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How Ministers Are Chosen: Calvin on the Call to Office | John Calvin · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to reform thinking. It's good to be here.
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  Today we're going to be taking a a really serious look at
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  something that is just fundamental to the integrity of
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  the church. We're talking about the lawful
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  vocation. We're doing a deep dive into the
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  public, the outward call of ministers, So bishops,
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  presbyters, deacons and the rules that are meant to
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  structure their appointment. And this is all about
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  ecclesiastical order and discipline.
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  It's about the specific mechanisms the church has to use
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  to select its leaders, right? This is to make sure the
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  ministry has authority and, you know, integrity both in front of
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  the congregation and, well, the world.
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  We're sort of setting aside the person's private spiritual life
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  for a moment to focus on what makes the office publicly valid.
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  And our mission here is to really unpack that structure.
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  We're drawing from established rules and scriptural practices
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  that the reformer saw in the church.
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  We want to get at what makes a call truly lawful.
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  Yes. And to keep this from getting
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  too sprawling, the material is laid out around 4 specific
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  questions that really define the whole ministerial call.
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  That structure is so helpful. I think of them as the four
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  pillars of the solemn call. They give us the criteria for a
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  lawful public appointment. OK, So what are they?
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  Well. 1st, we have to ask what sort of ministers should they be
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  that gets at their qualifications?
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  Second, how should they be appointed?
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  This speaks more to the reverence, the spiritual
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  atmosphere of the whole process. 3rd, and this one can get
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  complicated, by whom should they be appointed?
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  This is about the balance between the people's consent and
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  the guidance of the pastors. And finally, by what right or
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  ceremony should they be installed?
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  So the actual act of ordination, this whole systematic approach,
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  is there to maintain discipline because of the immense weight of
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  choosing the church's leaders. OK, let's look back this.
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  But before we get into those 4 outward pillars, you mentioned
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  something crucial. We have to 1st establish this
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  distinction between the private and the public.
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  Yes, the secret call versus the solemn call.
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  It seems like if we miss this separation, we misunderstand the
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  whole idea of vocation. We absolutely do that.
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  Separation is critical. It defines the two different
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  jurisdictions a minister operates under, gods and the
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  churches, and we have to start with a secret call because this
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  is about the minister's own standing before God.
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  OK, so this is internal. It's completely internal.
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  It's a conviction that's deeply personal, and it's something the
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  church you know, can't possibly be a reliable witness to.
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  It's between the person and God. So what does the source material
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  say needs to be there in the minister's heart for this secret
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  call to be valid, for the ministry to be, as they say,
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  approved by God? The sources are very specific.
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  They require what called the good witness of the heart.
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  The good witness of the heart, right?
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  The candidate has to come to the office with a sincere
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  disposition. This means receiving the
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  position with a sincere fear of God and a genuine desire to
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  build up the church. That has to be the highest
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  motive. So it's about pure motivation.
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  The internal conviction has to be that they're doing this work
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  out of devotion, out of obedience, and not for any kind
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  of personal gain. And just as powerfully, the
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  sources seem to stress what has to be rejected.
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  This isn't just another job. Exactly.
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  The office must not be accepted because of ambition or avarice,
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  you know, greed or any other selfish desire.
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  These impure motives, even if they're hidden from everyone,
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  they make the ministry unacceptable to God.
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  So there's this metaphor they use, right?
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  The house builder. It's a great one if the builder
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  is only building for his own profit.
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  The house might look fine from the outside, but God rejects the
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  worker. The foundation is corrupt.
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  OK, that sets up a really interesting tension, because if
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  the motive is greed, God disapproves, but the church
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  can't see the heart. So now let's contrast that deep
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  internal work with the outer or solemn call the public one.
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  Right. The outer call is concerned
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  entirely with the public order of the church.
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  It's the visible structural process.
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  It's witnessed, it's voted on, it's established by specific
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  rights. This is what determines the
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  minister's lawful authority in front of the congregation.
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  And this is where the tension comes in.
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  This is it. The sources state that a person
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  is considered duly be called in the presence of the Church
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  through this outer call, even if they internally hold an evil
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  conscience. Wait, say that again.
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  As long as their wickedness is not open, not public, the outer
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  call stands. So the public structure is
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  considered valid for the sake of church order, even if the person
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  leading the service is internally compromised.
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  Doesn't that risk just institutionalizing hypocrisy?
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  It sounds like a huge risk, I know, but the sources are
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  talking about validity and discipline, not a person's
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  eternal salvation. The outer call is designed to
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  protect the people and the office.
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  I see, so it's about function. It establishes a legal and
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  visible authority that the congregation can recognize and
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  submit to without having to second guess the state of the
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  minister's soul. If the minister's internal
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  wickedness is secret, the authority granted by the Church
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  remains lawful. Because otherwise it would be
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  chaos. Utter chaos.
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  The church has to have a visible rule to operate by.
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  If it didn't, every spiritual act would be subject to the
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  minister's secret relationship with God, and public discipline
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  would be destroyed. That really clarifies the
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  boundary there. God judges the inward intent.
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  The Church judges the outward compliance and fitness.
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  Let's use that house building metaphor you mentioned to sort
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  of tie these two calls together for our listeners.
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  It's a perfect analogy. The ministry itself is like a
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  house being built for God's sacred use.
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  The secret call is the sincere internal intent of the builder.
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  Pure devotion, not profit. Exactly that pure motive is
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  judged solely by God. And the outer call, these 4
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  pillars we're about to get into, that's the physical reality of
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  the house. That's it.
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  The outer call is the visible structure and the blueprints.
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  It's the qualifications, the right, the consent from the
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  people. These rules make sure the
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  building is sound, that it's competent, and that it's
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  authorized by the community no matter what secret thoughts the
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  foreman might be having. So if the structure is built
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  lawfully, the church can safely use the house.
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  Yes, both calls are necessary, but they protect different
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  things. The inner call protects the
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  minister from God's judgement. The outer call protects the
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  church from disorder and unlawful authority.
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  That's a great framework. OK, let's move on to that first
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  public pillar. What sort of ministers should
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  they be? Right?
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  This is where the Church has to look at the visible fitness of
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  the candidate to bear what the source is called, the burden of
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  the ministry. And it's key to say again that
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  the requirements Paul lays out for bishops are understood to
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  apply to presbyters and deacons, too.
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  That's right, the bar for moral and doctrinal standards doesn't
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  get lower for any office. So the qualifications don't
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  change. No, and that uniformity is what
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  prevents an erosion of the ministry's dignity.
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  The qualifications really fall into two main groups.
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  First, the external ones, which are of a moral and doctrinal
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  authority, and 2nd, those relating to competence and
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  fitness for the work itself. Start with those external
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  qualifications. These sound like the public non
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  negotiables. They are.
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  The primary absolute necessity is sound doctrine.
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  A minister has to be orthodox, capable of holding to the
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  integrity of the Gospel. I'm paired with that.
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  Paired with this is the requirement for a holy life.
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  Now, this isn't perfection, but a minister has to possess a
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  publicly visible moral integrity.
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  If their life contradicts their teaching, the whole ministry
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  just collapses. And then there's this negative
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  requirement, which seems maybe the most critical for public
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  validity, the absence of notorious faults.
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  Why is that specific phrase so vital to a lawful call?
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  It's entirely practical. It's for the sake of the
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  congregation. The sources really stress the
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  consequences here. If a candidate has a notorious a
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  public fault, that fault would immediately deprive the minister
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  of authority. And it would disgrace the
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  ministry itself. It would disgrace the ministry
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  the second their reputation is destroyed by a public sin or
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  scandal. The lawful authority that the
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  outer call gave them is just neutralized.
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  You can't be an effective ambassador if your moral
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  credibility is shot. It's about maintaining order,
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  not just personal holiness. So it's really the public
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  scandal that undermines the office.
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  Can we try to define what would have counted as a notorious
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  fault in this context? Sure, historically it would be
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  anything that brought public shame and contradicted the
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  office. This could be legal failings,
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  obvious greed, overt displays of pride, really anything that
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  contradicted the moral purity they were supposed to uphold.
