D is for Diaconate

Hmm, now what reason could I have for studying this? OH RIGHT! That one where that’s totally what I do!!

Now going in I was sure this would be the easiest bible study ever. All I’d do is recount some funny DPS stories, talk about what I do, how I got into it and maybe look at the bible a bit. No big deal.

But then I started thinking; what do I do? Is what I classify now as being part of my job actually part of what it means to be a deacon? I’ve learned by now what the difference between the responsibilities of a pastor and a deacon are, but are there differences between deacons and the laity?

A lot more work than I first thought!

Now I’m a bit of a free spirit. Well, no, that’s not exactly true. I am, however, stubborn and I dislike being told what to do. Oooh that works well for someone whose main job descriptor is to help people! But I did have a point to this! My point was that as someone who has difficulty being told what to do, I always inwardly groan when I think of the “job description” of a deacon in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Now, there’s nothing wrong with it. I think I would agree with all the points (except maybe the wife thing) but as a sinful human being I know that I can’t be all of those things all the time: Dignified, when I need to; proven blameless, well, I very rarely take the blame for anything if that counts; not addicted to too much wine, oh boy, it’s loud in here.

Looking at this list it speaks to the logistics of the job. It tells you what you need to do to accomplish the requirements of being a deacon. But why does that even matter? I alluded to it earlier when I started to question the difference between a lay person and a deacon. The answer that I can come up with is: nothing. The only difference comes in terms of intent. A deacon isn’t the person who fulfills all of the qualification, but instead they’re the people who have desired to take on this position full-time.

I want to go back a bit to the book of Acts. Particularly Acts 6:1-7. What the deacons were called to do wasn’t anything exceedingly extraordinary. Essentially it boiled down to taking care of those who were in need, something that we’re all called to do.

The thing is, our good intentions stay as that; intentions not actions. We need some form of organization, and I’d say that’s where the role of the deacon comes in. The idea is not to rise to a greater authority; to take over someone’s role, but instead to help them. The role of deacon is supplementary. You’ll notice in the 1 Timothy and Acts descriptions that the implementation of the diaconate is on an as needed basis. The diaconate is not meant to take over the role of the pastoral office, but to support it. The diaconate is not meant to take over the responsibilities of the laity, but again, they are there to support them.