The Biblical Role of Pastors/Elders and Deacons | Pastor Andrew Coleman | 02/08/2026

This morning, I want us to just if you

would lift your hand if you don't have

an outline. You will definitely need it

this morning as we're going to look and

see

really what we've just been singing.

This morning, we're looking at Christ.

We're looking at Christ in the life of

the church. We're looking at Christ in

how he leads the church.

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd."

He said, "I am the great shepherd."

The word shepherd is very important.

Jesus is the good shepherd who knows his

flock.

Jesus also said,

"The Son of Man did not come

to be served,

but to serve and to give his life as a

ransom for many." Strangely enough, he

created the world, but he also calls

himself a servant.

And so this morning as we look at

leadership and the life of the church, I

want us to have this in mind that what

we just sung

is really what the leadership of the

church

should represent

Christ.

It is God's intention that the body of

Christ

be led by Christ.

that the people of God would be led by

God. And so this is his plan. His plan

is to be the good shepherd to be the

servant listen

through human agents.

And I want us to see that this morning.

So um but the problem with this is when

we look at leadership in the life of the

church and we look at the fact that the

church was not bought by the blood of

pastors or deacons. The church was

bought by the the blood of Christ, which

is what this table represents, the

Passover,

the sacrifice of Christ, his blood and

his body broken for us.

And so when we think about that, there's

a little bit of a problem in the world

here 2,000 years later, the church has

been going forth. And when we think

about what a pastor is, there's all

kinds of different views.

And a lot of times we have our cues from

what humans have created more than we

have our cues from what God has said.

And so, you know, pastors ought to look

a certain way. Maybe they ought to sound

a certain way. They ought to dress a

certain way. For some, it has to do with

a very high liturgy

and a hierarchy of pastors that would

maybe even go all the way to a pope or

maybe go all the way to a lead bishop,

whether it be Eastern Orthodox or Roman

or them together.

Or how about this? In this present

modern age, away from liturgy and high

religion, we have what's cool these

days, right?

A very different type of worship as so

to speak,

one that sometimes really is looking for

the coolness factor having to do with

the church. In fact, we even have cool

church and other types of ministries

where muscles and fashion

are very valued. In fact, there's even a

whole group that tracks preachers in

sneakers.

Whole idea that you know what, you know,

how much do the sneakers cost that your

pastor wears?

1,500 bucks. I don't know.

Well, before we go too far on the

pastors, we have different views on

deacons, too, right?

What is it in our mind when we think of

a deacon? What does that really look

like? Well, um, some would view a very

hierarchial deacon, maybe a whole group

of deacons that look with great pomp and

circumstance. How about this? Wouldn't

our deacons look good in that?

These are deacons.

Of course, the Anglicans are a little

bit calmer.

They're a little bit

smoother and not so high-minded. And

then, of course, there's the

Pentecostals. They have good-looking

guys in super cool t-shirts. And if you

zoom in on this one, you can see, you

know, Pentecostal deacon powered by God

and coffee. There you go. Okay. Need the

caffeine. But as we as we think about

church leadership, we have a lot of

different views. We have a we have a lot

of different experiences.

Whether it be in Broward and Dade County

or whether it be around the world,

whether it be in 2026 or whether it be

from some of you in the 1930s, in the

1940s,

you saw a very different America. You

saw a very different landscape. Some of

you from the Northeast. Some of you from

Brazil or Colombia or Russia, from

Europe, from Asia, we have a lot of

different views.

When we look at all of this, I think

about what is what is the truth

and where should we be in the truth?

Charles Haden Spurgeon, one of my

favorite pastors, said this,

"I am no enemy. I am no man's enemy, but

I am

the enemy of all teaching which is

contrary to the Lord

>> in the word of God.

>> The word of the Lord is what

guides us and leads us. So the word of

the Lord is what we want to look at this

morning concerning church leadership.

Now, in just a little while, uh, we will

be praying over some deacons that are

moving from being deacons in training to

being recognized as deacons today and

some new deacons that will be coming in

as as deacons in training. So, God has

provided these. But I want us to

remember one of the very first deacons

after Pentecost,

a man named Stephen. Now, he looks a lot

different, doesn't he, than everything

we just saw. In fact, the very first

deacons, in fact, this very first deacon

was a deacon that was so faithful

to the gospel that he was stoned to

death

for his

confession of Jesus Christ as his Lord

and Savior.

And in the crowd that day, standing

nearby over the coats was a man named

Saul.

And he watched as faithful Steven

prayed as he was stoned to death as a

servant in the life of the church, as a

deacon in the life of the church. Today

I want us to see the great heritage of

the apostles and what they under the

Lord's leadership led led us to and left

behind for us today. I want us to look

and see what the word of God says about

church leadership. So we don't need to

be looking at culture. We don't need to

be looking at the experiences of man.

