Day 24

 

Ode To A Deacon

 

"Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them."

 

Acts 6:3

 

 

At one of the churches I served at as a youth minister there were a couple of deacons who had their own business. At least 3 days of the week they would come to the church around lunch time and we would all go out and get something to eat.

One day as we came back from lunch the church secretary and the janitor informed me that there was a young lady waiting in my office to talk to me. They both had big smiles on their faces so I knew something was up.

I went to my office and closed the door and introduced myself to the young woman and asked what I could do for her. Her answer was somewhat surprising.

She wanted to talk to the girls in my youth group. She had a special piece of advice to share with them from her personal experience. She wanted to share with the girls in the youth group about the evils of topless dancing.

As a topless dancer herself she had become discouraged with the profession, she told me. It was hard to make an honest living at it and so many of her friends had turned to drugs and prostitution. She complained long, bitterly and graphically about the plight of topless dancers.

At one point she was telling me about what happened to a co-worker of hers that had been particularly talented. She described how this girl could do this dance while standing on her head on a table top. Then she offered to demonstrate this dance on the top of my desk!

I assured her that it wasn't necessary, that I was convinced it was a very special dance. And while she is telling me all this I could hear this faint giggling outside  my office door. Those 2 deacons had been informed by the secretary that it was a half crazy topless dancer in my office that I was talking to so they had crouched outside my door to listen in for "my protection." They would have never done such a thing for a legitimate counseling session but this dancer gone scooters was one they couldn't resist.

In all my years of church work I have never had a difficult time with deacons. You hear all these jokes about pastors and deacons not getting along. I have found that the vast majority of them want to do nothing more than serve God and their church. They want to be what every church needs, servants.

After I had promised the young lady I would give her a call if any of the girls in the youth group started considering topless dancing as a career move she left. The deacons came in and were laughing with tears in their eyes over my little counseling session. I got them though. Several months later when they asked me if I knew anyone who might provide some entertainment for the deacons and wives Christmas party I gave them her name and phone number.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read 1 Timothy 3:3-8

 

• What are deacons to keep a hold of? The church finances?
• What are deacon's wives supposed to be like?
• Is the standard for deacons and their wives a standard that everyone should try to meet?