Forward
 
As 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!

Tommy Barnett

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