Each year First Baptist Church elects twelve deacons to serve a two year term. The deacons are called by the church to help in pastoral ministry and to model consistent Christian living before the congregation.
Pastors (also known as elders and bishops) and deacons are the two scriptural offices in the church. Therefore, those who serve as pastors and deacons have special responsibilities to lead the church.
Because of their responsibility, deacons have specific qualifications in the Bible. Both Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 3 describe the qualifications of deacons. Deacons should be men filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom, men of good reputation who model the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their life. In addition, they should be men who exhibit strong family lives and are respected for sound judgment and loving concern for others.
At FBC, deacons are the people (among many others) who visit the hospitals and nursing homes, care for the hurting, and share the message of the Kingdom of God.
Our deacon election will take place the weekend of November 3-4, 2012. Our Deacon Nominating Team has placed the names of fifteen men in nomination. You will be able to vote for twelve men to serve for the calendar years 2013-2014. Next week, you will receive a brochure with pictures, names, and information about these nominees. They are all outstanding men of good reputation and with a heart to serve First Baptist Church: Bill Allen, Cliff Anglin, John Brown, Sam Camp, John Fricke, Buddy Hall, Johnathan Hills, Matthew Johnston, Stephen Mikell, Abner Neill, Dale Padgett, Charles Paradelas, Dwayne Schaefer, Brad Thompson, and Charlie Vandercook.
As I have said to others, these are not the “best” 15 or the “only” 15. Some of these men have served as deacons before; others have not. They are simply men who have been prayed over and who seek to serve the church.
Please be in prayer for your very important vote.
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Psalm 141:5 “5 let the righteous one strike me— it is an act of faithful love; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. Even now my prayer is against the evil acts of the wicked.”
Matthew, Mark and Luke all have the account of the “Rich Young Ruler.” What is interesting and often forgotten today here in this economy and standard of living is: the rich young ruler describes all of us. So when we read today Jesus’ response in Mark 10:18, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One – God.” Remember He said to the ‘rich young ruler,’ “You know the commandments.” As do we. And yet evil is upon the rich young ruler, even as evil is upon us today as we strive to have or maintain social respectability.
The child of God, Robert, I asked you on 10/11/12 prayer request #2 is a continuing one. When I last saw Robert he was in restraints and kept sedated. The nurses would not allow me to free him to sit up or help him to the bath room. All human dignity, as he or I understand it, has been deprived of him, “for his own good.” Robert with slurred speech quoted Psalms 23 with me. He called out on the previous visit as I left the room, “God Bless you Ed and God Bless your Mom.” I hadn’t seen Robert for 15 years until a friend called to ask me to help him with some home repairs which were accomplished the day he was taken to the hospital. It now appears he will never go back to his home. There is “no Good but One – God.”
Blessings!
By the way, consider the lesson when you make your selection. Seek “His Goodness,” question how the candidate came to be in a position for service and why.