Deacons

In the same way, deacons^[a] are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. (1 Timothy 3:8)

This threatens to be a boring article. In fact, congratulations for reading the first sentence. To the uninitiated, the word deacon probably brings up either blank or stereotypically negative images perhaps gleaned from a television show or a novel which may have placed them in the legalistic old-fogey religion category. None of these are true. Deacons are the most important people in any Christian fellowship that has even a breath of life. So here we go. This is an exciting subject. 

I discovered deacons in my fifth year of pastoral ministry, already a seminary grad and into my third (yes) position as pastor. Previous tenures had been brief not because I got ousted but because I ousted myself, thinking I needed to pursue further training (I took on my first position before seminary). Anyway, my real discovery of deacons did not happen among all that further training. It was not learned at seminary, but on the job shortly thereafter.

I landed a position that was good for the ego - lead pastor of a brand new church in an urban setting. I was youthful, excited, the people were excited … and then I promptly got nervous, not quite sure what to do with all this. This congregation seemed to have been made in heaven, or at least standing at the edge of the promised land. It was begun in an environment of ultimate cooperation and oversight from a mothering congregation, and deacons were on the menu in the new organizational bylaws and constitution being worked on – our template of officers not all that different from mother church (very important when you need the mothering support😉).

I confessed my nervousness in an early meeting with the freshly appointed deacons, some anxiety that I might screw it up and it could be a bad dream for all of us! They smiled and they rallied, confessing some similar things, and just like that there was a melding. We were a team, on the same page supporting each other, and what’s more they became the experts on what was going on among the people. All we needed do was have some conversations – listening and speaking and some prayers. Deacons became the heartbeat of a caring growing loving fellowship of believers.

This morning’s devotional reading (Rejoice, Vol 58, no 1, MennoMedia, 2022) was from Acts 6, the initiation of deacons in the early church. It seems like my story. Deacons were appointed because the apostles, the preachers were not getting around to the depths of need among the people – and they did something about it! Needless to say the New Testament goes on with the many adventures of those early apostles: PauI, Peter, James and John with fellow adventurers like Barnabas and Silas and Timothy, and much reference to decisions needing to be made as the new fellowship took shape. Deacons were part of that, especially as varying gifts within that group of believers were discovered and recognized (eg 1 Cor 12; Eph 4; Rom 12). The new fellowship experienced all the challenges of people finding each other in a new way (1 Cor 14). Deacons were there, not making all the speeches, but undeniably at the heart of the new communities (see also 1 Tim 3). Not unlike the early church, I know from personal experience at that early kairos meeting, my ministry could not live without these persons.

So why does the Deacon image slip into the boring boring category? Why? I think it is because we are addicted to stimuli, entertainment, distractions. Within this environment of appetite sin can take root (James 4:17). Jesus would refer to this as wheat and tares growing together. It can easily show up among leaders, often allowing strong personalities or rank to rule so that preachers become strategic (careful) in their preaching (2 Tim 4:2-3). Deacons, very important here, may not be the first to be chosen as the speakers or spokespersons or those 'up front,' yet absolutely essential especially if the gathered group is composed of humans! 😊Deacons are needed to hang in with us – not as people pleasers but as truth seekers. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32); “you always have the poor with you” (Mk 14:7); “blessed are the poor in spirit” plus that full row of beatitudes (Matt 5:3-12). Jesus has endless encounters with the beggars, the sick, the evil-possessed. At the heart of encounters with ‘less than’ circumstances we need not only the answer man. We need the Jesus person (Jn 14:6), and the way to encounter this Jesus was with help of those around him, namely the disciples during his earthly ministry among the people, and by deacons in the early church. This becomes ever so clear for anyone who will take the time to read chapter after chapter of the New Testament epistles.

Unfortunately, this biblical truth is kind of optional these days. The dirth of deacons is especially evident in today's North American preacher-centred pop Christianity. Even churches encountering the present shortage of pastors seem to forget the biblical model for church that is administered from within rather than from without. The secular business model has become the mode operandi. So instead of calling to the best of resources within, there is a search for just the right pastor, often administered by a human resources committee!

