Question i (2) - Faithful Deacon

Will you teach charity?

That this ordination vow invokes the word “charity” might be off-putting to some. In popular usage, “charity” sometimes conveys notions of pity, condescension, or negative stereotypes about the kinds of persons who are in need. Indeed, Christian ministry to real persons can degrade into transactional benevolence when too much emphasis is placed on financial contributions or collected necessities. These “charitable” acts sometimes have the ironic effect of insulating a congregation from real persons and their particular stories of struggle and need. Furthermore, treating others as recipients of benevolence may well prevent deacons from seeing persons in need as peers who also possess skills, gifts, and assets that might well bring improvement to their own situation. Many good resources exist today on the matter of “toxic charity,” and exposure to these principles will be important.

But when “charity” is taken in its more ancient sense—as in “kindness and tolerance in judging others” and “love of humankind”—the term can be significantly rehabilitated for deacon-led ministry. In a congregational context, charity is essentially a synonym for “love of persons.” In this spirit, the training of deacons should focus on the development and maturation of people-skills, i.e. wisdom about loving well those church members, friends, neighbors, and strangers who are in need or distress, all in the manner of Jesus Christ. The practice of this wisdom should take precedence over too much emphasis on policies or procedures for ministry. The latter have their place in congregations, when necessary, but deacons have the opportunity to nurture wisdom about charity and therefore grow in the kind of collective discernment that no policy or procedure can replicate or enshrine. One must learn charity by giving it and receiving it.

As such, a key element in teaching charity is the practice of ministry two-by-two. New Testament passages such as Luke 10:1–11 provide space for reflection on the value of ministry as deacons in pairs. Advantages of this partnering model include: the emotional safety of having a peer alongside when venturing into unknown experiences; two pairs of eyes and ears for listening well and observing dynamics; the demonstration of Christian fellowship by the immediate formation of a small community for conversation, prayer, and reflection; and the deployment of a plurality of spiritual gifts, recognizing that some are more comfortable with conversation than tasks, and vice versa. Pastors are encouraged to model this two-by-two pattern for deacons by including them often in pastoral visitation.

Additionally, teaching charity in pairs can be extended beyond deacons to include members of the congregation. In one Presbyterian church where this is modeled, a deacon will often invite a pair of youth members to join her when making visits to local nursing homes. The deacon welcomes the help of partners in visitation, those visited welcome the different generations in their midst, and the youth experience an accessible form of Christian mission with the leadership of a wise deacon. In this and numerous other configurations, a two-by-two model allows for learning wise and compassionate charity through a basic action-and-reflection model.

A final aspect of teaching charity is the invitation to new deacons not to overuse meetings. Meetings are well known in Presbyterian circles and will always have a certain place in the organization and planning of deacon ministry. But new deacons can be warned to not mistake the deacon meeting for the deacon ministry. Unlike a Presbyterian session, whose primary (but certainly not exclusive) sacred task is to gather together for group discernment, the primary work of deacons is not in meetings but “within and beyond the congregation” to persons in need or distress. As such, deacons should only meet as a group as often as is necessary to organize and structure those vital ministries, lest a board of deacons inadvertently use meetings to insulate themselves from the harder but sacred work of engaging the world around them in faith, hope, and love. As with all matters, discernment is needed to keep deacon meetings and deacon ministry in proper perspective and proportion. Again, G-2.0201 should be lifted up as a rule for discernment.

For Reflection and Discussion:

How can the framework of charity being a “love of persons” transform your ministry and the way that you minister to those in need?