The BCO is very clear as to who the leaders of the church are—teaching elders, ruling elders, and deacons. All are ordained. No one should be appointed or “commissioned” to hold an officer-like position without being ordained as an actual officer…A deaconess is an officer-like position, or at least gives the appearance of being such. The language of “commissioned deaconess” is confusing to both church officers and laity. And “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

While the PCA’s Book of Church Order (BCO) allows for only men to be ordained as deacons, some PCA churches have “commissioned” women as deaconesses. This issue was brought to the forefront with a 2008 article written by PCA pastor Tim Keller in ByFaith magazine, titled, “The Case for Commissioning (Not Ordaining) Deaconesses.” Keller stated, “Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City has since its inception commissioned (but not ordained) deaconesses working alongside male deacons in diaconal work.”[1] He then went on to defend Redeemer’s practice. It is now the case that many PCA churches have deaconesses and even list them on their church websites (though it is not always clear if and how they are “commissioned”).

Is “commissioning” deaconesses something PCA churches should do? In response to this question, the first thing to consider (polity-wise) is what the PCA’s BCO says about the subject. The BCO does use the language of “commissioning,” but it does so to refer to ordained officers being “commissioned” to a special task, such as a teaching elder who is “commissioned” for the work of an evangelist (BCO 8-6). A presbytery (or session) can also form a “commission” to act on its behalf, which consists of teaching elders and ruling elders (e.g., BCO 5-9). However, the BCO does not speak about anyone being “commissioned” as an elder or deacon, for the simple reason that elders and deacons are “ordained” (and installed) to office—“Those who have been called to office in the Church are to be inducted by the ordination of a court” (BCO 17–1).

The BCO also states that the offices of elder and deacon are limited to men—“In accord with Scripture, these offices are open to men only” (BCO 7-2). Accordingly, the BCO does not ever speak of a “deaconess.” The BCO does allow for a church’s Session to “appoint” women (and men) to serve as “assistants to the deacons” (BCO 9-7). Yet there is no provision for “commissioning” such persons. Diaconal assistants “are not officers of the church, and, as such, are not subjects for ordination” (BCO 9-7).

The response of advocates of “commissioning” deaconesses is that the practice is permitted because such women are not ordained and do not hold office. Advocates also generally argue that Scripture allows for deaconesses, citing passages such as 1 Timothy 3:11 and Romans 16:1. However, this is an inconsistent position. For the language of “commissioning” in both Scripture and the BCO is associated with positions of authority and thus is not fitting for non-officers in the church, especially when such non-officers are “commissioned” to an officer-like position.

There are arguments against understanding 1 Timothy 3:11 and Romans 16:1 as examples of deaconesses.[2] However, individual conscience in interpreting Scripture does not allow one to violate the BCO. If a PCA church thinks the BCO is out of step with Scripture on this point, it can leave the PCA for a more suitable denomination (such as the EPC, which allows even the ordination of women as deacons). Alternatively, a PCA church in disagreement with the BCO can submit to its Constitution in good faith and seek to persuade the denomination to change the BCO via a constitutional overture. However, a church does not have the right to change the PCA’s practice by other means, such as circumventing the BCO and hoping it catches on.

A Confusing Category

We now turn to the argument for why churches (and especially PCA churches) should avoid the practice of “commissioning” deaconesses. The chief problem with “commissioned deaconesses” is that this is a confusing category. The language of “deaconess” sounds like the female counterpart to a male deacon. And since male deacons are ordained in the PCA, the language of “deaconess” gives the appearance of a woman either being ordained to office or holding a position similar to a male deacon. Even if there is a technical distinction between “deacon” and “deaconess,” English often uses the -ess suffix to modify a noun for a woman (e.g., a female waiter is called a waitress).

Confusion is multiplied with the addition of the word “commissioned.” According to Merriam-Webster, the verb “commission” means to “to furnish with a commission: such as to appoint or assign to a task or function.” So a “commissioned deaconess” is a woman who is assigned the function of a deaconess. But what is a deaconess? If she is a female deacon, then this sounds like an office. Thus, “commissioned deaconesses” appear to carry the title and duties of ordained deacons without the formal office. It appears to be a half-way position that allows women to serve in the diaconal role without explicitly violating the BCO.

Of course, we cannot know the motives of all who advocate “commissioning” deaconesses. But at least one advocate, Tim Keller, stated, “If we were in the EPC and we were allowed one way or the other, I’m pretty sure Ligon would not have women deacons, and I would, yes.”[3] Notice Keller said “women deacons” and not “deaconesses”—and the EPC is a denomination that allows women to be ordained as deacons (and elders).[4] Regardless of the motives of those advocating “commissioned deaconesses” in the PCA, it is hard to deny that this category confuses people. Keller admitted such in 2009 when he said of deaconesses at Redeemer: “There’s definitely been some confusion… I’ve had constant flack…outside our church from the denomination” (though he said that “inside the church it has not created that much confusion”).[5]

The distinction between the words “commissioned” and “ordained” is also unclear to many (more on this below). Yet this is even more the case if churches are holding public “commissioning” services that involve the laying on of hands, prayer, a charge, and/or vows. Deacons take vows upon ordination and installation, they are set apart by prayer and the laying on of hands, and they receive a charge (“exhortation”) (BCO 24-6; cf. 17-2). So if any of these things accompany the “commissioning” of a deaconess, this would further resemble an ordination service.

If the PCA wants to protect its doctrine of church office, then it should seek to avoid confusion surrounding its officers. The Western church faces significant pressure from the culture to permit women to hold office and exercise leadership in the church. Presbyterian denominations such as the PCUSA, EPC, ECO, and ARP have not resisted such pressure. However, the PCA has resisted, and its opposition to the ordination of women was even important to the denomination’s formation in 1973. So if the PCA wants to avoid the appearance of yielding to egalitarianism, then it should avoid any appearance that women hold office in PCA churches. If “commissioned deaconesses” even appear to some people to be the female counterpart to male deacons, then PCA churches should avoid the practice.

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