Ordination Service for Pastors Jeremiah Shipley & Christian Torres

I'm going to have Brother Christian and Brother Jeremiah come up here.

One of the things about ordaining young men from Witton is that we expect twice as much as anybody else. Our criterium is much more stringent either from that than most other churches you know. And I think it's appropriate that it be put on display not as a glorification to the individuals who are doing it, but as an affirmation of the decision of the church to say that these young men are prepared and ready to represent Jesus Christ and the people of Witton Baptist Church.

So we are going to do what's now colloquially come to be known at Witton as the Grand Inquisition. And feel free to mock and jeer and to belittle them in any way that you feel is appropriate. Alright, so the pastors will be down front and we will ask these gentlemen a question.

They will come up and address the podium. You all have mics and we will go from there. Pastors?

Questions on Gnosticism, Subordinationism, and Basic Theology

Christian, what is Gnosticism? Gnosticism is the heretical belief that anything spirit is good and all flesh is bad.

Brother Jeremiah, what is Subordinationism? Subordinationism is the heretical belief that Jesus is subordinate to the Father and the Spirit is subordinate to the Son. Jeremiah, what is Exegesis? Exegesis is the proper exegeting, the taking out of the meaning of the Scripture, the meaning that the author intended.

Brother Christian, define the Incarnation.

Incarnation is being made flesh.

Jeremiah, what is Foreknowledge?

Foreknowledge is to know beforehand. So, Brother Jeremiah, what are the three forms of church government? Presbyter, Congregational, and Episcopalian. Episcopal.

Christian, what is Sola Scriptura?

It is Latin for Scripture alone.

Brother Jeremiah, back to the last question. What denomination uses the Episcopal form of government? Episcopalian. Episcopalian. And others, but mainly Episcopalian. Brother Christian, what are the five points of Calvinism?

You've got total depravity, you've got unconditional election,.

You've got limited atonement, you've got irresistible grace. Brother Jeremiah, what's Arian Theology?

Arian Theology is the heretical belief that Jesus was not divine, but that he was the first creation of God. Brother Christian, what is the Pentateuch?

The Pentateuch are the first five books of Moses.

Jeremiah, what does the autonomy of the local church mean?

It goes back to the Congregational form of government.

Brother Jeremiah, what is Existentialism?

Existentialism is the philosophical study of what is. No one cares. Brother Jeremiah, what is Lapsarianism? Lapsarian Theology is the...

Brother Christian, what's the difference between doctrine and theology?

Doctrine is found all over the Bible. Theology is debatable.

Brother Christian, quote Proverbs chapter 3, verse 5 and 6.

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your understanding.

Brother Jeremiah, let me ask you a question. In the reality of philosophy, what is Stoicism?

Stoicism is the ancient Greek philosophy of the Stoics, pretty much saying that there is a right...

That's too many words for Stoicism. Some of y 'all will get that.

Brother Christian, what's Dispensationalism?

Dispensationalism is the teaching that God dispenses His grace differently all through history.

Brother Christian, quote Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 through 9.

Ephesians chapter 8 through 9, it says... Is there an Ephesians chapter 8?

He incorrectly said it. I said Ephesians chapter 2. I said 2. There aren't chapters.

Ephesians 2, 8, 9, 4 by...

Jeremiah, what is the Apostolistic Era of the Church?

The Apostolistic Era is the time from Christ's death to 100 AD when the last apostle John died.

Can you give me what an expository is? Not suppository, expository.

Like an expository sermon, it's where you take a passage and you go word by word or line by line, expositing, exegeting the meaning of the author from that, and then handing that over to the people. Last one I have for Brother Christian.

Brother Christian, I want you to quote John 1, 1 and tell me what doctrinal belief is found in that verse.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Brother Jeremiah, what is justification?

Justification means to be rendered innocent.

Brother Christian, what are the three forms of Millennialism?

You've got premill, postmill, and aumill.

Wow, that was abbreviated. Oh, you want me to explain? Okay.

Premill means that Christ returns before the persecution. Post is after. Wait a minute, that's not true.

Brother Jeremiah, on the five points of Calvinism that we described earlier, define what total depravity means. Total depravity means that 100 of man is 100 depraved. It's the radical corruption of man starting from Adam.

Brother Christian, what two books of the Bible did Luke write?

Luke and Acts. Brother Jeremiah, what position did Heimrich Himmler hold during the German Nazification of 1939 to 1945 in Germany?

Himmler was in charge of propaganda. Wow. I think, was it Air Force? I know it was propaganda.

