the twentieth chapter of the Book of the Acts. And you'll recall that in our earlier studies we've taken up the origin of the church and the order of the church. This morning I want to begin a study on the operation of the church and then eventually at some point in the future we'll talk about the obligation of the church. As concerning its origin, There were four things that we discussed. First of all, the church's description in the language of man, we examined that word ecclesia, which means a called out company, and we saw that this applied in a secular sense, in a religious sense, and in a twofold Christian sense, of the universal church and of the local church. It's description in the language of man. And then we looked at its conception in the mind of Christ, or he was the one who said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and he said it would be built upon a rock even himself. Then thirdly we looked at its illustration in the Word of God. We noticed a fourfold illustration of the church as a body, as a bride, as a building and as a flock. And we saw that each of these illustrations had a special series of lessons to teachers. And then, fourthly, we looked at its inception or its beginning on the day of Pentecost, when a hundred and twenty believers were baptized into one body and the church began. That then was our study on the origin of the church. And then we spoke about the order of the church in the universal church and in the local church. We observed that it was according to a divine plan and accomplished by a divine person. And then as concerning with the local church, we dwelt upon just three things out of four. The constitution of that local church, its communion, its center, and its control. Now the last one we didn't have time to deal with. But I'm still going to go on to the operation of the church this morning. And there are three things that are going to concern us with regard to the operation of the church. First of all, it's operation with regard to management. And that brings us to bishops and deacons. It's operation with regard to management. Then I hope at some point we'll be able to talk about its operation with regard to ministry and then with regard to money. I think this is very important. We don't have a chance to talk about these things unless they come up in a consecutive Bible study, but it's very important for us to know where the money for the local church should come from, how it should be handled, how it should be distributed and so on, but that is not our study for this morning. This morning we're going to talk about management. the operation of the Church of Jesus Christ with regard to management. And this is to be in the hands of bishops and deacons. So keeping that in mind, let's read from Acts chapter twenty, because I want you to notice some expressions that are used here. Verse seventeen to begin with. And from Miletus, he, that is Paul, sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. Now whom did he call? He called the what? Elders of the church. Now this is what he said to them in verse twenty eight. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost have made you overseers. What's that word? Overseers. So to the elders he says, the Holy Spirit have made you overseers. Now, interestingly enough, the Greek word is exactly the same in both instances. So remember, elders are overseers, and overseers are elders. Let's go on. For I know this. Or rather, take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the Church of God which he has purchased with his own blood. Now go to Titus chapter one, will you? Titus chapter one. Elders are overseers. Overseers are elders. Now in this first chapter of Titus, notice verse five. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders, there's that word again, in every city as I had appointed thee. if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly, for a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God. Now what was Titus sent to do? He was sent to ordain elders, and then the word says, for a bishop. So you had in Acts twenty an elder was an overseer. An overseer was an elder. Here you have an elder, and in describing him it says, for a bishop must be blameless. So an elder is not only an overseer, an elder is also a bishop, and a bishop is an elder. Now it is true that an elder is an overseer, and an overseer is an elder, and an elder is a bishop, and a bishop is an elder, then a bishop must be an overseer, and an overseer must be a bishop. I just want you to get these words straight in your thinking, and these are the qualifications. A bishop or an elder or an overseer must be blameless. He doesn't say faultless. Please notice that is very important. He must be blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre, but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate, holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to convince the gain-sayer. Now go back to First Timothy, please. and chapter three. I told you I had a long reading for you this morning. That means it'll take up my time for preaching. But this is the Word of God and so is very important. First Timothy chapter three, verse one. This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop. Now let me give you J.N. Darby's translation here. if a man aspire to exercise oversight. Now please notice that. That's very accurate. If he aspires to exercise oversight. Now that is preferable to this if he desire the office of a bishop, because that word office could give to you a wrong impression. Oversight, being a bishop, being an elder, is not an office. Will you please get that Hence, it is more correct or accurate to read if a man aspires to the exercise of