Nathaniel R. Martin

When I graduated from seminary in 2017, I completed 21-course hours studying Koine Greek and 15-course hours studying Biblical Hebrew. Some courses I was blessed to take included Greek Exegesis of Ephesians with Dr. Benjamin Merkle, Greek Exegesis of Colossians with Dr. Charles Quarles, and Septuagint with Dr. David Alan Black and Dr. Chip Hardy. These were excellent courses taught by excellent teachers. Despite these challenging courses, I graduated with good grades, a love for biblical languages, and an eagerness to use them in ministry. 

Like many, I desired to maintain both languages while serving in pastoral ministry. Early on, my habits reflected this desire. While preparing for sermons through Colossians and the Gospel of Mark, I did most of my work in the Greek New Testament. To keep up with Hebrew, I preached from Ruth and Jonah, spending considerable time reading the Hebrew Text using a helpful reader’s edition. My desire to maintain a love for the languages as I used them in ministry was working. That was until life and ministry got much busier. 

In 2020, COVID-19 disrupted life, and pastors everywhere had to make quick decisions on how to best care for their people and respond to government mandates regarding gatherings. Right before COVID-19 began to spread in the States, I had begun preaching through James (not the hardest, but certainly not the easiest book to read in Greek). This is when I made an unfortunate misstep. Preparing sermons from the Greek New Testament didn’t seem reasonable in such an odd, busy season of ministry. I even felt guilty for dedicating time to reading Greek and Hebrew because one might perceive it as “unproductive.” So, I stopped. I became pragmatic. I needed to be prepared to preach, and returning to an English translation was the most pragmatic way to prepare. 

Three years passed without me returning to the languages in any meaningful sense. They felt lost, and guilt ensued. Then, one ordinary evening, after hearing me express a desire to return to the languages I once loved, a friend said, “You just need to do it.” I don’t know what it was about this sister saying something so simple, but that night, I permitted myself to reserve the time to retrieve my Greek and Hebrew. 

My only exposure to learning the biblical languages was the grammar-translation method, so I did what I knew. I picked up an elementary grammar and downloaded the GNT Vocab app. I reviewed elementary grammar over 12 weeks, studying two chapters a week and completing the exercises. After 12 weeks, I read all of 1 John, reviewing grammar and vocabulary as I read each day. To my surprise, there was so much that I remembered. It felt like a review rather than relearning.

Most importantly, what I came to remember is how much I enjoyed studying Greek. I remembered how fulfilling it was to pursue a deeper understanding of the Scriptures. Studying Greek is once again a source of personal joy and excitement! 

I am now back to reading the Greek New Testament daily and preparing sermons from the Greek text. I’m also currently working through an intermediate grammar, building vocabulary, and learning about new pedagogical methods. I was recently exposed to podcasts and articles advocating for a comprehensive input method, and I am exploring how that may deepen my knowledge and assist with fluency. Jennifer Noonan’s recent book, A Handbook for Second Language Acquisition for Biblical Studies, is on its way, and I look forward to her insights.

My plan now is to work through the New Testament books, from easiest to hardest, as listed in Merkle and Plummer’s Greek for Life. Read, read, read will be the path I will take this time over against reading about grammar or debates in secondary literature. This is the advice I would give to others as well: read, read, read. 

Are my skills the same as they were after graduation? No. Can they be even better? Absolutely. Once I finish reviewing my intermediate Greek grammar, I’ll focus on Hebrew. Will my skills be the same as they were after graduation? No. Am I confident they can be even better? Absolutely. 

I’ll never advance in my Greek and Hebrew studies to gain mastery and expertise. Most busy pastors won’t either. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek to learn as much as we can. The words of A.T. Robertson advocating for pastors to learn textual criticism also apply to learning the languages themselves.

