The Bible and Ordination -- Reflections on a Theology of Ministry
Fifth posting in series on Developing a Theology of Ministry
The idea of professional ministry as
we know it today is not present in the New Testament. The idea of a church professional is a modern
concept that very likely would be foreign to the authors of the New Testament
and the churches of that era. That
doesn’t make it an invalid development, but we must treat this question with
care. There are, however, structures and
officers present in the text that may suggest a foundation for considering what
it means to be called to ordained ministry.
Thus, Corinth and Ephesus offer
contrasting examples of such structural elements. The Corinthian church appears to have had a
fairly informal structure, one guided by spiritually discerning elders
(therefore it is not surprising that we find the bulk of teaching on spiritual
gifts in a letter written to this church).
But, remember that this is written by Paul early in the life of the
Christian movement. It should be noted
too that this church seems to have a lot of difficulty ordering itself. Ephesus, on the other hand, seems to have had
a more formal structure that included apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors
and teachers (Eph. 4:11). This letter,
possibly written sometime after Paul’s death, suggests that over time churches
may have discerned the need for more structure.
Finally, there is the first letter to Timothy, written it seems to the
pastor of the Ephesian church by a later disciple of Paul (later first
century), where you have bishops (elders), presbyters, and deacons. In this
discussion of presbyters (elders/pastors) and episcope (bishops/elders), the Pastorals flesh out a relationship
between the church and its leaders that looks much different from the much
earlier Corinthian church. By the
beginning of the second century the church has moved into even more formal
forms of leadership.
The responsibilities of a typical
pastor can be found described in the first letter to Timothy, where an older
experienced pastor encourages a young pastor not let the people despise him for
his youth. Instead, Timothy's mentor
tells him to set an example in his speech and conduct, and "give attention
to the public reading of Scripture, to exhorting, to teaching." Finally, Timothy is told not to "neglect
the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the
laying on of hands by the council of elders." (1 Tim. 4:12-14). This reference to a gift given by laying on
of hands is the biblical foundation for an ordained ministry. Later in the letter, the author tells Timothy
to rekindle this gift. Vocational
ministry, therefore, is in the words of this biblical writer a matter of
giftedness, which must be rekindled on occasion.[i]
If ministry is rooted in giftedness,
is there a place for more priestly leadership?
In most mainline traditions (the Disciples of Christ being something of
an anomaly, at least to a degree), there is a category of ministry called
“minister of word and sacrament.” Such
ministries have liturgical/sacramental functions reserved to them. Although in the Disciples tradition lay
elders may preach and celebrate the sacraments, with the exception of the
prayer at the table, the clergy normally preside over worship. If, however, we are all priests, ordained at
baptism, should there be a separate order of priestly ministers? This is a question that each tradition will
have to wrestle with. I’m not sure that
a strict distinction can be made, at least on biblical grounds.
As it has come down through the
centuries, ordination is a process that sets men and women apart for specific
forms of vocational ministry.
Congregations, denominations, seminaries are charged with discerning
whether candidates have the gifts and calling for this type of ministry. Following the instructions of 1 Timothy, the
church (whatever its appropriate form in each tradition) lays hands on the
candidate, commissioning that person and praying that the Spirit might indwell
and empower them for service to the church and the world (1 Tim. 4:14).[ii]
Whatever authority such a person has
within the congregation is rooted in that congregation. It is the Spirit who gifts, empowers, and
commissions, and thus bishops, elders, congregations simply are the conveyers
of that tradition. By recognizing a
pastor’s ordination, a congregation receives that person’s leadership and
guidance. Tradition and history help us
understand how this authority should be exercised in the life of a
congregation. Though our churches may
use a variety of structural forms, it is important to recognize that the church
is not a democracy, ruled by majority vote.
It is also not an autocracy, the rule of an elite group of clergy, or a
monarchy for that matter. The church is
guided and led by the Spirit of God who speaks through pastors, elders,
deacons, prophets, and just ordinary believers.
If modern concepts of ordained
ministry are foreign to the New Testament, though we find concepts and ideas
that might influence the way we envision ministry, is ordination something to
hang on to? Do we need human credentials
to affirm a call to ministry?
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