Deacons

[ptwild]

Yesterday I received an invitation in the mail. It appears that a person that formally attended our church is being ordained as a deacon at the local Baptist church. He and his wife went through a divorce a few years ago and since then he had been denied communion and prohibited from remarrying. About a year ago he met another woman and, wanting to marry her, left the Episcopal Church and started going to the Baptist church. They have since married. Now, after only going to the Baptist church for a short time, he is being ordained as a deacon.

My question is: What are the requirements to be a deacon in the Baptist church? This man has no formal theological training and had never so much as taught a Sunday school class at our church. I just found it strange that they would bestow such an important and honorable obligation on a person who is not only divorced and remarried, but has only been attending the church for a short time. I should add that this person is a good and godly man.

[1Timothy115]

I can't be one...my house is not in order.

[Pastorj]

Based on the divorce and remarriage, he is not qualified in most Baptist churches. Some churches do not hold to the Biblical qualifications of a Deacon.

[John81]

The qualifications for deacon are listed in First Timothy 3:8-12.

[ptwild]

Based on the divorce and remarriage' date=' he is not qualified in most Baptist churches. Some churches do not hold to the Biblical qualifications of a Deacon.[/quote']

That's what I was thinking.

[HappyChristian]

Right - the Bible gives basically the same qualifications for deacon as pastor. And he's disqualified due to his divorce alone. As far as theological training, alhthough that would be good, it isn't necessary other than for the man to be a student of the Word. Sadly many churches ignore the qualifications laid out in scripture.

[tired]

Many churches around my way just think the deacons are there to fire the pastor. I am very glad the deacons at my church are good men.

[trc123]

Outside of the divorced and remarried issue; a person would not need to have institutional theological training to qualify, that wouldn't even be a consideration. The person's testimony, faithfulness to that local church, maturity and Biblical qualifications would be the only considerations; not how much college they had.

[Anon]

Many churches around my way just think the deacons are there to fire the pastor. I am very glad the deacons at my church are good men.

Haha, too sadly true!

In the Bible, they only got deacons when the membership was too large for the apostles to handle it on their own.

[Revelation3:20]

Haha, too sadly true!

In the Bible, they only got deacons when the membership was too large for the apostles to handle it on their own.

True, but after they got deacons in the first place according to [bible]Acts 14:23[/bible] they ordained "elders"(covering both pastors and deacons) in every church. :smile

[Anon]

True, but after they got deacons in the first place according to [bible]Acts 14:23[/bible] they ordained "elders"(covering both pastors and deacons) in every church. :smile

Deacons are not ordained...rather, chosen by each church individually.

[ptwild]

Deacons are not ordained...rather, chosen by each church individually.

I thought Paul sent deacons to the several churches to serve as servants to the priest, elders and pastors. I always thought their main purpose was to mainly care for the spiritual needs of the poor, imprisoned and the sick; anyone that couldn't, for whatever reason, be in church every Sunday under the guidance of the priest.

[Revelation3:20]

Deacons are not ordained...rather, chosen by each church individually.

While I agree that deacons are chosen by the churches today, so are pastors. However both must be called of God as well. Then the apostles(according to the will of God) chose them both with the help of the people, but there are no apostles today. Deacons are ordained as much as pastors are.

Acts 6:1-6 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

What was the purpose of laying on hands? Was that not for ordination? After all the meaning of "ordained" in [bible]Acts 14:23[/bible] is said to be this:

ceirotonevw cheirotoneo, khi-rot-on-eh'-o; from a comparative of 5495 and teino (to stretch); to be a hand-reacher or voter (by raising the hand), i.e. (generally) to select or appoint:--choose, ordain.



And also paul wrote this to timothy who was a pastor:

1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
1 Timothy 5:22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.
2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

[heartstrings]

<< Acts 14 >>
23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

This is off the subject but, the English word, "ordained", at the time the King James Bible was written, also meant "set", "fixed", "ordered", "to prepare", "to prepare oneself", "to make ready" etc. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/m/mec/med ... d=MED30818 In the case of [bible]Acts 14:23[/bible], it states WHO did the "setting". But in at least one Bible passage, in which the word is translated from the Greek word "Tasso", it does not mention who did the "setting"; only that they were in a state of being "ordained". [bible]Acts 13:48[/bible] In another passage, the word "tasso" is also translated "addicted". ....and they clearly "tasso'ed" themselves. [bible]1 Corinthians 16:15[/bible]

As an example;;
The Pharaoh "Cheops" went to great lengths to have the Great Pyramid built and spared no expense to have his mummy prepared for the afterlife. This man's heart was "set" on it, he was "addicted"...."ordained" to eternal life: He very much wanted to live forever and was fully expecting that. I can't help but think that Cheops would have gotten saved if he had been among those present there in Acts 13:48. It would also seem plausible that folks like the highjackers on 9-11 would have been saved in Acts 13:48 because they too had their hearts "set" on getting eternal life. These all were "addicted" to eternal life. On the other hand, if folks like suicide bombers believed like many folk do; that the grave is the end, they would NOT be blowing themselves up.

Now, back on subject, a Deacon or an Elder is normally "set", "fixed", "ordained" by someone else, and the Bible says so.

[JerryNumbers]

I know of one church who had a preacher ordained to be their pastor who had been divorced and remarried.

I know of no church that has ordained a divorced man who has remarried to be a deacon, all the Baptist Churches I know of would not do such a thing. But sad to say many churches are being led by people who don't know and the do what is right in their own sight.

By the qualifications given in the Bible for a pastor and or deacon a divorce man can not hold the office.

And of course both pastors and deacons should be ordained, they be the only 2 offices in a New Testament Church.

But that said, there be churches who do not do things the Bible way, sad to say, even Baptist Churches.