Even though I have logged several decades of ministering to the Lord’s people through His church, there’s still so much I have yet to figure out. One of them is the ideal working relationship of pastors and deacons.
What exactly does the Lord have in mind here?
Since gracious (or too-trusting) leaders keep inviting me to address their assemblies of pastors-and-deacons, it seems obvious that the Lord is giving me ample opportunity and motivation to figure it out.
I’ve even written a book on the subject, one which lots of churches are buying and recommending to their deacons. Okay…
Here’s where I am at the moment.
The image of cowhands moving the herd from the ranch to the railhead is my favorite metaphor for the key roles in church leadership.
Often the trail-drive was an ordeal of several weeks duration. In the process of herding the animals, the ranch-hands illustrate the key roles of leadership of the Lord’s people.
Someone rides POINT. Biblically that person is the pastor. The one riding point sets the direction for all who come behind him. Jesus said, “When the shepherd puts forth his sheep, he goes before them” (John 10:4). It’s impossible to direct the herd from a safe spot in the rear.
Someone rides FLANK. The other members of the ministerial staff and key lay leadership assist the point-rider, the pastor. Flank-riders keep the herd together, see that they do not stray too far to the right or left, and rescue any in trouble.
Someone rides DRAG. This may be the toughest job of all, bringing up the rear.
Riding drag becomes the chief role of the deacons. The drag-rider makes sure there are no stragglers, that no one is left behind. He rescues the animals in trouble and prods those that want to drop out. Since this worker eats the dust of the herd, the job usually goes to the youngest or newest member of the team or the poor guy who is in trouble with the ranch foreman. Sorry, deacons. You get the hardest assignment. And yes, there’s actually a scripture for saying the servant should be as the youngest.
These positions are all found in Scripture, in one way or the other.
Think of the accounts in Scripture of them moving God’s people across the Red Sea and later the Jordan River.