Similarly the current trend of hiring for every task to be performed. Recently my wife and I visited an urban trendy church. Before an usher got to us, we were already met by a Pastor of something (forgot her specialty) who gifted us with a Tim Horton’s gift card! I would have preferred a plain old deacon or even a volunteer greeter. Rather than smiley associates, youth pastors, children’s pastors, outreach pastors, teaching pastors, preaching pastors, etc. I'm on lookout for those at the heart of congregational living, not necessarily the ones paid to  smile at me in the foyer. A number of years ago I visited a Catholic Church in Jamestown, North Dakota (passing through town on a Sunday morning). I found a sanctuary alive with warmth and friendliness, an atmosphere that continued throughout the service. Even the Eucharist, fully blessed by the young priest as per Roman Church requirement, was served by a group of deacons! It was a blessed occasion, blessed sacrament, blessed worship, a service this low-church Mennonite could easily relate to.

The trend in almost all churches is to digitalize. Everything appears on screen - announcements, sermon titles, Bible texts, responsive readings, pictures, etc. to the extent that the mind goes blank. These digitalized services depend on professionals or at least those with the technical know-how. Similarly, office work in these churches is taken care of by employees not necessarily in the know of congregational life. And so the message or the fellowship spirit can easily go AWOL among all the Eventbrite or Facebook happenings!

“The Medium is the Message”, said Marshall McLuhan about a half century ago, Understanding the Media (Sage Publications, 1964). Checking this out on Google, I was surprised to see my point being made precisely. Says Google, “… the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived.” The essence of our faith can easily become stilted towards the media savvy, the pew sitters, or virtual sitters, and of course controlled by those who 'hold office.' When the meeting is dominated by screen, the essence can easily be lost. For example, This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps 118:24) or I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” (Ps 122:1). These are Calls to Worship, not something to be nuanced on a screen!

Deacons have and must continue to represent the divine Life within a community of believers. This is an everlasting required presence in season and out of season. They will not be enamored by latest fads, but uphold preachers and congregants alike, helping all to walk in accountability to one another and in faithfulness to the one who is Lord of all.

Boring? Not at all. Thank you for reading to the end here. 😊 Deacons are the ones, regardless of denomination, whether in high church or low church congregations, whether of systematic, historicist or new age theology. They are the ones with the biblical diakonos mandate to walk with all of us, every variety of personality and giftedness or neediness, not only to minister to those within, but also to pray for and equip all, including the preachers, to reach out with that good gift of new life in Jesus.

Out of Silence

Many years ago I read a book by then contemporary author, Elizabeth O’Connor. Journey Inward Journey Outward was title of the book (Harper & Row, 1968) and it gifted me with a framework for my spiritual journey and also professional understanding which moved my life in ways I had not dreamed of as possible. I had an early entry into pastoral ministry, but even after a few years of experience and seminary graduation under my belt, I had need of what was provided at that crucial point. O’Connor’s book is simply a story of Church of the Savior in Washington, DC and its innovative ministries. She wrote of this church’s vital balance of engagement with self, God, and others (Journey Inward), and how it proceeds from this to involvement with the needs of the greater community (Journey Outward). I was hooked, consumed this book as well as a number of others by this author, also began reading another prolific author, Father Henri Nouwen. Interesting how resources from beyond sometimes provide just a little more than we know we need! Anyway, I was taken in by O'Connor's convincing thesis that quietude is absolutely essential for any person or any faith community of any kind to have a breath of life. There is death if we are dependent on ideas only. I already knew at that early stage that my ministry would falter very shortly if somehow I did not learn something more about this.

I remember like it happened yesterday. I was appointed pastor of a brand new church-plant, a very positive process of discernment and cooperation with a parenting church which eventually provided occasion for a daughter church to begin in another part of the city. A great gift in that formative situation was that there were some very enthusiastic participants with vision and literally a willingness to do ‘whatever it took’ within this new fellowship. And mercifully it was not all rah rah, even though we were surrounded by many cheering sections from other churches as well as our denominational leaders. What a privilege to be a part of such a supportive community. Within that group among those willing workers there was also what seemed to me like a supernatural yearning for something beyond the enthusiasm, the lively singing, the ball games and small groups, etc. This yearning was kind of ironic because outwardly there was nothing missing. We were a bunch of young families with lots of noisy kids and teenagers along with many activities providing a fine opportunity for me to write some nice pastoral reports the first year or so. The environment was anything but silent. We made a lot of noise and I think I preached quite well among all of that. Yet several within our hardworking deacons group were advocating for something deeper.

