Methodist and Nazarene Polity, Worship, and Sacraments — Unit 4: Ordained Ministry: Elders, Deacons, Local Pastors, and the Call

Key Verse

"This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work." (1 Timothy 3:1, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Describe the inward and the outward call to ministry and explain why the Wesleyan tradition requires both.

2. Explain the three tests Wesley applied to preachers: grace, gifts and fruit.

3. Describe the roles of the elder, the deacon, and the licensed or local pastor in the Wesleyan churches.

4. Give the biblical basis for ordination and describe the usual steps toward it.

5. Answer the objections of those who deny a separate ordained ministry and of those who make ordination a sacrament.

The Voice of This Unit

This unit is written from inside the conservative Wesleyan tradition for students who are, or may become, ministers. It teaches how our churches understand the call and the ordained ministry. Other Christians see these matters differently, and we state their views fairly before we answer. "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

One caution: different Wesleyan bodies have different names for credentials and different requirements for study and years of service. Your own manual or discipline is the final authority. The place of women in ministry is the subject of Unit 10, and nothing in this unit is meant to settle it.

The Call to Ministry

What Scripture shows

The Bible gives many examples of those who were called to serve. Isaiah saw the Lord and heard the question, "Whom shall I send?" and answered, "Here am I" (Isaiah 6:8). Jeremiah was told that he was known and set apart before birth (Jeremiah 1:5). In the church at Antioch, while the leaders ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said that Barnabas and Saul were to be set apart for the work He had called them to, and the church fasted, prayed, laid hands on them and sent them (Acts 13:2-3). Paul asks how people will preach unless they are sent (Romans 10:15). The writer of Hebrews teaches that the honor of the priestly office is not taken by a man for himself, but is received from God (Hebrews 5:4). Paul wrote that he was under compulsion to preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16).

Two things stand together in these examples. God calls, and His people recognize and send. Wesleyans speak of the inward call and the outward call.

The inward call

The inward call is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer. Often it comes as a deep desire, which Paul calls a desire for "a good work" (1 Timothy 3:1). It is a burden for the lost and a love for the flock. It is a growing conviction that God wants this person to give his life to the work. It may come on a particular day or grow over years of service in the church.

The inward call can be mistaken. A person may desire the honor of the ministry and not its labor. A person may confuse a wish for escape from a hard life with a call from God.

The outward call

The outward call is the confirmation of the church. The people who know the candidate watch his life and gifts. The local church recommends him. The district or conference examines his doctrine, his character and his ability. In the New Testament the church at Antioch heard the Spirit speak and acted together (Acts 13:2-3). Paul told Timothy to entrust the gospel to faithful men who would teach others (2 Timothy 2:2), and he told him not to lay hands on anyone hastily (1 Timothy 5:22). A call that no one else recognizes needs to be examined with great care.

The Wesleyan tradition holds the two together. The inward call without the outward is dangerous, because it can lead to self-appointed leaders who answer to no one. The outward call without the inward is empty, because the church can approve a man whom God has not touched.

Wesley's Tests: Grace, Gifts and Fruit

John Wesley was an Anglican priest who came to rely on preachers who were not ordained. Course 1 told how the revival raised up lay preachers. Wesley was cautious about them at first, but he found that God was blessing their work. In his conferences he examined each of them with questions. In the Minutes the preachers were asked whether they had the grace for the work, the gifts for it, and the fruit from it. We can describe the three tests in this way.

Grace. Does the candidate truly know God? Is he converted, walking in the Spirit and seeking holiness of heart and life? A preacher without grace is a danger to the flock.

Gifts. Does the candidate have the ability for the work? Can he speak clearly and reason well? Can he teach and lead? Paul teaches that an elder must be "able to teach" (1 Timothy 3:2).

Fruit. Are people being turned from sin to God through his work? Are believers growing? A man who has grace and gifts but sees no fruit should ask whether God is calling him to this particular work.

