February 1, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode, Revs. Chris Cashen and Bill Shishko consider how churches might identify men called to the office of deacon, drawing from 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Many congregations and church plants either lack deacons entirely or may not have enough to meet their needs. How can a church discern and recognize those whom God may be calling to this vital role? Join seasoned pastors Bill and Chris as they offer thoughtful guidance on following the Holy Spirit's leading in identifying future deacons.
Referenced in this episode:
1 Timothy 3:8-13
Acts 6
A Training Program for Deacons
About the guest:
Rev. Bill Shishko bio
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bill Shishko (00:00):
Cultivate deaconal mindedness in everybody in the
church, not just a deacon oughtto be an exemplar of what all
Christians are as servants, andso that should be cultivated
overall, and then of courseyou'll see men that kind of rise
in that as men that areparticularly deacquaintly minded
(00:24):
.
David Nakhla (00:24):
Welcome to the Reformed Deacon, a casual
conversation with topicsspecifically designed to help
local Reformed Deacons.
There are nearly a thousanddeacons in the OPC alone, so
let's take this opportunity tolearn from and encourage one
another.
We're so glad you could join us.
Let's jump into our nextepisode.
Chris Cashen (00:44):
Welcome to another episode of the Reformed Deacon
Podcast.
My name is Chris Cashin and Iserve as pastor at Trinity
Reformed OPC in Lanham, Maryland.
I also serve on the OPC'sCommittee on Diaconal Ministries
, and today with me is ReverendBill Shishko.
Bill really needs nointroduction.
He is currently serving aspastor of the Haven located in
(01:08):
Commack, Long Island, that's NewYork.
He was pastor at FranklinSquare.
Bill, for how many years wereyou at Franklin Square?
Bill Shishko (01:15):
Oh, 35 and a half years,
Chris Cashen (01:20):
And then you were regional home missionary for
some time.
How long were you serving inthat post?
Bill Shishko (01:25):
I served there.
I started in 2016.
My heart's in the pastorate,chris.
I guess there are some menbetter wired to be regional home
missionaries than I am, but mybrethren that I was working with
, I think, realized that I justlove pastoring people.
I just love pastoring peopleand they urged me to, as an RHM,
to get a work going, by God'sgrace, in the eastern part of
(01:48):
Long Island, suffolk County,where there are over a million
and a half people.
You've got free Reformedchurches.
That's it, and so this is—so Ifeel like I'm a man on the
mission field and a pastor atthe same time, and I'm happy to
be doing it.
Chris Cashen (02:06):
Praise God, that's wonderful work.
I'm glad you're there.
You have a wife, margaret, andsix children and 10
grandchildren.
Bill Shishko (02:12):
Wow.
But since that was done, we'vegot 11.
We had one born about a monthago Praise.
Chris Cashen (02:16):
God Wonderful.
Well, bill, welcome to thepodcast.
Thank you for taking the timeto be with us today.
Today, pastor Bill and I willbe discussing your next deacon,
or looking for your next deacon.
We're trying to answer thequestion of how a church might
go about identifying men calledto the office of deacon.
(02:38):
This is a significant topicbecause we have many churches in
the OPC that don't have anydeacons, or, at least from a
human perspective, not enoughdeacons, and so we also have
church plants who are lookingfor men who would be raised up
to serve in this ordained office.
So the question is how does achurch go about, or a church
(03:01):
plant go about, identifying menthat may be called to serve in
the office of deacon?
We're going to begin today byjust opening up a short passage
of scripture to see how it mighthelp us think through this
topic.
Again, from time to time, wewant to take an in-depth look at
Bible passages and theologicaltopics like this one, to
(03:25):
strengthen a deacon'sunderstanding of the purpose for
his office or in his office ashe works in his office, and so
we're inviting Pastor Bill hereto open up this topic for us and
guide us in it.
Today, we're going to be takinga look at 1 Timothy, chapter 3,
but most of our discussion isgoing to be focused on a
(03:47):
practical application of thispassage as it relates to finding
the next deacon.
So let me take a moment andread that.
For us that's 1 Timothy 3.
I'll begin at verse 8, and I'mgoing to be using the English
Standard Version this morning.
Let's give attention to theWord of God.
Deacons likewise must bedignified, not double-tongued,
(04:12):
not addicted to much wine, notgreedy for dishonest gain.
They must hold the mystery ofthe faith with a clear
conscience, and let them also betested first.
Then let them serve as deaconsif they prove themselves
blameless.
Their wives, likewise must bedignified, not slanderers, but
(04:37):
sober-minded, faithful in allthings.
Let deacons each be the husbandof one wife, managing their
children and their ownhouseholds well, for those who
serve well as deacons gain agood standing for themselves and
also for great confidence inthe faith that is in Christ
(05:01):
Jesus.
Amen.
Well, bill, would you pray forus?
Bill Shishko (05:08):
Our God.
We are so grateful for thisprivilege to not only open your
word, but discuss it and see itapplied to the very real
situations that churches face,and so we pray for the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, and we pray,above all, that you will
glorify the great deacon, theLord Jesus, amen.
Chris Cashen (05:30):
Amen.
Thank you Well, bill.
I'd like to begin ourconversation with one big
qualification.
As we think through thispassage and our desire to have
more deacons, it's possible thatwe may consider this to be
merely about a choice made bythe congregation.
So is the selection of a man tothe office of deacon merely a
(05:54):
matter of creating a list ofqualifications and then checking
off boxes to determine if a manis called?
In other words, is this processsimilar to that process of an
election to a seculargovernmental office and, if not,
how does it differ?
Bill Shishko (06:12):
Well, my response would be, to use the Apostle
Paul's language, in the Greek megenoito.
God forbid that we begin tothink about this process like
the election to a seculargovernmental office.
Please, given the way things goin the secular elections, let's
not think that.
(06:33):
How does it differ?
We're talking about 180-degreedifference.
Number one if we're talkingabout a call to a minister or a
ruling elder or a deacon,special offices in the church
we're talking about a call thatreally does two things.
Number one, it begins with theLord equipping a man for that
(07:00):
particular work minister, rulingelder or deacon and then,
number two, the Holy Spiritworking within a congregation to
recognize those things asthings that line up with what
the Word of God says about aminister or an elder or a deacon
.
So again, that's 180 degreesdifferent from any secular views
(07:24):
of election to governmentaloffice.
Chris Cashen (07:27):
Very good.
I'm glad we cleared that up, soto speak.
And so we're talking aboutspiritual things today.
We're seeking the working ofthe Holy Spirit and seeking that
working within a man and tryingto identify that, that working
within a man and trying toidentify that.
So, bill, as we continue and aswe've opened up, or beginning
(07:55):
to open up, this passage in 1Timothy, it's interesting that
Paul begins describing thequalifications for a man, for a
deacon, using very general,almost what some people might
consider to be secularattributes for good people and
we know there are no good people.
He says this deacons, likewise,must be dignified, not
(08:15):
double-tongued, not addicted tomuch wine, not greedy for
dishonest gain.
Why do you think Paul beginswith these descriptors and not
faith in Christ?
Do you think he might have beenconsidering Luke's record in
Acts, which the apostles therebegan very similarly, in Acts,
chapter 6, brothers, pick outfrom among you seven men of good
(08:39):
repute, full of the spirit andwisdom.
Bill Shishko (08:41):
That's a great question, chris.
I have to admit I didn't thinkof it.
But when you realize that Lukeaccompanied the apostle Paul and
Luke wrote Acts under theinspiration of God, I think
that's.
I don't know the answer to thequestion, but I think it's a
very good question and I thinkyou'd have to do more work than
I've done on the dating of thetwo books and so on.
The fact of the matter isthey're both texts given under
(09:05):
the inspiration of God.
The fact that Scriptureinterprets Scripture means we
use the material in Acts 6.
And I do assume, chris, noteverybody does, they should, but
not everybody assumes that Acts6 is the beginning of the
diaconate.
I'd really urge your listeners,if they're on the fence about
that, to really think carefully.
(09:25):
The origin of the diaconate I'dreally urge your listeners, if
they're on the fence about that,to really think carefully.
The origin of the diaconate inActs 6 is actually, in a sense,
very similar to the origin ofthose that would be elders
serving Moses that you readabout in Exodus 19.
The church had grown, youneeded more officers and so on.
And it's clear in Acts 6, lukeis writing about deacons.
(09:47):
He uses the word there over andover again.
And if you don't see Acts 6 asthe inception of the diaconate,
then you're really kind ofhanging our text 1 Timothy 3, on
a sky hook.
