Acts 6:1 describes division in a church, a division rooted in cultural differences.
The solution was to create a new office, the office of deacon.
Just as "The Twelve" are the beginning of the office of elder (1 Peter 5:1), so "The Seven" are the model of the office of deacon.
Scripture makes it plain that these two offices should exist in each local congregation (Philippians 1:1), and Romans 16:1 points to Phoebe being a deaconess of the congregation at Cenchrea.
Scripture knows nothing of one-man rule: Each local congregation was to have at least two elders (Acts 14:23).
Paul left Titus in Crete to put things in order, and this involved appointing elders over every local church. As Titus 1:3, 5 make clear, All Elders are Bishops, and all Bishops are Elders.
When we look at Acts 6:2, 4, we see that the work of elders or bishops is identical to what we call a pastor. When I sign a marriage license, I sign it as a Minister of the Gospel. This is confirmed in 1 Timothy 3:1-15 and Acts 20:17, 28.
We also see in Acts 6:2-4 that the work of deacons is handling the "business" side of the church, making sure that people's physical needs are met.
The result was a vibrant, unified church that expanded by evangelism and witnessed the conversion of many Jewish priests (Acts 6:7).
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After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
