We Don't
Ordain
Do the Duty which lies nearest thee. Thy
second Duty
will already have become clearer.
Thomas Carlyle, Sartor
Resartus
Churches are traditionally run by boards that operate under the ancient law of the Medes and Persians, "which changeth not." Calvary Chapel's ministry, by contrast, was whatever Chuck Smith believed the Lord was leading him to do. That was how it came off. If you were in the flow, you belonged there; if you were drawn in a different direction, you moved on. The young assistants and staff people did what they were expected to do, without being privy to a lot of decision making and inner counsels. You want to know what to do? Seek God's will. Get in the flow, brother.
The months from April to December 1972 were critical for Michael as he received basic instruction in the care and feeding of Christians. Not that he was given a portfolio of duties connected with the services; he just slipped into them as one slips into a jacket. Thus he led the singing, prayed, preached, conducted meetings, gave invitations, and counseled seekers. He also planned concerts, made hospital calls, led the singles fellowship, answered
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the phone, pushed chairs around, and picked up cigarette butts on the church grounds. Always sensitive to the gaps in his education, he began acquiring commentaries on the Old and New Testaments and books on church history. He dipped into psychology and tried (seriously this time) to acquire some of the classics of literature. But study time was limited, for now he had a lively young family to support.
Chuck Smith was impressed. When he first met Michael, he was afraid the young man's use of hallucinogenic drugs had been so extensive that he would never regain a normal outlook. He had seen so many who had suffered severe personality damage and even brain damage. He soon discovered that Michael was a personable guy with a lot of drive and enthusiasm and love, but he also noticed a vagueness about him and an inability to stay on the subject, whatever it was, for any length of time. After Michael had been around for some months, however, his pastor noticed a change. The young convert began to show responsibility in the tasks assigned him. It also became obvious that he had ability. When Michael took over the distribution of the first Maranatha musical recordings (which Chuck Smith had personally advanced the money to produce), Chuck observed a young man not only with potential, but also with a willingness to get out and serve. His remarriage to Sandra stood very much in his favor. Michael was proving himself, making good moves and wise decisions.
As for Michael, his feeling at the time was that he wanted to be like Chuck. He recognized that the man was a prayer warrior and a great student of the Bible, and he made that his own goal. Chuck's love for and grasp of Scripture made Michael want that grasp. All his life, he felt, he had been a double-minded, insecure person with no backbone or purpose. Now he was beginning to accept
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the inspiration of the Bible and the responsibility and privilege of serving the Body of Christ. Love for the Lord Jesus Christ and respect for the Body of Christ, such as he had seen in Chuck, were ingrained in him.
During his eight months' apprenticeship Michael's speaking skills also developed. He showed the ability to communicate spiritual truth and season it with humor. Invitations came to speak at nearby high schools and colleges and occasionally to preach in churches. It was becoming clear to some, at least, that people were coming to Christ under his ministry.
The grapevine had it that after serving three months at Calvary Chapel a young assistant would be ordained a minister of the gospel; but in Michael's case the months sped by and nothing happened. Finally in September he mustered enough boldness to speak to Pastor Chuck: "People have been asking me to conduct their weddings, Chuck, and I was wondering...." To conduct a wedding, state law required ordination; but if Michael was expecting a formal ordination ceremony, with prayers and speeches and the gathering of relatives and the laying on of hands by visiting dignitaries, he was in for a shock. Calvary Chapel was a legally independent corporation, considered itself a New Testament church, and conducted its affairs accordingly. Pastor Chuck gave his assistant an application form. "Fill this out, Mike. To marry you have to be ordained. We'll take it to the board for action and see what happens."
Michael was excited. "You mean for ordination?"
Chuck shook his head. "We don't ordain anybody, Mike."
"Then what —"
"All we can do is ratify what the Holy Spirit has done."
But what did that mean? What had the Holy Spirit done? Who would sign the certificate? Did he expect God
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to sign it? Or was this just a religious way of saying it was the end of the line?
"You have already been ordained by God," Smith went on, and a hundred-pound sack fell off Michael's back. "We'll give you a piece of paper. That will authorize you to marry people. It will also get you into the jails."
In a few days the board voted its approval, making Michael Kirk MacIntosh an ordained minister of the gospel, a man of the cloth, a shepherd of the faithful, and a preacher of the Word of Life. But Pastor Smith did not even notify his assistant; the word came to him through Elder Bob Ward who had been present at the meeting. Eventually the piece of paper showed up. Chuck Smith was a most unceremonial gentleman, and he knew quite well how to keep the doorkeepers of the Lord's temple from waxing too proud.
