by Pastor Mark Chin
Dr. Richard Mayhue defines ordination as “the biblical concept of God’s appointment of men to full-time ministry.” [1] He goes on to say that, “ordination is to church leadership as the bar exam is to the legal profession, the C.P.A. exam to accounting, or state board examinations to medical practice.” [2] This comparison serves to highlight a process whereby a man’s calling and qualification for full-time ministry are publicly affirmed by God and the local church, both its leaders and its members. It also serves to highlight how scary and taxing ordination can be, especially for those of you have written the bar or state board exam.
When I graduated from seminary, ordination was something I very much desired. And yet God graciously made me aware that it is something neither earned nor accomplished by men, but like all good things, it is a gift given entirely by God. God made very clear that if ordination was going to be a reality for me, it was something I would have to wait a long time for. God did this, in part, by withholding from me the opportunity to serve full-time in a local church for two years following my graduation from seminary. And when God finally did give me the opportunity to serve full-time at Lighthouse Bible Church San Jose, the first two years of full-time ministry provided little time for me to prepare for the ordination exam – a comprehensive 4-hour oral exam that was to cover my life, my seminary education, and the entirety of the Bible. Like most of the great things in my life, God made me wait.
When Pastor John gave me the ordination manual and Pastor Patrick sent me a list of theology topics I needed to know for the exam, one glance at both the manual and the list informed me that I would need some divine intervention to be remotely ready for the exam. I must confess, that many times, the only thing I looked forward to with regards to ordination was being finished with it. Frequently ordination loomed over my head like an insurmountable debt. To squeeze me a little more, God graciously raised up any number of church or family issues that made prepping for the exam nearly impossible. Over an extended period of time, being made aware of how little I could do yet how much needed to be done turned out to be a long and painfully nerve-wracking experience. The first week I finally was able to study for the exam, I could barely sleep – as my mind raced through the material, continually reminding me that there was not enough time to cover all the required material. The weeks prior to ordination involved 5am starts, study cards ad infinitum, and never ending quizzing by my wife that continually reminded me of how much a human being can forget. And yet, all of this was a wonderful gift from God.
Not only was I forced to be patient and to pray – a lot. I was forced to depend on the patience of others – the elders of LBCSJ, the LBC alliance pastors, my wife, my children, and the members of LBCSJ. I learned that one of the most precious gifts in this life is to see the beauty of God’s patience extended to us through other believers. Typically, this only happens when we are stretched beyond what we ourselves can handle. As the Lord brought me closer and closer to the ordination exam, He made me aware that ordination is an exercise of patience – first and foremost His patience for me. Paul in 1 Timothy 1:16 states: And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. The context of this statement is Paul’s testimony of having been put into service by Christ Jesus our Lord. In a sense, Paul, in 1 Tim. 1:12-17, is providing Timothy and us with the testimony of his ordination. And what he points to is not long hours of study, seminary training, service in the local church (all of which do play a valuable God-given role), but rather the amazing love, mercy, grace, and perfect patience that God demonstrates in the lives of sinners when He puts them in His service, doing so as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Pastors are not the only ones who are forced to wait patiently for the good things of God. Pastors are not the only ones who are called to serve full-time. In one sense, as children of God in Christ and members of His body, we are all called to serve Him full time as our King and Lord. And yet at the same time, we are all unworthy and unable to fulfill the task for which God has called us. Waiting for God’s grace can often be frightening, difficult, and painful. And yet, in all these things, God proves to be faithful to His Word, demonstrating in the lives of undeserving sinners, His perfect love, mercy, grace, and patience in Christ – not only for our benefit but also for the benefit of our fellow believers. For every true child of God, ordination is an exercise of His patience in Christ that is a wonderful and fruitful gift. May it be yours in the fullest.
[1] Richard Mayhue, “Chapter 8: Ordination to Pastoral Ministry” in Pastoral Ministry, edited by John MacArthur, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 107.
[2] Ibid., 109-110.