Everyone wants to hear the words “Well done my good and faithful servant”. No one looks forward to a day when someone will say to him or to her “You have done your job poorly and you are an irresponsible servant. Depart from me for I do not know you.” Deep down inside, every one of us has a deep desire to serve well. We want to excel at things. We want to be successful. We want to be good at something. We want to be good servants.

What is your vision of Jesus right now and how does that vision affect your behavior, your church engagement and your proclamation of Christ? Last week I made the statement that I believe that the church in the western world worships a small vision of Jesus. And my prayer has been that God would reveal to us where our vision of his Son needs to be increased.

The passage in front of us today is Paul’s second pass as laying out the qualifications for leaders in the church. The first round focused on the role of Elders (3:1 – 7) and this second round focuses on the role of Deacons (3:8 – 13). At first glance both sections appear to be identical and there are many things that are identical in these verses. But there are also many things that are unique to the role of a Deacon in comparison to the role of an Elder. Look at what Paul says…

I’ve always said that the reason we have unqualified leaders in businesses is because there are so many uneducated customers out there. Too many people don’t know what to look for in a qualified business leader. And too many people are willing to skimp on the price of a product, which typically means paying a higher price later. Hiring unqualified employees typically results in devastating losses that cost both the business and the customer dearly.

I grew up in a single-parent home with my mom and my sister. My mom was my primary teacher and my sister was one of my best friends. My mom grew up in a home where her father abused her in every way imaginable. My dad left us when I was 5 years old, though later in my teen years he did reconcile with my sister and I as he began to follow the Lord. He also married a really godly lady who has been a huge blessing to our family over the years.

Bad news travels fast. In the age of the Internet and mobile devices, we oftentimes receive bad news within in moments of the event. In the last week alone, I heard of two very disturbing events unfolding in the Christian world.