The Leadership Divide

A great division found in the Christian church is between clergy and laity. To understand it, we need to look at the history. It comes from the idea of apostolic succession. This was an error made by good men trying to help ordinary Christians avoid doctrinal error. They noted that the apostles passed their message on to those who followed. Should people turn away from that to some new guy just coming on the scene? As one argument, this is something to consider. But it became a conviction that the church historically descended from the apostles could not be wrong. There is no basis for that anywhere in Scripture (Mark 9:38-41; Galatians 1:8,9; 2:11-16).

This succession is seen as passed down through an unbroken series of ordinations. The word ordination in this sense does not appear in the Greek text of the New Testament. It is translated from various words meaning to place in office. There is a specific ceremony for commissioning the priests in the Old Testament, but it does not apply to any other office (Exodus 29:1-28). There is also the practice of laying on of hands, which is used for many different purposes and is connected with prayer (Acts 8:14-17; Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 6:5). Now this is often used for commissioning people to various positions, prayer being appropriate for such occasions (Acts 13:3; 6:6; Numbers 27:23). But it is not reserved for any particular office; I can see using this on Sunday school teachers or nursery workers. But Scripture puts no importance on who performs the ceremony. (The Old Testament priesthood was hereditary, not based on who ordained them.) It is reasonable to seek a Christian of good reputation for this purpose.  But I see no basis for a mechanically passed down authority.

Coming from this is the idea that only those with authority can administer the sacraments. Which also has no basis in Scripture. The result is a group seen as having authority based purely on an outward ritual. Protestants have rejected this in its full form. But we can still hold that ordination bestows some special authority and gives the authority to perform the ordinances. Along with this we require other things such as learning or dynamic leadership. But this means these people need to have these things on a level sufficient to justify putting them in a separate class. It also encourages the congregation to believe that just by being part of a group that has such authority, they are pleasing God.  

Now the church is to have leaders (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Timothy 3:1; 1 Peter 5:1-4), and we are called to be subject to them (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12,13; 1 Timothy 5:17 ). Their job is to shepherd, to instruct, to be an example, not to claim a fictitious authority. For to do so is to put them as a mediator between the people and God. A position only one Person qualifies for (1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 4:12; John 14:6).