How to Identify a Great Deacon

Imagine an ordinary church. We’ll call it Riverside Community. Certain folks in the congregation are respected, though for different reasons. Andre is the most successful businessman. Steve is the biggest giver. Ken can fix anything. Charlie has been around for 40 years. Miguel hopes to eventually become a pastor.

Is any of them qualified to be a deacon?

One of the tragedies in church life today is the lack of attention given to what biblical deacons are—and aren’t. Many churches seem content to continue operating from custom and tradition on this subject, with Bibles closed.

Yet we must all face the uncomfortable fact that Jesus doesn’t mince words when addressing leaders who cling to tradition on matters where God has spoken (e.g., Matt. 15:1–9). And a deacon’s character is something on which God has spoken.

Character Is Paramount

After listing marks of eligibility for the office of pastor/elder in 1 Timothy 3:1–7, the apostle Paul turns his attention to the office of deacon:

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. (vv. 8–13)

Fascinatingly, Paul doesn’t seem too interested in what potential deacons can do. His focus is squarely on who they must be. (Don’t miss this easy-to-forget lesson: God cares more about character than about gifting.)

Now back to Andre, Steve, Ken, Charlie, and Miguel. Should any of them be installed as a deacon at Riverside? Perhaps. The answer, though, rests not on their previously listed attributes but on whether their lives embody this all-important biblical paragraph.

Paul doesn’t seem too interested in what potential deacons are able to do. His focus is squarely on who they must be.

What’s most extraordinary about this list of virtues? How ordinary it is. Deacons must embody the kind of character expected of all Christians. But they should be exemplary in the ordinary. Deacons are the people of whom you should be able to say, “Do you wish to grow as a servant? Do you desire to foster unity? Watch them.”

Character Isn’t Everything

According to the Bible, character is paramount. But it’s not quite everything. Deacons aren’t installed to have quiet times, after all. They’re charged to perform tasks.

Deacons’ work through the centuries has focused chiefly on tangible needs, particularly caring for the poor and vulnerable. Their work should never involve less than such “mercy ministry.” The larger principle of the deacon’s role, though, includes anything in a church’s life that threatens to distract and derail pastors from their primary responsibilities (see Acts 6:2–4).

Every deacon should be skilled at spotting practical needs and then taking the initiative to meet them efficiently. But the best deacons don’t just react to present problems; they anticipate future ones. They love to brainstorm creative solutions to anything that might potentially impede the work of the pastors and the flourishing of the Word.

Biblical deacons, therefore, are like a congregation’s offensive linemen, whose job is to protect the quarterback. They rarely get attention, much less credit, but their labors are utterly indispensable for guarding and advancing Word ministry. Without effective deacons, pastors will suffer incessant distraction and get sacked by an onrush of practical demands.

Biblical deacons are like a congregation’s offensive linemen, whose job is to protect the quarterback.

So if eyeing future deacons, look for godly saints who see and meet needs discreetly (they don’t need or want credit), at their own expense (they sacrifice), and without being asked (they take the initiative to solve problems). Warning signs in a candidate, then, will include not merely a tendency to be quarrelsome but also a tendency to be disorganized or unreliable. Someone who regularly flakes out, or never returns emails, or always needs to be told what to do isn’t yet a good fit for the office. A deacon must be reliable, neither angling for authority nor needing to be babysat.

Show me a church with distracted pastors and a derailed mission, and I’ll show you a church without effective deacons.

Wanted: Shock Absorbers

In Acts 6:1–7, a crisis was brewing in the Jerusalem church. While the Hebraic widows were eating just fine, the Hellenistic widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. So the apostles rose to action, instructing the congregation to identify seven men—forerunners to deacons—to solve the problem.

This was no mere culinary quibble. The apostles were faced with a natural fault line that threatened to fracture the unity Christ died to achieve. The gospel insists, after all, that our unity in Christ supersedes any worldly difference. So, make no mistake: the apostles didn’t delegate the problem to others because it wasn’t important but because it was. They could have imposed a swift, superficial solution and moved on. Instead, they laid the groundwork for an ongoing solution and a permanent church office.

Show me a church with distracted pastors and a derailed mission, and I’ll show you a church without effective deacons.

Given the root problem of disunity facing the seven, we can conclude deacons should be those who muffle shock waves, not make them reverberate further. Contentious people make poor deacons, for they only compound the headaches deacons are meant to relieve.

And here lies the ultimate reason deacons must have a knack for solving problems: to safeguard unity. On top of godly character and practical wisdom (Acts 6:3), an ideal deacon will have a track record of embodying and encouraging this cycle:

sees a problem → wants to safeguard unity → thinks creatively → solves the problem

The best deacons, Scripture insists, are far more than spreadsheet wizards or those who know their way around Home Depot. They’re mature believers with fine-tuned “conflict radar.” They’re where suspicion and gossip go to die. They love solutions more than drama. And they rise to respond, in creatively constructive ways, to promote the harmony of the whole church, to the praise of greatest Servant (Mark 10:45).

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