Finding Faithful Deacons in a Rural Church

Hosts: TJ Freeman and Joe Wagner

Summary: In this episode of Rural Church Renewal, hosts TJ Freeman and Joe Wagner discuss the pivotal role of deacons in rural churches and provide practical advice on how to raise up qualified deacons. They highlight the importance of identifying and encouraging potential deacons based on biblical qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3, the need for prayerful consideration, and the value of both generalist and specialist deacons. They also touch upon the spiritual benefits and trust required in empowering deacons, and emphasize the need for a cooperative effort between elders and deacons to fulfill the church's ministry effectively.

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Transcript

Joe: You got a sermon to write, you've gotta teach Sunday school. You gotta pull the weeds, you gotta plunge the toilet. You got 14 different people to visit. How are you gonna get it all done? Well, you're not, 'cause you need to raise up some deacons to do most of those things. On this episode of Rural Church Renewal, we're gonna teach you how you can raise up deacons in your church.

TJ: Well, hello, my name is TJ Freeman and I am a rural pastor. And I love being a rural pastor, most of the time, especially when I've got some help. 

Joe: Hey, I am Joe Wagner. I am a rural pastor in the rural church as well. And we help each other. Yeah, we did. I'm glad that you helped me 'cause I forgot the name of our podcast.

TJ: Well, we did change it recently. It's not, your fault. 

Joe: Yeah, we have already expressed earlier that this is not the brightest part of our day, but we've got some really good stuff to share with you. 

TJ: We are recording in the afternoon, which is after our prime, but here we are. Nonetheless, and this is a podcast that is meant to help you think carefully about what it means to glorify God in the middle of nowhere.

By your involvement in a healthy church, whatever your role is in your church, you need to do it well and faithfully for the glory of God in the middle of nowhere, which actually really matters. And if your church is like most rural churches, it's in need of some renewal.

And you can be a part of renewing some of the life of that church, whether you're the pastor or not, by focusing on some of the things that the Bible calls us to focus on. And one of them is the little thing we like to call the diaconate. 

Joe: Here's kind of an issue that a lot of rural churches have. It's either. An an underdeveloped diaconate without too many deacons or a super overdeveloped diaconate with some deacons who have lots and lots of ownership over the individual areas of responsibility that they control for their entire lives.

TJ: Now, a question for you, Joe, when we're talking about the diaconate right now, are we talking about churches who have deacons, who kind of function like elders? Or do you mean acts six kind of deacons? 

Joe: Yeah, I'm talking about those acts six type of deacons. They are like a ministry of works, right?

Elders are more of a ministry of the word, but the deacons are not necessarily teachers. They might be able to teach, but they're not necessarily teachers, but they are the actual hands and feet and they are going to serve people serving the church. 

TJ: Okay, so I just wanna say as a caveat to our listeners, that might not be your situation.

You may be a part of a church where you just call the leaders of your church, deacons. Maybe you have a pastor and you have a deacon board. And there's just not a lot of clarity in the distinction between those things. Just know that we're talking about a situation here where you would have guys who are helping support a pastor, the pastors, the elders, in some kind of a capacity. 

So we're speaking from that kind of a mode. You may just have to adapt a little bit of what we're saying to match the actual leadership structure of your church right now. Is that fair, Joe? 

Joe: Yeah. That's super, super fair. Alright, so how do you find them?

Right. There's something obvious that we always go to. Mm. When we're gonna go find them. They're good looks. No, they got a lot of money. No, no. There's something from the Bible. There could be in first Timothy chapter three. Yeah. Some qualifications. Absolutely. The the worst thing, the last thing that you would wanna do is you would want to find unqualified deacons. 'cause you are only inviting trouble. That's at that particular point. That's right. 

TJ: Even though you might feel desperate and it might seem like a little compromise here isn't a big deal. Don't compromise. Don't do it. And for a couple of reasons, one you will complicate your situation. Two, you are gonna have to stand before the Lord for the way that you empowered that person and that person is going to have to stand before the Lord for the way that they received the responsibility that you gave them.

The stakes are really high when it comes to the qualifications for a deacon, and we don't want to compromise. We want the pattern of the life of the guy to match that pattern that's laid out there in the scriptures. 

Joe: All right, so we've got obvious scripture qualifications. So how else would you find them?

How many brother pastors have we met who really are struggling to find deacons, a lot of them. 

