A Clear Pattern of Commissioning
My friend, Maël, at “The Adventures of Maël and Cindy,” is continuing to publish his paper on the subject of ordination. His last few posts deal with the idea of commissioning:
Ordination – Analysis – A Clear Pattern of Commissioning – Part 1 of 3
Ordination – Analysis – A Clear Pattern of Commissioning – Part 2 of 3
Ordination – Analysis – A Clear Pattern of Commissioning – Part 3 of 3
He also included an excursus:
The NT Concept of Ministry – a small excursus
What is Maël’s conclusion?
To summarize, the commissioning pattern is the appointing of someone, who is gifted, to a specific task. It should happen through the laying on of hands, motivated by the call of God, and imbibed in prayer. S/he is to be from within a congregation and will be a representative of the congregation doing the commissioning. This does not imply an impartation of authority on the individual being commissioned.
Maël clarifies in the comments that he is not talking about pastors or elders only. Instead, the church can “commission” anyone to any task. Of course, this type of formal commissioning is not necessary, but can be helpful to those commissioned and to the church.
What do you think?
Alan,
Excellent study! Needs a wide audience. Of course,I’m biased. I agree with him!
I think Mael is absolutely correct, which is nice. 🙂
Aussie John and Bill,
I agree too. I like the way that Mael is focusing on serving instead of positions.
-Alan