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“Junior Elders?”
Categories: DOCTRINE, NEW TESTAMENT, THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHWhat is the difference between an elder and a deacon? Is a deacon just a mini elder or elder-in-training, or is it a different job completely?
Sincerely, Job Placement
Dear Job Placement,
Some deacons eventually become elders, but the roles are definitely different.Elders have the responsibility of watching out for the entire congregation (1 Pet 5:2).Elders are sometimes called ‘pastors’ because they shepherd the church like a pastor shepherds a flock of sheep (1 Pet 5:3).Elders will give an account to God for every soul in their congregation (Heb 13:17).The responsibility for the health of the congregation is upon their shoulders.
On the other hand, deacons only have the responsibility of being servants.The word ‘deacon’ means ‘servant’ in Greek.To be a deacon is to be a servant, plain and simple.Deacons serve the elders.The responsibilities of an elder are so great that they must delegate certain task or be overwhelmed.The idea of delegating responsibility is as old as Moses (Ex 18:13-18).Even the apostles recognized a time to delegate work, so that they could get everything done (Acts 6:1-4).Deacons are responsible for the assignments designated to them by the elders.
Having said all that, the qualifications to become a deacon (1 Tim 3:8-13) are only slightly less stringent than those to become an elder (1 Tim 3:1-7, Tit 1:6-9).If a man is qualified to be a deacon, there is a decent chance that he will someday be qualified to serve as an elder.This is not always true though.Some deacons do not make good elders, nor do all deacons desire the work of being an elder (1 Tim 3:1).