What we want to look at this morning is

the word of God. So if you would I want

to ask you to take your outline there

and let's look at the title here. It's

your serve. That's the idea here because

this is the way of God in this. The

biblical role, the biblical role of

pastors or elders, those are synonymous

as you'll see here and deacons at

Sheridan Hills Baptist Church. I want

you to I want us to take a few minutes

and while the outline is long, um I want

us to see that we're going to fly very

quickly. Do you have your pen ready? Um

let's look and see what does the Bible

say about church leadership. We we know

what culture says about it and its

varied messages, but it's really quite

simple. It's very simple. In fact, there

are two church offices revealed in

scripture. There's just two. And those

two offices are the office of pastors.

Um in our tradition as southern as as

Baptist people um it's pastors. That's

elders, bishops or or overseers. Those

are we'll see how those are used

synonymously. And then we also see the

office of deacons. Those are the those

are the leaders of the church. Those are

the leaders from the first century. In

fact, notice this on your outline. The

terms pastor, elder, elder or bishop

also as overs here are used

interchangeably in the Bible and we'll

see that this morning in a couple of

passages. These three terms all refer to

the same position in the church. So when

we're talking about the pastor side of

things, that's what we're looking at and

we're going to look at that first here.

Our understanding of biblical terms is

often clouded by contemporary use of the

noun pastor and unbiblical

denominational structures. Very often

those are not what what we um what we uh

want to be looking at and taking our

cues from. What we want to do is be

looking at what God's word says. Um look

at number one there. References to

pastor, the word pastor. And you see the

Greek word there in the New Testament.

The word pastor literally means, fill it

in, shepherd. That's exactly what it

was. If you were to go in Greece today,

we were just in Greece uh for a missions

uh trip. If you were to see a herd of

sheep where they do have sheep in Greece

and you were to go up to the guy who's

watching over the sheep and ask him what

he's called, he would say poman.

I am a poman. Pyman means shepherd. And

that's what pastors are called. Jesus

was the great shepherd. He calls himself

the shepherd of his sheep. Ephesians 4

talks about this. It's the only place in

the Bible where the word pastor is

really used in reference to this. It

treats pastors and teachers as one group

that suggests that the chief role of the

pastor is feeding the flock through the

teaching uh people God's word. Um that's

not the only thing that that shepherds

do. They not only feed the sheep, but

they protect the sheep and they watch

over the sheep and they care for the

sheep. But that's part of it. In Acts

Acts 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20, notice that letter C there.

The elders of the church are encouraged

in their pastoral task. Look at verse

28. It's in there right just below that

in letter C. Pay careful attention to

yourselves and all the what?

>> Flock. Why would it say flock? I mean

that's a particular that's that's what

you call a group of sheep. God's people

are considered a flock in which the Holy

Spirit has made you overseers. That's

the word episcopos there as we'll see in

just a minute. And what are they to do?

To shepherd the church of God, which he

purchased with his own blood. And by the

way, which he purchased with his own

blood is the reminder you didn't

purchase it as a pastor. He purchased

it. And so these are undersheperds that

are given this task. Look at letter D. 1

Peter 5. The elders are told to tend the

flock of God. That is their charge.

Change the page there. Let's go on to

the next page. Number two. Then there's

this other word that is used, elders,

referring to the same role, presbuteras.

It's where we get presbyeterary from in

Acts 14 and Acts 20. In 1 Timothy, Titus

1-5, James 5:14, you see there the word

James 5:14

elder is used over and over and over

again talking about this is the most

popularly used word. And this is why

some denominations don't call their

pastors pastors. They call them elders

more.

But those two words are interchangeable.

Number three is references to overseers

or bishops.

Um, that is the word, the Greek word

episcopos

in the New Testament. And we see that in

numerous places where overseer and

bishop is used. Go ahead and turn the

page to number four. Told you we were

going to move fast.

Look at the passage at the top of the

page. It's 1 Peter 5:es 1 and two.

Actually, you can add a little two

there. And notice there 1 Peter 1 or 1

Peter 5 1 and 2. All three of these

terms, all three of these Greek words

are used in the same passage here in the

same section referring to the same task.

Look what it says. So I exhort the

elders uses presbudas among you as a

fellow elder and a witness of the

sufferings of Christ as well as a

partaker in the glory that is going to

be revealed. And here's his command.

He's urging them. He's exhorting them to

do this. And then look at what he says.

Shepherd. And that comes from the word

poman. Shepherd the flock of God that is

among you exercising what?

>> Oversight. There's that word, episcopas,

exercising oversight, not under

compulsion, but willingly, as God would

have you, not for shameful gain, but

eagerly. And so, this is a word to

pastors.

This is a word to the one who is going

to teach and pe preach and lead and

protect

the congregation.

Well, there's some biblical guidance um

for the functions of pastors and elders.

Notice these letter A. Two main things.

And we see this in Acts chapter 6.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

Prayer and the ministry of the word.

