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Originally Posted by larryjf  Quote:
Originally Posted by interalia Fredtgreco, your analysis seems sound, except I see the Bible speaking to the office of deacon requiring responsiblity, not accepting authority. The crux of the deacon is service, not leadership. Their activities are governed by Elders (or should). That being said, I am no feminist, but I think I might echo Backwoods Presbyterian's sentiments only as it relates to deacons/esses. | In my estimation the office of Deacon is not simply to directly serve, but rather to run mercy ministries and such in the church. Since they run the ministries they do carry authority, though as you mention they are responsible to the Session. The authority of the Deacons does not go to the extent of the Elder, but it certainly exists in the ministries that they oversee. |
Yes, but the "run the mercy ministries of the church" (i.e., administer/lead) is an extra-Biblical inference. Not to say it is a bad inferences (I think it is sound), but the emphasis Biblically is
service. I do not want to be guilty of adding anything extra to the Word. I think we need to recognize and reassess this distinction, or we otherwise delimit the nature of the office of Elder and the role of deacon. I believe too many churches see the diaconate as a lesser "office" to that of the Elder, or even a stepping stone of sorts. Because of that, the maleness of the diaconate is underscored so men have another avenue to "lead" where they may not be qualified as Elders. But the Bible does not teach that...I think we need to be careful.
For the record, I am not advocating the female diaconate, but I am arguing that we should understand the lines Scipture makes and recognize the fact that we ought not base decisions/disctinctions "based on the Bible" that are really only our fallible inferences of what the Biblesays. That is inverted logic and can be dangerous.