To begin with, the most popular argument I have heard for non-ordained commissioned deaconesses is that the constitution of the PCA BCO does not forbid it. This statement is correct, but I also believe it is not helpful. Liberals use this argument to express that Jesus never spoke about homosexuality. I am not calling my brothers liberals or conflating the two arguments as equal. What I want to point out is that to say Jesus never spoke about homosexuality is correct; the Bible doesn’t record Jesus saying that particular word. However, we push back and explain that just because he didn’t utter the word doesn’t mean he didn’t talk about it. He spoke of marriage (what is permitted) and sexual sin, not to mention the whole of God’s counsel. So the BCO not forbidding the use of non-ordained commissioned deaconesses does not mean the BCO has nothing to say about the diaconate, how Christ has structured his church with two offices of elder and deacon, the purpose of the diaconate, the functions of the diaconate, the organization of the diaconate, or even more specifically, how non-ordained members would be able to assist the diaconate (BCO 9–7).
…Presbyterian polity does not assume that churches may do anything the BCOdoes not explicitly forbid. Instead, it functions by stating what is permitted. The fact that the BCO never prescribes the commissioning of deaconesses, while it does prescribe how godly men and women may assist the diaconate (BCO 9–7), is itself an argument against the practice. The BCO would become unwieldy if it attempted to list every forbidden practice in the church. It would cease to be a constitution of principles and processes and instead become a rulebook of prohibitions. This topic alone would require a list of officially forbidden titles to be given to people. It is far better for the BCO to set forth the offices and their functions Christ has appointed to His Church and to outline the proper process by which the Church should nominate, elect, and install men to those offices and calls. Even how the session may appoint men and women to assist the diaconate.
Read more»Thomas Rickard | “Normative Principle of Polity” | November 4, 2025
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