Another Tangent

After making an attempt to give my interpretation of women’s roles in ministry (i.e. a woman pastor)and after my orientation at MBTS and looking at the passage in 1 Timothy 3:1-7,I have grown somewhat curious. In the list that Paul gives Timothy in his letter, only one of the items listed in is a function, the rest are character traits. In Ephesians 4 we see that the pastor there is in the same function as is listed in 1 Timothy. Acts 20 seems to indicate that the care the overseers are to give is by the word of God, which I take to mean the same as in 2 Timothy 3:15-4:5, that they are to preach the Word which is the tool to keep Christians from falling into wrong doctrine.

The deacon, on the otherhand, is different. Acts 6:1-7 is usually taken to mean the deacons were appointed to this duty. The role of teacher is not attributed to the deacon like it is to the overseer/eldor/pastor-teacher.

I pastor a very small church in which the entire burdon of the church is little by little being placed upon me. I’m not so sure that is my job as a pastor but rather the job of a deacon. So I ask, especially those who are vocational ministers, what is the true role, biblically speaking, of the pastor and of the deacon?