Should you learn Chapter 9 of the PCA’s “Ebook of Church Order,” you come throughout two sections (9-5 and 9-6) about deacons serving on presbytery committees and organizing conferences outdoors of their native congregations. Evidently few folks learn far sufficient to know these provisions exist, or what to make of them after they get there.
I’m a deacon at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Athens, Georgia. Lately my presbytery, Georgia Foothills Presbytery, hosted a diaconal convention to attach, encourage, and finally develop diaconal ministry.
The convention was held on a Saturday from 9 a.m. till midday, with lunch afterward, deacons and meals being inextricably linked (Acts 6:1). We welcomed two audio system for the convention. C. N. Willborn is pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and professor of church historical past at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Steve Dowling is a ruling elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Auburn, Alabama, and moderator of the PCA’s 51st Common Meeting. Each males have been incredible audio system and took part in a Q&A session with loads of questions from attendees.
We additionally had breakout discussions between audio system to share insights and experiences round fellowship, service, mercy ministries, monetary stewardship, processes, security, safety, and easy methods to keep away from being merely the church’s handymen. The teams have been such successful that we realized we had not budgeted sufficient time for them. In our subsequent gathering, we’ll make these teams a bigger a part of the day. General, it was an amazing success and most attendees felt energized to return to their church buildings and dedicate themselves extra towards desk ministry.
Georgia Foothills isn’t the primary presbytery to foster this sort of diaconal connectionalism. Others have organized conferences round particular subjects, piggybacked off already-stated presbytery conferences for deacons to attend, or just organized regional service alternatives. Central Florida Presbytery has even created a Presbytery Diaconal Committee and administration deacon place on the presbytery degree.
Co-Ordination
The convention was a possibility to check out connectional diaconal ministry and try to be Presbyterian deacons, not simply Congregational ones. In his e book “Sources for Deacons,” Tim Keller says, “As we promote connectional elder ministry, we must always promote connectional diaconal ministry. That is constant Presbyterianism.”
Authors of the “Report on the Diaconate“ from 1884 argue that “the features of the deacon usually are not restricted throughout the limits of the congregation of which he’s an officer.“ In his “Reformed Dogmatics” Herman Bavinck proposes “that, together with the ministers and elders, deacons be delegated to the main assemblies of the church buildings and be given a vote in all issues pertaining to the ministry of mercy.” We actually ought to see the workplace of deacon as extra co-ordinated with the workplace of elder, as a substitute of sub-ordinated.
The Twelve in Acts 6 thought it wasn’t proper for them to serve, or “deacon,” tables however dedicate themselves absolutely to the ministries of phrase and prayer. This precept ought to be utilized upward in our church buildings on the presbytery and even Common Meeting degree in order that deacons could proceed to serve tables in all of the spheres of the church, not simply their congregation.
One space that could possibly be tremendously impacted by this co-ordination is provisional diaconates in church crops. Mission church buildings have provisional classes to supervise, why not provisional diaconates to serve? Diaconal ministry exists not solely to serve the tangible wants of the congregation, however to verify the ministries of phrase and prayer usually are not hindered.
What number of administrative, monetary, and logistical wants fall on mission church pastors? A provisional diaconate is a chance to co-ordinate these two places of work, safeguarding the ministry of the phrase.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has already constructed out a proper construction of connectionalism for deacons of their Committee on Diaconal Ministry. They permit diaconates to coordinate with each other so if a selected church can’t meet a necessity the presbytery can help although the presbytery diaconal committees.
We see this form of connectionalism in 1 Corinthians 16 and a pair of Corinthians 8-9. With our system of presidency these choices for the saints will be executed decently and so as. However, all of this will depend on elders approving, organizing, and implementing these committees in presbyteries.
Connectionalism
Because of this BCO 9-6 encourages diaconal conferencing. It is perhaps the simplest approach for deacons to attach in an effort to share assets, fellowship, and take part within the work of the church past their native congregations. Ideally, deacons will need to take this and make it an official work of the church, which is the place 9-5 would play a task in partnering with each other in giving and receiving (Philippians 4:15), however we’ve got to begin someplace.
Paul speaks to this sort of connectionalism in Romans 15:26-27 when he says, “For Macedonia and Achaia have been happy to make some contribution for the poor among the many saints at Jerusalem. For they have been happy to do it, and certainly they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share of their religious blessings, they ought additionally to be of service to them in materials blessings.”
Let’s not depart our deacons and diaconates alone in remoted congregations, however let’s labor collectively as Presbyterians, each physique and soul.
Patrick Sanders serves as a Deacon at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Athens, Georgia, and a pupil at RTS Atlanta. He will likely be main a seminar at this yr’s Common Meeting on utilizing the workplace of deacon to its fullest.
