The following comments are for chapter 13 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God, concerning the qualifications of deacons and a few related topics.
Deacons are servants, helpers in the church, who look after certain aspects of church life. The task can be anything from helping those in need to just making sure everything gets done that the church needs to have done. A deacon can be treasurer, but a treasurer does not have to be a deacon. A deacon can be a teacher or education coordinator, but that duty also does not have to be done by a deacon.
Facetiously, someone told me once that a deacon is defined by the duty of mowing the lawn of the church building. Then, as now, my hope is that the office of deacon would not be defined or contained by one duty, and yet it truly is the day-to-day and week-to-week practical things that characterize the responsibility of a deacon.
Baxter says deacons are often men who are younger and perhaps more physically able than elders, but in practice, it seems to me that is all relative. The reason he mentions younger men is that some qualifications for a deacon seem to indicate that his family might not have progressed to the point where his children are members of the church.
In Acts 6 certain men were appointed to take care of the Grecian widows, so that they would not be neglected in the distribution of food to the needy. That way, the apostles would have more time for spiritual matters. Commentaries through the years have debated about whether these appointed men were simply that and nothing more, were actually elders, or were in fact the first deacons in the early church. One writer makes the interesting point that if the men appointed in Acts 6 are not deacons, then we have no place in the Bible to find what deacons are supposed to do.
The qualifications for deacons in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 are not as numerous or varied among different translations as are those for elders. The most interesting one by far is where, in the middle of the list, it addresses characteristics of women. Is there a precedent for deaconesses? Using the King James Version in his commentary, David Lipscomb does not come right out and say that he thinks this mention of women refers to the wives of deacons. Most translations and commentaries today do make that statement. One good reason is that, farther in the list, Paul writes that a deacon must be the husband of one wife. That might still leave room for argument about a deaconess, but it seems certain that women deacons were not described by the inspired writer.
Romans 16:1 says that Phoebe is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, using the same word as for deacon, but if you find a reliable scholar willing to use the term deacon to describe her, that writer is not likely to say that her status is that of a deacon as described in 1 Timothy 3. She is a servant, surely, and a church member who takes seriously her role in the ministry of the church.
We will again look at the variant translations for the qualifications, and we will discuss how both deacons and elders can be appointed in a congregation. While most translations say that elders should not be "given to, indulging in, fond of, or addicted to drinking wine, the qualifications for deacons undoubtedly say the same thing, except that the phrase is "much wine." With all we know about the use of wine in Bible times, do we really think today that deacons may drink, but elders should not? This bears closer examination, and Baxter gives a list of the most compelling reasons why any Christian, including those who would be deacons and elders, cannot justify drinking. To me, the church is a place where people find refuge from things like drinking, and the more you think about it, the more you realize that a life of faith and an intoxicating habit just do not go together. We will talk more about it in class, and it promises to be an interesting discussion.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Qualifications of Elders
The following comments apply to Chapter 12 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. This chapter discusses the qualifications of elders. If you have read the class book or were in our class last week, you remember from chapter 11 that elder, overseer, bishop, presbyter, pastor, and shepherd are used interchangeably in the New Testament for the same designation for the leaders of a local congregation.
Autonomous congregations work side by side, yet independently, with other congregations worldwide for the cause of the Lord. In each one, elders are to rule, deacons are to serve, evangelists are to preach, and teachers are to teach. It has been just this way since the apostles passed away, and so it remains today.
Baxter says we should think about the quality of leadership represented by the elders in a congregation--their knowledge of the Bible, their vision, their zeal and dedication. The role of elder is a great responsibility, and it is also a great honor, one that Baxter calls the greatest honor the church can bestow on a man.
The qualifications are found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-4, and elders are mentioned in a number of other places regarding their roles, relationships, and duties. Not all groups who would be churches today teach heavily on these passages, probably because their concept of what these leaders are is not clear. They omit this teaching at their own peril, because elders are a major part of God's plan for sustaining the church. The qualifications can be placed in three groups: positive, negative, and special.
I gathered several translations for this lesson and wrote down the phrasing of each qualification in as many different ways as I could find. This should prove to be an interesting comparison, shedding more and more light on what is expected of elders.
Baxter says that the full import of the special qualifications is only for elders, but all the others are qualities that all Christians should have. Still, it is reasonable to expect that elders would exhibit these qualities more strongly than many other Christians.
Elders have general oversight of a LOCAL congregation. They should be bulwarks against false teaching. They have oversight in material things involving the congregation. They should constantly serve as examples to other Christians. They exercise full authority, but often they do so by leading and example. Christians, in turn, should respect the elders.
Spending time looking at the qualifications and expectations God has for elders, it seems like a wonderful arrangement. We should give a lot of thought to whether we are willing and able to make it work.
Autonomous congregations work side by side, yet independently, with other congregations worldwide for the cause of the Lord. In each one, elders are to rule, deacons are to serve, evangelists are to preach, and teachers are to teach. It has been just this way since the apostles passed away, and so it remains today.
Baxter says we should think about the quality of leadership represented by the elders in a congregation--their knowledge of the Bible, their vision, their zeal and dedication. The role of elder is a great responsibility, and it is also a great honor, one that Baxter calls the greatest honor the church can bestow on a man.
