Ordained Ministers: Biblical?

[Bro. Gabriel]

Is the requirement for Ministers to be "ordained" or "licensed" Biblical? What denominations require this or what is the reasoning behind it? Are we not all to surrender our life to the Ministry as true Believers and Followers of Christ?

[P_G]

Is the requirement for Ministers to be "ordained" or "licensed" Biblical? What denominations require this or what is the reasoning behind it? Are we not all to surrender our life to the Ministry as true Believers and Followers of Christ?


Brother much love to you and blessings on your studies!


Acts 13:
2. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
3. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.



This is your first ordination! Saul (Paul) and Baranbas are now "set apart" from the regular congregation to go forth and evangalize and plant churches and shepherd them. That was the work they were sent to do. That is the work of a Pastor. When all else seems to fall away and the only thing you CAN do is serve G-d thats the call.

The Ordination is mans way of signifying this in a scriptural sense. And to show that they recognize the call of the Holy Spirit for this special job.

Now from a legal stand point licensure provides a legal posistion that allows one to preform marriages and in some places funerals. Many states will not allow a non licensed clergy (elder, deacon etc) to sign a certificate of marriage (in fact I think most will not) It is the states way of ensuring that you are who you say you are and some "body" of beleivers agrees that you are in a pastoral posistion.

Lastly being ordained means that you have no free time and no life that belongs to you. Not ever again. It means 4 hour nights and 20 hour days. Low pay and little recognition.

But hey the retirement benefits are out of this world!


Love

Pastor George :wave:

[JVAC]

Is the requirement for Ministers to be "ordained" or "licensed" Biblical? What denominations require this or what is the reasoning behind it? Are we not all to surrender our life to the Ministry as true Believers and Followers of Christ?
Here is one refference:

5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless-not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
(from New International Version)The greek is episkopos [translated by NIV as elder], which is generally treated as Bishop in the KJV or overseer in other translations. NIV might not do it justice. This is one of the main refferences to ordained clergy.

Not to mention, Christ designated certain people as "Apostles" [sent out] to go forth and preach. Church tradition has kept that only those who are called to be part of the ministry and ordained in that line should be Bishops, Presbyters, Ministers of the Word and Sacraments.

-James

[LuxPerpetua]

As Christians we are all called to be the strongest Christians we can be, including being prepared to tell others about our faith. However, we are not all called for the same functions in the church--some are called to be preachers, some are called to sing in the choir, some are called to teach Sunday School (okay, I'm taking a rather modern license to Acts 6:4, 1 Cor 12), but the same spirit holds true of "one body, many parts."

As far as ordination, this is how I understand it: Clergy should be called by God to be ministers, since only God can supply the talents necessary for effective preaching. If someone has been "set aside by God" to be a minister, then they should do these two things: Make sure their own lives live up to the moral standards they are to preach (1 Peter 5:1, Titus 1:5) and make sure they have a thorough understanding of Scripture. Pastors are (literally) called to be shepherds leading their flocks. This is a unique position within the church, and the laying on of hands signifies this. I'm not sure how all Protestants feel in regard to this rite, but this is my own personal take on this ceremony: I don't think the laying on of hands actually passes on a spritual authority or changes that person making them more "worthy" to preach, but is rather an external reminder of the special task that God has given this person. Like the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist (and I include prayer as a sacrament), it is a physical reminder of internal grace. This physical reminder is important for two primary reasons, including: 1) It shows that this person has the blessing of other church leaders to hold this position (so, unlike what happened to poor Paul at times, there is no questioning of his/her authority as a spiritual leader) 2) It is a personal reminder to the minister that s/he has been set apart by God to live a life that should be above suspicion.

Thus, although we are all priests (in the Old Testament sense of being allowed continual access to God and offer Him our sins for forgiveness) and we should all live holy and faithful lives accordingly, not all of us are called to be pastors of congregations. In my opinion, the role of pastor includes 1) Preaching to already baptized Christians to remind them of their faith, 2) Baptizing and offering the congregation the Eucharist, 3) Counseling their Christian members in all matters concerning their faith, 4) Sharing the message of Christianity with non-Christians (the laity are also called to do this in their daily lives, so the functions overlap here).


You also asked, what denoms require ordination? As far as I know all mainstream Protestant denominations, including Baptists, require some form of ordination or licensing. This is their way of ensuring some degree of uniformity in preaching standards (like seminary training) and also for the reasons stated above.

[Phoebe]

Exodus 28 speaks of priests.
See also Exodus 29:9.

[Jesusson]

Yes we are all Ministers but Being Pastor is a gift from God. Not all pastors should be pastor because if God hasn’t called them their work is in vain.

[theseed]

Is the requirement for Ministers to be "ordained" or "licensed" Biblical? What denominations require this or what is the reasoning behind it? Are we not all to surrender our life to the Ministry as true Believers and Followers of Christ?
Somewhere in the bible it says that we should not endorse ourselves, but I forget.