Foreword
Tommy Barnett, Pastor
Phoenix
First Assembly of God
As a Pastor I
have always felt that the Deacon Ministry as evidenced in this book,
is God’s follow-up program. In the past critics and observers of our church have asked
for an explanation of our growth.
There are times I like to simplify the answer: It cannot
always be explained, but it can be expressed by looking at the New
Testament.
I
have read scores of books, listened to tapes of great men and
studied the Christian classics.
Through this research, I learned that discipling people
cannot be accomplished by programs, literature or even study courses
alone. It has to be
done by called people. I
also recognized in many congregations the majority of individuals
prefer to be ministered to, rather than the other way around.
I
looked all over the world for a follow-up program and then
discovered the greatest follow-up program originated in the Bible.
When the church in Acts began to grow, people were neglected.
God’s program for visitation and follow-up are deacons.
They were never intended to be the watchdog of the pastor or
called to scrutinize everything.
Spiritually they exist to take the load off the pastor.
I
remember when one of my Board members, Jack Carey, asked me what we
were doing to follow up and ameliorate the people who come to the
altar. He never gave up
and his persistence was one of the factors that led me back to study
a biblical, “better way.” I
discovered it in the book of Acts where people were added to the
church and then multiplied. The
multiplication factor was handled by the deacons.
What
the Deacon Ministry has accomplished for me is threefold.
It has added years to my life and life to my years!
It has provided unprecedented growth when the program came
together. I can go to
bed at night and sleep, aware that the people in our church are
cared for and visited. Members
of this ministry are the specialists that God raised up and trained
in the word and personal relationships.
A
marvelous change took place at Phoenix First Assembly when a way was
provided for us, through the deacons, to go out to the people,
rather than waiting for the people to come to us.
There is no option. God
ordained this ministry. It
is a program born from above, sealed in scripture and in this
pastor’s heart.
Deacons
carry God’s love and my love, doubling the love, to those I cannot
meet with personally. Daily
I pray for more souls, multiplication, and ultimately more deacons
for the glory of God and the good of His people. I am never content unless every home has a visit, because
everyone deserves a visit!
Part
One
The Reason to Visit
God’s
currency is people. People
who look beyond themselves and their circumstances out into the
distances of God. They
see His heart of compassion and transfer that to the heart of their
pastor and congregation.
As
I look out on a Sunday service to the thousands filling our
auditorium, I don’t count numbers, but I see faces.
A single mother of two who is barely making ends meet, a
newly-married couple. A
man of means who is not being faithful to his family.
An inner city group in the balcony who are coming off drugs.
I wonder if the newcomers have been properly welcomed and if
someone has said a kind word to the elderly.
I see a plethora of people who come to hear about the love of
God, but wonder if they are being noticed and feeling loved in
return. I notice a
businessman who is in financial difficulty and a secretary who has
lost her job. I observe
the faithful who have stayed with me through the years and want to
continue reaching out to say thank you.
All of these are people I include, as pastor, in my circle of
love.
Yet
I have struggled over and over, realizing it is impossible for me to
think I can preach a message that will touch everyone of them and
answer their many needs. How
can I personally minister on a one-to one with this congregation who
need the message and a human touch.
I
answer the question of why visit by asking another question.
When He looked at the multitude, did Jesus ever face what I
face on Sunday morning? Did
the crowd in front of Him have such a variety of needs as my people?
The Bible says His ministry was miracles and signs and
wonders, long hours of teaching and touching, preaching and praying,
weariness and battles and criticism.
The lepers came, the blind, the deaf, the demon-possessed,
even the lawyers came to attempt to trick Jesus into giving an
inappropriate answer to their questions.
This all transpired while His ministry was successful.
The blind received sight, the deaf heard for the first time
and the lame walked. Yet
the Bible says Jesus was grieved.
Why? He saw then
as sheep having no shepherd. As
the good and great Shepherd, He was and still is, moved with
compassion.
