letter from rolland baker
What does ordination by Iris Global Churches mean? At bare minimum it refers to Iris Global Churches doing its part to place a person into the ministry. A more formal church might describe ordination as conferring holy orders on someone, or installing them officially in an arranged order in the church hierarchy. But to us ordination involves our recognizing fire in your soul, realizing that you are possessed by God to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, “for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). It means we believe that you are resonating with Paul, who wrote, “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24). It means that we see in your life the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). It means that you have answered the call: “Who will endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3)?
It means that you are joining our family, a family that will not be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (2 Cor. 11:3), a family that preaches the pure gospel, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of it's power (1 Cor. 1:17). It means that you are absorbing my grandfather’s legacy, whose life inspired and encouraged Heidi and me. I doubt that I would ever have considered working with outcasts and the poor in forgotten, nonstrategic corners of the world without my grandfather's example. It means that you are likewise called to reach out to “the least of these,” for in so doing you are ministering to Jesus Himself.
It means that we believe you have set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2). It means that you are rich in faith, since you are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and are worshiping God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Heb. 12:28). It means that you have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you (1 Pet. 1:4). It means that you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. Even though you do not see Jesus now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
It means that you no longer live for yourselves, but for Him who died and rose again on your behalf (2 Cor. 5:15). It means that Jesus is your life, and the point of your existence. It means that you are burning with a passionate love for your Perfect Savior, whom you would not trade for anything in this world. It means that He is your energy, and in control of your life, and you run to Him and hide in the safety of His majestic and holy sovereignty.
Yes, ordination means that we believe you will minister nothing but the truth, and nothing that you would not die for; that you will resist every wind of doctrine to the contrary. It means you have found a love that transcends this world, and is worth suffering the loss of all things, if necessary. It means you will pour your life into making Jesus feel loved, and therefore become a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work in this life (2 Tim. 2:21).
May such glory invade all our lives until we see His face and are safely home with Him in His heavenly Kingdom!
Rolland Baker