Why Do We Have Deacons? (Acts 6:1-6)

Acts 6 lays out a complaint which recalls for us the Old Testament tragedies when Israel complained against the Lord.  It seems as if the New Testament church is just like the redeemed people of Israel who can only complain about the Lord’s shepherding care.  Why is it that the Lord does not consume them?  Why is it that the Apostles actually concede and act on this complaint?  

If you desire to learn more about the office of deacon our federation did a great job studying the office. You can find a PDF version of the study report here.

Sharing our Sojourn (2) (1 Timothy 5:9-16)

Paul continues with the reminder of what it means to care for the widows.  There are the young widows who might need assistance and there are the older widows who need assistance.  How is the church supposed to know who receives the assistance and who does not?  What is a way of doing this that honors the Lord?

Sharing our Sojourn (1 Timothy 5:1-8)

The Apostle Paul lays out how the church is to function as a family.  First, there is the reminder that Paul has for Timothy that we view the members of the church as family members.  However, this has implications for how we widows who are part of the church.  How are we to treat widows?  Do all widows receive the same amount of funds from the church?  Is there a provision for widows not to receive any funds?  How do we know who is to receive and who is not as we are all one family?

Ordained Servants (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:8-13)

What is the office of deacon?   How are we to view this office, and who is qualified to serve in this office?  Is this an office that is for women, men, men and women, or just men?  How does Paul prescribe the duties for this office? 

Grace and Peace through Leadership (Philippians 1:1-2)

I bet that if you were to survey the average person on the street they would tell you to question leadership and authority.  I would suspect that this answer would be consistent among conservatives as well as liberals.  We would probably not be that surprised by this considering that we have witnessed leaders deceive and abuse their authority. So, why would we as Christians want to trust leaders in the church?  We know leaders in the church have fallen into sin so why trust leadership?  How does the apostle Paul set the tone for Christian leadership?  How does setting such a tone for leadership reorient someone’s idea or notion of service?