Being a hard worker myself, and also kind of socially apt, able to hold up my end of conversations both loud or quiet, I sensed this ‘voice’ among us was probably of God, needed to be heeded. That is how we became acquainted with the story of Church of the Savior. In short order there were some of us, along with a number of persons in other churches of similar interest, participating in Silent Retreats with resource persons from that unique church all the way down there in D.C. I still don’t know who paid travel expenses for the resource person because the retreat costs were quite reasonable (Probably a supportive benefactor or two writing a few good cheques). At any rate these retreats I believe became a godsend for our congregation. It is within silence that we began to listen more deeply to one another. It enabled us to hear one another and it provided confidence for those leaders working with the pastor to do what needed doing, even modeling considerable transparency including both pains and inspirations. There was a growing comfort in being with one another regardless of what was being spoken or not spoken. We began to experience some faith commitments and requests for baptism and membership even from those who still had considerable questions. They became members of a church still in formation. The church started to grow!

As the pastor I was encountering a mysterious paradox. The congregation included a considerable portion of persons who liked proclamation, ie strong unapologetic evangelical preaching, as well as those desiring a more meditative liturgical worship experience. I found these both personally acceptable, actually quite comfortable in both worlds 😀 fully convinced that Jesus’ powerful teachings and miracle works came out of essential quiet times (Mark 1:35; Matt 26:36) this also with good O.T. support (Isaiah 32:7) as well as N.T. epistles (eg Eph 5:21; 1 Pet 5:5). Both ends of this preference spectrum seemed to be acceptable in our fellowship - even for the ones of no fixed opinion! Services were always planned carefully by pastor working with rotating worship leaders as appointed by a worship committee. In hindsight I attribute the church’s early growth to the people’s comfort with both ‘holy preaching’ and ‘holy quiet'.

Silence is still a mysterious go-to this many years later. Many churches are now in the empty pew syndrome. Even as Sunday morning attendance is waning I observe some hints of longevity, which seem to be new discovery or possible recovery thanks to ... silence! For instance, a women’s group in our church continues with a recently identified clarification that they love to sit with, to be with one another – actually a book study which includes sharing which grows out of quiet. This method of being together seems to be surviving pandemics or leadership variations or styles or what have you. Interestingly the church in Acts at its beginning experienced that very thing (see Acts 2:46-47). This is a usable transferable reality: My son’s mother-in-law meets weekly with a group of fellow seniors in Peterborough, ON. Pandemic Zoom meetings only strengthened their commitment and belief in God’s presence in their Friday meetings – always beginning with silence, and nobody ever getting anxious even with long stretches of no chinwag. What emerges out of the quiet is always gratefully received and considered, not lectures or debate but up-building one another.  Humor is there, but it shows up naturally, not because of noisy entertainers. It’s been a pleasure to join them several times.

Retirement involvements here in Calgary have brought me into the world of Interfaith, including city-wide participation in a yearly Worldwide Interfaith Harmony Week, regular meetings of Sacred Text discussions, and varieties of joint service projects. These all provide excellent opportunity to ‘be’ with one another even alongside considerable difference of worship requirements and styles including current and historic differences. These have become for me a fresh occasion to remember the things discovered during those early years in Edmonton. No matter the location or the decade, God, Allah, Creator is  present with and among us all. 

Recently our local grouping of this Calgary Interfaith Council enjoyed a potluck meal for any who wished to share food items for a Food Pantry for students in a Catholic University located in our neighborhood. The gathering seemed to be sacred quite beyond our various orthodoxies or even orthopraxis. Interfaith experiences provide opportunity for what I would call holy quietude with new friends (old friends?) ironically also including clergy from the Roman Church, that same denomination of colonialism so critiqued by so many here in Canada these days. I have come to appreciate the blessed thoughtfulness, some humility and the healthy participation of this Church in exemplary ways in our communities (cf my blogpost "Using the Church", April 13, 2022). Let those of us in our churches without sin (John 8:7) cast the first stone. And the Indigenous? Always fully present and onsite, to wit: an ordained United Church Minister from the Chinook Winds Region, simply one of the gang.

I conclude with some reflection gleaned during the years toward the end of my pastoral ministry when I retreated to the safety of wide open highways as a longhaul trucker. Actually this was a retreat into what I mention above – what I had tasted early in my profession. Although I received professional mental health assistance to navigate a considerable mid-life decision, I knew my best therapy was going to be connected to what I had learned in those earlier years of pastoral ministry. My mental health needed silence. Even as I envisioned endless highway miles, I knew I would not survive driving team. I did not need a driving partner, especially not a yappy one. I needed the silence of a quiet obedient truck, which is why in short order, with the assistance of my financially astute wife, we purchased the needed truck. The spiritual journey was able to continue for another 20 years until retirement! Had I not identified that early need for silence I would not have recovered as I did. Also, I know this was a key to my enjoyment of life in this present ministry of retirement.

²⁶ I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.” (John 17:26)