Brother Jeremiah, what are the other solas? We talked about sola scriptura. What are the other solas?

What do they mean? Sola scriptura, scripture alone. Sola fide, faith alone. Sola gloria Christos, glory to Christ alone. And there's one more. Scripture, faith, glory to Christ. Sola fide? I said that.

Faith. I think that's it. What else?

I said that. I think that's it. I think there's only four. Oh, I got one. What form of government does Wynton Baptist Church practice? All-state. Congregational. Why is that important? Because we see that.

Because we don't like the Pope. Because absolute power corrupts absolutely every time. And without checks and balances and without accountability, all men will fall.

And we also see that as the primary church government in the book of Acts.

Brother Christian, name at least two of the qualifications to be a pastor in the New Testament.

Household under control and not a lover of money. Very good.

Brother Jeremiah, what are the two ordinances of the church? Two ordinances?

Baptism and communion, the Lord's Supper. What's the significance of the Lord's Supper? The significance of the Lord's Supper is the representation of what Christ did. We're supposed to remember that every time we do it.

It's to represent the blood that he spilt, the body that was broken, and our acceptance of that. All right, last question.

Who signed in and brought forth the New Deal in the 1930s in America? Hold on. No, I know this. Hold on.

It wasn't Hoover. It was... Fail. Too late. They're screwed. No, not Rosa. What is his name? It's over. Good job, gentlemen. No, it's not.

Hey, boys, y 'all take those chairs and go set them right there.

I do have to say it's a lot more fun being on that side of the Inquisition. Oh, my goodness. 1 Timothy 3 .1 says the saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he is desiring a noble task.

The Call to Ministry and Sowing to the Spirit

Guys, I'm going to speak from my heart. And I'm not talking to you guys today. I'm talking to these two men. Pastoral ministry is one of the most precious things that God can ever give you. It is a calling that I've seen on one of you for a long time, because I saw you grow up.

And if I can tell you anything about my ministry that I've had, it brings me back to Galatians chapter 6. In Galatians 6, starting in verse 7, it says,. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that he will also reap.

For one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows from the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in doing good. For in due season we will reap if we do not give up.

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Focus on those words, do not grow weary in doing good. At some point in your ministry, you are going to leave the walls of this house.

At some point in your ministry, you are going to be out there. And you may have a church that you have, no one else. And you will be alone. Do not grow weary in doing good. You won't always see the fruits of your labor.

There are going to be times that you come in and you have all the things planned, and you have all your future planned there for the next 10, 15, 20 years, and how you want to grow that church, but you may see nothing.

But remember, it may not be you who is supposed to reap that harvest. It might be you who has planted the seed. So make sure as you are planting that seed that you are working for the right reason. You are not sowing to the flesh.

You are not serving yourself. You are not trying to pump yourself up, but you are working for those who you are ministering to. As it says in Ephesians 6,. Not by the way of eye service of people's pleasures, but as bond servants to Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.

Make sure you remember who you are serving. Not the congregation. You are serving God. And by doing that, you serve the congregation. And when you do get tired, and you will, remember you are not alone in your ministry.

You always have a family to return to. You always have strength that you can pull from. Keep your eyes on Christ, and He will sustain you. Brother Jeremiah.

The Bride of Christ, Judgment, and the Fear of the Lord

I heard a pastor say recently, if you want to be afraid for someone on judgment day, don't be afraid for the prostitute or the drug addict, be afraid for pastors. And he is exactly right. 2 Corinthians 11 says, this is Paul speaking to the church at Corinth, the church he started, For I have a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

That's the job of a pastor. Let me read that again. To present you as a pure virgin to Christ. You see, in biblical times, betrothal was not like engagement today. The groom, when he became engaged, betrothed would leave for a year and go prepare a place for he and his bride to live.

And at the end of that year, he'd come back and get his bride and take her to the home he created. In John 14, Jesus told the disciples, I'm going to prepare a place for you. See, the church, not this, this, everyone in this room who is a genuine believer, is part of the bride of Christ.

And he has left that bride, while he's gone preparing a place, in the hands of under-shepherds. In the hands of shepherds that will protect, teach, and love his bride until he comes back to get what's his.

And for some pastors, unfortunately, when the sovereign king of the universe comes back to get his bride, and sees what some of these men have done with his bride while he's been gone, that will not be a blissful day for them.

The Bible speaks of varying levels of judgment. Who do you think he will judge harsher than the one who has whored out his bride to the world? Dressed her up however he sees fit, extorted her for money, that is the one who should be afraid on judgment day.