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  So not about hidden struggles. No, not at all.
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  It was about the visible evidence that the candidate was
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  unfit to lead a holy life. The Church just can't afford to
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  appoint someone who's bad reputation already precedes
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  them. OK, so moving past that basic
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  moral and doctrinal standing, the candidate also has to have
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  demonstrable competence. They have to be fit for the
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  actual work. It's not enough to just be a
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  good person, they have to be able to do the job.
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  Yes, this is huge. Candidates must be adequate and
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  fit to bear the burden imposed upon them.
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  The language there is so intentional.
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  It's a heavy responsibility and not a comfortable job.
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  So they need skills. They have to be instructed in
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  those skills necessary for the discharge of their office.
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  This means they can't be ignorant of the Scriptures, they
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  can't be incapable of teaching, and they can't be unskilled in
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  pastoral council. Which suggests that intellectual
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  preparation, you know, education, is just as much a
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  part of the call as personal piety is.
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  Absolutely. The material insists on this.
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  It says the Lord supplies those destined for high office with
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  the arms required to fulfill. It so they don't come empty
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  handed. They don't come empty handed and
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  unprepared. If God calls a man to teach, he
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  equips him with the ability to teach.
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  This necessary preparation is summarized as learning joined
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  with piety and all the other gifts of a good pastor.
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  Because one without the other is dangerous.
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  It is learning without piety is dangerous, but piety without
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  learning leaves the minister unable to articulate and defend
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  sound doctrine. So you have these three things,
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  doctrine, integrity, and practical competence, forming
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  that indispensable first pillar. OK, we've established who the
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  minister should be. Now we can turn to the second
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  pillar, how they should be appointed.
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  And this isn't about the the mechanics of voting just yet,
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  but the spiritual posture, the religious awe that the church
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  needs to have during the selection process.
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  And this is a spiritual part of the outer call that I think
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  often gets overlooked today. Believers back then understood
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  that choosing ministers was, and I'm quoting the most serious
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  thing of all. The most serious thing?
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  Yes, this choice had massive effects on the congregation, on
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  the faith of their children. So they dared to attempt nothing
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  except with the highest reverence and care.
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  And that reverence, that's the true how?
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  And the practical ways this solemnities expressed are
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  specifically named as fasting and prayers.
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  Why were these spiritual disciplines seen as so
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  structurally necessary for the appointment?
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  Well, they serve a constitutional purpose.
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  You could say. The whole process of
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  appointment, even with the best candidates, is still subject to
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  human judgement. And human judgement is flawed.
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  It's prone to fickleness, to evil intentions, or just to
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  plain human error. Fasting and prayer are the
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  necessary disciplines to try and overcome that human frailty.
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  What? Was the goal of the prayers.
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  The specific stated purpose was to beseech from God the spirit
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  of counsel and discretion. It's an open admission that they
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  can't trust their own ability to discern the right person for the
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  office without God's guidance. So this isn't just a, you know,
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  a voluntary devotional activity. It's a requirement to make sure
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  the selection process itself is pure and orderly.
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  It's about seeking divine oversight.
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  That's it exactly. It ensures the process is guided
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  by divine wisdom and not just human politics or personal
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  preference. And this is rooted in a very
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  strong biblical precedent. Where do we see this?
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  Luke tells. Us that fasting and prayers
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  accompanied believers when they created presbyters when the
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  early church wanted to send out Paul and Barnabas, they fasted
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  and prayed. This set a pattern a binding
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  pattern on the church that this spiritual discipline is
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  necessary for order when you're selecting those who hold the
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  highest spiritual burden. It elevates the whole thing
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  above just a secular vote. So if a.
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  Selection process lacks that foundation of fasting and
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  prayer. Are the results still considered
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  lawful in the sense of the outer call?
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  Well, according. To the spirit of these sources,
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  any selection that lacks this required awe is at risk of being
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  deficient. If a church just casually
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  appoints its leaders, if it fails to beg for the spirit of
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  counsel and discretion, then they're just relying on human
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  judgment. And even if it's.
