I was ordained July 10, 1987, when General Superintendent, Dr. Earle Wilson, laid hands on me, shook my hand, and declared, "Take Thou Authority to Preach the Word!" I was thinking about that recently, and began to wonder how far back I could go with the succession of my ordination. So, I did a little research. I was ordained by Earle Wilson Earle Wilson was ordained by Pilgrim Holiness General Superintendent, William Neff William Neff was ordained by the Pilgrim founder, Seth Rees Seth Rees was ordained by Nazarene founder, Phineas Bresee Phineas Bresee was ordained by Methodist Bishop, Levi Scott Levi Scott was ordained by Elijah Hedding. Elijah Hedding was ordained by Francis Asbury Francis Asbury was ordained by a renegade Anglican priest named John Wesley John Wesley was ordained by Anglican Bishop (of Oxford) John Potter. From Potter -- there's a trail all the way back to St. Peter!! You can see the chart here. (Potter is at the bottom of the page #90. Now, how abo...
If that were true, I think I would still be a boat carpenter instead of a pastor.
ReplyDeleteHa!! Good point, Steve. God called you from boat carpentry to ministry. Of course, you need to follow His voice.
ReplyDeleteWatchman Nee said that whatever your former occupation was -- there is a parallel in the ministry.
For instance, Peter and Andrew were fishermen -- and Jesus called them to fish for me.
John was mending his nets -- later, he mended churches.
Paul was a tent maker -- and he became a chuch planter.
So, how does being a boat carpenter inform your ministry?
I wish I knew Mark. I've put away a lot of my tools and am selling my boat. I love boat carpentry but I love what I am doing now even more. All things have their time and purpose. One thing I know, He has shown me that I can walk on water instead of just floating on it. Trouble is, I sink every once in a while. Anyone want to buy a boat?
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