SE Alabama Presbytery Holds Second Annual “With Much Advantage” Deacons’ Conference
Written by Forrest L. Marion |
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Deacons are to be affirmed in this life is instructive: “For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 3:13). In contrast, the elder’s affirmation comes later: “. . . when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (I Peter 5:4).
On Saturday, October 22, 2022, Southeast Alabama (SEAL) Presbytery held its second annual deacons’ conference at the First Presbyterian Church in Montgomery. This year’s conference was built on last year’s, which was organized by deacon Samuel McLure and hosted by Eastwood Presbyterian in Montgomery. The theme of both conferences, “With Much Advantage,” is taken from the PCA Book of Church Order (BCO) 9-6 which states, “The deacons may, with much advantage, hold conference from time to time for the discussion of the interests committed to them.” The conference’s opening prayer was offered by Pastor Reed DePace of First Presbyterian.
Last year’s conference featured Pastor Harry Reeder of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Alabama, who recorded an interview conducted by McLure. This year, however – even better – we secured Pastor Reeder in person, a most generous act on his part given his demanding schedule.
In the opening session, Reeder spoke about leadership in the church. Whenever God is about to do something, he said, “He raises up leaders.” But these are not unaccountable leaders. The essence of Presbyterian government is that “every person is accountable to someone.” His words were a good reminder for any church body, including a presbytery that has seen its share of discipline cases, the effects of some of them rippling until today.
In Acts 6, the account of the establishment of the office of deacon reveals that the work of serving “tables” was not, as one might suppose, the idea of waiters serving food to guests at their tables. Rather, serving tables referred to first century financial accountability. Pastor Reeder pointed out that when Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers, that was the place of handling financial accounts. He emphasized that the reason deacons are ordained is because they perform elder duties; duties that have been delegated to them (such as church finances).
Pastor Stephen Estock followed Reeder. The coordinator for the PCA’s Committee on Discipleship Ministries (CDM) – and from 1995-2002 the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Montgomery (in whose former building the conference took place) – Estock reminded the gathering of a maxim of one of the PCA’s founding fathers, ruling elder W. Jack Williamson, who referred to the BCO’s preface and preliminary principles as “the spectacles by which we read the Book of Church Order.” If we find ourselves using some portion of the BCO to violate the preface or preliminary principles, “we are probably in error,” noted Estock.
He went on to focus on the office of deacon – although no small part of his commentary applied to elders as well. If you have been elected by your church to an office, then according to our constitution, which is subordinate to the Scriptures, “God has placed you there.” And that should be of great encouragement. Estock observed that because deacons exercise spiritual authority, that is why the office is open only to men. In exercising this authority, deacons, he said, “. . . are stewarding the gifts and administering them in the life of the congregation.” Noting that he was ordained as a deacon in 1989 and remains conscious of his call to serve, Pastor Estock also observed that BCO 9-7 allows a session to “appoint” (not ordain) godly men and women to assist the deacons. In some churches this is termed a “shepherdess” ministry.
Referring to the account of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet (John 13), Estock said, “This practical service was pointing to a greater spiritual reality,” one to be fulfilled by Christ within hours. Significantly, the Spirit who enabled Jesus to wash His betrayer Judas’s feet is the same Spirit who enables officers today to serve those whom they may be disinclined to serve. “Those you serve must see you as a servant,” he concluded.
Following Estock’s presentation, the attendees enjoyed a delicious luncheon prepared by the ladies of First Presbyterian which also provided an opportunity to catch up or connect with other brothers in the presbytery.
In an afternoon panel discussion moderated by Mr. McLure, there were a number of thoughtful questions and exhortations mentioned, including the following:
- “How can I be a friend in a way that happens to line up with my calling as a deacon?”
- There is benefit in the ministry of listening, assisted by the acronym WAIT (Why Am I Talking).
- As a leader, you ought to always have somebody else with you, learning.
- There are times when the Aquila-and-Priscilla model is appropriate, such as when visiting a woman in the hospital after surgery.
- The Church’s narrow mission is to make disciples; the Christian’s broader mission is to be salt-and-light.
- Cultural transformation is not the Church’s objective; individual transformation (discipleship) is the Church’s objective; cultural transformation is the consequence of aggregate, sinner transformations.
Pastor Reeder wrapped up the program, returning to the theme of leadership in the context of church officership. He noted the term “likewise” in I Timothy 3:8-12’s list of requirements for deacons “throws elders and deacons back into each other’s laps.” Beginning with the officers, “. . . the church needs to become a leadership factory,” Reeder asserted. (Especially in days of cultural dissolution and some of the worst ecclesiastical and political leadership in human history, this exhortation is desperately needed – see also Exodus 18:21’s teaching on leadership.) Reeder added, “The relationship of deacons and elders needs to be cohesive and not competitive. . . . We don’t do leadership teams, we do teams of leaders. . . . Godly leaders are office-bearers, not office-wearers. . . . Godliness is more important than giftedness.”
In his closing comments, the longtime pastor of Briarwood suggested that Paul’s statement that deacons are to be affirmed in this life is instructive: “For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 3:13). In contrast, the elder’s affirmation comes later: “. . . when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (I Peter 5:4). Perhaps the deacon’s affirmation (high standing) while in the earthly tent is intended to recognize that his service, oftentimes, entails laborious duty that remains mostly unseen, except, that is, by the True Deacon, Jesus Christ.
Forrest Marion is a ruling elder in Eastwood Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Montgomery, Ala.
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Our Suffering Profits Us and Benefits Others
There is no power in our strength, but there is much power in our weakness—God’s power—made infinitely more visible and glorious against the backdrop of our frail humanity. I am convinced that the more trials we endure, the more opportunities God will give us to comfort those who will have to walk where we have limped so that we may dispense the same grace that we received along the way.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake…
Colossians 1:24
The apostle Paul rejoiced in his sufferings because he knew that God was using them to produce growth in his own life through the experience of receiving divine comfort, which would then touch the lives of those whom he served. Writing to the Corinthians, he says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:3–4). Suffering enhances ministry because it produces a common ground on which to relate to others who are in the midst of the same types of trials that we have already experienced and endured.
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The Childhood Influences of Stonewall Jackson
Written by David T. Crum |
Monday, May 22, 2023
Eventually becoming a Presbyterian as an adult, Jackson held firmly to the Providential view of God, noting that nothing occurred in life without God’s blessing, guidance, and will. We can argue that Providence further shaped Jackson into the man he became. The Lord molded Stonewall Jackson from his early childhood years. Of course, the man experienced great sadness and heartache; however, perseverance, determination, morality, and discipline made him the general he was. His boyhood years set the stage for the legend himself.Anyone familiar with Stonewall Jackson knows that the man experienced significant sorrow in his boyhood. Orphaned at age seven, Jackson lost his father and mother within a few short years. His older brother, Warren, whom he spent a significant amount of time with, died at the age of 20. Jackson, too young to remember his father, had several instrumental figures in his life who helped rear him into the man he became.
The memories of his mother, Julia, lay imprinted in his mind throughout his adult life. She was a kind, Christian woman who loved her children dearly. Jackson’s second wife, Anna, wrote of her impact on the young boy, “Such a mother could not but leave a deep impression upon the heart of such a son. To the latest hour of his life, he cherished her memory.”[i] Years after the death of Jackson’s father (Jonathan), Julia re-married a man named Blake B. Woodson. Unable to provide for the remaining Jackson children, the siblings separated, being sent to extended family. The separation devastated young Jackson and his mother:
Julia Woodson sobbed uncontrollably as she hugged her small son and tried to tell him goodbye. The child fought back tears while being placed on a horse. As the party of riders started away, the hysterical mother ran to her son and held him once more. Julia Woodson never recovered from that farewell. As for Jackson, his second wife observed many years later: That parting he never forgot; nor could he speak of it in future years but with the utmost tenderness.[ii]
A short time later, Julia gave birth to another boy (Wirt Woodson) and never recovered from a difficult childbirth. She died in December 1831. Though Jackson was a young boy, his memories of his mother never left his soul. On her deathbed, she prayed earnestly for the salvation of her children, knowing her time had ended.
