(Tim) Here's a proposed amendment to the Presbyterian Church in America's Book of Church Order. The amendment was adopted by the session of Atlanta's Westminster Presbyterian Church and will be presented to the January 23rd meeting of Metro Atlanta Presbytery.
The following is the text of the amendment, along with a few preliminary comments of my own...
Proposed Amendment
WHEREAS, the biblical office of elder was instituted by a divine commandment, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather for me seventy men whom you know to be elders of the people and officers over them and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand with you. And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you so that you may not bear it yourself alone.’” (Numbers 11:16-17) See also 1Timothy 5:17 and Hebrews 13:7-17; and,
WHEREAS, this plurality of elders was continued in the development of synagogues into the Second Temple Era and into the New Testament; and,
WHEREAS, Scriptures specify that Elders are set apart and necessary for every local church and the broader Church,
- Acts 14:23: “And when they [Paul and Barnabas] had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
- Titus 1:5: “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you…” (See also Acts 11:30; 13:1; 15:2, 4, 22; 20:17; 1Timothy 4:14; James 5:14; 1Peter 5:1-2; and Philippians 1:1); and,
WHEREAS, the Presbyterian Church in America Book of Church Order, in obedience to Scripture, therefore, requires a plurality of elders for the particularization of a local church (BCO 5-9) and for the ongoing functioning of a local church (BCO 12-1); and,
WHEREAS, the office of elder is that of spiritual and ecclesiastical governance, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (1Timothy 5:17). (See also Acts 20:28; [BCO 12-5]); and,WHEREAS, the New Testament office of deacon was established, not by the direct revelation of a divine command, but by apostolic prudence, and not in a governing office but as an office of service, Acts 6:2 – 4 “‘It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.’”; and,
TB COMMENT ONE: It's clear from the New Testament that the office of deacon is normative. To say that it was not divinely instituted is misleading.
But, more seriously, the oft-repeated statement today, that the office of deacon is "not a governing office, but one of service," is only helpful when demonstrating the relationship of these two offices to one another. It's confusing when dealing with the relationship of church members to the office of deacon.
Yes, elders have authority over deacons, and the specialization of the two offices can be spoken of as a distinction of authority versus service. But to the congregation, the work and leadership and office-government of deacons will often be one of authority.
Should this widow be helped or does she have a son-in-law in the church whose obligation precedes that of the church? If so, which of the deacons should go and talk with him, exhorting him to fulfill his obligation?
These are the questions and responsibilities the deacons, when properly caring for the body, handle constantly. They are the exercise of authority over a male member of the congregation by an officer of the congregation, and therefore never properly fulfilled by a woman deacon/deaconess.
Thus, with respect to the congregation, we must be done with the implication or explicit statement that male deacons don't exercise authority over the congregation. They always have, and will today (if, in a particular church, the office is vital--not moribund).
WHEREAS, Scripture establishes standards for deacons, 1Timothy 3:8: “Deacons likewise, must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.”; and,WHEREAS, Scripture reveals that only the churches of Philippi (Philippians 1:1), Ephesus (1Timothy 3:8-13) and Jerusalem (Acts 6:1-6) are specified as having deacons,
TB COMMENT TWO: This is an argument from silence.
...though Phoebe in the church at Cenchreae was called a deacon by Paul in Romans 16:1: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant [Greek: diakonos] of the church at Cenchreae…”; and,
TB COMMENT THREE: It's often been explained that basic Greek exegesis demonstrates the futility of making a declarative statement, as this proposed overture does, that Phoebe was a Deacon woman as opposed to a deaconing woman.
In English if 'Servant' were the word we used for the office of Deacon and 'servant' the word we used to refer to a woman or man known for caring for others; and if I were to write, concerning a woman in my congregation, that I commended "to my readers our sister Mary, a servant of the church at Bloomington;" then those receiving the letter would have no basis for concluding I meant Mary was an officer as opposed to simply a woman who was faithful in caring for the needs of believers.
To make the seemingly simple statement that Phoebe was a "Deacon," showing the Greek word used in the text, is really to say nothing other than that Phoebe was a servant of the church. It says nothing at all about whether she was an officer of the church.
WHEREAS, the diaconal ministry is that of sympathy and service, not of spiritual and ecclesiastical governance, and any authority that may be attached to the office of deacon is a derivative authority, with plurality of elders serving as the final authority in a local church (BCO 9-1; 9-2; 9-6); and,
TB COMMENT FOUR: See COMMENT ONE, above.
