May 16, 2024
While denominational committees serve important functions, Christ hasn’t ordained these committees—he’s given us our offices and the governments of our own congregations. That’s our greatest calling. As committee members, there is an opportunity to serve and build up local churches and diaconates through Presbytery Diaconal Committees.
Reformed churches are in an encouraging era. The OPC and sister denominations have a stronger emphasis on diaconates than has been true historically. There were periods when diaconates languished significantly, particularly in 19th century Scotland and the U.S. The opportunity now is to maintain this momentum and push it forward.
R.C. Reed, a Southern Presbyterian writing in 1903, captured what good deacons can accomplish: “To avoid friction between members, to promote happy pastorates, to develop the grace of liberality, nothing is more important than a good deacon—one who can be patient, one who can smile at unreasonable people and speak a soft word to turn away wrath, one who is willing to give time and take trouble on himself and make himself all things to all men in order to promote the interest of his master’s cause.”
Diaconates have opportunities to promote peace and happiness in congregations. When there’s conflict, the session is often involved in disagreements, but deacons can promote peace through those times. Presbytery diaconal committees have similar opportunities to promote peace and unity across presbyteries.
Consider the challenges facing many presbyteries: some congregations have no deacons at all, some have solo deacons facing significant challenges, some have aging deacons serving into their 80s, and some have rookie deacons without experienced mentors. Some pastors and sessions don’t know how to train and equip their deacons.
Critically, deacons lack a natural system for connecting with deacons from other churches. They don’t have something like presbytery where they inevitably fellowship with brothers from other congregations. The Committee on Diaconal Ministries has worked toward this through summits, but Presbytery Diaconal Committees can fill this gap as well.
Don’t try to implement everything immediately. Write down a couple things to try. Keep notes to revisit in a couple years and add more.
Think about how to promote Committee on Diaconal Ministries resources throughout the presbytery. Make efforts to get men to diaconal summits—pick up the phone and call deacons directly. The summit archives on the website contain video and audio from all summits and are excellent training resources. Promote the Reformed Deacon podcast, which produces content unavailable anywhere else.
Let local diaconates know the CDM has financial resources to help when congregations can’t meet needs. Not everyone knows this—with new deacons constantly coming on, this information needs to be put in front of people repeatedly.
This is a good place to start. A registry can’t just be done once—it requires persistent follow-up with local pastors or clerks of sessions for updates. A spreadsheet with a shared link on a private presbytery website, accessible to presbyters at any time, works well.
The registry proves fruitful for multiple reasons. Committee members can be assigned to specific congregations, creating direct points of contact. This matters for disaster response and routine communication.
Committee members should make themselves available to officers of the presbytery. Regular reporting at presbytery meetings helps. When men of the presbytery know who the committee is and what it can offer, they’ll think of the committee when needs arise extending beyond their congregation.
Critical: be responsive when requests come. Don’t let emails sit for weeks. Even if the committee needs to convene before responding, let people know their request has been seen. If the committee isn’t responsive, they won’t bother trying again.
Presbytery-wide conferences can be highly effective. These don’t have to be expensive. The CDM has helped with funding. Deacons have low expectations.
Invite ministers and elders too. They benefit from this content just as they do at the National Diaconal Summit.
Smaller regional gatherings instead of presbytery-wide events can put most people within three or four hours’ drive instead of seven.
PDCs should take the lead here. Disaster response efforts undoubtedly unify and strengthen presbyteries. Men working together through hurricanes and floods witness to congregations—people new to Presbyterianism see brothers coming from all over the country to help.
Different places have different risks. A maintained registry and prepared committee members mean readiness for various disasters. When storms or flooding hit the news, the committee should contact pastors or deacons the next day asking about impact.
The CDM and the disaster response coordinator are ready to assist. Every presbytery faces some risk—flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, storms. The PDC should be the first response outside the local congregation.
Much diaconal work is reactive—waiting for things to happen. But preparation is essential. Does the committee know how it will process financial requests? Thinking through readiness for those situations is critical.
Engage with retired ministers and widows. Local deacons should be engaged with retired ministers, encouraging and supporting them. Even if a retired minister isn’t at their congregation, if they’re in the geographic vicinity, it’s appropriate for deacons to know them.
Joint work days. Joint work on building projects provides excellent fellowship—working beside someone while chatting is a great way to connect.
Meet local deacons at presbytery meetings. Meeting with deacons from the congregation hosting presbytery is a great way to understand local needs and make sure deacons know about the committee.
Better engagement with Mission Works and congregations without deacons remains an ongoing challenge. Where diaconal responsibility falls on the session, tracking these congregations and maintaining contacts is essential.
Diaconal training is another ongoing need. Many pastors get minimal instruction about deacons in seminary. Some are fortunate to have diaconal experience before becoming ministers, but many don’t have a great sense of how to train deacons. Having answers ready for this question is important. Cornelius Van Dam’s book The Deacon is an excellent starting point, along with the resources at opccdm.org.
Being present at presbytery meetings has value beyond delivering reports. Face time with ministers and elders builds familiarity. Understanding who men are and how they work informs how to minister to them when the time comes.
Presbytery diaconal committees exist to promote, encourage, and coordinate diaconal work. The goal is building up local churches and local diaconates. That’s the calling Christ has given.
Feedback, questions, or recommended resources?
Copyright © · readmachen.com · reformedconfessions.com · ulsterworldly.com
Header photo of Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston, South Carolina.