In the cacophony of issues before the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) today, there is one that has not been reviewed with sufficient care. And as the denomination finds its administrative clothes too big, this particular unsung cause will, with the grace of God, add healthy girth to the corpus ecclesial.
The neglected song whose sweet melody needs to be heard throughout the church, from the local congregations to the denominational headquarters, is the song of the diaconate.
Restoration of the diaconate will provide the PC(USA) with the three clerical orders that respond to the full ministry of the Church. Although John Calvin did not endorse a particular form of government, he did identify three clerical orders of the Church; pastors, elders, and deacons. The pastors are principally concerned with the celebration of Word and sacraments, and they function as bishops in their oversight of the elders and deacons, who are the pastor’s right and left hands. Calvin reintroduced the order of the elder to the church after more than a thousand years of disuse. The office was originally a part of the synagogue and briefly found its way into local Christian congregations but fell out of service as it became the practice of the Church for the senior pastor (called bishop) to be aided by associate pastors and deacons.
Calvin thought that pastors should govern their own churches with councils and brought the elders back as a means to help the pastors exercise discipline. He never would have imagined that the revived office of elder would supplant the diaconate. The diaconate of the Church had since apostolic times been a cornerstone of the mission of the Church serving the poor and needy.
Presently the PC(USA) theology of the diaconate is a disaster. An example: the enormous incongruity of the fact that we have historically three ordained officers of the Church (pastor, elder, and deacon) and yet we callously dismiss the ordination of deacons as being of little value in the local church and of no value at all to presbyteries or the national headquarters. So far as I can determine, deacons have been excluded from sessions and presbyteries in the United States since colonial days. The reason for the inconsistency between Reformed theology and current polity is unclear. But whatever the reason for the expulsion of the deacons from sessions, presbytery and national offices, it has caused such damage to the health of the Presbyterian Church that it is not an exaggeration to state that the PC(USA) cannot begin renewal without a robust deaconate.
Calvin understood the three orders to represent special callings from God. The three allow for a reasonable and balanced distribution of God’s gifts to His people. By not honoring the office of deacon we are “quenching the Spirit.” A corollary to this is that when the deacons are excluded or there is lack of clarity in their responsibility and authority, pastors and elders then are obliged to either expand their responsibilities or the local church must abandon any significant ministry of mercy. Without the diaconate Church government is left distorted and short-handed.
Further, a weak or nonexistent diaconate leaves the fellowship spiritually immature. Presbyterians who have no hands-on experience in serving others will lack the maturity that comes from being eyewitnesses to the transformations that God brings into the lives of people. And perhaps most damaging of all, many Presbyterians who work in dozens of different service professions, have not been taught their work, when dedicated to God, is actually a ministry of the Church!
The present scenario of Presbyterians sending money to outside organizations to take care of people is absurd if we are interested in increasing the number of PC(USA) members. People rescued from the streets become members and officers of the Salvation Army because that is who cared for them! The Salvation Army does excellent work, but if the Presbyterian diaconate was functioning, good Reformed theology would also be served along with the chicken soup. It is folly to outsource diaconal ministry and still believe we can grow.
The solution: There needs to be three clearly defined orders from the local church through the presbytery to the national offices. The national order of pastors would provide continuing education and spiritual care for all pastors, supervision of theological education, and share in leadership with the other orders, especially on joint efforts such as the preparation of Christian education materials. Elders would have a national office that would focus on helping them to grow in theological competence and giving spiritual counsel in support of their pastor’s teaching. The national order of deacons would constitute all manner of service agencies within the church: disaster relief, foreign missions, nursing and foster home care, homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation, programs for teenage parents, social justice, civil rights, and the Presbyterian Foundation. Not all of these services would be represented in every presbytery or local church but whatever the interests and gifts of the local church, they would be able to connect with and find support from deacons of similar interests anywhere in the world.
In summary, we have identified five reasons to restore the diaconate: 1) We cannot continue to outsource deaconate ministries and still expect new converts to find their way into the Reformed Church; 2) it is an anomaly to trace our roots to the Apostolic Church and Calvin and yet neglect the biblical office of deacon; 3) spiritually it is not healthy when church members send donations (pay others) to do difficult or unpleasant work so they don’t have to; 4) the neglect of the diaconate obliges pastors and elders to divert significant portions of their time from their primary responsibilities; 5) without the diaconate order there is no structural or institutional means of coordinating large scale ministries of mercy between many congregations or presbyteries.
To turn the current cacophony into a three-part harmony it is urgent to restore the apostolic office of the diaconate.
Don Wehmeyer is a PC(USA) mission co-worker in Mérida, Mexico. He serves as director of the School of Continuing Education at San Pablo Theological Seminary.