When I read this verse last week, that the job of the pastor who he betrothed to the one husband Jesus is to present his bride as a pure virgin when he comes back to claim her. I asked Rachel, we are sure that we're supposed to be doing this, right?

That's a question worth asking. When I read verses like that, it should make me afraid. It should. And I know some of us in this room have been taught to never fear God. That scares me for you. Because the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

You haven't started to become wise until you have a respectful fear in awe of God. Brother Christian, Brother Jeremiah, the fear of God and the responsibility that you guys are taking on should be heightened all the more.

And let that fear, gentlemen, drive you to a level of humility, of a work ethic, of a desire to see people discipled that is insatiable, that never is quenched, and that is always ever improving. Let that humble you.

Let the weight of that responsibility humble you to never be complacent. Because one day, the King of the universe is coming back to give that which is His. And I want to hear Him say, not just well done, thou good and faithful servant, but well done in developing and protecting My bride while it was gone.

As you begin this journey, let that imagery sit you. The King of the universe entrusted you to protect His bride while He's gone. It is our job to disciple them. And last thing on that, and this is a job not just for pastors, ladies and gentlemen, so every one of us listen to this.

The Great Commission does not say go and teach them everything I've taught you. That is not what Matthew 28 says. It says go teach them to obey everything I've taught you. Pastor Jeff could teach you what the Bible says in three months.

But that's not what the Bible tells him to do, and every one of you in this room that are Christian. It says teach them to obey it. That's what makes discipleship so hard. It's not teaching them the Bible, it's teaching them to love the Bible more than they love their sin.

And that job for the pastor is all the more difficult. Pastor John is right. Do not grow weary of doing good, for in due time you will reap if you do not give up. I pray that you take the responsibility of taking on the bride of Christ in discipleship seriously, and that you will find it to be, even in the immense pressure and weight of it, a pleasurable and joyous experience knowing that you are doing a noble task.

Courage, Church Support, and the Weight of Shepherding

You're getting your buttons punched today. You're joining, foolishly maybe, you're joining a group of people that the world is going to hate. I'm telling you boys, there's a day coming when the world is going to come for you.

It may not be in my generation, but I'm telling you there are dark days ahead. And I tell you, if you don't trust in the Lord, definitely you're going to have a rough time. But I tell you another thing, if you don't have a church body that will support you, you'll be washed away because you have strength of your own.

But that right there is the greatest strength the pastor can have in the flesh. It's not great educations and degrees. It's not fancy titles or anything like that. It's the people whom you serve will also lift you up when you are tired and exhausted.

Boys, 1 Timothy 5. Now, I want you all to listen to this because you're going to have to quote it when I'm done. 1 Timothy 5, verses 17 -21. Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and in teaching.

For the Scripture says, you shall not muzzle the ox when it treads out the grain. And the laborer deserves his wages. Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ pre-judging, do nothing from partiality. Boys, your little skinny... what are those things called?

Peg leg pants, or I don't know what they're called. Skinny jeans. Brother Jeremiah actually put on Aisha socks this morning. A man should wear non-printed socks. I mean, I just don't get it. The Word of God is very clear.

There is no ambiguity handed down from the chief shepherd to pastors. But unfortunately in today's time, churches wanting to be seeker friendly and evolving ever more into a more worldly fashion and type to try to attract numbers, and I tell you, to fill the coffers, the monetary values of their pastors, they have sold out.

If we read this Scripture very carefully, it tells you both in Scripture and by the very definition of the Word, you are to oversee the church. You are to oversee it. And there's no ambiguity of what that means.

That means that you have general ministry oversight for everything that happens. It does not matter that a Sunday school teacher did this in a class relegated to the furthest end of the parking lot. It is your responsibility to make it right.

It doesn't matter if a child scrapes their knee on that playground. It is ultimately your responsibility to take care of the child and to fix the reason the child fell. Everything that happens is your responsibility.

Though it may be the fault of another, your responsibility, if you fail to address it, is ultimately your internal shame. For as Pastor Josiah said, your bride should be without spot or wrinkle. Number two, it says, let the elders who rule.

And it literally means the word rule. But unfortunately in today, we have forgotten, as the monarchs of history have forgotten, the word rule, both in Greek and Latin, literally meant to stand before.

You know what your job as a leader is? Your job is to walk point and trip the landmine so that your sheep won't. Your job is to take the bullet so your flock will not. To rule does not mean to be a dictator.

It means to go out and lay down your life for the sheep. Guys, if you don't do that, it doesn't matter how popular you get with the world or with religion. If you fail to lay down your life for a sheep, everything else you do in life will be nothing but empty ash because you have failed to do what God has called you to do.

