The office of Deacon

In Acts 6 we are told that the early church in Jerusalem was increasing in numbers, but as numbers increased, so did certain problems. Apparently the Greek-speaking widows were being discriminated against and the Hebrew widows were receiving special treatment. The apostles deemed this an important matter, but they did not want to neglect their primary calling of prayer and ministry of the word, so we find them choosing seven men to serve in this task of overseeing the distribution of material gifts for those in need. Here we find, in all likelihood, the formation of the diaconate. Some scholars suggest that because Steven and Philip later engage in preaching that we have some other temporary office being established here, but I do not find that persuasive. 

The Greek word diakonos simply means "servant" or "minister"and sometimes it is properly translated that way. But we also find also in the New Testament the office of "the deacons" mentioned along with "the elders" (Phil 1:1, I Tim 3). The duties of a deacon consist in insuring that the material needs of the church are met. The Lord not only wills that his people be ministered to in their spiritual needs but also our physical needs as well. James reminds his readers that pure and undefiled religion is caring for orphans and widows (1:27). He also questions the authenticity of one's faith if they ignore a fellow believer who is poorly clothed or lacking in daily food (2:15-17). At the end of his letter to the Galatians, Paul instructs his readers to "do good to everyone" as they have opportunity, "especially," he adds, "to those who are of the household of faith" (6:10).

This command of the apostle to give "special treatment" to Christians brings up an interesting question concerning the duties of deacons. Does the New Testament give any instructions for deacons to engage in their official ministry outside of the church. In other words, is it part of the ministry of a deacon to oversee a soup kitchen or relief organization or hospital? Now, let me be clear, I am not speaking of the obligations of individual Christians who have the opportunity to do good, certainly, we ought to help others, no matter who they are, because they are made in the image of God. However, when we seek to determine from the New Testament what it is that deacons, in their official calling, ought to spend their precious time and resources on, I personally do not see any warrant to go outside of the household of faith. To further support my thesis, when we do see churches in the New Testament donate to the needs outside of their local congregation, they raise money for other churches, as is the case for the donation to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. As Christians living in one of the most materially blessed nations on earth, we ought to be mindful of our millions of brothers and sisters in the Lord who live in abject poverty around the world. 

The Office of Elder

In Acts 15 we find a description of the Jerusalem Council, the fist synod of the Church. It was regarding the issue of Gentiles and whether circumcision should be required of them to join the covenant people of God.  After speeches given by Peter, Paul and James, the council unanimously agreed that Gentiles ought not be circumcised and affirmed the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In Luke's telling of the event, however, we find an odd thing. No less than six times, we read that the ones who were making the binding decision upon the entire church were "the apostles and the elders" (15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23; 16:4). If ever there was a time in the history of the church where the church of Christ could be led by only a select few, it was the age of the apostles.  What we find, however, is that even those who were given a special commission by the risen Lord himself, and thus possessed unparalleled authority, felt it necessary to include "elders" in even the most important of their decisions. 

An obvious question can be asked, where did these "elders" originate from? Unlike what we find in Acts 6, which describes the origin of the office of deacon, there is no New Testament scene which tells of the beginning  of the office of elder. That is because they were there all along. What I mean to say, is that the covenant people of God were never without those who fulfilled the role of "elder of the people." In the Old Testament, we read of the  zaqen ("elder") who because of his maturity and status was given unique authority over the covenant people (e.g. Num 11).  Therefore, arguing from the fact that there is indeed continuity between the Old and New Testament people of God, we see the infant church adopted the same office of elder in a natural and organic way. There is, however, one major difference between the duties of elder in the OT versus that in the NT. The Israelites were  unique in the fact that their religious life were one and the same with their social and political life ("cult" and "culture" were the same). In the New Testament, however, we read that Christ's kingdom is not of this world, therefore, the office of elder no longer holds any political power, but rather is to focus upon the spiritual well-being of the church. One may contrast, for example, the corrupt Jewish "elders" in Acts who used their political authority to persecute the early church (4:5, 8, 23) with those who are later appointed to lead in each congregation (14:23). 

Clearly, the model of church government  as it is presented in Acts and the rest of the New Testament is not a "one-man show." Ironically, in our day, many churches that heavily emphasize the discontinuity between Old and New Testament, nevertheless, find their model of church government in the OT. Misapplying the so-called "Moses model," their churches are often led by the absolute power of the senior pastor. All decisions are ultimately made by the one charismatic leader because he allegedly is a "man of God" and accountable to Christ alone. There's only one problem with this scenario (actually, there are many)...we're not Moses.  No one living today possess the unique authority and special revelation that he had (see Num 12 and Duet 18). But even Moses knew that he could not do it alone, he appointed seventy elders to possess real authority and decision making abilities (not just "yes men").  When I was first joining a Reformed church, it was during a time when the well-loved and  respected minister was retiring. He assured us new members, however, not to fret because it wasn't his church anyways, after all, the elders weren't going anywhere.