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DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
1]
The Intercontinental Church of God provides an ordained ministry in
accordance with the example and procedures of the early Church as
outlined in the New Testament. Ministers are elders in the faith,
ordained by God to give spiritual guidance and leadership to the local
congregations and to act as servants of God in spreading the gospel to
the world.
DOCTRINAL OVERVIEW
2]
Throughout history God has worked through human individuals as
agents and chosen servants. In the Old Testament it was the "preachers
of righteousness," the patriarchs, the priests and Levites, the prophets
and at times righteous kings such as David. In the New Testament, Jesus
Christ Himself called out and ordained twelve disciples as the first
ministers of the New Testament. He entrusted them with the
responsibility of governing the Church, serving the spiritual needs of
its members, and preaching the gospel to the world and other duties as
explained in Mark 3:14-15 and elsewhere.
3]
While a minister should be willing to serve his congregation in any
way necessary, his responsibilities are primarily to minister to the
spiritual needs of his people. A minister's primary responsibility is to
nurture the positive fruits of God's Holy Spirit as expressed
individually and collectively in his congregation. By so doing, he helps
build a committed, dedicated group which responds with fervor to the
biblical commission of preaching the gospel to the world as a witness
(Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:18-20) and which eagerly looks forward to the Kingdom
of God. The minister develops these characteristics in many ways:
through preaching and teaching, giving his encouragement when a member
is experiencing personal trials, by offering advice and counsel in the
areas of his professional competence, and by serving the congregation in
performance of necessary religious ceremonies such as marriages and
funerals.
4]
The Church recognizes that a minister's personal example is one of
his strongest and most effective methods of cultivating the growth of
true Christianity in the local church. A man who is selfless, dedicated
to, convicted by, and living within, the true values of God as expressed
in the Bible will be greatly admired by the congregation and hence
enormously effective. The shining light of his own spiritual life will
be his greatest tool for constructing God's spiritual temple which is
the Church. Such a minister will deal in a positive, helpful,
encouraging, loving manner with his congregation; he will not police
their life or dictate their faith, but will be instead a helper of their
joy. "Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your
joy" (2 Cor. 1:24).
5]
A minister is thus not an "intercessor" between a Christian and God,
but as a New Testament minister of the "spirit" (2 Cor. 3:6) one who
helps build the Christian's own personal relationship with his Creator.
Even so, occasionally, when circumstances demand, the minister must
fulfill his responsibility as a true shepherd by administering spiritual
discipline for the protection of his flock (cf. 1 Cor. 5).
6]
A minister of God has responsibilities to those within the community
outside his congregation. He must be an example of the Christian way of
life by striving to serve the nonbeliever as well as the believer. To
this end a minister should involve himself, as much as he practically
can, in the local community to serve both the spiritually and physically
needy. His service may range from the collecting of food and other
necessities during a local disaster or other emergency, to the giving of
encouragement and bestowing of compassion upon the great masses of
lonely and forgotten widows, orphans, and indigent and ill persons. Thus
an effective minister will be sensitive to the needs of all humanity,
but he will always save his greatest efforts and energies for his own
congregation over which he has been given spiritual charge. Indeed, the
two are related as the minister should actively look for ways to expand
the effective "light" of his local congregation as a beacon of true
Christian values within the community.
7]
The ministry is a calling. This means that God Himself chooses who
should enter His ministry, rather than man himself solely making that
decision (John. 15:16). God indicates whom He desires to become His
spiritual servant by causing the person's life to express the fruits
associated with the ministry. Likewise, the qualifications of the
ministry as outlined in 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1, and elsewhere are
considered. A prospective minister must be hospitable, able to teach,
patient, not covetous, reputable, experienced in the faith, etc. When a
man is ready for the ministry, he is ordained through the laying on of
hands in accordance with the example set in Acts 13.
8]
The actual organization of the ministry in the Church of God follows
generally the principles as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians
4. It was not Paul's intent in these passages to create a permanent
hierarchical structure for all generations of the church. He is too
vague in his description and delineation's for that to have been his
purpose. What we do learn from these scriptures is how the early church
government functioned.
9]
Another office of ordination is that of deacons and deaconesses.
Qualifications for these offices are outlined in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. The
basic responsibility of the deacon and deaconess is to serve the
physical needs of the congregations so the ministers may attend to more
pressing spiritual needs. Acts 6 is an example of ordination of certain
men to this office and shows that those ordained to this position should
be people of faith and full of the Holy Spirit.
10]
Service is the keynote of the ministry. Those who hold this office
reflect the words Christ spoke to His disciples, "You know that the
princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are
great exercise authority among them. But it shall not be so among you:
but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister
(servant); and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your
servant (slave): even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto
[not to be served], but to minister (but to serve), and to give His life
for ransom for many" (Matthew 20:25-28).
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