From the Pastor…
The ministry of deacons is crucial to the effectiveness of the church body. The sixth chapter of Acts reveals in verses 1-7 the institution of the New Testament office of deacon. Seven deacons were chosen by the people for the purpose of service. The growth of the church had precipitated a need by the apostles to have assistance in many of the practical areas of ministry while they focused more of their time on the study and ministry of the word of God. The result of this election was that the ministers were better able to do their jobs and the church grew exponentially.
We are blessed with some faithful and kind deacons here at Roberdel! But that has been the case for many years. We recently celebrated three of our deacons by granting them the status of deacon emeritus. On Easter Sunday we honored Fred Hudson. Sadly for us, Larry Carter was awarded this honor posthumously and we were not able to celebrate with him. However, the wonderful news is that Larry recently received an even greater reward and is free from all earthly responsibilities and limitations.
Charles Hill was also granted the status of deacon emeritus. Mr. Hill has served the body of Christ here at Roberdel for many years, and we are grateful for his sacrificial service. The title “Deacon Emeritus” does not require any action on the part of the person being honored because they have already earned this designation. But it does grant them lifetime rights to attend deacon meetings and it recognizes their years of service and the wisdom they possess – and can still share with the rest of us.
This year we have four deacons who are rotating off after having served their latest three-year term on the deacon body – Franklin Frye, Jerry Goodman, Kenneth McKenzie, and John Starling. We will be seeking to fill these open positions in the next few weeks. Please be in prayer for those whom God is calling to serve in these positions. Pray that they will be obedient to His Call and that we will all be submissive to their servant-leadership.
While there is no perfect human, the Bible does give us a list of deacon qualifications. As an older, wiser mentor to a young pastor named Timothy, the apostle Paul provides some very important guidelines for us to follow as we seek to fill these positions: reverent, not hypocritical, sober, not greedy, having a clear conscience, proven leaders, faithful to their wives, and good fathers. These are the attributes found in 1 Timothy 1:8-13. Let us now pray for the Holy Spirit to impress upon us the names of the men who meet these qualifications and are obedient to the call to serve.
In Christian Love,
Billy Dennis
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