WHEREAS, though the office of deacon is “ordinary and perpetual,” (BCO 9-1) it is not one that is an absolute necessity for the particularization (BCO 5-10) or ongoing ministry (BCO 9-2) of a local church; and,WHEREAS, in the PCA, individuals at all levels of the church, including missionaries, vacation Bible school workers, Sunday school teachers, Women in the Church officers, and countless other church workers (both men and women) have been commissioned throughout the entire history of the PCA and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod; and,
WHEREAS, upon completion of Joining and Receiving (J & R), the RPCES practice of commissioning deaconesses was carried over to the PCA, (Minutes of the Ninth General Assembly, PCA, 1981, p. 305); and,
WHEREAS, the RPCES had conducted a detailed study of the issue of deaconesses during the period 1974-8 and adopted the following resolution:
“Resolved: that in light of the action of the 155th General Synod, we do not recommend allowing each particular church within the domination to determine whether its diaconate shall include men as well as women, nor that they be allowed to ordain a woman as a deacon. We also remind churches that they are free to elect Spirit filled women as deaconesses and to set them apart by prayer (156th General Synod Minutes of the RPCES, 1978, pp. 133-134). (A copy of the full study report is attached); and,
WHEREAS, in connection with J & R, the PCA acknowledged the practices of denominations so received by stating, “In receiving these denominations, the Presbyterian Church in America recognizes the history of the respective denominations as part of her total history and receives their historical documents as valuable and significant material which will be used in the perfecting of the Church (Minutes of the Ninth General Assembly, PCA, 1981, p. 305); and,WHEREAS, the PCA Book of Church Order, (since its First Edition, published in 1975, and continuing to the present in the Sixth Edition) authorizes its church Sessions to appoint “godly men and women of the congregation to assist the deacons in caring for the sick, the widows, the orphans, the prisoners, and others who may be in any distress or need.” (Emphasis added)
TB COMMENT FIVE: There is a world of difference between a congregation nominating and electing female officers in the exact same way as their male officers (as is the case in Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church), and those females serving in the same office as the males (both called "Deeks" in Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church), on the one hand; and the session appointing female helpers to the males elected to the office, and those female non-elected non-officers serving as helpers, servants, deaconesses, under their male officers' authority, with a delineation from beginning to end making it clear to those serving and the congregation they serve that the women are not elected, not officers, not ordained but commissioned, never exercising governing authority over men, and always serving at the will of the congregation's male officers.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Metro Atlanta Presbytery hereby overtures the 38th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America to amend Book of Church Order 9-7 to include the following sentence to be placed at the end of the section
“These assistants to the deacons, selected by means determined by each Session, may be commissioned, but not ordained.”
TB COMMENT SIX: It would be needlessly confusing, given the battle over woman officers, to have the congregation elect women rather than the session appoint them. If the session of a particular church appoints women to assist the deacons, it will be clear these women are not officers and are subordinate to the male deacons (who are officers). Thus the text would better be changed as follows:
“These assistants to the deacons, appointed by the Session, may be commissioned, but not ordained.”
Also, it would be good for the overture to make clear what these women are and are not to be called. Personally, I'd allow them to be called "Deaconess" if they were not elected, but rather appointed by the elders and clearly subordinate to the Deacons both in structure and responsibilities. It is conniving at the rebellion of our age against the Order of Creation to call them the same name as the male church officers mandated by Scripture, whether "Deacon" or the diminutive "Deek."
The entire section 9-7, therefore, would read:
“9-7.It is often expedient that the Session of a church should select and appoint godly men and women of the congregation to assist the deacons in caring for the sick, the widows, the orphans, the prisoners, and others who may be in any distress or need. These assistants to the deacons, selected by means determined by each Session, may be commissioned, but not ordained.”
TB COMMENT SEVEN: The new section would better read:
“9-7.It is often expedient that the Session of a church should select
and appoint godly men and women of the congregation to assist the
deacons in caring for the sick, the widows, the orphans, the prisoners,
and others who may be in any distress or need. These assistants to the
deacons, appointed by the Session, may be
commissioned, but not ordained; and, if female, may be called "Deaconess,” but not "Deacon" or "Deek."
