MINISTERS OF MERCYThe New Testament does not give us hard and fast rules for the organization of an assembly. This allows the assembly the opportunity to develop in any society by adopting the local customs in its organization. One of the greatest mistakes missionaries make is insisting that the churches they start be organized like the home church they came from in America. There are certain principles which must be observed, otherwise the assembly organization can be adapted to the society in which it is to function. Two basic principles, which must be maintained in any assembly in any nation in the world, are that Christ is the head of the assembly and that all members are serving one another in love. Although, all members of an assembly are to be servants there is also a special position called "servant" [deacons]. These "servants" must be qualified before being assigned to that position. The qualifications are listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Just what are "servants?" What should we call them? To use the word "servant" would not be understood in today's society, and the office of "deacon" is not found in the New Testament. The Greek word could be translated "minister," which is a better translation. Therefore we are using the term "ministers of mercy" for this position. Alexander Strauch uses this term in his book The New Testament Deacon, who in turn obtained it from someone else. It is a good description of what the "servants" in the New Testament assembly did. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MINISTERS OF MERCYThe qualifications for deacons,(servants) of the church are given in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. We are using the term "Ministers of Mercy" for the function these men performed in the New Testament Assembly. * Respected: They must be men who are respected not only by those in the assembly but also by those in the world. They are sincere, honest in what they say, and have self control, not being addicted to things of the world. * Financial Freedom: They do not love money, or are interested in get rich schemes. Since the ministers of mercy will be handling money they must be honest men who are not tempted to use it for their own purposes. * Pure Conscience: They must have a clear conscience to have a good productive ministry. Christians who live a righteous life on Sunday and live like the rest of the world during the week are being hypocritical. Ministers of Mercy must be moral, honest, and able to tell the difference between false teachings and the truth. * Proven: The assembly must never put men into leadership positions just to get them involved in the assembly. They must first be tested, examined, and scrutinized to see if they are genuine or not. Ministers of mercy must be active in the local assembly and under the authority of the elders. They are to be tested by the Biblical standard listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. * Family: They must be the leaders in their own household, whose children are well behaved. Problems in the marriage and family indicate problems in the man of the house. If he cannot lead there, he will not be able to lead in the assembly. Also they must be husbands of one wife. Christ is preparing the assembly to be His wife at a future wedding. Christians are to be faithful to their mates as Christ is faithful to the assembly. Our marriages are examples to the world of the relationship between the assembly and Christ, therefore divorce disqualifies a man from being a minister of mercy. 1 Timothy 3:11 gives the qualifications for the wives of the ministers of mercy. They must not be slanderers, and like their husbands must be respected, self-controlled, and faithful. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MINISTERS OF MERCYAll members of the assembly are responsible to help one another with both spiritual and physical needs. However, leaders are needed to see that the work is done in a proper manner. Therefore, the assembly has elders who feed the flock with spiritual food and oversee that everything is accomplished. And it has ministers of mercy who oversee and perform the social work of the assembly. The assembly in Jerusalem appointed seven "ministers of mercy" to serve the widows allowing Christ's messengers [apostles] to preach and pray. * Ministers of Education: The assembly should encourage their families to home school their children. Here the ministers of education have the important job of collecting and loaning out to home schoolers such materials as videos, monitors, science equipment, word processors, catalogs and information on home schooling, etc. Another area of education is "Release Time" where public school students are allowed to leave campus during the school day for religious education. This has proven a great help to students and public schools where it has been made available. There are other areas the Ministers of Education can be involved in, such as literacy classes, English classes for immigrants to America, exchange students, neighborhood vacation Bible schools, and ministering to college students away from home by involving them in the local assembly. * Ministers of Financial Care: These ministers will be trained in financial matters and will keep a list of members who suffer from financial difficulties. They will use Biblical principles to encourage the members to get out of debt, to budget, to make wise investments, and instruct them in the proper use of money. This service should also be available to those outside the assembly. Another area for these ministers is to help the unemployed by providing guidance in career choices, reeducation, a support group for the unemployed, and a clearing house between employers and employees. These ministers also should be involved in protecting widows, orphans, and single parents from frauds and scams, provide automobile and home repairs as needed, income tax preparation, child care, etc. Other areas of service include help and guidance for expensive items such as weddings, funerals, medical care, etc. In all of these the cost can be drastically reduced through creative guidance by the ministers of financial care. * Ministers of Handicap Services: These ministers provide help for the physically and mentally handicapped members. For shut-ins they can provide a speaker phone, hymnal, bulletin, and communion supplies so they can take part by singing the hymns, participate in communion, and listen to the service. Also they can provide transportation services and support services for those needing help. Another important service will be to provide a handicap person, who is a mature Christian, with a computer, Internet service, and a domain name. Much of the material on the Internet is trash. A person who can present good material and also communicate Christ in the chat sites without argumentation or dogmatic denominational beliefs is badly needed. Christ is not being served on the Internet. Christian ministries who beg for money and or brag about all they are doing for Christ demean the name of Christ. Is God so poor that we need to ask and bed for money? Christians are tools for Christ's work which He uses to do His work. So how can we brag about what we have done? Assemblies who help a person to present Christ on the Internet will provide an important Christian service. * Ministers of Health Care: The object of these ministers is to identify those individuals in the assembly who will be willing to utilize their health care abilities to help those in need; to identify members who have physical and emotional needs and provide help for them; to identify community resources which are available; and to educate the members in preventive health measures. The ministers are to teach and encourage the members to first go to the elders for anointing with oil and prayer before going to a hospital for care or treatment. They can provide a health fair, medical clinic and classes, hospice ministry, etc. * Ministers of Hospitality: Christians are commanded to be hospitable. An important responsibility of these ministers is to be examples of hospitality and to teach the assembly to be hospitable. The ministers will keep an updated list of members who are willing and able to care for people during an emergency. They will be the contact between those burned out of their homes or fleeing an abusive situation with those able to help. All assemblies receive many requests for financial help for rent, utilities, car repairs, etc. Great care must be taken to discover if the need is genuine or not. These ministers will investigate each situation and provide help when needed. The hospitality ministers will also be responsible to arrange housing and meals for the missionaries, evangelists, and speakers who visit the assembly for meetings, seminars, etc. Other areas of responsibility will be to sponsor retreats and summer camp activities for the assembly members and the children of poor families to provide a time of relaxation in a Christian environment. And they can provide appreciation days for school teachers, police officers, etc. * Other Ministries: There are other areas of ministry the assembly should become involved in as they are needed. In the area of politics the ministers can encourage the members to vote, be aware of who is running for public office, and how the politicians voted in the past. Also encourage the members to be involved in their public school boards, and become precinct committeemen. The assembly should also provide a prison ministry, a legal services ministry, and any other services as the needs develop.
Deacons, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. Let them also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, if they are blameless. Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 3:8-13 WEB
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