“Even if one does not become an expert in it, he will gain a sense of independence in reaching probable conclusions that will be satisfying…There is also a splendid training in clear thinking in this study. One balances the various forms of evidence before he reaches his final conclusion. This mental process calls for insight, weighing evidence, delicate balancing of probabilities, clear grasp of the data, honesty in deciding. These qualities are not confined, to be sure, to this study, but they are so demanded by it that one gains a fine intellectual drill in the exercise of them.”  (A.T. Robertson, Studies in the Text of the New Testament ,58)

Perhaps you’re like me. It feels like you’ve lost them and wasted your time and money. You didn’t. You can get it back—at least you can start to, and you’ll find great joy in the pursuit of knowing God’s Word better. No matter how long it has been. You can get it back. Check out Daily Dose of Greek and Daily Dose of Hebrew. Look into helpful review resources like Merkle’s Exegetical Journeys in Biblical Greek or Rodney Whitacre’s Using and Enjoying Biblical Greek.

If I can start to get it back, you can too. So, let’s take up the text, read it, and encourage each other to read again tomorrow.

 πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, πρὸς ἐλεγμόν, πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν, πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἵνα ἄρτιος ᾖ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐξηρτισμένος. ( 2 Ti 3:16–17)

I may regret sharing this in such a public way. Whatever the risk, the potential help I may give someone else outweighs any adverse outcome. I was a Sophomore in High School the first time someone referred to me as “sad.” I had just gone through one of the more difficult seasons of my life, and the sadness made sense. It was circumstantial. It was explainable.

Over time, circumstances were no longer sufficient to explain my frequent lowness, a temperament often dismissed by people close to me as “seriousness.” No matter how my circumstances or I changed, a persistent lowness—a sadness—hovered over my life. I internalized all of this as a personal failure. Everything is pretty good, but I am not, so feeling this way is a failure. I carried this into seminary, marriage, parenthood, and ministry. I didn’t realize it then, but I now see how difficult these things were because of this cloud that I did not name or affirm. This denial went on for years.

I could no longer deny it when I was in a particularly bad spiral of negative thinking just this past year. I’ll spare you the details, but in God’s kindness, my wife strongly encouraged me (as she had done for years prior) to see someone, including a physician. Up to this point, I would have denied struggling with depression for the reasons mentioned above. And I admit there was an irrational fear. I wrongly believed that if I told anyone I was depressed, then maybe they’d suggest I wasn’t fit to pastor, and I love being a pastor.

Despite all this, I wanted no longer to be a burden to my wife and children. And so, last Fall, I met with a physician (who, in God’s providence, was a member of a sister church I’ve grown to love). The physician suggested what my counselor was already trying to convince me of, that I likely have a form of persistent depressive disorder. He suggested I find a counselor (which I had) and then suggested a solution I feared: a low dose of medication. I was initially resistant, and if it hadn’t been for Michael Emlet’s wonderful little book, I may have remained so. I ultimately agreed. The difference has been dramatic.

I still examine my life for unbelief and sinful patterns of thought. I still seek a change of heart and affection by God’s grace and with the help of the Spirit. But the medicine has helped. By no longer denying the reality of my depression, I was able to get the necessary help, which has finally removed the dark cloud and allowed me to pursue change.

I know the Christian counseling spectrum can be divisive, but in my experience, I need more than one plan of attack to begin to see change. I needed spiritual discipline and counsel, but I also needed medical assistance and medication. How long will I be on it? I don’t know, but depression negatively impacted my marriage, my children, and my ministry as a pastor. Aided by the counsel of a godly physician, I’ll remain on it for as long as it takes.

Why did I share this? Because we get better, and someone reading this doesn’t believe that’s possible, but it is. We can get better.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Ps 42:5–6)

If you’re in ministry, I was particularly blessed by the 9Marks podcast on pastoring amidst depression. I respect Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman immensely. Listening to them have this conversation with compassion and pastoral care greatly blessed me. It is a must-listen if you’re in ministry and struggling with depression: https://www.9marks.org/…/episode-107-on-pastoring-amid…/

Michael Emlet’s book “Descriptions and Prescriptions: A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnosis and Medications” is also a great help.

You can get better, friend.

Young Baptist pastors like myself can be zealous about the importance of Baptist identity and the importance of teaching Baptist distinctives. Many of us were raised in Baptist churches but could not articulate why in a Biblical and theological way until college and seminary. It is not uncommon to hear some lament that many members of Baptist churches are not yet Baptist by conviction but are so because of mere experience. They were “just raised Baptist.”

Without minimizing the importance of teaching Baptist distinctives, there is much that is praiseworthy about the “raised Baptist” answer.

