Calvin Synod Herald, 2017 (118. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2017-07-01 / 7-8. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

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devoted to prayer and to serving the word, stepping into the role of the apostles.

For Ignatius of Antioch (AD 30-107) this structure in place was a sign of the authenticity of the church. He writes to the Philippians: “Let ... deacons [be obedient] to the presbyters, as to high-priests; the presbyters, and deacons, and the rest of the clergy, together with all the people ... to the bishop; the bishop to Christ, even as Christ to the Father.”8 And in another place he writes: “I exhort you to study to do all things with a divine harmony, while your bishop presides in the place of God, and your presbyters in the place of the assembly of the apostles, along with your deacons, who ... are entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ.”9 We might find his language exacting and even excruciating, but the point here is that what we want to eliminate from our denomination is not just a minor element. It is something which was viable part of the life of the church from the very beginning. One of Ignatius’s main points is that there is no authentic church-life without the overseer. I will come back to this point in the third part.

If we want to change something about professional ordained ministry (and I believe we must) then we should change our vision about it. The biggest mistake we made, and which must be corrected, is that we put so much emphasis on professional ministry. This emphasis led into the neglecting of an equally important biblical truth, that is the notion of the priesthood of all believers. Ministry is not a privilege or responsibility of a few, but it is the common calling of all Christians. As Wolfhart Pannenberg puts it: “All are called and sent to give prophetic witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, to engage together in worship of God, and to serve others.”10 Ministry is not just the vocation of a few but of all. To be a Christian is not only (and not even primarily) about being saved and sanctified. This notion is closely related to the idea that church without mission is not church at all, and that all believers need to do the work of the this mission. After acknowledging the fact that there are different callings and ministry gifts Kärkkäinen adds that “there are no classes or hierarchies in the sense of compromising the equal status of all men and women regardless of sex, ethnicity, social status, or other human markers (Gal. 3:28).” 11

Furthermore, many contemporary and twentieth century theologians acknowledged the fact that the “The Church Is Charismatic.”12 The missional community, devoted to fulfilling the calling of Jesus Christ, lives in the power of the Spirit. It is “characterized by a variety of charisms. The Spirit is the giver of diverse gifts that enrich the life of the community.”13 Kärkkäinen also deliberate on the fact that, “[although the New Testament has no definite ministry patterns to endorse, no more than it endorses particular forms of governance, it is clear about what it takes and means to be the holder of a church office:

rather than above the people of God in their own category, ministers are but cobelievers, and rather than dignitaries to be served, they are servants willing to minister to others. All appeals to superiority over others are totally foreign to the biblical teaching (see Mark 9:33-35; 10:42^15 and par.).” 14

A Constructive Proposal

It seems that today we have an unprecedented “consensus across the ecumenical spectrum concerning the essentially missionary nature of the church.”15 Dorhauer also embraces the idea of mission as a “core organizing principle” for the church.16 This is one of the things we whole heartedly agree upon. “If missional existence is the nature of ecclesial existence,” writes Kärkkäinen, “that means ministry patterns, leadership models, administrative procedures, and other decisions concerning the structures of the community should be in the service of mission.” 17 Instead of following the status quo by placing ordained ministers “above” the community we should place them within the missional community. This approach must be the leading ordination theological guideline. Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry puts it well:

All members of the believing community, ordained and lay, are interrelated. On the one hand, the community needs ordained ministers. Their presence reminds the community of the divine initiative, and of the dependence of the Church on Jesus Christ, who is the source of its mission and the foundation of its unity. They serve to build up the community in Christ and to strengthen its witness. In them the Church seeks an example of holiness and loving concern. On the other hand, the ordained ministry has no existence apart from the community. Ordained ministers can fulfil their calling only in and for the community. [BEM- M, #12; see also #44. Materially similar is Muthiah, Priesthood of All Believers, p. 82.]. 18

Kärkkäinen also points out six interrelated aspects of ordination: (1) The reception of the gift of the Spirit (1 Tim. 1:14; 2 Tim. 1:6-7); (2) Public commissioning (Acts 13:3); (3) The acknowledgment of God’s gifting and calling in the ordained person’s life; (4) The commissioning of the person by the local church; (5) The mutual commitment between the community and the ordained; and (6) The public declaration to the world outside the church, as the minister will minister in and to the world.” But the above argument is only relevant about ordination. The question about professional/full time ministry seems to remain open.

At this point of the argument, I would like to come back to Ignatius, and his opinion on the presence of the episcopos as a mark of authenticity. In my proposal, the episcopos is the professionally trained person who oversees the other ordained ministries (i.e., the presbyters, and deacons). S/he is an educated person who dedicates her/his