So that's just kind of apreamble to all of that.
Why doesn't he assume faith issomething like it is assumed?
(10:07):
I mean, even in 1 Timothy, youknow, it does say full of faith
and of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts Paul speaks about thosewho are in a good faith.
So it's not a faith, it's justassumed it was the mark of a
saint.
But why are these thingshighlighted?
I think we can talk about thema little bit later when we talk
(10:30):
about the specific work of thediaconate.
But it's really important foryour listeners to realize that
in the first century andespecially in the second century
, we were living in a time inwhich people were in a moral
wilderness.
The Stoic philosophy andEpicurean philosophy, the
(10:55):
remnants of it, were there.
But people were very jadedabout philosophy and moral codes
and they were kind of lost.
Jaded about philosophy andmoral codes and they were kind
of lost.
And all that we know fromreading about the New Testament
but also the early church, isthat the church it was a moral
(11:16):
representation in an immoralculture or, more specifically,
it represented the Holy Christin, at best, a morally confused
culture.
So why are these things here?
I mean, in the first place theyrepresent Christ, and then we
can deal with this a little bitlater.
(11:37):
The specific things that aregiven here really do bear in
many ways on that holiness andrighteousness being displayed
before others in a proper way.
Chris Cashen (11:49):
That's helpful.
You've turned us back to Christ, away from thinking the
possibility that these were justsecular attributes, but these
are attributes we find in JesusChrist.
Very good, jesus Christ, verygood.
(12:10):
Well, bill Deacon Dave is tired.
He's a solo deacon in a smallerOPC church in actually small
town USA.
He needs help and this pastyear Dave has had many
opportunities to show the mercyof Christ to particular members
of the congregation.
He's grateful, but he'd reallyappreciate some help to do that
work.
So while the pastor and thesession have been of great help
(12:32):
to him, he could use anothergodly man focused on mercy
ministry.
So Deacon Dave is wondering howam I to help the congregation
identify a man who may be calledto the diaconate?
David is very familiar with 1Timothy 3, but not quite sure
how to use this verse that we'vebeen talking about this 1
(12:52):
Timothy 8.
Deacons must be dignified, notdouble-tongued, not addicted to
much wine, not greedy fordishonest gain.
As we're looking for men tofill this office, how would you
advise Dave to help the churchevaluate those attributes among
those who might be considered?
Bill Shishko (13:14):
That's a great question, chris.
When you begin with, deacon Danis tired.
I'm sure many of your listenersare going to identify with that
, because the work of the deaconcan get very, very tiring.
Well, again, let me back up alittle bit.
When there's a need for churchoffices, period in church life,
(13:37):
that's kind of like a dietarydeficiency in the body.
I mean, we could say all thatwe want about carbs, but we need
to have good carbs and yourbody will cry out for them.
So when that comes and there'sthat dietary deficiency, the way
you begin to meet that is bythe ministering of the Word of
God, by opening up thescriptures, and this is really
(14:01):
important, especially foryounger churches, where people
don't they're not familiar withwhat it is to call out an elder
or a deacon or a minister, and apastor really needs to spend
the time teaching on what thismeans.
So I would say two-prongedthing.
When you need officers on whatthis means, so I would say
two-pronged thing when you needofficers Luke 10 and verse two
(14:23):
pray that the Lord of theharvest send forth laborers into
the harvest field, and thatshould be the mark of every
prayer meeting that we have, theonly thing we do, but certainly
Jesus didn't give us a lot ofspecific things to pray for, so
that's one of them.
And then the second thing, soimportant is have a minister
(14:43):
needs to teach and preach onthese passages, these terms,
these qualifications that you'vementioned.
Each one is pregnant withsignificance in itself,
dignified, for example, gravitythat a man has to have.
Why is that there?
What does it mean?
How does it look?
Does it mean a man never smiles?
(15:03):
I mean that kind of thing.
You're opening that up, notdouble-tongued.
That's so important for thediaconate, because deacons are.
They're making promises topeople.
As you well know, chris, inyour work you want to help and
if you tell someone we're goingto do this again, the first
(15:24):
situation in Act 6, your widows.
They didn't have big bankaccounts, they needed food
literally every day, and so aman of his word.
And as you open up those things, that then sensitizes the
congregation to what you lookfor in a man.
Remember a call.
A call is God is at work, godis forming a man.
(15:48):
If you need laborers for theharvest, you've got to believe
that he is in the process offorming or will give men who
have those qualificationsprocess or forming, or will give
men who have thosequalifications.
I think, without beinglegalistic about this, the
apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 3, speaking of the elders, but he
(16:09):
also carries over to verse 8,elders and deacons must have
these qualifications.
And frankly, my skin crawlswhen you hear men say well, you
know, it would be a good thingif they had these qualifications
, but it's not necessary.
Excuse me, jesus said you must.
(16:30):
He uses the same word, theGreek word day.
You must be born again.
Men must have thesequalifications.
Since we must teach them andopen them up and be realistic
about what they mean, then atthe same time, a minister needs
to be explaining to acongregation what it means that
(16:51):
those members are looking formen that have these
qualifications.
So I can't overstate that,chris.
Chris Cashen (17:02):
So good counsel, bill.
We're looking to the pastor topreach on this, to teach on this
.
Do you think that Deacon, danor Dave either one we can use
them both today.
Do you think they have a rolein helping the congregation
understand what these variousattributes and characteristics
(17:23):
are, or are we going to leave itto the ministers?
Bill Shishko (17:26):
Oh, absolutely.
You assume that Deacon Dan orDeacon Dave or whatever is a
godly man, is a model of adeacon and without drawing
attention to himself.
People should see those thingsin that man.
And apropos of that, again Isay this I can't overstate this.
(17:47):
I can't overstate theimportance of Matthew 20 and
verse 28.
Jesus didn't come literally tobe deaconed to, he came to
deacon, he came.
The word means a waiter ontable.
In fact, when we would teachpastoral theology in Franklin
Square one of the evenings, we'dtake the men to a wonderful
(18:11):
Italian restaurant, kingUmberto's, and the waiters were
excellent and I would say, okay,watch these waiters, and what
do you learn about what it is towait on tables?
And I would even tell thewaiters most of them weren't
believers, but they were goodwaiters you're being an example
to us but what it meant?
There was an individual concernfor people, they listened.
(18:34):
Those waiters never wroteanything down, and we usually
don't.
You visit someone, you make amental note of what's needed,
they bring it, they're prompt,they ask questions and so on.
Anyway, but look for thediaconal-mindedness in which,
above all else, you look for aman who loves to serve others.
(18:55):
He just loves to do that andtalk about counterculture and
the early church, especially inits officers.
But the early church, in itsoverall life and its officers,
it was countercultural.
Well, what is our culture?
Our culture is utterly theopposite of service.
It's, by and large, a very,very self-centered culture.
(19:18):
Deacons are just the opposite.
They're other-centered people.
They're first of all centeredon Christ, the great deacon.
But I just, if you want aframework for what you're
looking for in deacons, that'sthe gold-gilded frame of
diaconal-mindedness that fleshesout Matthew 20, 2028 in the
(19:39):
lives of Christian men.
Chris Cashen (19:42):
Yes, deacon Dan is an example and in that example
he's showing forth this heart ofservice.
Very good.
Bill Shishko (19:52):
But let me just add one other thing, Chris,
because this is one of my greatinterests.
If you believe that Acts 6 isthe inception of the diaconate
and, as I've said, I think weshould well our understanding of
Acts 6, where you've got thechurch in Jerusalem, that wasn't
(20:13):
just a local church.
Our standards speak about thescriptures holding out a
Presbyterian church.
Our standards speak about thescriptures holding out a
presbytery in a church, and soit was.
I don't know if it's a modernlanguage, which would be a
church with a lot of campuses,but we call it a presbytery.
Well, those deacons were partof the presbytery, and when I
hear or read, Deacon Dan istired, we're not independent.
(20:37):
Hopefully there are some menwithin a presbytery who can help
Deacon Dan, either volunteeringto come in or speaking with him
, encouraging him or whatever,but please, let's not think like
independent churches.
Let's think as Presbyterians inour view of deacons.
Chris Cashen (20:58):
Very good, good reminder.
Well, paul turns now to faith.
They he's referring again toqualifications for deacons they
must hold the mystery of thefaith with a clear conscience.
That's verse 9.