An
example of Christ’s compassion is what we are to model and
emulate. That
motive-not growth, being the biggest or number one-is what must move
us with compassion. I
believe there is a call to compassion, A call to becoming a deacon.
Deacons were ordained in God’s mind to keep the growth of
the church viable.
I
can think of no greater joy as a pastor than to be assured that when
I go to sleep at night everyone in my church was cared for, and had
someone looking out for them.
It is my wish that they know God’s love and tender, loving
care. You see, I am
convinced spiritually that everyone deserves a visit!
In
the first seven verses of the sixth chapter of Acts we become aware
of the initial appointment of deacons. They were first utilized because the apostles were so busy
that even some of the needy widows were being overlooked. Up to that time the church grew by addition, until it was
superseded by multiplication. That
is why those first deacons were necessary.
They assumed responsibility for the neglected. Throughout church history people have been recognized as
deacons. The qualifications are clear: Men and women full of Holy
Spirit and wisdom…(Acts 6:3) People possessing a servant heart,
the very meaning of the Greek word diakonos.
There was no distinction between male and female gender if
the qualifications were met.
I
enjoy reading Acts 2 which is the basis of this program.
The need is for a band of people to help me handle the
spiritual and social problems of this church.
This is not the definition of a deacon’s role that many
churches use. I am not
talking about driving the buses, though some deacons do, or
delivering food or clothes. Our
deacons share the load on a pastor’s heart for the innermost needs
of the people. This
frees me to more completely fulfill my call-to pray and preach and
seek the wisdom and guidance of God.
As
pastor I have confessed to dreaming of such a group of people to
meet the needs of the growing body of Christ.
In the last years that dream has become reality.
The concept began: Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were
sitting…(Acts 2:1-2)
Imagine!
They were individuals filled with the Holy Spirit.
People from every nation came together, confounded because no
one needed an interpreter. Everyone
heard the message in their own language, the language of God’s
love. They were
experiencing growth! Three
thousand at one time. Now
what would the disciples do? Just
send those new converts home? Pat
them on the back and say, “God bless you”?
This
thought can haunt me at times.
People come by the thousands to our pageants, Fourth of July
celebrations and singing Christmas Tree.
Do they come and just go home, entertained, but unchanged?
The disciples formulated a plan.
There
is crusading and conserving. The great events of the church, the special speakers, the
illustrated sermons are the crusading.
The follow-up is the conserving.
The eternal plan is that the fruit remain and bear more
fruit. The results? The church was added to daily and together the people ate
with one another. They
praised God and found favor with each other.
As the plan worked in Acts 4:4, However, many of those who
heard the word believed; and the number of the came to be about five
thousand!
This
is so heartening because in Acts 5:14 Believers were increasingly
added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
For
years I have taught multiplication and always knew, deep in my
heart, that I needed deacons who could care for the multitudes that
came. Something has
been happening in our church. People
are being saved n unprecedented numbers.
It is multiplication time in our church and in yours! Yet are these new believers, with many needs, like sheep
without a shepherd? I
feel the tenderness and humanness of Jesus when I realize He needed
help. Certainly Tommy Barnett needs help, too.
Help from those called and qualified to serve in this unique
and vital capacity.
Yes,
a deacon must be qualified, but must also understand the principle
of multiplication. That
“daily people were added to the church”.
An illustration I used in one of my books is fascinating.
With
addition, four plus four is eight.
But with multiplication, four times four is sixteen.
The church began to grow by multiplication-not just addition.
Let
me give you a simple illustration of the difference between
multiplication and addition. Suppose
that I gave you a choice between a on thousand dollar gift on the
first day of January or a one-penny gift on the first day of January
which doubles every day in the month.
Which would you choose?
For your sake, I hope you choose the penny.
After the first week your choice might not look so great-you
would have two pennies on the second day, four on the third day,
eight on the fourth day, sixteen on day five, thirty-two on day six
and only sixty-four pennies by day seven.
