This is one of a series of nine pamphlets offeringguidance to members and leaders of congregations inthe Christian Church (Disciples of Christ):

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You Are a Church Teacher (93A2270)

You Are a New Member (93A2269)

You Are a Volunteer (93A252)

You Are an Evangelist (93A2543)

This pamphlet is by Dr. Eldon L. Irving, pastor ofFirst Christian Church in Duncanville, Texas.

© Copyright 1991 by Christian Board of Publication.

All rights reserved. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise

noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible,copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

have been chosen by your congrega-tion to be a member of the diaconate.This pamphlet is intended to help youthink through what this means to you

and to the church. First, you need to know thatthe diaconate has a rich tradition both in theBible and in the history of the church. The officeyou hold is a vital and important position withinthe church.

The Diaconate in the BibleThe word diaconate is an English translitera-

tion of the Greek root word diakon. The wordoccurs in three words in the New Testament:diakonein—the verb "to serve"; diakonos—thenoun "server" (from this we get the worddeacon); and diakonia—the office of those whoserve, or the diaconate.

The word is used in a general sense ofserving tables as in the story of Mary andMartha in Luke 10:38-42. But Jesus uses thisword with much more meaning than merelyserving tables when he says, "... whoeverwishes to be great among you must be yourservant (diakonos),... just as the Son of Mancame not to be served ( d) but toserve (diakonesai), and to give his life a ransomfor many" (Matthew 20:26,28).

The apostle Paul also uses this word in ameaningful way: "So if anyone is in Christ,there is a new creation: everything old haspassed away; see, everything has become new!All this is from God, who reconciled us tohimself through Christ, and has given us theministry (diakonian) of reconciliation... " (2Corinthians 5:17-18). But Paul not only usesthe word diakonia (service, ministry) in ageneral sense, he refers to himself as a diakonos(2 Corinthians 6:3,4 and Colossians 1:24-25).

So, as you are called to be a member of thediaconate, you need to see that you are follow-ing in the rich tradition of the apostle Paul!

Later in the New Testament writings, thechurch established the office of the diaconate.There are references in the first chapter ofPhilippians and the third chapter of 1 Timo-

2

thy. Acts 6:1-5 tells us that the church or-dained seven to distribute and serve food tothe widows. This office of the diaconate wasso important that the names of the seven arerecorded. Stephen is among them.

then, as a member of the diaconate,are in great company. What you arecalled to be and to do is very impor-tant.

Men and Women as DeaconsThe New Testament indicates that both men

and women served in this important positionin the early church. Both men and women arementioned in the charge to the diaconate in1 Timothy 3:8-13. In Romans 16:1 Paul states,"I commend to you our sister Phoebe, adeacon of the church at Cenchreae." This fitswith Paul's emphasis in Galatians 3:28: 'Thereis no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longerslave or free, there is no longer male andfemale; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

In the past few years this emphasis has beenrestored as many Christian churches aremoving toward one office with men andwomen serving side by side with equal tasks.Formerly most churches had two offices—deacons and deaconesses. The one combinedoffice is called the diaconate. The earlierseparation may have been brought about bythe confusing translation of diakonia in someEnglish Bible translations. The same word wastranslated deacon in some places and deaconessin others.

With the recent New Revised StandardVersion of the Bible, the word diakonos istranslated as deacon for both male and female.Thus we can not only say, as this pamphletdoes, "You are a member of the diaconate,"but we can also say, "You (either man orwoman) are a deacon."

Characteristics of a DeaconOnce you recognize the importance of the

office to which you have been called to serve,

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YOU are a member Diaconate 2/16/06 10:16 AM Page 1

You Are an Elder (93A2265)

You Are a Member of the Diaconate (93A2266)

You Are an Usher (93A2268)

You Are a Church Trustee (93A2267) ^memberi1 1 , \

ia

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You Are a Steward (93A2544)

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YOU are a member Diaconate 2/16/06 10:16 AM Page 2you will want to recognize in yourself and

develop further

these characteristics:

1.A

spirit of love. The most importantcharacteristic of a deacon is to have love. Jesussaid the

two greatest commandments are tolove God and to love our neighbor, and Pauleloquently spoke of love in 1 Corinthians 13.As a deacon you are called not so

much to ruleor to judge as to love those you are called toserve. As important as all the following char-acteristics are, Paul tells us that if we do nothave love, we gain nothin

g.2.A

spirit of commitment. Deaconsshould be among the most committed mem-bers of the church. This certainly means takingdiaconate assignments seriously an

d fulfillingall tasks involved. This also means being inworship regularly and being regular in atten-dance to meetings connected with thediaconate and perhaps congr

egational boardmeetings. In addition this means being com-mitted to the whole program and ministry ofthe church and serving in some specific areas.

In short, the ch

urch and the church's minis-try should be a high priority in your life.

3.A

spirit of giving. As a deacon you willwant to be a leader in the stewardship of your

time and money. Some people feel, may notgive much money, but I give time." Othersmay feel, "Don't ask me to make calls. I sendmy check." Both time and

money are impor-tant. Jesus said, "For where your treasure is,there your heart will be also."

