Celebrating Ordination

By Chuck Sackett

I finally wrote the letter I”ve been promising for 10 years to write. I know it”s been 10 years because I was going to write it for my 25th anniversary in ministry. Where does time go? It”s now 35 years and counting.

I sent the letter to my ordaining congregation. A faithful (if naïve) group of people who were willing to put their “stamp of approval” on me. I”ve been grateful for years. But I”ve never taken the opportunity to let them know I”m still involved, still faithful, still serving. I was remiss and am committed to doing better.

Ordination is not something our fellowship emphasizes. It”s possible to preach for a lifetime without being ordained. It”s possible to be ordained by a local congregation (in fact, that”s the only way we do it, that I know of) and never have contact with that congregation again. I”m not sure either is healthy.

CHRISTIAN?

H. Richard Niebuhr elaborates on the call to ministry in The Purpose of the Church and Its Ministry. He identifies four calls worth our consideration. He initiates the discussion with what he labels the Call of Calls. In other words, are we really Christian? I think we would all agree we must start here. I hope we all agree we shouldn”t skip this part of the discussion.

Just this week I learned of two “called” men who experienced moral failure. While I”m deeply and personally grieved for these friends and for our churches, I”m also driven to deep thought. We all know how easy it is to fall into sin. It”s just that many of us are “blessed” by having sins so secret that most will never know our struggles.

But isn”t that part of the issue? It”s possible to be “ordained” but never held accountable. Most churches put their ordination candidates through an evaluation. They interview them and ask questions. But after a minister is ordained, what happens in six months . . . or six years . . . or six decades? Is there any follow-up? Is there any encouragement? Is there any accountability?

SATISFIED?

Niebuhr follows his thoughts on the Call of Calls with a discussion of the Inner Call. This call answers the question, “What do we want to do?” It is the call that stirs our hearts and the activity that fills us with satisfaction. It is the ministry we can”t live without.

For Paul it was preaching: “Woe to me if I do not preach” (1 Corinthians 9:16). That was even more carefully defined as preaching “where Christ was not known” (Romans 15:20). Jeremiah said, “His word is like a fire in my bones.” Both men knew what they wanted (OK, may not have wanted, but couldn”t live without).

I”m wondering if any ordaining church has a mechanism in place to help with this. Do we do anything to help our candidates decide what creates this “heart-burn”? Is there any expectation of previous experience? Do we require any kind of apprenticeship? Should we?

GIFTED?

Closely related to this, almost like the other side of a coin, is Niebuhr”s discussion of the Providential Call. The Providential Call answers the question, “Can I?” It clearly addresses the concern of giftedness.

While apprenticeships and other experiences help clarify the “want to” piece of this puzzle, they might also help address the “am I able” piece. Is there evidence that a person is actually capable of doing the ministry to which he is ordained? Again, I wonder if we have a process to help a person determine just what his or her niche in ministry might be.

Our churches are filled with encouraging people. And one way young men and women are called to consider vocational ministry is through the encouragement of people in their home congregation. However, I would issue a plea in that regard. Be careful with encouragement. While many (maybe all) could be effective in ministry, not all are effective in a particular ministry. Is it possible we could encourage commitment and investment in ministry, without specifying which area, unless we are really certain it is an area of giftedness?

ACCOUNTABLE?

Niebuhr”s final “call” is the Ecclesiastical Call. This is the one we (Christian churches/churches of Christ) seem to take least seriously. At least, that”s been my experience. No one has ever asked to see my ordination certificate. Actually, no one has ever asked if I was ordained.

I”ve served as preaching minister in three congregations. I”ve preached in dozens of congregations as an interim, fill-in, or consulting minister. None””really””none have asked about this. It”s one of the wonders of the free church of which we”re a part.

But is it also one of the potential hazards? How do we really know a person”s theology? Or their morality? Or their ethics? Or their work habits? Or their reliability? Or their inner life? Now, I realize “ordination” doesn”t guarantee fitness in any of those things. At least not the way we do it.

I”m not advocating any sort of national ordination or licensure. I like our independence. But I am advocating a serious look at how we do ordination in our congregations. And at the risk of being proven foolish, I”m going out on a limb to share what we are doing at my church. Ask us in 10 years if we”ve actually been faithful to our intentions.

We”ve decided to take ordination as seriously as we are able. We are cautious in “the laying on of hands.” We are committed to doing a better job of investigating our candidates. We will not simply assume they are orthodox because of their education or their family or their employment. We will ask the hard questions and do the homework we need to do.

Beyond that, we will offer as much practical experience as possible. We will seek to host as many apprentices as possible. On the one hand, it gives us a chance to influence the future of our movement. On the other, it gives us an incredible opportunity to evaluate concerns””work ethic, appearance, social etiquette, reliability, etc.””that cannot be determined by merely asking questions.

But what I”m holding forth most positively is our long-term commitment. We have considered the seriousness of obligating our future congregation to these commitments. We are committed to staying with those we ordain for the remainder of their ministry life. That means being a support system as well as an accountability partner.

We”re committed to a yearly visit. Either our “Timothy/Priscilla” comes home for a visit or we send an elder and/or staff family to their place of service. We want them to know we care about them. If there is a crisis, we”ll go immediately. If it”s a mission family, we”ll visit on an every other year basis unless needs arise that require a more immediate response.

We believe that ordination means vouchsafing for a person. To do so means we know that person. It means we help keep him or her on the right path. To do otherwise is to wish upon our movement potentially unaccountable, yet credentialed, individuals. The church, the gospel, is too important for anything less than our deepest commitment.

Thirty-five years and counting. I”m still celebrating ministry; still amazed at the grace of God”s calling. But still in need of encouragement and accountability. Thirty-five years and still celebrating, not every day . . . but every opportunity.

CHUCK SACKETT, preaching minister at Madison Park Christian Church in Quincy, Illinois, has been married to Gail for more than 37 years. They have three married daughters, two sons-in-law who are preachers, and one grandson. In addition to his preaching ministry, Chuck is a professor at large for Lincoln Christian College and Seminary, an adjunct professor for TCM International, and president of the Evangelical Homiletics Society.

His education is from Boise Bible College, Lincoln Christian Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he earned the DMin. He has contributed to YouthWorker and Preaching magazines as well as SermonCentral.com. He has served as a contributing editor with CHRISTIAN STANDARD since 2003.