Deacons | Andrew Maddox | Chasing the Wind

What are deacons?
I grew up in Baptist churches. My dad served on the body of deacons from time to time. I know their role is something akin to “servant leader.” But what do they really do?
Are they the gray-haired men with receding hairlines that pass the offering buckets between rows? Are they the men that open the doors? I suppose they call new members. Maybe they volunteer more than others. Perahps they are called deacons as a reward for faithful church service. Do they do anything else?
Most of the stories I remember about deacons are regarding inner-church fighting. Or a new pastor comes to a church only to find a less-than-receptive group of deacons who aren’t interested in change.
Perhaps deacons are perfect servant-leaders. They do what needs to be done without any fanfare or praise. Perhaps that’s why I don’t know what they do. And maybe they don’t do very much.
I don’t know. Maybe I should figure it out.

One thought on “Deacons”

I’ll say I’ve been in several churches (Southern Baptist) and deacons have played varying roles in each. My first church in Houston, deacons played the Biblical role of elders. They helped the staff make church-wide decisions and they held staff members accountable in their lives. My church in Edmond had amazing deacons who played less of a decision role (we had elders) and more of a servant role. I”ll never forget the time they came to children’s camp when I was a counselor and cleaned all the cabin bathrooms for us so we could spend the rest of the afternoon with the kids. Very cool. So that’s my 2 cents.

Kayla on October 27, 2005 at 6:08 pm said:

I’ll say I’ve been in several churches (Southern Baptist) and deacons have played varying roles in each. My first church in Houston, deacons played the Biblical role of elders. They helped the staff make church-wide decisions and they held staff members accountable in their lives. My church in Edmond had amazing deacons who played less of a decision role (we had elders) and more of a servant role. I”ll never forget the time they came to children’s camp when I was a counselor and cleaned all the cabin bathrooms for us so we could spend the rest of the afternoon with the kids. Very cool. So that’s my 2 cents.