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  Technically valid, right? While the ordination might
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  technically stand because of the popular vote and the laying on
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  of hands are other pillars, the lack of reverence fundamentally
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  compromises the process. It suggests it might lack God's
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  approval even if it achieves a kind of public validity this
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  brings. Us to what might be the most
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  delicate political point in this whole process.
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  Pillar 3 by whom they should be appointed.
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  This pillar outlines that critical collaboration between
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  the congregation, the people and the existing leadership and the
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  source material demands A strict balance.
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  It says the call is lawful only when the minister is created by
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  the consent and approval of the people.
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  While other pastors ought to preside over the election.
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  It's a. Powerful synthesis, isn't it?
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  It's a blend of popular rights and necessary authority.
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  It's set up to make sure the common right and freedom of the
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  church is preserved. The final decision belongs not
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  to a small group of elites, but to the church as a whole.
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  But that. Decision has to be guided,
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  guided by wisdom. Yes, let's breakdown.
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  That requirement for popular approval why is the voice of the
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  people so indispensable for a lawful call?
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  According to these sources, they're.
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  Just uncompromising on this point.
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  The call is held to be lawful according to the word of God
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  only when there is consent and approval of the people.
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  So if a. Leader is just imposed on them
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  if a leader. Is imposed on the congregation
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  against their will. The call is fundamentally
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  illegitimate. Historically, the method of
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  choosing by votes, often by, you know, raising hands, was
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  established for this very reason.
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  To preserve this freedom, the people shouldn't be subjected to
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  a shepherd they reject. And there's a.
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  Strong element of transparency here too, right?
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  This isn't a secret process, not at all.
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  The ordination must happen only in the presence and with the
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  knowledge of the people. No backroom deals, no secret
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  consecrations. The proof of the candidates
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  fitness has to be established by public decision and testimony.
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  And this rule comes directly from divine authority that
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  stretches way back through the history of God's covenant
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  people. Let's look at.
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  Those scriptural examples how does the Bible reinforce this
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  need for the people's visibility and approval There are.
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  Three really strong examples that are referenced.
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  First, under the Old Covenant, the Levitical priests were
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  commanded to be brought into the presence of the people before
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  their consecration. The whole community had to
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  witness their dedication. OK.
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  Second, when a new apostle was to be appointed after Judas
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  Matthias, 2 candidates were brought forward, and while the
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  final selection was by lot, the candidates themselves were
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  chosen and presented by the community.
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  And the third. Example the creation of the
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  Deacons that seems to show the greatest amount of popular
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  choice it does. The seven deacons were created
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  with the people looking on and approving.
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  The apostles told the multitude of the disciples to look out
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  among you for seven men. The people selected them, and
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  then the apostles confirmed that choice, which establish.
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  A precedent it established. That the people are competent to
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  assess the visible fitness of a candidate.
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  As early commentators pointed out, this whole process ensures
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  the ordination is just and lawful because it's been
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  examined by the witness of everyone.
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  Now we have. To look at the other side of
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  that balance, the need for pastoral oversight.
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  If the people have the right to choose, why did the existing
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  leaders need to preside over the election?
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  Well, other. Pastors ought to preside over
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  the election because the people, even though they have this
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  common right, can still be swayed by human flaws.
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  So the pastors. Are a check on that the pastors?
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  Act as the moderator of the people in the election.
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  Their main purpose is to stop the multitude from going wrong
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  through fickleness, evil intentions, or just sheer
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  disorder. A multitude acting without
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  wisdom can easily be LED astray by someone who's charismatic but
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  unqualified, or just breakdown into factional fighting.
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  The moderator is there to preserve the integrity of the
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  process. This.
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  Tension really comes to a head when we look at the instructions
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  given to guys like Timothy and Titus.
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  They were told to appoint presbyters.
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  Doesn't that sound like they were given, you know, autocratic
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  authority to just bypass the popular vote?
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  It's often. Misunderstood that way.
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  But the sources insist this instruction meant giving good
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  and salutary advice to the people about who the best choice
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  would be. So it wasn't a.
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  Command. It did not.
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  Mean arranging everything according to their own decision,
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  disregarding the rest of the church.