Again, paul seems to followLuke's record in Acts, where he
writes Therefore, brothers, pickout from among you seven men of
(21:21):
good repute, full of the Spiritand wisdom.
So, bill, we know that theScripture references different
levels of faith.
Matthew 17, jesus statesbecause of your little faith.
He's speaking to the deaconsnow who were excuse me, the
(21:41):
disciples now who are unable toremove a wicked demon from a
little boy because of yourlittle faith.
In other places in scripture wehave reference to little faith,
or needing to be built up andestablished in faith, or the,
the father, the disciples, whosay to the lord increase our
(22:03):
faith.
And so deacon deacon um dave isnow, or deacon don dan is now
wondering how much faith isneeded, and he comes to you and
he asks you that question,pastor how much faith are we
looking for here?
Bill Shishko (22:21):
You got a whole diaconate here.
You got Dan, you got Dave, yougot Don.
So that's good.
Again, chris, that's a greatquestion and I'm not really sure
how to answer part of that.
How much faith is needed?
I don't know.
Jesus commended the faith of amustard seed, but I would say
this you want a man who reallyis optimistic about the promises
(22:47):
of God.
Now that gets us into a wholeother area.
I mean, I'm apost-millennialist and I'm not
embarrassed about it, and whensomebody told me that they're
pessimistic amillennialists, Itell them that they're guilty of
emotional heterodoxy.
But apart from all that, we'remeant to believe the promises of
(23:08):
God.
And does a man communicate,full of faith and of the Holy
Spirit?
And faith is part of the fruitof the Spirit?
But does a man reallycommunicate?
I don't know.
A buoyancy, an optimism, a joyabout a belief in exactly what
(23:28):
God says in his word.
And, of course, one of thereasons you need that deacons
are ministering to people inaffliction.
To people in affliction.
You go to a widow who's justlost a husband and she's not
sure how things are going to gofor her.
Well, if you have a deacon whodoesn't have, again, just a deep
(23:49):
commitment to the promises ofGod and also an optimism that
God will do what he says.
I'm not going to be a very gooddeacon, so I think that would
be part of my answer.
The other thing is, I think weneed to keep in mind that when
it's holding the mystery of thefaith with a pure conscience and
(24:11):
gaining a great boldness in thefaith which is an interesting
thing why do you say to thedeacons that they do their work
well?
They obtain great boldness inthe faith.
Well, part of that is you'redoing your work as a deacon.
You see this in a real sensewith Philip, who was a deacon
(24:33):
and yet at the same time heministered the gospel.
Deacons are ministering thegospel to people and when you do
, you get boldness.
But I say all that to say thisyou really want deacons who do
understand the faith well.
That's the other side of it.
There's faith that issubjective he's a faithful man
(24:53):
Faith that is objective he callsthe faith.
I mean, I think putting up theshield of faith is what's in
view there.
It's the faith.
And that would bear, chris, onthe training of deacons.
I'm not pushing my deacon'smanual, but we took this
seriously when we trained.
And when we train our deaconswe take them through the
(25:15):
Westminster Confession of Faithand then we refer to the larger
and shorter catechism and webasically that becomes a prism
through which we look at thework of the diaconate.
So it's both ends.
You want a man who, again, hebelieves the promises and you
(25:35):
kind of want to hitch yourselfto that train and at the same
time he understands the faithand how it bears on his work.
Chris Cashen (25:44):
That's excellent.
Well, deacon Dan is nowwondering, because you've
answered in that way for elders,paul indicates that a man must
not be a recent convert.
A man must not be a recentconvert.
And so Dan is wondering, basedupon what you just said, maybe
(26:11):
he should just add that, as aqualification for deacons,
wouldn't it be wise to add somelength of time that a man has
walked in faith before he can beput up for election to the
office of deacon?
How would you guide and counselDan at this point?
Bill Shishko (26:22):
Well, again, that's a good question and
there's a lot of aspects to it.
I think the reason for thatspecific qualification given to
the elder is, let's face it,there's a lot of prominence
that's given to a man whoteaches, and it says in Proverbs
as the refining pot to silverso is praise to the man.
(26:42):
You have a man who teaches andpreaches, and if he's at all
gifted he's going to get praise,and that becomes probably one
of his most severe tests as aman of prominence.
Not so with deacons, in thework of a deacon as a servant,
and there ought to be a humilityconnected with it.
So I think that's why thatspecific qualification is not
(27:06):
given there, but why let himfirst be tested?
And again, I can't overstatethat, because what a deacon is?
People are dependent upon what adeacon does.
If he makes a promise that ateam is going to come to help
people with a rebuilding project, or it's a widow who perhaps
(27:29):
can't afford a heating oil andit's getting cold outside,
you've got to have a deacon whois not double-tongued, doesn't
speak with a forked tongue,which is probably the main idea
there and so he is somebodywho—this is one of the first
things I look for If he sayshe's going to do something, he
(27:50):
does it.
Part of that, I think.
While there's not a requirementthat the deacon have a good
testimony with those withoutdoesn't mean you can't do what
we do, and it would come toruling elders or even ministers.
We always got permission fromthe particular candidate to go
(28:13):
to his employer and get atestimonial of his abilities,
and while that's not required inthe text, I think that could be
done.
You ask is this man prompt inhis work?
Does he do his work?
Is he honest in his work?
I mean, we really, again, we'retalking about somebody who
represents Christ and so, whilewe don't want artificially high
(28:37):
standards, we do want realisticstandards.
So I think that's probably theway that I would answer Deacon
Dan or Don or Dave or whateverhe is Go to the text and do what
it says.
Chris Cashen (28:51):
That's helpful.
You did mention testing andPaul tells us let them also be
tested first.
He writes pretty broadly herewhat kind of testing is
envisioned and who might do that.
Bill Shishko (29:07):
Yeah, that's great .
Maybe going back to youroriginal point, let's say Deacon
Dan sees somebody in there.
He works with men in the churchand Deacon Dan sees, so-and-so,
maybe, a new brother in thechurch.
He's recently professed hisfaith in Christ but he's really
on fire for the Lord.
Now there's meteors in theChristian life.
There's those that burn quickly.
(29:28):
They burn brightly but theydon't last.
But you see, a man of service, Ithink, to communicate with the
elders and say I'm wondering ifover time we might watch and
consider brother so-and-so forthe diaconate.
So you get the elders involvedin their work of rule, because
rule means the elders areexpected to see that these
(29:51):
requirements in 1 Timothy 3 aremet, even before a man is put
before the congregation.
So you've got deacons, deaconDan and other deacons and the
elders looking at this.
Then give the man some thingsto do, coach him, help him, but
see how he does with things andyou can find out rather soon is
(30:12):
the man dependable?
Is the man respected in what hedoes?
Do people say I reallyappreciate the way Brother
So-and-So handled this issue?
Or the way he came to our homeand spoke with us?
We knew he wasn't a churchofficer but we felt like we were
dealing with a deacon.
You look for things like thisand again remember the Holy
(30:36):
Spirit is at work in what wecall the general office of the
believer.
When you hear things like thatand they line up with what the
Word of God says, you payattention to that.
Don't jump too quickly becauseyou want training time, but look
for those and give thoseopportunities.
And if a man constantly fumblesthe ball, don't make a mistake
(31:00):
and put him before thecongregation too soon.
Chris Cashen (31:04):
Very good.
And you know, paul ends thisparticular portion of testing.
Let them serve as deacons ifthey prove themselves blameless.
Now we know Paul can't bespeaking of being sinless as he
writes in Romans 7, he speaks ofhis own sin.
He continues to do that whichhe doesn't want to do, knows
that he should not do.
(31:24):
So what does this mean?
Proving themselves blameless?
What should Deacon Dan belooking for?
You?
Bill Shishko (31:33):
know, let me just back up for a moment, chris, and
that's a great question.
When I teach congregationsabout calling out ministers or
elders but it would apply todeacons as well it seemed good
to the Holy Spirit and to us.
What does that mean?
Well, now you know, as the HolySpirit opens up the word of God
, but I've always found Acts 16in verse 2 to be very helpful.
(31:56):
Always found Acts 16 and verse2 to be very helpful.
Timothy, who of course wouldbecome a minister, was well
spoken of by the brothers atLystra and Iconium, not just one
local church.
But what kind of testimonialsdo you get?
But anyway, that's the otherarea.
Yeah, that's again that's agreat question.
Your standard answer aboutproving themselves blameless,
(32:18):
which is also true of the elder,is they're not open to a charge
.
Frankly, that comes to me witha resounding thud.
