Principles of Effective Leadership

Introduction: The Call to Excellent Diaconal Service

0:01 The following is the third session delivered on April 15, 2000, during the Trinity Baptist Deacons Conference held at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. The preacher is Pastor Steve Hartland from the Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Glen Arm, Maryland, and is entitled, Principles of Effective Leadership. We read in 1 Timothy 5.17, Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor.

0:37 All elders rule. Some elders rule well. And the lexicon tells us that that word well means in a manner that is suited to the end. Or, more simply, the word well means with excellence.

0:55 There are elders who rule well. There are elders who rule, and there are elders who rule with excellence. Similarly, we read of deacons in 1 Timothy 3.13, For those deacons who have served well, and that word well is the same word.

1:12 Those deacons who have served well obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. All deacons serve. Some deacons serve. Some deacons serve well, or with excellence.

1:33 But what makes the difference between the one and the other? What is it that distinguishes an acceptably, I almost said ruling elder, an acceptably serving deacon from a well-serving deacon? You want to serve well, don't you, my brethren? What then is necessary that you may distinguish yourself as a deacon of excellence?

2:00 I believe it is fair to say that the difference between a deacon who serves acceptably and a deacon who serves with excellence, that difference is very often determined by a deacon's grasp of and application of certain principles of leadership.

2:22 A deacon serves well when he understands, and a deacon serves well when he applies certain principles of leadership as they relate to the deaconate. And these are our concern in this hour, principles of leadership as they relate to deacons. And for this, I ask that you turn in your Bibles, please, to Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2.

2:53 Now, of course, there are no deacons in Mark chapter 2. I'm not using any arcane manuscripts that somehow sneak deacons in to Mark chapter 2. There are none. But we do find some men in Mark chapter 2 whose activities and principles serve as a paradigm for deacons, as a pattern, an example, a model for deacons.

3:21 In other words, we do find in Mark chapter 2 some men who perform the tasks of the deacons. The deaconate, who exemplify the skills which are necessary for excellence in the deaconate. Or, in other words, we find principles of leadership in these men such as will serve the deacons of our churches well. So, let us learn principles of leadership from Mark chapter 2.

Setting the Context: A Time and Place of Crowded Ministry

3:49 Now, here's how we'll proceed. First, we'll simply read some portions of the text. Then we'll take a few moments to establish the time and the place, and then we'll draw out our principles of leadership for deacons. First, then, let us read the text.

4:05 Would you follow as I read from Mark chapter 2, the first five verses, and then skipping down and reading just verse 12.

4:14 We read, And again he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house. Immediately many gathered together so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even nearer, and he preached the word to them. Then they came to him bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men, and when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

4:52 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven you. Now down to verse 12, our Lord heals the man in the intervening verses, and then the conclusion of it all. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this.

5:24 So these are the verses with which we are concerned in this hour. And now, having read them, let us consider rather briefly the time and the place. Let us set these verses in their context and note some pertinent matters about the occasion, some matters that will help us to see why these things and this text provides for deacons principles for leadership. What is the time of our text?

5:51 Well, we'll call it a time of busy ministry, a season of busy ministry in the life of our Lord. If we were to read all of, chapter 1, we would find out that our Lord has been preaching and preaching and proclaiming the Word of God. And multitudes have been flocking to the ministry and hanging upon His words. Look back, if you will, very quickly at chapter 1 and verse 14.

6:18 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Here is our Lord in His Galilean ministry. And He is preaching the gospel. Verse 21 of the same chapter.

6:35 Then they went into Capernaum, right on the Sea of Galilee. And immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Here's what our Lord is doing.

6:51 Here's the time. It's a time of busy ministry, of preaching and preaching. Look at verse 28 of chapter 1. And immediately, His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

7:05 Everybody's talking. Have you heard this man who's preaching down there in Capernaum? And great multitudes are pressing in. Look at verse 32.

7:13 Now at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. This is a time of busy public ministry. There were many multitudes.

7:29 They're pressing in. The Word of God is proclaimed. We see again in verse 39. And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out demons.

7:42 And then again in verse 40. Then a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down and saying, if you're willing, you can make me clean. Jesus cleanses that leper. And in verse 45, He tells the leper before that, don't tell anyone.

7:56 Keep this silent. But verse 45, the leper went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the matter so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places. And they came to Him from every quarter. So here's the time.

8:16 It's a time of busy ministry. Galilean ministry. The Word of God is proclaimed. The sick are healed.

8:23 And multitudes are gathering and pressing in. The Word is spreading. And everybody's coming to hear. This man, Jesus, our Messiah.

8:33 That's the time. A time of busy ministry. And what is the place? Well, we read of the place in our chapter and the first verse.