These tests still protect both the church and the candidate.

Offices of Ministry

The Wesleyan churches recognize several kinds of ministers. The names and the exact arrangements differ from one body to another, but the main pattern is similar.

The elder

The elder, also called presbyter, is the central ordained minister. In the New Testament the elders were the shepherds of the local churches (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-3). Unit 2 showed that the same persons are called overseers. In the Wesleyan churches the ordained elder preaches the Word, leads in worship, administers the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, gives pastoral care and helps govern the church. In the Methodist tradition the bishop or superintendent is an elder given oversight of a larger field.

The deacon

The word deacon means servant. In Acts 6 the apostles asked the church to choose seven men of good reputation to care for the practical need of the widows, so that the apostles could give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:1-6). Paul greets "the bishops and deacons" at Philippi (Philippians 1:1) and gives qualifications for deacons in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. In Wesleyan churches the deacon is ordained to a ministry of service and assistance. In some bodies deacons are ordained as a lasting order of service, and in others the ordination of a deacon is a first step before ordination as an elder, as it was for Asbury at the Christmas Conference.

The licensed or local pastor

Many congregations, especially small and distant ones, are served by pastors who are not yet ordained elders. The Methodist churches often call them local pastors or lay pastors. The Church of the Nazarene and The Wesleyan Church call them licensed ministers. These pastors are given authority to preach and to care for a congregation, under the supervision of the district or conference, and many are working toward ordination by study and experience. Many also earn their living by other work. This follows the pattern of Paul, who worked as a tentmaker (Acts 18:3) but also taught that those who preach the gospel have a right to live from the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18). For many churches in Latin America and Africa this combination of work and ministry is normal and honorable.

Lay ministry

Wesley's class leaders, stewards and lay preachers carried much of the early work. Paul taught that Christ gave leaders "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry" (Ephesians 4:12). The ordained minister does not do the whole work of the church. He prepares the people to do it. Unit 5 returns to lay leadership.

The Path to Ordination

The steps differ among the bodies, but the general pattern is as follows.

1. The call is sensed and tested. The person speaks with his pastor and church, serves in the congregation, and prays and waits.

2. The local church recommends. The pastor and the church board or members support the candidate.

3. The district or conference examines. The candidate is questioned about his experience of grace, his doctrine, his character and his family life.

4. A license or provisional credential is granted. The candidate begins to serve under supervision.

5. Study is completed. Most Wesleyan bodies have a course of study for ministers. Some require seminary or college work, and others provide courses for those who cannot attend a school. This is the purpose of a seminary such as ours.

6. Years of service pass. The church observes the minister's life and ministry.

7. Ordination is performed. The ordaining leader, with other ministers, lays hands on the candidate with prayer.

The biblical basis for ordination

Ordination is the church's public act of recognizing a call and setting a person apart for ministry. The New Testament shows the pattern of prayer and the laying on of hands. The seven were set apart with prayer and the laying on of the apostles' hands (Acts 6:6). Barnabas and Saul were sent out after fasting, prayer and the laying on of hands (Acts 13:3). Paul told Timothy not to neglect the gift that was in him, "which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership" (1 Timothy 4:14), and spoke also of the gift of God "which is in you through the laying on of my hands" (2 Timothy 1:6).

In the Wesleyan view, ordination is not a sacrament. The Methodist Articles of Religion recognize two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, ordained by Christ. Ordination is a solemn and important act of the church, with the blessing of God, but it does not give the minister a special power to forgive sins or to change the elements of the Supper.

The character of the minister

Scripture sets high standards for those who lead. Paul lists the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. The minister is to be blameless, faithful in his family, temperate, hospitable, able to teach, and not greedy. Wesleyans add, in keeping with their doctrine, that the minister must himself seek the holiness he preaches. A minister who teaches perfect love and lives in anger contradicts his own message.

