Is the Office of Deacon Defined by the Mission of the Church?

Simple answer: yup. Why would a church’s office extend beyond the church’s work?

I’ve been wrestling with this question ever since I began deacon training. The Church has a specific mission and work. I believe that to be the proclamation of the gospel and the nurturing of God’s covenantal people in the faith. And so, I believe the deeds of the deacon should support and advance the Church’s mission and not, for example, try to transform the society in which we live or take up every social cause under the sun.

Sometimes I ask the question differently and it gets confusing for me…

To what extent did Christ show sympathy to the unbeliever? The word “limitless” always comes to mind. If the deacon is to show the sympathy of Christ, and Christ’s sympathy is limitless, then shouldn’t the deacon show limitless Christian sympathy to world?

I guess when you change the question, you get a very different answer. But at this point though, I doubt I’m asking the right question and even worse, I’m probably answering my misguided questions incorrectly. A perfect recipe for confusion.

Anyway, I always fall back to keeping a clear distinction between the common kingdom and the kingdom of God. More on this later.