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  The instruction to appoint was to guide, to moderate and to
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  make sure the rules of qualification were being met,
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  not to dictate the name and the history.
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  Of the apostles themselves seems to confirm this limit on their
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  authority absolutely. The sources point out that Paul
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  himself was accustomed to creating bishops by a vote of
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  the people. It's very unlikely that Paul
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  would give Timothy or Titus a greater, more autocratic
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  authority than he claimed for himself.
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  So the presiding. Pastor ensures the rules are
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  met. Yes, that.
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  Pillar one is met and the spirit of Pillar 2 is honored, but the
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  final authorization rests with the communal consent of Pillar
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  3. The election is, at the end of
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  the day, the authoritative decision of the church as a
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  whole, just guided and guarded by those already in authority.
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  OK, so this. Brings us to the end of the
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  outward call, the ceremonial part.
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  By what right or ceremony should they be installed?
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  The 4th. Pillar, the consistent.
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  Answer is the laying on of hands.
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  Now, the sources admit there's no explicit command, no set
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  preset for this. So why did the apostles in the
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  early church observe it so continually that it became
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  indispensable for order? Well, they're.
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  Very careful and continual observance of it ought to serve
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  in lieu of a precept. It's a powerful argument from
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  practice. They just didn't do.
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  It any other way they used. No other ceremony when admitting
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  men to the ministry. The sheer consistency of the
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  practice gives it the authority of custom and order, which makes
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  it binding for the sake of public discipline.
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  The thinking is, if the Spirit of God led the apostles to
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  establish the sign, the Church should continue it to.
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  Really get the weight of the sign.
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  We need to look at its origin. The sources trace it back to
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  ancient Hebrew custom. What was the original religious
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  meaning of laying on of hands the.
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  Right came from the custom of the Hebrews.
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  They used it to symbolically present to God that which they
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  wish to be blessed and consecrated.
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  It was a physical gesture of dedication and transference.
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  Can you give? Us some of the examples that the
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  sources cite for this, sure. We see it so vividly in
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  patriarchal blessings, like when Jacob laid his hands on Ephraim
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  and Manasseh to bless them. Christ himself used it when he
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  prayed over children, and most significantly, it was mandated
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  in the law. The Jews laid their hands on
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  their sacrifices. So this physical act publicly
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  identified the object, whether it was a child, a sacrifice, or
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  a minister, as being offered and dedicated to God.
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  So when the. Apostles brought this right into
• 19:34
  ordination. What specific religious meaning
• 19:37
  did it then carry for the new minister?
• 19:40
  How did it move beyond just simple dedication?
• 19:42
  It carried a. Three fold significance that was
• 19:45
  directly applicable to the office.
• 19:47
  First, it signified that the pastors were offering to God him
• 19:50
  whom they were receiving into the ministry.
• 19:53
  So it connects right back to that sacrificial idea of
• 19:56
  consecration and the second. Meaning it sounds almost like a
• 19:59
  powerful public warning. It is a.
• 20:00
  Profound public warning. It serves to warn the one
• 20:03
  ordained that he is no longer a law unto himself, but bound in
• 20:07
  servitude to God and the Church. The right is a visible public
• 20:12
  declaration of his commitment. It marks the minister as
• 20:15
  belonging entirely to the service of God and his people.
• 20:18
  And 3rd. It has a necessary public way to
• 20:20
  the office itself, yes. It is useful for the dignity of
• 20:24
  the ministry to be commended to the people by this sign.
• 20:27
  It makes the gravity of the newly conferred office visible
• 20:30
  to everyone in the congregation, and beyond that, it reminded
• 20:34
  everyone that the apostles had used this very sign when they
• 20:37
  conferred the visible graces of the Spirit, connecting it to the
• 20:41
  divine gifts needed for the office.
• 20:44
  Now, given that the right is a sign and not a direct
• 20:47
  commandment, how do the sources make sure it isn't just
• 20:51
  dismissed as an empty gesture or even worse, turned into some
• 20:54
  kind of superstition? That caution.
• 20:55
  Is key. It's considered no empty sign,
• 20:58
  but only if it is restored to its true origin and not turned
• 21:01
  to superstitious abuse. Meaning what?
