Back in July of this year, Tim accepted a call to serve on the OPC Committee on Diaconal Ministries. Tim now serves as a local deacon at Shiloh OPC in Raleigh, a regional deacon (Presbytery of the Southeast) and now on the denominational level. Read as Tim takes a few minutes to tell us about himself, the diaconate and his desire to serve the Lord on many diaconal levels.
By God’s grace, I was raised by faithful, believing parents and don’t remember a day I didn’t know Christ; when I was in high school, we joined a presbyterian (EPC) congregation, and I became a convicted confessional presbyterian after reading G.I. Williamson’s study guide to the Westminster Confession after my sophomore year of college.
My first exposure to the OPC was attending Memorial OPC in Rochester, NY during a summer internship in college. After college, I joined Providence OPC in Charlottesville, VA, and in 2010, I moved to Raleigh, NC for grad school and joined Shiloh OPC.
My parents always set an example for my sisters and me by faithful serving in our churches wherever they could. I have always aspired to follow their example, and that was noticed by a brother at Shiloh who nominated me to be a deacon when I was 26. I was ordained and installed at Shiloh in February 2013, and I have served at Shiloh ever since. My wife Maggie joined me at Shiloh when we got married in 2015; we now have two little boys and a third baby on the way.
The deacon is called to enable the church to love the Lord with heart, soul, mind, and strength as we free the Session for their ministry of word and prayer; likewise, we are called to love our neighbor (and call the congregation to love of neighbor) as we minister to the poor, sick, and lonely. In this way, the calling of the deacon is a calling of obedience to the greatest commandments, and it is a privilege for me to serve in this calling.
In 2015, I attended the first Presbytery of the Southeast diaconal conference and was invigorated at the idea of connectional diaconal ministry among our regional church. When my pastor asked if he could nominate me to serve on the presbytery diaconal committee (PDC) the next year, I jumped at the opportunity, and I have served on the committee since then.
Over the years, the CDM has blessed and strengthened Shiloh’s diaconate through the summits in Wheaton and other training resources. On the PDC, we work closely with the CDM to meet needs in our local churches, train and equip our local diaconates, and serve the presbytery in disaster response. I thank the Lord for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, her congregations, and her committees, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the CDM.