8:40 And again, He entered Capernaum. Remember, He'd gone out, outside the city, out in deserted places where they flocked to Him in the previous verse. But now again, He enters Capernaum after some days. And it was heard that He was in the house.

8:59 And so here's, the place. It is a place of crowded ministry. And the verse says that they heard He was in the house. And though the definite article is not there in the original, they heard that He was in house.

9:14 He's back in house. He has been out in the wilderness. He has been out in the open, deserted places. But now He's back in town.

9:21 And now He's back in a house. Whose house is it? We don't really know. Some say that maybe it was Peter's house back in 129.

9:29 They entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Maybe they're in Peter's house. Others say, no, this must be the house in which Jesus lived in Capernaum with His mother Mary. We don't know.

9:42 But He's in some house. He's back in house in Capernaum. And what's He doing in that house? He's preaching the Word of God.

9:51 Verse 2, Immediately many gathered. And we've seen that word immediately three times already in Mark's Gospel. That word for which He's so well. Noted straightway or immediately.

10:02 A crowd gathers together. And there's no room in the house, not even to get near the door. And He preached the Word to them. So our Lord is back in town in this time of busy ministry.

10:14 And once again, He's preaching. Multitudes are flocking in. And He's in a crowded house. So crowded there was not room to receive them.

10:22 So crowded that Mark even says, you couldn't even get near the door. And thus, these friends who bring their paralytic neighbor can't get him anywhere near to the Lord Jesus Christ. So that is the time and that is the place. It is a time of very busy Galilean ministry here in this house, this crowded house in the city of Capernaum.

Diaconal Paradigm: Removing Barriers to Ministry

10:48 And may I suggest to you, my dear deacon brethren, that here we have a marvelous, I almost want to say, a perfect paradigm for diaconal labors. The Word of God is proclaimed.

11:05 And the people are coming and pressing in in great multitudes. Oh, that it were so in all our churches, eh? The people are pressing in to hear the Word of God and to feed their hungry souls. And there is a crowded house of worship.

11:23 But there are some problems. There are physical obstacles and barriers. And everybody who wants to hear can't get in to hear. And everyone who would draw near to the Savior can't find room.

11:35 There are barriers. This is a diaconal problem, my brethren. If we had been there on that day, if one of our men had been preaching instead of the Lord, we would have said, where are the deacons? We need some help.

11:47 We would have called for Bert and for Scott. Come help us with this problem. This is a diaconal problem. And then, as we shall see, four men take the initiative, demonstrate resourcefulness, remove barriers, and get their friend to the Savior that the Savior may minister to him.

12:07 Here is a, if not the, perfect diaconal paradigm. Here is the time and the place. But now having identified these, we turn to principles for leadership for deacons.

Principle 1: Excellent Deacons Are Men of Faith

12:24 What are some of the principles of leadership which lie just beneath the surface of our text? What are some of the qualities seen in these men? Which qualities are instructive for deacons who would serve with excellence? Well, the first of them that I would choose to set before you this morning is this.

12:47 Excellent deacons are men of faith. This is a quality of their leadership. Excellent deacons are men of faith. We see this quality in these men.

13:03 We see this principle in these men. They were men of faith. They were actuated by faith. They were moved by faith.

13:14 What was it that made these men do what they did? It was their faith. Our Lord noted that. Look at verse 5.

13:20 When Jesus saw their what? When He saw that they were A-type personalities and were going to press their way to the front anyhow? No. When He saw that they were the kinds of men who were aggressive and who were going to get where they wanted to go, where they wanted to go?

13:33 No, it wasn't that that Jesus saw when He saw these men. When Jesus looked at these men, the one dominant characteristic so easy to behold in them was this. These men, obviously, are men of faith. That's why they did what they did.

13:51 That's why they carried their friend here. That's why they pressed through the crowd. That's why they later go down through the roof. Why did they do that?

13:58 Because they believed if we can get our friend to the Lord, the power of God will be seen. They weren't afraid that it would be a non-event. They didn't waver in unbelief. Well, maybe if we get Him in there, something good will happen.

14:11 No, they were men of faith. This is what we see about these men. They believed. They believed that the power of God was found in Jesus.

14:22 They believed that what that man preached and what that man did was what men need. They believed if we can just get our friend in before that, that great man, the power of God will be seen. They believed. And it was that faith that animated them.

14:41 And what is required in excellent deacons, my dear brethren? Is it not faith? Is it not deep and powerful and strong faith? What do we read of Stephen in Acts chapter 6?

14:55 A deacon par excellence. What do we read of him? He was a man full of faith. And of the Holy Spirit.

15:05 It was his faith that Luke says made him a deacon par excellence. What do we read in 1 Timothy 3.13? Of those deacons who serve well, they gain for themselves great boldness in...

15:20 And now the definite article is not there. It's not in the faith, in that body of truth, once for all delivered to the saints. No. They gain great boldness in faith.