Imagine a person who can’t tell you who John Broadus is or has a hard time with the language of the Baptist Faith & Message (or other confessions). If you were to ask them, “Why are you a Baptist?” they may very well say something like this, “Baptists raised me, taught the gospel to me, Baptized me, and have just always been my church family.”

That’s a pretty rich answer.

I’ll keep valuing Baptist identity and teaching Baptist distinctives. I want the members of my church to confess our statement of faith with conviction. But for now, if the only reason you can articulate for being a Baptist is that you were raised by godly Baptist parents and belonged to a faithful Baptist church, then praise be to God.

As I read though Webster’s writings I may share some of my favorite sentences or paragraphs. The following quotes are taken from chapter one of The Culture of Theology.

“Christian Faith, and therefore Christian theology, emerges out of the shock of the gospel.” pg. 43

“There can be few things more necessary for the renewal of Christian theology than the promotion of awed reading of classical Christian texts, scriptural and other, precisely because a good deal of modern Christian thought has adopted habits of mind which have led to disenchantment with the biblical cannon and the traditions of paraphrase and commentary by which the culture of Christian faith has often been sustained.” pg. 45

“Good theological practice depends on good theologians; and good theologians are—among other things— those formed by graces which are the troubling, eschatological gifts of the Holy Spirit.” pg. 45-46

“Christian culture is the place where human life is caught up into the process of what the old Protestant dogmaticians called “continual” or “second” conversion, in which, the effectiveness of regeneration is brought to bear on human ruin. Continual conversion is the sanctification of human life through its mortification and vivification in Christ.” pg. 55

“Christian astonishment is the amazed realization that all human life and thought is undertaken in the presence of Easter, for Jesus the living one makes himself into out contemporary, startling us with the fact that he simply is. If Christian culture is a strange reality, it is because it seeks to live out that amazement; and if Christian theology is indeed to be “serious, fruitful and edifying,” if it is truly to live up to the little qualifier “Christian,” it cannot be a stranger to the disruption which amazement brings.” pg. 61

Rather than reading by whim in 2023, I am going to immerse myself in the work of John Webster. The weekly readings are not overwhelming but brief. This will allow for re-reading, annotation, and journaling. My goal is not mere completion but competent understanding. I pray this will be a fruitful exercise that strengthens my thinking and speaking about God.

January 

1st-7th Culture of Theology, Introduction- Chapter 1 (pages 1–62)

8th-14th Culture of Theology, Chapters 2-3 (pages 63–98)

15th-21st Culture of Theology, Chapters 3-4 (pages 81–114)

22nd-28th Culture of Theology, Chapter 5-6 (pages 115–147)

29th-Feb 4th Review and Reflect 

February

5th- 11th Word and Church, Introduction-Chapter 2 (pages 1– 86)

12th-18th Word and Church, Chapters 3-4 (pages 87—150) 

19th-25th  Word and Church, Chapters 5-6 (pages 151—210)

26th- March 4th Word and Church, Chapters 7-8 (pages 211—262)

March 

5th- 11th Word and Church, Chapter 9 (pages 263—286)

12th- 18th Review and Reflect 

19th- 25th Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch, Introduction-Chapter 2 (pages 1—106)

26th-April 1st Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch, Chapters 3-4 (pages 106—137) 

April 

2nd-8th Read and Reflect 

9th-15th Holiness, Introduction- Chapter 3 (pages 1– 76)

16th-22nd Holiness, Chapter 4 (pages 77— 105)

23rd- 29th Review and Reflect 

30th- May 6th Domain of the Word, Chapters 1-2 (pages 3—49)

May

7th-13th Domain of the Word, Chapters 3-4 (pages 50—85)

14th-20th Domain of the Word, Chapters 5-6 (pages 86—132)

21st-27th Domain of the Word, Chapters 7-8 (pages 133—170)

28th-June 3rd Domain of the Word, Chapters 9-10 (pages 171—202) 

June  

4th-10th Review and Reflect 

11th-17th God Without Measure Vol. 1, Chapters 1-3 (pages 3— 42)

18th-24th God Without Measure Vol. 1, Chapters 4-5 (pages 43—82)

25th- July 1st God Without Measure Vol. 1, Chapters 6-7 (pages 83—114)