Jackson’s older brother Warren played a vital role in his life, serving as another Christian example. Though the brothers spent several years apart in separate families, they united a number of times, even taking a nearly year-long journey together from Virginia to Ohio. Warren, by all accounts, was a mature young man who followed in his mother’s footsteps and relied on prayer in every aspect of life. As an adult, Jackson spoke fondly of Warren’s legacy, underscoring his Christian influence.
However, Jackson noted Uncle Cummins served as his life’s most significant role model. As a young adult, he wrote to his sister Laura, “Uncle had recently received a letter from our cousins in California and they say that Uncle Cummins is undoubtedly dead. This is news which goes to my heart, uncle was a father to me.”[iii]
Cummins, the half-brother of Jonathan (Jackson’s father), raised Jackson. He remained single his entire life, living on hundreds of acres. Here, Jackson roamed the land, learned how to ride horses, cut down lumber, and became the resilient and brave man the reader knows him as. Cummins, a laid-back uncle, let Jackson discover many of life’s questions independently. He did, however, instill discipline, bravery, and courage in the young boy. Anna later remarked that Cummins treated Jackson as if he were his own son. It was Cummins who shared the opportunity to attend West Point and urged his nephew to apply for the opening. The man was not perfect, and is said to have chased wealth to a disastrous level. Nevertheless, Cummins saw a gift in Jackson. The traits of resiliency, honor, and bravery grew exponentially in his young teenage years.
Before attending West Point, Jackson was a deputy constable, collecting debt. He gained this position around the age of 16 or 17, which was unusual. However, the local town’s officials knew of his reputation, honor, and strong moral character. The vocation was difficult; Jackson often collected judgments upon locals and even extended family. He disliked this position and longed for a change, which came with his invitation to study at West Point.
Outside of the family’s influence on Jackson, the Lord guided the boy into a man. Julia’s nurturing and prayers inarguably planted a seed of faith in the boy’s heart. By his latter teenage years, Jackson walked into town to attend church on his own. He sat alone in a pew at the back of the church. He borrowed Christian books from a friend’s library and contemplated morality. Biographer James I. Robertson Jr. supported Christianity’s influence in Jackson’s life, “At an impressionable period of Jackson’s life, religion entered his soul. He took it seriously. Sometime before 1841, he began praying nightly.”[iv]
Eventually becoming a Presbyterian as an adult, Jackson held firmly to the Providential view of God, noting that nothing occurred in life without God’s blessing, guidance, and will. We can argue that Providence further shaped Jackson into the man he became.
The Lord molded Stonewall Jackson from his early childhood years. Of course, the man experienced great sadness and heartache; however, perseverance, determination, morality, and discipline made him the general he was. His boyhood years set the stage for the legend himself.
David Crum holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology. He serves as an Assistant Professor of History and Dissertation Chair. His research interests include the history of warfare and Christianity. He and his family attend Trinity Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Bedell, New Brunswick.[i] Mary Anna Jackson, Life and Letters of General Thomas J. Jackson, (1892; reprint, New York: Harper & Brothers, 2019), 21.
[ii] James I. Robertson, Jr., Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend, (New York: Macmillan, 1997), 9.
[iii] Thomas J. Jackson, “Letter. Stonewall Jackson to his sister Laura. July 7, 1850”, https://digitalcollections.vmi.edu/digital/collection/p15821coll4/id/121/rec/22 (accessed December 15, 2022).
[iv] Robertson, Jr., Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend, 19.
