Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (9Marks Building Healthy Churches Series)

by Matt Smethurst

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2021

Overview

Deacons are essential to church health—yet there is no clear consensus about their biblical job description. In Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church, Matt Smethurst makes the case that they are model servants called to meet tangible needs, organize and mobilize service, preserve the unity of the flock, support the ministry of the elders, and further the mission of the church. Relying on Scripture to clear the confusion, Smethurst details—in an engaging and practical way—how deacons can be deployed as healthy models of service to help congregations flourish.

Key Features

• Examines the role deacons play in the church
• Includes an appendix on women serving as deacons
• Provides sample questions for deacon candidates

Contents

• Introduction: At Your Service
• The Backstory and the Blunders: How Deacons Have Functioned
• The Blueprint: Where Deacons Began
• The Baselines: What Deacons Must Be
• The Breakdown: What Deacons Must Do
• The Benefits: What Deacons Provide
• The Beauty: Who Deacons Reflect
• Conclusion: Deacons Are Difference-Makers
• Appendix 1: May Women Serve as Deacons?
• Appendix 2: Sample Questions for Deacon Candidates

Top Highlights

“Look first at his attitude, his character, his life. Is he eager to listen, or is he angling to be heard? Is he humble and flexible, or does he always insist on his own way? Does he covet status, or does he yearn to serve?” (Page 39)

“Deaconing is not training wheels for eldering. It is a different office with different aims requiring, in many cases, different gifts.” (Page 33)

“Given the root problem facing the seven, we can conclude that deacons should be those who muffle shockwaves, not make them reverberate further. Quarrelsome persons make poor deacons, for they only compound the kind of headaches deacons are meant to relieve. The best deacons, therefore, are far more than business managers or handymen. They are persons with fine-tuned ‘conflict radars.’ They love solutions more than drama and rise to respond, in creatively constructive ways, to promote the harmony of the whole.” (Pages 54–55)

“So what should mark a deacon? Palpable humility. A spirit of gentleness. A willingness to be flexible. The ability to stand on conviction without being combative.” (Pages 76–77)

“deacons must embody the kind of character expected of all Christians. But they should be exemplary in the ordinary” (Page 71)

Product Details

• Title: Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church
• Author: Matt Smethurst
• Series: 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches
• Publisher: Crossway
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Pages: 166
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Deacons
• ISBNs: 9781433571626, 9781433571657, 9781433571633, 9781433571640, 1433571625, 143357165X, 1433571633, 1433571641
• Resource ID: LLS:DCNSHWCHRC9MRKS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-19T04:01:46Z

About Matt Smethurst

Matt Smethurst is lead pastor of River City Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia. He is the author of several books, including Before You Open Your Bible; Before You Share Your Faith; and Deacons. He also cohosts, with Ligon Duncan, The Everyday Pastor podcast from the Gospel Coalition. Matt and his wife, Maghan, have five children.