Why a Woman Should Be a Deacon

Welcome

What we’ve covered:

Week 1: When a woman shouldn’t be a deacon.

When it threatens our doctrine and/or unity

Week 2: Why a woman shouldn’t be a deacon

Biblical arguments against woman deacons

Last Week: Why a woman could be a deacon

Biblical arguments for woman deacons

Hope you’ve seen from the last two weeks what type of debate this is.

I and the other elders believe this a third-level issue about which Christians should be able to disagree without dividing.

In other words, even if we don’t get our preferred outcome, we should be able to continue worshiping together in Gospel-centered unity.

Tonight: why women should be deacons at PBC.

Opening prayer

Why should women be deacons at PBC?

Before I answer that question, I want to reiterate something we’ve mentioned every week in this study. PBC is doggedly determined to cling to the clear teaching of Scripture regarding male eldership.

The PBC Statement of Faith makes clear that we affirm BF&M 2000 [1] which states:

“[the church’s] scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. [2]

PBC Constitution states unequivocally that “women shall not serve as Elders.” [3]

With God’s help, we will never bend the Bible’s clear teaching on this issue.

This debate is about a different matter.

Not about the office of elder, but the office of deacon.

Tonight I am not offering a biblical argument for female deacons. That was last week. Tonight we’re examining the practical benefits of having female deacons, assuming that the arguments last week have some merit (even if they were not, in the end, fully convincing to you).

Three reasons why a woman should be a deacon at PBC:

We should recognize qualified female deacons...

1) To Align Function and OFFICE.

PBC Constitution—The church is governed by God’s Word, which teaches that elders are given to oversee the church, deacons are to serve the church

Based on our statement of faith...

What is the function of an elder?

To oversee the church

Last week we talked about how elders oversee church doctrine, discipline, and direction

What is the function of a deacon?

To serve the church

We may disagree on how a deacon should best serve the church, but we should agree on the general function of a deacon.

I think it is indisputable that women are functioning in service roles at PBC.

Some might respond, “everybody should be serving in the church but not everybody should be a deacon.”

Fair enough. Let’s take it a step further...

It’s also indisputable that women are functioning in deacon-like service roles at PBC.

A male deacon leads the men’s ministry team, while a female non-deacon leads the women’s ministry team.

A male deacon coordinates the setup for communion and the ordering of supplies, while a female non-deacon coordinates the setup of the bookstall and the ordering of books.

Not necessarily saying that everyone serving in roles like this should necessarily be a deacon.

But hopefully you can see that at PBC the function and the office of deacon are out of alignment.

Either PBC should alter how our deacons function, or we should accept qualified women to the office of deacon.

PBC should recognize qualified female deacons...

2) To Promote Good ORDER.

In 1 Corinthians 14:40, Paul says that in the church “all things should be done decently and in order.”

In context, Paul is talking about having good order for Christian worship gatherings, but I believe the principle applies to all of church life.

We should strive to do all that we do in our lives together in a decent and orderly fashion

Just as the office of deacon is slightly out of alignment at PBC, so too our structure is slightly disordered.

A bit of PBC history will help shed some light on this:

For years PBC was structured with a host of members overseeing various tasks and ministries in church life

At one time they were called “committee chairpersons” and eventually were called “ministry team leaders”

As recently as 2018 we had 21 different ministry teams overseeing everything from the guys who passed the plates during the offering to those who coordinate maintenance on the church van.

When I began teaching on elders three years ago, I argued that our ministry team leaders were functioning like deacons and our deacons were functioning a lot (although not entirely) like elders.

A year later, on October 6, 2019, we unanimously voted to recognize elders at PBC with the stated goal that over time the elders would lead the church to recognize deacons that would oversee the various ministries of the church.

Two months later, on December 8, 2019, we voted on our first slate of deacons as a church. Of course, this was not the first time PBC had deacons, but it was the first time PBC had deacons functioning entirely like deacons.

Most of the deacons we voted on that day were formerly ministry team leaders of the same ministries

(e.g., Steve Collins and Todd Holdren)

Today we have nine deacons, leading everything from setup to safety, from men’s ministry to member care

But we still have several ministry teams from the old PBC structure, dangling in the balance awaiting our decision on the female deacon issue. The most obvious ministry is our women’s ministry.

What should we do?

Either PBC should incorporate qualified women into the deacon structure of the church, or we should find some other way to promote good order among women-led ministries.

If we choose the second option, and choose to find some other way to promote good order among women-led ministries, I believe we actually undermine the Scriptures.

Robert Thune --- "When they ignore the biblical teaching regarding deacons, churches end up creating positions of leadership that carry no biblical authority. A survey of the average church’s leadership structure will reveal titles like “Children’s Ministry Director” or “Women’s Ministry Director” or “Lay Counselor.” The people who serve in these roles are often involved in significant biblical teaching and discipleship and pastoral care. But what biblical precedent do these titles have? To what criteria can we hold these individuals? If we allow these sorts of roles to fall under the purview of deacons, then God’s people have a clear set of biblical qualifications and expectations for their leaders. If, however, we create titles and ministry positions according to the need of the moment, the long-term result will be a weakening of the authority of Scripture as man-made roles take the place of God-ordained offices." [5]

PBC should recognize qualified female deacons...

3) To BLESS the Church.

Two ways recognizing qualified female deacons would bless PBC:

A) By RECOGNIZING the gifts of qualified women.

1 Timothy 3:13—“those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

If there is no clear condemnation of women serving as deacons in the NT (like we see regarding elders in 1 Timothy 2:12)...

If deacons aren’t functioning as elders or quasi-elders...

If there are strong textual clues that Romans 16:1 and 1 Timothy 3:11 refer to female deacons...

If there is strong historical support for this interpretation...

If affirming female deacons does not violate our constitution, our statement of faith, or our Baptist tradition...

And if affirming female deacons would help our sisters “gain a good standing for themselves and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus”...

Why would we not want to affirm qualified female deacons?

PBC will bless its women if we recognize the unique gifts God has given them to serve the body.

B) By RECEIVING service from qualified women.

1 Peter 4:10—“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”

If there are women in this room uniquely skilled to coordinate member care to members in the hospital, or lead ministries to Afghan refugees, or coordinate ministry to widows, etc. then we’re missing out if we don’t give them the opportunities to serve!

Not saying any and every deacon position should be led by a woman (e.g., men’s ministry!). But some ministries are fitting for female deacons and we are missing the blessing of these ladies’ gifts when we deny them this office.

PBC should recognize qualified female deacons to align the function and office of deacon, to promote good order, and to bless the church.

Let’s imagine that our nursery grows by leaps and bounds over the next year, to the point that we believe we need a separate deacon just to oversee nursery during the worship service.

We put together a job description for the position and it’s clear that Sister Suzie is the best fit for the position. She has godly character and practical skill to lead the nursery ministry.

What do we do? I believe we have four basic options:

1) We can ignore the issue entirely and hope for the best

2) We can recruit a potentially less-qualified man to be deacon of nursery.

3) We can change the title of the position to “Nursery Leader” or something like that. But now we have no clear biblical qualifications by which to test the leader and no clear biblical principles by which to appoint the leader

4) We can assess Sister Suzie’s fitness for the position according to 1 Timothy 3, then appoint her as the deacon of nursery

So where do we go from here?