What does the church do when it finds itself in difficult situations?
When the early church experienced difficulty, the church turned to men of good reputation to lead the church and bring it into harmony. Acts 6 describes a time when different groups in the church in Jerusalem disagreed.
The two groups had significant differences. One group (called Hebrews) had only lived in Israel and held strictly to the ways of Judaism. The other group (called Hellenists) had lived at time to time outside of Israel and looked at life differently.
The Hellenists in the church felt their widows were not being treated with the respect and honor they were due.
To address this issue the apostles asked the church to pick “men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3) to care for the needs of the church and bring the church into harmony.
Many people believe this is the first instance of deacons in 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 lives. In addition, they should be men who exhibit strong family lives and are respected for sound judgment and loving concern for others.
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.
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.
At FBC Covington we ask our church to recommend men they believe fit the qualifications for deacons. These men are then considered and prayed over. Our Deacon Nominating Team presents a slate of nominees who are then voted on by the church.
Our deacon election will take place this year the weekend of November 2-3, 2013.
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2 Responses
Indeed Deacons are both an office and a station of life, one who serves.
Blessed is He who Comes in the Name of the Lord.
May what is done serve Him Who is Worthy of Praise.
Blessings
In January of 1970 Jefferson Parish Museum became an official entity registered with the State of Louisiana. Fred Matthew using his DAV income, which was meager and his own resourcefulness, displayed the artifacts of generations. His desire was for each new generation to not forget the challenges of the past, the lives spent for the next generation to have “their opportunity.” Members of his pier group across religious lines caught the vision and donated their family treasures to JPM. He spent nearly every day for the next 25 years building, adding to and enhancing the many exhibits. Before there was a WW2 Museum, there was Jefferson Parish Museum to tell the story of God’s intervention on behalf of the United States and the part of the common soldier and citizen.
Kenneth C. Haugk is author of: Finding Hope and Healing, Journeying through Grief, Book Three. He states, “I’ve heard it said that you need to share your story 50, 100, even 200 times The actual number really isn’t important. The point is that it’s helpful to talk about your feelings and share your story many times. Each tie you’ll release som of the pain. Each time you’ll discover something new. Each time you’ll heal a little bit more.”
I have found this “opinion” to be true for me.
Regarding the very good presentation yesterday on Hosea 3: 1-5 I have found many want you move on without means, abandon work in the midst of development as long as they don’t have to be bothered with the “Good News” it represents. Since God didn’t call them, they don’t want to be bothered. I can see now a bit more clearly the resistance encountered by the Evangelists in Scripture. I can also see why the United States and Europe are so Gospel Resistant. Indeed, “everyone has turned to his own way.” Yet, He Loves us.
Blessings