http://reformeddeacon.com/ Recent content on Readings in the Reformed Diaconate Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Wed, 23 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/they-must-not-be-double-tongued/ Wed, 23 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/they-must-not-be-double-tongued/ [The deacon] is in danger also, perhaps, of promising to the pastor, and not fulfilling. This is justly fatal to character and to usefulness. It prevents confidence and creates contempt. — John Lorimer, The Deaconship http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/promoting-diaconal-work-in-presbytery/ Thu, 16 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/promoting-diaconal-work-in-presbytery/ 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. The Current State Reformed churches are in an encouraging era. The OPC and sister denominations have a stronger emphasis on diaconates than has been true historically. http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/letter-to-a-new-deacon/ Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/letter-to-a-new-deacon/ Serving Christ in the office of deacon can be one of the greatest joys in life. It is a calling to die to oneself and live to Christ. Deacons get to love the LORD in heart, soul, and mind as they labor to free their elders for the work of preaching and praying, and they get to love their neighbor as they guard the sheep from the trials of poverty, loneliness and sickness. http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/dishonor-to-protestant-christianity/ Mon, 14 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/dishonor-to-protestant-christianity/ We can conceive few things more dishonourable to Protestant Christianity, or more fitted to impair its progress, than to be able to say, with apparent truth, that it is careless of the interests of poor—more careless than the men who make less pretension. And, on the other hand, we can conceive few things more fitted to propitiate the good-will of the world, which, at all events, admires benevolence, than to be able, in a way which does not admit of cavil, to show that the same religious system which alone can provide for the welfare of eternity, is the most active and unwearied guardian of the poor man’s interest in time. http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/qualifications-for-deacons/ Tue, 27 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/qualifications-for-deacons/ Acts 6: Background of the Diaconate Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “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. http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/tender-heart/ Sun, 28 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/tender-heart/ It is only true piety which, during a long succession of years, will sustain the heart in tenderness to the poor amid trials and difficulties, and which will uphold the deacon in the unwearied, and sometimes unrequited care of the house of God. — John Lorimer, The Deaconship http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/character-of-a-deacon/ Sun, 19 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/character-of-a-deacon/ Animated by the spirit of his office, and acting out the character which the counsels of the Word imply, [a deacon] will not be haughty, or harsh, or suspicions, he will not be cold, and formal, and repulsive, discharging his work as if it were a burden; he will be frank and easy in his intercourse with the poor and take an interest in their avocations, their health, and welfare; kind, and tender, and sympathising, especially when in sickness; but withal firm, and not easily persuaded to what his judgment does not approve. http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/the-deacon-must-be-sincere/ Sun, 19 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/the-deacon-must-be-sincere/ A deacon, to be relieved from the annoyances sometimes connected with the discharge of his duties, is tempted to put the poor off with insincere words—to say one thing to one man, and an opposite to another. He is in danger also, perhaps, of promising to the pastor, and not fulfilling. This is justly fatal to character and to usefulness. It prevents confidence and creates contempt. The deacon, then, must be sincere. http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/temporal-wants/ Mon, 17 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/temporal-wants/ Our blessed Lord does not, like some of his professed followers, make light of temporal wants. — John Lorimer, The Deaconship (1842) http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/benefits-of-a-well-functioning-diaconate/ Tue, 04 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/benefits-of-a-well-functioning-diaconate/ He feels, that amid all his own difficulties and discouragements, he is not standing alone—that other are alive to his circumstances, and sympathise with him, and are forward to aid him—and that he can have their advice and cooperation in many matters, which are otherwise fitted to distract and to burden. — John Lorimer, The Deaconship (1842) http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/deacons-and-the-nazis/ Fri, 25 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/deacons-and-the-nazis/ When during World War II the Netherlands were occupied by Germans the deacons of the Dutch Reformed Church assumed the care for the politically persecuted, supplying food and providing secret refuge. Realizing what was happening, the Germans decreed that the elective office of deacon should be eliminated. The Reformed Synod on 17 July 1941 resolved: ‘Whoever touches the diaconate interferes with what Christ has ordained as the task of the church… Whoever lays hands on diakonia lays hands on worship! http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/the-graces-of-a-good-deacon/ Wed, 21 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/blog/the-graces-of-a-good-deacon/ To avoid friction between members, to promote happy pastorates, and to develope the grace of liberality, nothing is more important than a good deacon, one who can be patient, 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’. — R.C. Reed, The Deacon (1903) http://reformeddeacon.com/1-timothy-3/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/1-timothy-3/ Full Text Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. http://reformeddeacon.com/presbyterian-approach-to-mercy-ministry/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/presbyterian-approach-to-mercy-ministry/ Excerpt But what about diaconal ministry? In what ways do the local deacons of your church benefit from ministering in a connectional church? Indeed, how do all members of the OPC benefit from being part of a denomination that pursues mercy ministry at every level of its Presbyterian structure? To many, perhaps, this is not as obvious, so perhaps a review of the work of mercy ministry at each level of the OPC is in order. http://reformeddeacon.com/a-proposed-job-description-for-a-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/a-proposed-job-description-for-a-deacon/ Excerpt Within these frames of reference the Deacon is looked on as a man called and equipped by God to be a servant of the Lord in the church, whose gifts and calling are recognized by the congregation through his election, testing and ordination. He is a servant entrusted with the special responsibility of the handling of the temporal affairs of the church, including the administration of temporal relief http://reformeddeacon.com/a-training-program-for-deacons/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/a-training-program-for-deacons/ Excerpt Some Personal Questions for Those Men Considering the Office of Deacon (Based on material in Acts 6:3 & 1 Timothy 3:8-13) Do I regard myself as have a good testimony as a Christian, a Christian husband, a Christian father, a Christian church member, a Christian worker, and a Christian neighbor? Do I manifest the marks of godliness that are an evidence of being “full of the Holy Spirit”? http://reformeddeacon.com/acts-6/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/acts-6/ Full Text Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “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. http://reformeddeacon.com/are-deacons-members-of-the-session/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/are-deacons-members-of-the-session/ Excerpt Here we see that the French inclusion of the deacons with the consistory was NOT because they viewed the office of deacon as a ruling office, but because they viewed their deacons as called at the same time to be assistant elders. Here they were evidently able to give some “after the fact” justification of their actual practice, while at the same time being careful not to blur (theologically) the Scriptural distinction between the office of elder and that of deacon. http://reformeddeacon.com/arp-form-of-government-deacons-and-the-diaconate/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/arp-form-of-government-deacons-and-the-diaconate/ Full Text DESCRIPTION AND QUALIFICATIONS OF A DEACON 5.1 The office of deacon as set forth in the Scriptures is ordinary and perpetual in the Church. The office of deacon is one of sympathy and service after the example of Christ. 5.2 To this office should be chosen individuals who are faithful and diligent Christians of good character, of honest repute, exemplary life, brotherly love, sympathetic nature, and sound judgment, who are qualified under the standards recorded in Scripture. http://reformeddeacon.com/balancing-sensitivity-and-stewardship-in-diaconal-assistance/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/balancing-sensitivity-and-stewardship-in-diaconal-assistance/ Excerpt As the Board of Deacons at the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Franklin Square, New York, we have struggled for many years with the application of biblical truth to diaconal needs. We have felt the need to systematize a number of principles in order to avoid “shooting from the hip” in these ever increasing instances of financial assistance. http://reformeddeacon.com/biblical-qualifications-for-deacons-part-1/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/biblical-qualifications-for-deacons-part-1/ Excerpts Any man whose manner, conduct, thoughts, or attitude is not honorable, worthy of respect and admiration, and dignified does not meet this qualification and should not be a deacon. The same is true of deacons. A deacon should not be seeking dishonest gain. He should not seek to exalt himself among the flock of God by the office of deacon. He should not try to garner to himself power, control, or authority over others. http://reformeddeacon.com/deacons-and-or-trustees/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/deacons-and-or-trustees/ Excerpt The Question: Should unordained persons handle the finances and physical upkeep of church property? http://reformeddeacon.com/gods-gift-of-deacons/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/gods-gift-of-deacons/ Excerpt It was not because the care of widows was unimportant that it was given to deacons. It was because ministry of mercy was so important that a new office was created. In and of itself, it would have been good for the apostles to show Christ’s love by serving tables and getting involved in the nitty-gritty of caring for widows. James, the Lord’s brother, who was in the Jerusalem church at this time, would write some years later, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (Jas. http://reformeddeacon.com/helping-without-hurting/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/helping-without-hurting/ Excerpts Good intentions are not enough. If we misdiagnose the causes of their poverty or treat their symptoms rather than their underlying problems, we can do considerable harm to materially poor people in the very process of trying to help them. We have to get the diagnosis right. If your church does not take the time to develop a philosophy and policy document, your benevolence ministry will lack the compass it needs to keep moving in the right direction. http://reformeddeacon.com/if-you-are-a-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/if-you-are-a-deacon/ Excerpt Deacons are not to be “the servants” of the church in the sense that they personally do anything and everything that needs doing. They are servant-leaders in the church, who on the one hand have hearts willing to do the most menial of tasks for the sake of the body, yet who also have the authority