Please excuse the bizarre formatting of this post. This sometimes happens when I publish a longer post from my phone.
I began my ministry in the East Pennsylvania Conference of the Churches of God in 1976. Doing the math, 2016 is the fortieth anniversary of my ministry in the region.
That calculation is confirmed, from leadership's perspective, by the fact that in 2001, in mellower times, the Conference celebrated the 25th anniversary of my ministry (1976 + 25 years = 2001).
For readers of JASPERISM who don't know it, Eastern Regional Conference of the CGGC, celebrates a person's ministry after 40 years as well as after 25 years. So...
...2016 is my big year!
Forty years ago bill Sloat began ministry in the Conference! Yeeeee ha!
Celebrate good times, come on.
This year's gathering of the ERC in session is the time that my ministerial brothers and sisters will recognize me for my years of ministry which began, can you believe it?, when Gerald R. Ford was the American President.
Except that...
...when last year's Conference delegates were packing up to go home, on the last day of that august gathering of spiritual eagles and on the recommendation of the Standing Committee, the Conference Administrative Council voted, unanimously, to recall my ordination for (a still unspecified) cause.
So, we are all in a difficult place.
After last year's Conference, Conference Secretary Jack Selcher sent a certified mail letter to me requesting that, according to the promise I made when I took my ordination vows, I return my ordination. However, I made no such promise. So, I have not complied, and I will not comply.
Bottom line: this year's Conference is the time for the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of my ministry in the Conference and also the time for leadership to follow through on its demand that my ministry be brought to an end.
I honestly don't know how this will go.
These celebrations are carefully planned and rather complex and involve someone who has shared in or benefitted from the honoree's ministry speaking words of appreciation in front of Conference delegates and guests.
This speaker may be someone from the congregation the honoree is serving but no one I can think of from our community of gatherings would want to assume that role.
So, here is a reasonable suggestion: A former WTS student of mine could do the job. Three former students could easily fill the bill. WTS President Brent Sleasman, the current chief CGGC Mountaintopper Lance Finley, or, most efficiently, Dr. Kevin Richardson, current ERC E. D..
HERE IS MY RECOMMENDATION:
Have Kevin do it.
Because...
...if Kevin spoke the words of celebration and appreciation, he could share fond memories of our days at the seminary and of ministry moments the two of us have shared together...
... and then he could conclude his talk by making the motion that I be defrocked!!!!!!!!
Why not kill both birds with the same stone.
However the Conference handles it, I'll provide updates here on the blog.
Here is a note of explanation about what I promised and what I didn't promise in my East Penn Conference ordination vows all those years ago.
ReplyDeleteI promised that if the Conference recalled my ordination that I would return it. And, to this point, the Conference has not done that.
One of my, uh, theological objections to the way the CGGC operates is that staff people function as if they themselves ARE the Conference and not, as is the case in a Eldership, they exist to SERVE the Conference. And, to direct the ministry that the Conference chooses to perform. In truth, they are servants of the Conference, not its leaders. Theologically, the Trinity is the leadership of the Conference.
In suggesting that the Administrative Council can recall an ordination suggest that the Conference consists of Conference staff and Committees and Councils and not the Eldership itself.
And, that is not true.
I didn't promise to surrender my ordination if it is recalled by a Committee or Council of the Conference. I promised to surrender it upon the request of the Conference.