But if you kept multiplying each day’s total at the end of
the month that penny would have grown to over $21million!
That is exponential growth through multiplication.
The early church multiplied, and that’s God’s desire for
us today.*
Yes,
the early church multiplied and that is God’s heart and plan for
us today as we move toward another century. Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.
Thy faithfulness continues throughout all
generations…(Psalm 119:89-90)
I
encourage God’s people to practice multiplication.
To present and future deacons: Pledge your lives for a
minimum of two years. I
am convinced that in about five years, cities can be taken for God.
Each reader of this book is unique.
Each reader has potential to change your church for the glory
of God. How?
Begin.
Review
Peter’s preaching. In
Acts 3,000 were added, soon another 5,000 and then multiplication
took over. I believe a
healthy church is contagious. Our
churches are to be centers full of caring and concern.
A place where people can encounter an attitude of the spirit
of love and kindness, motivation and unity.
The kind of unity that is not in the world, but what the
Bible states is the unity of believers.
Paul expressed it like this: I therefore, the prisoner of the
Lore, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which
you are called, with all lowliness and gentleness with long
suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 3:1-3 NKJ)
An
illustration that took place at the Los Angeles International Church
comes to mind. Since we
purchased the former Queen of Angels Hospital some time ago to meet
the needs of the inner city, we have been challenged by the problems
inherent in a very old building.
We
were about to tape a weekly televised update of the past days’
work and while walking down the
hall of this old building, I noticed a serious leak which was
dripping water into the aisle.
Then I observed a precious brother, a plumber by trade, high
on a ladder busily repairing the breech.
If that leak had gone unchecked, the building could have been
flooded. I honored that man on the spot.
He was a hero in my heart because he utilized his special
God-given ability to repair plumbing-something this pastor knows
nothing about. While I
may be ignorant about water pipes, I am aware that when a church has
visitors people in need, craving encouragement, without a deacon the
gap grows and it is possible to ultimately lose the whole church
because of cracks in our foundation.
At that particular moment, the plumber was more important
than the preacher. Our deacons stand in the gap and literally rescue the
perishing, whether in personal dilemma, spiritual need, or the
greatest need-to bring individuals to the cross and a saving
knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
I
tell everyone, “You are needed. We cannot function without YOU. You make up an intricate part
of the body at Phoenix First. Your uniqueness will be used to work
with those the Holy Spirit has prepared for your ministry.
Personal? Yes
it is. Without you,
much of our labor could be in vain.”
Acts
describes the church as becoming weak and sick.
Murmuring was heard from the Hellenistic widows because they
and others were being neglected. Right in the midst of phenomenal growth, needs were not being
met. They were
experiencing multiplication…but that multiplication created new
needs. To continue they
sought out first-century deacons to help.
I
have often pondered which is the higher right?
To neglect my study and preaching or neglect the people.
It is a hard decision. If
I neglect my spiritual preparation and prayer, the people ultimately
will suffer. If I
neglect the people, they will likewise suffer.
So the decision was made in the early church to release men
and women of God to carry out the work of the church.
The result was that the inspired word and personal work of
the lord went forward.
For
years I have believed that churches miss the point.
It has been thought that deacons are chosen to take care of
the business of the church. If
they know the true business, I can find no fault.
However, I have seen many churches without a building and
others with few resources. This
I know for sure: there cannot be a church without people!
I
smiled at a parking lot survey a few years ago when a little girl
was asked what was important to her about the church.
She was vivacious and anxious to talk about her nice teacher
and the prizes she had won. When
asked if she knew any verse from the Bible she quickly quoted, Where
there is no vision, the people perish and where there are no people
the vision perishes. Her
first eight words were quoted from Proverbs 29:18, but the rest of
the sentence came from her pastor.
She had learned well and I anticipate in coming years, she
will be a great deacon. Without
people, the vision truly will perish.
