Ordination

Today my former church had a pre-ordination council for their new pastor, Scott Elston. Several association churches were represented to interview Scott, and everyone involved in the council were very impressed with his passion for ministry and commitment to doing the will of God. Scott is a bivocational minister who has a job that often requires him to work overtime. The council asked the church to ensure that Scott does not over-extend himself and burn out which is good advice for every bivocational church.

The council brought back a flood of memories for me. Twenty-five years ago this same church ordained me to the ministry. It hardly seems possible that I have been in the ministry that long, and I had to double-check my ordination certificate to make sure that was right. I was also amazed to read the names of the people who signed my certificate. Some were at today's meeting as well, although many had gone on to be with the Lord or moved to other minstries in other parts of the country.

Scott will have what is called a local church ordination which is the same that I have. Neither of us meet the educational requirement for an ordination that is fully recognized in our denomination. That's fine with me as I believe that only God can call a person into the ministry and that a church has the authority to recognize that call through ordaining the person. Denominations can only recognize what God and the church has already done. While I disagree with any educational requirement that would have prevented Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul from being ordained (!), that's up to the denomination.

If any denominational leaders read this post, I would encourage you to re-examine your educational requirements for ordination, especially if you recognize the value of bivocational ministers. Many bivos will not meet those educational standards, and even many entering fully-funded ministry are opting for different degrees than seminaries traditionally offered ministerial students.

Even though my current ministry prevents me from attending our home church very often my wife and I remain members of our previous church. I am glad to have Scott as my pastor. He is a young man who is sold out to the will of God in his life, and I believe God will use him in a great way. May his tribe increase!