TJ: And I've lived that actually. Yeah, I know what it feels like to go through your roster and you look and you're like, Hmm. Either there's not guys who are qualified or there's not guys who are willing, and you have that challenge.

We used to have a nominating committee back in the day. Mm. And the nominating committee would come together and they would say, okay, here are the guys that we're thinking of. We asked this guy last year. You know, this guy has a little bit of a hangup because he understands this scripture to mean something that would preclude him from being able to be a deacon.

And you know, you just kind of go down through these things and you might be in that church where you're like, well, there's six men in the church period. Most of them are in their eighties and that guy over there, you know, hasn't done anything since 1974. 

Joe: So do you wanna know what I would do in that situation if there clearly was not somebody? That we could call up to dig. 

TJ: What would you do? 

Joe: Rather than calling them to be a deacon, I'd call them to some sort of service. 

TJ: Mm-hmm. That's right. 'cause that's required for everybody anyway, right? Yeah. You don't have to be thrown around the title. 

Joe: And that's not a curve ball. That's not trying to get around like doing an end around to get around scripture at all.

Word semantics. Word semantics. But like, they might not rise to the level of a deacon, but they certainly can be responsible or they can come and they can help. Mm-hmm. There's any number of things. You might call them to go and visit shut-ins. Mm-hmm. You might call them to come weed the flower garden.

You might come call 'em to come do some painting to really get some of those folks involved. So that's what you can do in that case. If you really, really don't have anybody. 

TJ: It's really, truly nobody. That's right. You're still needing to be investing in guys and with God's help, some of those guys might become qualified and available at some point, or they may not, and they just may be used by the Lord in another capacity.

But you are saying how do you start? What are some other ways you start to find the guys? I think what we're beating around the bush at here is you need to prayerfully be looking at the flock regularly with that in mind. 

Joe: Yeah, you keep your eyes open and who's already serving? I was just having conversations with some members today and they shared with me a man's name who continually had come to serve them and help them, and not just them, but other folks.

And that guy was not even on my radar for the diaconate. Mm-hmm. And so. I took a mental note of that and so I filed that guy's name. I'm not gonna run right out and say, Hey, do you wanna be a deacon or do you wanna consider being a deacon? You see who's already serving, already working, and I think you watch him for a little while and you see how well they're doing.

You see if they are matching up with those qualifications, but you're keeping your eyes open. That's number one. You're really gotta keep your eyes open and be praying for them. 

TJ: Yeah, absolutely. You know, there, there's another side to that coin, and that is there may be some guys who with some encouragement would become the kind of guy who is going and serving and things.

So I think there's the side of the coin that says, figure out who's out there and doing it, and then figure out who are some of the guys that, for whatever reason, aren't. But maybe with a little encouragement, they would think about it more carefully and they would prioritize their time that that way, right?

So there are some seeds that are not popping up through the soil yet, like some of the others that may just need a little coaxing. So I think that there's kind of two sides to that coin that you need to be paying attention to. 

Joe: I wanna bounce back to how TJ described how we view deacons here at our church. There is a deacon team, but they have prayer meetings, they don't have deacon meetings. 

TJ: Right. And what do you mean by that? Because we do have elder meetings. 

Joe: We do have elder meetings where we go and we eld right? We're praying for people who are sick, who need some help.

We're figuring out teaching. We're leading the church that way. And so we hold votes and we lead, make decisions. Deacon meeting, not so much. What a deacon meeting, how we do it, is it's more of a prayer meeting. Guys get together and they say, Hey, these are the folks that are in need.

How can we serve them? Or they're getting names from the elders, or they're getting needs from the elders, and they're meeting together to pray for those needs and strategize the best way to be able to maximize their efforts in those ways, including gathering volunteers to go help. 

TJ: Absolutely. In fact, that should be a priority I think of a deacon is not to just be the guy that runs around doing all the work, but the guy that helps fulfill the call in scripture to equip the saints for the work of ministry. And what you just said about building a team is so essential. I think that's part of the reason that these guys need to be qualified like they are, because they do have a real leadership role in the church.

Joe: They do. Absolutely. And so as you are assembling that diaconate team, be aware of strengths and weaknesses. You'll know exactly who I'm talking about. We've got one dude who is just absolutely the most incredible organizer and administrator and just get stuff done. Mm-hmm. And it's not always him that's doing it, but he's rallying other people to go do that.

