Recently I met a teacher in the church. In the process of talking with him, I learned that he may have suffered an injustice and I felt sorry for him.
The teacher was full of spirit and energy, a vibrant man. We talked about many topics. From talking with him, I could see that his theology was quite orthodox, and he still clung faithfully to what he had learned at his seminary. He was knowledgeable in his field. For instance, he knew famous figures in philosophy and theology, such as Aristotle and Plato, and the early church fathers. He also seemed to know church history like the back of his hand. In him, one could see two great qualities: one was his mastery of theological knowledge; and the other his unchanging perseverance and faithfulness in the pursuit of God's truth in his character.
In addition, one detail caught my attention during our talk. When we came to the topic of the Trinity, he gave a solemn look and kept waving his hands in the air. That look blended in harmony with the movement of his hands portrayed exactly the demeanor of a pastor – what an enjoyable lecture he gave! His demeanor had clearly been formed through his long-term dedication to delivering sermons. Unfortunately, he was not an ordained pastor yet.
The teacher graduated from Nanjing Union Theological Seminary in 1997 and it had been 23 years since his graduation. I was shocked to know that he had not been ordained because many theological students who graduated much later than him had been ordained for many years already. So why had he not been ordained? What was the reason for this? That was really confusing to me. Because it was not a simple matter and one could not believe what was said by just talking to one person, so I did not carry out an in-depth inquiry on my questions. However, using this teacher as a case study, let’s have a brief discussion on how pastors are ordained.
The Bible says, "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." (Ephesians 4: 11-12) Although these two verses are the only ones in the Bible that use the term “pastor,” the meaning is substantial. In today’s church, no one really deserves or uses the term of apostle or prophet, including those who claim the title for themselves. However, there are many pastors today, and it is a holy position that is widely recognized. From these two Bible verses, we learn that the Church does need to have pastors and teachers for the body of Christ to be established.
Being a pastor is no doubt a gift from God. According to categories that John Calvin's gave, ordained pastors or overseers fall into three categories: one who is called solely by God himself, such as the Apostle Paul; one who is called by God through other people; and one who is voted on by the congregation. However, in the present-day Church, pastors are not personally called by God; most of them belong to the second category. The third category is also rare. The vote has to be presided over by third-party pastors other than the ones who have applied to be ordained.
Since God calls a pastor through other people, it is inevitable that the process can become and the sinful nature of man can be observed. This results in two different experiences in the ordaining of a pastor. One is that the right person isn’t ordained due to the bias of the person who has the authority to ordain a pastor. The other one is the wrong person is ordained due to the nepotism of the person who is authorized to ordain a pastor. This is the current status quo of the ordination process. The status quo is not based on studies, but on the observation of many pastors' sermon qualities and their self-conduct. It is these two phenomena that have become blemishes in ordaining a pastor.
According to the 2018 State White Paper on Chinese Religion, the number of Christians has reached more than 38 million. This message suggests two things: one is that the ratio of Christians to the total population of 1.4 billion is negligible. In other words, Christianity is not as large as some claim, and still very much in the minority. The other is that if Christians are carried away with their own proclamations of success, intoxicated with feeling good about themselves, and if they do not carry out down-to-earth reforms, they may be forgotten, and even mocked and ridiculed by the world.
At a time when the Church is becoming increasingly secular, the "pastor" has become more of an official than a pastor, especially the senior pastor of a church. They involve themselves in official business and the church is simply the home where they carry out administrative duties. The pastor becomes merely the boss of a church. It is said that the money, power and property of a certain large church are totally in the hands of the pastor’s family. The Church has become a "family business". Although it is a rumor, it reflects the severity and danger of the secularization and corruption of the Church.
Secularization and corruption are tempting some people to pursue a theological degree and a position in the Church. No matter if they are interested in a theological degree or the priesthood, they pursue them not for the faith and truth, but to be in charge of the tiny circle of the Church. All the spiritual teachings are for the others.
Regarding the position of a pastor, Peter said, "Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." (1 Peter 5: 2 – 4)
This passage is both an exhortation and a basic standard that a pastor should reach. If we find that a pastor lacks this standard, even if only one item of the list, we can say that the pastor is compatible with the title. If the Church wants to develop and grow, it must also establish pastors according to this standard.
Therefore, in ordaining pastors, this requires the Church and even the entire Christian community to have common standards and regulations. Ordain those who should be ordained and give a definite no to those who are not to be ordained. No crooked ways or nepotism should ever be found in ordaining a pastor, and it should be dealt with case by case with zero tolerance for corruption. In short, for the Church to grow and develop in a healthy manner, the priority should be to get rid of the two blemishes in ordaining pastors.
- Translated by Charlie Li
