Was i ordained?

[firedan]

Earlier this day, i met a friend of mine who is considered a bishop in their congregation..we were having a normal christian conversation and my move on establishing an independent ministry..after our conversation, as usual, we prayed..while we were praying, while my head was bowed down, he layed his hands on me..it was an unatural move on his part..i told him that he just ordained me..he just smiled,he answered back and said that whlie we were praying, he felt a warm feeling on his hands and his need to place it on my head..he said that it was a special procedure and that he doesn't do it normally..has he ordained me? I remembered that he was praying for my desired ministry..can someone tell me what just happened..i was overwhelmed that until now i just cant contain myself..thank you and God bless us all..

 

[Pal Handy]

Earlier this day, i met a friend of mine who is considered a bishop in their congregation..we were having a normal christian conversation and my move on establishing an independent ministry..after our conversation, as usual, we prayed..while we were praying, while my head was bowed down, he layed his hands on me..it was an unatural move on his part..i told him that he just ordained me..he just smiled,he answered back and said that whlie we were praying, he felt a warm feeling on his hands and his need to place it on my head..he said that it was a special procedure and that he doesn't do it normally..has he ordained me? I remembered that he was praying for my desired ministry..can someone tell me what just happened..i was overwhelmed that until now i just cant contain myself..thank you and God bless us all..

God is the one who ordains us.
God in Christ is the the one who calls us to ministry and His purposes.

This man may have laid his hand on you but it is Jesus Christ who does the
choosing and equipping of those He calls to His purpose in His church.

The church is His people, not buildings or denominations although
these may contain His people, they are not His church.

I realize that many believe that they can choose to be a pastor, teacher or minister in
the church but those who think this way are wrong if they think
that they have chosen to serve God because it is Christ who does the choosing
for His purposes to build His church (His people).

We see the results of men making themselves ministers of the gospel
who use this usurped authority to steal and defraud people and the Lord
of the money, time and resources that are used for selfish gain in the name of Christ
instead of being used to build His church (His people).

It sounds like to me that God is in this choosing of you to serve Him so
the next step is to draw closer to Him and open your life up to Him as you
offer yourself to Him to do whatever He wants and not what you think.

You need to pray and ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit and give you wisdom and
to open or close the doors of ministry as He leads you.

God is able to lead us if we are willing to follow Him in Christ.

A call to ministry may end up in a time of preparation first so do not become discouraged
if things do not go according to your plans.

What God has in mind for you may not be what you think.

Many times we think we have it all figured out as we think that we see into our future
and imagine how our ministry will develop and grow in the way that we desire in our hearts but
this imagination is not always the heart of God.

If you really want to serve God in Christ then surrender to Him and
let Him know that you want His will to be done in your life and
the lives of those you will serve as you desire to build His kingdom
and not fulfill your own imagined ministry.

Being lead by God's Holy Spirit is key so pray, surrender and ask that God
give you more of His Spirit so that you will be empowered to do
whatever He calls you to do for His glory.

Remember that Christ is the one who builds His church (His people) so go to Him
daily and ask Him to be your Lord each day and to show you what He
wants to do in your life regarding your preparation for ministry and the building of His church.

The church of Jesus Christ is all the believers all over the world and
is not one denomination so do not fall into the trap of believing
that you are building up your denomination but see the bigger picture
of you serving Jesus Christ above all others including yourself.

Ask Christ to give you His heart and mind so that you will be working
with Him and not against Him.

Ask your heavenly Father to fill you with His Holy Spirit as you offer your life to
Him in Christ so that you will have the same heart, mind and Spirit that Christ had
when He came to serve us all and lead us into God's kingdom.

 

[ezeric]

You were already made part of a "Royal Priesthood, in JESUS" and were "Called" by the SPIRIT when the LORD first found you. (see 1 Peter 2:9)

You take the praise of GOD not the praise of man.
You are part of HIS KINGDOM and not some church system.
You have been known & chosen, from before birth.

But signs do follow them that believe.

Its a subtle trap to follow the church/denomination procedures and traditions - which is not of the SPIRIT.

But I know from the LORD that what happened to you was a confirmation (a sign) to you and a sign to your friend.
That the SPIRIT is really in you both.
But don't pursue signs (they follow you) you just follow the SPIRIT.
Not into your ministry but the ministry of the SPIRIT.
Which is a ministry of GRACE! A ministry of unconditional love.

