New Ordination Standards
Among the most significant responsibilities we have as pastors in Sovereign Grace is to entrust the gospel to the next generation of pastors.
In his last letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul commands him and us: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
Entrust what you have heard to faithful men.
There are many different ways we entrust what we have heard—the gospel and sound doctrine—to the next generation of pastors. One vital way we can do so is by continuing to uphold the high calling and biblical standards of eldership.
THE ORDINATION PROCESS IN SOVEREIGN GRACE
Since ratifying the Book of Church Order in 2013, we have joined together to uphold the high calling and biblical standards of eldership through our ordination process, which has included extensive reading, theological papers, and written and oral exams administered by our Regional Ordination Committees.
THE NEW ORDINATION STANDARDS
On November 10, 2020, we concluded a seven year process of writing and deliberating and adopted our new Statement of Faith. Since then, the Theology Committee has rewritten our ordination standards to follow the Statement of Faith. These new ordination standards were approved in November of 2021 and are now ready to be used by our Regional Ordination Committees and our elder candidates. The full text of the ordination standards can be found in the Ordination Guide HERE.
The full post New Ordination Standards by Walt Alexander, Senior Pastor of Trinity Grace Church, originally appeared on March 30, 2022 on the SGC Pastors website.