The Diaconate in the Christian Church
by Pr. Gelson Piber, pastor of MCC in Niterói
Metropolitan Community Church in Brazil (www.icmbrasil.org)
New members course for Metropolitan Community Church in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Module 1
Translated from the Portuguese by Geraldine Wright
Ministries in the New Testament
In the Gospels and the other writings of the Apostles we see different models in the church organizations according to the different cultures, situations and necessities. Therefore, for example, the structural organization of the church in Antioch was different than that of the church in Jerusalem: "In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers" (Acts 13:1), while a type of educational council composed of Apostles and Elders operated in the church in Jerusalem. (see Acts 15:2)
The Gospels tell us of the "Twelve" whom Jesus chose "that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach". (Mark 3:14) Jesus wanted these "Twelve" to continue His mission, and the Apostles are the reference point for the church in all times and locations. For this reason we talk of the "faith of the Apostles" and the "Apostles' Creed", because the Christian community trusts itself "to the apostles' teaching" (Acts 2:42). They are those who "continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 4:33) and "gathered all the disciples together". (Acts 6:2)
In Paul's letters we find "Apostles, Prophets and Teachers", who, with the evangelists, announced the Good News and organized the various communities. (I Cor. 12:28, Eph. 2:20, 3:5, 4:11, II Tim. 4:5) In each of these communities there was the job of governance: "leaders" (Heb. 13:7, 17, Rom. 12:8), "one who rules" (Luke 22:26), those "who are over you in the Lord" (I Thes. 5:12), "Elders" (14:23, 15:2), "overseers" (Acts 20:28, Phill. 1:1, I Tim. 3:1-7), "Deacons" (I Tim. 3: 8-13, Phill. 1:1). In another sphere of activity are the "Prophets" and "those who teach" (Eph. 4:11, Acts 13:1). We are not told how these ministries were established or conferred, but they were considered "Gifts of the Spirit" (Acts 1:15-26, 13:2, 20:28, I Cor. 12:28), or "Gifts of God" (Eph. 4:8-11, I Tim. 4:14, II Tim. 1:6).
Some passages suggest a liturgy of installation. According to Acts 6:1-3, the community chose seven men for waiting on tables (deacons) and the Apostles, praying over them, laid on their hands. And when the community in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas out to evangelize, "after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off". (Act 13:3-4) In verse 4:14 of Paul's first letter to Timothy, it talks of a gift, or ministry, received through the laying on of hands by "the body of elders".
In the Acts of the Apostles, to serve and to evangelize are the same things, and the Letters of Paul emphasize the ministries in order to secure advancement of the community. Titus 1:5 recommends that Elders be installed and in verse 5:22 of his first letter to Timothy Paul recommends "do not be hasty in the laying on of hands". In any event, the ministers are members of the community for service to the community.
The Entire Church is Ministerial
In the understanding of the Church as a historical and effective sign of the Kingdom of God, all those who are baptized are supposed to give their evangelical service, each with the gift he/she has been given. It's a ministerial vocation common to the entire Church and every person within it, each with their unique gift and ministry.
We are called by God's grace and mercy, which transforms our hearts and minds, and not through our own personal merit. Those who have no social value are counted among the new community of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls this new community the Kingdom of God and, like a seed, it grows on our earth.
So, the Church is a gathering of men and women who, called by God, listen to the Good News and let themselves be transformed by it, in order to transform, in turn, all human relations. The Kingdom has not yet been established, but the Church is the desire, the anticipation that it is coming in the completeness God intends. Therefore, the Church only has meaning for people who want to be transformed, changing their selfish relations into relations of giving, justice, peace and love. The entire Church is priestly and ministerial, that is to say, the entire Church worships and serves, a Service to God of selflessly giving of ourselves to one another. All those who are baptized are called to serve with joy. Without selfless service, service is meaningless.
To live and share with brothers and sisters is the first and greatest call. Eph. 4:12 says, "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up". Therefore, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms," (I Pet. 4:10); "you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it," (I Cor. 12:27); "As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!'" (I Cor. 12:20-21)
In order to effectively announce the Gospel and serve, it's necessary to have a life of humility, in the service to the brothers and sisters. To be honestly humble has a evangelizing and transforming repercussion on a world in which what matters is the law of the strongest and of those who have the most. The internal life of the Church, the community, should be in and of itself the Good News, the attraction to those who are outside, and the greatest testimony that we can offer.
A Priestly People
The term "priest" designates mediation between God and people, and the only mediator is Jesus Christ. Because the Church, composed of all the baptized, is the Body of Christ, all Christians are also priests, mediators, and have access to God through their prayer and life. Every Christian who prays and serves is priestly, recreating the story of Jesus, putting into practice His words, acting in justice and holiness, "offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (I Pet. 2:5)
There are other words in the new Testament which refer to the ministry (service) of those who preside over, coordinate or render some specific needed service to the community: Bishops, Pastors (Elders?), Deacons. These people are above all and in the end, members of God's people, which is a priestly people. The uniqueness of these titles is not in being a separate class of Christians, but instead is in function: manifestations and instruments by which the community lives and renews itself and celebrates its priestly and mediating condition in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit. In a priestly community different people have different functions of service, that's all the titles mean.
