Reforming our Relationships in Presbytery Diaconal Work

I had the privilege of speaking to the 6th Presbytery Diaconal Summit of the OPC Committee on Diaconal Ministries. This event brings together the presbytery diaconal committees from across the OPC, which serve to provide diaconal care for ministers, support and encourage local diaconates, financially support needs that local diaconates can’t meet, and more.

I spoke on the topic of “Reforming our Relationships.” The focus of my talk was 2 Corinthians 8–9, where Paul speaks to the Corinthians about bringing to completion the task he gave in 1 Corinthians 16 to send aid to the Christians in Jerusalem.

The Canadian Reformed Church, one of our sister churches, charges deacons this way in its form of ordination:

No one in the congregation of Christ may live uncomforted under the pressure of sickness, loneliness and poverty.

That is not a promise that Christians escape sickness, loneliness, and poverty. It names the deacon’s task: that no one carries those burdens without the comfort of Christ. Presbytery Diaconal Committees share that task at one remove. We care for ministers who feel those pressures, and we encourage local diaconates, including the diaconate of one, whose work can be lonely.

I think in systems and process. My training is in operations research, the mathematical optimization of business problems, and that shapes how I approach committee work. Structure, agendas, and planning keep people from falling through the cracks, and the reports at this summit show how much good order serves a committee. But the plan is never the point. The point is that our pastors, our deacons, and the churches they serve do not go uncomforted, and that comfort usually arrives through the relationships we build.

Here’s an outline of my talk:

1. Regional Cooperation in Mercy: The churches of Macedonia and Corinth united to meet the needs of believers in Jerusalem. (8:1–4)
2. Giving as a Work of Grace: Generosity flows from God’s grace and is an administration of God’s grace. (8:1, 8:6, 8:19; 9:8)
3. The Root of Diaconal Ministry: Christ’s self-giving love is the foundation of all Christian mercy. (8:9)
4. Growth in the Gift of Liberality: Churches can be encouraged and challenged to excel in graces, including generosity. (8:7)
5. The Power of Example: Sharing the story of the Macedonians’ eagerness to give stirs others to similar zeal. Diaconal Committees do the same in sharing in the work of our churches. (8:4; 9:2)
6. Demonstrating Earnest Care: Our partner churches should sense our genuine concern for them, as Paul and Titus modeled. (8:16)
7. Completing the Work: We must bring good intentions to completion even when the work is difficult. (8:11)
8. Building Trust in Shared Ministry: Diaconal work across distance, like that of the PDCs, requires trusted servants and transparent stewardship. (8:20–22)
9. Sowing Bountifully and Cheerfully: Generous giving is both commanded and commended; we are to encourage it in others as well. (9:6–8)
10. Giving Produces Thanksgiving: Material gifts overflow in praise and gratitude to God. (9:12–13)
11. The Fruit of Fellowship: Generosity fosters mutual prayer, affection, and joy among believers. (9:14)
12. The Ultimate Gift: All Christian giving points to God’s inexpressible gift in Christ. (9:15)

Two relationships easy to overlook

When you map the relationships a Presbytery Diaconal Committee tends, two groups fall outside the usual diagram of churches, deacons, and committees.

The first is retired ministers and their widows. Some no longer belong to an OPC congregation, so no local diaconate watches over them. It took me years on the committee to see how much our care for them matters.

The second is congregations with no deacons. In the Presbytery of the Southeast, nearly fifteen of our churches have no deacon. Mission works particularize and still ordain no one to the office. These churches need us to reach toward them rather than wait to be asked.