Acts 6:4 (KJV)
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
Over the years of ministry, I’ve dealt extensively with the tension that often exists between pastors and deacons. I believe this tension primarily arises because many of us—even in Baptist churches—have been so thoroughly influenced by Protestantism that, without realizing it, we bring poor church polity into our congregations.
Early in my ministry, I was warned not to appoint deacons too quickly when planting a church.
One pastor I knew even gave me a booklet he had written on how to protect the church from deacons.
It detailed specific qualifications, interview techniques before appointing them, checks and balances during their terms in office, and strategies for their removal if necessary.
A senior pastor in the Pacific Northwest once told me, “You don’t need deacons until your church runs 50,000 people like the one in Acts.”
Another simply said, “I don’t do deacons.”
Years ago, a family joined our church from a Conservative Baptist congregation.
The husband had been a deacon but had grown disillusioned with the church’s liberal direction. He explained that their church polity positioned deacons as a kind of job steward, representing the concerns of the members before the pastor—almost as if they were management versus labor.
The solution in many churches has been, in my view, non-Baptistic: appointing trustees or a leadership team instead.
To each his own on this subject. However, regardless of how a church structures leadership, the goal should always be to free the pastor so that he may “give himself to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word.”
- Not organizing functions.
- Not running programs.
- Not handling maintenance.
- Not being burdened with administration.
The pastor is not the church groundskeeper. He is not the maintenance man. He is not the curator of the church’s history.
The pastor’s calling is to pray and preach the Word of God.
Preacher—do your duty!
Church—let him be free to do it!
#PastoralCalling #BiblicalChurchPolity #PrayerAndTheWord #FreeThePreacher #Acts64
Set the Pastor Free: The Biblical Role of a Preacher
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