Pastor's Pastor

Pastor's Pastor: Ordination Qualification

Pastor's Pastor: Ordination Qualification

Ordination sermons intrigue me.

James A. Cress is the Ministerial Secretary of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Ordination sermons intrigue me. Having observed and participated in a number of them through the years, I have noticed that the sermons usually follow a pattern of attempting to clearly define the role of ministry, carefully delineate the various responsibilities of ministry, and challenge the candidates to faithful fulfillment of their calling.

Beyond listing pastoral duties, how ever, there are two even more fundamental considerations. The pastor is called first to be a disciple and, second, to be a disciple maker. I believe this is the essence of what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote "follow me as I follow Christ." The highest role of God's ministry today is to first follow Jesus Christ personally and then to invite others to join you in that journey of discipleship. In further articles, we will look at the issues surrounding disciple making, but for now we will concentrate on issues of discipleship.

Remember, Jesus called his own apostles first to discipleship, and then to ministry. Even then, discipleship preceded ordination. This point seems so patently obvious that we tend to over look it as we rush on to determine proper roles and functions for ministers. Yet, in overlooking these foundational issues, we may be overlooking the essence of what God has called us to do. Become disciples, ourselves. Make disciples of others.

Overlooking the primacy of disciple ship tends to shift our attention to less important things. Leadership, for example. I believe every pastor needs to be a leader. Leadership is necessary and good. But leadership, untempered by discipleship, could produce monstrous results. If we pursue a pattern of leadership that excludes or minimizes discipleship, we could rely more on management technique than spiritual power. If so, tragedy results. Far too often we have seen the sad consequences of choosing business plans over biblical models, planning over prophesying, or lobbying over praying.

While goals and objectives are important—even necessary—for success, a discerning of the Spirit and a call to follow in Jesus' steps is the call God places before ministers today. It is instructive to remind ourselves that it was not in the courts of Egypt, but in the back side of the desert that Moses gained his spiritual power. Likewise, it was not in the councils of the Sanhedrin, but out in the desert of Arabia that Paul learned discipleship lessons that prepared him for great leadership.

Focusing again and again on the importance of discipleship being the source from which all our ministry grows may not be as glamorous or exciting as some ventures, but it may just help us deliver our homes, our families, our congregations, and even our very lives from the snare of Satan.

What does discipleship mean?

Rather than recognizing the biblical path that involves cost to discipleship, we have come to a stage in the religious world where discipleship is regarded as only the experience that one happens to have at the moment and that this experience, in itself, is a sufficient definition.

A number of years ago I jotted some notes from a source which I cannot now locate regarding dangers that result from shallow thinking about disciple ship. With apologies for being unable to give credit to the author, I share these pitfalls for their importance to our lives now.

Aesthetics admiration.

An attitude which confuses outward appearance with genuine spirituality seems to permeate society, politics, business, and community. People like the appearance of religiosity. Becoming known as a religious individual improves your potential for success. Church connections seem to bring advantage. "If it is true that Jesus has never had better press than today, it is also true that rarely has there been less knowledge of His commands, and even less inclination to obey them. Recognition of His greatness has served as a substitute for reckoning the cost of discipleship ... It is high time that disciples declare a moratorium on praise and an open session on a more honest study of what Christ's demands actually require."

Resistance to authority.

We live in a society—and to a certain extent the church mirrors that society in which it lives—which has adopted an anti-authority stance. Such posture is against the very idea of obeying commands. In fact, obedience sounds legalistic and raises hackles. Let nothing restrict our individualistic freedom! But there is danger in libertarian abandonment of responsibility. When we conclude that individualism is the great est of all values and assert that any authority destroys freedom, we are in danger. Self becomes the supreme authority and self-fulfillment becomes the idol which replaces genuine self-submission, in direct disobedience to the first of all the commandments, the great god "me" becomes intolerant of discipline and self-denial.

Cultural change.

Some have concluded that the message and lifestyle of Scripture is for another time. Scripture is dismissed as an irrelevant or non-functioning fossil in an age of artificial intelligence and microprocessors. After all, what does a jet pilot have in common with a Tiberian fisherman? What pressures could a Hebrew shepherd have experienced that even compare with life today? Thus reasoning, people design standards to fit their own criteria rather than striving to discover universal standards. From my same "lost-source" notes, Alan Richardson is quoted, "There is a gradual decay of the ordinary Christian that can read the Bible for himself and discover its meaning without aid from an interpreter." Even the very ideal of an authoritative guide to discipleship is dismissed out of hand.

Defective models.

This fourth barrier to discipleship is probably the greatest hindrance of all. Too many believers and religious institutions are a liability rather than as an asset in learning about God and the character of Jesus Christ. Francis Schaeffer warned shortly before his death, "I'm convinced people all over the world will not listen, even if we have the right doctrine, even if we have the right policy, but if we are not exhibiting the life of Jesus Christ in ourselves, and in our community." Discipleship means modeling the Teacher. Discipleship means striving to look like the leader.

Understanding discipleship, then, is understanding the mind of Jesus. Then follows disciple-making. People will understand and believe our actions before they will believe our words and when Jesus is lifted up in the lives of His disciples, all individuals will be drawn to Him.


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James A. Cress is the Ministerial Secretary of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

April 2001

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