  |
|
|
|
The three traditional professions have been law, medicine, and the ordained ministry. These professions have always required a high level of personal qualifications, physical stamina, and extensive academic preparation. The United Methodist ordained ministry is no exception to this general rule, and a high-school graduate wishing to enter it, must look forward to at least ten years of preparation before becoming a deacon or elder in full connection; four years of college, three years of seminary, and three years in the field serving under the supervision of a district superintendent. Therefore, the process of preparation is a long and arduous one.
It would be an oversimplification, however, to think of these two ladders as existing independently of each other, for they are tied together at many points, with progress on one being dependent upon progress on the other. Furthermore, the two-ladder theory does not give clergy the right to think that because they have been ordained in the church of God, they are therefore only responsible to that universal church in the exercise of their ordination rights. The fact is that The United Methodist Church, which acts as an agent for the church of God in the act of ordination, must continue to act as its agent in seeing to it that ordination rights are properly exercised. So the two ladders are interrelated in many ways, but they are still two ladders and an understanding of this is essential to an understanding of the relationship between ordination and annual conference membership.
Go To Page: 1 |
|
|
|
