As we are thinking about this office of deacon, and as we are prayerfully considering who the Lord would raise up to serve in this office, and as we are looking around, and as we are having conversations, and as we are seeking to know who will be our next deacons, this is the principle. The principle is not that our deacons are the ones who take out the trash. Our deacons are the ones that paint over graffiti. Our deacons are the ones that get stuck with doing the work that none of us want to do. The principle of the kingdom is that the greatest among us are our deacons. The greatest among us are the ones that are called to serve unto the glory of God. And they are called to serve and to elevate Jesus Christ and to show Jesus Christ through their service. Whoever would be great must be a servant. Whoever would be first must be a slave (that is another word for servant), even as Jesus
came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many(Matthew 20:28).This is one of the most important principles in the building of the kingdom. The kingdom of God is not built by greatness. It is not built by power. It is not built by might. It is not built by our glory. The kingdom of God is built as brothers and sisters get on their knees and wash the feet of those that Jesus Christ loves, serving even to the most humiliating of tasks. Not for glory, but for the sake of Jesus, so that Jesus Christ would be lifted up.1
Nathan Eshelman
25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.