Apostolic Succession




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 about that??

Comments

  1. Anonymous8:20 AM

    And St Peter was ordained by Jesus Christ! How cool is that!

    Matthew 16:18 You are Peter, and on this rock I'll build my church
    Matthew 28:19 Go and make disciples of all nations

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  2. Anonymous8:31 AM

    That is a cool link to the past Mark. (Funny that you bring it up the same year they are replacing Earl for GS!!!)

    How are things going in Hayward

    Rob McDowell

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  3. It's just a tad difficult to take you very seriously with that goofy grin on your face!!! (hehehehehe)

    Your Packers rocked again yesterday, wonder how roast Lion tasted on Thanksgiving day?

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  4. Anonymous4:35 PM

    I am pretty sure our families(Wilsons) lineage goes clear back to Adam & Eve. :) That should count for something.

    Jonathan Wilson

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  5. Anonymous4:37 PM

    Between the three pictures, I see a striking resemblance.

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  6. Mark,

    When I was ordained, my grandfather, also an ordained Wesleyan minister, sat me down and showed me my denominational/spiritual lineage and heritage in much the same way that you have shown it.

    That recognition and understand of that background is what continues to make me hopeful that I will find my place in the ministry once again!

    Thanks for sharing this, it's a great reminder to clearly and intentionally understand our backgrounds in the Wesleyan faith!

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  7. Anonymous9:59 AM

    I think those pictures are solid proof that there is no truth to the theory of evolution. Steve

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  8. As I think back to Wesleyan History/Discipline: "It all goes back to Wesley!" You are only 8 steps away! Good for you!

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  9. Anonymous9:38 AM

    It is not where we are from or who we are, BUT where we are going and what we are accomplishing for God.

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  10. If you grew our hair longoer dyed it white you'd fit in bettr ;-)

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  11. Cool thoughts but true apostolic succession is pretty hard to trace historically. For a really interesting read on the subject check out Gary Wills "Why I Am Catholic"

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