Deacons

How Can Deacons Mobilize Service in the Church? Deacons are essential to a church's health—yet confusion abounds regarding their biblical job description. What's their God-given role in a local congregation and how do they relate to the church's overall mission? In this short book, Matt Smethurst makes the case that deacons are model servants called to meet tangible needs, organize and mobilize acts of service, preserve the unity of the flock, and support the ministry of the elders. Clearing away common misconceptions, Smethurst offers practical guidance for deploying deacons and helping churches to flourish.

In 1964 a small group of African American men in Jonesboro, Louisiana, defied the nonviolence policy of the mainstream civil rights movement and formed an armed self-defense organization--the Deacons for Defense and Justice--to protect movement workers fr

In 1964 a small group of African American men in Jonesboro, Louisiana, defied the nonviolence policy of the mainstream civil rights movement and formed an armed self-defense organization--the Deacons for Defense and Justice--to protect movement workers from vigilante and police violence. With their largest and most famous chapter at the center of a bloody campaign in the Ku Klux Klan stronghold of Bogalusa, Louisiana, the Deacons became a popular symbol of the growing frustration with Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent strategy and a rallying point for a militant working-class movement in the South. Lance Hill offers the first detailed history of the Deacons for Defense and Justice, who grew to several hundred members and twenty-one chapters in the Deep South and led some of the most successful local campaigns in the civil rights movement. In his analysis of this important yet long-overlooked organization, Hill challenges what he calls "the myth of nonviolence--the idea that a united civil rights movement achieved its goals through nonviolent direct action led by middle-class and religious leaders. In contrast, Hill constructs a compelling historical narrative of a working-class armed self-defense movement that defied the entrenched nonviolent leadership and played a crucial role in compelling the federal government to neutralize the Klan and uphold civil rights and liberties.

Almost every church in America has selected and ordained Deacons for service to their congregations. Most of these Deacons have learned their duties by on-the-job experiences. However, many Deacons, even years after their ordination, still ask the question, What am I supposed to do? This book, Descriptive Duties of Deacons, answers that question in clearly definitive ways. You need not feel overwhelmed, unsuited for certain areas of service, or burdened by watching other Deacons in your church and thinking you have to do everything they do. This guidebook shows numerous options for ministry that can fit with your spiritual gifts, talents, training, and personality. These ministry options will help you find your niche in Gods work. God does not intend for you to do everything nor to do your duties by yourself. He has placed you in a local church where a Pastor, ministry staff, and numerous volunteers can serve with you. The various duties described here will help you to better understand what both you and your fellow Deacons need to be doing individually and together. Follow this guidebook, and you may never again ask the question, What am I supposed to do as a Deacon?

In the Anglican churches of North America, and sometimes elsewhere, there are two complaints about deacons in the liturgy: Bishops and priests complain that deacons don’t know how to do liturgy. Deacons complain that bishops and priests won’t let them do liturgy. The solution lies in liturgical formation, both theological and practical. This book is designed to help provide that formation for bishops, priests, deacons, and indeed for all the people of God. The introduction provides a brief history of the use of deacons in Anglican liturgies, from 1549 to the present, including characteristics and statement of purposes.

Elders and Deacons and Saints, Oh My! shares the Bibles teachings on leadership and organization. It offers members of todays churches the insights needed to fulfill the five purposes God gives: to love Him, love others, evangelize, identify new followers, and make them faithful disciples. Author James Kirkland, a pastor and theologian with deep experience as a business owner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM Professional, weaves together organizational wisdom and biblical teaching. Through a study of the Scriptures, Elders and Deacons and Saints, Oh My! defines the roles of the churchs leaders and presents the Bibles model for organizing congregations. It paints a picture of servant leaders, grounds their authority in biblical teaching, and guides them in assembling faithful teams of ministers who practice loving care for others, following the model of Christs love for all people. If you find yourself listening to Gods call to the church, but then growing disappointed at how your congregation answers that call, then Elders and Deacons and Saints, Oh My! can help you become a stronger leader. It combines scripturally inspired teaching about leaders and church administration with practical methods for building and leading teams. You will gain understanding about the strengths of clearly defined roles for elders, deacons, and church members and the power for mission that comes when leaders organize Gods people around those roles. In the end, your disappointment can turn to joy through encouraging members toward Christian maturity and equipping them to share Christs love with others.

Divided opinion on the topic of this book has caused controversy in Baptist history and life. Most Baptist individuals and churches have strongly opposed women deacons. Some Baptist associations have even disfellowshipped churches that have approved women deacons. And women in general have been suppressed by many recent actions of the Southern Baptist Convention, thereby affecting women deacons. However, thousands of Baptist churches include women in their deacon bodies and find that they make invaluable contributions. The book presents arguments on both sides of the topic, but lands squarely in support of women deacons.