I am an Ordained Deacon

Enjoying every bit of Liam’s childhood

by Jennifer Greene-Sullivan

This Christmas, my mama gave me a canvas that now hangs in my office — a photograph of Liam’s baptism in 2023. It captures a holy, joy-filled moment in the our pond, surrounded by men who love Jesus and loved my son enough to walk him into the water and baptize him. I am so grateful for Pastor Gerald and Pastor Brian for that special day.

It was one of the most sacred days of my life.

Every time I will look at that picture, I will be reminded that baptism isn’t symbolic to children — it is real. It is a line crossed, a declaration made, a belonging claimed. Liam didn’t just get wet that day. He obeyed Jesus.

Ironically, just days after receiving that canvas for Christmas, Liam’s baptism surfaced again — this time in the most “Liam” way possible.

Sunday morning at First Baptist Church in Cochran, Georgia, our congregation celebrated newly ordained deacons. Pastor Keith invited the new deacons and their wives forward and then asked for all ordained deacons in the room to come stand behind them so that the church members could lay hands on them and pray.

Liam was seated several seats away from me, tucked on the end of the pew between Kasey and Aunt Kay. I didn’t see what happened in real time.

But apparently, the moment Pastor Keith said “all ordained deacons,” Liam hopped up and started making his way toward the front.

Aunt Kay leaned over and asked, “Liam, where are you going?”

Without hesitation, he replied, “I am an ordained deacon. I have to go up front.”

Aunt Kay quickly said, “No. You are not a deacon. Sit down.”

Liam, unfazed and absolutely confident, replied, “I am too! I have been baptized.”

Fortunately for Pastor Keith — and perhaps for church order — Aunt Kay and Kasey got him back into his seat before he made it down the aisle. Pastor Keith has no idea what Liam’s baptized self believes he is authorized to do from Sunday to Sunday.

But I do.

And honestly? I love it.

1 Corinthians 12:13 (NIV)
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

Liam doesn’t yet understand church polity, ordination processes, or leadership structures. What he understands is this:
He belongs to Jesus.
And in his mind, that means he gets to stand with God’s people and participate in the work of the church.

There is something deeply right about that.

Jesus said we must receive the Kingdom like a child. Children don’t compartmentalize faith. They don’t minimize obedience. They don’t question whether they’re “qualified enough” to belong.

Matthew 18:3 (NIV)
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Liam heard the call to step forward — and because he had been baptized, he believed it applied to him.

Romans 6:4 (NIV)
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

That’s definitely the part I don’t want him to grow out of too quickly.

That canvas on my office wall isn’t just a picture of a past moment. It’s a reminder that baptism marks us — not just symbolically, but internally. It shapes how we see ourselves, how we respond when God calls His people forward, and how confidently we say, “I belong here.”

Even if we sometimes have to be gently guided back to our seat.

A Gentle Challenge

This week, pause and ask yourself:

• Where have I hesitated to step forward because I felt unqualified?
• Where might Jesus be inviting me to participate simply because I belong to Him?
• Have I allowed familiarity, structure, or fear to quiet my obedience?

Like Liam, may we remember that baptism marked us as part of God’s people. We don’t serve because we are perfected—we serve because we are His.

Before the week ends, choose one small act of obedience:

• speak up in prayer,
• serve quietly,
• encourage someone,
• or step into a moment where you might normally stay seated.

Not because you are “ordained,”
but because you belong.

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A Closing Prayer

Jesus,
Thank You for calling us Your own.
Thank You for marking our lives with obedience and belonging.
Help us to respond to Your voice with the confidence of a child,
not worrying about titles, qualifications, or approval.

Teach us to step forward when You call
and to trust that You will guide us when we need correction.
May we never lose the joy of knowing that we belong in Your presence
and among Your people.

Keep our faith simple, our hearts humble,
and our obedience sincere.
Amen.

Psalm 100:3 (NIV)
“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

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