of God in order to wait on tables," because somebody has to do it! (This might be the key comment that undergirds the thinking of the author. As the pastor of this church he thinks he is ultimately responsible for everything. This is false.
I think most pastors have fairly extensive experience of this. It used to be a sort of truism to say that nobody saw themselves as having the gift of cleaning the toilets! I'm sure that's still true (and yes I do that most weeks too!), but the reality is that for a church to run in the 21st Century you need people to take the practical responsibilities of things like Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Treasurer and Data Protection to name a few large areas. You can't exist without taking these things seriously. And I think it's probably right to see these a diaconal roles.
As we seek to plant and revitalise churches, we often want to emphasize the gospel ministry that will be the core of these churches, but in doing so, we may gather groups of people who don't really want to do diaconal ministry and perhaps even look down on it (real ministry becomes word ministry!). (Apparently this pastor is not a very good teacher. Really. If this is the attitude of his congregation after years of sitting under his ministry of the Word, he ought to find another vocation.)
1Pe. 5:1-2 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers...A whole host of problems descend from the author's leadership model, one of which is the subject of this article. Even so, this is generally a good article about deacons.
The Bible is clear that work of deacons is vital to the health and smooth-running of the church, but in recent years there has been such a focus on developing word ministry in the church, it may be that we have sown the seeds of the practical failure of many churches for lack of deacons.
Deacons Are Key
Let me try and explain. In Acts 6:1-7, we hit one of a series of obstacles to the church at the start of the book of Acts. Conflict arises in the Jerusalem church because of the way food is distributed to the widows of the church. The Hebraic Jews seem to be preferred to Hellenistic Jews (Acts 6:1). This is a real problem that needs a practical solution, but it needs to be a solution that does not distract from the word ministry of the apostles (Acts 6:2, 4). So they appoint seven mature and godly men to deal with this practical issue, which ensures the spread of the word of God. (This is incorrect. The apostles did not choose these men, they asked the "brothers" to do so:
Ac. 6:2-3 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, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom."An important detail? Probably not, but it speaks to a potential for sloppiness that may come to bear on the situation. We shall see.)
These seven have usually been thought of as deacons because of the repeated use of the diakon- word group in vv.1-2 (although it is also used for word ministry in v.3). This office is then picked up in the Pastorals in distinction from the ministry of elders, where the difference is that deacons do not seem to need to be involved in word ministry (1 Timothy 3:8-13).
While there's a bit of debate around these passages and their link to specific offices in the church, I hope that it is reasonable to say that, within the church, it is right to think of word ministers working in partnership with mature Christians who don't necessarily have word ministry gifts, but who are able to lead in practical ministry so that the gospel can spread. That is to say, for effective churches we need people who will take the lead in word and practical ministry (i.e. both elders and deacons).
An Overemphasis on Pastors and Elders?
It is interesting that for some time the paid and trained minister in most churches has been a Bible teacher. While there has been a healthy recovery of the plurality of elders, it has been notable that in recent attempts to bring growth to the church, the emphasis has been on training more people for word ministry.
Now let me be clear, I think word ministry is essential for the growth of the church. That seems to be the focus of a passage like Ephesians 4:7-16 for example. Moreover, the passage I have already mentioned, Acts 6, emphasizes that those with responsibility for teaching the word must not be distracted from doing so. (But this ministry is not pastoral! There is nothing in the Bible about pastors being the teachers.)
However, if the church needs both elders and deacons, then the risk of an emphasis on the pastor/elder and training for word ministry is that we (unintentionally I hope) undermine the importance of the deacon role. If we do so, we risk defeating the very thing we were trying to achieve, as we undermine word ministry by effectively bringing our pastors and elders into diaconal ministry and away from word ministry.
A Looming Problem
One reason I see the lack of deacons as a looming problem for the church is personal experience. It has been especially obvious in trying to plant a church that I have been able to get support with preaching (for which I have been grateful), and people who have been through the church have often wanted to be active in forms of word ministry (especially evangelism, which is also a good thing), but I have never been able to find many people who would help with the practical aspects of church. They don't come to a church plant for that sort of thing. As such, it would be fair to say I have constantly "neglect[ed] the word of God in order to wait on tables," because somebody has to do it! (This might be the key comment that undergirds the thinking of the author. As the pastor of this church he thinks he is ultimately responsible for everything. This is false.
Aside from the fact that there is no Scriptural support whatsoever for the pastor to be the head of the local congregation [it's the elders - 1 Peter 5:1-2], the author's response to this situation should be, "I'm not doing it, so it's not going to get done." A few Sundays with overflowing trash and dirty bathrooms will make the point. If someone complains, the author has found his next volunteer.)
I think most pastors have fairly extensive experience of this. It used to be a sort of truism to say that nobody saw themselves as having the gift of cleaning the toilets! I'm sure that's still true (and yes I do that most weeks too!), but the reality is that for a church to run in the 21st Century you need people to take the practical responsibilities of things like Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Treasurer and Data Protection to name a few large areas. You can't exist without taking these things seriously. And I think it's probably right to see these a diaconal roles.
As we seek to plant and revitalise churches, we often want to emphasize the gospel ministry that will be the core of these churches, but in doing so, we may gather groups of people who don't really want to do diaconal ministry and perhaps even look down on it (real ministry becomes word ministry!). (Apparently this pastor is not a very good teacher. Really. If this is the attitude of his congregation after years of sitting under his ministry of the Word, he ought to find another vocation.)
Similarly, it's possible that as we pay pastors and have colleges and courses to train word ministers, that we create some kind of tension, where we imply that word ministry is what matters (Actually, the problem is the idea that pastors even have a word ministry. Pastors care for the flock, teachers minister in the Word, evangelist head up outreach, apostles plant and encourage, and prophets guide and provide vision. All of these are for the express purpose of building up the Body in maturity of faith [Ephesians 4:11-13].)
- what we really need is elders and not deacons (yes that's a false dichotomy, but I hope you can see my point).
If we go down this path, our plants and revitalisations (and perhaps even our established churches) are likely to fail, because churches can't operate without people investing time and effort in diaconal ministry. So I wonder if we've been selling the church short on deacons.
If we go down this path, our plants and revitalisations (and perhaps even our established churches) are likely to fail, because churches can't operate without people investing time and effort in diaconal ministry. So I wonder if we've been selling the church short on deacons.
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