stephen R Harrison

I was thinking about elders and deacons this morning: There are two distinct ministries in the local church – pastoral and practical ones. Some devoted to prayer and ministry of the word. And others devoted to meeting the practical needs of the church. Robert Thune says, “Deacons work under the elders, yet alongside the elders. Deacons are within the church, yet out in front of the church.”

Deacons extend the shepherding reach of the elders. Alongside the elders, they minister the care of Jesus to His people, resolve conflict, and fight for unity. Within the church, they know they are first sinners wholly dependent on the same patient mercy of God and then are able to be ministers of it. Both elders and deacons lead from within. Out in front, deacons lead by serving which leads the church into serving. Deacons not only meet the needs, they identify them and help the church to meet them. Deacons set the pace of servanthood. Deacons need humility to be under, unity to be alongside, compassion to be within, and leadership to be out in front.

I read this about deacons: They are someone who 1) bears ownership and responsibility for some area of ministry beyond what a normal mature church member would, and 2) is leading that area of ministry in a way that takes the administrative and logistical burden off the elders, freeing them for the work of shepherding.

Find out more about elders and deacons in my training workbooks:

The Biblical Elder Workbook: https://a.co/d/dH47AWi

The Biblical Deacon Workbook: https://a.co/d/epIKssd