Objections and Our Answers

Objection 1: All believers are ministers, so there should be no separate ordained ministry.

The Plymouth Brethren, some Quakers and other groups teach that the New Testament knows no division between clergy and laity. Peter calls all believers "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9). Ordination, they say, came later and tends to make ministers feel superior and ordinary members passive.

Our answer. We agree fully that all believers are priests before God and that every Christian has a ministry. But the same New Testament that teaches the priesthood of all believers also names elders and deacons, describes how they were appointed, and gives rules for their qualifications. Paul left Titus to appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5). Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to the church (Ephesians 4:11). These offices exist to equip the whole people for ministry, not to replace them. The danger of pride is real, and the answer is humility and servanthood, not the removal of order.

Objection 2: Ordination gives a special sacramental power.

Roman Catholic and Orthodox teaching holds that ordination imparts a lasting character and a priestly power, especially for the Eucharist. The priest, on this view, stands in a unique relation to the sacrifice of the altar.

Our answer. We respect the long witness of these churches. But the New Testament never calls the elders of the church "priests" in a separate sense. It places the one priesthood in Christ, who offered Himself once for all (Hebrews 10:10-12), and in His people. The minister is a servant of the Word and a steward of the sacraments, not a mediator. The power of the Supper and of baptism comes from the promise of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit and not from a special quality in the person who serves. This is why the Articles of Religion count only two sacraments and do not include ordination.

Objection 3: Wesley's lay preachers were irregular.

Some Anglicans in Wesley's day, and some historians since, said that by using unordained preachers Wesley broke the order of the church. Historians debate how reluctantly he did so and whether he was consistent with his own principles.

Our answer. Wesley himself felt this tension. He did not allow lay preachers to administer the sacraments, and he held to the order of his church for as long as he could. But he judged that the salvation of souls could not wait. He spoke of an extraordinary call, given by God for a time of special need, which God confirmed by fruit. His position was not that order does not matter, but that the gospel matters more. In 1784 he ordained men for America when no other way was open, as Unit 2 showed.

Pastoral Application

A young man in a village church comes to his pastor. He is twenty-four and works as a mechanic. For two years he has felt a strong desire to preach and to serve. He says, "I believe God has called me, but nobody in the church says anything about it. Should I start preaching on my own?"

The pastor does not dismiss him, and he does not push him forward quickly. First, he thanks him for his honesty and prays with him. Second, he asks Wesley's three questions in plain words: Is your heart right with God, do you have the gifts, and have people been helped? Third, he gives him small tasks under supervision: teaching a class, leading a Bible study, visiting the sick. Fourth, he invites two mature members to watch and to tell the young man what they see. Fifth, he explains that the church will recommend him to the district if the call is confirmed, and that study will follow, while he continues to earn his living. The young man learns that the call is neither a private secret nor a ticket to a pulpit. It is a gift to be tested, trained and sent.

Summary

The Wesleyan tradition holds that God calls ministers inwardly and that the church confirms the call outwardly. Wesley asked whether a preacher had grace, gifts and fruit. The ordained elder preaches, administers the sacraments and shepherds the church. The deacon serves, and the licensed or local pastor serves a congregation under supervision, often while working at another trade. The path to ordination includes recommendation, examination, study, service, and the laying on of hands with prayer. The minister must meet the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and seek the holiness he preaches. Ordination is not a sacrament. We answer those who reject a separate ministry by pointing to the elders and deacons of the New Testament, and we answer those who make ordination sacramental by pointing to the one priesthood of Christ and the two sacraments He gave.

Further Reading

• John Wesley, sermon "The Ministerial Office."

• John Wesley, Minutes of the Methodist Conferences and the Large Minutes.

• John Wesley, Notes on the New Testament, on 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

• The Methodist Articles of Religion (1784).

• Francis Asbury, Journal.

• Your own denomination's current manual or book of discipline, for its present requirements for licensing and ordination.

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