Flitting and fluttering passions

My Confession, Psalm 131

¹ My heart is not proud, LORD,
   my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
   or things too wonderful for me.

Praying this Psalm this morning was a mirror showing me the condition of my heart.  Passions have been swirling around in me clamoring for change.  I have what I still consider God-given ideas and desires.  Passions to help people hungry for spiritual depth, to craft a new church that embraces the ancient symbols and experiences while living in a vibrancy of Pentecost.  I want to see a contemplative and experiential ministry to children and their families out of that church.  I want to minister to kids again.  I want to live in neo-monastic community with others hungry for the same things. All these things swirl around and my haughty eyes see no way that they can be done.  Not here. If these things are indeed from God they come from a depth of mystery.  They are too great for me.  They require patience to unfold in God's wonderful timing.  How I need God's peace to enter the troubled waters of my soul! The rest of Psalm 131 is my need and my goal.

² But I have calmed and quieted myself,
   I am like a weaned child with its mother;
   like a weaned child I am content.

 ³ Israel, put your hope in the LORD
   both now and forevermore.

Brother Leach, this week, told me that these frustrations will never leave.  In ministry there is always something more God is calling us to, stretching us to, stretching our communities to. I need the quieting.  Years ago talking about spiritual formation would send my soul a twitter with excitement.  Looking back at how my masters program in spiritual formation has changed me I see that those fluttering passions have settled into a deep well within me.  I need the same peace about church planting, about the future.

"At root a professional is one who makes a profession of faith"

This a pregnant word, and we often miss the birthings of our words. I first had an inkling of the strangeness of this word professional when reading Don Quixote. He would speak of his profession of arms. It spoke to me of a calling and indeed a faith in something larger.

Especially for ministers striving to understand the latest leadership model, the idea of professionalism has become the slick business like way of doing things that runs many a corporate mega-church. We are concerned with how the world sees our shabby way of running things, a by product of volunteerism in local congregations. We see the slick ads and gimicks of the world, its programs and attractions and (sometimes rightly) lament that the church seems so far behind.

Parker Palmer criticizes professionalism.

"As professionals, we like to define ourselves in ways that stress competence, high standards, an ethic of service, personal sacrifice, and so on. But in 'Active Life' Chuang Tzu is examining the shadow side of professional activity, and he would probably propose a different deffinition: A professional is a person who has invested long hours and much money to develop and allegedly rare ability that others can be convinced to need and to purchase at a high price. Admittedly partial, such a definition points to the ways that we professionals get caught up in the 'world of objects' that Chuang Tzu describes. in the spinning of those interlocked illusions that too often trap the professional and the society in a vicious circle of nonsense" (41).

Too often I feel the weight of that definition. I see other pastors who are thriving and at the helm of large churches and doubt that I have that stuff in me - I am not professional enough. Profession as a matter of faith is another more noble thing. I know that one whom I profess is able to use even me.

On the other side I do feel it in the pit of my stomach when I hear people suggest that pastors need not be professional. Couldn't we simply be happy amateurs who make a living by another vocation? Couldn't any spiritually mature of the laity do this? As much as I like the idea of the body ministering to each other in an organic way, I find my own calling challenged by such thoughts. For good or ill, my vocation is a profession of ministry just as Quixote's was a profession of arms.

Excellence in all we do is a spiritual thing. It is done as worship. It is the stuff of the faith kind of profession rather than the soulless slickness of professionalism.

Ordination revisited

As my (and Elaine's) ordination approaches (May 8th) I once again am troubled as to what this all means. Since it is not sacramental, like Sarah's beautiful ordination to the Episcopal Priesthood, what spiritual import can I expect?

Here is what the A/G's Position paper states:

The view of ordination in the Assemblies of God is predicated upon biblical principles and is consonant with the evangelical view. The following characteristics comprise the Assemblies of God view.

Ordination can be defined as the public ceremony by which the Movement acknowledges the divine call, commission, and qualification of a person to ministry in the Assemblies of God; extends its blessings, fellowship, and opportunities; receives his pledge of dedication, faithfulness, and loyalty; and invokes divine enablement for success in life and ministry.

Ordination is held to be spiritual and functional rather than sacerdotal. It is important as a public acknowledgment of God’s prior call and commission, but it is not essential. All Christians are equal, but ministers are set apart for special, full-time Christian service and leadership. When necessary, the laity can perform all of the functions of ministry except those for which the State requires an ordained minister.

Ordination is performed only after a careful examination of the candidate as to qualification on six essential points:

1. The genuineness of his Christian experience;
2. The sufficiency of his spiritual, moral, emotional, and social maturity;
3. The reality of his divine call;
4. The correctness of his doctrine;
5. The adequacy of his preparation and practical abilities; and
6. The acceptability of his allegiance to the Movement’s policies and programs.

Authority and power for ministry are conferred directly by Christ through the Holy Spirit, not through those who perform the ordination ceremony. No particular man or group is essential to the ordination process. Those who participate are dispensable instruments. The stress is upon an immediate spiritual connection with Christ rather than a historical episcopal (apostolic) succession. The living Lord of the Church is making direct, dynamic appointments in His body today.

Ordination is held to be of concern to the whole Church, not just the local assembly. This is indicated by the fact that the apostles, whose ministry was international in scope, presided in each of the five New Testament ceremonies of ordination. Therefore, in the Assemblies of God the ordination is conducted at district level by the superintendent with the imposition of hands and prayers of the District Presbytery. It is recognized by the Executive Presbytery of the General Council and is signatured by the general superintendent and general secretary. Also, since ministers participated in each of the New Testament ceremonies, presbyters and other senior ministers are involved in Assemblies of God ordination in the laying on of hands and prayer.

The Assemblies of God stresses the importance of the spiritual quality of the ordination ceremony as opposed to a formal ritual. Typical Assemblies of God ordinations include fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands, preaching, a charge, and other elements which were seen in the New Testament ceremonies of ordination.

This statement on the Assemblies of God view of ordination was accepted by the General Presbytery in 1976. Since then the licensed minister has been granted many of the benefits of ordination. I am still eager to experience the spiritual side. I guess I will go in expecting God to do something in the laying on of hands that he has set aside for me until this time. I think it would indeed be appropriate to fast as an expression of my expectation.