Author: Wick

My first official sermon as a Reverend…enjoy listening. 🙂

“All persons who belong to Jesus Christ are called to minister his reconciling work through the Church. But to lead the Church, our Lord calls particular believers to shepherd the people, teach doctrine, administer the sacraments and keep order…

..God calls men and women, bu the Church examines them so as to confirm the presence of spiritual gifts and personal graces…

..When people are set apart for this leadership responsibility, they are ordained by the laying on of hands. Paul remembered this moment in his counsel to Timothy when he said: “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6 RSV).

Whether elders serve as pastors, teachers, missionaries, chaplains or in unique combinations of these vocations, they provide Spirit-filled leadership. In fulfilling the Great Commandment to love the Lord our God and to love others, and in fulfilling the Great Commission to go into all the world to make disciples, elders are God’s gift to the Church.

Pastoral leadership focuses on developing healthy biblical communities of holy people. These communities multiply disciples, mentor leaders, create new groups and plant new churches. Such Spirit-filled leadership requires vision and courage to move people to obey the Word of God and increase His church.

Rooted in a deep love for Christ and sharing his compassion for people, Free Methodist elders help create congregations that are fervent in prayer, enthusiastic in worship, holy in lifestyle, insistent for justice, caring for the poor, and reaching out locally and globally to bring all people into relationship with Jesus Christ.”

– Book of Discipline, FMC

“Psychiatrist David Burns notes that is is not another person’s compliment or approval that makes us feel good; rather, it is OUR belief that there is validity to the compliment.” – From “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” by John Ortberg.

He gives a quick illustration of someone from a psychiatric ward rushing up to you and saying God revealed to him the 13th person he sees is incredible special. You’re that 13 person, so you are so very special.

Would your self esteem rise much? Probably not.

Moving towards ordination over the past 6 years has had thoughts like this running through my brain. I believe that God can work through ordination in unexplainable and Spirit-sourced ways. But why does it matter who ordains/how it’s done? Why do I consider it important that an entire denomination collectively says “yes” to the work God is accomplishing through me?

The answer in this regard would be, my belief in what God has done/is doing through the Free Methodist Church. I have gained tremendous respect/reverence for the history/location/future of this group of God’s people. The roots in Kingdom building, caring for the poor and social injustice, while not neglecting Holiness and salvation from sin itself, have drawn me in since the start. The size and polity of the denomination, have continued to echo that same draw.

I believe that while no denomination is perfect, and even debating about which ones have “more right” than others doesn’t often help much, I have felt both drawn by and led to what seems to be a great fit. A “home” of sorts, even. I love this church.

Granted….I love the Church even more.

But in the next few days I will take this relationship to the next level, both submitting to and being privileged by ordination within this denomination. The blessing, and the accountability for the journey together offers more than I can imagine, and I look forward to it…