ordination
when talking about ecclesiology, the conversation at some point or another will turn to ordination. we have now hit that point in one of our texts. daniel migliore talks about the issues surrounding ordination following the typical arguement about the priesthood of all believers. in my experience, this has often been the trajectory that the conversation follows. why should the church elevate certain persons, when the new testament clearly points toward an egalitarian view? the response is usually something along the lines of getting things like sacraments and doctrine right. so back and forth it goes. migliore is no different. he recognizes the reality of the priesthood of all believers, but also has high regard for the sacraments, especially baptism and eucharist and so he wants to have both. he says, “order is certainly important in the life of the church. polity does matter. the question is whether or not the principles of church order are consistent with the gospel of jesus christ and whether they support rather than suffocate the freedom and gifts of the spirit to all the people of god.” he then goes on to say that when guided by this criteria, church’s should be open to building consensus among everyone and allowing each person to have a voice as well as being open to the changing cultural contexts the church is living in the midst of.
so why focus on ordination? simply put, for selfish reasons. i am in a season of my life where i want to know if i should be seeking ordination, and if so, where. i grew up a united methodist, and my family history is tied to that church. i love most methodist theology and doctrinally i agree with most of what they stand for. but, they have a system that allows bishops to tell their clergy where they are going to serve next. on the one hand this can be a beautiful and spiritual way of doing things, but on the other hand, i don’t want a bishop who doesn’t know me telling me where to live and what kind of church to pastor. i do not believe the holy spirit to be that contrived or controlling. so is my only other option to go free church style and start my own thing and network with friends and friends of friends in order to gain the kind of support i would receive from an established denomination? this seems equally as dangerous and difficult. so what are the options, or are these really the only two? it really bites, if the latter is true. but ultimately the question is economics right? the question is, how am i going to eat, and sleep, and live sustainably? do i really need a piece of paper to tell me that bread and wine are blessed when i pray over them serve them? i think not. do i need a community who gathers around the table under a common understanding of what that act holds for them. absolutely. as a baptized believer, i can baptize anyone with or with out the guy in the funny hat telling me i can. so is the question of ordination really about theology, or is it about getting paid? i’m afraid i know the answer to that question already.