Prayer in the ministry of the world

word. That is what a pastor is first and

foremost called to do. And we see that

in Acts six. Letter B. We see in Timothy

he's called to manage the church.

to be a leader of the church. Letter C

is exactly that word, leading and

overseeing the church. 1 Timothy 5.

And in first Peter 5, we've just read

it, caring for the church. Letter D is

caring for the church. In letter E,

giving amount uh excuse me, giving

account to God for the church. In

Hebrews chapter 13:17, it says that

pastors are going to give an account for

what they teach. They're going to give

an account for their lives as they lead

the body of Christ. And it is a stricter

accounting.

It is a higher judgment by God.

And I have to tell you that that keeps

me awake sometimes

knowing that we as pastors, for those

who are pastors, we are accountable to

God and we will endure a stricter

judgment.

That doesn't mean that you're any less

really. You can slack off. No, but

pastors have a high accountability. One

of the key ways that pastors do this is

letter F being an example.

And as we've said, it's through 1

Timothy 3. We see it preaching and

teaching.

So they are called to preach. Let me

remind you that when Jesus came, he came

preaching.

Jesus came teaching. Think about the

life of Christ. Everywhere he went, he

was teaching large groups and he was

teaching small groups. In fact, some of

his small groups were one person.

We see him speaking with Mary. We see

him speaking with the woman at the well,

the Samaritan woman. We see him speaking

with Zakius. We see him speaking with

individuals. So sometimes it's with a

crowd,

thousands, and sometimes it's with a

few, the inner disciples, and sometimes

it's singularly. So preaching and

teaching. What about this? Praying for

the sick.

Jesus prayed for the sick, but he also

calls the pastors to pray for the sick,

the deacons to pray for the sick. How

about this one? Letter I is very

important. refuting false teaching and

doctrine.

False doctrine. One of the key

deficiencies in the modern church is

being able to preach against false

ideologies and false theologies.

That's what a pastor is called to do. If

a pastor does not want to offend anyone,

he should not be a pastor.

Amen.

>> It is the pastor's job to offend you.

>> And what do I mean by that? Our flesh

and sometimes our mind takes offense at

the truth of God.

>> And so Jesus said, "I didn't come uh to

make everybody just happy. I came and I

brought a sword.

And this sword actually will save you

because it will cut down deep into that

which needs to be removed from your life

and do a surgery that only God can do.

So sometimes

we're offended by the false ideas that

we have in our head by the word of God.

And sometimes the pastor's

role is to teach the truth in that

letter J protecting the church from

false teachers. Um that's a very very

important time. There there have been

many times when um ideologies come along

and we have to deal with it from the

pulpit. There's sometimes when

individuals will come into the life of

the church or some of you will you'll

kind of start following a certain

YouTube channel or you'll start

following a certain preacher start

reading certain certain things that are

there and sometimes you'll bring and say

pastor what do you think of this

and if I don't know already what it is I

very often will go do some research and

I will go look and see what is it that

they're saying what is their basis what

is their theology where are they from.

And by the way, church members are

called to have discernment.

Christians are called not to be gullible

and emotional

in all of the things that the media is

throwing at us. Christians are called to

be biblically informed

so that they may be able to discern

that which is true and that which is

false. and be encouraged. The more

you're in the word of God, the more you

will develop that. It's just like that

same old thing with the banker. Bankers

simply know. They can tell counterfeit

by just feeling. They don't even have to

look at it. I mean, they are so familiar

with the real thing that when they feel

the false thing, they know.

So, our job is to be familiar with the

real thing. Our job is to know the truth

of the gospel so that when we hear

something that is false, immediately it

shows up and we go, "Wait a minute. I

know of a bunch of things that say

that's not true."

That's part of what pastors are called

to do and to equip you to do that. So,

there's two major roles of pastors and

elders. Number one, it's governing.

That's leading, governing.

Um, we see that 1 Peter chapter 3. Let

1 Peter 3 · chapter mention

it, look what it says there. Let the

elders who rule

rule well be considered worthy of double

honor, especially those who labor in

preaching and teaching. Look at 1

Timothy 3. He must manage. That's the

idea of management, leading. He must

manage his own household. Well, look at

Acts 20:28. The duty of elders is to

Acts 20:28

oversee

and supervise the flock implies a

governing function. We're already at

page five.

First Thessalonians chapter Somebody

said amen to that. What do you mean by

that?

Who was that? Was that you, Jediah? Did

you say amen? Okay.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:12.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

We beseech you, brethren, to respect

those who labor among you and are, look

at this word, are over you in the Lord

and admonish you. And then let's all

read Hebrews 13:1 17. By the way, I take

Hebrews 13:1

this verse very seriously. And listen to

this.

I also submit myself to this verse to

the other pastors in the life of our

church, the other leaders in the life of

our church. Let's read Hebrews 13:17.

