Deacons - Playing For the Lord’s Team!

Herman Edwards is the colorful and witty head coach of the Arizona State University Sun Devils football team (since December, 2017). Edwards played cornerback for ten seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and also served stints as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and also the New York Jets along the way. While coaching for the Chiefs, Edwards was asked for his thoughts on teamwork in an interview. In response, he said, "The players that play on this football team will play for the name on the side of the helmet and not the name on the back of the jersey" (source Houston Chronicle, 1/6/2010). Edwards reminds me of the statement, "There’s no ‘I’ in ‘TEAM.’ " Successful football teams are the ones where all team members work together for the good of the team.

That same principle is vitally important in the church. There is no "I" in "TEAM," and there is no "I" in "CHURCH." Christians must all work together to the glory of God and the salvation of souls. The apostle Paul describes a special group of "team players" in the church in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. They are the deacons. Take time to read that list and at least three things become clear. First, these men specialize in serving. Verse 10 directs the church to "let them serve as deacons" once they have been "tested" and "found blameless," and verse 13 declares, "For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus" (is Paul hinting some may wear the name but not really play for the Lord’s team?). Deacons serve. Second, deacons are men of high moral and spiritual character. Included in (but not limited to) the list of their qualifications are that they "must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience ... husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well" (verses 8, 9, 12). Deacons must be men whose lives reflect a deep commitment to Christ-like character and moral integrity. A story tells about a little boy who walked down the beach. As he did, he spied an older gentleman sitting under an umbrella on the sand. The boy walked up to the man and asked, "Are you a Christian?" He said, "Yes." The boy then asked, "Do you read your Bible every day?" Again the man said, "Yes." The boy followed up with, "Do you pray often?" For the third time old gentleman answered, "Yes." With that the boy asked one final question, "Will you hold my quarter while I go swimming?" Deacons are men who can be trusted by God, their wives, their children, and the church! The third thing we learn from the 1 Timothy passage is that God wants the church to respect and encourage men in the church who serve as deacons. Verse 13 says they "obtain a good standing" (the New American Standard Bible says "high standing") and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." Who wouldn’t want to be in high standing with God (and the church)?! Faithful deacons enjoy such a standing. Not by barking out orders or being a deacon in name only, but by being team players and serving well. Faithful deacons love and honor God and serve people. They are vital for the health of the church. God esteems them. Let us do the same.

  – Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN