From Complaint to Commission, The Birth of the Diaconate, Part 2 | December 7, 2025

The Setup: Qualified to Serve

Sermon number sixteen picked back up exactly where Pastor Justin left off the week before, recapping how the Hellenist widows' complaint in Acts 6 led the apostles to appoint seven Spirit filled men to oversee daily food distribution, freeing the elders to focus on prayer and the ministry of the word. This week's message tackled two remaining questions head on, what specifically qualifies someone for the office of deacon, and why The Crossings recognizes women as deaconesses.

Pastor Justin walked verse by verse through 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Paul's list of deacon qualifications. Deacons must be dignified, worthy of respect and taking their responsibilities seriously. They must not be double tongued, meaning honest and consistent in what they say to different people, a standard Pastor Justin tied to James 3:10's warning against a mouth that produces both blessing and cursing.

He continued through the list, explaining that deacons must not be addicted to much wine, a call to self control rather than merely a rule about alcohol, tied to Ephesians 5:18 and 1 Peter 5:8's warning to be sober minded because our adversary prowls like a roaring lion. Deacons also must not be greedy for dishonest gain, since they will often be trusted with church finances and debit cards, and must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, meaning their lives should show real evidence of the gospel even though none of us are perfect examples of it.

Pastor Justin emphasized Paul's instruction that deacons must be tested first, sharing that everyone he plans to bring forward as a potential deacon or deaconess has already been serving faithfully for years, some since the church's earliest days as First Baptist Brunswick. He connected this to Luke 16:10's principle that one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, insisting that character proven over time matters more than title or popularity.

From there the sermon turned to Romans 16, where Paul commends a woman named Phoebe, described as a servant, or in other translations a deaconess, of the church at Cenchreae. Pastor Justin explained carefully why the Greek word for deacon, which simply means servant, had already developed into an official church office by the time Paul wrote this letter, and why the surrounding context, Phoebe being commended to the church and described as a patron who financially supported Paul's ministry, points to her holding that office rather than being a general helper.

He also addressed the related question of Andronicus and Junia in Romans 16:7, walking through why most New Testament scholars agree they are called apostles in the small letter "a" sense of messengers or sent ones, not the capital "A" office held only by the original twelve and Paul, and therefore not evidence for female elders. He backed up the case for female deacons with extra biblical evidence, including Pliny the Younger's early second century letter describing Christian "ministrae," and the third century Didascalia Apostolorum, which instructed bishops to appoint both a man and a woman as deacons for the ministry to men and women respectively.

Philippians 2:1-11 closed out the message the way it had the week before, grounding every qualification and every office in the humility of Christ, who emptied Himself and took the form of a servant rather than grasping at status. Pastor Justin was clear that pursuing the diaconate or eldership for prestige disqualifies a person from the start, since both offices mean more responsibility and less recognition, not more.

This Week's Application

So this week, whether or not you are personally called to the office of deacon, everyone in this church is called to serve somewhere. Will you ask God honestly where He wants you to show up and serve, the same way Phoebe served the church at Cenchreae? We would love for you to join us this Sunday as we continue walking through Acts together.