And then we've got another amazing dude who's not necessarily gifted in that particular way, but he's going behind the scenes, not necessarily when behind the scenes. He'll text me or he'll share with me or you, he says, yeah, I went and visited so-and-so. And I went and, put light bulbs in their house and I changed a vacuum cleaner bag. 

And like you didn't even tell him to go do that. He just went and did it. That's right. So you got different guys that work that way. And so be aware of the, I'm gonna say strengths and weaknesses of your diaconate team and try to balance that out so you get a fairly good dynamic as well.

Some things that actually are our very own deacons have shared are important for the deacons. One dude was like, and this is how he said it, he said, be aware that you cast a big shadow. Hmm. And what that means is people are watching you. And so what kind of an impression are you going to leave on them?

Are you gonna leave a good, godly, positive impression on them? Yes, that's what he's calling out. And so I think that that is a really important thing. And another thing from the deacons is you gotta love the people you're serving. Mm-hmm. Right? You don't want to get a grumpy deacon.

'cause that's trouble too. They won't wanna serve at all. 

TJ: Yeah. In fact, the deacons that are selected in Act six act like what we've said on this podcast in the past, back when it had the other name is they function like shock absorbers. That's something we've read. Yes. In Matt Smithers Deacon book.

That was a really helpful principle. They're peacekeepers. You know, in Act six there was a disagreement between the elders and the congregation. And the elders said, we gotta focus on the word and prayer. Can you guys go and help fix this problem? And that's what the deacons did. So yeah, to have a grumpy guy on there is not really in keeping with the heart of the deaconate.

So you're looking for guys who are active, you're looking for guys who could be activated with a little bit of encouragement. You're looking for guys who compliment the strengths of the guys who are already there and you're looking for guys really that you can trust and who you are willing to entrust with some things.

Joe: Amen. Absolutely. Here's something else. I think, and we learned this from another church. This was a great idea. Our deacons struggled a little bit with, they were like, elders tell us what to do. Tell us what to do. We dunno what to do. And we were like, figure it out. That, that was kind of our natural reaction.

We weren't being jerks about it, but we were like, Hey guys, you go and do it. But they still needed those expectations. They wanted to know what was required of them. Rightly so. Rightly so. And so, we provided some expectations and this is what we got. The idea we got from another church, we have what's called generalist deacons, and we have specialist deacons. And so a generalist deacon, these are their responsibilities in a nutshell on Sunday mornings, they kind of have that first in last out mentality.

That doesn't mean that they've gotta be first and last out, but they've got that mentality. They are a super greeter. We want them to track down guests and visitors. We want them to pursue and just to know just about everybody's name and have everybody know their name. We want them to be on the lookout for ways that they can help, not that people have to come and ask them for help, but that they see areas where they need help.

Whether this classroom needs some more chairs or whether this light bulb needs changed or whether this mess needs cleaned up. So they're actively pursuing those sorts of things. They pray with our elders on Sunday mornings too. So they've got those particular Sunday morning duties and then throughout the week they are available as their schedule allows.

And they all also are somewhat sacrificial with their schedule. To be able to go and visit shut-ins. They'll go and they'll visit people who haven't been in church in a while. They will go and they will serve, or they'll complete a project that the elders put in front of 'em. Here's what one of our deacons did.

We were here doing a men's retreat. I was in charge of the men's retreat. I had 47 things going on, and I looked at the registration for a men's retreat. The registration numbers were way down. And so I called up this dude and I'm like, man, you gotta help me. Can you call a bunch of guys or can you contact a bunch of guys and help me get registrations up?

Our guy made 200 telephone calls and it was a huge blessing to the church, to me and all those guys who ended up going to the retreat because of that project that we put him in charge of. 

TJ: Yeah. And that, by the way, is a good example of a way that you could maybe bring in a guy who isn't yet a deacon, but you want to test him a little bit, right?

And you just say, Hey, you know, Jimbo, I really need help here. And you've got a phone. Could you make these phone calls for me? Yep. And you may see that a guy comes to life and you are able to recognize some deaconate level skills in a guy like that. 

Joe: So those are our generalist deacons, but then we also have some specialist deacons and they are not immune from those other responsibilities, but they're dialed back a little bit.

TJ: I like that you framed it as immunity. 