15:31 In their own faith. In their own personal subjective confidence in the things of God and the truth of God and the Word of God and the power of God and the kingdom of God. Deacons who serve with excellence become men who are full of faith. My brethren, excellent deacons are men of faith.

15:52 Men who believe. Men who really believe in the power of God. Men who believe in the pressing in upon this age of the powers of God. Men who believe in the power of the ministry of the Word of God in our churches.

16:09 Excellent deacons, my dear brethren, are men who are animated by faith. Because they believe, they spend themselves. They are driven by principles which have been embedded deep within their souls by faith.

16:29 This is one of the principles for leadership which we must identify for excellent deacons. My brethren,

16:40 we must be men of strong faith. We must be men who believe.

16:49 We believe that service rendered to God is worth our while.

16:56 We believe that every moment of present labor shall be rewarded with endless ages of joy in eternity.

17:07 We believe that if we do not believe, if we can help sinners come and hear the ministry of the Word of God, if we can just remove barriers, if we can keep our pastors in the Word of God and in prayer, we believe that we'll see God working in our churches. These men were men of faith and it was that faith that animated them. I ask you, my dear brethren, are you men of powerful faith? Well, I trust that you are.

17:36 Even as elders must be men of faith. Elders must say, I believe and therefore I speak. So must deacons say, I believe and therefore I serve. So here is our first principle of leadership for deacons.

Principle 2: Excellent Deacons Are Gripped by Biblical Objectives

17:56 Excellent deacons are men of faith. But now we come to our second principle drawn out of the behavior of these men in Mark chapter 2 and it is this. Excellent deacons are gripped by biblical, diaconal objectives. Excellent deacons are gripped by biblical, diaconal objectives.

18:22 I believe we see this suggested in our paradigm. These four men, and you see in verse 3, there were four men. We picture one man at each corner of this man's bed or pallet. There were four men on this day who came bringing this paralytic.

18:41 And these men, they knew what was their objective. And they were obviously gripped by that objective. What were they doing that day? Let's ask them.

18:51 Let's interview one of them. You, sir, what are you doing? Does he say, Well, I don't really know. I'm just here.

18:57 My wife told me I ought to come along today.

19:01 No, what is he doing? You ask him, You, sir, what are you doing? He says, I'll tell you what I'm doing. You see this man?

19:07 He's our friend. And he needs to get to the Savior. And we are determined to get this man, through that crowd, to that Savior. And they were gripped, obviously, by what they do.

19:20 They're like tanks. They go over the building and down through. They were gripped by this clearly defined objective. We want to get this man through those barriers into that ministry.

19:34 They were gripped by that objective. And my brethren, this is a principle of leadership that is absolutely essential. It is essential for excellence in any endeavor. Our Lord, I say it reverently, our Lord was gripped by an objective.

19:49 What does He tell us in the Word of God? He came to seek and to save that which was lost. And He came to lay down His life a ransom for many. He set His face like flint.

20:07 He put His hand to the plow and did not look back. Our Lord had a clear objective. He knew what He was, So did the Apostle Paul. What does he say in Romans 15, 20?

20:19 And so I have made it my aim. Paul had an aim to preach the Gospel not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation. Paul knew what he was about. He had an aim.

20:34 He could tell you, here's what I'm after. Your elders have a clear objective given them by the Lord Himself. But we will give ourselves to the ministry of the Word of God. God and prayer.

20:45 There are many examples of objectives given to men in the Word of God. And so we have one here that I believe serves as a paradigm for deacons. Excellent deacons, I believe I can say, are always men who are gripped by clear biblical objectives for their office. And what are their objectives?

21:08 Well, I'm sure you've been hearing about that all weekend and thinking about that all weekend. We could interview anyone of you. You, sir? What are you about as a deacon?

21:19 What are you aiming at as a deacon? And you would probably begin at the broad end of the funnel, if you will, and you would say, the glory of God. That's the chief end of it all. We seek the glory of God.

21:30 That's right. But how are you seeking the glory of God? In what ways do you seek to see it manifested in your church? Well, I want to see the ministry of the Word of God in my church prosper.

21:42 And I want to see the ministry of my church prosper. I want to remove barriers that would keep men and women, boys and girls, from that ministry of the Word. I want to remove distraction from my elders that would keep them from giving themselves to their biblical priorities. I want to keep them in the Word of God and in prayer and out of anything else that would distract them from their ministerial labors.

22:08 And, you might say, I want to provide for excellence in the ministry of my church by tending to all the physical needs, I'm a man who is gripped with that diaconal and biblical objective. You might say something like that. Dear brethren, it is my hope, perhaps I can speak for those who put on the conference, it is our hope that you may go home from this conference and back to your churches more powerfully gripped with a sense of your God-given diaconal objectives. Why are you in office?

