{"id":5206,"date":"2006-05-09T08:01:25","date_gmt":"2006-05-09T13:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=5206"},"modified":"2019-07-21T14:29:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-21T19:29:00","slug":"what-qualifications-does-an-elder-need-that-a-deacon-does-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-qualifications-does-an-elder-need-that-a-deacon-does-not\/","title":{"rendered":"What qualifications does an elder need that a deacon does not?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

What qualifications does an elder need that a deacon does not?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

In regards to the family, an elder must have “faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination<\/em>” (Titus 1:6) and be “one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence<\/em>” (I Timothy 3:4) while a deacon must be “ruling their children and their own houses well<\/em>” (I Timothy 3:12). We first notice that an elder’s children must be faithful. “Faithful” is one of several words used to describe a Christian. See “Does “faithful children” mean faithful to God or faithful to the parent?<\/a>” for a thorough discussion of the word. However, this qualification is not placed on a deacon’s children. The implication is that while an elder needs to be an older man, a deacon does not need to be as old. Also, where an elder is given oversight of a congregation and needs to demonstrate the ability to lead people into faithful service to the Lord, a deacon is serving the church and needs to demonstrate the ability to manage people. A more subtle difference between the qualifications is in the wording of “children.” The Greek phrasing for an elder indicates two or more children while a deacon indicates one or more. See “Must elders have more than one child?<\/a>” for a detailed discussion of this matter.<\/p>\n

A deacon must be a man who is reverent, which translates the Greek word\u00a0semnous<\/em>, meaning “worthy of respect, dignified, honorable, and holy.” This word is not used to describe an elder, but an elder must be sober-minded (the Greek word\u00a0sophron<\/em>) and holy (the Greek word\u00a0hosios<\/em>), which covers similar territory.<\/p>\n

Where an elder cannot be a new Christian (I Timothy 3:6), such a restriction is not placed on a deacon.<\/p>\n

There are several qualifications that must be present in an elder because of the nature of his duty. While a deacon might have these same characteristics, his duty is different and so demonstration of the ability is not as crucial. An elder must be:<\/p>\n