Now, there is going to be more work in the life of the church than the deacons can ever do. That is something that we always need to consider. There is always going to be more work to do than the deacons are able to do. But with that said, we have to understand that this is part of how the diaconate are organizers. In Acts 6:1–15, where the proto-deacons are first being described, the apostles say, We are going to put the deacons in charge of that work. That is an organizing word, isn't it? That is a delegation word, meaning that the deacons are the ones that will delegate the work.

If I presented a list of all the mercy needs and outreach desires and hospitality requests to our deacons and said, You two make sure this gets done this week, they would say, It is too much! But when we have those that come alongside those that are ordained to the office and say, We are willing to work; we are willing to serve, the deacons can then be the organizers of that work and delegate it. This group, you go work on this…you go work on that…you work on this. And that is what we see in Acts 6:1–15. We see that the deacons are put in charge of a function. It doesn't mean that they are the only ones who are doing that. So the diaconate is an organized diaconate in the New Testament. They are those that organize for the sake of the work of the kingdom. And that is done through delegation.¹

Nathan Eshelman