Another thing it says here is you are to feed the church. Look at that beautiful peoples. Look at them. You look at Artie and you're told to feed, you're like, oh my God. I've got to not kill the fattened calf.

I've got to kill the fattened herd. How do you feed the flock? You don't give them poetic, philosophical sermons. You give them stuff they can sink their teeth into. And as a pastor, if your sheep don't start growing claws and fangs of their own, then you have failed to be a pastor.

It's great that you can defend your sheep, but teach your sheep also that in the middle of the night when those doubts hit, in the middle of the night when that airplane flies over their house and they wonder, am I going to be left?

Teach them that they themselves know the Scriptures and the Word of God, that they too can go in those moments of even being alone and they know where they can find solace and peace. And then the last one is this.

Guard the doctrine of the church. Guard the doctrine of the Word of God. I tell you, brothers, it will not be the prostitute, the street-walking whore, it will not be the drug addict who threatens the church.

The gates of hell cannot overcome the church. The only threat the church has is the church itself. And you have to guard the doctrine. Don't use a legalistic religious style to defend it. For truth, if it be truth, does not need to be propped up.

You simply need to polish it. You need to hold it up. You need to sit there and say, this is what I unashamedly believe in for it is what the Word of God says I believe in and I will die defending this.

Your success is not going to be meted out. True success is not going to be meted out by books and great congregations. It's going to be meted out by you standing sometimes alone. And I've told you boys both this.

Being a leader is the loneliest, stinking job in the world. It's a mountaintop and a valley experience that even your wife will not understand, will not comprehend. You will be alone, absolutely alone.

And I tell you, if you pastor a church by yourself, it's going to be even lonelier. Oh, you'll have friends. You will. I had an old guy tell me one time, never have friends in your congregation. That is the dumbest, most cowardice thing I've ever heard.

You can have friends. And they'll encourage you. They'll come up and love you. They'll come up and do this to you when Tennessee loses, you know. They'll sit and twist the knife at different times in your life like when you have four successive granddaughters instead of grandsons.

Sorry, I'm still in counseling. It's lonely. It really is. And there'll be times, man, where you just want to quit. You will want to quit. And then that's when you're going to have to man up. That's when you're going to have to stop feeling sorry for yourself.

That's when you're going to have to dig down deep because there ain't going to be no Rocky Balboa music playing. You're going to have to decide in that moment, am I going to be not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

For it is the power of God and the salvation to all who believe. Brothers, I'm so proud of both of you. Y 'all have earned the right to be up here today. I'm going to ask both of y 'all to go stand down here.

I'm going to ask the pastors to go stand with them. And if family wants to come and stand with them at this time, that would be appropriate. Moms, dads, cousins, uncles, whatever. And as they come up, I'm going to ask the church body at large, ordained men, whomever, if you want to come up and lay hands on them, because remember, you people are ordaining them into the ministry.

So you men, ladies, come forward and you can surround them as well. If God's people are agreeing to this, as previously in a beautiful congregational moment last year, voted to ordain these young men, having seen them fit and have given witness to the evidence that God has called them into the ministry, we are now following through with a 2 ,000 year old history.

For 2 ,000 years, the church has done exactly what we're doing right here. And so I'm going to ask us to pray over these young men and then I will close us. Let us pray. The Lord bless and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. May the peace and grace of God that passes all understanding give you the strength of Samson. God, the heart of David. The wisdom of Solomon.

Father, the strength of Samson. God, the absolute fortitude of Peter. But God, more than anything, may it have the mind and heart of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Father, we, your people, gather together and separate these young men to be pastors of your church.

This is our prayer. And in agreement, God's people said. Amen. You may be seated. Brothers, as soon as you can, make your way back up to the podium. I will give you a few seconds if you want to say anything to God's people.

Earlier this week, I sat down with a pen and paper and started writing what I would say because I enjoy having prep time before speaking. I just speak better like that. As I was writing, I didn't bring it with me because I never finished it.

I wanted just for it to be natural. But what the pastor said is right. The pastors will receive a stricter judgment. And I welcome that because they should. Because they're the ones teaching. If they're teaching correctly, they should be judged because they lead other people astray.

But when I read Scripture, when I read Paul's letters, when Paul addresses to the Ephesians or to the Galatians, he says, Grace and peace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace. But when he writes a letter to his young pastor, Timothy, he says, Grace, peace, and mercy.

