I’m a pastor. On a day to day basis I do the things a pastor does. I visit the sick, lead Bible studies, pray with the hurting, preside at Holy Communion, conduct premarital counseling, prepare sermons, baptize babies, attend church meetings. And so for many it is surprising to hear that I am not ordained.
In the United Methodist Church, ordination is understood to be a gift of God whereby baptized Christians with particular gifts and graces are called forth to lead the church in its mission and ministry. Based on the example of the apostolic church in the book of Acts, ordination is the act of setting apart persons with a particular calling and giftedness to preach the Word, administer the sacraments, model the servant ministry of Jesus, and order the life of the church.
The reason I’m not ordained yet is because we also believe that ordination is not a gift to be taken lightly. Ordained ministers make a conscious commitment to live out the whole gospel, and proclaim the truth of Jesus with their lives. The call to ordained ministry cannot be discerned alone or with haste, but requires the entire Christian community to spend time in prayer and conversation, discerning who the Holy Spirit has gifted and called to ordained ministry.
12 years ago, I began to sense that God was calling me to ordained ministry. I began talking and praying with my pastors and other members of my church. In time, my home church named the gifts of God within me and formally recommended that I become a candidate for ordination. I then spent seven years in schooling, studying the scriptures, learning Christian orthodoxy, discovering the art of pastoral ministry. During that time I met regularly with Methodist lay and clergy persons, who helped me discern God’s call and gifts in my life.
Upon completion of my schooling I was commissioned for ministry and sent to serve my first pastoral appointment. For the past two years I have been surrounded with a community of prayer and support. I have spent time with clergy mentors, received continuing education, and been permitted time to write and reflect deeply on the Christian faith.
And now, after years of prayerful discernment, I find myself two weeks away from my final ordination interviews.
The ordination process has been long, but I can’t help but be thankful for it. More than a bunch of hoops to jump through (though there are some hoops along the way) this process has helped me take my own discipleship to a deeper level. It’s amazing what happens in your life when people are constantly surrounding you in prayer, asking you to think about what God is up to, and challenging you to faithfully live out the gospel of Jesus.
In the midst of it all I have discovered that ordination is not about receiving some special standing in the Kingdom of God. Ordained ministers are sinners in need of God’s grace just like everyone else. Rather, ordination is about learning to follow Jesus, so that others might be shown the way. My prayer is that as an ordained minister, I can be part of the discernment process with others, praying with them about what God is up to in their lives and how Jesus is challenging them to “follow me.”
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete