CHANGED, SET APART, AND EQUAL: A STUDY OF ORDINATION IN THE BAPTIST CONTEXT Dissertation Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theology By Jonathan Anthony Malone Dayton, Ohio May, 2011 CHANGED, SET APART, AND EQUAL: A STUDY OF ORDINATION IN THE BAPTIST CONTEXT APPROVED BY: _____________________________ Dennis M. Doyle, Ph.D. Committee Chair _____________________________ Brad J. Kallenberg, Ph.D. Committee Member _____________________________ William L. Portier, Ph.D. Committee Member _____________________________ Anthony B. Smith, Ph.D. Committee Member _____________________________ William V. Trollinger, Ph.D. Committee Member ii ABSTRACT CHANGED, SET APART, AND EQUAL: A STUDY OF ORDINATION IN THE BAPTIST CONTEXT Name: Malone, Jonathan Anthony University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Dennis Doyle The American Baptist denomination is often characterized as an ecclesiological grass-roots organization. The theology of such a denomination is practiced organically by the people and is seldom articulated by the academy. Thus one cannot find a well articulated theological understanding of what ordination means for the individual and the community in the Baptist context. A synthesis of Geertz’s thick description, Lindbeck’s approach to doctrine, and McClendon’s understandings of speech-acts and conviction will offer a methodology through which one can articulate a theology of ordination. In doing so, we will find that the “call” and a relationship with a congregation are essential for ordination to occur. Such a theology will suggest that one is changed through ordination, and this change is relational in nature. The Catholic concept of Sacramental Consciousness offers a way to articulate the community’s awareness of the pastor’s relational change while at the same time maintaining the egalitarian nature of a Baptist community. iii Dedicated to my children who could not understand why their father was in school for so long and to my wife who was such a strong support throughout this journey. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to my advisor Dr. Dennis Doyle who was very patient, encouraging, and kind through this whole process. Thanks also go to the members of my committee: Dr. William Trollinger, Dr. William Portier, Dr. Anthony Smith, and Dr. Brad Kallenberg. Each member of the committee offered invaluable guidance and advice pertaining to their areas of expertise and to the dissertation process overall. A great deal of thanks goes to Rev. Dr. Charles Hartman and the First Baptist Church of Swansea, Massachusetts for allowing me to look through their records as well as asking questions about ordination in their church. The resources and the people were invaluable for this project. My thanks go to the First Baptist Church of Dayton, Ohio, the Lower Merion Baptist Church, and the First Baptist Church of East Greenwich, Rhode Island. All of these churches were very supportive of my work. Finally, I would like to thank Rev. Dr. Rodney Kennedy for all of his encouragement and at appropriate times nudging me towards the completion of this work. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………...iii DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………...iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………....v CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION……………………………………………….1 CHAPTER 2 – METHODOLOGY……………………………………………...25 CHAPTER 3 – SACRAMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS………………………...69 CHAPTER 4 – FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, SWANSEA: 1700s-1800s……...102 CHAPTER 5 – FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, SWANSEA: 1900s…………….155 CHAPTER 6 – CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMARY………………………….203 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………236 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………….247 A. Pastors of the First Baptist Church of Swansea, Massachusetts…….247 B. Summary of Focus Group Interview………………………………...249 vi CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION The Problem In a recent study, a variety of members of different Baptist congregations were asked if there were tasks or duties that the pastor could do that no one else could do, and the answer was consistently, “no.” Such a response may have suggested that while the presence of a pastor was helpful it was not essential in these Baptist churches. In this study the same groups of people were asked what would happen to their particular church if there were no permanent, ordained pastor serving at the time, and the answer was consistently, “we would close.”1 From the beginnings of Baptist life, specifically among Northern Baptists (now known as American Baptist Churches, U.S.A) but to a degree with many other Baptist groups, tension has existed between the egalitarian notion of the priesthood of all believers and the ordination of clergy.2 There has been a perceived need for a pastor to “lead the flock,” and yet the pastor is described as a part of the flock equal to all others in the congregation. For example, in Henry C. Vedder’s historic 1907 work, A Short History of the Baptists, the author describes what he considers to be a New Testament model of the church. In this model the pastor/leader (described as a bishop or elder, but, according to Vedder, meaning pastor) is chosen by the flock/congregation and 1 Jonathan A. Malone, “Wants, Needs, and Desires: A Study of Congregations’ Expectations of the Pastor” (paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association, Rochester, New York, November, 2005). 