to direct and oversee the involvement of the whole church in such tasks. http://reformeddeacon.com/justification-of-ordained-office/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/justification-of-ordained-office/ http://reformeddeacon.com/notes-on-ecclesiology/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/notes-on-ecclesiology/ Full Text Chapter XIX: The Deacon’s Office The communion of saints is implied in the very notion of an organized church having its polity and its ordinances of worship. But this communion is most impressively exhibited in two ordinances, both of which are emphatically denominated by the word communion, to wit: the Lord’s supper and contributions in money, or its equivalent. (Acts ii. 42-45; 1 Cor. x. 16; 2 Cor. http://reformeddeacon.com/office-of-diaconate-in-the-churches/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/office-of-diaconate-in-the-churches/ Excerpt Since the Scriptures do not provide any other concrete revelation about the general task of the deacons, we conclude that the Word of God teaches that the mandate for the diaconate contains these ingredients as normative: The office of deacon is a particularized and specialized expression of the office of all believers. In their task and calling the deacons demonstrate, model, and teach the Saviour’s love for His own. http://reformeddeacon.com/on-fasting-death-and-joy-reflections-on-my-upcoming-ordination/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/on-fasting-death-and-joy-reflections-on-my-upcoming-ordination/ Excerpt If I am going to do the duties of a deacon, then I must die. The list of qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 is a list that I have not, do not, nor ever will live up to. I have not, do not, and will not love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I have not, do not, and will not love my neighbor as myself. http://reformeddeacon.com/opc-book-of-church-order-deacons/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/opc-book-of-church-order-deacons/ Full Text Chapter XI: Deacons The Scriptures designate the office of deacon as distinct and perpetual in the church. Deacons are called to show forth the compassion of Christ in a manifold ministry of mercy toward the saints and strangers on behalf of the church. To this end they exercise, in the fellowship of the church, a recognized stewardship of care and of gifts for those in need or distress. http://reformeddeacon.com/pca-book-of-church-order-the-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/pca-book-of-church-order-the-deacon/ Full Text 9-1. The office of deacon is set forth in the Scriptures as ordinary and perpetual in the Church. The office is one of sympathy and service, after the example of the Lord Jesus; it expresses also the communion of saints, especially in their helping one another in time of need. 9-2. It is the duty of the deacons to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress. http://reformeddeacon.com/pointers-for-elders-and-deacons-part-1/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/pointers-for-elders-and-deacons-part-1/ Excerpt The office-bearers may never see themselves as the bosses of the congregation who are only accountable to their colleagues. They should deport themselves humbly, for they are only executors of the Lord’s will for His congregation. That is why they may never impose their own will on the congregation. The opposite is true; they have to realize that their work is subject to what God considers beneficial for His children http://reformeddeacon.com/pointers-for-elders-and-deacons-part-2/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/pointers-for-elders-and-deacons-part-2/ Excerpt [The deacon] must resist the temptation to do everything himself. Instead he should put the congregation to work. You could say that he should make himself redundant. http://reformeddeacon.com/pointers-for-elders-and-deacons-part-3/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/pointers-for-elders-and-deacons-part-3/ Excerpt If he really wants to know what is going on in a family, he must come with more daring questions than is normally the case on social visits. He is after all a deacon and he comes not to satisfy his own curiosity but to give a tangible form to Christ’s mercy. Needless to say he must overcome his diffidence. All this, of course, should be done with tact. http://reformeddeacon.com/principles-for-the-ministry-of-mercy/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/principles-for-the-ministry-of-mercy/ Excerpt Following the example of our Savior, who though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, so that we by His poverty might become rich, it is the duty of all saintsto be hospitable and to come to the aid of one another in material things, according totheir various abilities and necessities. The deacons should encourage members of the church to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share in order to provide for those in want, especially those in the household of faith, such provision to include not only monetary gifts or tangible gifts in kind (i. http://reformeddeacon.com/principles-of-diaconal-ministry/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/principles-of-diaconal-ministry/ Excerpt Diaconal ministry adorns the gospel when it provides tangible evidence of the love of God and of his messengers for the lost of this world. Indeed, in certain circumstances of extreme hardship the ministry of the Word can be virtually unintelligible apart from a ministry of deed. http://reformeddeacon.com/promoting-happy-pastors/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/promoting-happy-pastors/ Excerpt A deacon has countless opportunities to bless his pastor and make his calling a joy. R. C. Reed said, “A good deacon is the pastor’s most valuable ally.” Here are fifteen practical ways to do that. http://reformeddeacon.com/reforming-the-diaconate-part-1/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/reforming-the-diaconate-part-1/ Excerpt Deacons, in our view, continue their role of serving the congregation in any and every way that frees the elders to most fully do the work of praying, ruling, and teaching according to the Word of God. http://reformeddeacon.com/reforming-the-diaconate-part-2/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/reforming-the-diaconate-part-2/ Excerpt Our prospective deacons have required homework covering the basics of Reformed doctrine, and the class sessions offer applications to the diaconate which flow out of the heads of doctrine as represented in the Westminster Confession of Faith, and elaborated upon in the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. This is done under a series of “Doctrinal Propositions Which Must Guide the Ongoing and Developing Work of a Diaconate.” http://reformeddeacon.com/reforming-the-diaconate-part-3/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/reforming-the-diaconate-part-3/ Excerpt We have also found it necessary for our deacons to assist certain individuals and families in matters pertaining to budgets and financial planning. The extravagance and ill-discipline of our debt-laden generation have infected well-meaning Christians who need reform in this area of life. Boards of Deacons, due to the very nature of their work, must be models of good management in temporalities, including finances. When financial assistance must be given to “bail out” a family, this should also carry with it a willingness on the part of the beneficiary to receive counsel in bringing his or her finances in line with Biblical patterns of moderation and self-control. http://reformeddeacon.com/report-of-the-committee-on-women-in-church-office/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/report-of-the-committee-on-women-in-church-office/ http://reformeddeacon.com/opc-report/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/opc-report/ Excerpt Para-ecclesiastical relief groups, while serving a crucial purpose at present, should actively implement a practical plan for the transfer of their ministries to churches—either through regular diaconal channels or through diaconal evangelism ministries to unevangelized populations of suffering people. http://reformeddeacon.com/report-of-the-subcommittee-diaconal-ministries/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/report-of-the-subcommittee-diaconal-ministries/ Excerpt From Scripture, the most effective diaconal ministries are built as the deacons serve as leaders, managers, trainers, and motivators of members of the congregation as they grow in their works of service. This delicate interplay has important implications for the development of works of mercy on the local church, presbytery, and assembly level: ministries are developed most effectively as there is a combination of “grass roots” activity and effective official leadership. http://reformeddeacon.com/report-on-the-diaconate/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/report-on-the-diaconate/ http://reformeddeacon.com/resources-for-deacons/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/resources-for-deacons/ http://reformeddeacon.com/some-old-testament-roots-and-their-continuing-significance/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/some-old-testament-roots-and-their-continuing-significance/ Excerpt Why did the Lord repeatedly express such great concern for the plight of the needy in Israel and warn Israel in no uncertain terms of his great wrath and vengeance to those who afflicted the needy and who did not help them (e.g. Ex. 22:22-24)? At the basis of the Lord’s special interest and care for the needy and oppressed is the fact that he, the Lord, had once led Israel out of the bondage and oppression of Egypt and had claimed them as his own precious possession, his covenant people. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-biblical-foundation-of-the-diaconate/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-biblical-foundation-of-the-diaconate/ Excerpt That designation of servant links these officers with their great example and model, Jesus Christ the Servant of the Lord. He points to his own life of service as the model for Christians when he says in Mark 10:43-45: “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” One of the ways that Jesus served was in feeding the multitudes and in caring for the needy. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon/ Excerpt To avoid friction between members, to promote happy pastorates, and to develope the grace of liberality, nothing is more important than a good deacon, one who can be patient, 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 interests of his Master’s cause. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon-a-divine-right-office-with-divine-uses/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon-a-divine-right-office-with-divine-uses/ Excerpt While the work of the deacon is one of service to the poor and the widows; while the work of the deacon is one of serving tables and making distributions to those in need (thus, handling the monies of the church), we must never lose sight of the fact before us in Acts 6:3—the deacon is to be “full of the Holy Spirit.” It is not enough that a man be respected by or successful in the world, he must exhibit a deep spirituality if he is to be considered for the office of deacon. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon-the-biblical-roots-and-the-ministry-of-mercy-today/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon-the-biblical-roots-and-the-ministry-of-mercy-today/ God’s gift of the office of deacon and the blessings associated with it may not always be fully appreciated, especially in congregations that are financially prosperous and do not have many materially poor in their midst. However, as this book hopes to demonstrate, the importance of the diaconate goes far beyond simply providing for material needs. In order to get a proper understanding of the significance of this office, we must consider it within the context of the entire Bible. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacons/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacons/ http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacons-handbook-a-manual-of-stewardship/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacons-handbook-a-manual-of-stewardship/ http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deaconship/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deaconship/ Excerpt That indeed, is a sadly defective state of the church where there are no poor, there must be something very deficient in its zeal and aggressiveness, if amidst the multitudes of poor around us, and mingling with us, there are none in the church itself. No church is bound to elect men to an office, however important it may be, unless her Lord has given her men of suitable qualifications, and this is the case in very many of our smaller churches. