With Overture 10 to the 38th General Assembly, Northern California Presbytery hopes to bring “clarity and order regarding church practice in the ministry of deacons.”

The overture affirms that only men may be ordained to the offices of elder and deacon. But, it notes, different interpretations of the Bible have led to a “a variety of practices within the PCA … with regard to diaconal ministry.” Overture 10 further states that, “the BCO should not unduly bind the conscience of a session seeking to structure its diaconate under the authority of Scripture."

Overture 10 seeks changes to BCO 1-4, BCO 4-2, and BCO 7-2 specifying, in each case, that it is ordained officers by whom the church’s powers are administered, and that only ordained officers are the teaching and ruling elders and deacons. 

Other changes to BCO 9-2 and BCO 9-7 are specified in the overture. You can view them here.

The overture, if answered in the affirmative, would also add an eighth section to Chapter 9 of the BCO. The new section 9-8 would read: “In a local church which does not have ordained deacons, the Session may appoint an unordained body of men and women to carry out diaconal ministry. They may care for the sick, the widows, the orphans, the prisoners, and others who may be in any distress or need. However, these men and women do not carry the same constitutional rights as ordained deacons.”

You can view Overture 10 here.

The 38th General Assembly will by held from June 29-July 2, 2010 at the Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. To register for the Assembly please click here.