tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post8828061947786760622..comments2024-03-27T17:15:37.606-04:00Comments on Triablogue: The diaconateRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17809283662428917799noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-35122845831188901292015-06-09T10:58:30.439-04:002015-06-09T10:58:30.439-04:00I haven't spent much time in Presbyterian circ...I haven't spent much time in Presbyterian circles. That's an interesting twist to consider.Jim Pembertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01446388434272680014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-91591031683918775002015-06-09T10:48:20.407-04:002015-06-09T10:48:20.407-04:00Steve,
T.F. Torrance advocates precisely the posi...Steve,<br /><br />T.F. Torrance advocates precisely the position you are describing. I personally find it the most satisfying way to speak of the diaconate. Speaking of the diaconate as a ministry of service has be soundly refuted by John N. Collins. Collins's study actually caused the editors of BDAG to update their entry in BDAG. You can look at his work here: http://www.amazon.com/Diakonia-Re-Interpreting-Ancient-John-Collins/dp/0195396022Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-22187555256766360732015-06-08T23:45:44.022-04:002015-06-08T23:45:44.022-04:00I've read that in some Presbyterian circles, r...I've read that in some Presbyterian circles, ruling elders do the diaconal work that's done by deacons in other polities. stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547070544928321788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-12910505399548634042015-06-08T15:45:53.427-04:002015-06-08T15:45:53.427-04:00I think we in the West tend to take a couple of ex...I think we in the West tend to take a couple of extra-biblical models and apply them to church leadership. One model is the Board of Directors / CEO model, where the deacons function like a board of directors, the pastor is like the CEO, and any additional pastoral staff are like executive officers. The other model that comes to mind is like the Senate / House of Representative model where the pastors and other elders are like Senators and the deacons are like the House of Representatives. A modified version of this occurs with a strong leader or founder of a young church where the founding pastor, or high-profile senior pastor, is like a President (or even a King or some other kind of dictator).<br /><br />I don't think either model is exactly what Paul had in mind, or what the Apostles practiced in general. Rather, with some room for flexibility in actual practice, there needs to be elders who are appointed according to their qualified status and testing by the congregation to serve as spiritual leaders who pray, teach, and preach. Deacons are like those who take on the more menial tasks of service to free up the elders to devote their time to study and prayer. Depending on which way you swing the flexibility regarding the duties of deacons determines whether the deaconate may be open to women. In my own church, deacons may take on duties of a corporately spiritual nature since we don't have a specified category for elders outside the pastors, so the deaconate is closed to women.Jim Pembertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01446388434272680014noreply@blogger.com