2 While many of the conclusions made in this work can be applied to many different Baptist groups, the main focus will be with the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. (ABC/USA) a denomination of Baptists in North America. For the remainder of this work these groups will be referred to as American Baptists, or ABC. 1 is regarded as one of the flock/congregation. Vedder claims that there is no division between the laity and the clergy.3 Compare this with the Roman Catholic practice where a hierarchal “ordering” or separation between priest and parishioner is considered normative. In American Baptist circles the idea of a hierarchal “ordering” of individuals within the local church goes against the non-hierarchal egalitarian ecclesial polity especially with the role of the clergy. Yet as suggested in the above study, the pastor’s presence is seen as necessary even if the way in which the role of the pastor and his or her relationship with the congregation is understood as ambiguous. In Catholicism, ordination is understood as a sacrament; the individual is called to the ministry of word, sacrament, and pastoral care.4 Priests are called to “present to all people a living witness to God.”5 In order to represent Christ and “present a living witness to God” on behalf of and for the parish, the priest must be set apart practically, liturgically, and relationally so that Eucharist and other sacraments can be appropriately administrated. The priest is stepping into a specific and clearly defined role in relation to the community.6 Among many Baptists, the understanding of ordination, especially the relation of 3 Henry C. Vedder, A Short History of the Baptists (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1907), 30. Further on in this chapter we will consider in greater detail different Baptist works dealing specifically with ordination and the role of the pastor. 4 David N. Power, “Order,” in Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives, vol. 2, ed. Francis Schüssler Fiorenza and John P. Galvin (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991), 291-292. Power is referring to the understanding of ordination as it emerged out of the Second Vatican Council, specifically in Lumen Gentium. 5 Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (November 21, 1964), ch. 5, 41. 6 Ibid. There has been more recently a move away from the language of “ontological change” toward speaking of the order of the clergy in comparison with the order of the laity. In Ordering the Baptismal Priesthood, ed. by Susan Wood, many of the authors draw upon an “ontology of relationality” and contend that although there is a hierarchy in the order of ministry from the bishop to the priest to the lay person in the parish, through baptism all are brought into a relation that reflects the ordering of the liturgical community. Susan K. Wood, ed., Ordering the Baptismal Priesthood: Theologies of Lay and Ordained Ministry (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003). 2 the ordained person to the community, is not as clear as it is in Catholic tradition.7 A variety of Baptist leaders, authors, and scholars have made a number of suggestions as to the nature or purpose of ordination, but we lack uniformity and theological clarity concerning the specific purpose or status the ordained pastor has within the church. We would have an easier time discerning what ordination is not, rather than what ordination is.8 Aside from preaching (which is not always done by the pastor), the pastor is not normally set apart liturgically on a weekly basis from other members of the congregation. Lacking any formal sacraments, the American Baptist denomination traditionally does not recognize any liturgical acts which a pastor normally performs that a lay person cannot perform. Granted, one can find a shared and practiced desire to have an ordained pastor performing some of the liturgical tasks that are considered important in Baptist worship (Lord’s Supper, baptism, preaching), there is not, however, an articulated theological or ecclesiological imperative to have an ordained individual presiding during 9 specific liturgical moments in the weekly worship services. The acts of worship 7 While I am focusing on the American Baptist denomination, much of what I am offering can be applied to other Baptist groups and denominations. Because Baptists do not have a hierarchy and lack a historical centrality, it is difficult to point to one “tradition” from which the Baptists emerge. Instead, the Baptists are a conglomeration of “traditions” which share commonalities. McClendon refers to the Baptists with a lower case “b” in making this same point that there is not a single institution gathering known as Baptists, but a shared vision.