In spite of the abuses of ordination, John Hammett Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology, believes “there is a biblical basis for recognizing leaders in some way, and a properly understood practice of education could serve some positive purposes” (page 206). Hammett sees four positive results of ordination.
The First Positive Result of Ordination has to do with the United States’ legal system. There are some tax advantages. Also some states require ordination before a pastor can perform weddings. “Such pragmatic, legal reasons perhaps would not be sufficient to justify ordination in and of themselves, but neither are they unimportant or unworthy of consideration. Thus, the advantages of ordination clearly outweigh the dangers, as long as its meaning is clearly and carefully explained” (Hammett, page 208).
The Second Positive Result of Ordination
Hammett sees ordination as part of the church’s corporate affirmation of God’s call in a pastor’s or missionary’s life. In my posts on God’s Call To Preach, I give the three evidences of God’s call to preach. The first is a God given desire to preach (1Timothy 3:1). The next is a God given ability as stated in the 1 Timothy 1:12. The last evidence is the recognition of the church which was the case in Acts 13:1-3 or as Hammett states it, the church’s corporate affirmation of God’s call.
In Acts 6:1-6, deacons were ordained when the apostles laid hands on the ones selected by the church. In Acts 13:1-3, the church laid hands on Paul and Barnabas. The word for “appoint” in Acts 6:3 is kathistemi and is also used in Titus 1:5 for Titus appointing “elders in every city.” Kathistemi as well is found “three times in Hebrews for the appointment or ordination of priests (5:1; 7:28; 8:1), and does seem associated with an official type of appointment. The word used in Acts 14:23, cheirotoneo, can mean choose or elect by raising hands, raising the question of congregational involvement. The context seems to indicate that Paul and Barnabas appointed the elders in this case, but the active role of the congregation elsewhere in Acts argues for at least the concurrence of the congregations” (Hammett, 205).
The laying on of hands is mentioned twice in reference to Timothy’s ordination in 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6. There is another mention of laying on hands in 1 Timothy 5:22, where Paul warns Timothy not to “lays hands suddenly” on a man. Hammett believes this “is probably a reference to ordination of elders, since it is found in a section dealing with elders” (page 205).
The Third Positive Result of Ordination
Ordination allows the church to recognize church leaders as certain passages call for. Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 commands the church to esteem their pastors. Hebrews 13:17 commands congregations to “obey” their pastors. These texts help Pastor/People relationships and ordination sets God called men apart so these Scriptures can be followed.
The Fourth Positive Result of Ordination
“A Fourth Positive Result of a careful practice of ordination could be the protection of churches from ill-prepared, unqualified, or heretical pastors” (page 208). Hammett acknowledges that “the current practice of ordination in many Baptist churches is so casual that it affords little protection. One proof of this casual attitude is the fact that no one, at least in my experience, has ever been denied ordination” (Hammett, 208). One of my teachers once said all that was required for the ordination of a candidate in my state was a coonskin cap.
Before the ordination council meets with the candidate, the local church votes and approves for the ordination council to examine and ordain the candidate because that local church is already convinced of his call, character, gifts, and doctrine. So the ordination council cannot bear the full responsibility.
This is another reason why it is important for the local church to require a regenerated church membership and a church polity of congregational rule through which God accomplishes His will through the priesthood of believers.