Ordination / InstallationAnabaptistFill-in Template~15 minClaude Opus 4.6

First Among Equals: Anabaptist Ordination and the Servant Community

1 Timothy 4:12-16 • 2 Timothy 2:15

Ordination as appointment by the community — servant leadership, accountability to the congregation, selection by lot in some traditions, first among equals

Anabaptist / Peace Church

Radical discipleship, peace, and community

This template has fill-in placeholders

Look for [BRACKETED TEXT] throughout the sermon. Replace these with your specific details to personalize the message.

[MINISTER_NAME] — e.g., Pastor Sarah, Reverend Marcus, Brother David[ROLE] — e.g., Senior Pastor, Associate Minister, Deacon, Elder[CONGREGATION] — e.g., Grace Community Church, First Baptist

Tradition vocabulary:community choosesordination by lotfirst among equalstentmakeraccountabilityservant leadervoluntary communityno ambition

The Community Chooses: Anabaptist Ordination Polity

In the Anabaptist tradition, the minister is chosen by the community. Not appointed by a bishop. Not self-selected. Not credentialed by an external body. The gathered community discerns who among them is called to lead — and calls them to that leadership. In some Anabaptist traditions (particularly the Old Order Amish and more conservative Mennonite groups), the selection is by lot — a practice drawn from Acts 1:26, where the disciples cast lots to choose Matthias. The candidates are identified by the community. The lot — literally, a random selection among papers or slips — determines who is ordained. The result is understood as God's choice expressed through a process that removes human preference and status-seeking from the equation. In more progressive Anabaptist communities (like the Church of the Brethren and many Mennonite Church USA congregations), the selection process is more deliberate — nomination, discernment, vote — but the principle is the same: the community chooses. The minister serves at the pleasure and by the accountability of the community that called them.

Acts 1:23-26Acts 6:3-6Didache 15:1

The Lot

In an Old Order Amish ordination, hymnals or books are placed on a table, one of them containing a piece of paper. The candidates each choose a book. The one who finds the paper is ordained. For the rest of their lives, they will serve this community — not because they sought it, not because they competed for it, but because the lot fell. The absence of ambition from Anabaptist ordination is itself a theological statement: ministry is service, not career. The lot removes the self from the equation.

Source: Amish ordination by lot / Anabaptist polity

First Among Equals: Servant Leadership in the Anabaptist Tradition

The Anabaptist minister is "first among equals" — not above the congregation but accountable to it, not the expert but the servant, not the authority but the facilitator of the community's discernment. Conrad Grebel described the early Anabaptist minister as one who was chosen by the community to serve as a spokesperson for the community's shared understanding of Scripture. This means the Anabaptist minister must be open to correction. The congregation can challenge the minister's interpretation of Scripture. The congregation can refuse to accept a decision the minister makes. The congregation is the authority; the minister serves that authority. In a tradition where the founding conviction was that the church must be a voluntary community of disciples — not a state institution imposed by coercion — the minister cannot be a coercive authority. For [MINISTER_NAME], this is both liberating and humbling. You are not alone — the community carries the burden of discernment with you. And you are not sovereign — the community can correct you, and you must be open to that correction.

Matthew 20:25-281 Peter 5:3Galatians 6:1-2

The Tentmaker Tradition: Ministry Without Salary

Many Anabaptist traditions, especially historically, have practiced "tentmaker ministry" — the minister holds a secular job and serves the congregation without salary. This practice, drawn from Paul's tent-making in Corinth (Acts 18:3), reflects several Anabaptist convictions. First, it prevents the minister from being financially dependent on the congregation — and therefore unable to speak hard truths for fear of losing their livelihood. Second, it ensures the minister lives the same ordinary life as the congregation — no professional-clerical distance. Third, it keeps the ministry accessible to any community, however small and poor. In many Anabaptist communities today, ministers receive at least partial financial support. But the ethos of tentmaker ministry remains: the minister is not a professional class apart from the congregation. They are members of the community who have been called to a specific function within the community. They work. They live. They serve.

Acts 18:31 Corinthians 9:15-182 Thessalonians 3:7-10

Applications

1[CONGREGATION], receive [MINISTER_NAME] as your servant leader — and hold them accountable. The community that chose them is the community that can correct them.
2[MINISTER_NAME], serve without seeking status. The Anabaptist minister leads from the middle, not from above. Let the community's discernment guide your leadership.
3Practice mutual accountability. The minister and the congregation are accountable to each other. This is the Anabaptist gift.
4Consider the tentmaker tradition. The minister who is embedded in the congregation's ordinary life has a different kind of authority than the professional minister.

Prayer Suggestions

Lord of the community, You have led [CONGREGATION] to discern [MINISTER_NAME] as their [ROLE]. Honor that discernment.
Keep [MINISTER_NAME] humble. No ministerial ego. No status-seeking. First among equals — and not forgetting the "equals" part.
Make this congregation a community of mutual accountability — willing to be corrected by their minister and willing to correct their minister.
Let the ministry of [MINISTER_NAME] produce disciples who do not depend on [MINISTER_NAME] for their faith. Mature the congregation into the fullness of Christ. Amen.

Preaching Toolkit

Movie Analogy

The Village (2004)

The village community makes decisions together — what is forbidden, what is allowed, how to respond to threats. The leadership is not imposed from outside. It emerges from the community's shared convictions. The community's wisdom is the governance. Anabaptist ordination works the same way: [MINISTER_NAME] is not imposed on [CONGREGATION] — they emerged from them, were chosen by them, and are accountable to them. The community is the authority.

3 Voices

Classic

The minister is chosen by the community, accountable to the community, and serves at the community's pleasure. Ministry is not career. It is service. The lot removes ambition from the equation.

Pastoral

First among equals. Hold onto that. Equal in humanity, equal in the fellowship of disciples — first only in the specific function of leading the community's discernment and proclamation.

Edgy

The Amish select their ministers by lot specifically to prevent ambition from corrupting the call. If your ordination process rewards the most ambitious candidates, you may be selecting for exactly the wrong quality.

More Titles

First Among Equals: Anabaptist Ordination TheologyThe Community Chooses: Anabaptist Ordination PolityOrdained by Lot: The Old Order Anabaptist TraditionThe Tentmaker Minister: Anabaptist Ministry Without SalaryServant Leadership and Community Accountability in Anabaptist Ministry

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Frequently Asked Questions

How is ordination practiced in the Anabaptist tradition?

In the Anabaptist tradition, the minister is chosen by the gathered community — not appointed by a bishop or self-selected. In some traditions (Old Order Amish, some conservative Mennonites), selection is by lot — a random process that removes human ambition from the equation. In other traditions, selection is by discernment and vote. The minister is accountable to the community that chose them.

What is the Anabaptist "tentmaker" tradition of ministry?

The tentmaker tradition refers to ministers who hold secular jobs and serve without (or with minimal) salary — following Paul's model of making tents in Corinth. This keeps the minister embedded in the congregation's ordinary life, prevents financial dependence on the congregation, and keeps ministry accessible to poor and small communities. It reflects the Anabaptist conviction that the minister is a member of the community, not a professional class apart from it.

This Sermon in Other Traditions

See how 16 other Christian traditions approach the ordination / installation sermon.

Traditional Christocentric Reformed Baptist Dispensational Wesleyan Lutheran Catholic Eastern Orthodox Anglican Pentecostal Charismatic Black Church Progressive Liberation Missional

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