Although Baptist churches are as different as the people who comprise them and practices will vary from church to church, in most Baptist churches the deacons are responsible for distributing the elements during the Lord’s Supper.
Doctrinal considerations
The term “Lord’s Supper” is generally used among Baptist churches, but the observance is also called by some Baptists “communion” or “eucharist” (a Greek word meaning “thanksgiving”). Baptists usually describe the Lord’s Supper as an “ordinance” rather than a “sacrament.” The Lord’s Supper, Baptists contend, is in obedience to Christ’s command, “This do in remembrance of me.” The observance of the Lord’s Supper is thereby ordained by or set aside by Christ as a unique way of remembering that Christ’s body was broken and his blood was shed for us on the cross. A sacrament, on the other hand, is generally understood to be an act by which grace is dispensed and divine life is given. Baptists in general hold that God’s grace is freely given and not the result of actions we take.
Baptists believe the bread and the grape juice (or in rare instances for Baptists, the wine) to be symbolic. The bread represents the body of Christ, and the wine (to use the biblical term) represents his blood. This distinguishes Baptists from some other groups. Roman Catholics, for example, believe in a doctrine called transubstantiation, meaning that that the substances of the bread and wine are transformed and actually become the body and blood of Christ. Because of this belief, any unused bread or wine must be consumed because it would be profane to place Christ’s body and blood into containers with common bread or wine. Some other Christian groups (Lutherans, for example) believe that Christ’s body and blood are somehow present with or in the bread and wine without transforming the substance.
Most Baptist churches practice what is called “open” communion, meaning that any Christian regardless of particular church membership is welcome to partake of the Lord’s Supper in that church. Some churches, however, practice “closed” communion and do not allow anyone who is not a member of that specific congregation to join in. One journalist reported that in such a church that pastor’s college-student daughter could not participate where her father was pastor because she had moved her membership to a church near the college she attended.
Practical considerations
Because the celebration (or observance) of the Lord’s Supper is an occasion ordained by Christ as a memorial to his death on the cross, the service requires a certain solemn awareness that sets it apart. This is not to say that it must be somber, however. The terms “celebration” and “eucharist” (thanksgiving) indicate that the observance may even be joyful.
By planning their part of the service, deacons may add to the dignity of the service. Movements should be fluid and symmetrical. Although in my estimation military-type precision in serving the Lord’s Supper is also distracting, general confusion and misdirection calls attention to the deacons and gives an unfavorable impression that they have not taken the service seriously enough to prepare adequately. At a time when worshippers should engage in personal reflection, deacons do not want to become distractions.
For this reason, deacons need to plan every detail of the service. Even informal services that give the impression of spontaneity are usually planned to avoid confusion and an unintended “keystone cops” kind of comedy.
Planning begins with the order of service, which is usually the responsibility of the pastor. Details such as who will pray when, and who will receive the communion trays need to be considered. Assignments can be made to ensure that each part of the sanctuary is covered quickly but with dignity. To add to the impact of the service by avoiding unnecessary movement in distributing the bread and wine separately, some churches employ the use of dual compartment “walker cups” which allows deacons to serve both elements at the same time.
Try to anticipate the unexpected. For example, what would you do if someone drops the communion tray? Would someone appear with a towel to assist a worshipper? Would a deacon appear with a second communion tray to continue distributing the elements?
Or what would you do if you run out of the elements? What if a pew is occupied by only two people sitting on opposite ends? Would one person have to scoot across the entire pew to hand it to the other, as I saw happen recently in a church I attended?
Although it may be impossible to anticipate every conceivable possibility, some are likely to happen at some time or another and should be planned for accordingly.
The Lord’s Supper service should be one of the most meaningful worship times Christians experience. As such, it is too important to plan haphazardly. Just as we expect the pastor to have prepared, deacons should do their part to make the service a dignified memorial to Christ’s death and a joyous anticipation of his return.
Jim White (jwhite@ religiousherald.org) is executive editor at the Religious Herald.