The Deacon Test Drive

“And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless” (1Tim 3:10).

In many ways, the most important part of buying a car is the test drive. You may love the make and model, the color, and the sticker price, but that doesn’t mean jack if your potential new ride fails the road test. You don’t really know how it drives until you go for a drive. 

In the same way, the working interview is all the rage. It wasn’t that long ago when an employer examined your resume, checked all the references, and brought you in for a job interview. But these days, you can expect to do a working interview. Your potential new boss wants to see what you can do on the job BEFORE you get the job. Just as importantly, you get to see if it’s gig you’re willing to do. 

A couple of thousand years before anyone ever thought of hopping behind the wheel with a salesman in the front seat, Paul tells Timothy to do the same when it comes to serving as a deacon. “And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless” (v10). Make sure you check them out first. Consider an audition. See if they can do the job. See if they like the job. See if you like them doing the job. Take the deacon for a test drive. 

Deacons are a big part of getting the church in Ephesus back on track. A team of false teachers drove the congregation into the ditch. So Paul asked his sidekick Timothy to step in as lead pastor and get things rolling again. The list is pretty straightforward. Step one: get rid of the rest of the spiritual snake oil salesmen (1Tim 1:3-7). Step two: Find and appoint new leaders called overseers (1Tim 3:1-7) and deacons (1Tim 3:8-13) to fill the newly created leadership void. 

God calls overseers to…well…provide oversight for the church. (Impressed with that observation, aren’t you? You’re looking at years of seminary training pay off right in front of your eyes!) They watch over the flock, watch out for trouble, and look to the horizon providing direction. Overseers (AKA pastors and elders) should have mad teaching and preaching skills when it comes to God’s Word (1Tim 3:2). 

Meanwhile, deacons are to set the bar for sacrificial service in the church. The word “deacon” actually comes from the Greek word that means “servant” (Gr. diakonos). Deacons roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty allowing the elders to focus on teaching. That’s exactly how the whole deal got going in the first place back in the Book of Acts (Acts 6:2-4). The apostles got themselves overcommitted and dragged into food service when they should have been concentrating sermon prep and prayer. The church drafted the Serving Seven to take that off their plate. 

Paul tells Tim to test every prospective deacon to see if they’re up to the job. He uses the Greek word dokimazo, which means to learn if someone or something is worthwhile through actual use. You put them through the paces. In one of Jesus’ parables, He describes how a farmer turns down an invitation to the social event of the year in order to check out his new livestock. “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go examine (Gr. dokimazo) them. Please have me excused” (Lk 14:19). Hmm, would you call that going for a test cattle drive? Yeah, I was sorry about that one the moment I typed it.

The apostle is talking about the kind of testing that reveals the true quality of something. What happens when the rubber meets the road. Jesus’ kid brother James writes about how “the testing (Gr. dokimazo) of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:3). In other words, your trust in Jesus gets a LOT stronger after you’ve held on tight to Him in the storm. And one day, we’ll eventually know if what we’ve done stands up to the blast furnace of God’s judgment because “the fire will test (Gr. dokimazo) what sort of work each one has done” (1Cor 3:13).  

Before giving someone the title of deacon and the church’s seal of approval, they have to “prove themselves blameless” (v10). Paul drops a term here (Gr. anegkletos) which describes someone who’s beyond reproach. It’s a compound word that literally means somebody who is unable to be called out. If you’re a fan of the WWE, you know what I’m talking about. A wrestler like the Rock or Ric Flair is standing in the ring with the mic and they challenge a rival who’s done them wrong to come out to fight right now. You’ve seen it movie westerns. One cowboy stands outside the tavern challenging the man who shot his pa to a gunfight. The person who climbs into the ring or through the swinging doors of the saloon has just eliminated himself as a deacon. 

Paul uses a slightly different term here for “blameless” (Gr. anegkletos) than he does when requiring an overseer to be “above reproach (Gr. anepilemptos)” back in verse 2. Don’t think there’s a huge difference in the integrity of an pastor/elder and a deacon. The apostle writes similar instructions to buddy Titus as he searches for overseers for churches on the island of Crete. These men need to be “above reproach (Gr. anegkletos)” (Titus 1:6-7). If we’ve done our due diligence on our deacons, we shouldn’t have to worry about seeing them involved in a scandal the next time we turn on the 6 o’clock news.

The good news about the Good News is that Christ came to make every person who trusts Him blameless as well. God promises to “sustain you to the end, guiltless (Gr. anegkletos) in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Cor 1:8). Jesus has given Himself up “in order to present you holy and blameless (Gr. anegkletos) and above reproach” to our heavenly Father (Col 1:22). Our Savior swapped His perfection for our imperfection (2Cor 5:21). His sinlessness for our sinfulness. His righteousness for our wrongfulness. Someone once called it “The Great Exchange.” Jesus does for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. As a result, we’re shame-free and blame-free. Blamelessness. It’s not just for overseers and deacons.

Meanwhile back in Paul’s first letter to Pastor Tim, we read that once deacon passes his working interview and proves to have integrity, leadership endorses them in their service. Think of seeing the UL tag on your new microwave or plasma TV or a great review from Consumer Reports. A deacon gets the…wait for it…God Housekeeping Seal of Approval. See what I did there?

Businesses use working interviews as part of their hiring process. Customers take their new ride for quick spin as part of buying a car. Paul says we should do the same when checking out our deacons. It’s good for the church. It’s good for the servant. Call it the Deacon Test Drive.