Jesus came to serve...not to be served.
Mark 10:42-45 says, “(42) and Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. (43) But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, (44) and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. (45) For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’”
Again, Jesus came to serve...not to be served. This is surely good news, but Mark 10:45 also gives us even better news. Jesus is not only a model of service, but he takes service one step further and gives his life as a ransom. He serves us by fixing our greatest problem. As a result, the good news of the Bible is not “go be a servant,” but rather “Jesus bore your sins, gave you new life, empowered you with the Spirit, thus enabling you to be a servant through Him.” However, the point is that the Bible is clear that Jesus came to serve...not to be served.
In December we are asking our Covenant Members to nominate people who they think would qualify as Deacons in our church. Deacons are those chosen to serve. Redeemer Church is over six years old and we have yet to ordain Deacons. This is a significant step in the life of our church, therefore I want to write a series of blog articles explaining the Deacon office and how it will function in Redeemer Church.
Deacons are one of two biblical offices in a church. It is good for churches to regularly go back to the Bible on how churches should operate. We recognize the Bible gives local congregations some flexibility in many areas. However, we do understand Deacons as one of two biblical offices in the church.
It is not only right to seek the Bible for how to organize our church, but also healthy. We care little about being the most cutting-edge church or the largest church or the most popular or coolest church. Our heart is to be a healthy church. In fact, we actually fear we are in danger of becoming unhealthy if we do not begin establishing a Deacon ministry.
Over the coming weeks we will explore the character of Deacons. We will also explore the nature of their ministry in the church including how they relate to the Elders. We will then work to lay out how we envision Deacons functioning in our particular church. For now, let me just say that Deacons are chosen to serve. As a result, Deacons are a beautiful blessing to any church.
Therefore, if you are a Covenant Member of Redeemer Church please take time to read these articles. Please work to begin understanding the Deacon office. Reach out and ask me questions about Deacons. Begin praying about our future Deacons as well as who you believe the Lord is leading you to nominate.