oversight. A bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy or filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God, not a novice or a new convert, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them that are without lest ye fall into the reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, and let them also first be proved, then let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless. Notice it doesn't say faultless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, Faithful in all things that the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon must purchase to themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. And again notice that word office, and please discount it. Turn over to chapter five, will you? I'm not going to have any time to preach this morning, am I? Verse seventeen. Well, that'll be my loss and not yours. Verse seventeen of chapter five here. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scripture says, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the laborer is worthy of his reward. Now I was going to read from Philippians chapter one and verse one. You can read that at your leisure, but do please turn with me to first Peter chapter five, and with that I will end the reading. First Peter chapter five. Now it hasn't, it's been a long time since we had a good exercise here in page turning. First Peter chapter five and verse one. The elders which are among you, I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that she shall be revealed, feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, notice those two words again, not by constraint but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensembles to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that saitheth not away. Likewise, your youngest submit yourselves unto the elder. Now that's a long reading. I think after that we ought to have a short word of prayer. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, these scriptures are so important, as indeed is all of the word of God. These things are written for our learning, for our instruction, for our guidance. and for the edifying and upbuilding and welfare of the church. We pray that we might a little more appreciate those upon whom the responsibility about which we have been reading falls, and we ask that those of us who bear that responsibility might, a little more tremblingly, in view of the weight of it, lean upon thee so that our work shall honour thee and eventually be rewarded by thee and that in the meantime during its exercise might prove to be extremely glorifying to thyself. We know this to be the prayer of every godly elder. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So we come to the operation of the church with regard to management and we're going to talk bishops that I think we ought to learn. We ought to try to revive these and be in a position when we leave to turn them over in our own minds and search the scriptures and make sure that these things are so. First of all, briefly, I want to talk about the titles that are given to the bishop. Now we've read them. We've read the words that are involved here and just a little word of explanation about them. The titles. And notice, will you please, I didn't say the title. The titles of the elder. The second thing I want to talk about is the plurality of elders in every New Testament church. Their plurality. The third thing is their function. And please notice that the function of an elder ideally is a spiritual function. So we'll talk about that. The fourth thing, their qualifications... and the fifth thing, their prestige. So these are five things, and if I, and I'm going to finish at twelve o'clock, if I'm able to do it, I'd like to give five minutes to each one of them, and that'll take me exactly to noon. If I spill over on one, I'll have to abbreviate on another. Now, first of all, the titles. We had the word bishop. We had the word elder. We have the word overseer. There is another word that we have, and it's only used once in our English New Testament, though the Greek word is used eighteen times, but it is not translated this way but once. And that is the word pastor. Now, on the other seventeen occasions, it is translated simply shepherd. So a pastor is a shepherd, and a shepherd is a pastor, and these are bishops, and elders and overseers. Now that's all very clear in the Word of God. Now, the Greek word poimant is the word that is translated once pastor and seventeen times shepherd. And when, and I've said this to you before, when someone says to you, oh yes, you're the little church at Park of the Ponce that doesn't have a pastor. Please immediately stop right there, take a deep breath and tell them you have been uninformed because we are very fortunate we happen to have a number of pastors and that is precisely the example that is given to us in the New Testament. A pastor is an elder and an elder is an overseer and an overseer is a bishop and so on. It would seem, and I believe that in the New Testament days it was so, that a church that had a number of pastors must necessarily have been a much more fortunate church than a church that had only one pastor. Now it is a challenge to us today that we can look around at churches around us, fundamental churches around us, that are really forging ahead for God and doing a tremendous work, and they are headed up by just one pastor. But that pastor is a godly man, and he's a man who's concerned. Don't you imagine for a moment that some of these churches that surround us that have godly pastors, that necessarily, because there is a man heading up the church, that believers do not get an opportunity of developing their gifts, and the believers do not