Hebrews 13:17

Obey your leaders and submit to them for

they are keeping watch over your souls

as men who will give an account.

You see, so pastors are called to

exercise an authority that is good for

you and it's good [clears throat] for

all of us. So that first thing is

governing. The second thing is teaching

and exhorting. Teaching and exhorting.

It's interesting. Teaching is about

informing. Exhorting is about equipping.

So it's the idea that here's the truth

and then exhorting is here's how to do

it. Here's how to do it. So look at

Ephesians chapter 4:11. and he gave the

apostles, the prophets, evangelists, the

shepherds and teachers, and those are

mentioned together. So, the idea of

pastor, teachers. I remember when I

first started really getting turned on

to hearing the Bible taught clearly. Um,

I was a young man, had kind of lived

skating with one foot in the world world

a little bit, and then I started

realizing, no, the Lord is the way to

go. The world doesn't have anything good

to offer. the Lord really is the way to

live. And I started to love God's word

and I started listening to it. I started

to become hungry for it. And I remember

I started listening to this guy from

California

and his name was John MacArthur. And

whenever I heard the radio program from

John MacArthur, you know how it always

described him?

Pastor, teacher. It didn't just say

pastor. It said pastor teacher. And

whenever you looked at any letters that

came from him or you looked at their

website, this is before the days of

websites actually, but anyways, whenever

you would see anything about John

MacArthur, he was called a pastor,

teacher. And that's appropriate. In

fact, what did the people are in Jesus's

day? What did they call him? Rabbi,

teacher.

They called him a teacher. They called

him one who tells the truth and helps

people know the truth. Because Jesus

would say, "You shall know the truth and

the truth will what?

>> Set you free."

>> It will set you free.

Look at 1 Timothy 3:2. Therefore, an

1 Timothy 3:2

elseer

must be above reproach, the husband of

one wife, sober minded, self-controlled,

respectable, hospitable, and then circle

that last one there. able to teach. And

as we're going to see in just a minute,

that's one of the key differences that

distinguishes a pastor or an elder from

other leaders in the life of the church.

A pastor or elder must not only have a

good reputation and must not only have

his own life in a respectable way, but

he must be able to teach.

There's some people who can teach and

there's some people who cannot teach.

There's some people Well, everybody can

sing, Pastor William. It's just

Yeah, he's going, "Yeah,

but there's there's some pastors who

really think that they can teach and

they're not gifted at teaching. They're

trying to do it and they're not gifted

at teaching." And so, and we would say

it's that's not a slam on them. It's

it's just how has God gifted them?

How is the teaching come about? One of

the ways you know whether you're a good

teacher or not is whether or not anybody

is

>> learning, right? So, if people are

learning, that probably means you're

able to teach.

Well, singing, there's some people who

really I mean, they love to sing. It's

just we're not going to put them up

here. Um it is truly a joyful noise. And

by the way, I'm one of those people. I I

can't sing well, but I love to sing and

I do sing. And when I'm with all of you,

it sounds great

cuz we all the human voice is together.

And that's a beautiful thing. Um,

but there's some who we need to be we

need to be careful about that. There's

there's been times when

um I've seen a church interviewing

people

uh interviewing potential pastors and

a church needs to be very careful that a

pastor is gifted to teach because that

is a primary role in what has happened.

It's not the only role but that is a

primary role. And so that's what we

recognize here, governing well and

teaching well. And then look at Titus

Titus 1:9

1:9. He must hold firm to the sure word

as taught

so that he may be able to give

instruction in what?

>> In sound doctrine and also to what?

>> Rebuke those who contradict it.

So sometimes a pastor is called to be

offensive

and hopefully that offense will bring a

beautiful blessing. Well, four

conclusions concerning pastors very

quickly. Number one, the New Testament

pastor, elder, bishop all refer to the

same office. Fill that in. It all refers

to the same office. This fact is clearly

seen in Acts 20, Titus 1, 1 Peter 5.

They're used interchangeably. Number

two, Paul's mission in church planting

and writing included preparation and

appointment of these leaders in all the

churches. Number three, the Bible always

speaks of a, this is very important, a

plurality,

a plurality of pastors that are given

the role of governing and teaching the

church. So that means that there's

supposed to be not just one but there

should be multiple spiritual leaders who

have been given this responsibility.

Um number four, God has always meant for

a team of men to lead his church. Um

this is God's plan that there would be a

team of those. Well, let's turn our gaze

toward deacons.

Biblical guidance concerning deacons.

Number one, deacons and pastors or

elders are the two distinct offices in

the life of the church. We've already

said that.

And notice here that the two offices are

mentioned together twice in first in

Philippians 1:1. I want you to see this

Philippians 1:1

verse. Look at the screen. This is not

on your outline. It's only on the

screen. Look what it says. to Paul and

Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to

all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at

Philippi. So this is to the church of

Philippi together and then look at the

two that are mentioned there. What two

are they? Together with the what?

>> Overseers and deacons. So here's the two

offices.

Paul is writing to the Philippi church

and he's saying to everybody there, the

whole congregation and the congregation

with their pastors and does it say with

their pastor singular?

No, it says with their pastors or with

their overseers

and their deacons. And so look at the

next line there. Um 1 Timothy chapter 3.

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

This is where we see the qualifications

that are spelled out for the two

offices. Elders in verses 1-7 and

deacons in verses 8 through 13.

So the key difference between these two

qual groups of qualifa qualifications is

the third statement there under letter

A. The qualifications are very similar

except that the pastor elder must be

able to accurately effectively teach the

word. Um, look at number two. The word

deacon literally means servant. That's a

it literally what it means and there's

three different forms of it right here

in front of you. So um decon deacono is

and its derivatives and their entomology

that's this history behind the word

suggests

you and used many for personal help in

others. That's that's that's basically

what they do. They mainly are personal

help to others. Um and the word deacon

shows up in numerous places. Look at the

statement there at the bottom though and

this is from Fred A. Gryom. Look what it

says. In Philippians 1:1 and in numerous

Philippians 1:1

references in early Christian literature

outside the New Testament, overseers

and/or elders and deacons are mentioned

together with deacons always mentioned

last. Because of this order and because

of the natural connotations of the word

diacinos, most interpers believe that

deacons from the beginning served as

assistants to the church leaders. That's

what they did. And we see that in Acts

Acts 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6 that we're going to read next.

Look at number three, page seven. Number

three.

Deacons are intended by God to be an

extension of the ministry of the pastors

and elders in greater care of the needs

of the flock. This is one of the key

passages that you could not preach the

sermon without us looking at Acts

Acts 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6. Look at Acts chapter 6 here.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

The Acts 6 account is quite clear on the

founding of the deaconship. So this is

where deacons come from. And nowhere

does scripture repeal the original

purpose of these guys. Look at number

one. Now in these days when the

disciples were increasing in number, a

complaint by the Helenists rose against

the Hebrews because of their widows. Now

the idea is you had Jewish people in the

church and you had Greeks in the church.

That's the Helenists. They're they're

not it doesn't say Helens. It doesn't

mean that that they were pagans. the

Helenists have to do with the Greek um

ethnicity, the Greek background. Notice

this, a complaint by the Greeks or the

Helenists arose against the Hebrews

because of their widows were being

neglected in the daily distribution. So

the Jewish widows were getting a little

bit more care than the Greek widows.

Whatever reason, we don't know why. We

don't know what all was going on there.

But so in verse two, and the 12, so this

is talking about the 12 apostles, the 12

disciples summoned the full number of

the disciples and said, "It is not right

that we should give up preaching the

word of God to serve tables.

Therefore, brothers, pick out among you

seven men of good repute, full of the

spirit and of wisdom, whom we will

appoint to this duty. But we will devote

ourselves to prayer and to the ministry

of the word. And what they said pleased

the whole gathering. And they chose

who's the first one mentioned?

>> Stephen.

Stephen. A man full of faith and of the

Holy Spirit. and Philip and Procarus and

Nancor and Teimon and Peraeus and

Nicolas a procelotite from Antioch. So

he had been uh a Greek guy that became a

Jewish believer and now he was a

Christian. Look at verse six. These they

set before the apostles and they prayed

and laid hands on them. So that's where

deacons came from. There was a need of

caring for the congregation. There was a

need for serving tables. Deacons are

servants who assist the pastors in

meeting filling in the needs of the

church. Number four, the early deacons

were selected for their spiritual

qualifications.

And we see these in both 1 Timothy 3 and

we see this in Acts

6. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

8. This is what a deacon should be.

Look at verse eight. Deacons likewise

must be what?

>> Dignified,

not double tonged, not addicted to much

wine,

not greedy for dishonest gain. So they

shouldn't be drunkards and they

shouldn't be um people who are

opportunists.

Number nine, they must hold the mystery

of the faith with a clear conscience.

This means that they must love and hold

on to the gospel. Verse 10. And let them

also be tested first.

Can you put out there to the side of

that? Put a little line under tested

first and put out there to the side on

the left deacons in training. That's the

idea.

So, as time goes on, we we set aside

some guys to see how they do, see if

they're if they're continuing to grow in

maturity and grow in these areas in

their life. And when some of them are

ready, we cycle them in as deacons. Some

of them may they they may be kind of

dealing something in their life and

they're having to work through some

areas in their life and that's fine.

And some initially it looks like they

may be a good deacon and they come and

they walk with us for a while and then

they kind of think, you know, this may

not be good for for me or for the

church. I I maybe am not called to do

this. And so the idea is here to

evaluate. Look at verse 10. And let them

also be tested first. Then let them

serves as deacons. Circle the word if

they prove themselves blameless. So that

means they have to stop sinning and they

never sin again. So all the deacons that

you see

are blameless. Is that what that means?

>> No, that's not what that means. What

that does mean though is that their that

their life is coming together to where

it's not easy to just look at them and

make an accusation that is dishonoring

to the Lord.

Verse 11 mentions their wives. And so

this is speaking of men. And then we see

in verse 11, their wives

likewise

must be dignified, not slanderers,

but soberminded,

[snorts] faithful in all things.

Verse 12, let deacons each be the

husband of one wife. So he's not a

womanizer. He's not running from woman

to woman,

managing their children and their

households well. Verse 13. For those who

serve well as deacons gain a good

standing for themselves and also great

confidence in the faith that is in

Christ Jesus. Don't turn the page. Don't

turn the page. Look at the statement at

the end. For those who serve well as

deacons gain a good standing for

themselves and also great confidence in

the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Here's part of the idea.

When you serve as a pastor or when you

serve as a deacon, maybe as a Sunday

school teacher or maybe as a youth

worker, areas of service in the life of

the church, you know what happens? It's

not talking about a good standing like

with other people. No, what it means is

this. Sometimes

service in the Lord helps you get better

footing for life

because there's accountability.

There's a stated purpose here. I mean,

let me tell you that I'm a stronger

Christian in part because I'm a pastor.

What does that mean? You say, 'N no,

wait a minute. You're supposed to be a

strong Christian and then a pastor. Huh?

Yeah,

but what about this?

Being a pastor has helped me be a

stronger Christian. There are many

deacons who would say being a deacon has

helped me be a stronger Christian.

So, it's there's a blessing in that

hasn't fully arrived. When Culvin

Pinkerton was asked to be a deacon in

this church nearly 50 years ago, um when

Coven Pinkerton was asked, he he told

Billingsley, "I'm not worthy to be a

deacon." And Pastor Billingsley looked

at him and said, 'I know,

[laughter]

but you're also not who you're going to

be,

and you're you're going to grow and

you're going to mature. And that's where

we are. There are there's none of us

that are worthy.

But here we see this calling. Um, so

yes, turn the page, page eight, very

quickly.

Deacons are never presented in scripture

as a check or a balance of power against

the pastors as is sometimes seen in some

Baptist churches today. There are many

Baptist churches where um there's the

American idea of Congress and the

president and it would be deacons and

the pastor, the balance of power. Um

that is not at all what we see in

scripture. What we see in scripture and

the way a church should be is that

there's a group of deacons that are

leading the church. Excuse me. There's a

group of pastors that are leading the

church through teaching the gospel and

there's a group of deacons who help

them. That's the idea. They're not there

to oppose them. They're there to help

them. Um so pastors and elders answer to

each other, the congregation and the

Lord all the time. So myself as a

pastor, I am I am under the authority of

the life of the church, not only as a

leader in the life of the church. Number

six, deacons are to be capable of

serving the Lord in spiritual ways. And

we've just read that that the original

seven deacons were people who were able

to serve the Lord in ways that were more

spiritual in in nature than merely

delivering food. You see, there was a

tension in the church. Well, what about

us? Well, what about us? You can't let a

carnal guy go deal with that. You have

to have a guy that has some maturity to

go to him and say, "Hey, brother. I'm

sorry. I I know the widow's over here.

Yeah, we we missed it at that time.

That's okay. But we got a new plan here,

and we're going to work through it, and

let let's not immediately make this all

about Greeks versus Jews. Let's not make

it a racial thing.

Let's be together. You see, that's the

heart of a deacon. And you can't let a

hothead go do that.

You have to let someone who is showing

maturity to help bring peace in the life

of the church. Look at number seven. The

office of deacon requires a firm grasp

of sound doctrine.

A church is contentoriented.

That we are content oriented. It's

doctrally driven community built upon

God's earth. Every member should have

this approach in this fellowship.

Leaders such as deacons,

not less but even more. So look at

number eight. The deacon the presence of

deacons should advance the unity of the

church. Should advance the unity of the

church. In fact, that's what we just saw

from Acts chapter 6. there was

Acts 6 · chapter mention

potentially disunityity and the deacons

were there to take care of problems and

to solve problems and help the church

stay together. In fact, on the top of

page nine, I think deacons are to be

fill it in peace makers.

They are to be peacemakers. Their

ministry was first established to bring

peace to the first church. So number

nine, the presence of deacons should

advance the mission of the gospel. And

here's the point with this there. How do

deacons advance the mission of the

gospel? Well, we see in Acts chapter 6

Acts 6 · chapter mention

that problem between the Greeks and the

Jews and a little bit of a potential

disunityity. They appoint deacons. And

do you know what comes immediately after

that? After the church had appointed

deacons, so the church could run

smoother. The pastors would have the

help that they need, the congregation is

being taken well care of. Look what

happens next. It's in Acts chapter 6 and

Acts 6 · chapter mention

verse 8. This is awesome.

