Opening: A Charge from a Battle-Scarred Saint
Today we are setting Carl and DJ apart as deacons—servants of Christ, tenders of His bride. This isn’t a call to ease or fame… In fact, in a very real way it’s a call to bleed, it’s a call to serve, to love, to be faithful come what may. Sometimes the sheep bite, the wolves howl, and the road’s uphill. But take heart: Christ is victorious, and if you’re in the fight for Christ you’re on the winning team. So tonight, what I’d like to do is give you a charge, a call to faithfulness through a man who knew the teeth and the triumph—Charles Simeon. For 54 years, he served one church, took the punches, and stayed put, loving Christ and His people through it all. His life proclaims: serve hard, suffer well, and watch God build something glorious.
1 Timothy 3:13 says, “For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” And though Simeon wasn’t a deacon, his life is an excellent example of what it means to be a deacon, because he dedicated his life to serving Christ and His bride, come what may. On more than one occasion I’ve seen men get ordained as church officers and very soon after walk away from the church because of the suffering, the hardship, and sometimes even the persecution that often comes for leaders in God’s church. No doubt, as Paul told Timothy, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). And this seems to be all the more true for the leaders of God’s people. So let the life of Charles Simeon equip you and charge you to remain faithful, to lead, and to serve come what may.
The Man: A Reluctant Rookie in a Hostile Pew
Born in 1759 in Reading, England, Charles Simeon wasn’t bred for battle. A gentleman’s son, schooled at Eton and Cambridge, he stumbled into faith at 19, Easter 1779, when the amazing grace of the cross grabbed a hold of his life. He said, “I saw my sins laid on Christ, and peace flooded in.” By 1782, at age 23, he landed at Holy Trinity, Cambridge—not by choice, but by providence’s shove. The flock didn’t roll out the red carpet either. They locked their pews, forcing his hearers to stand. Students pelted him with insults and rotten eggs. For 12 years, he was the town pariah, preaching to a handful while the rest sneered. Sheep don’t always bleat sweetly—they bite, and Simeon felt the fangs.
Suffering in Service: Examples That Sting
Leadership’s no picnic, and Simeon’s scars prove it. Take the pew war: wealthy members boycotted his sermons, locking their seats to spite him. He didn’t sulk or skip town—he preached to the standees, saying, “If they won’t sit, I’ll stand with the lowly.” Or the Sunday sabotage: for years, angry people disrupted services, dumping garbage at the church door. Simeon cleaned it up himself, muttering, “Christ washed feet; I can sweep filth.” As time went on his health buckled under the strain—chest pains by 40, sleepless nights—but he hauled himself to the pulpit, declaring, “I’d rather wear out than rust out.” And for years people continued to mock him and his preaching, but he pressed on. He didn’t just preach to them, he served them and loved them. He would often invite those who despised him to tea, feeding them bread and truth till they turned. And often they did. Suffering wasn’t a detour; it was his road. And that road won people to Christ. His meekness proved to not be weakness, but a means of victory.
Faithful to the Bride: A Life Poured Out
Through the bites, Simeon stayed—54 years at Holy Trinity, 54 years at the same church, from green youth to gray dawn. He didn’t just endure; he served. He gave coal to widows, taught Scripture to the illiterate, and trained hundreds of preachers to storm the gates. His secret? Love for Christ’s bride. He wrote, “My soul’s ambition is to see the church flourish, whatever the cost to me.” When the pews finally opened and the crowds swelled, he didn’t gloat—he wept, thanking God for “a harvest after such a storm.” By 1836, at age 77, he died still pastoring that flock, whispering on his deathbed, “I am in the hands of Jesus; that is enough.” One church, one life, one Savior.
Postmil Grit: The Kingdom Wins
Simeon’s story isn’t a tragedy—it’s a triumph. He believed Christ’s kingdom grows, slow and bloody, through faithful men. He said, “The wheels of providence turn slowly, but they grind exceeding fine.” In other words, suffering’s real, but it’s seed for glory. Holy Trinity went from a locked-up snob shop to a gospel furnace because Simeon stuck it out. The sheep bit, but Christ tamed them. The world scoffed, but the church grew. And so it is today. No matter what the immediate results, faithfulness is not a lose-fest, it’s a victory march.
The Charge: Simeon’s Voice to You
So, Carl and DJ, hear Simeon’s charge for you:
- Love Christ Through the Bruises. Simeon took the hits because Jesus took the cross. He wrote, “My Savior’s wounds are my strength.” If things get hard, if suffering comes, in the good times and the bad, lean on the Shepherd who bled for you.
- Serve the Bride, Bites and All. Simeon stayed 54 years, saying, “I am their servant, not their lord.” Will you wash Cornerstone’s feet, even when they kick?
- Suffer with Swagger. Leadership is often a grind, but it’s God’s grind. Simeon once said, “The harder the fight, the sweeter the crown.” Because of our great gospel hope every scar’s a brick in Christ’s city—so as Paul says, though we be sorrowful let us be always rejoicing.
- Stay the Course. One church, one life. He didn’t bail when the eggs flew, and you mustn’t either. “My work is here,” he’d say, “unless God carts me off.” Plant your feet, men—this is your field. As a deacon you are to give yourself to serving Christ’s church. God may call you to another flock or another task one day, but until He does stay and serve come what may.
Simeon said:
- “The church is my joy, though she be my trial.”
- “Let me wear out in Christ’s service; rust is for cowards.”
- “God buries His workmen, but His work goes on.”
Closing: A Candle for Cornerstone
Charles Simeon lit a candle in Cambridge—not a flicker, but a blaze that outlasted the dark. Carl and DJ, you’re deacons now—Cornerstone’s backbone. You’re called to a brawl worth winning, a brawl that Christ has already secured victory for: so you can and you must serve with all you have, love with your whole heart, and trust the King’s sure conquest. Simeon did—through locked pews, garbage heaps, and 54 faithful years. May Cornerstone see in you what Cambridge saw in him: two men, fixed on Christ, who say, “We’re here, and we’re staying—faithful come what may.”