get an opportunity of exercising their priesthood. Now this is the idea that you have, it's a very erroneous idea. There are godly pastors with churches today that are a powerful God because they're concerned about the priesthood of every believer in their congregation. And they're concerned about the development and exercise of the gift of believers in their congregation. Don't get the idea that a church that acknowledges only one pastor necessarily is a stifled church. If that were true, some of these churches wouldn't be putting us to shame as they are. But, you know, many of these godly pastors would be the firm and the first to acknowledge that basically, when they go to the New Testament, they find that the New Testament church had more pastors than one. Because pastors were elders and bishops and overseers, and had we read Philippians one and one, we would have read greetings to the church with the elders. with the elders or with the bishops, and the word is in the plural. So, please remember the titles are interchangeable. The word poiman means shepherd or pastor. The word presbyteros is the word that is translated both bishop and overseer. And then there's another word episcopas, which is usually translated elder. But if we had more time than this to deal with this, we would see that undoubtedly these words are interchangeable and that in the New Testament church, these men so-called were in the plural. They were more pastors than one, more elders than one, more overseers than one, more bishops than one, and so that brings me to my second thought. Turality. Them that are over you. Now that's first Thessalonians chapter five and there's a reference to the plural. Literally the Greek there is them that stand before you. Because this is what the bishop and the elder is meant to do. He's meant to be an example and I'm using Bible language or an example to the flock. Titus was told to appoint elders in every city. All right. Philippians one salutes the saints with the bishops, plural, and although Christendom today usually has one man who carries the title bishop over many churches, God according to the New Testament ordained that there should be several bishops in every church. If you were to go to Acts chapter fourteen in verse twenty three, you'll find the word, the expression there is, elders in every church. Now, of course, today, the fundamental church is usually distinguished between the pastor and the elders. One pastor and elders in the church. But this is a distinction that is not found in the New Testament. And I'm trying now not to be critical. I don't want to be critical. And most of these men would admit this, who are godly. There is really, in fact, there is no distinction in the word of God between the cleric and the laity. The Bible doesn't know anything of such a distinction. And it's a tragedy in Christendom today that this thing has arisen. Do you know what the word cleric comes from? It comes from a Greek word phyros, which simply means the flock. So that the cleric is just one of the flock. And again, godly ministers today, godly pastors today are more than willing to admit this. They know their Bibles well enough to realize that their position is not an exalted one in the local church. If they take an exalted position, then they take one that God has not given to them. God looks upon the local church as a flock. He looks upon the local church as a group of believers, and among them he raises up those to guide them and direct them who are called bishops, elders, or overseers, or pastors. But there was definitely a plurality of pastors in every New Testament church. Now, what's the function of the bishop, of the elder, of the overseer, of the pastor? Well, it is care for the church. That's the, that is, in a word, I couldn't think of a more embracing word than this, it is the responsibility of the elder to care for the church of God. Now, this constitutes four things. First of all, according to the New Testament, he must watch the flock. Take heed, therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock. Didn't we read that in Acts chapter twenty? So they are first of all to watch the flock. Secondly, they are to feed the flock. Listen. Feed the flock of God which is among you. Now that's what we read in first Peter chapter five. I'm going to come back to this. The third thing is they are to lead the flock. And if that is true, then the flock is to follow them. They are to lead the flock. the Word of God says, being in samples to the flock. And the third thing, the fourth thing is, they are to guard the flock. For they must be so saturated in the Word of God and capable of imparting it that they are able to exhort and convince the game-sayers. And you remember we read that also in Titus chapter one. Or didn't we read that far? Maybe we didn't read that far. I don't quite remember. Yes, we did. All right. Four things then. They must watch the flock, feed the flock, lead the flock, and guard the flock. Now what is involved in this very important, indeed this vital responsibility? What about watching the flock? Now if the elders are going to watch the flock, then they must make sure that the sick are visited. And secondly, they must make sure that the discouraged are helped. Thirdly, they must make sure that the poor are nourished. And fourthly, they must make sure that the strong are encouraged. But you know, the mistake that we make is this. We figure that since this is the responsibility of the elder, he must be the one who goes and visits the sick. He must be the one who goes and discourages or helps to discourage. He is the one who goes and nourishes the poor. He is the one who must personally go and encourage the strong. It does not