Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivan  Quote:
Originally Posted by SemperFideles Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivan
I was licensed to preach the gospel when I was in undergraduate school, hence without formal seminary training at the time. My local church, Calvary Baptist Church, Edwardsville, Illinois recognized the gift of preaching in me and licensed me. That basically meant that I became a supply preacher in the Southern Baptist churches in the area by virtue of my pastor, Roger Ellsworth, who probably taught me more about theology and the ministry then I ever learned in seminary, promoting me among other pastors as a supply preacher. I preached a lot! When I graduated from seminary I received a call to be the co-pastor of Highland Southern Baptist Church, Highland, Illinois, where I was ordained.
I'd be honored. I'd love to have another believer of the doctrines of grace preaching in Southern Baptist churches!!
| Ivan,
Can you tell me if this is a process the local Church goes through to request the license for a man through the Convention? Does the SBC issue preaching licences in addition to Pastoral ordination? Where would I go to see where these licences are issued and what process the Church needs to go through to apply for them? | Nothing is done through the Convention in regard to licensure and ordination. That is done only by the local church. When an ordination takes place it normally involves the ordained of a local association. The local association and/or the Convention issues no papers nor do either of them have any authority. The authority is in the local church.
If a church reports a licensure or an ordination it could possibly be listed in the Convention Annual Book of Reports (or named something like that). That book is about the size of a telephone book of a large city. There is no guarantee that the information is accurate.
I hope that helps, but it probably doesn't. |
That's how I thought it would be and what I was getting at with my post, although I didn't have any firsthand experience.
Even though the SBC is often thought of as a "denomination", things like ordination originate from local churches. The Southern Baptist Convention, the state conventions and the associations are considered autonomous entities that exist only for the purpose of cooperating in missions, evangelism, education, mercy ministries, etc. This may be hard to fathom for those who know only connectional churches or completely independent churches.