Proper Authority

Coming up soon is a proposal for United Methodist General Conference which will essentially remove the authority of the licensed pastor to administer the Sacraments at the charge to which he or she is appointed. One district superintendent has already come forth to defend the Discipline and the ministry of the licensed pastor. Another ordained elder has come out clearly against the sacramental authority of the local pastor. As a licensed pastor myself, I take exception to his arguments for maintaining the "purity" of the ordained and hope to work out for myself what my ministry means. And I must also say that this particular elder has all but confirmed what I have long suspected: there are many elders who seem to resent the local pastor administering the sacraments.

Don't get me wrong. I have encountered many ordained elders who have worked tirelessly to support the ministry of the local pastor, my own district superintendent included. Not by mere words but by solid action, these elders have proved that they take the ministry and the necessity of the local pastor quite seriously. However, this particular elder who believes that "set apart is set apart" has actually presented his case in a most elite fashion of supposing that merely having been ordained by man imparts some mystical power, an attitude that lends itself to the same kinds of superstitions that Wesley himself accused the Roman church of projecting.

The elder who seems to resent the ministry of the licensed pastor acknowledged the DS's "logistical" considerations but maintained that the issue is quite theological. I happen to agree that there is a theological element that must take precedence over any logistical concerns, but he lost me when he quoted the United Methodist Hymnal instead of Holy Scripture and referenced Charles and John Wesley instead of Jesus of Nazareth and St. Paul. If there is to be a theological argument made against the ministry of the local pastor, we are going to have to go a little deeper than a music book.

There are too many points that the elder attempted to make, but I want to focus primarily on one particular statement that has really stuck in my craw. He stated, "If the bread and wine somehow become the Body and Blood, then the question becomes: who is responsible for facilitating that change? Can just anyone say the words? I can only imagine how John Wesley might answer that question."

I think perhaps it goes right to the heart of his point of "anyone" saying the words. What words are we referring to? Is there a magical, hocus-pocus formula-type of incantation by which the Holy Spirit of the Lord God would be compelled to bless the elements whether He would choose to or not, or were Jesus' words true enough that "whenever there are two or more gathered in My name, I will be there"? I suppose I resent the good reverend's implication that only an elder's prayer is a genuine prayer that can truly count. And I know that many Methodists will cringe at such a statement, but who is John Wesley that we should seek to quote him rather than the Scriptures he himself quoted often?

And lest we forget, John Wesley was not Methodist nor was he a bishop in the church he served. If there is to be a succession of apostolic authority, one might suggest that Wesley was in direct violation of his contemporary discipline which reserved the authority to ordain for bishops. We already know that Mr. Wesley torqued a lot of screws with those in authority over him, but he sought to address a need that is as acute today as then.

As it stands now, licensed pastors such as I have fulfilled the educational requirements as set forth in the Discipline and under proper authority have earned the privilege of administering the Sacraments of the Church in the charge to which we are appointed. Why has it become significant in the life of the church that this authority be recalled and the credentials of the licensed pastor be declared null and void? Are elders really going to be willing to rise at O dark:thirty to cover the 5 or 6 churches in his or her immediate proximity in order to administer the Sacraments? Oh, Rev. Elder did suggest that we local pastors may serve as his altar boys by coming to him for his "blessing" upon the elements so that the magical transformation may take place even as he repudiates the notion of transubstantiation, "just like John Wesley".

I have tried to be kind and hold my tongue and will continue to try, but I suppose I am a little resentful because of what is afoot within this church. We have problems to face and deal with, but I just don't happen to think this is one of them. And if there is, as I suspect, a move on the part of ordained clergy to protect their "country club" network and elite hierarchy, the fallout from that alone will likely be more than the United Methodist Church can bear because, sadly, the ordained pastor is not held in as high esteem as in the past. Pretending to be a cut above the mere laity will surely back-fire.

I don't mean to diminish the role of the ordained. I refuse to wear a stole and am extremely uncomfortable being addressed as "reverend" because I view it as a professional title that has been earned, theologically or otherwise. The ordained elder is also free to administer the Sacraments anywhere and at any time whereas the licensed pastor is restricted to the charge to which appointed. Fair enough. So I only ask that the role and ministry of the licensed pastor be offered this very same level of respect until or unless all ordained clergy show a willingness to travel to so many churches because I, for one, have not been called to carry table scraps from one church to another.