work that way. Now if that was so, my how much can four or five elders do in an assembly, for instance, the size of our assembly? Now it becomes the elders' responsibility to make sure the work is done. But let's remember that gifts are given to the church, that the church might go out and perform the ministry. And you know there are some people, they can be visited by a score of believers in the assembly, but if one of the elders doesn't go and visit them, they don't think they've been visited at all. And that's a very unreasonable kind of attitude. And yet you'd be amazed how very rampant that attitude is. Elders are men with limited amounts of strength. Elders are men with burdens of responsibility. They have so many things to do. I remember up in my assembly in New Jersey there, the elders on prayer meeting night never came to the prayer meeting. Now, that shocks you, doesn't it? That sure shocks you. Now, I ought to qualify that. I say they never all came to the prayer meeting at one time. Because every prayer meeting night, there were two elders out visiting. Why? because they had so many responsibilities at other times in the week and during the month for the assembly, they couldn't be at every meeting. And so while two of the elders were visiting on prayer meeting night, the people were praying for them along with other things. Then the next prayer meeting night, two more elders would go out and visit. And the next prayer meeting night, two more would go out and visit. Now, I'm sure that there are people who would die in their tracks that think that an elder was doing something other than attending the prayer meeting on prayer meeting night. let's remember that elders are men with limited strength and let's remember we have to be reasonable about these things and oftentimes a man can have much in his heart but he doesn't have the time or the strength to carry out or two men or three men or four men but it is the responsibility of the elders to make sure that the sick are visited that the discouraged are helped that the poor are nourished and that the strong are encouraged and especially that last Somebody has said every boy should have a pat on the back, as long as it's low enough and hard enough and often enough. And there are sometimes the only kind of pat on the back that we think about. You know, when a person is really doing a job in the assembly, somebody's got to go and say, my, this is so encouraging to us, this is so cheering to us, this means so much to us. My wonder what an encouragement that is to a person who didn't even think that where their contribution was noticed. That's watching the flock. You've got to watch them in order to find where the sick are and where the discouraged are. Yes, and where the strong are and so on. Then that far flock which must be watched must also be fed. Not only is it the responsibility of the elder to find the pasture, it is the responsibility of the elder itself to provide food. The Word of God says one of the qualifications of an elder is that he must be apt to teach. Now, that doesn't mean to say that every elder has got to be able to stand on the platform and preach publicly. No, but there are so many other ways of imparting instruction. Some of the most valuable instruction I've ever received. Never came from a platform. He came from an elder. Someone interested in me putting an arm around my shoulder and... pointing out things to me I hadn't seen before. You know that I went to a number of years after I was converted to thirteen years of age and never learned until an elder put an arm around my shoulder and instructed me that I ought to be giving proportionately of what came to me. I used to give appetitively as the spirit led, but it was my spirit more often than it should have been. Do you realize, well, that's a topic for the future. I don't know whether we'll ever have the courage to get to it. but feeding the flock of God is so very, very necessary. Obviously, then, an elder must be a man who studies his life. He must be a man who knows his books. He must be a man who cares about the Word of God and the imparting of it to other people. He's responsible not only to watch the flock, but to feed the flock, and then to leave the flock. Now, Hebrews tells the saints to follow. So Peter tells the elders to lead and to lead by example. If you notice that word, not making demands of the people of God, not dictating to the people of God, but leading them by godly example. That's how the flock is to be led, according to the good of God, and then it is to be Godly. The elders must be capable of admonishing the disorderly, willing to do that very very unpopular work stopping the mouths of subverters and doing it by means of the Word of God this then is the function of the elder now what about this qualification you read about them in first Timothy three from which chapter we read and Titus one also from which chapter we read there are five things that I would just like to sum up the matter of qualification with that English, but I'll stay with it. First of all, the elder's personal life, secondly his family life, thirdly his experience, fourthly his reputation, and fifthly his teaching. Now, I know what's happening. There are elders sitting in this meeting, and as I'm talking about these things, they're becoming increasingly conscious of their own need in this area. Did you know what? I hope that as I go down through these things, you will not be taking elder so-and-so and saying, well, now how does he match up here? I hope instead you'll be saying, my, how high God stands out. And how every day we ought to pray for these men who have to meet such demands of God on their lives. Here they are, personal life. Two