I don't want an officer aboutwhom you could say well, he's
not so bad that we have got tothe point we have to charge him
yet.
That doesn't quite ring rightto me.
(32:40):
I think, interestingly enough,that Isaiah 50 in verse 4 sheds
light on this and peopleimmediately say well, what does
this have to do with the diacon,or even with the eldership.
It's a prophecy of Christ, andthe Lord himself speaks here.
Jesus, prophetically, the Lordhas given me the tongue of those
(33:03):
who are taught that I mightknow how to sustain with a word
him who is weary, which islargely the pastoral ministry.
Then he says, morning bymorning, he awakens, he awakens
my ear to hear as those who aretaught.
The Lord, god, has opened myear and I was not rebellious, I
(33:29):
turned not backward.
Now, what does this have to dowith blameless?
Well, the key word forobedience in the Scripture, well
, the key word for obedience inthe Scripture, both Old and the
New Testaments, is hear, hear, oIsrael.
If someone doesn't hear, youthen bring it to the elders,
(34:01):
oruked about his or her sin.
But what does this have to dowith this?
Blameless, in my opinion, isabove all else.
This is a person who listens.
He not only listens to the Wordof God preached, but when you
counsel him he takes thatseriously.
When you ask him to dosomething, he does it seriously.
(34:23):
When you correct him, helistens to that and makes
corrections.
And that, I think, is again youdon't want someone you can
bring a charge against.
I get that.
But I think proving himselfblameless biblically is.
This is a man who's submissivehe's reverently submissive to
what the word of God says and helistens.
Chris Cashen (34:46):
Well, that drilled down right to where we needed
to be.
Thank you.
Let's do talk about marriage alittle bit.
The apostle here finishesdescribing these qualifications
by mentioning wives and children.
Their wives must likewise bedignified, not slanderous, but
sober-minded, faithful in allthings.
(35:07):
Let deacons each be the husbandof one wife, managing their
children, their households, well.
Now, why does Paul bringfamilies into this evaluation?
Isn't it enough?
If a man's faithful, what dowives and children have to do
with being merciful and servingthe church?
Bill Shishko (35:28):
Yeah, yeah again.
A great question that reallyought to provoke our thought.
Why is this here?
Well, a rather simple answer isthat the church is a family.
If we are to regard older womenas mothers and older men as
fathers, and we are to regardthe younger ones as daughters or
sisters or brothers, thatlanguage is embedded in all of
(35:52):
Scripture.
In fact, I don't think wereally do as much justice to
this as we should.
One of the things that I lovethe church that we have at the
Haven.
The facility was purchased froma brethren group and they were
thrown to say they spoke to oneanother as brothers and sisters
in Christ.
Well, we got to be doing thattoo.
So I mean, that's kind of thebasic reason.
(36:13):
The church is the family.
It's called the household ofGod.
The Bible uses the language ofthe church that's in your house,
then what that means is in theway an elder, or even a deacon
for that matter, the way anelder or a deacon deals with his
wife and with his children.
It ought to be a microcosm ofthe way he deals with the church
(36:35):
.
Chris Cashen (36:35):
Yes, yeah, very good, you know, bill.
There are some who take thispassage to mean that a man must
be married and must havechildren.
So Deacon Dan has a man in mind.
He's getting close.
The problem is he's single.
Getting close, the problem ishe's single.
(37:01):
And because Paul writes thisway of wives and children, dan
is about to cross this guy offof the list.
How might you advise Dan atthis point?
Bill Shishko (37:08):
Sounds like I've got the whole board of deans
speaking about this.
Well, here again, chris, theword of God is so.
It's both expanding and it'sliberating at the same time.
The phrase there is a one-wifehusband.
It doesn't mandate that theperson be married.
(37:29):
Now I realize, in a polygamousculture, which the first century
was and many of our foreignmission fields are, which the
first century was and many ofour foreign mission fields are,
you do have men who have morethan one wife and that would
exclude them, surely, from theeldership or the diaconate or
the ministry.
But the term is a one-wifehusband and more principally,
(37:50):
and I think even going back towhat Jesus says on the Sermon on
the Mount, the guy's notsupposed to be a playboy, is
what it comes down to.
And yes, if he's married he'sgot to be faithful to his wife
and certainly he shouldn't havemore than one wife.
So that's where, again, I thinkthe text is speaking he's not
to be a playboy, and you canunderstand that no man can serve
(38:16):
.
I wouldn't want a man to serveas a minister, as an elder or as
a deacon.
If the man's a playboy, I meanyou recoil at the thought Now
with respect to the deacons andeven with respect to the elders.
And we've got to be carefulhere.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7,paul says in 1 Corinthians 7.32
(38:37):
that the unmarried person isconcerned for the Lord, how he
may serve the Lord.
What strikes me as beingcontradictory, if the text
doesn't mandate that a personmust be married, but then to
exclude a man if he's single,when Paul says there are
(38:57):
definite benefits to that and,quite frankly, if a deacon or a
minister or an elder is single,he is freer to serve the Lord.
I mean one thinks of the lateJohn R Stott in England who was
a single man and the man wasable to do, by his own admission
, many things that he could nothave done had he been married.
(39:17):
So let's be careful here not tosay not really to go beyond
what the Word of God is reallysaying and to remember that
there are other texts thatilluminate this.
And, as many people havepointed out, paul was an apostle
, he was a minister, andremember that ministers take up
both ruling elder and deacon inhis work.
(39:38):
But that's for another day andPaul was single.
So let's be careful with thatway of dealing with the text of
Scripture.
Chris Cashen (39:47):
Good advice.
I think Dan's placing thatman's name back on the list,
Excellent.
Well, Bill, you've beenfaithfully serving many years in
the OPC, certainly FranklinSquare and Regional Home
Missionary now at the Haven.
What other advice might yougive to deacons practical?
You haven't done your work.
(40:07):
I hope this has been practicaland I'll do three points, as
you'd expect, for a preacher.
Bill Shishko (40:23):
I urge churches to really study Acts, chapter 6.
And what is it saying in there?
I don't want to do the work foryou, but the milieu is apostles
.
Now I would still.
Well, ministers aren't apostles,but that replaced now, as the
(40:46):
church is being built byministers and elders.
They were overworked and,particularly including in
diacritical ministry, they weredoing work of mercy.
They didn't say it's wrong thatwe leave the word of God to
serve tables, but they basicallysaid it's not the best.
And so that's the context inwhich deacons were called out.
(41:06):
Yes, ministry of mercy, butmore fundamentally it was to
help the elders than theministers at the time, to free
them for their work.
That will revolutionize achurch's view of how it works
with the deacons.
Deacons should meet with thesession periodically, at least a
(41:27):
couple times a year, maybe fourtimes a year, and let deacons
ask the question how can we help?
And then, so elders don'tmicromanage deacons, and that
could be a problem.
The language is specific in Act6, whom we may appoint over this
business.
Deacons are given under theauthority of a session.
They're given authority intheir sphere and that needs to
(41:51):
be respected.
And, of course, thequalifications in Act 6, which
are really fleshed out in 1Timothy 3.
So that's the one thing.
Really, study Acts 6.
It's fascinating.
Number two cultivate diaconalmindedness in everybody in the
church, not just a deacon oughtto be an exemplar of what all
(42:15):
Christians are as servants, andso that should be cultivated
overall.
And then of course you'll seemen that kind of rise in that,
as men that are particularlydeaconally minded.
And then the last is remind thechurch when it calls out
officers, whether it be aminister or an elder or a deacon
(42:37):
, they're the voice of Christ,not determining that a man needs
to be an officer any more thanthe voice of Christ.
And the church determined thecanon of Scripture.
It recognized the canon ofScripture, recognized what
Christ is doing in thecongregation and, I think,
(42:58):
systematic teaching about that,step by step, so that when a man
is called out to be a deaconthere's a wonderful source of
rejoicing.
The Lord Jesus has spokenclearly through his church and
with revel and so on.
So those would be my wrappingup practical suggestions.
Chris Cashen (43:15):
Bill, that's excellent.
I really appreciate this.
Recognizing the voice of Christ, recognizing what Christ is
doing as he's raising up men,that's extremely helpful.
Well, thank you, Bill, fortaking the time to help us walk
through qualifications andcertainly the practical aspects
of seeking to find that nextdeacon who will be engaged in
(43:40):
that spiritual work of mercyministry in the church Deacons.
We hope that this episode washelpful and will be a great
encouragement to you as youlabor for the Lord in your
various churches.
