…we expanded ordination?

In our Lutheran church we currently have two tracks for ordination: ordination to Word and Sacrament (pastor) and ordination to Word and service (diaconal). For centuries though, the Orthodox church has ordained people to all kinds of specialized ministries. For example, they ordain people as “readers.”

What if our church engaged people in a spiritual process of discipleship that began with baptism, continued with experiential-based training in discipleship, offered a process of self-discovery leading to a calling within the life of the church that was finally recognized through ordination?

{note from Preston: I’ve found a similar balance in this Ordination schematic from the Evangelical Covenant Church (Norwegian Lutheran Cousins).  Any thoughts? File: Credentials-schematic ECCC}

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