How to BE the Church 3

The first lesson from the letter to the Philippians: look for, develop and deepen your ‘fellow-servant’ relationships with other Christians. You ‘Pauls’ and ‘Paulines’ look out for the younger brothers and sisters that you can train up and work with for years to come. You ‘Timothys’ and ‘Timosinas’ grab the opportunities to get alongside experienced Christians. Build these relationships on Bible study, prayer, church work and spiritual initiatives. Even an outstanding Christian like the apostle Paul did not try to go it alone.

Paul had a deep affection for the Christians in Philippi. He calls them the ‘saints in Christ Jesus’. Saints just means ‘God’s chosen ones’. To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is encouraging them by reminding them of their secure and privileged position as people chosen by God and set apart by the word of truth. They were still just people living in Philippi, but they now had a new identity as the elect of God. They might have felt ordinary, but Paul is assuring them that they are special; set apart for God’s blessing.

He particularly mentions their ‘overseers and deacons’. These were the men and women with the responsibility of feeding and serving the church. Of course all the Christians at Philippi were responsible for playing their part in using their gifts for the benefit of the others, but the overseers (that is, elders) and deacons had some specific responsibilities. These were not special people – they were some of their own – Philppian people with some particular roles of service. Paul never tried to manage the Philippian Christians long distance. He had faith that Jesus was overseeing his Church and that, under Christ, they were well cared for by the overseers and deacons from among their own number.

Churches take care of ourselves with the support of overseers (elders) and deacons. We are not depending on some expert or ‘big name’ or great organisation to run our lives. We look directly to Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. He raises up people from within the church to be undershepherds to take care of it. Overseers is a good name for elders, because it implies watchfulness and shepherding. Overseers in the church are responsible to keep the flock of God safe through good teaching and pastoral care.

The closest meaning to ‘deacon’ is waiter or waitress. The deacons are responsible for making sure that the good works of the church are organised in a way that benefits all the people and that no one gets overlooked. Like waiters they make sure that in the church everyone has the resources they need to work effectively.