The qualifications are found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-4, and elders are mentioned in a number of other places regarding their roles, relationships, and duties. Not all groups who would be churches today teach heavily on these passages, probably because their concept of what these leaders are is not clear. They omit this teaching at their own peril, because elders are a major part of God's plan for sustaining the church. The qualifications can be placed in three groups: positive, negative, and special.
I gathered several translations for this lesson and wrote down the phrasing of each qualification in as many different ways as I could find. This should prove to be an interesting comparison, shedding more and more light on what is expected of elders.
Baxter says that the full import of the special qualifications is only for elders, but all the others are qualities that all Christians should have. Still, it is reasonable to expect that elders would exhibit these qualities more strongly than many other Christians.
Elders have general oversight of a LOCAL congregation. They should be bulwarks against false teaching. They have oversight in material things involving the congregation. They should constantly serve as examples to other Christians. They exercise full authority, but often they do so by leading and example. Christians, in turn, should respect the elders.
Spending time looking at the qualifications and expectations God has for elders, it seems like a wonderful arrangement. We should give a lot of thought to whether we are willing and able to make it work.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The Government of the Church
The following comments apply to chapter 11 of Batsell Barrett Baxter's book, The Family of God. The chapter discusses how the church is governed.
This lesson revolves around the points that Christ is the head of the church, He rules through His inspired word in the Bible, local leaders alternately called elders, bishops, presbyters, overseers, or pastors operate under the guidance of Christ, and under their leadership deacons, evangelists, teachers (and other members) serve their functions.
Baxter starts by showing the distinction between the church worldwide and the local congregation. Both are at times referred to as "the church," but there are important differences made in scripture.
Every saved person is a member of the church worldwide, which can also be called the church universal. We are members throughout all time and throughout the whole world. It might be hard for us to understand this, but the church worldwide has no single headquarters, no "permanent worldwide organization" to administer all the local churches. Baxter comments that the only influence exerted is through teaching, not any worldwide machine to activate the church.
Whose idea was that? Remember, we study the Bible to discover how the church is governed. When we survey the New Testament, we find no central government, only an established pattern of leadership in each congregation. We will look at several verses that demonstrate this fact.
So, who is steering the whole thing? That is a legitimate question, and the answer is that Christ and His word are the final authority for the church. With no separate set of rules or separate ruler between Christ and the church, we have our only real opportunity to be what the church, and we as members, should be.
The Bible shows us that the local church does have a form of government. Each congregation is autonomous and exists side by side with other congregations, but independent of them. Some people cannot understand that, because they like big organizations that are controlled by a hierarchy from the top. Yet, the Bible sets forth autonomous congregations. It gives local leaders a great responsibility, but that is the way God planned it.
The beauty of this plan can be seen in the defense of the church against corruption. A centralized organization can be corrupted worldwide by central decision makers. We can point to some shifting doctrines in denominations that show this effect. With autonomous congregations, in the undesirable event that one is corrupted, others need not be.
Baxter points out that if this organization or form of government for the church had been respected through the centuries, a big, huge problem with division in the religious world would have been prevented, and millions more people would have found a way to be saved. You might have started reading this lesson wondering just how important the topic is. In light of these possibilities, it is hard to imagine how it could be any more important than it is.
This lesson revolves around the points that Christ is the head of the church, He rules through His inspired word in the Bible, local leaders alternately called elders, bishops, presbyters, overseers, or pastors operate under the guidance of Christ, and under their leadership deacons, evangelists, teachers (and other members) serve their functions.
Baxter starts by showing the distinction between the church worldwide and the local congregation. Both are at times referred to as "the church," but there are important differences made in scripture.
Every saved person is a member of the church worldwide, which can also be called the church universal. We are members throughout all time and throughout the whole world. It might be hard for us to understand this, but the church worldwide has no single headquarters, no "permanent worldwide organization" to administer all the local churches. Baxter comments that the only influence exerted is through teaching, not any worldwide machine to activate the church.
Whose idea was that? Remember, we study the Bible to discover how the church is governed. When we survey the New Testament, we find no central government, only an established pattern of leadership in each congregation. We will look at several verses that demonstrate this fact.
So, who is steering the whole thing? That is a legitimate question, and the answer is that Christ and His word are the final authority for the church. With no separate set of rules or separate ruler between Christ and the church, we have our only real opportunity to be what the church, and we as members, should be.
The Bible shows us that the local church does have a form of government. Each congregation is autonomous and exists side by side with other congregations, but independent of them. Some people cannot understand that, because they like big organizations that are controlled by a hierarchy from the top. Yet, the Bible sets forth autonomous congregations. It gives local leaders a great responsibility, but that is the way God planned it.
The beauty of this plan can be seen in the defense of the church against corruption. A centralized organization can be corrupted worldwide by central decision makers. We can point to some shifting doctrines in denominations that show this effect. With autonomous congregations, in the undesirable event that one is corrupted, others need not be.
Baxter points out that if this organization or form of government for the church had been respected through the centuries, a big, huge problem with division in the religious world would have been prevented, and millions more people would have found a way to be saved. You might have started reading this lesson wondering just how important the topic is. In light of these possibilities, it is hard to imagine how it could be any more important than it is.
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