Every church needs people to take the lead in serving the practical needs of the congregation. In Gospel Training for Deacons: Equipping Servant Leaders, Robert H. Thune helps to prepare and equip deacons to serve the church well. He is intentional about training deacons by grounding them in the gospel of grace and giving them the tools and biblical direction they need to take on their role.
Gospel Training for Deacons combines spiritual formation with the Bible’s teaching about what it means to be a deacon. Taking a biblical and practical approach to training deacons, this resource will shape future leaders at the heart level for their calling to serve the church. In the book’s eight lessons, Thune walks readers through what a deacon is, the biblical qualifications, what it means to work under an eldership, and the inward, outward, and upward responsibilities of being a deacon.
In this interview, we talk to Thune about this important resource for churches.
Q: Gospel Training for Deacons isn’t a book that every Christian is necessarily going to pick up and read. Who was this book written to, and for what purpose?
This book is written as a training manual for leaders in the local church. It’s specifically aimed at deacons, but it’s also applicable to other serving roles. The purpose is to help potential leaders understand and apply gospel renewal dynamics in their own lives and in their churches.
It can be used in a small group, training class, or mentorship setting over eight weeks. Churches can use the book prior to the selection of deacons to assure that the person is a good or after the role is accepted.
Q: Why do churches need to better train their deacons for the role in which they serve?
Philippians 1:1 and 1Timothy 3 show us that local churches should be led by elders and deacons. Some churches don’t have deacons at all; those that do often don’t have any formal pathway of training and development for deacons. Because deacons are key ministry leaders in a church, they should have a deep apprehension of the gospel.
Q: What exactly is a deacon? Is it a formal office within the church?
The apostles seemed to envision two distinct ministries within the church: pastoral and practical. Some leaders were to devote themselves to “prayer and the ministry of the word.” Other leaders were to focus on meeting practical needs. Though elders and deacons aren’t specifically mentioned in Acts 6, the basic differentiation between pastoral and practical ministry lays a foundation that the rest of the New Testament will build upon.
It seems highly probable that as Paul and his companions planted churches, they followed the apostolic pattern in Acts 6. They started by appointing qualified men to fill the most important office: elders who would teach Scripture and guard the integrity of the gospel. They expected those elders to follow the pattern of Acts 6, teaching the Bible, growing the church, and eventually delegating some aspects of ministry to qualified disciples.
This explains Paul’s emphasis on appointing elders first (Titus 1:5), the sequence of 1 Timothy 3 (elders, then deacons), and the differing requirements for each office. As one scholar describes it: “When the churches were young, Paul appointed overseers, not deacons. But in the more established churches of Philippi (Philippians 1:1) and Ephesus (1 Timothy 3:8–13) there were both overseers and deacons. Perhaps the latter office developed on a church-by-church basis as the size and needs of the church increased.”
Q: How did Jesus turn the conventional thinking of leadership on its head? How does that apply to deacons?
The conventional thinking understands leadership as a place of honor, esteem, and privilege for the leader. This way of thinking is reflected in the request James and John make in Mark 10: “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus expects his followers to be servant leaders. And he’s come to make them just that. As the Chief Servant, he came to give his life as a ransom to deliver his people from selfish leadership and to free them for radical servant leadership.
Q: Why is it important for a deacon to have the gospel training you share in your book?
Because they are leaders in the church, deacons help to shape the culture of the church. And because God wants every local church to reflect the beauty and glory of his grace, deacons themselves must be grounded and rooted in the gospel. They must lead out of their own need for grace. They must know their own heart idolatry and how the good news of the gospel applies to it. And they must have a sense of “gospel fluency” so that they can effectively apply the gospel to others. Those are the kind of leaders that the church needs and that I’m hoping this book will help to develop.
Q: What are the qualifications for a deacon as outlined in the New Testament?
The qualifications listed in 1 Timothy include:
- Dignified: honorable, noble, worthy of respect; the kind of people whom younger Christians should seek to emulate.
- Not double-tongued: honest and truthful; straightforward. In Greek this phrase has the idea of not “speaking out of both sides of your mouth” or “thinking one thing but saying another.”
- Not addicted to much wine: no addictions; self-controlled in habits.
- Not greedy for dishonest gain: not “in it for the money”—they serve because they love God, not because they hope to get paid.
- Must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience: orthodox in belief; morally sensitive and attuned to the voice of conscience; no discrepancy between what they profess and how they live.
- Must first be tested: proved faithful over time; stand up under examination.
Q: This may be a topic that is controversial to some, but what does the Bible say about women being qualified to serve as deacons?
