by fakesmile 12 Replies latest watchtower bible
Can't you just do some online course and 'voila' an ordained minister!
But why bother? Just print yourself out a neat little diploma and call yourself one.
After all, all the Jws are ordained ministers and they dont even have a fancy bit of paper...
oz
If you are thinkiing of a ministry in a mainstream church, you need to start attending and being active in a church. Each church sets its own rules. There are also local rules. The NY episcopal diocese's bishop had a policy that the church world wide always had need of clergy so he allowed anyone who felt called to go to seminary and take ordination exams. NJ and most other states will only allow someoone to attend seminary and be ordained if there is an opening in the diocese.
I was friendly with seminarians. Their work seemed quite rigorous. There is an large "old boy" network that favors certain candidates. Your mentor is important and so is your seminary. Psychiatric exams are administered several times. They are on the lookout for anyone who would ruin people's lives. Many mainstream churches have a Greek requirement.
I doubt that any church besides the Witnesses will be impressed by JW work on your resume.
You can get some ordination status via the internet and cash. People did it to not be drafted and to make income performing weddings.
Different churches and denominations have different procedures. Here's a brief outline of my own experience of becoming a Methodist minister:
Having decided fairly firmly that I wanted to enter ministry I began attending the local Methodist church. I did not say anything at all about ministry for several months. Then, when I was sure that this was right for me, I had a quiet word with the minister who was very encouraging and supportive. In the British Methodist church the first step to ministry has to be becoming an accredited lay preacher, a process which will take at least one year, often much longer because it involves studying and passing exams as well as developing the skills involved in leading servies in church.
I began as a lay preacher "on tiral" in 1982 and was fully accredited the following year. I then applied, through the local church circuit, to be considered as a candidate for ministry. This process involved appearing before various assessment panels at all levels of the church from local to national. I was finally accepted for ordination training in 1984 and allocated to theological college in Cambridge for training which included studying for a degree in Biblical Studies at the University. I was ordained in 1987 and took up my first post as minster of a small group of Methodist churches in County Durham.
Becoming a minister is a long process - don't try to take short cuts because both you and your church need to be very sure that this is the right thing to do. And play down your experience as a JW - it won't count for anything but it might work against you!
Rob Crompton
