Hi, I'm Jonathan Lehman.

And I'm Mark Devere.

And welcome to this episode of Nine Marks.

Maybe we should call it Deacons Talk today.

Or Pastors Talk.

Nine Marks exist to help pastors build healthy churches learn more at nine marks.org.

Mark, what is it, Deacon? Deacon is someone that is holding

an office that Paul outlines the qualifications for in First Timothy and Titus, which office is

there to serve the church in some practical ways and help build unity underneath the ministry of the

word. Do you use Acts 6? You mentioned First Timothy 3, at least you alluded to it. Do you use Acts 6?

You mentioned 1 Timothy 3, at least you alluded to it.

Do you use Acts 6 as instructive for us?

It's clearly the very beginning of things.

It seems to be related, so it's not exactly that, but it seems to be more that than elders.

Yeah.

Matt Smitherson's book Deacons says they do three things. Number one, spot and meet tangible needs. Agree? Agree. Number two, protect and promote church unity. Yeah.

Three, serve and support the ministry of the elders. Yeah, to be clear, he got that from me, and I got that

from Buddy Gray at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. You better have given him credit.

Thank you for that.

But if you read Display of God's Glory, I'd say that in there.

Those three things.

And I even footnote that from Buddy Gray when I heard Buddy do that once.

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