Joe McKeever: Reforming the Deacons

Reforming the Deacons (17): "Teach the Deacons (and Other Leaders) to Welcome These"

When Henry was elected a deacon, his family was elated. When he was ordained, they were proud. But when his phone rang late one evening with a church member on the other end of the line complaining about the pastor, no one but he knew it. When he was cornered after church by a sister with a complaint about church finances, Henry felt ambushed. When he received an anonymous letter from someone claiming to be a member of the church with a serious charge against the youth minister, he was completely bamboozled.

Henry was completely unprepared.

He was learning that church members often see the deacons as a conduit to the "powers that be," as a safe way to register discontent, as a means of getting their concerns addressed without their having to go public.

But no one had told Henry to expect this or how to handle it.

In teaching churchmanship to deacons and other leaders, pastors should prepare them for the unexpected barrage that will be coming their way. They should expect it, learn to recognize it, and know how to deal with it. In time, with a little experience, they may even come to welcome the criticism, the phone calls, the anonymous letters.

Here is my list of unexpected developments leaders should be prepared to deal with. You'll think of others.

Reforming the Deacons (16): "Teach Them Churchmanship"

We pastors make many mistakes in our dealings with deacons, which is probably understandable.

In a lifetime of ministy, a pastor might log a half century leading as many as ten churches. That means he will encoiunter ten different arrangements of deacons--one per church--some good, some not so good, and hundreds of deacons of all kinds. The pastor who does this and emerges unscathed is a rarity.

Most pastors sooner or later find themselves facing one or more deacons for whom "servanthood" and "servant-mindedness" are not found in their lexicons. They are all about power and control, and right now this pastor is in their crosshairs and has been identified as the enemy.

Deal with a few of those and you will walk gently into all future gatherings of deacons.

I know they are few and far between. Most deacons are good and honorable men (and yes, women too, in some churches; but in our SBC they are relatively rare) who want only to bless and serve. But it just takes a few to create havoc.

One of the greatest mistakes we pastors make is to assume either that our deacons already know all they need to, or that they do not want to learn more. My experience is that a right-spirited servant of the Lord--deacon or not--wants to learn more, to grow more, to serve better.

Pastors should create opportunities to teach their deacons good churchmanship. Here's what that means.

Reforming the Deacons (15): "Let the Veterans Teach the Rookies"

There were some 20 or 25 deacons in the room, men of all ages and backgrounds, some professional, some blue-collar. I was privileged to serve as their pastor and over a pastorate of nearly thirteen years, had only a great working relationship with them.

One night, a young deacon stood in the meeting. Something was bothering him.

"I'm wondering if anyone noticed what happened in the last church business meeting."

Silence.

"One of the members--I won't say who--made a motion that the landscaping committee be asked to spend up to $3,000 to redo the lawn in front of the children's building."

More silence.

"That's not right. That should not have happened."

The chairman said, "We're not quite following you, Tommy."

Tommy stood back up and said, "She should have brought that to the deacons before taking it to the church. That's what deacons are for. She was out of order."

In the stunned silence that followed, one of the older deacons, a storeowner downtown, a man with a heart as big as the state, said very quietly, "My brother. This is a Baptist church. The church can do anything it feels God wants it to do, and does not have to run anything by the deacons."

That's all he said. He said it sweetly and softly and solidly.

There were no more questions, and not one time in my remaining years in that church did a deacon try that little power play.

Older, wiser, veteran deacons have so much to offer the young, incoming men.

Reforming the Deacons (14): These Men Have No Business Being Deacons

Larry expects to be elected a deacon of the church he and Eloise recently joined. After all, why shouldn't he? He owns the paper mill at the edge of town and employs a third of the men in the church. His tithe is probably twice that of any other contributor. In any assembly of men, his voice is the strongest, his persona the firmest, and his authority unquestioned.

A word to Larry's church: Do not elect this man to anything.

Nothing disqualifies a Christian from being chosen for service more than a sense of entitlement: "I deserve this. I expect it. I'll be disappointed if I don't get it."

I'm no prophet, but I know what will happen if Larry is made deacon. Five things will soon begin to occur:

Reforming the Deacons (13b): Old Testament Pictures 7-12

(The second part of article 13.)

7. God's Old Testament deacons may speak to the congregation on behalf of the shepherd.

As Joshua was readying himself to lead God's people across the Jordan into the Promised Land, he instructed "the officers of the people" to visit everyone.

Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.'

The men identified as "officers" fan out to meet with smaller groups of the Lord's people. They personalize Joshua's word. They deal with questions that may arise. They adapt it, as necessary, for each tribe.

