Professor: Laity Also Called of God

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009 Posted: 12:29:58AM HKT

R Paul Stevens, an emeritus professor of marketplace theology at Regent College, speaking to participants after a public lecture he gave last Wednesday at Toa Payoh Methodist Church. (Photo: CP)

A certain seminary only admitted those who could prove that God called them to be pastors.

The result was that there were people who, in order to receive a theological education, feigned a call to be ministers.

This was an example used by Regent College emeritus professor R Paul Stevens to bring home the point that a revolution is needed in theological education even today.

Speaking last week at a public lecture conducted at Toa Payoh Methodist Church, Stevens showed from Scripture that whether clergy or laity, all Christians have a fundamentally equivalent role.

According to the professor of marketplace theology, every Christian is a member of the ‘whole people of God’ and called by Him to carry out mutual priestly, prophetic and princely functions on earth.

Such equality is warranted by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he said.

Having written a book on the subject, Stevens advocated the abolition of the term ‘laity’, which the Bible never uses to refer to non-clergy – he showed that in a biblical sense all Christians are ‘clergy’ – on the grounds that it promotes discrimination against them.

For instance, he explained in the lecture titled Why Theological Education Is Too Good To Be Reserved For Pastors, in many colleges full-fledged theological education is offered to potential clergy but non-clergy who have a desire to go for further studies are given inferior, non-credentialed courses.

The professor, himself a pastor for more than 20 years, also expressed his view that ordination should not be reserved just for pastors.

“Anybody who has proven themselves in the world should be [ordained],” said Stevens, who sees his mission as empowering ordinary people to integrate faith and life from Monday to Saturday.

The lecture at which Stevens spoke was organised by the Biblical Graduate School of Theology.

Edmond Chua
edmond@christianpost.com