Why We Have Deacons, Not Elders (For Now)

TLDR: We need biblical leadership to be independent. KM wants us to call our leaders deacons. Biblically I believe it should be elders (1 Ti 3). But for the sake of submitting to their authority (Heb 13:17), we will refer to it as deacons from here on out. But all of our training will be for the office of elder.

A big step for our congregation to become an independent church is to have our own Biblical leadership. But in order for us to do that we should follow the Biblical guidelines for church polity, or how the church is governed.

The New Testament recognizes two offices for the Church: Elder and Deacon.

Elders in the New Testament

1. What are other titles for “elder?”

• The term elder is used interchangeably with the other terms of pastor, overseer, and bishop.
• We see this in Acts 20:17 where Paul writes “Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.” Then just a few verses later he says in v.28 “ Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. This is one instance of Paul using the words fluidly.

In addition to being led by elders, it is also clear that there should be ideally a group of elders leading the church as opposed to one pastor.

Wayne Grudem writes, there is a “consistent pattern of plural elders as the main governing group in New Testament churches.”

• Acts 14:23 And when they had appointed elders…
• Acts 20:17 …and called to him the elders of the church…
• Titus 1:5 …and appoint elders in every town as I directed you”

2. What are the responsibilities of elders?

The main responsibilities of elders can be summarized by the 3 D’s: Direction, Doctrine, and Discipline.

• 1 Tim 5:17- Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
• Elders are called to “rule” well over the church. They meant to be a decision-making authority. They are helping guide the direction of the church. 1 Pe 5 further clarifies that this is not meant to be done in an overbearing way but rather thru shepherding the flock and being an example for them to follow.
• Elders were also called to labor in preaching and teaching. All the elders should be able to teach God’s Word to some capacity. This means that they are also helping to guard the doctrine of the church. Making sure no false gospels or theologies are threatening the congregation who may not be able to discern the false teaching.
• Finally Matt 18, outlines a process of church discipline for unrepentant sinners. The final stage is “telling it to the church” which would mean the elders of a congregation. The elders would have the final say in determining if a member should be excommunicated for the purpose of repentance and restoration of their wayward brother or sister.

3. What qualifications should we seek in choosing elders?

• The main texts for qualifications of elders comes from 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1. in these texts almost every qualification is regarding godly character rather than competency. The only competency or skill mentioned is “able to teach.” How far we have drifted from the NT when we choose elders based upon their marketplace competencies (high-level jobs and businesses) but not weighing their character more heavily. Probably the most important godly character trait to look for is humility. Francis Chan once asked an Indian pastor how he organized a movement that saw over 3 million saved and discipled. The pastor laughed saying that Americans always want to know about “strategy.” He then explained that all he does is look for the most humble men he knows, that also really love Jesus.
• An elder should be “above reproach,” in other words they should have such exemplary character that they are above even accusation of sin. This does not come quickly. It can not be micro-waved, but must be slow-cooked over years of walking with the Lord and His Word.
• What about “husband of one wife” requirement? Some take this to mean that an elder must be married to qualify. Others say one who was divorced and remarried can not qualify since they would have had 2 wives. However, both of these are incorrect interpretations. The context is referring to polygamy, which was common among Jewish people in those times. Therefore the text should be read along the lines of he must be the husband of no MORE than one wife. The main prohibition was against polygamy. Even logically we know this is true because if single men were barred from being elders that would exclude the apostle Paul who was writing the command and another person named Jesus. I guess Jesus could be the head of the church but could not be an elder! Furthermore, what about the man who was married to one wife at the time he became and elder but then his wife passes away. Does he no longer qualify because he is now single again? The text could not be speaking of only married men allowed to be elders.

Deacons in the New Testament

1. What is the meaning of the term “deacon?”

• The word deacon in greek “diakonos” means servant or waiter. Its origin comes from Acts 6 where the gentile Christians were complaining that their widows were being neglected in the daily food distribution. The apostles responded by delegating this task to 7 godly men to care for their needs, so they as apostles could devote themselves to prayer and the Word.

2. What are the responsibilities of deacons?

• The main difference between elders and deacons responsibilities is that elders care for spiritual needs, deacons care for physical needs. In Acts 6, deacons were caring for the widows food distribution. 1 Ti 3:8 says that they should not be “greedy for dishonest gain.” This suggests that they had some responsibilities over the finances of the church. V.12 requires they manage their household well which suggests other administrative responsibilities as well.

3. What qualifications should we seek in deacons?

• Once again, the qualifications for deacons focus predominantly upon godly character more than worldly competency. Acts 6 tells us to look for men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom. 1 Ti 3 talks of godly character that has been “tested” to prove true over time.

When we put the elders, deacons and congregation together, the ideal biblical model should look like this:

Plurality of elders governing over the deacons and congregation.

Now that would be in an ideal world, but the reality is that most Baptist churches have strayed from this polity to something more like this:

Plurality of deacons and a single pastor governing over the congregation.

This plurality of deacons model is the current structure for our KM congregation as well. I talked to the head of the deacons and even our senior pastor about elders and deacons. Both of them told me on separate occasions “Baptist have deacons, Presbyterians have elders.” In other words, they do the same thing but have different titles for different denominations, it’s just semantics.

That is our dilemma. I believe that the Biblical model is elder-led, but the traditional KM model is deacon-led. I do not think it would be wise or appropriate to come out guns blazing “Hey, you idiots! Don’t you know you’ve got it all confused!” That would be in violation of respecting and submitting to their authority (Heb 13:17). It would also be a grievous mistake culturally for someone way younger to try to correct the elderly generation in this way. This is not a hill to die on, so I think it best we submit to their system until we are independent.

Some have asked why even mention elders in the first place? This would lead to confusion and could just say deacons throughout the process. I felt the need to clarify this thought process because all our training will be for elders. It’s mainly for the deacon candidates to know so that they understand why all their training materials refers to elders. And I believe our congregation is intelligent enough to understand and follow the nuance if explained adequately.

So to summarize in short, as the next step in becoming independent we are nominating deacons via KM’s wish. However, the Bible teaches that elders should govern the church. Thus for the time being, until we become independent, we will refer to this whole process as “deacon nomination” but our training will be for the position of elder.