David Nakhla (43:53):
Thanks for joining us.
Go to our website,thereformdeaconorg.
There you will find all ourepisodes, program notes and
other helpful resources, andplease make plans to join us
again next month for anotherepisode of the Reform Deacon
Podcast.
We'll see you next time.
Cultivate deaconal mindedness in everybody in the
church, not just a deacon oughtto be an exemplar of what all
Christians are as servants, andso that should be cultivated
overall, and then of courseyou'll see men that kind of rise
in that as men that areparticularly deacquaintly minded
(00:24):
.
David Nakhla (00:24):
Welcome to the Reformed Deacon, a casual
conversation with topicsspecifically designed to help
local Reformed Deacons.
There are nearly a thousanddeacons in the OPC alone, so
let's take this opportunity tolearn from and encourage one
another.
We're so glad you could join us.
Let's jump into our nextepisode.
Chris Cashen (00:44):
Welcome to another episode of the Reformed Deacon
Podcast.
My name is Chris Cashin and Iserve as pastor at Trinity
Reformed OPC in Lanham, Maryland.
I also serve on the OPC'sCommittee on Diaconal Ministries
, and today with me is ReverendBill Shishko.
Bill really needs nointroduction.
He is currently serving aspastor of the Haven located in
(01:08):
Commack, Long Island, that's NewYork.
He was pastor at FranklinSquare.
Bill, for how many years wereyou at Franklin Square?
Bill Shishko (01:15):
Oh, 35 and a half years,
Chris Cashen (01:20):
And then you were regional home missionary for
some time.
How long were you serving inthat post?
Bill Shishko (01:25):
I served there.
I started in 2016.
My heart's in the pastorate,chris.
I guess there are some menbetter wired to be regional home
missionaries than I am, but mybrethren that I was working with
, I think, realized that I justlove pastoring people.
I just love pastoring peopleand they urged me to, as an RHM,
to get a work going, by God'sgrace, in the eastern part of
(01:48):
Long Island, suffolk County,where there are over a million
and a half people.
You've got free Reformedchurches.
That's it, and so this is—so Ifeel like I'm a man on the
mission field and a pastor atthe same time, and I'm happy to
be doing it.
Chris Cashen (02:06):
Praise God, that's wonderful work.
I'm glad you're there.
You have a wife, margaret, andsix children and 10
grandchildren.
Bill Shishko (02:12):
Wow.
But since that was done, we'vegot 11.
We had one born about a monthago Praise.
Chris Cashen (02:16):
God Wonderful.
Well, bill, welcome to thepodcast.
Thank you for taking the timeto be with us today.
Today, pastor Bill and I willbe discussing your next deacon,
or looking for your next deacon.
We're trying to answer thequestion of how a church might
go about identifying men calledto the office of deacon.
(02:38):
This is a significant topicbecause we have many churches in
the OPC that don't have anydeacons, or, at least from a
human perspective, not enoughdeacons, and so we also have
church plants who are lookingfor men who would be raised up
to serve in this ordained office.
So the question is how does achurch go about, or a church
(03:01):
plant go about, identifying menthat may be called to serve in
the office of deacon?
We're going to begin today byjust opening up a short passage
of scripture to see how it mighthelp us think through this
topic.
Again, from time to time, wewant to take an in-depth look at
Bible passages and theologicaltopics like this one, to
(03:25):
strengthen a deacon'sunderstanding of the purpose for
his office or in his office ashe works in his office, and so
we're inviting Pastor Bill hereto open up this topic for us and
guide us in it.
Today, we're going to be takinga look at 1 Timothy, chapter 3,
but most of our discussion isgoing to be focused on a
(03:47):
practical application of thispassage as it relates to finding
the next deacon.
So let me take a moment andread that.
For us that's 1 Timothy 3.
I'll begin at verse 8, and I'mgoing to be using the English
Standard Version this morning.
Let's give attention to theWord of God.
Deacons likewise must bedignified, not double-tongued,
(04:12):
not addicted to much wine, notgreedy for dishonest gain.
They must hold the mystery ofthe faith with a clear
conscience, and let them also betested first.
Then let them serve as deaconsif they prove themselves
blameless.
Their wives, likewise must bedignified, not slanderers, but
(04:37):
sober-minded, faithful in allthings.
Let deacons each be the husbandof one wife, managing their
children and their ownhouseholds well, for those who
serve well as deacons gain agood standing for themselves and
also for great confidence inthe faith that is in Christ
(05:01):
Jesus.
Amen.
Well, bill, would you pray forus?
Bill Shishko (05:08):
Our God.
We are so grateful for thisprivilege to not only open your
word, but discuss it and see itapplied to the very real
situations that churches face,and so we pray for the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, and we pray,above all, that you will
glorify the great deacon, theLord Jesus, amen.
Chris Cashen (05:30):
Amen.
Thank you Well, bill.
I'd like to begin ourconversation with one big
qualification.
As we think through thispassage and our desire to have
more deacons, it's possible thatwe may consider this to be
merely about a choice made bythe congregation.
So is the selection of a man tothe office of deacon merely a
(05:54):
matter of creating a list ofqualifications and then checking
off boxes to determine if a manis called?
In other words, is this processsimilar to that process of an
election to a seculargovernmental office and, if not,
how does it differ?
Bill Shishko (06:12):
Well, my response would be, to use the Apostle
Paul's language, in the Greek megenoito.
God forbid that we begin tothink about this process like
the election to a seculargovernmental office.
Please, given the way things goin the secular elections, let's
not think that.
(06:33):
How does it differ?
We're talking about 180-degreedifference.
Number one if we're talkingabout a call to a minister or a
ruling elder or a deacon,special offices in the church
we're talking about a call thatreally does two things.
Number one, it begins with theLord equipping a man for that
(07:00):
particular work minister, rulingelder or deacon and then,
number two, the Holy Spiritworking within a congregation to
recognize those things asthings that line up with what
the Word of God says about aminister or an elder or a deacon
.
So again, that's 180 degreesdifferent from any secular views
(07:24):
of election to governmentaloffice.
Chris Cashen (07:27):
Very good.
I'm glad we cleared that up, soto speak.
And so we're talking aboutspiritual things today.
We're seeking the working ofthe Holy Spirit and seeking that
working within a man and tryingto identify that, that working
within a man and trying toidentify that.
So, bill, as we continue and aswe've opened up, or beginning
(07:55):
to open up, this passage in 1Timothy, it's interesting that
Paul begins describing thequalifications for a man, for a
deacon, using very general,almost what some people might
consider to be secularattributes for good people and
we know there are no good people.
He says this deacons, likewise,must be dignified, not
(08:15):
double-tongued, not addicted tomuch wine, not greedy for
dishonest gain.
Why do you think Paul beginswith these descriptors and not
faith in Christ?
Do you think he might have beenconsidering Luke's record in
Acts, which the apostles therebegan very similarly, in Acts,
chapter 6, brothers, pick outfrom among you seven men of good
(08:39):
repute, full of the spirit andwisdom.
Bill Shishko (08:41):
That's a great question, chris.
I have to admit I didn't thinkof it.
But when you realize that Lukeaccompanied the apostle Paul and
Luke wrote Acts under theinspiration of God, I think
that's.
I don't know the answer to thequestion, but I think it's a
very good question and I thinkyou'd have to do more work than
I've done on the dating of thetwo books and so on.
The fact of the matter isthey're both texts given under
(09:05):
the inspiration of God.
The fact that Scriptureinterprets Scripture means we
use the material in Acts 6.
And I do assume, chris, noteverybody does, they should, but
not everybody assumes that Acts6 is the beginning of the
diaconate.
I'd really urge your listeners,if they're on the fence about
that, to really think carefully.
(09:25):
The origin of the diaconate I'dreally urge your listeners, if
they're on the fence about that,to really think carefully.
The origin of the diaconate inActs 6 is actually, in a sense,
very similar to the origin ofthose that would be elders
serving Moses that you readabout in Exodus 19.
The church had grown, youneeded more officers and so on.
And it's clear in Acts 6, lukeis writing about deacons.
(09:47):
He uses the word there over andover again.
And if you don't see Acts 6 asthe inception of the diaconate,
then you're really kind ofhanging our text 1 Timothy 3, on
a sky hook.
So that's just kind of apreamble to all of that.
Why doesn't he assume faith issomething like it is assumed?
(10:07):
I mean, even in 1 Timothy, youknow, it does say full of faith
and of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts Paul speaks about thosewho are in a good faith.