July 

2nd-8th God Without Measure Vol. 1, Chapters 8-9 (pages 115—142) 

9th- 15th God Without Measure Vol. 1,Chapters 10-11 (pages 143—176)

16th- 22nd God Without Measure Vol. 1, Chapters 12-13 (pages 177— 212)

23rd-29th God Without Measure Vol 1, Epilogue (pages 213—224) 

30th- August 5th Review and Reflect 

August 

6th-12th God Without Measure Vol. 2, Chapters 1-2 (pages 1—28)

13th-19th God Without Measure Vol. 2, Chapters 3-4 (pages 29—66)

20th-26th God Without Measure Vol. 2, Chapters 5-6 (pages 67—102)

27th-Sept 2nd God Without Measure Vol.2, Chapters 7-8 (pages 103—140)

September 

3rd-9th God Without Measure Vol. 2, Chapters 9-11 (pages 141— 188) 

10th-16th Review and Reflect

17th-23rd Confessing God, Introduction- Chapter 1 (pages 1—32) 

24th-30th Confessing God, Chapters 2-3 (pages 33—86) 

October 

8th-14th Confessing God, Chapters 4-5 (pages 87—130)

15th- 21st Confessing God, Chapters 6-7 (pages 131—194)

22nd-28th Confessing God, Chapters 8-9 (pages 195—226) 

29th-November 4th Review and Reflect.

November- December

Grace period

When Luke was born earlier this year I knew I would not read at the pace of previous years. Newborn life is a joyful, but tiring life and the first six months of his life were tiring indeed. I am still grateful for the opportunities I did have. Few things bring me as much joy as sitting alone with a book in my hands and a cup of coffee by my side. If I were not busy writing this I would be reading my most recent purchase, The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism.

As a top ten list, this does not include everything I read this year. I was in and out of John Gill’s magnum opus, A Body of Doctrinal Divinity. I read the vast majority of Michael Bird’s Evangelical Theology as I prepared outlines for Sunday Evening Theology at HBC. I read the vast majority of the Exodus commentaries by Christopher Wright and T.D. Alexander for sermon preparation and monographs by L. Michael Morales and W. Ross Blackburn. I read numerous journal articles, online pieces, and newsletters (especially Digital Liturgies ) to my benefit. I also read for the third time Mark Dever’s classic Nine Marks of a Healthy Church with some brothers from my church. 

I always have minor regrets at the end of the year. I don’t read nearly enough fiction and literature (this year not any) and my non-fiction reading consists mostly of biblical and theological studies. I wish I could say I’ll read more widely next year, but I’m seriously considering reading nothing but my Bible and John Webster in 2023. 

I hope you’ll consider purchasing and reading one of the wonderful volumes below! I am confident you will enjoy them as much as I did. 

The Top Ten

Biblical Reasoning, Bobby Jamieson & Tyler Wittman. This is without question one of the most helpful books I have ever read. Jamieson and Wittman clarify confusing but common interpretive problems by equipping readers to interpret the Scriptures in a way that is befitting of God. They offer clear principles for interpretation that build upon each other. This book is a doctrinal and doxological delight!

Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition, Craig Carter. We didn’t realize it, but many of us were taught to read the Bible through the eyes of the enlightenment. We would have never claimed to share the hermeneutics of modernity, but that was our practice. Carter helps his readers interpret the Bible with the communion of the saints throughout church history. The result is an orthodox, trinitarian, and Christological reading of Scripture that aims to behold the glory of God in Jesus Christ. It is necessary reading for any serious student or teacher of the Bible. 

Spurgeon the Pastor, Geoff Chang. I purchased this book on a whim while skimming the shelves at a bookstore on my birthday. I began reading it that night and could not put it down. Chang has provided pastors with a thorough and accessible treatment of Spurgeon’s pastoral ministry. When faithful examples are in such short supply, this account of Spurgeon’s ministry will encourage pastors to maintain their Baptist convictions and believe in the Spirit’s work through the ordinary means of grace. It convinced me that reading Spurgeon’s two-volume biography will most certainly be worth the effort. I hope Chang’s book is under the tree of every pastor this Christmas. 

Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands: Recovering Sacrament in the Baptist Tradition, Michael A.G. Haykin. Despite some diversity throughout Baptist history, Haykin shows persuasively that there is a rich theological heritage in Baptist ecclesiology for viewing the ordinances (sacraments) as means of grace. Haykin gives an essential survey of that heritage. It’s mandatory reading for Baptist pastors wanting to deepen their congregation’s understanding of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. His concluding theses are worth the price of the entire book. 

You’re Only Human, Kelly M. Kapic. A masterful and accessible work of theological anthropology. Kapic helps readers better understand themselves by exegeting their burdens and reassuring them of God’s love, presence, and acceptance in Christ through the gospel. He answers questions readers often ask themselves but might be hesitant to admit to others. Kapic’s reflection on God’s love for his people is particularly edifying in this regard. Because of this, it is both a serious reflection on the theological anthology and an exemplary model of pastoral soul care. 

The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom, Samuel D. Renihan. A really insightful introduction to Baptist covenant theology. I read it after Nehemiah Coxe’s Discourse of the Covenants to help clarify my understanding of 1689 Federalism. My understanding of the covenants aligns mostly with progressive covenantalism, but I confess to desiring a convictional confessionalism. I am not yet convinced my understanding of the covenants is radically inconsistent with the Second London Confession, but I want to remain teachable. There are important distinctions, but they are often exaggerated. As of now, I’m fine departing from the confession where I believe Scripture leads me to do so. That said, Renihan’s treatment is the kind of book that could persuade a teachable person to change his mind. 

The Glory Now Revealed: What We’ll Discover about God in Heaven, Andrew M. Davis. This is not your ordinary bestseller on heaven. It is a serious theological reflection on Scripture centered on the glory of God in redemptive history. Heaven, according to Davis, is an eternal education in the glory of God. The redeemed will retain their memory in heaven while also growing in their understanding of God’s works in the world. It is accessible, soul-stirring, and hope-inducing. 

Deacons: How they Serve and Strengthen the Church, Matt Smethurst. I loved this book. I purchased a copy for each of our deacons the moment I finished it. The Lord has already used it to bless our church. In my opinion, it is the most biblical and accessible book on the office of deacon in print. 

The Baptism of Disciples Alone, Fred Malone. A thoroughly biblical and theological treatment of credobaptism. Consider this endorsement by Timothy George, “Fred Malone presents the best case I have seen for believers’ baptism from a covenantal perspective.” Sometimes an endorsement can sell a book and Dr. George’s words were enough to sell this volume to me! Malone proved him correct. Its strength is its analytical argumentation and clear organization. I’ll return to it throughout my ministry as I teach baptism to the saints at HBC. 

Elders in the Life of the Church, Phil Newton. This is a practical guide on the plurality of elders from an experienced pastor. The details that Newton provides about his time at Capitol Hill Baptist Church are fascinating! Any pastor in the midst of revitalization should prioritize this book because it includes both the biblical case for a plurality of elders and a practical plan to make the transition in a local church. 

Tolle Lege!

Several of us sat around a table during freshman orientation and talked about preaching. This foreshadowed many of the conversations we would have as undergrad students at Boyce College. At some point the conversation turned to the preacher we would pick to listen to if we could only choose one. This was 2008 and the YRR movement was in its prime, so the expected answers emerged: John Piper, John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, etc. When my turn came, I sincerely answered, “Honestly, my pastor.” The other brothers paused for a moment and said, “Oh, well, good man.”

This was not an intentional “Jesus Juke” or expression of self-righteousness. I enjoyed the occasional podcast sermon as much as anyone, but my past experience left me with only one answer: Joe Buchanan, pastor of First Baptist Church, Metropolis, IL. Joe may not have possessed the gifts, influence, or platform as those other men, but Joe knew my name. He prayed for me regularly, had me in his home, and talked to me about ministry over lunch. Joe was not a mere preacher whose content I streamed, he was the preacher who served me as a shepherd.

It was the investment of this ordinary, unknown pastor that changed the trajectory of my life. He accepted the call to pastor FBC, Metropolis just before my senior year in high school. I had already expressed an aspiration for ministry, but it did not develop with passion until I met Joe. His sermons were common but faithful. They were ordinary yet glorious. As he preached through the Gospel of Mark his first year, it created an appetite for expositional preaching. It was then that I formed the conviction that preaching is essentially reading, explaining, and applying the text of Scripture, centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ.  

