Proper Administrators of the Ordinances

Should a believer who has not yet been baptized partake of the Lord's Supper? Should a church accept 
unbaptized believers into membership? Should a candidate for baptism be baptized by a friend or family member, rather than a church officer? When thinking through baptism, the Lord's Supper, and church membership, these and a myriad of other practical questions come to the minds of church leaders and church members. At a recent "9 Marks at 9" event in Orlando, FL (at 9PM on June 8, 2026), Jonathan Leeman, Greg Gilbert, Aaron Menikoff, and Ben Lacey presented "12 Propositions: Getting the Ordinances and Membership Right." Overall, these were helpful, well-thought-out, and to-the-point statements. For the most part, I believe that every part of each proposition is demonstrably biblical. However, I would like to slightly amend Proposition 11. This proposition states: "Baptism and the Supper should ordinarily be administered by an elder, not a parent or best friend." My suggestion is that the phrase "an elder" should be replaced by "a church officer." This phrasing would allow the ordinary administration of the ordinances to be led by both elders and deacons. Deacons (as well as elders) should be understood as proper administrators of the ordinances for at least three reasons: administration of the ordinances by deacons is biblical, administration of the ordinances by deacons is principial, and administration of the ordinances by deacons is practical.

The first reason that deacons as well as elders should be understood as proper administrators of the ordinances is that administration of the ordinances by deacons is biblical. Acts 8:26-40 records the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch by Philip. From Acts 6:1-6, we see that Philip is not an elder; rather, he is one of the seven original deacons. If the Holy Spirit could lead Philip to baptize the Ethiopian eunuch, and if the Holy Spirit saw fit to record this baptism by a deacon in Scripture, then it seems likely that deacons as well as elders should be understood as proper administrators of the ordinances.

The second reason that deacons as well as elders should be understood as proper administrators of the ordinances is that administration of the ordinances by deacons is principial. This is to say that the administration of the ordinances by deacons follows the principles about the ordinances that can be discerned from the New Testament. In explaining Proposition 11, the presenters from "9 Marks at 9" highlighted the fact that the ordinances are given to the church as a body, and not just to individual Christians. Greg Gilbert noted:

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not personal acts... They are church acts. They are the primary means by which the church formally identifies itself and its members... [The person administering an ordinance ] is acting as a representative of the whole church. That’s why elders are usually the appropriate administrators.

These corporate principles are equally upheld if deacons as well as elders are understood as proper administrators of the ordinances.

The third reason that deacons as well as elders should be understood as proper administrators of the ordinances is that administration of the ordinances by deacons is practical. Few churches have enough elders to handle all the steps involved in preparing and distributing the Lord's Supper. Deacons should feel appropriately empowered to step up and help with this ordinance. As preparing and distributing the Lord's Supper are practical matters, it may be even more fitting that deacons take charge of administering this ordinance rather than elders. There may likewise be instances (especially in small congregations) where elders are involved in leading worship and in preaching in such a way that would prevent them from being in the baptismal pool, and it may be practical for deacons to administer baptism in such situations as well.

Some may object to the idea that deacons as well as elders should be understood as proper administrators of the ordinances. A possible point of objection may spring from the observation that elders are responsible for the teaching ministry of the congregation, and the ordinances are a form of teaching. This objection may lead to the conclusion that elders should regularly have close oversight regarding the administration of the ordinances. However, this objection does not negate the points made above, and under normal elder oversight, deacons may still be seen as proper administrators of the ordinances.

Deacons (as well as elders) should be understood as proper administrators of the ordinances because administration of the ordinances by deacons is biblical, administration of the ordinances by deacons is principial, and administration of the ordinances by deacons is practical. This matters to the smooth, orderly worship and practice of the church, under the lordship of Christ.