by Dave Roberts » Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:58 am
One of the problems in our Baptist ordination practices is that there is no follow-up between the church and the one ordained and certainly no responsibility taken. For example, my home church ordained me in 1968. That was the last time I was a member there. I have not been invited back there to preach since my parents died in the 1990's, and I've only been invited twice in my entire ministry. Few people there know me or even know anything about me now. When I was a seminary student, I was aware that churches close to the campus tended to have several ordinations each spring before people went out to their places of service. I seriously doubt that those churches know anything about ordination.
As a pastor, I have received one request that a church I served revoke the ordination of someone the church had ordained thirty years earlier. When we asked the group requesting that we do this to send representatives to meet with our deacons to explain the situation and then we would meet with the person who had been ordained there, no one responded to our request, so I assume that person is still ordained (if still living). Since only the ordaining congregation can revoke an ordination, very few are ever lifted.
How should we better our system? I've often asked, but I don't know how to do it among autonomous churches.