POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
FOR THE
ORDER OF MINISTRY
CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
OF THE
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION
2401 North Lake Avenue
Altadena, California 91001-2418
(626) 296-0385
Adoption date: October 28, 2009
INDEX
INTRODUCTION
I THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR THE ORDERING OF MINISTRY IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
PREFACE
THE MINISTRY OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE OF GOD
HISTORICAL SURVEY OF DISCIPLES MINISTRY
Alexander Campbell
Barton Warren Stone
Later views
Origins of Licensed ministry
Emerging Practice at the Turn of the Millennium
MINISTRY IN THE CONGREGATION
ORDER OF MINISTRY
Commissioned Ministry Commissioned Ministry
Ordained Ministry
NOTES
II POLICIES AND CRITERIA FOR THE ORDERING OF MINISTRY
MINISTRY IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
The Ministry of Jesus Christ
The Corporate Ministry
The Order of Ministry
Personal Qualifications for Admission to the Order of Ministry
Preparation for Service in the Order of Ministry
APPLICANT FOR THE ORDER OF MINISTRY
Definitions-Candidacy/Candidate under care
Exploratory Care
Listing of Processes Indentified by the Committee on Ministry
Criteria for Candidacy
Candidacy under care status
Responsibilities: Applicant
Responsibilities: Sponsoring Congregation
Responsibilities: Committee on Ministry
Decision to Take Candidate Under Care
CANDIDATE TO THE ORDER OF MINISTRY
Responsibilities: Candidate
Responsibilities: Sponsoring Congregation
Responsibilities: Committee on Ministry
Role of Other Institutions of Higher Learning
Conclusion of Candidacy
THE OFFICE OF COMMISSIONED MINISTER
Definition of the Office of Commissioned Minister
Categories of Commissioned Ministry
Criteria for Commissioning
Responsibilities: Candidate
Responsibilities: Sponsoring Congregation
Responsibilities of the Committee on Ministry
The Decision to Commission
The Act of Commissioning
THE OFFICE OF ORDAINED MINISTRY
Definition of the Office of Ordained Minister
Authorization for Ordination
Criteria for Ordination
Educational Requirements
Responsibilities: Candidate
Responsibilities: Sponsoring congregation
Responsibilities: Committee on Ministry
Role of General Church and other Regions unique to the ordination process
Conclusion of Candidacy
The Decision to Ordain
The Act of Ordination
RIGHT OF APPEAL
MINISTERIAL STANDING IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DOC)
Definition of Standing
Types of Standing in the Order of Ministry
Authorization for Standing
Criteria for Standing
Benefits of Standing
Processes Leading to Standing
Continued Standing: Persons within CC(DOC)
Admission to Standing: Persons Transferring Into CC(DOC)
Recognition/Reconciliation: Ordained Ministries United Church of Christ
Recognition/Reconciliation: Ordained Ministries Other Denominations
Responsibilities: Candidate (Procedures leading to Standing)
Responsibilities: Committee on Ministry (Procedures leading to Standing)
Decision to grant Provisional Standing
Decision to grant Full Standing
Dual Standing
Responsibility for Certification of Standing
Requirements for Continuation of Standing
Current Standing in the Order of Ministry: Relocating within the Region
Current Standing in the Order of Ministry: Retired Ministers
Procedures: Termination of Ministerial Standing
Procedures: Probationary Ministerial Standing
Procedures: Reinstatement of Ministerial Standing
MINISTERIAL SEARCH AND CALL
IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS
AMENDMENT PROCESS
IV. LISTING OF APPENDICES
Foundational Informational Policies
APPENDIX 1 Ministerial Code of Ethics of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (Source: DHM Search and Call Office)
APPENDIX 2 Definitions and Procedures Regarding
Clergy Sexual Ethics
Application Procedures
APPENDIX 3 Information Schedule from Candidate
APPENDIX 4 Candidate Covenant
APPENDIX 5 Checklist: Materials Due for Committee on Ministry Meetings
APPENDIX 6 Regional Minister Approval to Begin Application Process
APPENDIX 7 Recommendation of Applicant by Sponsoring Congregation
APPENDIX 8 Recommendation of Applicant by Constituency Group
APPENDIX 9 Reference Addendum Form
APPENDIX 10 Authorization to Perform Criminal Background Check
APPENDIX 11 Authorization to Receive Results of Psychological Testing and Permission to Forward Abstracted Results to Committee on Ministry
Candidate Forms
APPENDIX 12 Request by Candidate for Specific Action
APPENDIX 13 Guidelines for Statement of Call/Statement of Faith and Doubt
APPENDIX 14 Recommendation of Candidate by Sponsoring Congregation
APPENDIX 15 Candidate Biographical Update
Commission Renewal Application
APPENDIX 16 Request by Sponsoring Congregation for Renewal
APPENDIX 17 Commissioned Minister’s Self Evaluation Form
APPENDIX 18 Sponsoring Congregational Leader’s Evaluation Form
