CHRISTIAN
LEADERSHIP
1 Timothy 3:8-13
A few weeks ago the Executive Committee of the D.C. Baptist Convention
made a very difficult decision. Acting on recommendations from
the Finance Committee and Personnel Committee, the Executive Committee
voted to restructure the Convention staff by de-funding positions
currently held by three staff members. It meant that those three
staff members would be out of a job at the end of the year. Last
Monday night the Executive Board of the D.C. Baptist Convention took up
the matter. It was a very emotional meeting. A number of
people stood up to plead against the restructuring. In effect
they said that we must not let these valuable staff members go.
For almost an hour they spoke with great fervor about the importance of
these staff members. Some of the speakers were pastors, and you
know how emotional some preachers can be. The fact that the three
staff members whose jobs were jeopardy were sitting there in the
meeting only added to the tension. Finally a vote was taken, by a
show of hands. No one voted to approve the restructuring
proposal, despite the fact that the Finance Committee and Personnel
Committee and Executive Committee had recommended it. It would
have seemed cruel and heartless with those staff members sitting there
to vote to eliminate their jobs. So, for the time being, their
jobs are saved. But it’s only a matter of time before some staff
reductions must take place. Ever since the North American Mission
Board of the Southern Baptist Convention de-funded the D.C. Baptist
Convention, the D.C. Convention has been spending more money than it
has been receiving. Unless the churches of the D.C. Baptist
Convention dramatically increase their giving, sooner or later some
staff positions will have to be eliminated.
Dr. Jeffrey Haggray, the Executive Director/Minister of the D.C.
Baptist Convention has been a model of “grace under fire” through all
of this. Dr. Haggray, who spoke in our church last year, is the
first African-American leader of a state convention related to the
Southern Baptist Convention. Shortly after he became Executive
Director/Minister, the Southern Baptist Convention North American
Mission Board issued the D.C. Convention an ultimatum—either accept our
oversight or lose our funding. No other state convention has been
given such conditions. By refusing the ultimatum, the D.C.
Convention suffered the loss of almost half a million dollars.
That’s what precipitated the current financial crisis. Through it
all Dr. Haggray has remained calm and gracious. Even during the
heated exchanges last Monday night, Dr. Haggray remained an island of
tranquility in a tumultuous sea. Probably he was churning on the
inside, but he was courteous and measured and reasonable in all his
responses. At the end of the meeting Dr. Haggray said, “I
supported the restructuring recommendation that was presented to the
Executive Board, and I support the Executive Board’s decision to reject
the proposal.” The issue is far from settled. The D.C.
Baptist Convention still faces a financial crisis. Some tough
decisions regarding staffing will have to be made somewhere down the
line. But I am grateful that we have a Christian leader like
Jeffrey Haggray to guide our D.C. Baptist Convention during these
difficult times.
Like every organization, churches need leaders. But not just any
leaders; churches need Christian leaders. There are many styles
of leadership that may be effective, depending on how you measure
success. Donald Trump appears to be a very effective leader in
the real estate and entertainment industries. I’ve not watched
his television show, “The Apprentice,” but I’ve seen the promos where
he looks directly at an aspiring job applicant and gestures with his
hand as he decisively says, “you’re fired.” Donald Trump knows
how to lead an organization to make a lot of money. But I’m not
sure that we would want a Donald Trump to be a leader in our
church. Our criteria for success are different from those of the
business world. The bottom line is not all that matters to
us. The end result is not all that is important. People are
important. Character and integrity and morality are
important. Faith and trust are important. Love is important.
In our scripture passage Paul described some characteristics and
qualifications for Christian leaders. Paul was writing here about
the office of deacon, one of the most important leadership roles in the
church. The office of deacon was a newly created position in the
early church. There was no parallel office of deacon in
Judaism. Jewish religion had priests and Levites and scribes and
Pharisees, but no deacons. The early Christians saw a need to
organize themselves in a way that reflected their values and faith, and
a part of that organization including selecting Christian leaders who
would help guide the church to fulfill its mission. There were
many positions of leadership in the early church—apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors, and teachers. But another category of
church leaders was equally important—deacons.
Our English word “deacon” comes from the Greek word that is used here
in the New Testament, diakonos, which literally means “servant,” or one
who serves at table. In the secular sense, a server in a
restaurant might be called a deacon. But in the church, deacons
were not wait staff. They were respected church leaders who
helped to set the spiritual tone for the church. Deacons assisted
the pastors, sometimes called bishops or overseers, in the pastoral
care of the congregation. Because of this trusted role, the
qualifications for deacons were almost as rigorous as the
qualifications for pastors. Not just anyone could be a
deacon. It was an important role in the church that required
highly qualified people. Some of the qualifications that Paul set
forth are self-explanatory, while others need a little explanation.
