The United Methodist Deacon: Ordained to Word, Service, Compassion, and Justice

By Margaret Ann Crain

The United Methodist order of deacon represents the ever-evolving understanding of ordained ministry. But because of the continual changes, there is confusion about the call, roll, identity, and tasks of deacons. With vivid examples, this book gives a clear understanding of the order of deacon, beginning with a discussion of how its unique call sets apart persons for ordained ministry. Contents include:


A Deacon Is Called and Sent
A Deacon Is Connectional
A Deacon Is Missional
A Deacon Is Examined and Equipped
The Meaning of Ordination
A Deacon Is Appointed
Deacons Lead the Church
Epilogue: A Snapshot of Deacons and Their Ministry

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Release date: Mar 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781426786389

Margaret Ann Crain

Margaret Ann Crain was ordained in 1997 and is a deacon in full connection in the Northern Illinois Conference. She served churches in Missouri and North Georgia before joining the faculty of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary where she taught Christian education and qualitative research. As Director of Deacon Studies, she created a program that supported, advocated for, and trained many deacons when the new order was created in 1996. Crain retired as Professor Emerita. Her most recent book is The United Methodist Deacon: Ordained to Word, Service, Compassion, and Justice. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Book preview

9781426776113_cover.jpg

Halftitle

The

United

Methodist

Deacon

Title

15415.png

Praise for The United Methodist Deacon

The Rev. Dr. Margaret Ann Crain has both the heart of a deacon and a teacher. This book should be required reading for every bishop, district superintendent, elder, deacon, DCOM and BOM member, candidate, and theological school professor. It is biblically, historically, and theologically well-grounded, yet easy to read. It includes several ‘case studies’ presented to make the case of the importance of deacons to the church and world. In one small book Dr. Crain presents the ministry of the United Methodist Deacon in the most forthright way to date.

—Patty Meyers, Professor of Christian Education,

Pfeiffer University; and Deacon, Oregon-Idaho Annual

Conference of The United Methodist Church

This is a book for the future—a future in which many thousands of deacons serve church and world with a passion for servant ministry and a conviction of their distinct calling. Margaret Ann Crain describes this future with clarity and intelligence, giving the church a fresh and promising language for an office established in this form less than twenty years ago. This is not a handbook, yet anyone considering becoming a deacon, or anyone who has never considered it but wants to find a way to serve on behalf of God’s people in the world, should read it. This is not a manifesto, yet anyone from lay persons to local pastors to elders will find here a compelling vision for the church’s ministries. Rich with stories of deacons who are physicians, attorneys, musicians, educators, admissions officers, counselors, and advocates for people in need, this book demonstrates that the work of the deacon is the work of the church.

—Thomas Edward Frank, University Professor, Wake Forest University

With a clear description of the identity and role of deacons and with compelling stories that represent the variety of ministries to which deacons are called, Margaret Ann Crain provides a hope-filled examination of the ministry of deacons in The United Methodist Church. It describes how deacons, who move between the church gathered and the church dispersed, can be a catalyst to ‘making disciples for the transformation of the world.’ It should be required reading for all United Methodists, especially those who are discerning a call to ordained ministry.

—Virginia A. Lee, Associate Professor of Christian Education, Director of Deacon Studies, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Copyright

THE UNITED METHODIST DEACON

ORDAINED TO WORD, SERVICE, COMPASSION, AND JUSTICE

Copyright © 2014 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801 or [e-mail].

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Crain, Margaret Ann.

   The United Methodist deacon: ordained to word, service, compassion, and justice / Margaret Ann Crain.

      1 online resource.

   Includes bibliographical references.

   Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

   ISBN 978-1-4267-8638-9 (epub)—ISBN 978-1-4267-7611-3 (pbk./trade : alk. paper) 1. Deacons—United Methodist Church (U.S.) I. Title.

   BX8389.5

   262’.1476—dc23

2014002956

All Scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Deacon crest © United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Used by permission.

Passages from The Promise of the United Methodist Order of Deacon in the Twenty-First Century: Partners With the Whole People of God by Margaret Ann Crain, (Nashville, Tenn.: copyright 2007 by the General Board of Higher Eduation and Ministry of The United Methodist Church). Used by permission.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. A Deacon Is Called and Sent

What Is a Call?

What Does It Mean to Be Sent?

What Is the Identity of a Deacon?

What Is the Vocation of a Deacon?

Deacons Are Living Out the Wesleyan Model of Social Holiness and Personal Piety

Deacons Are Fruitful

2. A Deacon Is Connectional

Deacons Are Connected to the Christian Community through Tradition

A Deacon Is Connected to the Supervisory Structures of the Church through Appointment

A Deacon Is in Partnership with Laity, Elders, and Bishops

A Deacon Is Connected through Membership in an Order

3. A Deacon Is Missional

Ministry of Word Is Both Embodied and Articulated

Ministry of Service Is to Lead

Ministry of Compassion

Ministry of Justice

Deacons’ Ministries Bridge Church and World as the Ministries Contribute to the Mission of Christ