APPENDIX 19 Mentor’s Evaluation Form
Ordination Forms
APPENDIX 20 Candidate Covenant- Ordination Supplement
APPENDIX 21 Recommendation by Sponsoring Congregation for Ordination
APPENDIX 22 Seminarian Exit Interview
APPENDIX 22A Recognition and Reconciliation of the Ordained Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ
Certificates
APPENDIX 23 Certificate of Commissioning
APPENDIX 24 Certificate of Ordination
APPENDIX 25 Certificate of Recognition of Ordination and Standing
Transfer of Standing Form
APPENDIX 26 Application for Transfer of Ministerial Standing
Policies Regarding Continuation of Standing
APPENDIX 27 Regional Policy regarding Continuing Education
APPENDIX 28 Regional Policy regarding Clergy Sexual Ethics
Annual Review of Standing Forms
APPENDIX 29 Annual Request for Continuation of Ministerial Standing
in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Order of Ministry
APPENDIX 30 Annual Request for Continuation of Ministerial Standing
in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Order of Ministry- Short Form - Inactive Retired only
Special Review of Standing Forms
APPENDIX 31 Interim Minister Agreement
Introduction
This is an outline of the policies and procedures under which the Committee on Ministry of the Pacific Southwest Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) operates. The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) gives to the Region the primary responsibility for candidate supervision, commissioning, ordination, and for the determination of standing in the Order of Ministry.
The Region has assigned this responsibility to the Committee on Ministry. The Committee is composed of at least 25 members, including both lay and clergy, who intentionally reflect the full diversity of the region. All Committee members are confirmed by the Regional Board. Each Committee member serves a three-year term, and may serve two consecutive terms. The Regional Minister(s) and the Deployed Staff of the Region and the President of the Disciples Seminary Foundation, or their designee, serve as ex-officio members with vote. The Regional Board assigns appropriate staff support. Only the Committee makes the final decisions on all matters.
Matters pertaining to the ministry have been developed through the years since The Provisional Design was adopted by the General Assembly in Kansas City in 1968. Before this time, matters concerning ministry in the Christian Church tended to be rather haphazard, entrepreneurial, and circumstantial. Some strides had been made in standardization, criteria, and accountability prior to 1968, but the action of the General Assembly at that time began the process by which we established an "Order of the Ministry" and devised the organizational processes by which a "covenantal" Church might have an "ordered" ministry with the appropriate criteria in place for recruitment, training, recognition, placement, pastoral care, and support for ministers in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The societal and ecclesiological developments that produced the adoption of The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) suggest the framework in which the following Policies and Procedures operate. There are general criteria to be applied for the "Order of Ministry" in the Christian Church. Changing circumstances and human conditions are such that a mature Committee on the Ministry, led by the promptings of the Holy Spirit, must always, in humility, be making judgments which are firm, when indicated, and flexible, when necessary.
The document which follows is built on the General Assembly actions which established the framework for an "Order of Ministry in the Christian Church" beginning in 1971, and including additions or amendments in 1977 on Candidacy; in 1981 on Ministerial standing; in 1985 on Ministerial Relocation; in 1987 on the "Amendment Process"; in 1995 on the Recognition and Reconciliation of the Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ; in subsequent revisions, in 1999, 2000; and 2008, this revised edition includes policies and processes regarding sexual misconduct of ministers, required psychological testing, probationary standing, and reinstatement of ministerial standing.
This statement on Policies and Procedures reflects the considerable experience that has accrued in the Committee on Ministry for the Pacific Southwest Region since its inception in 1969, and is built on the latest previous edition published by the Region in 2000. This document is published in order that the Committee, Regional Minister(s), Regional support staff, pastors, leaders of local congregations, applicants and candidates for the "Order of Ministry" may be guided in all aspects pertaining to preparation and performance of commissioned or ordained ministry in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) through the Pacific Southwest Region.
I.
