For my graduate schoolwork at Lincoln Christian Seminary, I’ve been focusing on Roman Catholicism (RC). One of the parts of RC that is intriguing to me is the priesthood. There are several levels of fascination that I have with the priesthood and after reading about it and having the chance to interact with a Priest, I’ve got to say that other than a few theological/doctrinal differences (some are major) and the whole celibacy thing (no thanks), I think I could do it. The reason? I feel like I already am.
Follow my logic: churches today still hire professional holy men to be their ministers. I am employed by a church as a minister. Therefore I am a professional holy man. Sounds kind of cool, I might actually have that put on my new business cards. But really, that is how we are viewed.
Think about it. The RC priest is in charge of making sure the sacraments of the church are carried out. For the RC church there are seven:
1. Anointing of the Sick
2. Baptism
3. Eucharist
4. Marriage
5. Confession/Reconciliation
6. Confirmation
7. Holy Orders (this has to do with ordaining new priests, evangelism, preaching, etc.)
Tell me that this is not what we professional holy men are hired to do. Go ahead, I’ll give you a few moments to come up with an argument… Can’t find one, can you? We’re called in to pray for the sick. We are the ones who handle most of the baptisms – if we don’t baptize them, then we are the ones who “bless” it by talking with the candidate and declare them ready to go. We make sure that communion is there and taken care of (obviously because of the RC doctrine of transubstantiation, this is much different in our realm). We perform the wedding ceremony. We help people with confession and help reconcile relationships. We develop (or at least we should) programs or systems of discipleship to help people along with their faith. And the holy orders? We are the ones who are hired to preach and evangelize – that’s why they pay us the big bucks. I’m already functioning as a priest – without celibacy!
I’m not complaining, either. I just think it’s time to call a duck a duck. The problem comes when we try to fit our model into a biblical system for ministry. I don’t find anywhere in the NT that promotes a priesthood model – unless you count the priesthood of believers (1 Peter 2:9-10). That model seems to present the idea that ALL Christians are priests. That we are a priesthood together, a people of God, who have received mercy, so in turn we show mercy to others. This means that the ordinances or sacraments of the church are at the disposal of all believers. We, as the people of God, are able to pray for the sick. Not because we have a certificate from a Christian bookstore that says we are “ordained” but because we are God’s people. It means that all of us can participate in the affirming the forgiveness of sins to those who are ridden with guilt. Because we know that God DOES forgive them through Jesus. The sins have been dealt with and if there is someone who needs that assurance, we can all give it. We all are able to participate in the Holy Orders of preaching (proclaiming good news) and evangelism. This is not and cannot be only the responsibility of those who are on payroll. That is, unless the church wants to make as small an impact on the world as possible.
If this idea of all Christians being the priesthood is the case (and I see no reason to suggest otherwise) then that means that the practice of hiring professional holy men, needs to cease and an emphasis on allowing those who are gifted in the areas that are necessary to have day-to-day involvement to be hired to help those areas reach their God-given potential and discover their purpose. The responsibility of the achieving the mission set out for us by God, however, does not fall solely on those men (or women). That responsibility falls on all of us because we are a royal priesthood…and celibacy is not required.
