DEACON:
Enabler, Facilitator
--Enabler:
One who provides opportunities and makes possible the work of others.
--Facilitator:
One who paves the way, gives instruction and makes hard work easier.
The Great Enabler was Jesus.
When questioners came to Jesus with problems, He did not hand out
answers from the Teacher’s Answer Book.
How many times did He preface His answer with, “What do you think of
this case?” or, “Have you not read…?”
Jesus had the skill of stating the problem in new terms or in such a way
that the answer became apparent to the listener, who could then reply and then
act for himself. The Christian
experience is one of liberation; it does not demand the rote following of
commands and fiats.
We often hear the plaintive question, “What can the deacon do
that no one else can do?” The answer is
another question: “What is it that the deacon cannot do that others can
do?” The answer (to the latter question)
is, “Precious little.” The deacon is the
palace official, member of the kitchen cabinet, the man behind the scenes, whose
job it is to see that all runs smoothly.
It is true that upon occasion one might see a deacon all dressed up in a
brocade dalmatic (most likely it is borrowed).
But usually the deacon is standing in the background, giving orders with
a nod, a raise of the eyebrow, or a gesture, making sure that everyone else in
the show does his part. So also out in
the world. Our deacon friend may not be
the keynote speaker at the meeting, but it is he who found the keynote
speaker. He also found the table, the lectern
and the chairs. (Let us hope that he
found a group of young people to set up the chairs.) Should the speaker be late, the deacon will
get up and tell a few jokes or lead us in a song. It is true that the deacon may occasionally
end up giving the speech. Just so, the
deacon is often found on a mid-summer day when everyone else is off on
vacation, presiding at a funeral.
I have heard deacon candidates in worrisome voices, trying to
tot up their talents and abilities. They
make lists: (1) can visit convalescent homes; (2) can take old ladies to
church; (3) can babysit young children.
When the list is finished, the candidate in frustration is ready to
throw the whole idea out the window.
Deacons don’t really want to take old ladies to church and babysit young
children. The list should read, (1) Can
bring together persons who would profit by visiting convalescent homes, and
train them; (2) Can organize convalescents to visit each other; (3) can
organize car pools; (4) can raise money to buy a church bus; (5) can organize a
group of nursery school teachers. In
other words, “Can run things.” Perhaps
another word should be added: “Unobtrusively.”
Those first deacons in the Book of Acts were not asked to
cook meals; they were asked to round up the food and distribute it. I hear a lot of inquiry , “What is the
difference between a deacon and a lay person?”
Or, more bluntly, “What can a deacon do that a lay person cannot do?” The unimaginative answer is, “Read the
Gospel.” But everyone knows that almost
anyone can read the Gospel, and the4 deacon feels he has been thrown a
sop. The deacon’s job is to organize the
laity, to get them moving. It has been
noted that the laity often have other fish to fry; the deacon will find that he
has to do the job himself if he doesn’t get his organization into gear. One deacon cannot visit all the convalescent
homes, but One Deacon has become a facilitator for helping others to
visit. One deacon is only a drop in the
bucket so far as rehabilitating alcoholics goes, but One Deacon has a study to
define the problem and to set up a center for dealing with the problem. A deacon can offer sympathy to a parent with
a mentally disadvantaged child, but One Deacon has set up classes for such
children and has taught others how to
teach them.
Jesus said, “The man who holds out to the end is the one who
will see salvation. This good news of
the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a witness to all the
nations.”
Via The Rev. John Edmunds,
who will become the first director
of the School for Deacons in Rhode island
Next time: Learn more
from our history, as we hear about The Rev. John Edmunds and his background and
vision for the School for Deacons
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