In moving forward, practical and intentional actions should be considered. The PCA Book of Church Order encourages the elders of our churches to “select and appoint godly men and women” to assist the Deacons in “caring for the sick, the widows, the orphans, the prisoners, and others who may be in any distress or need” (BCO 9-7). Godly women in our congregations should be encouraged to reach out to the women and children of minority communities–intentionally welcoming and integrating them into the activities of our local churches. It seems to me that this is a tangible and positive step forward. 

In recent years, two ecclesiological issues have come to overshadow almost all others–namely, racial reconciliation and the role of women in the church. There is no shortage of Biblical and historical teaching on these issues, but a serious consideration of Acts 6 is in order if we are seeking to shed light on the way in which these two important matters are met by the formation of the Diaconate (diakonia). In short, Acts 6:1-7 is exceedingly instructive in helping to pave the way toward greater ethnic and gender inclusion in the church.

In Acts 6:1-7, we discover one of the God-instituted means of fostering unity in Christ among various groups in the church in which strong cultural and social differences existed. In the context of the early church, these difference were not limited to, yet included culture and language. At the inception of the New Covenant church, certain Christian Hellenistic Jews–who had not come from the mainstream Hebraic culture of the Apostles–began to complain about discrimination in the daily distributions. The Scriptures do not tell us whether the complaint was verifiable or whether it was a false accusation. Regardless, ignoring the complaint or dismissing it as a simple “misunderstanding” was not the solution proposed by the Apostles. Nor was the solution to follow the common temptation to separate minorities according to their language or cultural preference. Rather, the solution was to form the diakonia. The Apostles insisted that it was their duty to give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word (diakonia tou logou), while the church was to elect and ordain certain men to the ministry of the tables (diakonein trapezais). This was the way in which the Apostles solved the problem of disunity.

This solution secured the inclusion and appreciation of the Hellenistic members of the church. Interestingly, the majority of the seven men whom the church appointed to the work themselves had Hellenistic names–names that would have sounded foreign to any of the Christians whose principle languages were Aramaic and Hebrew. It would have been similar to the way in which Spanish names sound foreign to most in churches in the English speaking world today. Despite their Hellenistic names and cultural background, they were empowered to fulfill the office and role of the Diaconate.

It is important for us to note that the institution of the Diaconate arose in the middle of a crisis, in which the unity of the church was in danger. The Apostles were firm in their insistence that Christ was the reason for and source of their unity. The reaffirmation of the role of the Apostles and the institution of Diaconate reflects the radical character of that unity.

The Gospel came to break down the walls of separation between God and man through the ministry of the Word and prayer. That was part of the ministry of the Apostles and they devoted themselves to it with the goal of spiritual reconciliation. However, the impact of that vertical reconciliation also has the horizontal aspect of bringing unity among different groups under the Crucified One who is the center of the apostolic preaching and prayer. When Christ was on Earth physically, He was commissioned His disciples with the preaching of the Word, and, with the secondary but important task of giving attention to the physical needs of the people. This is especially so in the quest for compassion and unity. In Acts 6, the Apostles relinquished an important aspect of their original apostolic duties, namely, the duty of taking care of the physical and material needs of the poor. in the context of unity and reconciliation, it may be more fitting to call these seven men “apostolic deacons”–precisely because they were the appointed servants to whom this apostolic duty was delegated.

Deacons have been given the glorious and spiritual call to lead the church toward service. Racial reconciliation, unity, and the inclusion of believing minorities in the church is one of the important aspects of this service today. While reconciliation and unity is the duty of all members of the church – both officers and lay people – the officers are the ones who have been called by God to exercise leadership in this area. Diaconal work is important in order to achieve the goals of reconciliation and inclusion of minorities.

The second matter to which we must turn our attention is that which concerns the impact of this situation on the role of women in the Church. It was women who set the background and the raison d’être of this institution.

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