A church is doing a financial campaign or a building campaign. Every church member needs information, involvement, understanding, and opportunities to participate. Often, the deacons will be enlisted to visit in the homes of the members for this purpose.

On one occasion when I had been at a church for five years, I asked the deacons to help with a pastoral evaluation survey. At my request--this is crucial--they worked up a questionnaire of several pages, and then on their own, they took the membership rolls in hand and selected every seventh family and paid them a personal visit. In a membership of 2,000 people, this was a sizeable undertaking but they did it well. At the conclusion, they took the hundreds of questionnaires and collated the information, turning the results into a graph. Then, they presented me with a composite picture of how the congregation felt about their pastor and his ministry. All in all, it was a wonderful report and performed as thoroughly as anything I've ever seen before or since.

8. God's Old Testament deacons may serve as the eyes and ears of the shepherd.

Reforming the Deacons (13): 12 Old Testament Pictures of Deacons

(The first six pictures)

Our problem in deciding what deacons are to be doing in the local church results from a paucity of references in the Bible.

We have the account of the seven men chosen by the Jerusalem church to serve groceries to the widows (Acts 6:1-7) and little else.

In the absence of Scriptural instructions on what deacons should do, unwise counselors have stepped into the void and done their dead-level best to make them church managers, business administrators, and preacher bosses. The results have almost always been disastrous.

I suggest that scripture has not been as silent on this subject as we have thought. In fact, throughout the Old Testament we find examples of men--godly, mature, adult men--who have stood by the Lord's shepherd as his right hand, his strong arm, his defenders, his helpers and his extension.

Think of what follows as photographs of deacons at work among God's Old Testament people. Think of these as metaphors for what deacons should do today. Think of them as plants set in place by the Holy Spirit for our instruction and edification.

Reforming the Deacons (12): "We Now Know Whom to Blame"

As a student of American history, I've long been intrigued by the massive carnage of the American Civil War, and have wondered whom to blame for this most devastating event. The answer, as I'm finding now in a new book called "America's Great Debate"(by Fergus M. Bordewich; Simon and Schuster, 2012), lies with a number of rabid politicians from both the South and the North, who for decades tried to shout each other down and fought against anyone proposing anything remotely looking like a compromise.

I'm not sure why I needed to fix the blame for this, to have someone identifiable before whose doorstep we could lay this. One would like to think that modern political leaders would learn important lessons in the failures of their predecessors--that failing to deal with the tough issues and handing them off to the next generation is abject dereliction of duty.

On these pages, as I have railed against the practice of deacons ruling the church and bossing the pastors--a practice not even remotely suggested by anything in Scripture--I've wondered where it all started.

Now we know.

It has not been a secret, although it has been pretty much unknown. Howard B. Foshee covered this in his 1968 book, "The Ministry of the Deacon," published by Convention Press. For a generation, his book was the standard for Southern Baptists wanting to know how to organize and train their church's deacon groups.

In a chapter chronicling "Evolving Concepts of Deacon Service," Dr. Foshee identifies the smoking gun.

Reforming the Deacons (11): "Ten No-No's for Deacons"

Recently, when the directors of missions for our state met in their annual retreat, they asked me to lead an evening session on "Do's and Do Not's for DOMs." On the ride up to our gathering place, a friend asked if I had trouble selecting 10 of each. I said, "Right now, I have the list down to 730." He laughed, understanding fully what I was saying. There are so many good choices and an equal number of bad.

In this series on "Reforming the Deacons," that is, remaking your church's body of deacons into a powerful team of servants, we need to pause and mention some serious practices faithful deacons will avoid.

1. A deacon should never politic to be elected.

Let the church membership choose whom it will. Remembering that diakonos means "the lowliest servant," one who goes "through the dust" to get a job done, to campaign for election undermines the very idea.

Why would a man (or just as likely, his family and friends) campaign for election as a deacon? In most cases, it's because that church's deacons have become the power center of the church and that's where the authority lies. There is a certain class of humanity that loves to rule, takes pride in exerting influence over others, and enjoys the prestige of being chosen above others. We who find ourselves in that class should take warning, for what it says about our spiritual condition is not good.

Take the deacons' authority away--which is what we are urging--and ask them to restrict their activities to serving church members in need and working in the background, and you will see an end to the politicking. Few want to be servants; far more want to be the one giving orders to the servants.

2. A deacon should cut no corners of truth in order to be chosen.

Reforming the Deacons (10): "How to Tell a Servant When You See One"

If to be a deacon means to serve, and if it really matters the quality of the person chosen to serve the congregation, then someone in church leadership must be able to recognize a servant when they see one.