22:44 It is to remove barriers from the ministry of the Word of God, to enhance the ministry of the Word of God, to help men and women come to the ministry of the Word of God, to keep our pastors in the ministry of the Word of God. And you, my dear brethren, are to be men who are gripped with this, even as these men were on this occasion. And, my brethren, think. Just think of the blessing that comes to our churches.

23:14 By deacons who are gripped by such biblical objectives. Excellent deacons are men of faith. Excellent deacons are gripped by biblical objectives. But now a third principle of leadership which we can draw out of this paradigm of these men of Capernaum.

Principle 3: Excellent Deacons Are Willing to Sacrifice

23:35 And it is this. Excellent deacons are willing to sacrifice.

23:43 Excellent deacons are willing to sacrifice. Now, my brethren, you've probably heard it said that the world is run by tired men. And that's true, isn't it? By men who know of sacrifice and self-denial.

24:01 Men who are ready to sacrifice for great ends. It is said that if you want to get something done, give it to a busy man. And you know that's true, don't you? And why?

24:11 Because the fact that he's busy is so because he is a man willing to sacrifice. He's willing to spend himself on great purposes and objectives. Well, good leaders, excellent deacons are always men who are willing to sacrifice. Consider these men from our chapter.

24:32 Consider these men who are a sort of paradigm for the diaconate. What do we see in these men? What do they do? Well, on this day, they gather themselves together.

24:45 They go over to their friend's house. They pick him up by the corners of his bed. They carry him to the house. They try to get through the crowd.

24:55 They wind up somehow getting up on the roof. They dig the roof apart. They let their friend down. And then I'm assuming they're responsible and they have to deal with the cleanup that follows.

25:05 These men spent a good... You deacons know about that, don't you?

25:09 These men spent a good portion of a good day laboring sacrificially for the well-being of their friend. They were willing to sacrifice. I'm sure they were busy men. There were other things they could have done that day.

25:25 It was not a Sabbath. The shop could have been open and they could have been making money. Perhaps they could have been out fishing. They lived right on the Sea of Galilee.

25:33 Many of them perhaps were of that trade. There were other things they could have done. Could have been with the wife. Could have been with the kids.

25:40 Could have gone for a round of golf or whatever they did for recreation. There were many other things they could have done. But on this day, these men sacrificed their time and they sacrificed their energy and they gave hours of this day that they may be servants of a needy man.

25:59 And similarly, excellent deacons are men who sacrifice. You know about that, don't you, my brethren? Who sacrifice their time and their energy and their money because they are actuated by faith and because they are gripped by biblical objectives. They sacrifice.

26:20 And we all know, don't we, that a spirit of sacrifice is commended to all the people of God. You don't have to be a deacon to be willing to sacrifice, do you? Your elders ought to be men who are willing to sacrifice. And many of your elders, all of them I trust, do sacrifice.

26:41 They regularly give nights and days and Saturdays. I'm talking about the elders who don't labor in the Word and Doctrine. They give much volunteer time. I know my fellow elders, it might be Tuesday night and we have an elders meeting and Wednesday night and there's a pastoral visit in a home and Thursday night and there's a prayer meeting and one of them may be leading on that Thursday.

27:03 And Friday night, they've got hospitality in their home and Saturday, they're preparing to teach the Sunday school lesson and Sunday, they labor all day and have somebody in for hospitality in the afternoon and turn that into a pastoral visit. And then Monday, a day of rest and then for me and then start all over again. They're busy men who are sacrificing. They're busy men who are sacrificing.

27:24 My brethren, I have always had it as my objective, as my principle that I must spend more time in the ministry than I'm paid to spend in the ministry. I would not be a mere hireling, put in my 45 hours and say that's it, punch my time card and I'm out. No, if I expect the people of God to sacrifice and volunteer their time, then I must model that and so I must put in my time for which I'm paid and then over top of that, put in hours for which I'm not paid and I'm gladly able to do that knowing that many of God's people are with me and sacrificing their time and their energy and their talents. Well, if a man would be an excellent deacon, he must be a man who is willing to sacrifice, who is willing to give hours and time and days and even of his checkbook that he may serve the King of Kings. My brethren, what an honor it is to serve as the deacon in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and what honor a man gains when he serves well and how does he serve well? By sacrificing himself on the sacrifice and service of their faith. Excellent deacons are men of faith, are gripped by biblical objectives, are willing to sacrifice.

Principle 4: Excellent Deacons Are Observant

28:50 I trust that you are, dear men. But now a fourth principle that may help the deacons, who would be excellent deacons, and it is this. Excellent deacons are observant.

29:06 Excellent deacons are observant.

29:11 They notice things.

29:14 They observe what needs doing.