All those who are baptized receive from the Spirit of Jesus Christ and are one with Him and have access to God. Therefore, we redirect our secular and worldly affairs and change, according to the Law of Love of the Gospels, trying on a daily basis to reproduce the behavior of Jesus. We become a new priestly people who offer a true worship. (I Pet. 2:9, Rom. 12:1)
Ministries in the Reformation of Martin Luther
We are the fruit of the Reformation, since our liberty to conceive of ourselves as a church, as a result of our personal experiences, is a consequence of the ideas defended by this reformer of Christianity. And, in order for us to understand how the Reformation understands ministries in the Church, we must re-read, above all, the 3 treatises in which is most specifically broached the "Christian priesthood":
To the German Christian Nobility,We perceive in these his fundamental criticism of those who usurp the freedom to which the Christian people are called through Christ, dominating and exploiting them. And reading these criticisms, made in a specific situation in the final decadence of the Middle Ages, we see that it continues being valid for current denominations, contemporary "evangelicals", and will continue bring necessary forever.
The Babylonian Captivity,
How to Install Ministers in the Church.
For Luther, and for us as well, Jesus Christ defeated death and paid for all the sins of those who believe. All people become a "chosen race" and dignified to be called "priests".
The fundamental base of Luther's ecclesiastical Reformation is the general priesthood of every believer. Deriving from this principal, there no longer exists a distinction between a lay person and the clergy, but all are equal, with the same rights and responsibilities in what we are relative to the Church and before God: "the works of the clergy are in no way distinguished from those of the farmhand or the housewife, but before the Lord everyone is measured solely by faith," he affirmed.
This equality between people is not earned, nor is it a consequence of their own effort or justice. It is because of Christ, of His love and His work on behalf of humanity. Because Christ eliminated all the acts of sacrifice and became our only priest, the definitive mediator between God and human beings (see John 14:6, 5:19-46), Luther says, "He also made all his Apostles and disciples priests, without deceptions."
Therefore, the ministry of the Church cannot be seized by a caste of clergy, whether they be Bishops, Reverends, Pastors or Deacons...No one can take on responsibilities and rights which belong to all Christian people. And this is not Luther's invention. It is based in the Scriptures, above all in the 1st Letter of Peter, 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light," and Revelations 5:10, "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
Through His work Christ made us co-heirs, with the result that "in the New Testament priests are not made, they are born; they are not ordained but created. However, they are not born through physical birth, but through the Spirit, in baptism." "We are born and called to this ministry in baptism," said Luther. In baptism, it is none other than God who acts and realizes the divine work in the person who receives the title of priest and becomes capable of carrying out the works as a result of faith in active grace.
And so Luther affirms that "among Christians each is the judge of the other and conversely, is also subject to the other."
The emphasis given by Luther to the general priesthood does not invalidate, for him or for us, the need for ecclesial offices (services) and a structure in the Church. But Luther opposed the general priesthood for clerics when they manipulated the Gospel, oppressing and exploiting the people. He insisted in an order as a response to individualism and to "spiritism" of certain zealots and their exaggerations. He criticized those who "teach what they want. In one place they preach this, and another place they preach that. There is no lack of people who, under the false guise of priests, mislead the people." In order to guarantee an order in the worship service, Luther reaffirmed the need for ministers, insisting that, "each one observe the order and the office he receives and dedicate himself to it," since "we want to conform ourselves to the instituted ministries and mandates", "because we do it in the name of the Church, but even more, because it is instituted by Christ."
The ministries in the community, gifts of the Holy Spirit, are for the edification of the community. It is God who gives the different gifts to Christian people, calling them to exercise the ministries of edification for the community and the Church through the Word.
But What about the Diaconate?
The testimony of the New Testament and of the Early Church shows us Deacons as servants of tables, administrators, responsible for the works of charity, coordinators of the order of the assembly, encouragers of the community, servants of the Bishops and Pastors. By the beginning of the Middle Ages, the office had already been corrupted to be a liturgical function which predominated over others. In other words, they became aides to the Bishops in the liturgical celebrations. And this is the form in which they arrived to us in the churches that don't belong to the Reformation.
But its origin is in the Acts of the Apostles 6:1-6, where is mentioned the form of training, installation, and above all, the virtues required: a sincere love of fellow humans, care for the sick and weak, help and protection for the poor. All of this following the example of Jesus Christ, who made himself humble and totally loving.
If every Christian is called to become a servant of his/her brothers and sisters, the Deacon should become so in a special fashion; therefore they receive special instruction which enables them to do special, and more numerous, services. The title of Deacon simply means: one who serves more.
While the Bishop or Pastor is instructed for teaching, the Deacon is instructed for service, not for exercising a governing function. However, he/she is not just another member of the community, but instead a representative of Christ before the community. This representation is manifested in service, capable of acting in the community and together with it, in the name of Christ. The Deacon is always a representative of the community, before God and before the community itself.
Therefore, a Christian who fills the Diaconate in the community should be first in forming and being part of the community, and in service to the community. While the Bishop or Pastor is at the head, the Deacon is at the rear guard, attentive, in order to better serve.
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