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deaconship-a-treatise/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deaconship-a-treatise/ Our blessed Lord does not, like some of his professed followers, make light of temporal wants. He feels, that amid all his own difficulties and discouragements, he is not standing alone—that other are alive to his circumstances, and sympathise with him, and are forward to aid him—and that he can have their advice and cooperation in many matters, which are otherwise fitted to distract and to burden. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-diaconate-gods-office-of-temporal-affairs/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-diaconate-gods-office-of-temporal-affairs/ http://reformeddeacon.com/the-gospel-and-the-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-gospel-and-the-deacon/ Excerpt It is the deacon who best demonstrates the mercy and service of Christ which the elders teach. It is the deacon who thus fills out the Gospel which the elders proclaim. It is the deacon who best reminds us that power in the Church is not to be like power in the world, because true power is first and foremost the power to serve. And thus it is the Gospel which compels us to ordain deacons in the Church so that Christ, our “table-server,” may be seen in all His fullness. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-gospel-work-of-the-diaconate-a-ministry-proportioned-in-number/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-gospel-work-of-the-diaconate-a-ministry-proportioned-in-number/ Excerpt Our charity towards the membership should be such that it makes the world outside her walls jealous for the faith, hope, and charity within. Thus, our deeds toward one another should and will promote our missionary enterprise among the lod and dying of the world. Do not be come discouraged with little or slow results. Continue your labor. Be faithful in small things. Remember that you are not accountable for the timing of the harvest, but for the labor. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-importance-of-the-office-of-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-importance-of-the-office-of-deacon/ Excerpt The Church, therefore, which shuts up the channel of diaconal ministration must expect to be dwarfed in the development of experimental religion. More humble and less conspicuous their office may be than that of the elder; but it is not the less divinely warranted, nor is it unilluminated by the splendor of a glorious example. It is a striking fact that the Lord Jesus, in his sojourn on earth, did not occupy the outward seat of the ruler—he condescended to appear as a prisoner at the bar of the eldership of his own visible Church. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-ministry-of-mercy-for-today-part-1/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-ministry-of-mercy-for-today-part-1/ Excerpt The Holy Spirit does not “create the creators of a new civilization” in a vacuum. They are born into the family of God, the redeemed humanity that knows and loves and seeks to do the will of the Father in all things. This new humanity, which is the spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is Head, must be disciplined by the Word, so that not only the Christian individual but also the collective life of the Christian community reflects the will of God. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-new-testament-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-new-testament-deacon/ Excerpt Christians today must understand the absolute necessity for and vital importance of New Testament deacons to the local church so that the needy, poor, and suffering of our churches are cared for in a thoroughly Christian manner. This is a matter dear to the heart of God. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-office-of-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-office-of-deacon/ Excerpt Such being, undoubtedly the principles of Presbyterianism the world over, with regard to this officer, how is it that in these United States, the practice of Presbyterianism has allowed the Deacon almost every where to expire, from sheer idleness;—his business having been taken from him and put into the hands of a committee appointed by the State Legislature! We have finished all that we designed in this article; which was, to prove that by the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church, the Deacons are the proper officers to manage all the temporalities of the Church. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-pastoral-wisdom-of-john-calvin/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-pastoral-wisdom-of-john-calvin/ Excerpt There were men that would employ themselves to serve the poor. Others spared not their own property and yet they had not one penny rent. There was not a house to be had upon hire. Thus does God set a looking glass before us, where by we ought to confirm and frame ourselves. But if we look upon ourselves, we shall find the exact opposite: for it seems that we have conspired to do quite otherwise than was then observed in the ancient church. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-spiritual-nature-of-the-office-of-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-spiritual-nature-of-the-office-of-deacon/ Excerpt The deacon’s fund can be a powerful tool for good or ill, so cash or other assistance cannot be distributed without taking the time to assess the recipient’s level of stewardship. If the potential recipient of the diaconal aid wastes his gifts, the church rightly expects that he will be denied funds that would merely subsidize his misuse. Wisdom here is essential, and who has it but a deacon who has been instilled with biblical stewardship? http://reformeddeacon.com/women-in-office-especially-about-deaconesses/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/women-in-office-especially-about-deaconesses/