The purpose of this paper is to track and trace theological developments relating to ordained / accredited ministry within the Baptist Union of Great Britain as seen in its ministry documents since the inception of formal ecumenical dialogue.
The trajectory of the BUGB’s theology between church and ministry has ebbed and flowed since the first foundational document was published in 1948. In response to the growing need for clarity driven by ecumenical dialogue, The Doctrine of the Church (BUGB, 1948) sought to establish an ecclesiology of a congregationally governed church that is dedicated to the belief in the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, even if it recognised a ministry of the few. Indeed, the report was so successful in concentrating attention on the ministry of all within the church, that it neglected to detail a theology of ordained / accredited ministry. It is in its subsequent documents where the BUGB has attempted to set out a theology about ministry, which it has tried to implement a common language used in other traditions of an ordained / accredited ministry.
The Pendulum
The BUGB’s 1957 document on ministry The Meaning and Practice of Ordination among Baptists (BUGB, 1957) appeared to be the antidote to the lack of attention that was given to ordained / accredited ministry in The Doctrine of the Church, but whereas the BUGB had previously refrained from defining a theology of ordained ministry (leaving that to the local church to do), now it was felt by some that it claimed too much for it. The notion of an ordained ministry being of ‘word and sacrament’ was an indication of the Union’s desire towards sharing a common notion or habitus of ordained ministry with other denominations, whilst the introduction of the term ‘leader’ was contentious and the term lacked definition. However, perhaps the most polarising issue was that the BUGB saw fit to describe a theology of ordained ministry for the local church at all, a development that some believed fundamentally infringed on the ecclesiological position of the local church being the place where matters of faith and doctrine be decided.
The Doctrine of the Ministry (BUGB, 1961) sought to redress the balance between the BUGB and the local church, and the concession was made to the local church that the theological specifics of church and ministry should be left to the local church. Alongside this the BUGB continued to espouse its own theological position, but it would no longer be implied or assumed that the BUGB’s theological position would at all times and in every way represent the beliefs of the local church. Although this solution addressed the issue of theological authority, it also highlighted the ambiguity over the office of the ordained / accredited minister and how local divergence could not be curtailed simply through statements made by the BUGB.
By the end of the 1960s, clarity over the office of ordained ministry was urgently required, as the BUGB was increasingly confronted by other emergent supplementary offices of ministry (evangelist; youth minister; pastoral assistant etc) that challenged the ecclesiology of a separate ordained / accredited ministry alongside a ministry of all. The document Ministry Tomorrow (BUGB, 1969), continued in the BUGB’s classical position that God through the Church sets apart the few from the church in the ordained / accredited office of minister with a special focus on word and sacrament, but also made a case for the training and recognition of others called by God who exercise certain ministerial gifts in the local church. It offered an understanding of church and ministry in which the local church calls and sends some into an ordained / accredited ministry of word and sacrament, as well as recognising, calling and equipping some of its own members to be recognised by the BUGB as well as the local church in other ministerial capacities.
An episcopal office
Forms of Ministry among Baptists (BUGB, 1994) sought to continue the work done by Ministry Tomorrow, with the intention of having a stabilising effect on the local church in their theology and practice of ministry. It recognised the overlap between the ordained / accredited office of minister and other supplementary offices, making an attempt to hold a healthy and creative tension between church and minister. Furthermore, it recognised a theology for the ordaining and accrediting of evangelists and youth specialists as well as recommending the ordination of deacons in the local church. It is perhaps in the Forms of Ministry among Baptists that a theology of the ordained office of minister as an episcopal office is most radical (even if there are historic connections to episkopoi even in earlier times of Baptist ministry). This dimension to the office had been espoused by some formal voices throughout the history of the Baptist tradition and had been implemented to some extent with the introduction of the word ‘leader’ in The Meaning and Practice of Ordination among Baptists, now the BUGB were espousing something about the office of minister which re-engaged them with an understanding of an office that had been under-played somewhat, due to an emphasis on an ecclesiology of a priesthood of all believers.
Subsequent documents published by the BUGB are more accurately described as reports rather than attempts to develop a theological framework with Patterns of Ministry among Baptists (BUGB, 2010) and the Ignite report (BUGB, 2015), reflecting on the belief and practice of ordained ministers respectively. Both documents reflect a diversity in belief and practice, illustrating a widening of the theological vision on the office of ordained / accredited ministry, where sacramental and ontological theologies of the office represent a clear convergence with other Christians traditions that had not been widely familiar with the office amongst earlier Baptists. Nevertheless, Patterns of Ministry among Baptists, calls for more theological reflection to take place to inform and shape its future, whilst the Ignite report advocates that a Baptist theology of ordained / accredited ministry must be informed and shaped by diversity in practice. Perhaps since the incorporation of additional offices to the accredited list the conversation has been redirected (certainly since the Ignite report) towards a more general understanding of ministry.
Muddied Water
The introduction of the Marks of Ministry (BUGB, 2016), whilst well meaning, has not added clarity to the thinking about the office of minister that had been sought. It could be argued that some of the traditional notions of ministry that had been discussed since 1948 in the documents of the BUGB have been side-lined, and that the use of rather general language has served only to further muddy the water. Its attempt to analyse the practice of ministry to develop an understanding of ministry has led to a loss of order in the discussion, and there is need for continued theological reflection conducted by Baptist theologians. Now, more than ever, a review of the historic documents of the BUGB on ordained / accredited ministry and its habitus is required to establish a degree of clarity to the discussion, to answer the question: What have we got right, and where might we have gone wrong? And from there as Baptist evangelicals to re-examine and re-discover from the Bible, what the theological characteristics of the office of ordained / accredited minister should be. This is something I have attempted to engage with in my PhD thesis (link in bio below), in which I have analysed the biblical, historical, and practical theologies related to ordained / accredited ministry, advocating for a ministry of Word to be given priority.