He goes, Let me tell you, we need some mercy because I am not better than any of you. I struggle the same way. I didn't wake up today thinking I want to worship Christ. I woke up today thinking I want to worship myself.

And then I have to course correct. That's sanctification. So in other words, I will fail you if you trust in me. I will do my best by the Word of God, by the Spirit of God, and by the accountability of my brothers to do right by you and to do right by the Word.

But I will fail. This does not make me perfect all of a sudden. But you have my word that I will swear loyalty only to Christ Jesus, only to his Word. I will not teach anything of me. When I read Jesus' words, some of his strongest rebukes were for those who loved money.

I didn't join this for the money. Let me tell you, I didn't do it. Jesus also said, Woe to you who like to be called rabbi. I didn't do this to be called pastor and enjoy that privilege because Christ reserved his strictest rebukes for those types of people.

When I read the way he engaged when the Pharisees, it scares me because I see myself acting like them sometimes. There was a quote on Facebook that said, Father, forgive me for coveting a seat at the table that you would have flipped.

Father, forgive me. So I ask, church, for you to remember in your prayers the elders of this church. We labor a lot. Like Pastor Jeff said, it has its highs and lows. We're gonna be privileged to see the secret words between a bride and a husband.

We'll be privileged to be in a room where a man says his last words. We'll be privileged to see the birth of children. We're gonna be exposed to this more than the average person. And I welcome this. Ever since I was a kid, people kept telling me I was gonna be a pastor.

And let me tell you, by what the word of God says, the church is the one that says that one. The church is the one.

That picks and sends through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are not self-elected. We cannot be. The Holy Spirit is the one that moves your hearts to elect. It's a good day to be alive in Jesus. Thank you.

The Call to the Pastorate and the Fire in Jeremiah's Bones

Chris and I do spend too much time together. Many of the things my heart wanted to say, he said, I will not repeat it. But this is an honor. My father told me this, and I tell every young man who aspires to be an elder, go do anything else.

Run, run, and run from the pastorate. Because if you are supposed to be a pastor, there's nothing else you can do. The book of Jeremiah, in the opening chapter, he says, for there is a fire in my bones.

A fire in my bones. You cannot help but preach. You cannot help but teach. It's what you have to do. Or it will consume you by fire. I did run. I did run. I avoided it. I knew I was going to be a pastor.

I avoided it until Pastor Jeff called me and said, hey, it's time. I need you. I said, all right. And this is year five. And what you have done today is just validate the call that God has given. That's all.

Even in these last, coming up on five years, there's been a lot of ups and downs. One of the biggest things I have learned is mercy. You cannot learn mercy truly from any book or even any scripture. The only way you can truly learn mercy is through showing it.

It's our job to defend the flock and defend the sheep. But holy mackerel, when you have to show mercy to that wolf in sheep's clothing, the very person that you are supposed to defend the sheep against, you have to counsel and help and bring healing to.

That's a job not everyone's called to do. It's a job that's heart-wrenching. And that's what we're called to do. That's why it's so lonely. Because you're called to show mercy to whom you have every right and obligation to not show mercy to.

You have nothing, no reason, no justification to show kindness, and yet God demands it. That's what it means to be a pastor. My calling and my standard is that of the 23rd Psalm. Lord's my shepherd, I have all I want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness. For his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

For you are with me. Thy rod and your staff, they comfort me. That is of Christ. But that is also my example. That is the example I'm supposed to be here to assist Christ in the restoring of your soul, to guide you in the path of righteousness, to at times use both the rod and the staff to help you find the green pastures of peace, to help you find the still waters of stability in your life.

And it's a metaphor because that's different for every person. And it's our job to use the wisdom and discernment of the Spirit in this guidance. We ask for both your grace and your mercy. We thank you for your peace and patience and your validation of God's call.

We love you and honor you in all we do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we do pray. Amen.

Double Honor for Pastors and the Ordination Charge

Gentlemen, it is a solemn charge to fulfill the will of God. It's also a solemn charge to fulfill the will of God's people. And on behalf of the authority of God's people, you are no longer now Brother Jeremiah.

You are Pastor Jeremiah. You are no longer Hermano Christianos. You are no longer Brother Christian. You are now Pastor Christian Torres. I'm going to ask you young men to go stand at that back door. Walk down this way and go stand.

If any of you want to say hi to them, please feel free to do so. It's important. The Word of God says that a pastor is worthy of double honor. Of course, some blood-sucking leeches think that means double money.

That is not what it means. It means respect. They've earned it. They are not preacher boys. They are pastors separated by God Himself for the ministry of Jesus Christ.