29:17 Look again to our paradigm. And I'm not going to point you to a specific verse, but all through our passage which was read, we see that these were observant men. At least somebody among them was. Somebody noticed, hey, there's a crowd gathering, gathering in the house.

29:35 Somebody observed what's going on. Jesus is back in town. He's in that house. Somebody observed, our friend over here needs to get to the Savior.

29:44 Somebody observed, when they got in there, we can't get in this way. What do we do? Let's go around the back and up the stairs and onto the roof. Somebody observed, here are some ropes lying over here.

29:53 If it was Peter's house and he was a fisherman, or as we say near the Chesapeake Bay, a waterman, if he was a waterman, he'd have some ropes lying around. And they got those ropes and tied them to the corners and let the man down through. Somebody was noticing and observing opportunities and needs and means. These were observant men.

30:12 Will you grant me that, my brethren? Am I stretching the text? I believe we can read that from this text. And if we don't find it clearly enough in this text, we find it commended to us as a quality in many other passages of the Word of God.

30:28 I was very torn, my brethren, between preaching from this passage and from Nehemiah. For Nehemiah is an excellent role model for the deacon. Nehemiah is diaconal all over. What's he doing?

30:41 Building walls and rebuilding a city and dealing with budget and the workforce and opposition and bricks and mortar and so on. Nehemiah is diaconal. I commend Nehemiah to you. And what do we find Nehemiah doing?

30:54 He observes. He observes the need. And he in chapter 2 arose in the night and rode out and examined the walls and the gates of Jerusalem. He did some reconnoitering.

31:08 He observed what is broken, what needs repair. How might we go about this? This is a good thing, my brethren. This is a quality commended to us in the Word of God.

31:19 And it is even a quality commended to us in the common grace of God by the men of this world, many of whom are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. I was delighted to read a two-volume biography of Winston Churchill over last winter. And one of the things I observed about Churchill was that he was always observing, always noticing things with an eye to improvement. For example, during the time of World War II, when, I think I may say, the fate of Western civilization hung on his shoulders, he was up in his office one day, looked out the window, and saw a common laborer moving a pile of dirt.

32:03 And he observed for a moment and realized that's not an efficient way to move that dirt. And he drafted a memo to his aide to go see such and such a man, to go see that man and tell him, this would be a more efficient way to move your dirt.

32:17 He was observant. He was noticing. What are the needs? What are the opportunities?

32:23 What are the ways? And my brethren, excellent deacons must be men who, like these men of our text, and like some of the men of this world, and like Nehemiah, are observant men who notice what needs doing even when nobody points it out to them. They notice the lighting. They notice the landscaping.

32:44 They notice the temperature. They notice the paint. They notice the restrooms. They notice the parking lot.

32:51 They observe. They observe. Our church picnic is not well organized. We've got to do something about this.

32:57 They're observing and noticing and taking in the data that comes to their eyes and their ears. My dear brethren, I ask you, are you observant deacons? Are you deacons who notice? No doubt many of you have been here observing your eyes right out of their sockets, haven't you?

33:14 You've just been observing and observing. You've observed the lighting. How do they get it so there are no shadows in the preacher's eyes? You observe the sound system.

33:23 How do they get it so that with this... Is that a mic?

33:25 With that one little thing and that one little box out there, they've got sound for this whole... How do they do that?

33:31 And where's the mixture board? Where do they put their...

33:33 Oh, it's a little... It's a little cabinet sitting back over there in the corner.

33:36 And who controls these things? And how do they organize that? You've been observing. Maybe as you came in, you observed the roof and you saw several different kinds of shingles and you thought, hmm, phase one, phase two.

33:46 Probably not. They faked you out. Phase two has the newer shingles, I bet. And then you observed there are some nice little pots of flowers right outside the main door and you said, hmm, that's a nice, warm, inviting touch that says excellence can be expected in this place and someone cares.

34:03 You've been observing all kinds of things because you're deacons and because you want to observe that you may tend well to the affairs of the church. Well, this is a principle of leadership for deacons. Excellent deacons, deacons who serve well, must be observant men. Excellent deacons are men of faith.

Principle 5: Excellent Deacons Are Men of Initiative

34:25 They are gripped by biblical objectives. They are willing to sacrifice. They are observant. Now, fifthly, a principle for leadership for deacons.

34:36 Excellent deacons are men of initiative.

34:42 They are men of initiative. And my brethren, this is vastly important.

34:51 This is tremendously important. Now, what is initiative? Well, my dictionary tells me that it is the action of taking the first step or of making the first move, the response, the responsibility for beginning. That's what initiative is.

35:10 It is beginning. It is taking the first step. It is making the first move. Do we find initiative in our text?

35:18 Do we find initiative in our paradigm? Yes, we do in these four men. Surely we see some initiative in them. Nobody that we know of made them go that day.

