I was ordained an Elder in the United Methodist Church in 2009. Time flies, and all that.
Apparently there are people who are *thinking* about ordination because I get a bit of traffic every week for people coming to hear about my thoughts before, during, or after I became ordained.
Fair enough. I'm going to talk about why I think ordination in the United Methodist Church is still a worthy pursuit. But first how about some backdrop. Also, if you want a pretty good place to start in understanding what I'm talking about (if you have no idea), just look here.
Just this year the United Methodist Church deadlocked at General Conference on administrative changes to the General Boards - a move that will cause continued financial strain on an already strained Church. We came to an impasse on addressing either side of the aisle in the conversation on homosexuality. We "did away with" guaranteed appointments for Elders in "Full Connection." Actually that has yet to be decided, but anyway...
All while still trying to uphold our connexion that continues a decline in membership.
Fun times, right? So, why would anyone want to be Ordained? My wife asked me the same question. I gave the same answers above. She said, "I like positive people."
Exactly. That is why anyone would want to be ordained into this mess. I read this morning in my Bible the awesome story in Ezekiel 37 about God breathing life into the dry bones of Israel. We need some Ezekiels to breath new life into the United Methodist Church and it may just be you.
Besides that, I have a few other reasons I'd like to offer:
Apparently there are people who are *thinking* about ordination because I get a bit of traffic every week for people coming to hear about my thoughts before, during, or after I became ordained.
Fair enough. I'm going to talk about why I think ordination in the United Methodist Church is still a worthy pursuit. But first how about some backdrop. Also, if you want a pretty good place to start in understanding what I'm talking about (if you have no idea), just look here.
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Just this year the United Methodist Church deadlocked at General Conference on administrative changes to the General Boards - a move that will cause continued financial strain on an already strained Church. We came to an impasse on addressing either side of the aisle in the conversation on homosexuality. We "did away with" guaranteed appointments for Elders in "Full Connection." Actually that has yet to be decided, but anyway...
All while still trying to uphold our connexion that continues a decline in membership.
Fun times, right? So, why would anyone want to be Ordained? My wife asked me the same question. I gave the same answers above. She said, "I like positive people."
Exactly. That is why anyone would want to be ordained into this mess. I read this morning in my Bible the awesome story in Ezekiel 37 about God breathing life into the dry bones of Israel. We need some Ezekiels to breath new life into the United Methodist Church and it may just be you.
Besides that, I have a few other reasons I'd like to offer:
Yeah... they aren't explained in detail. After thinking about it I'm going to do a series. Mix it up. Don't want this getting too long and all.
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ReplyDeleteJack, thanks for posting your thoughts on this.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I have been thinking about my own ordination by the church where I previously worked. The process there was much different than it is within the UMC, and ordination was something that was forced upon me (for financial reasons, of all things). Suffice it to say, the way the process was handled lead to a bit of disenfranchisement toward the concept.
I look forward to reading your series on the topic. Heck, maybe we could even sit down and talk it sometime.
I am in the candidacy process for Ordained Deacon. I have to tell you that God has used your blog post to help confirm my calling. So thank you for being open and for your willingness to be used by the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDelete