"A Rose, by any other name . . . "

"and the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "it is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. But select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation,  full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task, but we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."  (Acts 6:2-4, NASB)

Once again, as in many times past, I have been surprised by a new meaning found in a scripture that I have been reading for years!

I have read the above passage at least twice a year for the last fifteen years of so, not to mention all the numerous times I have read it prior to that. I estimate that I have read it no fewer than fifty times in my lifetime.

This passage is normally regarded as the record of the beginning of the office of Deacon in the Christian Church. It has therefore always bothered me that the word, or title "Deacon" (Greek: diakonos) did not appear in the text itself, at least in the English translations. A couple of days ago, however, I read the Greek text (or at least paid attention to it) for the first time, and discovered that not only was the word for 'Deacon" used in this passage, but that it was used twice, as a sort of double-entendre'!

In the first instance the Apostles say that they feel it is inappropriate for them to " . . .  neglect the word of God in order to serve (diakonain) tables.". The second instance is when they then say: " . . . but we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry (diakonia) of the word." 

Interestingly, and in the same vein Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:5-6: " . . . there are different kinds of ministries (diakonion), but the same Lord . . . who produces all of them." (Mounce translation).

As time goes on in the next few chapters of Acts we find two of the seven men who were on this occasion selected as "Deacons" performing tasks that we of today would regard as functions of the clergy. First, Stephen is going about Jerusalem evangelizing the people, and preaching from the scriptures before the Council. As a result of which he was stoned and thus became the first of what would be many Christian martyrs.

In Acts chapter eight, Phillip went to Samaria and preached the Gospel, winning many to the Lord. He then is found heading off into the desert where he encounters an official of the Ethiopian government, who he also leads to the Lord. He then heads off ". . . [preaching] the Gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea." (Acts 8:40. ESV) Later yet we find him being visited by Paul and company in Caesarea, at which time he is referred to as "Phillip the evangelist" (Acts 21:8).

For the last few years, since I wrote my book, "Going Forth in the Name" I have been struggling with titles of those folks holding offices in churches, and how their titles fail to conform to the Biblical, New Testament models. For me this has been more than semantics. It has been an attempt to get the modern Church to recognize and utilize the model set down by the Lord Himself in scripture, which I believe would not only cause us to operate more efficiently, but would go a long way in eliminating many of the problems inflicted upon us by the egos of men. I have come to believe that the New  Testament model of Church leadership is a plurality of Elders.

Several years ago I was ordained as a Deacon, but functioned in the Church as a sort of quasi-junior-elder. Since becoming loosely involved in the organization, Christian Resort Ministries International, I have been approached on occasion about becoming a CRMI Chaplain. I have resisted this primarily because I did not feel led by the Lord to serve in that capacity at this time, but also because the modern-day evangelical church only ordains pastors and deacons, and I feel very firmly that God has called me to be a teacher of His word, and we don't ordain teachers these days.

Having said that, the Lord has been giving me a "reality-check" in recent days. First, when I recently visited a Church that we attend in Arkansas, I was asked to assist in serving the Lord's supper, a task that I had done many times in my past as a Deacon. Then, just yesterday as I was reading The 30-Day Faith Detox, by Laura Harris Smith. On page 30 she writes:

"It is true that I am an ordained pastor, but you can call me a shepherdess like Rachel and Zipporah if it better agrees with your theology. I am not a "titles" person; it does not matter one bit to me as long as I get to keep herding sheep."

I, on the other hand am a teacher, not a sheepherder, yet I have begun to feel that God is beginning a new chapter in my life. I don't know what He is trying to say to me or where all this is going, but I see that He is trying to tell me not to get so hung up on the labels of men that I miss the call of God.

"A rose, by any other name . . . "

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.

Divided We Stand

Sometime in the near future, I want to get back to posting about subjects regarding Christian living and biblical commentary, but as Columbo would say, "just one more thing . . ." regarding the recent election and the impending change of power in our nation.

As election night went on, and it was becoming clear that Donald Trump was going to win, I was watching on CBS as the liberal commentators went into shock and denial. The first one that seemed to come out of denial was newsman emeritus Schieffer. He began to talk about the fact that our country seemed to be an ideologically divided one. He made a statement something to the order that our nation is at a crossroads, and we don't yet know which way to turn (I wrote down the exact quote but lost it in the recent computer crash).

Indeed, this is my observation as well. This seems to be verified by all the recent protests and demonstrations, by the resistance tactics employed by the Democrat politicians, and by the refusal of so many to recognize the Trump victory as legitimate.

If we can elect the political leadership that we did in 2008, only to turn around and reverse course eight years later, we are indeed a more divided nation than most of us would like to admit. Some commentators have even suggested that we have not been this politically and ideologically divided since the  Civil War!

I sincerely hope that the violent brother-against-brother physical warfare of that era of history is not repeated in our world today! Yet I think we need to brace ourselves for a great time of turmoil ahead. For the follower of Jesus Christ this will be an even more pronounced conflict. If we read, study and believe in the teaching of the Bible, the path before us will be clear; a "no-brainer". Actually following Christ and being true to Him will however, prove to be more challenging; perhaps even the most difficult task we have undertaken! The contrast between the way of Christ and the way of the world has never been more different, yet it has also never been more clear.

I read last night a comment by Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries that said"

" . . . [some] think new laws, new treaties, and new regulations will fix everything! They are clueless that the secular path always leads to folly." ("Understanding The Times" magazine, November-December, 2016, p.2)

Indeed, and as usual, our Lord, Jesus Christ is the answer. We, His people here on earth have been granted a unique opportunity to be about His work in His world, without interference from the secular-humanist dominated government of the last eight years restricting us. We also need to be aware that this is a limited-time opportunity, and we don't know how long it will last. Our nation is indeed more divided than united, and the tide could turn against us again at any time. We must get about the business of "every nation, people, tribe and language . . ." (Rev. 5:9) while we still have the freedom and the opportunity to do so. Let us remember the words of our Lord Himself:

"We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work." (John 9:4, ESV)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.