Praise the LORD, that HE is leading you..

But leading you where?

To HIMSELF and HIMSELF alone!

-eric

The Exchanged Life

 

[Albion]

Earlier this day, i met a friend of mine who is considered a bishop in their congregation..we were having a normal christian conversation and my move on establishing an independent ministry..after our conversation, as usual, we prayed..while we were praying, while my head was bowed down, he layed his hands on me..it was an unatural move on his part..i told him that he just ordained me..he just smiled,he answered back and said that whlie we were praying, he felt a warm feeling on his hands and his need to place it on my head..he said that it was a special procedure and that he doesn't do it normally..has he ordained me? I remembered that he was praying for my desired ministry..can someone tell me what just happened..i was overwhelmed that until now i just cant contain myself..thank you and God bless us all..

He was moved to bless you and support you. That's all. In some churches, a bishop's blessing is highly vauled and sought after.

Denominationalism aside, there are certain well-recognized standards by which a person is ordained.

You have to be ordained in an ordination ceremony; that is, he would have to actually be ordaining you. Just laying his hand upon your body doesn't do that. Intent is essential, and he did not tell you that he meant to ordain you when you asked him about it. So, no.

Second, ordained ministers are CALLED by the people of God. Some denomination or at least a congregation--if that be part of its governance style--has to accept you as an approved candidate for the ministry, after which the ceremony would take place. So again, no.

 

[hedrick]

In the PCUSA we have ordination but also commissioning. Ordination is for an established office. In most churches that's just ministers, but we also ordain deacons and elders. As Albion says, this isn't something you'd do on the spur of the moment, and it would require you to be called and to make a commitment.

We also have the concept of commissioning someone for a specific task. That's what this looks like to me.

 

[Angelfrog]

He was moved to show you his support for you or friendship towards you. That's all.

Denominationalism aside, there are certain well-recognized standards by which a person is ordained.

You have to be ordained in an ordination ceremony; that is, he would have to actually be ordaining you. Just laying his hand upon your body doesn't do that. Intent is essential, and he did not tell you that he meant to ordain you when you asked him about it. So, no.

Second, ordained ministers are CALLED by the people of God. Some denomination or at least a congregation--if that be part of its governance style--has to accept you as an approved candidate for the ministry, after which the ceremony would take place. So again, no.

This, basically!

Whatever one's personal opinion of Christians being 'ordained'- if he is a Bishop in his denomination, then he knows jolly well that the process isn't a laying on of hands and bob's your uncle event. Ordination takes years of training (we celebrated our Minister's full ordination last year- and he's been a Minister for years. There's a ton of study involved, practical experience, interviews etc,etc,etc).

For a Bishop, ordination would encompass all that, so he certainly wouldn't have actually been ordaining you. If a Bishop was involved, there would be a formal ceremony- vows would be taken by you and so on.

I'm sure there are many arguments to be had about being ordained- but basically in the Bishop's eyes, no- that would not be ordination.

 

[Albion]

This, basically!

Whatever one's personal opinion of Christians being 'ordained'- if he is a Bishop in his denomination, then he knows jolly well that the process isn't a laying on of hands and bob's your uncle event. Ordination takes years of training (we celebrated our Minister's full ordination last year- and he's been a Minister for years. There's a ton of study involved, practical experience, interviews etc,etc,etc).

For a Bishop, ordination would encompass all that, so he certainly wouldn't have actually been ordaining you. If a Bishop was involved, there would be a formal ceremony- vows would be taken by you and so on.

As a footnote...I didn't address those facts because I thought there was a possibility that this was a small church body whose bishops operate more like supervisory pastors than the bishops of churches claiming Apostolic Succession. But still, there would have to be intent--as you said--and that was denied. And BTW, no matter what the polity of the church in question might be, an ordination would result in an ordination certificate! The inquirer seems to be wondering if an ordination could take place unofficially but still be effective, and the answer is clearly 'no.'

 

[AndrewK9]

God is the one who ordains us.
God in Christ is the the one who calls us to ministry and His purposes.

This man may have laid his hand on you but it is Jesus Christ who does the
choosing and equipping of those He calls to His purpose in His church.

The church is His people, not buildings or denominations although
these may contain His people, they are not His church.

I realize that many believe that they can choose to be a pastor, teacher or minister in
the church but those who think this way are wrong if they think
that they have chosen to serve God because it is Christ who does the choosing
for His purposes to build His church (His people).

