If you read Chapter 9 of the PCA’s “Book of Church Order,” you come across two sections (9-5 and 9-6) about deacons serving on presbytery committees and organizing conferences outside of their local congregations. It seems that few people read far enough to know these provisions exist, or what to make of them when they get there.
I’m a deacon at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Athens, Georgia. Recently my presbytery, Georgia Foothills Presbytery, hosted a diaconal conference to connect, encourage, and ultimately grow diaconal ministry.
The conference was held on a Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon, with lunch afterward, deacons and food being inextricably linked (Acts 6:1). We welcomed two speakers for the conference. C. N. Willborn is pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and professor of church history 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 General Assembly. Both men were fantastic speakers and participated in a Q&A session with plenty of questions from attendees.
We also had breakout discussions between speakers to share insights and experiences around fellowship, service, mercy ministries, financial stewardship, processes, safety, security, and how to avoid being merely the church’s handymen. The groups were such a hit that we realized we had not budgeted enough time for them. In our next gathering, we will make these groups a larger part of the day. Overall, it was a tremendous success and most attendees felt energized to go back to their churches and devote themselves more toward table ministry.
Georgia Foothills isn’t the first presbytery to foster this type of diaconal connectionalism. Others have organized meetings around specific topics, piggybacked off already-stated presbytery meetings for deacons to attend, or simply organized regional service opportunities. Central Florida Presbytery has even created a Presbytery Diaconal Committee and administration deacon position at the presbytery level.
Co-Ordination
The conference was an opportunity to try out connectional diaconal ministry and attempt to be Presbyterian deacons, not just Congregational ones. In his book “Resources for Deacons,” Tim Keller says, “As we promote connectional elder ministry, we should promote connectional diaconal ministry. This is consistent Presbyterianism.”
Authors of the “Report on the Diaconate“ from 1884 argue that “the functions of the deacon are not restricted within the limits of the congregation of which he is an officer.“ In his “Reformed Dogmatics” Herman Bavinck proposes “that, along with the ministers and elders, deacons be delegated to the major assemblies of the churches and be given a vote in all matters pertaining to the ministry of mercy.” We really should see the office of deacon as more co-ordinated with the office of elder, instead of sub-ordinated.
The Twelve in Acts 6 thought it wasn’t right for them to serve, or “deacon,” tables but devote themselves fully to the ministries of word and prayer. This principle should be applied upward in our churches at the presbytery and even General Assembly level so that deacons may continue to serve tables in all the spheres of the church, not just their congregation.
One area that could be tremendously impacted by this co-ordination is provisional diaconates in church plants. Mission churches have provisional sessions to oversee, why not provisional diaconates to serve? Diaconal ministry exists not only to serve the tangible needs of the congregation, but to make sure the ministries of word and prayer are not hindered.
How many administrative, financial, and logistical needs fall on mission church pastors? A provisional diaconate is an opportunity to co-ordinate these two offices, safeguarding the ministry of the word.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has already built out a formal structure of connectionalism for deacons in their Committee on Diaconal Ministry. They allow diaconates to coordinate with one another so if a particular church cannot meet a need the presbytery can assist though the presbytery diaconal committees.
We see this sort of connectionalism in 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Corinthians 8-9. With our system of government these offerings for the saints can be done decently and in order. But, all of this depends on elders approving, organizing, and implementing these committees in presbyteries.
Connectionalism
This is why BCO 9-6 encourages diaconal conferencing. It might be the easiest way for deacons to connect in order to share resources, fellowship, and participate in the work of the church beyond their local congregations. Ideally, deacons will want to take this and make it an official work of the church, which is where 9-5 would play a role in partnering with one another in giving and receiving (Philippians 4:15), but we have to start somewhere.
Paul speaks to this type of connectionalism in Romans 15:26-27 when he says, “For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.”
Let’s not leave our deacons and diaconates alone in isolated congregations, but let’s labor together as Presbyterians, both body and soul.
Patrick Sanders serves as a Deacon at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Athens, Georgia, and a student at RTS Atlanta. He will be leading a seminar at this year’s General Assembly on using the office of deacon to its fullest.