Sitting in Starbucks...
...and experiencing writer's block while working on a sermon. So I decided to take a few minutes out to do some writing here, where thoughts can flow a little more freely.
Tonight, Beverlee Everett and I have the privilege of attending an ordination council. For those of you who have never done such a thing, it's an interesting and uniquely Baptist kind of event. The one to be ordained (the "ordinand") presents a paper that details their theology and understanding of their call to ministry. There are maybe 15 paragraph-length sections to the paper, each of which is read aloud. After the reading of each section, the floor is open to questions from the laity and clergy who have gathered.
Ordination councils run the gamut. Sometimes, there is a learned person who really wants to press a point and so they push the ordinand on one theological issue or another. (Sometimes, it is simply a person who fancies himself or herself learned who presses an issue.) But at some councils, there are a few "softballs" lobbed by the audience but no real substantive theological debate. At my ordination council, I actively asked for questions; I said that I loved to talk and debate this stuff and hoped that we could have some good discussion together. Of course, after that, nobody asked anything. I guess they were afraid to call my bluff. :)
I'm always amazed at the way we Baptists do ordination; it seems amazing that such a ragtag band of clergy and laity could say, "Okay, this person's fit to be ordained," whereas in other denominations, that decision is the province of some elite. What's most fascinating to me is that the paper is always read aloud. I can only guess that it goes back to a time when a significant portion of the audience couldn't read. It's amazing--and more than a little frightening--to think that was the case.
It's enough to make one be much in prayer, for it is only through the Holy Spirit that any good is accomplished.
Tonight, Beverlee Everett and I have the privilege of attending an ordination council. For those of you who have never done such a thing, it's an interesting and uniquely Baptist kind of event. The one to be ordained (the "ordinand") presents a paper that details their theology and understanding of their call to ministry. There are maybe 15 paragraph-length sections to the paper, each of which is read aloud. After the reading of each section, the floor is open to questions from the laity and clergy who have gathered.
Ordination councils run the gamut. Sometimes, there is a learned person who really wants to press a point and so they push the ordinand on one theological issue or another. (Sometimes, it is simply a person who fancies himself or herself learned who presses an issue.) But at some councils, there are a few "softballs" lobbed by the audience but no real substantive theological debate. At my ordination council, I actively asked for questions; I said that I loved to talk and debate this stuff and hoped that we could have some good discussion together. Of course, after that, nobody asked anything. I guess they were afraid to call my bluff. :)
I'm always amazed at the way we Baptists do ordination; it seems amazing that such a ragtag band of clergy and laity could say, "Okay, this person's fit to be ordained," whereas in other denominations, that decision is the province of some elite. What's most fascinating to me is that the paper is always read aloud. I can only guess that it goes back to a time when a significant portion of the audience couldn't read. It's amazing--and more than a little frightening--to think that was the case.
It's enough to make one be much in prayer, for it is only through the Holy Spirit that any good is accomplished.
posted by Rev. Michael Jordan at 5:46 PM
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