So it's not a faith, it's justassumed it was the mark of a
saint.
But why are these thingshighlighted?
I think we can talk about thema little bit later when we talk
(10:30):
about the specific work of thediaconate.
But it's really important foryour listeners to realize that
in the first century andespecially in the second century
, we were living in a time inwhich people were in a moral
wilderness.
The Stoic philosophy andEpicurean philosophy, the
(10:55):
remnants of it, were there.
But people were very jadedabout philosophy and moral codes
and they were kind of lost.
Jaded about philosophy andmoral codes and they were kind
of lost.
And all that we know fromreading about the New Testament
but also the early church, isthat the church it was a moral
(11:16):
representation in an immoralculture or, more specifically,
it represented the Holy Christin, at best, a morally confused
culture.
So why are these things here?
I mean, in the first place theyrepresent Christ, and then we
can deal with this a little bitlater.
(11:37):
The specific things that aregiven here really do bear in
many ways on that holiness andrighteousness being displayed
before others in a proper way.
Chris Cashen (11:49):
That's helpful.
You've turned us back to Christ, away from thinking the
possibility that these were justsecular attributes, but these
are attributes we find in JesusChrist.
Very good, jesus Christ, verygood.
(12:10):
Well, bill Deacon Dave is tired.
He's a solo deacon in a smallerOPC church in actually small
town USA.
He needs help and this pastyear Dave has had many
opportunities to show the mercyof Christ to particular members
of the congregation.
He's grateful, but he'd reallyappreciate some help to do that
work.
So while the pastor and thesession have been of great help
(12:32):
to him, he could use anothergodly man focused on mercy
ministry.
So Deacon Dave is wondering howam I to help the congregation
identify a man who may be calledto the diaconate?
David is very familiar with 1Timothy 3, but not quite sure
how to use this verse that we'vebeen talking about this 1
(12:52):
Timothy 8.
Deacons must be dignified, notdouble-tongued, not addicted to
much wine, not greedy fordishonest gain.
As we're looking for men tofill this office, how would you
advise Dave to help the churchevaluate those attributes among
those who might be considered?
Bill Shishko (13:14):
That's a great question, chris.
When you begin with, deacon Danis tired.
I'm sure many of your listenersare going to identify with that
, because the work of the deaconcan get very, very tiring.
Well, again, let me back up alittle bit.
When there's a need for churchoffices, period in church life,
(13:37):
that's kind of like a dietarydeficiency in the body.
I mean, we could say all thatwe want about carbs, but we need
to have good carbs and yourbody will cry out for them.
So when that comes and there'sthat dietary deficiency, the way
you begin to meet that is bythe ministering of the Word of
God, by opening up thescriptures, and this is really
(14:01):
important, especially foryounger churches, where people
don't they're not familiar withwhat it is to call out an elder
or a deacon or a minister, and apastor really needs to spend
the time teaching on what thismeans.
So I would say two-prongedthing.
When you need officers on whatthis means, so I would say
two-pronged thing when you needofficers Luke 10 and verse two
(14:23):
pray that the Lord of theharvest send forth laborers into
the harvest field, and thatshould be the mark of every
prayer meeting that we have, theonly thing we do, but certainly
Jesus didn't give us a lot ofspecific things to pray for, so
that's one of them.
And then the second thing, soimportant is have a minister
(14:43):
needs to teach and preach onthese passages, these terms,
these qualifications that you'vementioned.
Each one is pregnant withsignificance in itself,
dignified, for example, gravitythat a man has to have.
Why is that there?
What does it mean?
How does it look?
Does it mean a man never smiles?
(15:03):
I mean that kind of thing.
You're opening that up, notdouble-tongued.
That's so important for thediaconate, because deacons are.
They're making promises topeople.
As you well know, chris, inyour work you want to help and
if you tell someone we're goingto do this again, the first
(15:24):
situation in Act 6, your widows.
They didn't have big bankaccounts, they needed food
literally every day, and so aman of his word.
And as you open up those things, that then sensitizes the
congregation to what you lookfor in a man.
Remember a call.
A call is God is at work, godis forming a man.
(15:48):
If you need laborers for theharvest, you've got to believe
that he is in the process offorming or will give men who
have those qualificationsprocess or forming, or will give
men who have thosequalifications.
I think, without beinglegalistic about this, the
apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 3, speaking of the elders, but he
(16:09):
also carries over to verse 8,elders and deacons must have
these qualifications.
And frankly, my skin crawlswhen you hear men say well, you
know, it would be a good thingif they had these qualifications
, but it's not necessary.
Excuse me, jesus said you must.
(16:30):
He uses the same word, theGreek word day.
You must be born again.
Men must have thesequalifications.
Since we must teach them andopen them up and be realistic
about what they mean, then atthe same time, a minister needs
to be explaining to acongregation what it means that
(16:51):
those members are looking formen that have these
qualifications.
So I can't overstate that,chris.
Chris Cashen (17:02):
So good counsel, bill.
We're looking to the pastor topreach on this, to teach on this
.
Do you think that Deacon, danor Dave either one we can use
them both today.
Do you think they have a rolein helping the congregation
understand what these variousattributes and characteristics
(17:23):
are, or are we going to leave itto the ministers?
Bill Shishko (17:26):
Oh, absolutely.
You assume that Deacon Dan orDeacon Dave or whatever is a
godly man, is a model of adeacon and without drawing
attention to himself.
People should see those thingsin that man.
And apropos of that, again Isay this I can't overstate this.
(17:47):
I can't overstate theimportance of Matthew 20 and
verse 28.
Jesus didn't come literally tobe deaconed to, he came to
deacon, he came.
The word means a waiter ontable.
In fact, when we would teachpastoral theology in Franklin
Square one of the evenings, we'dtake the men to a wonderful
(18:11):
Italian restaurant, kingUmberto's, and the waiters were
excellent and I would say, okay,watch these waiters, and what
do you learn about what it is towait on tables?
And I would even tell thewaiters most of them weren't
believers, but they were goodwaiters you're being an example
to us but what it meant?
There was an individual concernfor people, they listened.
(18:34):
Those waiters never wroteanything down, and we usually
don't.
You visit someone, you make amental note of what's needed,
they bring it, they're prompt,they ask questions and so on.
Anyway, but look for thediaconal-mindedness in which,
above all else, you look for aman who loves to serve others.
(18:55):
He just loves to do that andtalk about counterculture and
the early church, especially inits officers.
But the early church, in itsoverall life and its officers,
it was countercultural.
Well, what is our culture?
Our culture is utterly theopposite of service.
It's, by and large, a very,very self-centered culture.
(19:18):
Deacons are just the opposite.
They're other-centered people.
They're first of all centeredon Christ, the great deacon.
But I just, if you want aframework for what you're
looking for in deacons, that'sthe gold-gilded frame of
diaconal-mindedness that fleshesout Matthew 20, 2028 in the
(19:39):
lives of Christian men.
Chris Cashen (19:42):
Yes, deacon Dan is an example and in that example
he's showing forth this heart ofservice.
Very good.
Bill Shishko (19:52):
But let me just add one other thing, Chris,
because this is one of my greatinterests.
If you believe that Acts 6 isthe inception of the diaconate
and, as I've said, I think weshould well our understanding of
Acts 6, where you've got thechurch in Jerusalem, that wasn't
(20:13):
just a local church.
Our standards speak about thescriptures holding out a
Presbyterian church.
Our standards speak about thescriptures holding out a
presbytery in a church, and soit was.
I don't know if it's a modernlanguage, which would be a
church with a lot of campuses,but we call it a presbytery.
Well, those deacons were partof the presbytery, and when I
hear or read, Deacon Dan istired, we're not independent.
(20:37):
Hopefully there are some menwithin a presbytery who can help
Deacon Dan, either volunteeringto come in or speaking with him
, encouraging him or whatever,but please, let's not think like
independent churches.
Let's think as Presbyterians inour view of deacons.
Chris Cashen (20:58):
Very good, good reminder.
Well, paul turns now to faith.
They he's referring again toqualifications for deacons they
must hold the mystery of thefaith with a clear conscience.
That's verse 9.
Again, paul seems to followLuke's record in Acts, where he
writes Therefore, brothers, pickout from among you seven men of
(21:21):
good repute, full of the Spiritand wisdom.
So, bill, we know that theScripture references different
levels of faith.
Matthew 17, jesus statesbecause of your little faith.
He's speaking to the deaconsnow who were excuse me, the
(21:41):
disciples now who are unable toremove a wicked demon from a
little boy because of yourlittle faith.
In other places in scripture wehave reference to little faith,
or needing to be built up andestablished in faith, or the,
the father, the disciples, whosay to the lord increase our
(22:03):
faith.
And so deacon deacon um dave isnow, or deacon don dan is now
wondering how much faith isneeded, and he comes to you and
he asks you that question,pastor how much faith are we
looking for here?
Bill Shishko (22:21):
You got a whole diaconate here.
You got Dan, you got Dave, yougot Don.
So that's good.
Again, chris, that's a greatquestion and I'm not really sure
how to answer part of that.
How much faith is needed?
I don't know.
Jesus commended the faith of amustard seed, but I would say
this you want a man who reallyis optimistic about the promises
(22:47):
of God.
Now that gets us into a wholeother area.
I mean, I'm apost-millennialist and I'm not
embarrassed about it, and whensomebody told me that they're
pessimistic amillennialists, Itell them that they're guilty of
emotional heterodoxy.
But apart from all that, we'remeant to believe the promises of
(23:08):
God.
And does a man communicate,full of faith and of the Holy
Spirit?
And faith is part of the fruitof the Spirit?
But does a man reallycommunicate?
I don't know.
A buoyancy, an optimism, a joyabout a belief in exactly what
(23:28):
God says in his word.
And, of course, one of thereasons you need that deacons
are ministering to people inaffliction.
To people in affliction.
You go to a widow who's justlost a husband and she's not
sure how things are going to gofor her.
Well, if you have a deacon whodoesn't have, again, just a deep
(23:49):
commitment to the promises ofGod and also an optimism that
God will do what he says.
I'm not going to be a very gooddeacon, so I think that would
be part of my answer.
The other thing is, I think weneed to keep in mind that when
it's holding the mystery of thefaith with a pure conscience and
(24:11):
gaining a great boldness in thefaith which is an interesting
thing why do you say to thedeacons that they do their work
well?
They obtain great boldness inthe faith.
Well, part of that is you'redoing your work as a deacon.
You see this in a real sensewith Philip, who was a deacon
(24:33):
and yet at the same time heministered the gospel.
Deacons are ministering thegospel to people and when you do
, you get boldness.
But I say all that to say thisyou really want deacons who do
understand the faith well.
That's the other side of it.
There's faith that issubjective he's a faithful man
(24:53):
Faith that is objective he callsthe faith.
I mean, I think putting up theshield of faith is what's in
view there.
It's the faith.
And that would bear, chris, onthe training of deacons.
I'm not pushing my deacon'smanual, but we took this
seriously when we trained.
And when we train our deaconswe take them through the
(25:15):
Westminster Confession of Faithand then we refer to the larger
and shorter catechism and webasically that becomes a prism
through which we look at thework of the diaconate.
So it's both ends.
You want a man who, again, hebelieves the promises and you
(25:35):
kind of want to hitch yourselfto that train and at the same
time he understands the faithand how it bears on his work.
Chris Cashen (25:44):
That's excellent.
Well, deacon Dan is nowwondering, because you've
answered in that way for elders,paul indicates that a man must
not be a recent convert.
A man must not be a recentconvert.
And so Dan is wondering, basedupon what you just said, maybe
(26:11):
he should just add that, as aqualification for deacons,
wouldn't it be wise to add somelength of time that a man has
walked in faith before he can beput up for election to the
office of deacon?
How would you guide and counselDan at this point?
Bill Shishko (26:22):
Well, again, that's a good question and
there's a lot of aspects to it.
I think the reason for thatspecific qualification given to
the elder is, let's face it,there's a lot of prominence
that's given to a man whoteaches, and it says in Proverbs
as the refining pot to silverso is praise to the man.
(26:42):
You have a man who teaches andpreaches, and if he's at all
gifted he's going to get praise,and that becomes probably one
of his most severe tests as aman of prominence.
Not so with deacons, in thework of a deacon as a servant,
and there ought to be a humilityconnected with it.
So I think that's why thatspecific qualification is not
(27:06):
given there, but why let himfirst be tested?
And again, I can't overstatethat, because what a deacon is?
People are dependent upon what adeacon does.
If he makes a promise that ateam is going to come to help
people with a rebuilding project, or it's a widow who perhaps
(27:29):
can't afford a heating oil andit's getting cold outside,
you've got to have a deacon whois not double-tongued, doesn't
speak with a forked tongue,which is probably the main idea
there and so he is somebodywho—this is one of the first
things I look for If he sayshe's going to do something, he
(27:50):
does it.
Part of that, I think.
While there's not a requirementthat the deacon have a good
testimony with those withoutdoesn't mean you can't do what
we do, and it would come toruling elders or even ministers.
We always got permission fromthe particular candidate to go
(28:13):
to his employer and get atestimonial of his abilities,
and while that's not required inthe text, I think that could be
done.
You ask is this man prompt inhis work?
Does he do his work?
Is he honest in his work?
I mean, we really, again, we'retalking about somebody who
represents Christ and so, whilewe don't want artificially high
(28:37):
standards, we do want realisticstandards.
So I think that's probably theway that I would answer Deacon
Dan or Don or Dave or whateverhe is Go to the text and do what
it says.
Chris Cashen (28:51):
That's helpful.
You did mention testing andPaul tells us let them also be
tested first.
He writes pretty broadly herewhat kind of testing is
envisioned and who might do that.
Bill Shishko (29:07):
Yeah, that's great .
Maybe going back to youroriginal point, let's say Deacon
Dan sees somebody in there.
He works with men in the churchand Deacon Dan sees, so-and-so,
maybe, a new brother in thechurch.
He's recently professed hisfaith in Christ but he's really
on fire for the Lord.
Now there's meteors in theChristian life.
There's those that burn quickly.
(29:28):
They burn brightly but theydon't last.
But you see, a man of service, Ithink, to communicate with the
elders and say I'm wondering ifover time we might watch and
consider brother so-and-so forthe diaconate.
So you get the elders involvedin their work of rule, because
rule means the elders areexpected to see that these
(29:51):
requirements in 1 Timothy 3 aremet, even before a man is put
before the congregation.
So you've got deacons, deaconDan and other deacons and the
elders looking at this.
Then give the man some thingsto do, coach him, help him, but
see how he does with things andyou can find out rather soon is
(30:12):
the man dependable?
Is the man respected in what hedoes?
Do people say I reallyappreciate the way Brother
So-and-So handled this issue?
Or the way he came to our homeand spoke with us?
We knew he wasn't a churchofficer but we felt like we were
dealing with a deacon.
You look for things like thisand again remember the Holy
(30:36):
Spirit is at work in what wecall the general office of the
believer.
When you hear things like thatand they line up with what the
Word of God says, you payattention to that.
Don't jump too quickly becauseyou want training time, but look
for those and give thoseopportunities.
And if a man constantly fumblesthe ball, don't make a mistake
(31:00):
and put him before thecongregation too soon.
Chris Cashen (31:04):
Very good.
And you know, paul ends thisparticular portion of testing.
Let them serve as deacons ifthey prove themselves blameless.
Now we know Paul can't bespeaking of being sinless as he
writes in Romans 7, he speaks ofhis own sin.
He continues to do that whichhe doesn't want to do, knows
that he should not do.
(31:24):
So what does this mean?
Proving themselves blameless?
What should Deacon Dan belooking for?
You?
Bill Shishko (31:33):
know, let me just back up for a moment, chris, and
that's a great question.
When I teach congregationsabout calling out ministers or
elders but it would apply todeacons as well it seemed good
to the Holy Spirit and to us.
What does that mean?
Well, now you know, as the HolySpirit opens up the word of God
, but I've always found Acts 16in verse 2 to be very helpful.
(31:56):
Always found Acts 16 and verse2 to be very helpful.
Timothy, who of course wouldbecome a minister, was well
spoken of by the brothers atLystra and Iconium, not just one
local church.
But what kind of testimonialsdo you get?
But anyway, that's the otherarea.
Yeah, that's again that's agreat question.
Your standard answer aboutproving themselves blameless,
(32:18):
which is also true of the elder,is they're not open to a charge
.
Frankly, that comes to me witha resounding thud.
I don't want an officer aboutwhom you could say well, he's
not so bad that we have got tothe point we have to charge him
yet.
That doesn't quite ring rightto me.
(32:40):
I think, interestingly enough,that Isaiah 50 in verse 4 sheds
light on this and peopleimmediately say well, what does
this have to do with the diacon,or even with the eldership.