things are spoken of in this connection. One is holiness and the other is hospitality. The other is a man who must be holy in his character and he must be holy in his conduct. The word did not say he must be faultless because to be faultless he would stand out absolutely unique, the only man like that in the world, but blameless. You know, when your child is just old enough to stand on a little stool and say, Mommy, I want to help you dry the dishes. And she takes the first dish and drops it and smashes. You don't half beat it to death because she broke a plate. What you do is you realize that her hands are tiny. The soap is very slippery. She had a job wielding the clapper towel there. And it was just too much for her. And the plate fell to the ground. Now, she wasn't worthless. She smashed one of your best dishes. But she was blameless. She was trying to help. She was trying to do her part, and it was just a little too much for her, and so she failed. Now, elders, you're going to find are men who from time to time failed. Nobody needs to go and knock their door and tell them they failed. They know. But God reads the heart and the motives, and these men are to be blameless. That's holiness of character. And then they are to be vigilant, sober, and of good behavior. Now that's holiness of hunger. Vigilant, sober, and of good behavior. Hospitality is the second thing. The elder should ever have an open hold. He doesn't have an open hold. He does not meet the qualification that he set down in the Word of God very clearly. Holiness and hospitality go together. Family life is the second thing. And this can be described in a twofold fashion. One is, his family life must be orderly, and his family life must be controlled. Concerning the first, the word that's used is with all gravity. And the expression that is used in the second is having his children in subjection. But it comes at times. When children come no longer under a father's jurisdiction, and for such he is not responsible, There are those who would be refused to a man acknowledgement as an elder because he has unsaved children. Now, if they haven't got their feet under his table, he is not responsible for them. And there are godly elders and godly men and women in our local churches who put our own lives to shame. And some of us who have children who've made a profession of faith wonder why it is that their children, who are obviously so much more spiritual than we, have not made a profession of faith. Here are those who will blame parents for this. God forgive them, because every individual must stand on his own feet before God, and children for themselves will either receive or reject the Lord Jesus. But while a father has his children at his table, he becomes responsible at least for their conduct, and he must make demands of them that they meet certain standards. He must have an orderly household, and he must have a controlled household. Now the Word of God is very, very logical here. If he cannot control his own family, how can he control or help to lead the Church of God? It cannot be done. Now the third thing here is his experience. Not a novice is the word that he's used. Now you'll find that that is not demanded of the deacon. The deacon can be a novice, or if you will, a new convert, but not the elder. The elder must be a mature person spiritually. He must be a man with spiritual experience. Why? Because, the word of God tells us, if he were a novice and put into the responsible position of an elder, given that responsibility, he might become blown up with pride and virtue. There have been older men who've been saved for years and years and years who have been lifted up with pride and have lost their qualifications as elders. and still sought to function as elders. And in some cases have actually locked the doors of chapels in their determination to dictate to the people of God. But in order to save a man from this danger, the word of God says, an elder cannot be a new convert because the position of elder is so important that it can become a means of making a man proud. Now it can happen to an older man. as well as a younger man, it can happen to a man who has been saved many years, as well as one who has only been saved a few months. But the danger is greater for the novice than for the experienced and mature man. And this is why the Word of God says his experience must be considerable. What about his reputation? He must have a good reputation. And a good reputation you will notice on the outside as well as on the inside. You want to know what kind of a man a man is. You don't ask the people in the assembly who only see him on Sundays and on prayer meetings nights. You go and ask the man who stands beside him at the machine and who's right there when he hits his thumb with a hammer or bangs his chin with a wrench or something like that. An elder has to have a good reputation on the outside as well as on the inn because the world so oftentimes sees more of the real man than do his fellow Christians. And then finally, fifthly, there is his teaching, and that must be pure. He must be apt to teach, not necessarily publicly, but he must be capable of imparting pure doctrine and teaching and instruction in accordance with the Word of God. Now, I wanted very badly to come to this one, and I'm glad I have my five minutes to deal with it. Because it's one thing to talk about the titles, the plurality, the function and the qualifications of an elder. Another thing to talk about is prestige. Because there is no doubt at all about it in the local church, the elder is very much taken for granted. Very much taken for granted. He's very seldom really prayed for. He's very often blamed. Now, the Word of God tells us