We see the results of men making themselves ministers of the gospel
who use this usurped authority to steal and defraud people and the Lord
of the money, time and resources that are used for selfish gain in the name of Christ
instead of being used to build His church (His people).

It sound like to me that God is in this choosing of you to serve Him so
now you need to draw closer to Him and open your life up to Him as you
offer yourself to Him to do what He wants and not what you think.

You need to pray and ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit and give you wisdom and
to open or close the doors of ministry as He leads you.

God is able to lead us if we are willing to follow Him in Christ.

A call to ministry may end up in a time of preparation first so do not become discouraged
if things do not go according to your plans.

What God has in mind for you may not be what you think.

Many times we think we have it all figured out as we think that we see into our future
and imagine how our ministry will develop and grow in the way that we desire in our hearts but
this imagination is not always the heart of God.

If you really want to serve God in Christ then surrender to Him and
let Him know that you want His will to be done in your life and
the lives of those you will serve as you desire to build His kingdom
and not fulfill your own imagined ministry.

Being lead by God's Holy Spirit is key so pray, surrender and ask that God
give you more of His Spirit so that you will be empowered to do
whatever He calls you to do for His glory.

Remember that Christ is the one who builds His church (His people) so go to Him
daily and ask Him to be your Lord each day and to show you what He
wants to do in your life regarding your preparation for ministry and the building of His church.

The church of Jesus Christ is all the believers all over the world and
is not one denomination so do not fall into the trap of believing
that you are building up your denomination but see the bigger picture
of you serving Jesus Christ above all others including yourself.

Ask Christ to give you His heart and mind so that you will be working
with Him and not against Him.

Ask your heavenly Father to fill you with His Holy Spirit as you offer your life to
Him in Christ so that you will have the same heart, mind and Spirit that Christ had
when He came to serve us all and lead us into God's kingdom.

This pretty much sums it up.

 

[LilLamb219]

Jesus' disciples were trained for 3 years How long have you been to a seminary to train, to learn the original languages of scripture, etc....? I'm with Albion on what he posted.

 

[Ark100]

Earlier this day, i met a friend of mine who is considered a bishop in their congregation..we were having a normal christian conversation and my move on establishing an independent ministry..after our conversation, as usual, we prayed..while we were praying, while my head was bowed down, he layed his hands on me..it was an unatural move on his part..i told him that he just ordained me..he just smiled,he answered back and said that whlie we were praying, he felt a warm feeling on his hands and his need to place it on my head..he said that it was a special procedure and that he doesn't do it normally..has he ordained me? I remembered that he was praying for my desired ministry..can someone tell me what just happened..i was overwhelmed that until now i just cant contain myself..thank you and God bless us all..

he didnt ordain you. Ordination is more than that. Random people get hands laid on them and they can feel the power of God through that, it doesn't mean it ordination.
If you are establishing an independent ministry, God will ordain you before man ordains you. Its God who puts His servants in positions or offices in His ministry. Man don't get to decide who until God says who.
You also don't have to be called by man or chosen by man before god uses you in His ministry. God is the one who will use you and equip you.
You dont have to attend a 3 yr ministry course or theological school to be used by God. I know many great men of God who did not.
Procedure of man is not the procedure of God.

I think what your friend was doing was simply praying for you to God for your ministry and it seems like God touched you through that, it doesn't necessarily mean ordination.
You will have to seek God on your own in regards to that.

 

[sdburtis]

I have to agree with Ark100. Ordination is an act of man, providing a legal right to certain acts of ministry, powers vested by the state. God does ordain us, but in a very different manner. They way of man is not the way of God. I would say you friend felt God telling him to bless you. Of course, your whole post and many responses bring to mind the question of what denomination your friend is from. I know there is a lot of debate as to whether denomination matters or not, but I have been the member of churches where touching was not only not common, but not permitted, and have also been the member of other churches (Assemblies of God) where the laying on of hands was a regular thing at every church meeting. Whatever the answer to that question, without a doubt, your friend was moved by God in his action. The future and your ministry is between you and God. He will guide you in the right direction.

 

[Albion]

I have to agree with Ark100. Ordination is an act of man, providing a legal right to certain acts of ministry, powers vested by the state.

I think that was the OP's question, however.

God does ordain us, but in a very different manner.

No, God calls and his church does the ordaining.