Joe: So like our specialist deacon, we've got a guy who he's not like in charge of the finances. He's not the treasurer, but he's pretty wise when it comes to finances. Mm-hmm. And so he's a deacon of finances, and he is a sounding board. He is trusted by the elders and he's trusted by the congregation to be able to do financial things for the church.

So he's like our deacon of finances. We have another guy who is really great outdoorsmen and really involved in like backpacking and hiking and trail making. Actually we've got two guys that are like that. 

TJ: That's true. 

Joe: So they're the deacon of our hiking trail that we have here on the grounds at Christ Church.

TJ: By the way, just real quick on the hiking trail if I can. 

Joe: Yeah. 

TJ: It sounds like, you know, this big glamorous, you guys have a hiking trail. Mm. We bought a building during Covid. That became available, that happened to have some land. And when we, as elders talked about stewardship, we thought we either need to sell the extra land or use it for kingdom purposes to some extent, but none of the elders knew how to invest in that.

So giving that to a deacon and saying, what can be done here? And him mapping out a trail and putting it in there and trying to host five Ks, and that's a great way that a deacon can jump in and actually help you steward the resources that God has entrusted to you as a church in a way that doesn't pull the elders unnecessarily away from soul care.

Joe: Right. And so what you might find is you've got guys that are just geared to be that generalist deacon, and you've got guys that are geared to be the specialist deacon, and then you might find somebody that's kind of geared to be both. 

TJ: Hmm, that's right. 

Joe: So yeah, I'm sure that there are some things we had forgotten.

How we shared in the beginning, like if it's just impossible to find a deacon. Here's one thing. you might find it impossible to find a deacon because you are afraid of giving up some trust. Oof. Right. You're like, I don't think this guy can do it as well as me. Well, that's not biblical.

They might not be able to do it as well as you, but it might not be your job that you're doing. Mm-hmm. That they're able to do. And so you do need to be able to give up. It's not that you're giving up trust and authority and all of a sudden the deacon becomes your boss. They're working under the authority of the elders, but you're passing some responsibility over to them.

And sometimes that's hard for a pastor or an elder. What I was driving at was like if there's really, really nobody there what you can do. But I would would bet in many, many, many, many cases that you can at the very least begin investing in somebody so that they could become a deacon.

TJ: Yeah, absolutely. So just to kind of hit it high, you just started at what, where we began. What do you do if there's nobody there? You can start to look at both sides of the coin maybe. Recognize guys who are doing some deacon like things or encourage some guys who are not yet doing that, but maybe could. Pray through your directory regularly, asking that the Lord will raise up men like that.

Ask other members of the congregation who's, who have you noticed, who's serving? Maybe you've overlooked something that somebody else in the congregation has seen. Think about the makeup of your deacon board. Who's strong in this area and where do we have some weaknesses that maybe some other guys might be able to fill in?

Remember that when those guys meet, it's more of a prayer meeting, not so much a board meeting. Provide some expectations for them. Learn to actually trust them and to truly empower them to do the work that the Lord would call them to do. And consider having generalists as well as specialists. Did I cover it all?

Joe: You did. One last thing I would say, I think it's implied, but it's biblical to have them. 

TJ: It is biblical and there's some kind of spiritual benefit and you know, as humble Christians we're like, well, I don't need it, Jesus is enough. But God does say that there is some way in which your faith is strengthened by serving as a deacon.

And we don't wanna rob mm-hmm. People from that. And we don't want people to miss out on that blessing because they're so humble that they say, well, I don't need a title or whatever. That's true. They don't need a title. And if they would, they're only doing it for the title, they're probably disqualified to begin with.

But there is a spiritual benefit to having deacons, so it's a matter worth pursuing and giving some real thought to. 

Joe: Amen, brother. 

TJ: Amen. Indeed. This my dear listener, has been a ministry of the Brainerd Institute for Rural Ministry. We have other podcasts and we have articles and some videos and things.

If you'll head on over to brainerd institute.com and even maybe head over to our Facebook group and you can learn more about the work going on and how you can partner with us. We want to see a healthy church in every rural community. That's going to take a renewal of churches across the rural landscape, and you're part of that.

So thanks for listening. Thanks for being a part of it, and we'll see you next time here on Rural Church Renewal. 

Joe: And don't forget to raise your Ebenezer. 

TJ: Bye-bye.