Otherwise, you may end up with a lot of men in your deacon body who want to do anything in the world except serve.

Which, as you think of it, is a perfect description of a thousand deacon groups: a lot of men who want to do many things, none of them being to serve.

Now, before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.... (John 13:1)

You will recognize that as the opening of the Upper Room passage where the Lord washes the feet of His disciples, the ultimate act of servitude. In this one verse, we find a number of insights as to the traits of a great servant.

Reforming the Deacons (9): "Dealing With the Bully"

If the deacon body is to be healthy, it must get rid of toxic members in its fellowship.

Toxic member number one: The bully. He's the guy who throws his weight around, demands that everyone follow his agenda, issues orders to the pastor and staff, and instills fear in half the people around him.

You thought the problem with bullies ended after elementary school? Think again.

Bullies can be found in the classroom (as professors), on football fields (as coaches or players), in the workplace (more likely, it's the boss), and, most surprising of all to most people, in church.

All bullies are dangerous to the success of whatever mission they are engaged in. They can wreck the program by demanding their own way, by undermining the work of leaders, and by driving away good people who refuse to cave in to them.

Since the work of the church is the Kingdom of God on earth, a bully in the sacred place can cause damage having eternal consequences.

Now, the church bully can be a pastor, a Sunday School teacher, a somebody or a nobody. But when the bully is a deacon, particularly in a wonderful church doing significant work for the Lord, he is especially dangerous and must be dealt with.

Just one such monster left unchecked and unchallenged can stop a good ministry in its tracks, destroy the work of a faithful pastor, ruin a church's reputation, hold the Lord's people up as a laughingstock before the world, and splinter a united congregation.

Bullies cannot be left unguarded, their tactics unchallenged, and their demands unaddressed. Someone must do something.

Has anyone ever written on what deacons should do concerning the bullies within their fellowship?

Diotrephes was a bully. The Apostle John said, "I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words, and not satisfied with this, neither does he himself receive the brethren, and he forbids those who desire to do so, and puts them out of the church" (III John 9-10).

The Pharisees were bullies. Jesus said they "shut up the kingdom of heaven from men," they "devour widows' houses," and they are in danger of "the sentence of hell" (Matthew 23).

What should a deacon do about a bully within his own group?

Reforming the Deacons (8): "How to Begin a Major Overhaul"

The old joke--it's probably more of a parable--has the mice plotting what to do about the cat. Finally, they decided to tie a bell around the cat's neck so they could hear it coming.

The only thing they could not agree on was who would bell the cat.

It's one thing to talk about reforming the deacons, and another thing to do it.

How would one go about it? Where would you start?

Let the deacons take the initiative.

Why them? Because the alternative might create an uproar unnecessarily.

Imagine someone standing in your church business conference to propose a complete reorganization of the deacons, including qualifications, membership, assignments, accountability, and limitations.

Now, imagine this coming as a complete surprise to the deacons.

Imagine further that the deacons are being run--and I do mean "run"--by a few strong-willed individuals who see this as their way of controlling the church and its ministers. And in their mind, that's a good thing.

You may as well have called them crooks and challenged them to a duel. They are shocked, stunned, enraged, and ready to tear the church up to salvage their honor and prevent this from happening.

That's why you're not going to do it. (There is a good reason no mouse volunteered to bell that cat. It's a suicide mission.)

NOTE: We assume here that the deacon body is in need of wholesale changes, a "drastic overhaul." If something less than that is needed, you may choose to skip what follows.

Let the deacons take the initiative.

Ideally, if the church's deacon system is not working or is causing more trouble than it is solving, all the deacons will see and acknowledge it, and will agree to bring the matter to the church.

If that's the case, the church will do it in a heartbeat.

The second approach is not as clear-cut but better than the alternatives of putting up with the defective status quo or springing it on the deacons in a business meeting.

Reforming the Deacons (Part 7): "5 Pillars for Deacon Ministry"

On Facebook this week, a woman asked, "Why are you on this kick about deacons?"

I replied that in the last few days, two pastors have emailed me about rogue deacon groups that are making their lives miserable, presenting silly lists of requirements which they have to meet, and threatening them with termination. By what sick interpretation of Scripture does anyone find that kind of activity in God's Holy Word, someone tell me?