Many of us would gather around Joe’s kitchen table or back deck every Thursday evening to talk about the Bible, theology, and the church. We began studying the book of Colossians while also reading Wayne McDill’s The 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching. We read great books like Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, developing convictions and passions about ecclesiology. Eventually, he would require us to write Bible studies, develop sermon outlines, and preach in a controlled environment. He then gave us the opportunity to preach during Sunday evening services. After my final sermon before leaving for Boyce, Joe hugged me before the congregation with tears in his eyes. Hearing public, affirming words through the voice of a tearful pastor was one of the more meaningful moments of my life. 

These experiences exemplified Paul’s instruction to Timothy, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Ti 2:1–2) 

When I gather to shepherd my people, those Thursday nights remain with me. The ecclesiological convictions instilled in me at eighteen are the convictions that are with me still. The philosophy of preaching Joe exemplified to me then is the philosophy I exemplify for my people now. I was reminded of him just this week as I began planning a men’s discipleship group for 2023. So as I plan to gather next year with men from my church to read Mark Dever’s Discipling, I can only hope that one day someone will look back and believe that time with their ordinary, unknown pastor changed their life. Mine certainly did.

Your pastor may not possess the gifts, influence, or platform of a celebrity pastor, but they know your name, pray for you, and shepherd you. They are your pastor, and praise God for that. 

There is a temptation in some circles to view serious study with suspicion, but any temptation to disparage learning should be dismissed by anyone who values reading the Bible in their own language. Imagine being required to know Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament) or Koine Greek (New Testament) just to be able to read the Bible that sits by your bedside. According to John Gill, Bible translations are a gift of God’s providence that should result in gratitude for all who take up that weighty task.

“Here I cannot but observe the amazing ignorance and stupidity of some persons, who take into their heads to decry learning and learned men; for what would they have done for a Bible, had it not been for them as instruments?…Bless God, therefore, and be thankful that God has in his providence, raised up such men to translate the Bible into the mother-tongue of every nation…” (John Gill, A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity, 13-14)

One of the first pastoral visits I made after being called to Hermon was to a retired missionary couple who served in Brazil for 40+ years. What did they do in those forty years? They translated Genesis-Revelation into a Portuguese dialect. As I held the Bible in my hands I couldn’t help but praise God for their studious spirit, serious intellect, and sacrificial service.

I can only imagine how grateful the believers were to receive a copy of the Bible in their own language for the first time! And How did they receive it? Did it fall from them sky? Did it self-generate? No. This Bible was the product of God’s gracious providence through well trained and learned translators who love God and his Word.

Do you own a copy of the Bible in your own language? Praise God for his providence and provision to raise up learned translators! Praise God for learned men and women.

We’ve all heard Paul Harvey’s famous speech God Made a Farmer. This morning I decided to open my second sermon on 1 Tim. 3:8-13 with God Made a Deacon inspired by Harvey’s speech. I hope you find it encouraging.

And with the institution of his church, God looked and said, “I want a servant, someone behind the scenes, unheralded but exemplary.” So God made a deacon.

God said, “I want someone that frees elders to pray, preach, and shepherd. I need someone willing to meet practical needs, so pastors aren’t overwhelmed and neglect spiritual needs.” So God made a deacon.”

God said, “I want someone who can be where pastors can’t, to hold hands they can’t hold, and to encourage saints in the pastors stead.” So God made a deacon. 

God said, “I want someone to serve the widows, the vulnerable, and the poor. I need someone who loves to be near the needy, someone to whom the poor are precious.” So God made a deacon.

God said, “I want someone to support the members, meet their needs, and care about their concerns. Someone who loves  transitioning small into spiritual talk over a hot cup of coffee.” So God made a deacon 

God said, “I want someone to assure the Baptismal pool is full and the elements are ready. I need someone who will assure the aisles are clear, the elements accessible.” So God made a deacon. 

God said, “I want someone who will pray over the offering, collect it, and assures its security.” So God made a deacon. 

God said, “I want someone with a benevolent heart, who will listen to the needs of those in the community and coordinate support.” So God made a deacon. 

God said, “I want someone to follow the the example of Jesus by not coming to be served, but to serve.” So God made a deacon.