The Rev. Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, provided the ordination sermon and challenged the new elders and deacons, as well as the new provisional clergy, to be good shepherds of the Good Shepherd’s sheep.
Hamilton, pastor of the largest congregation in the denomination, started his sermon by noting challenges facing The United Methodist Church and local churches in general before jokingly addressing the 2019 class of 10 new elders, one new deacon, and one transfer from the Korean Methodist Church.
“I have this question for you: What is wrong with you? Or maybe I could ask it this way: Have you lost your minds? Why are you doing this?” he asked. “Now, I have a hunch that you are doing this not because you have lost your minds and not because you couldn’t do anything else. I think you are doing this because you feel inside a call and you could not not do this.”
Hamilton gave the ordinands, the nine people commissioned and the 35 newly licensed local pastors five tips to succeeding in ministry:
- You can’t lead people where you aren’t going.
- Successful people do what unsuccessful people won’t do.
- Pay attention.
- Preach the Word. Love the people.
- Don’t give up in the face of criticism.
The ordinands averaged 36 years of age, while the commissioned class averaged 42 years of age in a year when 55 pastors retired from Great Plains churches.
View the pre-ordination service praise time.
View the ceremonial portion of the ordination service.
