Officer Recommendations

 Each year we ask the church to recommend elders and deacons for us to consider and pursue as future officers. Christ provides abundant information on what kind of character these leaders must have and how to identify someone who is gifted to do the work. In order to understand what is expected of the elders and deacons, we will first consider the work of the whole church and then the different offices of deacon and elder.  

The church’s mission is to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ. The healthy church seeks to worship Jesus by holding fast to his Word and love him by obeying his commandments. This is the work of the whole church together, but the leaders we appoint have a significant responsibility to keep us faithful to this task, order our church around this task, and equip all the saints for this task. Since the whole work of the church is making disciples, the most important qualities we are looking for in our leaders is that they are first faithful disciples. 

Paul’s charge to Titus shows the importance of elders. The elders’ qualifications highlight how they are important for the order God’s people need. They need to be faithful in their homes first to demonstrate they are able to lead others. They must demonstrate 6 virtuous characteristics and cannot have evidence of 5 vices (Tit 1:7-8). It is important that each of these lists demonstrate the trajectory of the elder is one who avoids evil and is increasing in godliness. 

Members must see that all of the expectations listed for the elders are also expected of every disciple of Jesus Christ. However, what is unique for the elders is that they must already show a clear pattern of consistent mature godliness so that they are “above reproach.” This last phrase is repeated three times and means that when you describe an elder you should not have a significant “but” when it comes to these qualities. This does not mean they are sinless, but it also means there is no obvious immaturity or ungodliness in their behavior.

Elders are God’s stewards who live according to God’s order so that they can help put God’s church in proper order according to sound doctrine.The church must be able to hear God’s Word and see this in the lives of its elders. This is a noble task that we pray more of our men desire to pursue and see as worthy of their time, commitment, and energy. 

Paul describes what an elder does in 1:9, “he must hold firm to the trustworthy word so he can instruct and rebuke.” The primary command is to hold firm to God’s Word as he has been taught. Elders must be teachable from God’s Word. Again, this should be the description of every believer, so the key qualification for the elder is that he must hold firm to God’s Word so he leads the church to do the same. When a pastor is embarrassed by God’s Word, questions God’s Word, or backs away from the clarity of God’s Word, he can cause dangerous doubt to spread among the whole church. This brings disorder that hinders discipleship. The elders lead with the conviction that God’s Word is trustworthy and good for all the church needs for instruction and is clear so that those who are opposed to it are rebuked.

As we consider deacons, the first thing we should observe is that their qualifications are clear in I Timothy 3. The qualifications for Deacons are the same expectations for all believers because we are all called to be growing up to be more like Christ. The significant difference for them is that they must possess these, which means they have grown and matured in the Lord over time. 

Deacons do not have a clear job description in Scripture, which I believe is helpful so churches can task them as needed. The best job description is found in Acts 6. Here, the apostles hear of a problem that was causing disruption and disunity in the church as some of the widows were not being treated fairly. As a result, they appoint  a group of men to serve the tables so that the apostles would not be burdened in their work of ministering the Word and prayer. These were really proto-deacons, but the division of labor set the pattern for how the two offices are understood. The deacons serve the church in ways to promote unity and avoid distraction from the Word and prayer among the elders. Deacons are responsible for what can be seen as the physical or maintenance aspects of the church, but it is still important spiritual work. For instance, deacons prepare our facility to ensure worship is facilitated without distraction. They provide steadiness in the church body that is essential for our unity and growth in word and prayer.

The deacon is a spiritual position that has significant gospel responsibility. We see this in the qualification that the deacon must “hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (I Tim 3:9) and that the deacon who serves well is given a promise that he “gains a good standing for himself and confidence in the faith” (I Tim 3:13).  Most importantly, after walking through the qualifications for both elders and deacons, Paul says he has written so that all “may know how to behave in the household of God, which is the pillar and buttress of truth” (I Tim 3:15). One of the reasons the character of the deacons is so important is that they are supposed to be models of discipleship for the whole church, whose primary work is making disciples. They help maintain stability in the church by being faithful in their own obedience. The church must have godly leaders in order to stand firm as a pillar and buttress of God’s truth.  

When recommending someone to be an elder or deacon, you are looking at their life and how they are faithful disciples who are also making disciples. These leaders will set the pace for the church because they decide what issues come before the church and how the Word is handled for the church. When considering a deacon, you want their lives to model godliness and see them serving faithfully in the church. When considering an elder, you want to know their lives are ordered by God and you should hear how their teaching leads you to trust God’s Word more. You are asking “what men are helping parts of the church grow up more in Christ and should start helping the whole church grow in discipleship and service.” You are asking “what men would you joyfully obey and submit to because you see they are living in the fear of the Lord and walking in the ways of Christ.” 

We are thankful to be nominating for your three men who, Lord willing, will be affirmed by you at our February meeting. We have nominated James Dean to serve as an elder. James has been a faithful member and has shown consistent godly character. His teaching has demonstrated a reverence for God, and trust in his Word, and love for the church. We have nominated Patrick Baldwin and Crawford Ulmer to serve as deacons. Both these men have proven to be faithful disciples who serve regularly. They have been especially helpful over the last couple of years as the elders and deacons asked them to help with budget, finance, and human resource issues. If you have any questions about them, please contact an elder or ask them directly. If you have lingering questions or a reason to be opposed to their serving in these roles, you should speak to an elder before the next members meeting.