The Three Tables (Leader’s Guide)

The Three Tables: Reclaiming an Early Baptist Model for Deacon Ministry Today is a deacon training course that introduces the early Baptist idea that deacons primarily serve three tables: The Table of the Lord (the Lord's Supper), The Table of the Poor (benevolence), and the Table of the Pastor (assisting the pastor in various ways, including helping him to care for the families of the church). Through a careful consideration of biblical passages, quotations and stories from Baptist history, and references to the earlier history of the church, The Three Tables will help you to consider a model that served Baptist and baptistic churches well for many years.

The Three Tables model is a creative prompt, not a rigid template, and may be adapted in various ways to assist a variety of congregational structures, systems, and organizational approaches. It is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Regardless, you will not walk away from this study without having been challenged to consider how this earlier but now-rediscovered model might be of help to you, your deacon body, and your congregation at large.

The Three Tables Leader's Guide will equip you to teach the seven-session Three Tables deacon training course. It contains the fill-in-the-blank answers for the Student Workbook (sold separately), a helpful introduction on how to approach this class, and numerous teaching tips to assist you as you teach.

Further resources, including teaching videos, may be found at www.thethreetables.com