As I listened to the leader, I kept asking myself if the concepts being presented could be appropriate for deacons. Through the years I have worked with churches as they pondered the role of deacons. Many excellent books are available to help a church deal with this issue. Yet, what the speaker was saying seemed to provide a broad outline that could be helpful in describing the function of a deacon.
The place was a training session for members of nonprofit boards of directors. The program was organized by the Alabama Nonprofit Resource Center, a organization helping improve the performance of charitable groups across Alabama.
The underlying principle of the presentation was that being a member of a nonprofit board is a place of service, not a place of power nor merely an honor. Board members are expected to work, the leader said. They are to be the most involved, the most knowledgeable people about the organization other than employed staff members.
That seemed to be consistent with the biblical description of the first deacons in Acts 6. Those people were selected to work. Their previous service had earned them a reputation of being dependable and trustworthy. People who selected them knew they would get the job done.
According to the trainer leading the session, nonprofit board members must determine the organization’s strategic direction. Basically, that is choosing a course of action among the available options. Sometimes that means saying “no” to worthy opportunities. Needs always exceed resources.
It was obvious how that applied to the organization I represented that evening, Birmingham’s Community Grief Support Services. As I reflected, I began to see that deacons can fulfill a similar role in a church. What kind of congregation will a certain church be? What will be its major programs, its primary identity in the community? How will priorities be determined? Who will say “no” to a good idea but one that is not a priority?
Obviously, in a Baptist church governed by democratic principles, the whole congregation makes the final decision. That is different from a board of directors. Still, deacons can function as a strategic planning resource for the church. If they are the best informed, most knowledgeable people in the church, that may be appropriate.
A danger popped into my mind as the speaker continued. Too many times groups in a church, including deacons, make plans for the pastor and staff to carry out. That never works.
Almost immediately the leader addressed my fear. “Board members may have to carry out the operating plan, but the staff always leads the effort.”
There was another biblical principle. The pastor is the leader of the church. That does not mean he is “the boss” who tells everyone what to do. It does mean the pastor is the leader, a servant leader. Deacons may help to formulate operating plans for the church, but they cannot hand off the responsibility for carrying them out to others. Planners also are responsible to help carry out the plans under the leadership of the pastor and staff.
“The executive director is the most important resource a nonprofit organization has,” continued the trainer. “A role of the board of directors is to provide the opportunity and resources for the director and staff to lead the work.”
The parallel was obvious. In purely human terms, the pastor is the most important resource a church has. He sets the spiritual tone of the congregation. People turn to him in times of trouble. He directs the staff. He knows more about the people in the church and the workings of the church than any other person.
Deacons help provide the opportunity and resources for the pastor and other staff members to lead the work of the church.
One of those resources is financial. Deacons should set the example of financial stewardship by tithing just as nonprofit board members are expected to contribute financially to the cause they serve. Deacons also encourage others to contribute financially. Tithing is the beginning point. Gifts and offerings go beyond the tithe.
Another resource is public image. Just as board members are to be advocates for their charity, so deacons can be advocates for their church. They can say good things about their church. They can invite people to their church. They can open doors of ministry for their church.
Deacons provide credibility for their church. They become faces of the church for the people in the community. Deacons penetrate their community on behalf of the church through their business ties, their social ties and their family ties.
A failing of boards of directors is that they sometimes become overly involved in the operations of their organization. The same thing happens with deacons and pastors occasionally.
That is a human frailty that must be resisted.
Board members are to foster a good working environment for their employees and for their organization. Deacons can do the same. Deacons can work for unity and harmony within a congregation. Board members are to help improve staff performance. Deacons can work in appropriate ways to do the same for pastor and staff.
Board members are to be sounding boards for ideas. Pastors pray for someone to bounce ideas off of without fearing that the person with whom they talked will tell others about “the crazy idea our pastor had.” Trust and confidence between the pastor and deacons is vital.
Board members also provide program oversight, the leader said. Board members must look at the budget and the use of all resources to make sure that each part is contributing to the adopted priorities. In churches, the same function must be fulfilled. Every organization in the church supports the adopted priorities. Regular review of the use of resources helps ensure that everyone is working together for a common purpose.
The more I heard, the more I believed much of what was being presented that evening could work for deacons. Obviously, the Bible is the guide for the role of deacons in a Baptist church, but what I heard that evening about planning, about resources, about accountabilities sounded a lot like what Baptists have been teaching for a long time about the way we are supposed to do church.
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