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Job The Suffering Prophet (5): Job Loses Everything
Job has lost everything. He is devastated and grief-stricken beyond words. He has gone from being the greatest man of the east to living on the town dunghill, scratching his skin with pieces of pottery to ease his itchy pain. But despite all of this, nothing can separate him from the love of God, certainly not the scheming of Satan. Despite every appearance to the contrary, Job is more than a conqueror. And so are we, if our trust is in Jesus Christ. For nothing can separate from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not sickness. Not loss. Not death. God has not promised that we will not suffer. But be has promised that he will turn all evil to good. And this is what we learn from the sufferings of Job, who points us to the suffering and dying of our Savior, that one whose suffering redeems us from our sin, that Savior who knows what human suffering is like, and who promises to restore us and vindicate us in the end.
Everyone reading this essay has suffered loss. We have all lost something we prize. Some of us have suffered greatly and must live in constant pain, either physical or emotional, and sometimes both. Yet, no one reading this has lost as much as Job. Like a series of Tsunamis, the bad news of Satan’s handiwork begins to come, wave after wave after wave.
As we continue our look at Job, the suffering prophet, we come to verse 13 of chapter one, where we read “one day [probably that day when Job offered burnt offerings] when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, `The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” The Sabeans are Arab Bedouins, who not only took all of Job’s livestock, they killed all of the servants. But this is only the beginning.
According to verse 16, the earth itself seemed to turn against Job. “While he [the first messenger] was still speaking, another messenger came and said, `The fire of God [probably a reference to a lightening storm] fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” A devastating blow. Yet another wave of bad news was still to hit. “While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, `The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!’”
But Job’s loss is still not over. Another, even more painful blow was soon to fall. “While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, `Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
In but the span of a few moments, Job learns that all his wealth has been destroyed and stolen. The joy of his life–his seven sons and three daughters–had been taken from him. Only the messengers have been spared so as to bring Job the news that the accumulated fruit of a lifetime of work is now gone. Marauding enemies and the forces of nature appeared to conspire to bring Job to his knees.
The way in which this horrible loss occurred not only conceals the hand of God, but also the hand of Satan. Remember, Job does not know of the heavenly scene, nor the divine permission given to Satan to afflict him. If Job were an atheist, he would have had an explanation for what has just happened. The world is a cruel place, red in tooth and claw. If Job were a polytheist, a dualist, a materialist, or a fatalist, he would have had a ready explanation for his loss–human weakness, the forces of nature, or the eternal struggle between good (spirit) and evil (things material).[1]
But Job believes in the living God, who is sovereign over the forces of nature as well as the enemies to the east. Job knows that his God is supremely good. Therefore, Job knows that these things have befallen him only because the good and almighty God has either brought these things to pass, or else has permitted these things to occur. And this brings us to the mystery of the suffering of the righteous.
Job Praises God Despite All that Has Happened
The knowledge that God is both good and sovereign serves as the basis for Job’s reaction to this horrible news, as recounted in verses 20-21. “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head,” a common gesture of grief. Overcome with shock at the realization of his loss, Job “fell to the ground in worship and said: `Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.’” Even as the reader’s heart aches for Job, this grief-stricken man still utters words of faith. As one writer puts it, Job knows “that a man may stand before God stripped of everything, and still lack nothing.”[2] Surely, the sentiment expressed in Psalm 73:25 comes to Job’s mind, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” And yet Job’s faith does not relieve his suffering, it only makes it worse.[3]
The God whom Job loves has brought this to pass. Job has done nothing to deserve what has happened. And still, Job praises God. As we read in verse 22, “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” Job knows there is a reason for this situation, even if he must wait to discover it. From his now-broken heart, Job pours forth a doxology of praise at news of the loss of everything.
Yet, Job’s ordeal is far from over. Things are only going to get worse as yet another heavenly scene is revealed.
The Second Heavenly Scene
Satan is once again summoned before the heavenly court but this time is strangely silent about the results of Job’s first ordeal. It is the Lord who calls Satan’s attention to what has happened to Job. As we read in 2:1-3, “On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the LORD said to Satan, `Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the LORD, `From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.’ Then the LORD said to Satan, `Have you considered my servant Job?
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