It's a prophecy of Christ, andthe Lord himself speaks here.
Jesus, prophetically, the Lordhas given me the tongue of those
(33:03):
who are taught that I mightknow how to sustain with a word
him who is weary, which islargely the pastoral ministry.
Then he says, morning bymorning, he awakens, he awakens
my ear to hear as those who aretaught.
The Lord, god, has opened myear and I was not rebellious, I
(33:29):
turned not backward.
Now, what does this have to dowith blameless?
Well, the key word forobedience in the Scripture, well
, the key word for obedience inthe Scripture, both Old and the
New Testaments, is hear, hear, oIsrael.
If someone doesn't hear, youthen bring it to the elders,
(34:01):
oruked about his or her sin.
But what does this have to dowith this?
Blameless, in my opinion, isabove all else.
This is a person who listens.
He not only listens to the Wordof God preached, but when you
counsel him he takes thatseriously.
When you ask him to dosomething, he does it seriously.
(34:23):
When you correct him, helistens to that and makes
corrections.
And that, I think, is again youdon't want someone you can
bring a charge against.
I get that.
But I think proving himselfblameless biblically is.
This is a man who's submissivehe's reverently submissive to
what the word of God says and helistens.
Chris Cashen (34:46):
Well, that drilled down right to where we needed
to be.
Thank you.
Let's do talk about marriage alittle bit.
The apostle here finishesdescribing these qualifications
by mentioning wives and children.
Their wives must likewise bedignified, not slanderous, but
sober-minded, faithful in allthings.
(35:07):
Let deacons each be the husbandof one wife, managing their
children, their households, well.
Now, why does Paul bringfamilies into this evaluation?
Isn't it enough?
If a man's faithful, what dowives and children have to do
with being merciful and servingthe church?
Bill Shishko (35:28):
Yeah, yeah again.
A great question that reallyought to provoke our thought.
Why is this here?
Well, a rather simple answer isthat the church is a family.
If we are to regard older womenas mothers and older men as
fathers, and we are to regardthe younger ones as daughters or
sisters or brothers, thatlanguage is embedded in all of
(35:52):
Scripture.
In fact, I don't think wereally do as much justice to
this as we should.
One of the things that I lovethe church that we have at the
Haven.
The facility was purchased froma brethren group and they were
thrown to say they spoke to oneanother as brothers and sisters
in Christ.
Well, we got to be doing thattoo.
So I mean, that's kind of thebasic reason.
(36:13):
The church is the family.
It's called the household ofGod.
The Bible uses the language ofthe church that's in your house,
then what that means is in theway an elder, or even a deacon
for that matter, the way anelder or a deacon deals with his
wife and with his children.
It ought to be a microcosm ofthe way he deals with the church
(36:35):
.
Chris Cashen (36:35):
Yes, yeah, very good, you know, bill.
There are some who take thispassage to mean that a man must
be married and must havechildren.
So Deacon Dan has a man in mind.
He's getting close.
The problem is he's single.
Getting close, the problem ishe's single.
(37:01):
And because Paul writes thisway of wives and children, dan
is about to cross this guy offof the list.
How might you advise Dan atthis point?
Bill Shishko (37:08):
Sounds like I've got the whole board of deans
speaking about this.
Well, here again, chris, theword of God is so.
It's both expanding and it'sliberating at the same time.
The phrase there is a one-wifehusband.
It doesn't mandate that theperson be married.
(37:29):
Now I realize, in a polygamousculture, which the first century
was and many of our foreignmission fields are, which the
first century was and many ofour foreign mission fields are,
you do have men who have morethan one wife and that would
exclude them, surely, from theeldership or the diaconate or
the ministry.
But the term is a one-wifehusband and more principally,
(37:50):
and I think even going back towhat Jesus says on the Sermon on
the Mount, the guy's notsupposed to be a playboy, is
what it comes down to.
And yes, if he's married he'sgot to be faithful to his wife
and certainly he shouldn't havemore than one wife.
So that's where, again, I thinkthe text is speaking he's not
to be a playboy, and you canunderstand that no man can serve
(38:16):
.
I wouldn't want a man to serveas a minister, as an elder or as
a deacon.
If the man's a playboy, I meanyou recoil at the thought Now
with respect to the deacons andeven with respect to the elders.
And we've got to be carefulhere.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7,paul says in 1 Corinthians 7.32
(38:37):
that the unmarried person isconcerned for the Lord, how he
may serve the Lord.
What strikes me as beingcontradictory, if the text
doesn't mandate that a personmust be married, but then to
exclude a man if he's single,when Paul says there are
(38:57):
definite benefits to that and,quite frankly, if a deacon or a
minister or an elder is single,he is freer to serve the Lord.
I mean one thinks of the lateJohn R Stott in England who was
a single man and the man wasable to do, by his own admission
, many things that he could nothave done had he been married.
(39:17):
So let's be careful here not tosay not really to go beyond
what the Word of God is reallysaying and to remember that
there are other texts thatilluminate this.
And, as many people havepointed out, paul was an apostle
, he was a minister, andremember that ministers take up
both ruling elder and deacon inhis work.
(39:38):
But that's for another day andPaul was single.
So let's be careful with thatway of dealing with the text of
Scripture.
Chris Cashen (39:47):
Good advice.
I think Dan's placing thatman's name back on the list,
Excellent.
Well, Bill, you've beenfaithfully serving many years in
the OPC, certainly FranklinSquare and Regional Home
Missionary now at the Haven.
What other advice might yougive to deacons practical?
You haven't done your work.
(40:07):
I hope this has been practicaland I'll do three points, as
you'd expect, for a preacher.
Bill Shishko (40:23):
I urge churches to really study Acts, chapter 6.
And what is it saying in there?
I don't want to do the work foryou, but the milieu is apostles
.
Now I would still.
Well, ministers aren't apostles,but that replaced now, as the
(40:46):
church is being built byministers and elders.
They were overworked and,particularly including in
diacritical ministry, they weredoing work of mercy.
They didn't say it's wrong thatwe leave the word of God to
serve tables, but they basicallysaid it's not the best.
And so that's the context inwhich deacons were called out.
(41:06):
Yes, ministry of mercy, butmore fundamentally it was to
help the elders than theministers at the time, to free
them for their work.
That will revolutionize achurch's view of how it works
with the deacons.
Deacons should meet with thesession periodically, at least a
(41:27):
couple times a year, maybe fourtimes a year, and let deacons
ask the question how can we help?
And then, so elders don'tmicromanage deacons, and that
could be a problem.
The language is specific in Act6, whom we may appoint over this
business.
Deacons are given under theauthority of a session.
They're given authority intheir sphere and that needs to
(41:51):
be respected.
And, of course, thequalifications in Act 6, which
are really fleshed out in 1Timothy 3.
So that's the one thing.
Really, study Acts 6.
It's fascinating.
Number two cultivate diaconalmindedness in everybody in the
church, not just a deacon oughtto be an exemplar of what all
(42:15):
Christians are as servants, andso that should be cultivated
overall.
And then of course you'll seemen that kind of rise in that,
as men that are particularlydeaconally minded.
And then the last is remind thechurch when it calls out
officers, whether it be aminister or an elder or a deacon
(42:37):
, they're the voice of Christ,not determining that a man needs
to be an officer any more thanthe voice of Christ.
And the church determined thecanon of Scripture.
It recognized the canon ofScripture, recognized what
Christ is doing in thecongregation and, I think,
(42:58):
systematic teaching about that,step by step, so that when a man
is called out to be a deaconthere's a wonderful source of
rejoicing.
The Lord Jesus has spokenclearly through his church and
with revel and so on.
So those would be my wrappingup practical suggestions.
Chris Cashen (43:15):
Bill, that's excellent.
I really appreciate this.
Recognizing the voice of Christ, recognizing what Christ is
doing as he's raising up men,that's extremely helpful.
Well, thank you, Bill, fortaking the time to help us walk
through qualifications andcertainly the practical aspects
of seeking to find that nextdeacon who will be engaged in
(43:40):
that spiritual work of mercyministry in the church Deacons.
We hope that this episode washelpful and will be a great
encouragement to you as youlabor for the Lord in your
various churches.
David Nakhla (43:53):
Thanks for joining us.
Go to our website,thereformdeaconorg.
There you will find all ourepisodes, program notes and
other helpful resources, andplease make plans to join us
again next month for anotherepisode of the Reform Deacon
Podcast.
We'll see you next time.
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