by Bret Capranica | May 23, 2006 | Deacons, Ecclesiology
I was too busy putting in a sprinkler system at The Capranica Villa yesterday to be able to read or post anything related to the blogosphere. So here’s what I should have posted yesterday on deacons: An Examination of Acts 6:1-6 in Regard to Deacon Ministry Objections and Answers Acts 6:1-6[1] is a passage widely discussed as to whether it has any direct or even implicit reference to the ministry of deacons. On the one hand, opponents to the view that deacon ministry is in view in this passage note that the noun diakonos is never used of the seven men chosen to assist the Apostles in the church in Jerusalem. Furthermore, some would argue that there is no indication in the book of Acts that this group of seven continued to exist in Jerusalem or even outside of Jerusalem once the initial complaint that created their need was satisfied (Acts 6:1). Also, while the book of Acts mentions elders on several occasions, the book never mentions a group of deacons. A further mark that some use to indicate that deacon ministry is not found in Acts 6 is that when the church in Antioch sent famine relief to the Jerusalem church, mention is made that it was brought to the elders of the church, not the deacons. Lastly, it is noted that neither Stephen or Philip continued in their role among the Seven of assisting the Apostles in caring for the needs of the widows in the Jerusalem church.[2] Adequate answers can be given to these objections. First, though the noun diakonos is not used in the Acts...
by Bret Capranica | May 20, 2006 | Deacons, Ecclesiology
Continuing my thoughts on deacons: Examining the Scriptures Introduction As mentioned above, the biblical material concerning New Testament deacons is limited. Two New Testament passages directly refer to an official body of deacons, namely, Philippians 1:1[1] and 1 Timothy 3:8-13. I will later propose that even though Acts 6:1-6 does not mention the Seven as an official body of deacons or assert that the ministry of deacons began with the Seven, there is ample evidence to conclude that Luke’s discussion of the Seven and their ministry relationship to the Twelve was that upon which the church eventually derived and modeled later deacon ministry. Thus, the following discussion over the next few days of the biblical content concerning deacons will begin with a brief overview of the term translated “deacon” in the New Testament, followed by specific examinations of Acts 6:1-6; Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13. The Term Translated as “Deacon” in the New Testament “Deacon” is a word that is derived from a transliteration of the Greek term diakonos, meaning “servant.” Only in two passages in the New Testament is diakonos actually translated (in most versions) as “deacon;”[2] and in each instance, the word is plural, referring to a group, rather than an individual. Among the verb, noun and adjective forms, diakonos is used over one hundred times in the New Testament. The following is a sample of what the term may refer to in the pages of the New Testament: · A Literal Servant (Matthew 20:26; 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:43; John 2:5; 12:26) · A Metaphorical Servant Government – Romans 13:4 Christ is not a servant of...
by Bret Capranica | May 19, 2006 | Deacons, Ecclesiology
O.K. so I started posting this paper on deacons some time ago, but never finished it – just like a number of other unfulfilled blog promises I’ve made. This time I do intend to finish it out. Reading Andreas Kostenberger’s thoughts on women deacons stirred me to repost. So, without further ado – here’s do-overs on my thoughts regarding a biblical approach to deacon ministry. For two thousand years, the Church of Jesus Christ has wrestled with the subject of the purpose and nature behind the ministry of deacons, without much consensus. Within Baptist life, Charles Deweese notes that, “Deacons have been described in Baptist writings for well over 350 years,”[1] and once more, without an overall consensus as to function or form. Deacons have appeared to be involved in an unlimited number of ministries throughout church history. Deweese describes their ministry thus: The authority given to deacons was for positive and practical purposes – namely, to serve as church officers, to assist in limited administrative functions, to care for a church’s treasury, to make adequate provisions for the Lord’s table, to ensure that the minister’s needs were cared for, to minister to the sick, to stimulate responsible stewardship by encouraging voluntary contributions, and to be general servants of God, the church and the needy. . . . in America in the latter half of the eighteenth century, the role of deacons as caretakers of the temporal or secular affairs of the church began to assume a priority that it had never had before. The involvement of deacons in administrative, managerial, and business functions became more pronounced.[2] It has...
