This coming Sunday we will ordain Josh Huff as a pastor.  Ordaining a pastor is not something we do often, so I want to take my space here to familiarize you with the practice of ordination. 

Ordination is the process of recognizing and confirming that an individual has been called by God to ministry.  When God calls and qualifies a man for the ministry, it will be apparent both to that man and to the rest of the church. The candidate for ordination will meet the qualifications set forth in 1 Timothy 3:1-16 and Titus 1:5-9.  It is the duty of the church elders, together with the congregation, to recognize and accept the calling.  The elders have recommended to the board that we ordain Josh.  The board approved that recommendation unanimously.  Last Sunday the leadership of the church asked the congregation to affirm this recommendation. The congregation responded with an overwhelming vote of approval.

Now that we have recognized that God has called Josh into ministry, we want to publicly acknowledge what God has done through a formal commissioning ceremony.  We will celebrate this special ceremony in conjunction with our Sunday morning worship service.  The elders here at FCC in conjunction with a couple of men who have had a leadership role in Josh’s life will be leading this special ordination ceremony—Dan Huff, Josh’s father, and Doug Dunton, who will be preaching at the service.

The ordination service culminates with a practice known as “laying on of hands.”  The Greek word used for this process literally means “to stretch forth the hands.” It was a word normally used for the act of voting in the Athenian legislature. So it seems that in the early church, the ordination of church leaders involved a general consensus in the church, if not an official vote. The apostles and the congregations knew whom the Spirit had chosen, and they responded by placing those men in leadership.

Acts 13 provides a good example of a church ordaining some men for ministry.

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia” (vv. 2-4).

 In this passage, we note some key facts:

1)      It is God Himself who calls the men to the ministry and qualifies them with gifts.

2)   The members of the church recognize God’s clear leading and embrace it.

3)   With prayer and fasting, the church lays hands on Paul and Barnabas to

       demonstrate their commissioning.

4)   God works through the church, as both the church and the Spirit are said to  

      “send” the missionaries.

Because we as a congregation recognize that God has called Josh Huff into the pastoral ministry, we will all participate together in a formal commissioning ceremony.  We invite you to join us in this special service.