By Molly T. Marshall This past Sunday evening I participated in an ordination service for three graduates of our seminary, two women and one man. None was a twenty-something; all had been serving for years in their home church, Metropolitan…
American Baptist region defrocks minister charged with larceny
By Bob Allen The American Baptist Churches of Connecticut has withdrawn the ordination of a pastor accused in criminal and civil cases of misusing his ministerial status to bilk the elderly. Judy Allbee, executive minister of the regional arm of…
All denominations should care baptisms are down among Southern Baptists
The first response of many people may be “I don’t care”. That’s fine. You have that right. But you ought to care. More about that later. Keep reading. Why Are Baptisms Down Among Southern Baptist Churches? First, take note of…
Bivocational ministry is a thing of great beauty
Jack was the bivocational pastor of the church I attended in Pennsylvania when that church licensed me to ministry as a step towards my ordination. Dale was the bivocational national leader for bivocational ministries among Baptists. Glenn was the bivocational…
Like parents, like daughter
By Jeff Brumley Now and then, a preacher’s kid follows a parent into the ministry. But when the moment of decision came for Leah Anderson Reed, she decided to follow both her father and mother into ordination. Reed, 27, was ordained last month…
Ordination a personal and churchly calling
By Bill Leonard The London Confession (1644), a creatively Calvinist Baptist statement of faith, contains this passage on ministerial ordination: “That also such to whom God hath given gifts, being tried in the Church, may and ought by the appointment…