Basic Biblical Principles 9

   Each member of the church has at least one role to perform. The specific duties of that role or roles may vary from person to person depending on our individual skills. For example, one deacon may be involved in financial matters, while another may be tasked with caring for widows. However there are some duties that we are all responsible for, no matter what our basic role is. We all need to study so that we can share the Gospel with those that are lost. We all need to participate fully in our worship services. We all need to live according to God’s principles.

   The role of an elder is to oversee the local congregation. We are charged with protecting the flock from those who teach error. We need to be involved with teaching, encouraging, and even rebuking (gently) the members of the congregation, as needed. We are to pray for those who are sick. While we do oversee the congregation, we do not rule by decree. We must work with the congregation in a mutually cooperative manner. Which is why we try to keep the congregation informed on our plans and seek ideas and suggestions from the congregation.

   The role of deacon is described in Acts 6. They were to relieve the Apostles of the day to day workings of the church. Today, they perform that important role for the Elders. Just as the early deacons were involved with more than just the physical needs of the church, deacons of today need to be involved in the spiritual needs of the church, as well. We need to be grateful for the work which these men do and make every effort to help them out in whatever way that we can. There is too much work to be done, for these men to do all of it by themselves.

   The role of a man in the church is to be a spiritual leader. He should be prepared to take an active role in the worship services. This might be song leading, praying, reading scripture, teaching, and serving at the Lord’s table, according to his skills. He should also be a spiritual leader at home, teaching his children to pray and to study the bible, while setting an example of Christian living.

   In our “enlightened” age, the role of the woman, in the church, is very controversial. But, the bible is very clear about what a woman’s role is and what it is not. A woman may not usurp the spiritual authority of a man (1 Timothy 2:12). This includes all those worship service activities of men listed in the paragraph, above. Many people, religious or otherwise, think this is an outdated concept, which comes from a time in which women were treated as possessions. But, God tells us specifically why a woman was not to have spiritual authority over a man. In the very next verse (1 Timothy 2:13), God says that it is because Adam was created first, then Eve. I do not fully understand the reason for this, but do we really want to question God’s wisdom in this matter?

   Women are commanded to teach the younger women (Titus 2:4). Women may also teach children. They may also participate in bible classes, as long as the class is being led by a man.

   The wisdom of man sees some of these roles as more worthwhile than others. An elder’s role is more important that a deacon’s. A man’s role is more important than a woman’s. This is not the case, see 1 Corinthians 12:12-25. These verses make an analogy between our physical bodies and the body of the church. Just as all our body parts are important to us, all of the parts (roles) of the church are important. In fact verse 22 says that the parts (roles), we think are least, are the ones we can’t live without. Please, do not feel that your role is any less or any more important than somebody else’s role, that comes from the wisdom of man, not God. Whatever our role is, we should do it to the best of our ability and not worry about how important others think it is.

Steve Truman