very, very clearly that the elder, the bishop, the overseer, is a man of prestige. In the first place, elders are to be recognized. In the second place, elders are to be obeyed. In the third place, elders are to be esteemed. Now let's just repeat those words. They are to be recognized. The Word of God says, know them that are over you. Do you know that there are local churches who have elders that they don't know? Meetings that are run by a business meeting. And if you were to ask, who are the elders, well, believers wouldn't be able to tell you. Now the Word of God says, we are to know them. How can we obey those? that we don't recognize and don't know our elders. I believe the Word of God teaches very, very clearly that elders in a local church are to be recognized. Now, God has appointed them. We must acknowledge them. No man is made an elder by an assembly. He is simply recognized because he has the qualifications and meets the standards. Such men are to be recognized. Now, there's no doubt about it in local churches. There are men who are not recognized, but because they have all the qualifications and they function, they are elders. Recognize they're not. It's just a sad thing that the assembly is being cheated in not recognizing such men. then there may be men in a local church that are recognized or acknowledged who have no right to be because their qualifications do not measure up. Now this happens in local churches. That's why believers need to be exercised and burdened and prayerful, especially in the matter of the support of their elders. So they are to be recognized and they are to be obeyed. Now when the elders, in coming together to make decisions with regard to the assembly, and they do it prayerfully and in a spiritual fashion, we may not agree with their findings. But the Word of God says the local church is responsible to them to obey them. This makes their responsibility the greater. But the church is told to obey them. Why? Now why should they be obeyed? To come to the next thing, they should also be esteemed for these reasons. In the first place, their work is absolutely vital to the church's well-being. You cannot have a scripturally constituted a New Testament church without elders. Their work is vital to the church's well-being and scripturally to its very existence. Again, their work is oftentimes, thankless. It's always under criticism, there's no mistake about it, and yet these men carry on in local churches, although so often they have to take the can back. When something goes wrong, who gets the blame? Oftentimes it's the elders, and instead of throwing up their hands in holy horror or tossing things aside and walking up in a hut and saying, I'm done, they still carry on. Their work is costly. I know a man in Brantford where we used to live. And he would call me up sometimes, he'd say, are you doing anything very important? And I would say to him, not so important, I can't just drop it. What is it? He said, I'd like you to come and pray with me. And I would go and join him. We'd get down on our knees and we would pray about matters in the assembly that were concerning him. Oh, how many times that man has knelt beside me there with the tears just coursing down his cheeks and dropping up his chin. Do you know that man died in his six tears of a heart attack? And I believe one of the things that helped to kill him. was the burden upon his heart for the Church of God. Don't you think that this is a function that's taken lightly? And don't you think that it's anything but a costly function? That's why elders are to be obeyed and esteemed. Esteemed, and what does the Word of God say? Very highly for their work's sake. An elder is never to be rebuked, but entreated at First Timothy five. He is never to be accused but before witnesses. That's first Timothy chapter five. In certain cases it will become so vital to the assembly that he is to be supported. The word of God says, thou shalt not muddle the ox that treads out the corn. It's in that same chapter five of first Timothy that we find that the elder who does sin must be rebuked before all. This being because his sin reflects upon all. God gives the erring elder the grace and the wisdom to withdraw from public gaze when his life is not right. Such a man will save himself from heartache and humiliation and the Church of God from stigma. My time has gone. I can't even talk about deacons, but let me say this, that whereas the elder's function is a spiritual one, the deacons' function is a practical one. And all the jobs that are done around the assembly are done by deacons. You know what a deacon is? The word diaconos means a servant. Did you know there's a woman in the New Testament called a deacon? Well, that may shock some of you, but the women are servants as well as the men. And it's a real privilege to deacon. If that's what a deacon does. Serve the Church of God. Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, We thank thee that thy word is clear and plain on these issues. It's not very often, Lord, that we get together to talk about them, but they are vital, they are important. We only pray that something may have been imparted to us this morning that will stay with us and be a blessing to us. Those of us who are younger may well aspire to this responsibility of oversight. Such desiring is desiring of good work. Some of us are carrying that responsibility, and how much we cover the prayers of the people of God and need them. There are those of us, Lord, who, sitting here, as the rank and file in a local church, how we should appreciate and support our elders. May the time we've spent together help to bring this about for thy glory and the detriment of the churches to which we belong.