First, Paul said, deacons must be “serious, not double-tongued, not
indulging in much wine, not greedy for money.”
Serious—respectable, dignified, steady, people of integrity. Not
double-tongued—sincere, truthful, straightforward, not hypocritical,
not gossips. Not indulging in much wine—temperate. Not
greedy for money—honest in their business dealings, not preoccupied
with money or material possessions.
Next, Paul said, deacons “hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a
clear conscience.” In other words, deacons have a good grasp of
the essentials of the Christian faith and sincerely believe in Jesus
Christ as their Savior and Lord. Next, deacons should be tested
before they begin to serve as deacons. They should be given other
responsibilities in the church so they can demonstrate their character
and faithfulness and abilities. Then, having proven themselves
faithful in those tasks they can take on the duties of deacons.
“Women, likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate,
faithful in all things.” Some interpreters believe “women” refers
to the wives of deacons. Other interpreters believe “women”
refers to female deacons. We know there were female deacons in
the early church. In his letter to the Romans Paul referred to
Phoebe as “a deacon of the church at Cenchreae” (Romans 16:1). By
the second century there was clear textual evidence for women deacons
in the church. Female deacons were necessary for certain duties
such as assisting women in baptism, caring for sick women, and other
tasks that male deacons could not perform in that culture.
Many Baptist churches even today will not allow a woman to be a deacon,
but Village Baptist Church has had women serving as deacons for over
twenty-five years. Jo Reiter was elected to be a deacon in 1978
and Jeanette Robinson was elected to be a deacon in 1979. Also of
historical importance—we elected our first African-American deacon in
1986. As our church becomes more diverse, our deacons should
reflect the diversity of our congregation.
Another qualification has to do with a deacon’s family life. Paul
wrote, “Let deacons be married only once, and let them manage their
children and their households well.” Does this mean that a deacon
must be married? Not necessarily. No doubt some deacons
were not married, because Paul himself was single, and he promoted
singleness as a benefit for Christian ministry. Some churches
have interpreted this qualification to mean that a divorced person
cannot be a deacon, but the Bible does not say that divorce in and of
itself disqualifies a person for Christian service. The Bible
views divorce as a tragedy, but nowhere in the Bible is divorce an
unforgivable sin. There are some passages in the Bible that
permit divorce under certain circumstances (Matthew 19:9; 1 Corinthians
7:15). In other passages in his letters, Paul permitted people to
remarry under certain circumstances (1 Timothy 5:14; Romans 7:2-3; 1
Corinthians 7:39). Divorced persons have served this church as
deacons in a marvelous way over the years. In some cases, having
gone through the painful experience of divorce themselves equips such
persons to have a sympathy and understanding for others who are dealing
with the breakup of a marriage.
I think what Paul is emphasizing is the quality of a deacon’s family
life. It’s really a part of the overall picture of the importance
of character for Christian leadership. This is what separates
Christian leaders from secular leaders. In the secular world, a
leader is judged solely by results, or the bottom line. In the
church, spiritual maturity and Christian character are essential for
leadership. The qualifications for deacon and other church
leaders have more to do with character than anything else.
The real key to determining who should be elected as a deacon comes
from the word itself—diakonos, a deacon is one who serves. Look
at those who are serving among us, those with a servant’s heart, and
you will know who should be a deacon.
A few months ago a first-class passenger boarding an American Airlines
flight from Atlanta to Chicago saw another passenger whom he felt was
more deserving of first-class treatment. The first-class
passenger said, “Hey soldier, where are you sitting?” The
soldier, who was returning from Iraq, replied, “Seat 22E, sir.”
The first class passenger said he wanted to trade places with
him. They checked with the flight attendant and she said it would
be o.k. Other first class passengers saw what was happening, and
they started offering their seats to soldiers. It was like a
domino effect. The flight attendant said, “there were 14 first
class seats, but only 12 soldiers, so we ran out of soldiers before we
ran out of seats.” The flight attendant was so touched by these
gestures of generosity to honor the returning servicemen that she
wept. “It put an entirely different mood on the entire flight,”
the flight attendant said.
Deacons set the tone for the entire church by their selfless
attitude. They lead the way by their example of service.
But that’s what Jesus did. He gave up his first-class seat and
took our place. That why we eat this bread and drink this cup—to
remember what Jesus did for us. May his example inspire us to
serve each other too.
Bruce Salmon, Pastor, Village Baptist Church, Bowie, Maryland
October 2, 2004
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