Circle the word then.

Because what has happened just before

this? Deacons were appointed.

Then the word of God what? spread

>> spread and the number of the disciples

what

>> multipi

>> multiplied greatly in Jerusalem and a

great many of the priests were obedient

to the faith you guys a bunch of

Pharisees and Sadducees even got saved.

That's awesome.

And so when the church is operating like

it should, there's more people coming to

faith in Jesus.

Um I I think that this is a beautiful

part of this. So deacons deacons in

helping care for the church and helping

the church be able to meet and helping

us meet with with unity and and

continuity and being smooth in this.

Listen again, it is still true. Look at

this. When a church has deacons who are

in God's will, the cause of world

evangelization

will what? It will move forward. I think

that this is a beautiful outcome of

deacons. Look at number seven or excuse

me, the summary. Summary of New

Testament leadership is that there's two

offices. Plurality of elders and a

plurality of deacons. Number two, in

accordance with the meaning of those

words in the practice of the New

Testament, pastors and elders are

charged to lead, care, manage, and

shepherd the flock among which the Holy

Spirit has made them overseers. So the

key word for pastor and elder is

shepherd. Fill that in. He's called to

be a shepherd. He's going to feed the

sheep. He's going to care for the sheep.

He's going to protect them. He's going

to lead them. He's going to lead them to

green pastures like Jesus does.

And then look at number three. In

accordance with the meaning of the word

deacon, it actually means servant. And

here we go. Look at this. The practice

of the New Testament, deacons are to be

helpers of the pastors and the elders

and the servants of the church. The key

word for deacon is servant. Is servant.

That's what God has called us to. Now,

this sounds kind of interesting. Look at

number four. These leaders are God's

gift to the church for his glory. You

say, "Wow, Pastor Andrew is so prideful.

He's calling himself God's gift to the

church." No, I'm not calling myself

that. God's word is what is calling us

that. Look at what it says here.

Ephesians 4:1. And he gave he gave the

Ephesians 4:1

apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,

the shepherds, and the teachers to equip

the saints for the work of the ministry

for building up the body of Christ.

Anything good in any of us comes from

God.

>> Any good purpose comes from God. It's

from God and it's for God. What do we

expect of our deacons as we close here?

Notice this. You will serve and help

with the body of Christ as a personal

example and honoring character. Christ

honoring character by example and

involvement

by taking letter C by taking care of

logistical needs. Letter D by caring for

church members. Caring for church

members and helping to facilitate

community groups because community

groups are really important in our

church. Those are really important. Look

at number two, expectations for deacon

service to love the church as the bride

of Christ and your spiritual church,

spiritual family. Deacons must love the

church. Well, a deacon needs to be

present. Letter B. He must faithfully

attend the worship. His absence is a

rarity.

A deacon must give financial support

consistently and generously and

sacrificially, cheerfully because that's

a key part. That's a key part of our

example.

Letter D, you must take responsibility

support tasks that need to be done.

That's why we have security teams and uh

that's why we have uh all kinds of other

teams that welcome and greet and care in

so many different ways.

>> [sighs]

>> We help community groups as I just

mentioned. That's part of what they do.

They lead that. They visit people. They

help with occasional benevolence needs.

Letter H. You maturely and diligently

protect the unity of the church. You

assist. Letter I, you assist, attend and

assist with churchwide events. So, the

deacons are present when we're when

we're doing these things. If they at all

can be here, they're here. and we meet

monthly to learn and pray and to

organize ourselves for the flock. So,

we've said it, we've said it pretty

clearly that as deacons come into the

life of the church, they help the church

to thrive.

And what is their goal? Look at the very

end of this. They sincerely desire to

hear, "Well done,

my what?

>> My good and my faithful servant."

Um because that's what a deacon is, is a

servant. So this morning we're going to

recognize some deacons before we come to

the life of the table. And I'm going to

ask the pastors and the PST to come here

before us right now. And uh as they come

to stand here with me, um I want to

first recognize the Lord has given

pastors and spiritual leaders in the

life of the church. In our church, we

recognize um full-time pastors and we

recognize lay leaders in the life of the

church. That's what called what we call

the PST. So Carrie Johnson um was a

deacon for many years and we recognize

him as an elder in the life of the

church. Not just because he's one of the

oldest, which he is, but that Oh, here

he is over here. Um,

but he's he's also a leader in the life

of the church and has taught in the life

of our church for over 50 years. And

Bill Lden would be here this morning,

but he is at home with the flu. And so,

Bill, we miss you. I know that you're

watching us right now and um we we miss

you. Pastor Ben would also be here, but

he's at home with the flu. So, if you've

been near those guys, go take a shower.

Um, but and double your vitamin C. Uh,

it's that time of the year. Um, but

these are the leaders that God has given

us in this regard. And I think that also

Pastor Ruben is teaching. That's what

pastors do. He's teaching the children

this morning. So, he's not here um this

morning as well. The next I'm going to

ask um all of our deacons that are

currently set deacons that have been

deacons for a while, would you please

come and join us on the stage? And so,

all of our deacons are going to come and

stand behind them uh or excuse me, on

each side of them. Um, and we have a few

deacons that are serving in other areas

right now. Some with security, so they

can't be here. But these are the people

that have been serving, some for um 15

or 20 years and some of these for two or

three or four years. But these are the

other guys. And these are all

represented as well by women, their

wives. If you are a deacon's wife, would

you please stand where you are right

now? If you're one of these guys wives,

just stand where you are. Look around

everybody. Here's all of the women. It's

good. [applause]

You all can be seated.

These women are part of the deacon team.

Our church recognizes men as deacons and

we recognize as their wife as an

integral part of what they do. They are

at all of our meetings. the women attend

our meetings because I know this, if you

have a deacon by himself, you've only

got half a deacon.

I mean, we get a whole lot more out of

these guys when their wives are sitting

there going, "No, this is the what it

is. This is what you got to do. This is

what we're doing. Here's how." No, what

he said is this. You know, but really,

our wives help us um in so many

different ways. So, the deacons that

have been deacons in training and are

now today becoming um recognized the

deacons. I'm going to ask all of these

uh to come up here now. Uh Leo,

Briatori, uh Nick and uh Brandy D, Aaron

and Tia uh Gibson, uh Brandon and Cassie

Crest, Alexandra and uh Hani and Roberto

and Ingred Salamancco. These are the

ones over the last um few years, the

last few years they have been serving as

deacons in training and they were ready

to be prayed over this morning um as we

recognize them. Uh they serve many of

you in your community group or something

along those lines. And so this morning,

we just really want to ask God's

blessing upon their service and upon

their faithfulness. I think about as I

look at each one of these and how they

have shown themselves to love the Lord,

to love the church, and to be willing to

say, "Lord, use me. Use me." You know,

it's just interesting how there's a

inner calling for pastors and for

deacons. There's something that compels

us to feel this. It's, may I use this, a

holy obligation.

We often feel a holy obligation. That

means a joyful, not a burdensome

obligation,

but a holy obligation.

And so, um, I'm going to ask you guys to

kind of step forward just a little bit

so that these guys can gather around

you, behind you, and, uh, Carrie Johnson

is going to come and lead us in prayer

for these deacons as they come today.

Let's go before the king.

Jeremiah 10, we read, "There is none

like you, oh Lord. You are great and

your name is great and mighty.

Who would not fear you, O king of the

nations, for that is your due?

For among the wise ones of the nations,

in all their kingdoms, there is none

like you.

You, Lord, are the true God.

You, Lord, are the living God.

You, Lord, are the everlasting king.

Lord, we come before you,

the creator of everything, the sustainer

of everything, the one that deserves all

praise, all glory, all honor.

Lord, we thank you that even though

because of your great power and the

great I am that you are,

in spite of that, Lord, you were willing

to sacrifice your son. You came in the

form of a man.

A humble man.

A man that

did not come

to be served, but a man that came to

serve.

A man who came not to take, but to give.

a man that opened his life to you

completely, Father,

so that you might have your good will in

everything that he was about. And Lord,

you set an example for us,

for each Christian that walks this

planet,

an example of humble service,

of complete giving, of total honoring.

Lord, because of that,

you have enabled us through the power of

your Holy Spirit

to be servants. And now, Lord, we lift

these men, these couples up to you this

morning.

And we ask Lord that you would empower

them in ways that would be humanly

impossible

for them to minister your goodness,

your graciousness, your love to this

church.

Lord, I pray for these men, Lord,

that they would be filled with the

knowledge of your will

so that they could walk in a manner

worthy of you, Lord,

fully pleasing you in every way, bearing

fruit in every good word, and increasing

in the knowledge of God. Thank you Lord

that you have delivered them from the

domain of darkness and transferred them

into the kingdom

of your precious son in whom we have

redemption.

Lord, thank you that they have a

willingness in their hearts and in their

minds to serve this church, to help the

pastors, to come alongside the other

leaders in this church and not be

opposed to things, but be a part of a

unified team

that would bless this church and bless

this community.

Lord, for their [music] wives, I pray

that that would you would continue to

give them a spirit of graciousness,

a a willingness to support and encourage

their husbands.

Lord, now as these couples

serve one another, respond to one

another, love one another, I pray like

lip ripples in a pool that that love

would go out [music] to their children

and that love would be felt in their

neighborhoods and in their community,

but especially Lord in this church.

Lord, we're trusting

that in your good will and in your good

work, you would bless them

and they would bless us in what they're

about. And we lift this prayer up in

Jesus' name. And the people all said,

"Amen.