35:29 There was not a committee for those who are paralyzed in town and it was their day to serve. The committee? No, someone took the initiative. Somebody said, hey, you notice the immediately's.

35:42 Verse 2 again. Immediately, straightway, many gathered together. There was little notice. There was short time.

35:49 Somebody seized the opportunity and said, right now, now's our time. The Lord's back in town. He's in the house. We can get our friend there.

35:56 We couldn't get our friend out to the deserted places. We can get him into the house. Here's our window of opportunity. Let's get.

36:02 You go get Joe. You go get Harry. Let's get together. Get this man moving over.

36:06 They're somebody sees the opportunity. And when they got there, the things that they did to get their friend in, they show great initiative. Jesus didn't stop his ministry of the word and prayer and come out and say, now, I really want to see you get that man in here. So here's what you ought to do.

36:23 Go around back and up the stairs and down through the roof. No, he continued on in the ministry of the word. But these men were self starters. They took the initiative.

36:33 They said, we are responsible to make something. And that is a good and important quality for the people of God in general.

36:43 The Proverbs tell us to go to the ant. And what is one quality we learn from the ant? Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer, or ruler.

37:02 Nobody's standing there cracking the whip saying, okay, now you ant, it's your turn today. You move that little pile over to here. No. Every ant is a little ant of initiative.

37:13 Go to the ant and learn that. They are self starters. They get themselves moving. They see what needs to be done.

37:19 And they do it. She gathers her food in the harvest. The little ant shows initiative. We could learn of the value of initiative from many of the Proverbs.

37:31 But I'll leave that to your future leading deacons who serve with excellence must be men who show initiative.

37:42 But it's not the ant. But it is not always so, is it, my brethren? Not all deacons do.

37:48 A pastor friend of mine from overseas was telling me about a pastor friend of his in a large, in a huge church in another land. And that pastor friend was going on vacation, on an extended vacation. He would be gone from the church for some time. And the vestry of the church had been leaking.

38:08 And it rains a lot in that country. It had been leaking. And so he left a note. In the place where you leave notes for the deacons in that church saying, while I'm away, could you please repair the leak in the roof, in the vestry.

38:25 And he went away on his holiday. And he'd been gone for some time. And when he came back to his consternation, not only had no one fixed the leak in the roof, but the note was still sitting undisturbed where he'd left it. Not all deacons in all places are men of initiative.

38:47 Not all deacons in all places make things happen. But I'll tell you, my brethren, the difference between a deacon who shows initiative and the deacon who does not is a thousand percent.

39:03 It is a thousand percent. And therefore, I urge you, my dear brethren, in the name of Christ, I urge you to be deacons who are excellent. To be deacons who show initiative. To be deacons who, like these men, see an opportunity and seize the opportunity and make the things happen that need to happen in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

39:25 There are plenty of things that good deacons can notice and do. There are plenty of things that need to be done at most of our churches. Excellent deacons take the initiative. They are men of faith.

39:39 They are gripped by biblical objectives. They are willing to sacrifice. They are observant. They are men of initiative.

Principle 6: Excellent Deacons Are Resourceful

39:47 But there's a sixth principle of leadership for deacons. Deacons, which we'll draw out of our text. And it is this. Excellent deacons are resourceful.

39:58 They are resourceful. And what is it to be resourceful? Well, again, my dictionary tells me that it means the person who is resourceful is able to deal promptly and effectively with problems and difficulties. That's what it is to be resourceful.

40:16 To be able to deal promptly and effectively with problems and with difficulties. In other words, a problem presents itself. A difficulty arises. And the resourceful man has a huge bag of tools, of resources, of means.

40:34 And he reaches his hand deep in there and rummages about and says, ah, here's the thing that will fit that need. And excellent deacons, my brethren, must be deacons who are resourceful. What wonderful resourcefulness we see in these men. For when they got there, a friend to the house, what did they find?

40:54 They had a problem. They had a difficulty. Verse 2,

40:59 there was no room in the house. There was no longer room to receive them. And a parallel text, Luke 5.17 sheds light.

41:10 It reads, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. The place was a packed house. All the big dogs of local Israel were there. And you couldn't even get near the door, Luke says.

41:27 There was a mob outside. And you couldn't even press through that mob. And again, Luke helps. Luke 5.19 reads, they could not find how they might bring Him in because of the crowd. And that they could not find as a present participle. They were not finding. And otherwise, in other words, they were looking and they were trying.

41:46 They approached the front door. No, we can't get through here. You go around back. See, can we get in the back door?

41:51 The report comes back. No, it's just as crowded back there. How about the window? No, we can't get in there.

41:56 Can we move some of these people? They tried it. It's impossible. They're trying to find a way.

42:01 But they could not find how to get Him in there.

42:06 And you can imagine that some people would have just given up at that point.