• 21:03
  Exactly. Meaning it's.
• 21:04
  Not treated as if the physical act itself magically confers
• 21:06
  grace apart from the Holy Spirit.
• 21:08
  The sources state very firmly that the Spirit of God
• 21:11
  establishes nothing without cause in the Church.
• 21:13
  So if the apostles observed it, it must be useful for
• 21:16
  maintaining order and discipline and.
• 21:18
  Regarding who performs the right, does the people's consent
• 21:21
  from pillar three extend to the actual laying on of hands?
• 21:24
  No it. Does not.
• 21:26
  The ceremony is performed by pastors alone, not by the whole
• 21:29
  multitude. This division of Labor maintains
• 21:32
  order. The people choose and authorize.
• 21:35
  The existing leadership consecrates and publicly
• 21:38
  dedicates that choice. I see.
• 21:40
  It's. Noted that the custom varies on
• 21:42
  how many pastors lay hands on the candidate, but it is always
• 21:45
  performed by those already in office.
• 21:48
  OK. And.
• 21:48
  Finally, we have to address this often debated phrase from
• 21:51
  Scripture, laying on of hands at the presbytery.
• 21:55
  How should we interpret presbytery in this context?
• 21:58
  Well given? The whole framework we've
• 21:59
  discussed with popular consent and defined roles.
• 22:02
  The phrase is interpreted by the sources to mean that the
• 22:05
  ordination itself, not a group. Of people?
• 22:07
  Not necessarily. A specific company or a council
• 22:10
  of elders who all have to be present.
• 22:12
  It's seen as a way of talking about the solemnity and the
• 22:14
  official nature of the ACT, the public dedication as being done
• 22:17
  by a official authority rather than dictating the exact
• 22:20
  composition of the ordaining body.
• 22:22
  In every single case, this has been.
• 22:24
  A really extensive examination of the ecclesiastical rules that
• 22:28
  govern the solemn call. We've rigorously analyzed these
• 22:31
  four essential components for maintaining the public order and
• 22:34
  discipline of the Church and it all.
• 22:36
  Works together to ensure that ministry is lawful and
• 22:38
  functional right to quickly review those pillars we started
• 22:41
  with the necessary qualifications doctrine, life,
• 22:44
  fitness to bear the burden second, the required spiritual
• 22:48
  method that religious awe shown through fasting and prayer, the
• 22:52
  balance of. Authority Third.
• 22:54
  That essential balance of authority, popular consent and
• 22:57
  approval which is moderated and guided by the existing pastors.
• 23:01
  And 4th. The mandated ceremony of
• 23:03
  installation, the laying on of hands, and this.
• 23:06
  Entire structure, you know, tying the inner secret call to
• 23:09
  the external solemn call. It exists to secure 2 parallel
• 23:14
  realities, that the minister is deemed fit and lawful before the
• 23:17
  Church by human assessment and communal choice, while at the
• 23:21
  same time satisfying the internal requirements to be
• 23:23
  approved by God through pure devotion and that.
• 23:26
  Brings us right back to the level of reverence we talked
• 23:29
  about in Pillar 2. If believers historically placed
• 23:33
  such gravity on the selection, if they understood it as the
• 23:36
  most serious thing of all and dared nothing except with the
• 23:39
  highest reference, then we really have to ask ourselves a
• 23:42
  serious question, which is, do contemporary methods of
• 23:45
  selecting church leaders reflect that same seriousness?
• 23:49
  Do we approach the call to ministry with the same
• 23:51
  structural requirement for seeking God's counsel and
• 23:54
  discretion through fasting and prayers?
• 23:57
  Or do we risk reducing the lawful vocation to a purely
• 24:01
  human process of interviews and votes, and in doing so, forget
• 24:05
  the incredible weight of the burden that's being imposed on
• 24:07
  the minister That is a. Spiritual and practical
• 24:09
  question. Worth some serious reflection
• 24:11
  for the entire church. I believe so.
• 24:13
  Thank you for. Joining us for this deep
• 24:14
  examination into reformed thinking.