Thoughts regarding ordination: I understand ordination to be a human recognition of God’s calling on a person’s life. Yet in practice it is a gatekeeping practice to ensure that those in power have a means of controlling who is let into their prestigious club. Those most commonly excluded continue to be women and gay & lesbian leaders.
My calling is to pastor… to serve as a spiritual leader… to live a life of faithful presence while seeking to guide a local community into a collective life of faithful presence… to lay down my life before Christ by serving a faith community. I highly value the fact that my fellow bother and sisters have recognized God’s call on my life to this kind of service. So I value ordination on that level. It is important that the body of Christ recognize and celebrate unique “God callings”.
On the other hand, I don’t define myself by that title. I was not called to a title or a position. I was called to serve and to become the least. I am simply, as best as I can, and by the grace of God, trying to live as the servant, Christ is inviting me to be.
My concern with Ordination is not that we recognize God’s calling on people’s lives, but that we limit ordination to clergy or religious professionals. For instance a film maker friend of mine has demonstrated a consistent, humble, Christocentric calling for redemptive film making. His calling is obvious – he has been ordained to communicate the gospel. But the church can not-or would not ordain him.
peace, dwight