4.A

spirit of cooperation and respect Asa deacon you will not

be carrying out yourtasks in isolation, but working with others.Cooperation is very important. If you are amember of your church's governing board,you will ha

ve a voice in policy decisions,program matters, and the direction of thechurch. You may not always agree witheveryone else or with every decision made.Others may

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not always agree with you. But amutual respect is essential, and once a deci-sion is made, everyone needs to move ahead.

5.A

spirit of support. As a deac

on youwill want to show support for all the leadersof the church and for the pastor. This is not tosay you have to agree with everything thepastor does or says, but you

can recognize thateach pastor has his or her own strengths aswell as weaknesses. You can be a great benefitto the church by helping members see andapprecia

te the pastor's strengths.

6.A

spirit of openness. Be open to newideas and new ways of ministry. There is noth-ing more inhibiting to a church than the spirit of"W

e've always done it this way." Preserve whatis best of the past, but be open to the new.

This applies to your personal faith as well.Seek to be open and to grow in yo

ur faith.Attending church school classes, Bible studies,workshops and seminars, and developing asocial conscience can help you grow in yourfaith and enabl

e you to help your church growspiritually.

Function of the Diaconate

(What Do Deacons Do?)

1. The serving of communio

n. In an earliergeneration, the deacons as deacons did much ofthe work and programming, and as such per-formed vital functions in the church. Since theestablish

ment of functional departments in thechurch, some have felt that deacons were leftwith only ceremonial functions—"All we do ispass the communion trays on

Sunday."

Certainly the diaconate needs to be utilizedmore than a few minutes on Sunday morning,and we shall say more about that. Yet it isnecessary to say first tha

t what is done duringthe communion service should never be lookedon as "merely passing the trays." Holy commun-ion or the Lord's Supper is the very heart ofwo

rship in the Christian Church (Disciples ofChrist), and you as a deacon are given the sacredprivilege of serving in the Lord's name. There-fore what you do the

re is very important.

The preparation and serving of this sacredmeal is truly a ministry, and your attitude aboutwhat you do will be conveyed to those you ser

ve.This involves such things as faithfully carryingout your assignments of preparation and obtaininga substitute if you cannot do the task. It mayinvolve cleaning and

polishing the communiontrays. It also involves the preparation of yourselfon the day you are to serve. Begin your prepara-tion with personal prayer, asking God to use yo

uas God's servant (diakonos).

2.O

ther important functions. As impor-tant as the serving of communion is, thediaconate needs to serve in other wa

ys in the lifeof the church. What this means may vary fromchurch to church. The first question those in thediaconate must ask is, "What

are the needs in thechurch and the community?" The function of thediaconate should be determined by needs.

3.R

elationships with com

mittees ordepartments. Different congregations mayhave different names for groups that carry outspecific ongoing parts of the church's ministry

,but most congregations have some suchgroups. The diaconate needs to see itself not somuch as an isolated entity, but as a part of thewho

le body of the church. Thus there needs tobe a working relationship with the committeesor departments. This might be accomplishedin one

of two ways:

First, in consultation with the committees ordepartments, the diaconate as a group mighttake on some task (such as the evan

gelism taskof calling on prospective members, or thenurture task of teaching a class or calling oninactive members, or some task connected wi

thsome other committee.) The diaconate shouldnot compete with these committees, but seek towork with them, always addressing need

s.T

he second way the diaconate might servewith the committees or departments is not as agroup but as individual deacons—each deac

onserving on some functional committee. If yourdiaconate chooses this method of serving, youneed to realize you are serving on the com

mit-tee as a deacon and therefore fulfilling theobligation of the diaconate to serve more thanon Sunday morning.

4.S

erving those in need. Some

congrega-tions, using Acts 6:1-5 as a model, empowerthe deacons to set up, administer, and raisemoney for a diaconate fund that can be usedto meet emergen

cy economic needs among acongregation's members or other people.

5.M

utual support. As a deacon it isimportant that you feel support from otherdeacon

s and that you yourself become a partof this mutual support. As a member of thediaconate, you may wish to meet regularly (or ina yearly retreat) for this

purpose, for spiritualgrowth, or for leadership training. However thatmight be structured, it is important that youexperience a closeness to other deacons as youperfor

m your ministry.

A Closing Word

have been called to the office of thediaconate. It has a rich traditionwithin the Bible and all throughoutchurch history. As yo

u accept thisoffice you carry on this tradition of those whohave served and will continue to serve in thename of Jesus Christ. So commit yourself tothis office

so you might be able to say with thea post l e P au l , " . .. a s s er va nt s (

God we have commended ourselves in everyw

ay" (2 Corinthians 6:4). And Paul willanswer, "Finally, brothers and sisters, fare-well. Put thin

5 6 74

gs in order, listen to my appeal,agree with one another, live in peace; and th

eGod of love and peace will be with you"(2 Corinthians 13:11).

A Resource for Study

Available from Christian Board of Publicationare the resources

You

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Calli

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as a

Dea

con and

One

Dia

con

ate,

Wo

men

and

Men

Buil

ding

a

Co

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unit

y of

Mini

stry

and

Ser

vice

.*

* This and many other very helpful resources are available.Check with your minister to help you find the resources youneed[ or phone Christian Board of Publication at 1-800-366-3383 for information about the latest resources.

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