Don’t make the mistake of throwing both biblical instruction and common sense to the wind, when it comes time to nominate and select deacons. Below are seven of the absolute worse reasons to recommend someone to serve as a deacon:

1. He is your relative.
2. He is a likeable person, and you want to do something good for him.
3. You think maybe if he is selected as a deacon, he will start coming to church.
4. You think being selected as deacon would make him feel better about himself.
5. He likes to argue, and you think he would add a sense of balance to other deacons by being against the things they favor.
6. Your afraid if he doesn’t get selected he might quit church.
7. Being a deacon would raise the level of trust people have in him, and it would be good for his business.

The purpose of deacons is to have some faithful, dedicated men, who will voluntarily become servants, helping the church to more effectively carry out its ministries. There are no perfect candidates from which to choose, but there are men who daily demonstrate their love for God and His people.