Baptists Committed to World Evangelism

My present staff of deacons consists of peculiarly lovable, active, energetic, warm-hearted, generous men, every one of whom seems specially adapted for his own particular department of service. I am very thankful that I have never been the pastor of a dead church, controlled by dead deacons. I have seen such a thing as that with my own eyes, and the sight was truly awful. I recollect very well preaching in a chapel where the church had become exceedingly low, and, somehow, the very building looked like a sepulchre, though crowded that one night by those who came to hear the preacher.

On going into the Tabernacle, one day, I gave directions about some minor alterations that I wished to have made, not knowing at the time that I was cancelling the orders given by the deacon who had the main care of the building resting upon him. When he arrived, in the evening, he saw what had been done, and at once asked who had interfered with his instructions. The reply was, “the Governor, sir.” The spirit of unquestioning loyalty at once asserted itself over any temporary annoyance he may have felt, and he said, “Quite right; there must be only one captain in a ship;” and, for a long while, that saying became one of our most familiar watchwords. I have often been amazed at the devotion of our brethren; I have told them, many a time, that, if they would follow a broomstick as they have followed me, the work must succeed. To which Mr.

After one long illness, which kept me for many weeks out of the pulpit, I said to the deacons, “I am afraid you will get quite tired of your poor crippled minister;” but one of the least demonstrative of the brethren replied, “Why, my dear sir, we would sooner have you for one month in the year than anyone else in the world for the whole twelve months!” I believe they all agreed with what he said, for they have often urged me to go away for a long sea voyage, or to rest for a year, or for several months at the least; but I have always had one answer for them:—“It is not possible for me to leave my work for any lengthened period until the Lord calls me home; and, besides, there is a Scriptural reason why a minister should not be away from his people for more than six weeks at a time.” “What is that?” they asked. “Why, don’t you remember that, when Moses was up in the mount with God for forty days, Aaron and the children of Israel turned aside to the worship of the golden calf?” I had one most touching proof of a deacon’s loving self-sacrifice and generosity. During a very serious illness, I had an unaccountable fit of anxiety about money matters. There was no real ground for apprehension, for my dear wife and I were scrupulously careful to “owe no man anything,” and there was no pecuniary liability in connection with the Lord’s work under my charge which need have caused me the slightest perplexity.

Numbers 16:1-3 “Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? The leadership of Moses was continually under attack and question.  His own sister and brother criticised him and questioned why he was in charge.

Of late years, I have heard a great deal against deacons, and have read discussions as to their office, evidently suggested by no idolatrous reverence for their persons. Many of my brethren in the ministry bitterly rate them, others tremble at the mention of their very name; and a few put on their armour, and prepare to do battle with them wherever they go, as if they were the dragons of ministerial life. I have been accused of saying that “a deacon is worse than a devil, for if you resist the devil, he will flee from you, but if you resist a deacon, he will fly at you.” This is no saying of mine; I never had any cause to speak so severely; and although, in some cases, it may be true, I have never had any experimental proof that it is so. Not one in a hundred of the sayings that are fathered upon me are mine at all; and as to this one, it was in vogue before I was born

I wanted to put out some very good information about godly deacons. I loved the following things that you will see about deacons from the autobiography of Spurgeon. If you are a deacon you should strive to arrive at this level of service.

Check out this incredible opportunity to serve as an intern at my home church: Welcome to a description of the Vision Baptist Intern! Thank you for your interest in serving the Lord Jesus Christ through the ministry of Vision Baptist Church and the Our Generation Training Center. The Vision Baptist Internship provides an opportunity to experience day-to-day life in the Lord’s work while working on a variety of tasks and projects. In addition to normal church and office duties, interns attend weekly lectures, volunteer at special events, participate in tours, and contribute to world evangelism projects.

Exodus 1:1-2 “And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.” God told Moses to go to the leaders of the Israelites and tell them that God wanted him to lead them out of Egypt.  Moses was concerned that they would not believe him, so the Lord used the rod that he had in his hand to perform a miracle.  Moses cast it on the ground and it became a serpent.

  1 Peter 1:3 “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” Peter is exhorting the elders/pastors in the church.  He challenges them to do several things: Feed the flock of God with God’s Word. Take the oversight of the flock not by constraint (force) but willingly, not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind. Not be lords over God’s heritage Be an ensample to the flock. Being a spiritual leader in the church, in the home, or in any other aspect is a daunting prospect.

Another devotional from A W Tozer Acts 20:26–27 This is one of the marks of our modern time—that many are guilty of merely “nibbling” at the truth of the Christian gospel. I wonder if you realize that in many ways the preaching of the Word of God is being pulled down to the level of the ignorant and spiritually obtuse; that we must tell stories and jokes and entertain and amuse in order to have a few people in the audience? We do these things that we may have some reputation and that there may be money in the treasury to meet the church bills.… In many churches Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak that if it were poison it would not hurt anyone, and if it were medicine it would not cure anyone! Lord, don’t ever let me be guilty of watering down the truth or playing to the crowds, concerned about my “reputation” or “money in the treasury.” Amen. Tozer, A. W.