From our Sunday service on November 16, 2025, Acts 20, John 21, 1 Timothy 3, Acts 6, Matthew 20, Romans 16 and Philippians 4. This is part 2 of our Built for a Purpose series. Watch the full message: The Purpose of Pastors and Deacons – Built for a Purpose #2 on YouTube.
In the first message of this series, Built for a Purpose, we saw that God has ordained the local church as His way to minister to the world. The purpose of the church is to point people to Christ and to make people like Him. Today we look at the roles God ordained to help the church along in that mission. God wants you to understand how He wants the local church to function. If God has put in the Bible ways our church should function, we ought to function as the Bible says.
Three Titles for One Role
In Acts 20, Paul calls the elders of the church at Ephesus, and then tells those same men that the Holy Ghost has made them overseers, to feed the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Acts 20:28
Here we get three titles for the same role. The first is elder, the Greek presbyteros. Elder is just the old English word for older, but the title is not about physical age. Timothy was likely around thirty when he was an elder at Ephesus. The word means spiritual age: someone experienced in the faith who can lead through his walk with God.
The second is overseer, episkopos, a superintendent or manager. The pastor is responsible for overseeing the service of others, and for managing not only spiritual things but the day-to-day life of the church.
The third is shepherd. “To feed the church of God” could also be translated “to pastor the church of God.” That word is poimaino, to tend a flock. There is nothing wrong with calling a pastor an elder or an overseer. Those are biblical terms. But we emphasize shepherding because it is what we do every Sunday: we dig into the word and give it to you as food for your souls.
There is another reason we prefer the word pastor: it is the first word used to describe this role. After the resurrection, Jesus says to Peter, Feed my lambs, Feed my sheep. That is the same word used for pastor. People may think I sound Catholic for talking about Peter this way, but here Jesus calls him to be the first pastor. I do not agree that all pastors derive from Peter. I do agree that Peter is the first pastor, because Jesus tells him, in effect, to pastor His flock, using the same word Paul uses throughout the Scriptures. So the role of pastor is to feed the flock, oversee the needs of the church, and, as an elder, give wisdom from experience.
The Qualifications of a Pastor
Can anybody be a pastor? It is not enough to want the office. You must have a calling, and you must meet qualifications that uphold God’s moral standard.
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1 Timothy 3:1–2
If a man desires the office of a bishop, another word for pastor, he desires a good work. But Paul does not say he should be these things. A pastor must be them. The standard is severe, and a lot of damage is done when it is not upheld.
He must be blameless, not living in open scandal that would hinder the church. He must be the husband of one wife, in the Greek a one-woman man: monogamous, committed, and faithful, with no cheating, promiscuity, or divorce. I do not believe this bars a man for marriages that happened before he was saved, if Christ has redeemed him and he has lived faithfully. But those who want the position must now be in a monogamous relationship free from divorce, because marriage is a picture of Christ and the church.
Vigilant, in the Greek, means to be aware by abstaining from alcohol. I will not say alcohol in itself is a sin, any more than medicine is. But if you are called to be a pastor, the Bible has no negotiation on whether you can drink. A pastor must abstain. You may get a call in the night that someone is in crisis, and the last thing you want is to arrive without clarity of thought. Some pastors say social drinking is all right if you never push past the barrier. It is not all right. Sober means clarity of mind and self-control. Of good behavior means well-ordered and consistent. He must be given to hospitality, a lover of strangers, and apt to teach, because a pastor’s main responsibility is to pray and teach the word. Paul repeats the alcohol warning: not given to wine, with only a medicinal exception, like the little wine he recommended for Timothy’s stomach.
He must be no striker, not a man who loves a fight, and not greedy of filthy lucre, taking more than he deserves or leeching off the church. Think of those who sell prayer cloths for a price. Any preacher who does that should be avoided and removed. He must be patient, not a brawler, and not covetous. You cannot serve God and mammon. He must rule his own house well, with children who not only obey but respect and value him. It is not enough to keep a home in order by an iron fist. He must not be a novice, lest pride lift him up into the condemnation of the devil. And he must have a good report of them which are without, so he can bridge the gap with the community.
Deacons, and a Word about Deaconesses
The second main role arises from a problem in Acts 6. The church was growing, and the Greek-speaking believers complained that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.
Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
Acts 6:2–4
“Serve tables” is the Greek diakonein, where we get deacon. Diakonos literally means a waiter or waitress. The disciples set their priorities: prayer and the ministry of the word. They delegated the physical needs to seven reputable men, including Stephen and Philip, and the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied. Deacons take on material responsibilities so the pastor can devote himself to spiritual needs. In the modern church they may also help with legal work, hospital visits, counsel, maintenance, safety, or prayer. But notice the word. Deacon is not a position of leadership but a position of service. Jesus said that whoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, and that word is diakonos.
The qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 are much the same: grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, first proved in ordinary service, the husband of one wife, ruling their houses well, with wives who are grave, not slanderers, and faithful. Those who use the office well purchase a good degree. It is not a career. It is a position of honor and service.
Before I finish, I want to talk about one issue Baptists usually avoid. Can a woman be a deacon? I am not going to do anything crazy today. In Romans 16, Phoebe is called a servant, a deaconess, of the church at Cenchrea.
I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.
Romans 16:1–2
The Bible does not prescribe a deaconess’s responsibilities or qualifications. Paul also speaks of women who labored with him in the gospel. To understand the role, we look at history. Pliny the Younger, in AD 111, said he arrested and tortured two women called deaconesses. Origen, in AD 240, said Phoebe taught that women were ordained in church ministry for a specific purpose. Across the references, they did three things: they assisted in the baptism of women, so men and women were not touching inappropriately; they taught women and children; and they visited women who were sick, homebound, or needy, because it was not appropriate for a pastor to go care for a young widow in her home alone. We do not need to ignore the role. It fills a real appropriateness need, so ministers and deacons can stay above reproach.
Pastors are called to lead, feed, and oversee. They are not CEOs, entertainers, or tyrants. They are shepherds entrusted with a people Christ purchased with His own blood. Deacons are called to serve faithfully and humbly, and when they thrive, the word of God increases. Deaconesses, though distinct, have long had an official part in supporting ministry. Every role is intentional. Pastors shepherd because Christ is the good shepherd. Deacons and deaconesses serve because Jesus first came and served others. God wants you to understand how He wants the local church to function. May we honor these biblical roles, pray for those who serve in them, and find our own place in the body with the same humility and love Christ has shown us.
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