Churches and denominations have differing perspectives on this point, but in the book I make the case that women can and should serve as deacons. I find the witness of early church history and the exegetical evidence in 1 Timothy 3 to favor both men and women serving in the diaconal office. Verse 11 speaks either of “their wives” or “the women;” and it would be strange for God to require something of deacons’ wives that he does not require of elders’ wives. And in cultures which were strongly patriarchal, the early leaders of the church saw the appointment of deaconesses as a sound and scriptural practice. Note what The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church records about the early church’s practice:
The deaconess devoted herself to the care of the sick and the poor of her sex; she was present at interviews of women with bishops, priests, or deacons; instructed women catechumens; and kept order in the women’s part of the church. Her most important function was the assistance at the baptism of women… which, for reasons of propriety… could not be performed by the [male] deacons.
Q: Are there any formal duties assigned to deacons in the Bible? In what ways might a deacon’s service look different from church-to-church or even within the same congregation?
The formal duties of deacons are wide and varied. The word “deacon” means servant; and that’s the essence of the role. In Scripture, we see deacons working under and alongside the elders. So it’s the elders who are to discern the specific ministry needs of the congregation, and raise up deacons to help meet those needs. Deacons take practical concerns off the plates of the elders, so that elders can devote themselves to prayer, preaching, and shepherding. So from church to church or even within a given congregation, diaconal responsibility can take a multitude of shapes and forms.
In our church, we describe a deacon as someone who a) bears ownership and responsibility for some area of ministry beyond what a normal, mature church member would, and b) is leading that area of ministry in a way that takes the administrative and logistical burden off the elders, freeing them for the work of shepherding. Every member of our church serves in children’s ministry; but deacons lead and coordinate that ministry. Every member is part of a small group; but deacons lead and coordinate the small-group ministry. Every member is engaged in ministries of mercy to our city; but deacons lead and coordinate those efforts.
Q: How are the responsibilities of a deacon different from those of an elder? What are some of the guidelines of working alongside but under the authority of an eldership?
Deacons work under the elders. They extend the reach of the elders; they assist the work of the elders; they free the minds of the elders. In Acts 6, the apostles were tempted to “give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (v. 2). But in order to “devote [them]selves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (v. 4), they chose to hand off the practical care of widows. This division of labor lies at the heart of the distinction between elder and deacon. Deacons take practical concerns off the plates of the elders, so that elders can devote themselves to prayer, preaching, and shepherding.
At the same time, deacons work alongside the elders. Philippians 1:1–2 is a great picture of the unified nature of local church leadership: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Notice that the overseers and deacons are grouped together, implying shared leadership yet honoring differentiation of office.
In the earliest post–New Testament churches, we see deacons working alongside bishops by reading Scripture during worship services, receiving the offerings, distributing the Lord’s Supper, and leading public prayers. So in a healthy church, there’s a bond of collegiality, a “together for the gospel” sort of mindset, among elders and deacons. Elders don’t carry their authority in a heavy-handed way, and deacons don’t undercut or subvert that authority.
Q: Please explain what you mean by deacons having inward, outward, and upward responsibilities.
Deacons have an inward-facing responsibility: they help care for the church family. At the risk of oversimplifying: the elders care for the spiritual needs of the flock, and the deacons assist the elders by caring for the more practical and material needs of the flock.
Deacons also take the lead in moving the church outward to address the needs of its community.
And because deacons share the responsibility to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and “present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28), their most important responsibility is an upward responsibility: pointing people to the glory of God in Christ.
Q: What are some of the exercises in each of the lessons of Gospel Training for Deacons?
The main exercise is a “gospel change project” where potential deacons identify an area of growth in their own lives and seek, over four weeks, to apply gospel-change dynamics to that area of life. Other exercises include an evaluation of spiritual practices/disciplines, and a personal reflection on the particular temptations of leadership.
Q: What encouragement would you offer someone just stepping into service as a deacon in their congregation who may be nervous about taking on the role?
First, remember that the office of deacon is not a goal to be reached, but a stewardship to be exercised. God doesn’t just want to work through you; he wants to work in you. Second, ask the Holy Spirit to use the expectations of the role as a means of formation in your life. Acknowledge your need, lean on his strength, and embrace the opportunity to become more like Jesus. Third, remember that leadership is mostly about your presence. Leaders who are able to enter into conflict, listen without defensiveness or judgment, and then bring wise and thoughtful solutions are a gift to the church. They embody the peaceful presence of Jesus. And by his grace, he wants you to become that kind of leader. So enjoy the journey!
Gospel Training for Deacons
Every church needs people to take the lead in serving the practical needs of the congregation. In Gospel Training for Deacons, Robert H. Thune is intentional about training deacons by grounding them in the gospel of grace, giving them the tools for spiritual formation, and biblical direction for their role.