And now, this morning as I sit at the breakfast table typing, one of the pastors emails to say he and his entire staff are being forced out. The church business session he moderated last night, he said, felt like "The Jerry Springer Show." After the meeting ended, several fist-fights almost broke out. He added that most of the godly leadership of the church is resigning also. (I referenced this pastor in an earlier piece as saying the previous pastor had been forced out after 30 months. "And I am in my 30th month," he added.)

That's why. Someone needs to protect the church, not molest it.

The Bride of Christ is being molested. Gang-attacked, if you will.

Safeguarding the Lord's Church begins with the ministers, those assigned to oversee and shepherd the flock. It continues with a group of people who should be the healthiest, most normal, kindest and most Christlike people in the church: The Deacons.

But if the deacons themselves are not healthy, if they are trouble-makers and preacher-bosses, if they are constantly at war among themselves and often at odds with the rest of the church leadership, the church is at great risk.

What is a healthy deacon ministry? Short answer: it will be right Scripturally.

Longer answer: A healthy deacon ministry will be based on these five pillars:

Reforming the Deacons (Part 6): "How Not to Choose Deacons"

The Bible does not tell us how to choose deacons.

In fact, it doesn't even command that we do so. Each church decides for itself whether to have deacons. Once it does to do so, the question then becomes how to choose them.

I cannot tell you the best way to select your church's deacons, but I can tell you the worst.

By popular vote.

There is no worst system on the planet than simply handing a ballot to the membership containing the names of all adult men and asking people to "Please mark no more than 10" or whatever.

The results will be all over the map.

Some good and godly men will be named, but you may count as fact that others nominated will be without principles, without integrity, and some even without a faith in Christ.

What are people thinking, you wonder. Answer: They're not.

I have seen churches whose popular vote system allowed for the nomination of men with as few as ten mentions on the ballots. Is there a worst system imaginable? Probably, but I can't think of one.

"Oh, but you're asking my church to change the way it elects deacons? That's not going to happen."

Then your church deserves the trouble that is coming its way.

A church--initially, its pastors and key leadership--has to decide whether its present system is working or failing. Only the fainthearted among us would want to keep a non-working system because changing it would create waves within the membership.

Sometimes making waves is a good thing. Leaders without the courage to make needed changes in the church structure for fear of stirring up opposition have no business calling themselves leaders.

What if the Events of Acts 6 Happened in Church Today? (Part 5 of "Reforming the Deacons")

A most unusual thing happened.

A church found itself with an internal problem and no one blamed the preachers.

Now, at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." (Acts 6:1-4)

The congregation was being torn apart by dissension and no one blamed the preachers.

When the preachers brought the congregation together with a solution, no one protested that the apostles were being autocratic.

No one argued when the disciples insisted that others should deal with this issue in order for them to keep to their priorities ("the word of God").

No one enlarged the spiritual qualifications to include their pet peeves about deacons.

The congregation followed the lead of the pastors, the pastors held to their priorities, the congregation chose seven godly men, and the matter was dealt with beautifully.

Amazing, ain't it?

And the statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. (Acts 6:5-6)

No one seemed to mind that all seven of the men were men.

No one seemed to mind that all seven of the names are Greek, indicating that the congregation chose these men from the minority group that had caused the ruckus in the first place. An incredibly mature act.

No one protested that after selecting them, the congregation then brought them to the disciples (the apostles) for their approval. The disciples prayed for guidance from the Lord, apparently received it, then "laid hands on them," the equivalent of ordaining them.

No one seemed to protest.

What a strange church. A problem arises and they meet it head on. There is no protesting, no rebelling against spiritual leadership, no insistence on "my rights," no need to alter the recommendation, and no delay. There is unity, love, and submission.

No wonder outsiders wanted in on this.

And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7)

Question: How long has it been since your church solved an internal problem with such swiftness and sweetness that outsiders were impressed and wanted to join?

Reforming the Deacons (Part 4): 50 Acts of Service

What should deacons do?

If Acts 6:1-7 is to be our example and guide, the work of deacons may be defined as: whatever the congregation decides it needs, as prompted by the leadership, as chosen by the congregation, as solves the situation, and as will enhance the proclamation of the gospel.

We would appreciate a few more examples from Scripture as to what deacons did in the early church. Not having them, we are left to follow the few principles found there and the leading of the Holy Spirit as we perceive it.

Before sharing our list of 50 acts of deacon service, let us make these five observations concerning their work:

1. There is no definitive list anywhere giving the responsibilities of deacons.

5. The work of deacons will vary from church to church, and from year to year. But, as in Acts 6:7, their service should always reflect so positively on the Lord Jesus Christ that outsiders will want to join such a wonderful fellowship.

