The Ministry of a Baptist Deacon: A Handbook for Local Church Servant Leaders

by Paul Chappell

A godly deacon is a great asset to the work of God. His servant leadership benefits the entire church family, and his support and care for the pastor is invaluable.The Ministry of a Baptist Deacon is written for local church deacons who desire to invest themselves in the work of God and give themselves to the service of God’s people. It is designed as a handbook to equip deacons as servant leaders. This two-part manual scripturally defines the office and responsibilities of a deacon as well as providing practical helps for local church ministry. This book also includes several appendices with sample forms, financial procedures, and a sample church constitution.

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2010

About the author

Dr. Paul Chappell is the senior pastor of the Lancaster Baptist Church and president of West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California. His biblical vision has led the church to become one of the most dynamic independent Baptist churches in the nation. He has been married to his wife for over thirty-six years and is the father of four married children all serving in Christian ministry. His books can be found at http://www.strivingtogether.com.

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book on deacons and their ministry in the local, Baptist church; however, it might be noted that it has limited applicability as it seems to apply primarily to independent Baptist churches as it has the pastor as the absolute head of the church and the deacons acting as administrative assistants to his ministry. In the Southern Baptist application, under congregational polity, the labels have to be moved.
That being said, the obviously high view of scripture (taken exclusively from the King James Version) make this book valuable in considering the character, qualifications, and even some specific instances of deacon service.
The real value of this book comes not from the stories of how they do it at Lancaster Baptist Church, but in the many models and examples that begin the conversation for how to contextualize the concepts in other settings equally dedicated to a Biblical ministry for deacons.
The third section has examples of policies, forms and even a sample church constitution from Dr. Chappell's setting. All of these are helpful, even if not directly transferable.
Why the loss of a star? The book is repetitive at times, circular in reasoning at points, and obvious in others.
Overall, it is a good introduction to this vital ministry so needed in churches today.

[Tom Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curiously enough, for being one of only two positions in the New Testament church mentioned specifically, there is a paucity of written exploration of the subject of deacon. For that alone, Chappell deserves credit. In addition, he does his usual careful work of exploring relevant Scriptures and applying them.

The book's weaknesses are primarily two. First, it reads like it is a brief transcription of notes from a college course. There are a lot of large bullet points with little exploration or explanation underneath of them. Second, and worse, is the way this book is so parochial. Chappell wrote it for his own deacons, apparently. If he didn't, it sure reads that way. Much, if not most, of the content is specific to Chappell's church. Frankly, it won't apply to the typical independent Baptist church deacon. Thus it is of only limited use as a resource for the thousands of deacons that need such thoughtful, scriptural content.

The idea for the book is excellent. The content of the book is helpful in a limited way. But this isn't the book I was looking for.

[Mark McElreath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great primer for a pastor considering the work of the deacon and for a man you are considering being a deacon. It is very accessible for any man in the church to pick up and read. Several of the appendices are extremely helpful including financial policies, sample forms, and guidelines for helping the needy.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book on church governance from the "Baptist" perspective.

[Josh Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book for several reasons:

1) It was practical (as nearly all of Paul Chappell's booka are)
2) There are not many books dedicated to the ministry of a deacon
3) It places proper importance on an important position in a local, New Testament church
4) The book shares actual forms that are currently used in the ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church

Several chapters/sections that were quite helpful were as follows:

Chapter 8 - Biblically Handling Criticism
This chapter could actually be taught to any church member but it is especially important for church leaders to know how to deal with criticism in the right manner. Why? Because when one is involved in the Lord's work, criticism is sure to rear its ugly head.

Appendix 6 - Guidelines For Helping the Needy
I have never seen such thorough, helpful guidelines to guide a church and its deacons in the process of helping people in time of need. This was an outstanding part of the book and one which not only emphasizes helping the needy, but puts in place a process which keeps God's money from being pilfered by those attempting to extract funds from the church by nefarious methods. Quite helpful!