42:13 Well, we tried.

42:15 There's just no way.

42:18 I can even imagine somebody saying, I told you.

42:25 Sounds like you've heard those words. I told you. We shouldn't have even bothered. Too crowded.

42:34 Many would have hung up their cleats. But He was resourced. Somebody said, no, we have an objective here. We're men of faith.

42:45 We believe that if we can get our friend into Jesus, the power of God will come to Him. Let's continue. Let's look for a way. And He looked around.

42:53 Let's see. Can't go in front. Can't go in back. Can't go inside.

42:57 Can't dig a hole. Roof. It's roof. How can we get on the roof?

43:00 Somebody was resourceful. Consider the roof for a moment. The experts tell us that a house such as this would have had a flat roof and that many of these houses, had an outside stairway, or if not, they were houses stacked right together and you could have gone to one of the neighbors and gotten up on the roof and worked your way over. And so you could get up on the roof.

43:21 The terms used of getting through the roof in Luke chapter 5 indicate that it was probably a very common roof of those days in which there would have been large wooden beams with laths over top of them. And then over that were clay tiles or plates. And over top of that, a thick layer of thatch. This very kind of structure.

43:40 Construction is indicated by the words used in verse 4 where it says in verse 4, they uncovered the roof. The original is interesting. It's they unroofed the roof. These men got up there and unroofed the roof.

43:52 And then it says, when they had broken through, that's literally, when they had digged down through. So you see them up there digging down through the thatch and uncovering, unroofing the roof, pulling up tiles and pulling away the laths so there's nothing but a big hole between some exposed beams. They had to make their way through all of this. And you see, somebody was resourceful enough to say, let's go through the roof.

44:23 Can't you just imagine that moment?

44:27 Let's go through the roof. Oh, to have seen the look on each of the four faces.

44:38 That's resourcefulness, my brethren. And oh, what a quality for deacons. For deacons who notice what needs doing. Who take the initiative to do something about it.

44:51 And who are resourceful. Who stay to their elders long before the elders even noticed there was a problem. They come and say, dear elders, you haven't noticed, but there's a problem. Here's what it is.

45:03 And we have determined to find a way to fix it. And we've done our homework. We've done a little bit of research. We've consulted with Chuck Davies and found out, what do you do up there in Montville about this?

45:13 And what's your experience? What have some other brethren done in some other places? His phone's going to be ringing perhaps.

45:21 And you've done your homework. You've found out. What will it cost? And what are the opportunities?

45:26 And what are the ways? And you come to your elders before they knew there was a problem. And you say, we've found this problem. There are five ways we've discovered of dealing with it.

45:34 We think these three are the best. Here are the pros and cons. We recommend this one to you for these reasons. What would you have us do?

45:42 Oh, my brethren, what a need for deacons who show that kind of initiative in the diaconate. Here is excellence in the diaconate for deacons who are resourceful.

45:56 You discover the tape deck is not working correctly. That's a hindrance to the ministry of the Word of God. You discover when you're listening to the tape in your car, the sound goes way up when your pastor's animated and near the mic and way down when he's softer and away from the mic. And you say, that's not good.

46:12 People can't hear the Word of God. You notice it. And you say, I'm driven by a principle. It's my duty.

46:18 It's my responsibility to tend to such matters. What can we do about this? And you're resourceful. You ask others, what do they do?

46:25 And you find out maybe about putting up a show. And you find out maybe about putting up a show. Or putting up a compressor in your PA system. Or you look into lapel mics if your man is known to wander.

46:32 Or you find some means of keeping the volume up on that ministry of the Word of God. You say, there's a barrier, but I'll be resourceful. You notice that the operation of your PA system, the operation of the tape deck is hit or miss. The people operating it aren't properly trained.

46:49 There's not always somebody there on time to turn it all on. Last Sunday night, half the sermon didn't get taped because nobody was there to flip the tape. And you say, we've got to do something about this. What resources can we bring together so that we may right this problem?

47:03 The PA is making noise. This will hinder the people from taking in the ministry of the Word of God. We'll be resourceful and learn about PAs and mics and speakers and systems so that we can right this wrong. The lighting is poor and there are dark shadows in our pastor's eye sockets.

47:19 That's not good. We want the whole man to preach to whole men. We want people to see our pastor's eyes. What can we do about getting some lights that are low enough that they illuminate his face?

47:29 We'll be resourceful and we'll deal with these problems that we have noticed. Oh, my brethren, there is a great need for resourcefulness in the diaconate. I exhort you, my dear brethren, would you be deacons who are excellent? Then you must be men who are resourceful.

47:50 May I put it this way?

47:54 Be deacons who go through the roof. That might be a good phrase for us to hang on to as deacons.

48:05 What do we want in our diaconate? We want to be deacons who go through the roof.