Deacons
are not selected to keep the pastor or the building in order.
They are chosen to release the pastor and relieve some of the
burden. That is their
call. Churches usually suffer when they make the mistake of allowing
a board of deacons to run its business. Many are professionals and can definitely be helpful in that
respect, but the truly called man of God should run the church while
the deacons care for the people.
In
the Bible, deacons were not elected, but were appointed by
leadership. That is the
word of God. Deacons
are chosen and ordained by God.
We also have administrative deacons, but visitation deacons
wear a different mantle.
I
grieve because some churches do not believe women should be deacons.
Or, if they are chosen, are relegated to the roles of food
preparers and comfort givers in times of illness or bereavement.
My Bible never designated a godly woman as a second-class
citizen in the kingdom of God.
In Romans 16:1-2 a woman, Phoebe, is mentioned when Paul
commended her as a ‘servant
of the church’ and a ‘helper of many.’
Thank God for women. In
Dr. Cho’s huge church in Seoul, Korea, the greatest portion of his
fifty-thousand-member deacons are women.
He
often relates the concern he faced when his church began to grow and
many were unwilling to
Appoint
women. He has to make a
strong decision to stand or not to stand and he now knows that with
God there is no gender problem.
The grace of God brought salvation and service to all who are
willing to fulfill the God-ordained work of a deacon.
I
could best sum up this issue of gender by noting that it worked in
Jerusalem, Antioch, the New Testament churches and is active in the
largest church in the world, flourishing under this plan-the Bible
plan. The great
commission is to Go into all the world and preach the gospel and
then conserve the fruit of conversion.
Though many feel unqualified, remember that God doesn’t
always call the qualified, but He qualifies the called.
That is a promise. Whom He calls, He enables!
Critics
or observers of a large church will often ask for an explanation for
its growth. There are
times I like to simplify the answer: It cannot always be explained,
but it can be experienced.
I
tried plans early in my ministry, which started as a
sixteen-year-old evangelist. I
traveled the world but always had the deep desire to be a pastor.
Historically, it was believed that evangelists made poor
pastors. But bless God,
He gave me an
opportunity to put into practice what I believed was modeling the
New Testament church.
Oh,
I read books by the dozen, listened to tapes of great men, studied
the Christian classics and asked any pastor I thought had answers.
But I was learning that discipling people cannot be
accomplished by programs, literature or even study courses.
It is to be done by ‘called’ people.
I also recognized that the majority of congregations would
prefer to be ministered to, rather than the other way around.
A small church in
Iowa grew into a vibrant, thriving congregation before I left.
I loved the people. The
Phoenix church was small in the beginning, but I came seeking God
for a people who had the same kind of heart.
People who would not want to be exclusive or dam up the
process of crusading and conserving-with the emphasis on conserving.
I prayed for people who would be a conduit to the
congregation.
I
remember hearing that someone asked Billy Graham in his early
ministry if he was trying to set Christianity back on hundred years
by having such large crusades.
He expressed his desire to set it back by two thousand years,
not a hundred! That is
also my answer. Let us
be a throwback to the early church.
In other words, let’s get back-2,000 years back-to the
future!
Who
is the future at Phoenix First?
My deacons and their heart to do the work of the ministry.
To do great things for God.
Doing what was recorded in the book of Acts-a release to a
great revival. It will
grow as long as we care for the people.
If we don’t the growth will cease.
I
am so glad my church was set back 2000 years.
My great joy and privilege is anointing and releasing
visitation deacons to be my hands extended and
servants of a holy God.
Each is a connection from the pulpit to the home.
Each a contact and vessel to pour out the love of God and let
His purposes be known in every home.
I
will never be content until every home has a visit because everyone
deserves a visit. The
reason? More souls,
multiplication, and ultimately, more deacons for the glory of God
and the good of His people.
I
have set before you an open door, and no man can close it.
(Revelation 3:8)
Tommy Barnett
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