Deacons

Yes and no. Baptists traditionally organize their churches as independent, or "autonomous", churches rather than part of a multi-church government. So that means that each church can decide for itself what rules and policies will be observed and followed.

Because of this independence, many Baptist churches establish their own procedures for things like who can hire a pastor, who can be a deacon, etc...

I will tell you that the large majority of Baptist churches will set up a committee of members to search for a pastor when a church is without one. The committee may or may not have people on the committee who are deacons, but the deacons will want to meet and OK the person that the search committee finds as a new pastor before he or she is hired.

The role of the deacon with or without a pastor to lead the church is to be both a group of servants to the church and authoritative body alongside the pastor. Think of the pastor as the President, and the deacons as Congress, and you will get an idea of the relationship and shared responsibilities.

The Twelve apostles chose Seven Greek men to oversee the distribution of Church resources (Acts 6), especially to the widows and orphans. Ostensibly, this meant a division of labor: preaching and prayer by the Twelve, community administration by the Seven.

However, the only two of the Seven (Stephen and Phillip) whose activities are recorded by the Acts of the Apostles performed ministry identical to that of the Twelve. More likely, it was to have a group of leaders representing the Greek-speaking Christians on par with the Twelve, who represented the Hebrew-speaking Christians.

Though the office of deacon is attested to in the New Testament, none of the Seven are named as deacons. It is not until Irenaeus of Lyons (d.202) that the Seven are identified as deacons. Tradition follows the example of Irenaeus, however, and the first martyr, Stephen, is often depicted also as the first deacon.

No, a deacon cannot lead the sacrament of the Eucharist as they only assist the priest.

Nope! Nada! Zip! Zero! Uh-uh!

A deacon cannot celebrate a full Mass (meaning they cannot consecrate the bread and wine for a Mass), hear confessions, or anoint the sick.

They can baptize, marry outside of Mass, and bless things and people.

They can be married before they are ordained, but once they are ordained they cannot get married or remarry.

Antioch

The pastor is a leader like a shepherd. Both the pastor and the deacons can bring recommendations to the congregation but usually the congregation votes on committees and recommendations by the committees. In the churches that I have seen the pastor has lots of influence but the deacons have the clout. When your deacons and pastor are at cross purposes then you are in danger of a split.
Pastor or Deacons well who really runs the USA President or the Legislature. It's a balance of power.

Only a bishop can ordain.

i dont know

A deacon's job isn't supposed to be permanent. Only permanent deacon's jobs are permanent.

Permanent deacons are married men who, with special permission from their wives, become deacons. But they cannot be ordained to priests, they simply just stop at deacon.

Stephen was stoned to death.

It is a very dramatic account of the first follower of Christ to die for his faith. During the stoning Stephen was blessed with a vision of Christ at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Paul, the missionary, was at the stoning. In fact, I believe he supervised the stoning. At the time Paul was called Saul, and he was one of the most ardent persecutors of Jesus' followers. Later Saul was to encounter Christ. He became a follower of Christ and his name was changed to Paul.

George O Wood is now the Superintendent of AG. before it was thomas Trask

The two kinds of deacons (they are not really different "kinds") are transitional and permanent. A transitional deacon is a man who is ordained deacon while on his way to being ordained a priest, a permanent deacon remains a deacon. The later may be married when they are ordained. Neither may marry after ordination.

In most Churches that have the threefold order (deacons, priests and bishops), like the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Churches, most deacons are ordained priests after one year being a deacon.

However, some elect to remain as permanent deacons as this is where they believe their calling lies. Also, in the Roman Catholic Church married men are allowed to become deacons but are not, as yet, allowed to become priests (although some Catholic priests are now married - such as married Anglican priests who have moved to the Roman Catholic Church)> therefore, for married men the diaconate is the only order open to them and they remain deacons permanently.

Communion & maybe Baptism.

Yes, in Romans 16:1 and 16:27, a deacon by the name of Phoebe is mentioned. She has the same title as the office that Paul speaks of in the book of first Timothy.

Deacons began about the year 33 AD, shortly after the death of Christ. Originally, seven were appointed by the apostles.

Caveat: This answer is from a Catholic perspective; other Christian denominations may have different theologies of the diaconate.

Deacons are ordained ministers who proclaim the Gospel in the liturgy, baptize, preside over marriages and funerals, are ordinary ministers of Communion, and who may preach, with a bishop or priest presiding. Deacons are not priests, and have a special relationship to the bishop, since they are ordained by the bishop and are there to be sent by the bishop to do various tasks. A deacon is not an elevated altar boy, but is ordained for the service of God's people. In addition to serving at the liturgy, deacons are to use their talents to serve the Church. Deacons may be married, so long as they are married before they are ordained to the diaconate. If their wife dies, they may not remarry, but must remain celibate. The permanent diaconate was reinstituted with Vatican II. The transitional diaconate has remained in the Catholic Church for a long time, as a prerequisite for ordination to the priesthood, but the permanent diaconate was suppressed for a time. Deacons are on the third tier of orders: episcopacy (bishops), presbytery (priests), and the diaconate (deacons). According to the Church Fathers (St. Jerome and others), these three levels correspond to the Old Testament divisions of high priest (corresponding to bishops), Aaronic priests (corresponding to Catholic priests), and Levites (corresponding to deacons).

Deacons first appear in Acts 6. Since then, there have been many deacons. St. Francis of Assisi, one of the most popular saints in history, was a deacon, considering himself too unworthy to be ordained to the priesthood. Others include St. Lawrence, who was martyred by being cooked on a grill. Half way through his torture, he told the guard that he could turn him over since he was done on that side! Deacons are important ministers to the Church of Christ, reflecting Christ's ministry of service. In Greek, "Diakonia" is related to "service" or "servant". The deacon therefore exercises Christ's ministry of service.

Here is what the Scripture says about a deacon: qualifications for a deacon's character are clearly outlined as the person must be blameless, the husband of one wife, a good household manager, respectable, honest, not addicted to alcohol and not greedy. According to the Word, the office of deacon is an honor and a blessing. "For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus" (see 1 Timothy 3: 8-13).

Considering the above, if the 'deacon' is not matching said qualifications, this is grounds for their removal. Basically, its like any job/position in life but Church positions gain better standings in Christ.

The responsibilities of a Deacon Board is to help the Pastor with his/her needs. They will usually need to do prayer in the services at church, and help with Communion. The Deacon Board has a lot of responsibility and the Pastor is usually very grateful that he has people to help him.

The word deacon means servant, the original deacons, of the early church, helping with the needs of widows. See Acts 6:1-7.

A Deacon's wife role in the church is light in comparison to her husband's role. The women do participate in Communion and Baptism. It is the women who set up the trays with the grape juice and crackers. Maintain the robe during baptism etc. A deacon's wife is supposed to encourage their husbands by keeping them lifted in prayer, and help them with their duties. As women, we have to be spiritually equipped to minister and pray for others. There are some things that a deacon may have the wife do, such as minister to other women. Basically, be one who encourages others to grow in the Word of God. Sometimes God may call on you to enter a spiritual mother role with a young lady, or you may need to physically step in and give a helping hand. But mainly, be in constant prayer of your husband because you are his "help mate". Stay in constant fellowship with other wives and learn from each other. Be a mentor to someone so that they can become spiritually mature and teach others. (Titus 2:3-5)

> Stephen, he's the leader

> Philip

> Nicanor

> Timon

> Nicolaus

> Parmenas

> Prochorus