Can I Nominate a Deacon for Elder?
It is time to recommend men for nomination to be elders and deacons in my congregation. While discussing this with a friend he said, “I am going to nominate Mr. X for elder”
I said, “He is already a Deacon.”
My Friend replied, ” I know, but he would make a great elder.”
Me: “True, but I have never heard of someone being in office and then being nominated for the other office…”
Friend: “Is there anything wrong with that?”
Me: “Hmmm….”
After some thought and bible reading I don’t really see anything wrong with it. Except that if he was voted in we would need to nominate a couple more for deacon. Maybe he would have to serve a longer term? If a man meets the criteria we nominate him right? So I pose my friend’s question to you, “Can I nominate a Deacon for Elder?” Does anyone know if this has happened before?
Hello. I don’t think there is any biblical basis for not nominating the brother. The only caution I would give is that after a three year term it would be best to give a break. Too often our brothers who serve are put in other serving positions and not given the time to “recharge”. This leads to all kinds of other issues which can be bad for the brother as well as his family. Not sure how large the work load is in the church you are in but my suggestion would be to give time to recharge. Thanks for the great articles.
Just a caution about the terminology. It is only church council which nominates men to office. When someone in the congregation or a member of council suggests names to council, that’s not nominating–that’s just suggesting names for council to consider. The nomination comes from council as a council decision after due consideration of a number of things, including names suggested from members of the congregation. Looking at it that way, council has the greater pickle: whether to nominate one of its own for another office. Not likely.
I agree with you about the terminology. For ease of reading I wrote “Nominate” what I say in real life is “Recommend for nomination.” Thanks for the comment!
And now I see I should clean up my own terminology. I wrote, “It is only church council which nominates men to office.” That’s probably not accurate either. I don’t think someone is technically nominated ‘to office’. Someone can be ‘appointed to office’ (which comes later in the process). Someone is nominated ‘for the office of elder or deacon’ (maybe?), or nominated ‘for election to the office of elder or deacon’ (better?), or nominated ‘to fill the upcoming vacancy in the office of elder or deacon’ (best?) or something like that …. You do not have to post this at all!! Just a clarification for your own amusement.
Thanks Bill. 🙂 I enjoy the discussion! I think it is important to clarify these things. Our church council has sent out a letter in the mailboxes that says, ” The council…invites members to submit names for nomination of elders and deacons.” That could be misleading as well.
From a private message : Hi Ryan! FYI! A few years ago my husband went straight from being a deacon to being an elder. At the time, for various reasons putting a good slate together for elders was very challenging. So he was asked if he was willing to have his name on the list for elder. We discussed it , said yes with the idea it would never happen anyway. He ended up serving four 5 1/2 years! So I quess it could be done a gain. Pretty stressful though. 🙂
From a private message : Hi Ryan! FYI! A few years ago my husband went straight from being a deacon to being an elder. At the time, for various reasons putting a good slate together for elders was very challenging. So he was asked if he was willing to have his name on the list for elder. We discussed it , said yes with the idea it would never happen anyway. He ended up serving four 5 1/2 years! So I quess it could be done a gain. Pretty stressful though. 🙂
It happened when we were members in the Calgary CanRef church in the early 70’s. A new deacon was voted to finish his term and the elder took on his 3 yr. term. It was my husband.
It happened when we were members in the Calgary CanRef church in the early 70’s. A new deacon was voted to finish his term and the elder took on his 3 yr. term. It was my husband.
If we are using the roles of “Deacon” and “Elder” as described in Acts and 1 Timothy, it would seem to me that the Deacons would be the best candidates for promotion to Elder, provided they have performed well as deacons and are now “able to teach”.