48:11 When we're presented with a challenge, one of the deacons says to the other, Brother, let us go through the roof.

48:19 Not with fleshy bravado we can find a way, but with humble confidence our God will help us. For there's a ministry end. God will help us find a way. Let us go through the roof.

48:33 Notice problems. Bring solutions. Take initiative. Excellent deacons are men of faith, gripped by biblical objectives, willing to sacrifice.

48:45 They are observant. They are men of initiative. They are resourceful.

Principle 7: Excellent Deacons Administrate and Delegate

48:50 And finally, excellent deacons administrate and delegate.

48:58 Excellent deacons administrate and delegate. I don't think I'm stretching the text too far. I don't think I'm putting it on the torture rack and making it say things. It never intended.

49:10 If we draw out of our text that somebody did some administrating and delegating. We don't have just one man who said, well, all right, I can never get any help around here, so I'll buy my lonesome. I'm going to drag my friend down to the Savior and get him in there. No, we've got four men.

49:26 And I would imagine some one of those men said, hey, Joe, you go over and get Bill. And Bill, you go over and get Charlie. And let's get this guy hauled down here. You take that corner.

49:34 You take that. You go up and check the roof. See if we can get in there. Somebody here is administrating and somebody is delegating.

49:41 Maybe when it came to the cleanup operation, they got six other men and said, would you help us? Come up on the roof here. Let's get this lab system back in place. Put the tiles back on.

49:50 Somebody is organizing. Somebody is administrating. Somebody is delegating. And this is diaconal, my brethren.

49:59 I think we very often have a wrong picture of deacons. We very often picture deacons as men who are good with hammers and nails. Now, it's good to be good with hammers and nails. I'm good with hammers and nails.

50:09 That's a good thing. But a better picture of deacons would be to view them as capable business managers. Deacons are in the church corresponding to management at the corporate level. Is that not what we find in Acts chapter 6?

50:27 What do the apostles look for? Men whom we can place over this business. There was a business concern in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why they needed men who were full of business.

50:40 Full of wisdom and of the Holy Spirit. Did you ever think about why do these men need to be full of wisdom? I mean, they're going to buy groceries and deliver food. Why do you need to be full of wisdom to buy groceries and deliver food?

50:54 Because this is the business of the church. And there's a whole lot that gets involved in it. A whole lot more than that. And so these men, as business managers in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, had to be men who are full of wisdom.

51:08 They know how to take up a task. They know how to, they know how to break it down into its parts. They know how to gather the resources that are needed. They know how to capably employ the men and the women needed.

51:17 They follow through. They get the job done. They know how to delegate. Excellent deacons are excellent business managers.

51:26 They have the ability to oversee projects, to work with personnel, to manage budgets. Oh, what a need for excellent deacons who are capable managers of the business affairs, of the church, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you be such men, my brethren? Do you be such men by the grace of God?

51:50 Excellent deacons are men of faith, gripped by biblical objectives, willing to sacrifice. They are observant, men of initiative. They are resourceful. They administrate and they delegate.

Conclusion: The Blessed Results of Excellent Diaconal Service

52:04 And what is the result of their labors? And what comes to a church when blessed with such men? Look back at our text again, Mark chapter 2 and verse 5. What was the result on this occasion?

52:17 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven you.

52:29 Jesus Christ ministers to the needs of souls.

52:35 And what happens down in verse 12 at the end of the verse? So that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this before.

52:47 These were the results on that occasion. And my brethren, these are the results of the labors of excellent deacons in our churches. The Word of God ministers to souls. Sinners come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

53:01 God is glorified. And we see things like we haven't seen before.

53:07 May the Lord so bless our churches. May He bless you men who have sacrificed, who have shown a passion for the ministry of the Word of God in spending yourselves and coming to this conference. Amen. May you, as you go back home, labor by the grace of God to be deacons of excellence.

53:28 I'm sure I can speak for your pastors.

53:32 We deeply appreciate you men.

53:35 We would die without our deacons, wouldn't we, pastor? God, may God cause your tribe to increase and empower you for every good work in the diaconate. Now let us pray. Father and our God, we thank you for your grace which has been manifested to us today.

54:03 In the person of our Lord Jesus Christ who came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. Oh, would you give us that Christ-like heart of a servant, we pray. And help us. Would you help these men that they in their office may serve you with excellence, that they may be well-serving deacons.

54:32 Oh, Father, would you pour out your Spirit upon them to this end. And would you cause the grace of God to be their abundant portion to this end. And may our churches receive great blessing from the ministry of their hands. Help them to be faithful in their stewardship.

54:51 Help them that they may press on though oft unrewarded in this life. Help them to look to the last day, to spend themselves and wait only to hear, well done, thou good, and faithful servant. Would you encourage these men and strengthen their hands for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.