Reforming the Deacons: (Part 3) Interpret the Qualifications Spiritually

The qualifications for deacons, given only in I Timothy 3, have been used, abused, and misused by church people over the years to further their own vision on what the church should be.

I suggest we quit working by the letter of the law here and start paying closer attention to the spirit.

Uh oh.

The danger in leaving behind the letter of the law in favor of the spirit is that strict constructionists, who love their legalistic interpretations and are only too glad to exclude anyone who thinks otherwise, will accuse you of not taking the Word of God seriously.

I know this from experience. I'll go online and see where some article from this website has been ripped to shreds by a preacher who accuses me either of not knowing the Word or caring little for it. I try to respond kindly--wondering, for example, why he did not care to communicate this to me before displaying it on his billboard--but almost never get a response. This kind of preacher loves his tirades more than his brethren, thus violating John 13:34-35.

Here is a guide we rarely hear mentioned today: "(He) has made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (II Corinthians 3:6)

The letter kills. That's what legalism does when it comes to interpret the Word. Putting their strict interpretation ahead of the believers involved or the particular circumstances the church finds itself facing, legalists end up misrepresenting the Lord, abandoning the people who were looking to them for direction, and painting themselves into the kind of corner from which there is no escape.

The Spirit gives life. This refers both to the Holy Spirit as well as to a spiritual interpretation of His Word. Only through God's Spirit can we find the (proper) spiritual interpretation of Scripture.

We can see Jesus spiritually interpreting the Word throughout the Gospels. To the woman caught in adultery (John 8), to the harsh Pharisees who strained at gnats and swallowed camels (Matthew 23:24), and to the critics who accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath law (Matthew 12:2), Jesus interpreted the Word spiritually and not legalistically.

Jesus spiritually interpreted the Old Testament (the only Bible they had then) when He told the resurrection-denying Pharisees that they had missed something in Scripture. "Regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' Well, He is not the God of dead people but of the living." (Matthew 22:31-32) Pow! Take that.

He interpreted the Scripture spiritually when He said to those making Sabbath-observance the essence of obedience, "Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man."

Examples abound.

It will not surprise you to know the so-called "defenders of God's Word" were furious at Jesus. They had their pet interpretations of Scripture and He refused to play that game. God's Word is not and was never meant to strait-jacket His people.

Regarding I Timothy 3:8-13, where Paul lists qualifications for deacons, the church has frequently painted itself into some dark corners by its insistence on harsh, narrow interpretations. Turning the text into shackles, it has bound itself hand and foot.

In no way do we intend what follows as the final word on anything. Longtime readers of these articles will know that I simply hope to get good people to discussing the subject and misguided people to giving a second look at what they have been doing.

Reforming the Deacons: (Part II) "How to Help a Pastor Get Better"

Here's what happens.

A few deacons fellowshiping over coffee deal with various subjects about the church. Eventually, someone brings up the preacher and that ignites the interest of the rest of the group. One or two have some concerns and suggestions.

"The pastor is so effective, but he could be moreso if he would just do this."

"I agree. And the thing my wife mentioned, he should be doing that."

"Well, who's going to tell him? And how would he take it?"

From there, the group decides on a plan. After all, how could the pastor not receive this well? Aren't we all in his corner? Haven't we shown him how much we appreciate him? And hasn't he been preaching about how we are to grow and improve? Surely, he'll want us to bring these suggestions to him.

What the deacons either do not know or do not care to know is that Pastor Tom carries scars from his dealings with a rogue deacon group in his previous church. And even though he loves his present flock and sees God blessing his ministry, something inside him expects another bomb to go off, for some little group to show up at his door demanding that their wishes be met if he wants to remain in that church.

This is a delicate moment in the relationship of Pastor Tom and this assemblage of deacons. The problems are twofold: the pastor does not see it coming and thus is not prepared, and the deacons have no idea what they are about to stir up.

It does not go well, and here's why.

Let's Reform the Deacon Body

The most confused group of people in the average Southern Baptist church is the deacons.

They have no idea what they are to be and do. Depending on the whims of the deacon chairman for that year, they become servants or managers, program heads or administrators. Helpers or bosses. Activists or inactive.

The church's constitution and bylaws are usually vague on who they are, what they are to do, how they should function.

And, let us admit up front, Scripture does not give us a lot of guidance on this matter either. At every deacon ordination I've ever attended--and in a half century of ministry, that's quite a few--Acts 6:1-7 has been read. But there's not a word in that passage about those seven men being called deacons.

In fact, let's quit calling them deacons and start calling them what the name means: servants.