Can Someone Give Me a Hand?

I was drawn immediately to the texts on ordination and rituals of service and ordination.  As a commissioned minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) I identify with many of the different aspects of “ordination.”  As always I have to bore some of you with some background as to how my church functions in this respect and to how we got to this position.

Early in our evolution as a denomination, before we were even thought of as a denomination, one of our founders, Alexander Campbell, was extremely anti-clerical.  He was so anti-clerical that his father, Thomas Campbell had to temper his son’s words in a series of essays. In keeping with the attempt at unity Thomas Campbell, “alarmed at the…boldness of his son in handling so roughly persons considered sacred that he sought to contribute milder essays to soften [Alexander’s harsh condemnation] of those who were elected to the position of ordained ministry” (Crow 86).  Alexander could make his anti-clerical remarks from a comfortable position because he was a successful farmer and publisher.  He was also influenced by the anti-clerical remarks attributed to John Locke.  However, at this time the Christian Church had yet to gain it’s wonderful parenthesis (Disciples of Christ) and Barton Stone, the leader of the then identified Christian Church held  a “higher doctrine of the ordained ministry, especially in the administration of the sacraments” (Crow 86).

So, fast forward to 1968 when we adopted the provisional design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Design a document that would eventually lead to ratification and set the standard for ordination of ministers.  If you don’t already have enough to read check out this link to the Theological Foundations and Policies and Criteria for the Ordering of Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Ordering of Ministry .  I would submit that if you are that adventurous that you check out 659 C. The Ordain Ministry.  Here you will find out that we have a structure and biblical approach to who and how ministers are ordained.

So, how is my story linked to all of this?  I’m a commission minster.  Because I am engaged in a Master’s degree level program, I have been given the approval of my region to care for the spiritual well-being of the congregation I serve.  Commissioned ministers are in most respects able to marry and to bury, as well as baptize. 

Reading Johnson and the other texts I was profoundly hit by the numerous references to the laying on of hands.  In the picture above, you will see me.  This is from my commission ceremony.  From Acts 6:2b-6 to 1 Timothy 4:12-16, to the apostolic tradition whereby “when all give consent, they shall lay hands on him” (Johnson 320), to the “laying on of hands [as] the sign of the gift of the Spirit, rendering the visible fact that the was instituted…in Christ," we as members of the DOC adhere to this most special right of the laying on of hands. 

As I was brought to my knees and had all of our deacons and elders lay hands on me as well as our regional minster, I was so humbled.  When you go to your knees and asked to stay there in a place of worship you find yourself humbled into a child-like presence.  Everything that you have striven to achieve concerning studying theology, biblical exegeses, and learning about your church tradition ceases to exist, and it’s just you, God, and those who surround you.  Somebody gave me a hand that day, but the most tremendous moment of that day was when I felt the hand of God on my shoulders saying, “You don’t do this alone.”

Crow, Paul A, Jr. "Ministry And The Sacraments In The Christian Church (Disciples Of Christ)." Encounter 41.1 (1980): 73-89. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.