Theological Foundations
for the Ordering of Ministry
in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
PREFACE
Theological Foundations for the Ordering of Ministry in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) functions interdependently with Policies and Criteria for the Ordering of Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to clarify evolving patterns of ministry as we seek to respond in faithful ways to ever changing contexts of service and witness. It is not a comprehensive theology of ministry nor does it attempt to offer the final word on Disciples’ understanding of ministry.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE OF GOD
God calls all persons to receive the good news of the Gospel and accept their call to be God’s people. In a divided and unbelieving world, those who accept this good news are drawn into the fellowship (koinonia) of a new community, the church. In this body, the Holy Spirit unites those who follow Jesus Christ and sends them as witnesses into the world [ref: I Corinthians 12.12‐13; Ephesians 4.4‐5; Matthew 28:16‐20]. The church’s mission is to proclaim and prefigure the justice and joy of the Realm of God. In order to fulfill this mission faithfully, the members of the Body of Christ are given ministries of witness, service and reconciliation.
The ministry of Christ is entrusted to all the people of God. Through baptism they are called to servant ministry lived out in covenant community. Implicit in the confession of faith and the act of baptism is an acceptance of the vocation of the baptized—the special calling shared by all followers of Christ to witness to the sovereign love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit in all of life. The gifts (charisms) of the Holy Spirit are different and diverse, but in tremendous and simple ways they proclaim the mighty acts of God and mediate God’s loving and reconciling work to and in the world. Every baptized person is called to witness to Christ in whatever situation he or she lives—to express in their daily lives the ministry of Christ.
In Christ the individual becomes a member of “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of God’s own possession” (1Peter 2:9). Thus it has been common to speak of the “priesthood of all believers”— the persons who live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ in the church and in the world. This language highlights the sacramentality of the work of the laity through whose witness and service the grace of God is made manifest. The “priesthood of all believers” refers to the persons who have entered into a covenanted relationship through confession and baptism. It ought not be confused with the role of congregational elders in the administration of the Lord’s Supper. Although in some circumstances anyone can administer the Sacraments/Ordinances of the Church, in Disciples practice it has usually been the duly appointed congregational leaders who administer baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This practice derives not from the “priesthood of all believers” but from early distinctions between the roles of elder and evangelist/preacher. The evangelist, called from outside the congregation, was restricted to ministries of preaching/teaching. The elder(s), called from within the congregation, bore responsibility for congregational governance, including the administration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The right and responsibility to preside at the Table is increasingly a role shared by Elders and ministers.
The ministry of God’s people (the laos – the Greek term used in the New Testament for “people,” which is the source of our English words “laity, laywomen, laymen”), taken as a whole and in its diverse individual expressions, is to manifest and so continue the saving ministry of Jesus Christ. This ministry includes all who join together in witness to God’s justice and reconciliation through worship, daily work, sharing the Gospel, pastoral care, relief of human suffering, engagement in the struggle for peace and justice, and realization of the unity of the Church Universal. It is within this context of a shared ministry of the people of God that Commissioned ministry and Ordained ministry is to be understood.
Within the ministry of the whole people of God there is, and has been since the early church, representative ministry called by God and set apart by the Church for distinctive functions. The Commissioned and the Ordained are both of the laos, but in recognizing God’s call to particular individuals, the Church designates persons “to re‐present to the Church its own identity and calling in Jesus Christ” (The Nature of the Church, A Word to the Church on Ministry). Authority and blessing to perform this ministry are celebrated in Ordination and Commissioning.
HISTORICAL SURVEY OF DISCIPLES MINISTRY
Alexander Campbell and Barton Warren Stone relied on the Bible, especially the New Testament, as the only rule of faith and practice. This premise shaped their understandings of ministry in its many expressions. Campbell’s attitudes on ministry progressed as the movement grew and the changing circumstances of the church demanded new approaches to and appropriations of leadership. Conversely, Stone’s attitudes on ministry remained relatively consistent.
Alexander Campbell
Although Alexander Campbell was staunchly anti‐clerical, he was clearly pro‐ministry. This position was elaborated throughout various pages of the Christian Baptist in the 1820s to 1830. The clergy of the day represented for Campbell a class that he could only term self‐serving and pompous, promoting a specific set of sectarian or denominational tenets in place of the gospel. His opposition was to a professional clergy—independent of the local congregation, and accountable only to itself—not to the exercise of ministry which he considered essential to the life of the Church. Campbell developed a specific formula for the church’s ministry, quite apart from what others might consider the roles of the clergy:
1. Establish necessary offices for perpetuity and growth