Deacons Extend the Eucharistic Table

4. A Deacon Is Examined and Equipped

Discernment and Candidacy

Academics

Provisional Membership and Residency

Rule of Life

Skills

Steps to Ordination

5. The Meaning of Ordination

Belonging to the Annual Conference

Reporting to a Charge Conference

Belonging to an Order

The Fellowship of Local Pastors

Part of the Body of Christ, with all Baptized Christians

Relating to the World of Diakonia: Deaconess, Diaconal Minister, and Other Denominations

6. A Deacon Is Appointed

Appointment

Termination

Transitional Leave

Salary

Benefits

7. Deacons Lead the Church

The Church Gathered

The Church Dispersed

A Deacon’s Heart

Epilogue: A Snapshot of Deacons and Their Ministry

Who Are Deacons? What Does Their Ministry Look Like? Describing the Doing (Skills) and Being (Identity) of Deacons

Deacons and the Four Missional Focus Areas

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

Iwish to thank all the deacons and candidates who have shared their stories with me; Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary for offering me the opportunity to make a place for people preparing to be deacons when the order was brand new; Jack L. Seymour for supporting me and the order of deacons as both academic dean and spouse; Jonathan LeMaster-Smith for his research assistance; and Anita Wood for believing in this project and making it happen.

Introduction

Introduction

The 2012 General Conference of The United Methodist Church acted on legislation that empowered and clarified the order of deacon by adding two words that describe the work of the deacon: compassion and justice . Yet, that action was hardly noticed in the chaotic and anxiety-ridden debate relating to the denomination’s stance on sexuality issues. I was there, sitting in the observer section. A few deacons who were in the convention center held their breath as this petition was approved, but the plenary took no notice. In my mind, this action was incredibly important, as it clarified the identity and distinctiveness of the deacon in The United Methodist Church.

The petition was on a consent calendar. The petition amended the Book of Discipline paragraph on the ministry, authority, and responsibilities of deacons in full connection (¶329). The words compassion and justice were added to specify that deacons are ordained by a bishop to a lifetime ministry of Word, Service, Compassion, and Justice. An additional sentence was added: The work of deacons is a work of justice, serving with compassion as they seek to serve those on the margins of society. To me, this signals that The United Methodist Church has now integrated the order of deacons into its collective understanding of how we organize ourselves for ministry. The United Methodist deacon in full connection is here to stay as an accepted part of the denomination’s leadership.

This legislation came from the 2008–2012 Commission on the Study of Ministry. The commission was charged with clarifying the orders. As a part of that work, the commission developed the following chart:

15429.png

All appointed leaders share in the ministry of Word and service. The distinctive ministry of the elder had been clarified many years ago. The elder is ordained to Word, service, sacrament, and order. As long as the deacon was ordained to simply Word and service, some thought of deacons as a sort of junior elder or half an elder. With the addition of the words compassion and justice, the distinctiveness of the deacon comes alive. This action represents a real turning point in the evolution and acceptance of the order of deacon in The UMC. A more complete discussion of this chart will occur in the epilogue.

The United Methodist ordinal now incorporates the distinctive focus of the ministry of deacons. The ordaining bishop will say:

Name, take authority as a deacon

to proclaim the Word of God,

and to lead God’s people

in ministries of compassion and justice,

in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

In parallel fashion, at the time of ordination for elders, the ordinal specifies that the bishop will say:

Name, take authority as an elder

to preach the Word of God,

to administer the Holy Sacraments,

and to order the life of the Church,

in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.¹

The ordaining bishop speaks these words in the heightened, sacred moment when the candidate is kneeling and the bishop is laying hands on the candidate’s head. The traditional ritual, dating back to ancient practices described in the Bible, has a powerful effect on both the witnesses to the ordination and on the one being ordained.

This does not mean, however, that the road for the ordained deacon is rosy—quite the contrary. Misunderstandings and misinformation surround the order of deacons. Many people assume that ordination only applies to those who will serve as pastor of a congregation. Many United Methodists who worship in small congregations have never met a deacon and have no idea what one is. Some annual conferences have very few deacons. When funds are limited, the deacon is often the first to be eliminated from a congregation’s staff. Because deacons must often find their own place to serve, work out their own terms of employment, supply a plan for accountability to the annual conference, and then request that the resident bishop appoint them to that place, far too many deacons end up on transitional leave, the category for ordained persons who do not currently have an appointment. There is no safety net for deacons. Many unemployed deacons report that the bishop and district superintendent do not seem to care. No one offers to help in finding an appropriate appointment. The United Methodist Church has ordained far fewer persons as deacons than as elders. Far too many leaders of The UMC still lack understanding of the order of deacon. Too many candidacy mentors and district committees on ordained ministry do not encourage anyone to seek ordination as a deacon. Too many leaders in The UMC have not seen the potential of an order focused on leading ministries of Word, service, compassion, and justice. We will explore these issues further in chapter 6.

One of the first leaders of deacons at the denominational level was Rev. Joaquin Garcia. I remember him telling a group of seminary students, Don’t wait for the district committee to tell you who you are. You must know and tell them. His advice emphasized the need for deacons to constantly interpret and explain themselves to a church that misunderstands.

The situation is complicated further because the institution in which deacons are explaining themselves, The UMC, is an anxious organization. We are shrinking, and we do not know what to do about it. Our shrinking share of Christianity has made us too quick to point fingers at possible causes and possible cures. We are feeling powerless to stop the slide of the West into secularism. Yet, I think one of the answers for this shrinking denomination is more deacons.