Ordinations by mail blasphemous, some clergy say

Stacy J. Willis

Sunday, July 11, 1999 | 9:11 a.m.

The call to the ministry can be somewhat lackluster.

In lieu of divine drama -- angels, heavenly voices, rays of light -- some are urged to become one of God's representatives by a computer prompt:

Click here to be ordained by mail.

For about $30, World Christianship Ministries in Fresno, Calif., will send anyone a certificate of ordination and a wallet-size clergy identification card with whichever title suits one's newfound sense of religious duty -- reverend, bishop, deacon -- whatever.

No studying. No interviews. No tests.

"After being ordained by World Christianship Ministries, you will be free to carry your Christian ministry as you feel God directs you," the organization's website says.

"We authorize you to perform all Christian religious services including the rites of marriage and baptism. You will be authorized to use a formal title before your name such as reverend.

"You will be entitled to the respect and consideration that is customarily given to ministers of religious organizations."

World Christianship's sweeping assertions shine light on the vast and unregulated nature of the clergy profession -- and the ease with which organizations can invoke the authority of God and somehow seem official. But there isn't much official about it. Legally, anyone can call himself or herself a reverend or a rabbi. Virtually anyone can start a church, accept tithing, file for tax breaks.

"It's a problem. It's a big, big problem," said Rabbi Felipe Goodman of Temple Beth Sholom, a Conservative Jewish congregation serving more than 400 Southern Nevada families. Goodman studied in traditional schools for more than 10 years prior to becoming a rabbi.

"People without the education do not have the same qualifications to lead a congregation as those of us who have studied for years. We learn history, counseling, management -- very necessary skills."

The debate over whether charisma or training better qualifies someone to be a spiritual leader is heating up in Las Vegas, where clergy education varies widely. A swelling interest in all things spiritual and a growth in population create a market for religious leaders -- some of whom don't want to spend five or 10 years in school before getting behind the pulpit.

"We in Las Vegas seem to be suffering from it a great deal. This would never be happening in East Coast communities. But the community here is growing so fast that there is an opportunity to open up many different kinds of congregations, and these (quick-ordination organizations) are, well, banking on it," Goodman said. "We haven't had anyone strong enough to stand up and say, 'Enough is enough.' "

Where a physician must pass boards prior to being licensed by the state, the legal division between church and state prevents the government from issuing a standard spiritual proficiency exam, were such a thing even definable.

States keep tabs on those who may perform officially recognized marriages, but steer clear of determining what education or beliefs make a person a legitimate pastor.

Some religions have denominational organizations that require their clergy to meet certain educational requirements, others do not. And some who require a theological diploma don't scrutinize the institution from which it is earned -- or bought. "(We) provide a seminary alternative for individuals who wish to be ordained as Christian clergy in a simple way, without delay, in order to begin their own ministry ... We have ordained clergy in every state in the U.S.A. and over 65 foreign countries," the World Christianship website says.

"There really is no debate here," the Rev. David McElroy, founder of World Christianship, said.

"There is freedom of religion in this country. Courts have ruled that there are no rules and regulations on that. Simple ordinations are just as valid and legal as others."

But Goodman said that quick ordinations disparage the clergy profession as a whole, perhaps even in the eyes of the government that gives religious organizations tax-exempt status.

"One danger is that we will lose our tax-exempt status someday. The United States government expects people to respect that privilege, but we will lose it if many people abuse it," Goodman said. McElroy took offense when asked if World Christianship, which has no congregation, study groups or worship services, is more a business than a religious organization.

"Would you call the Catholic Church a business? The Catholic Church takes in billions of dollars a year," said McElroy, who would not disclose how much World Christianship takes in. "My calling is to help people start their own ministries ... I'm very good at what I do and I'm very happy about it."

But the temptation to skip formal theological education as more alternative educational opportunities make themselves available through the Internet and correspondence has some religious leaders trying to come up with ways to get people back into the traditional classroom.

"I think it's wrong not to have any training whatsoever, and education is always beneficial in some way," said the Rev. Stan Steward of Calvary Community Assembly of God Church in Las Vegas.

"We've formed a task force of various denominations to promote ministry training and develop a program in that area for local clergy. It is a very important issue." Steward serves as director of the Las Vegas branch of the California-based Bethany College that offers advanced theological degrees. The courses are held in Steward's church. "Our goal is to have 100 students enrolled. We've got about 15 right now; we've had about 150 in the last couple of years.

"Among Evangelicals there is a growing appreciation of education where there wasn't one in the past. When all is said and done, just about everyone wants to have a real degree."

The clergy call

As a child, the Rev. Bill Toller sat on the bed next to his paralyzed mother and listened to her read the Bible.

"She always said that the one book you can trust is the Bible," said Toller, who is now a minister at Praise Ministries, a nondenominational Christian fellowship of about 50 people in Las Vegas.

Toller studied in two Bible colleges for about 2 1/2 years but did not receive a diploma, he said.

"The most significant thing that prepared me to be a pastor wasn't school. It was taking care of my mother, who was paralyzed from the waist down.

"I learned what it was like to hurt, and to care and to want to help. All the classes I took were wonderful but that's not what prepared me for the ministry. Understanding people is what prepared me," Toller said.

"I don't think we are qualified to judge others, and to judge whether or not they need a formal Bible college or not.

"We can't judge whether or not God has the ability to use someone who is not schooled. I don't think Peter was properly schooled. But then Matthew was a very educated man. God isn't bound by that -- God can use anyone who is willing to be used." The Rev. Gary Morefield, senior pastor at Green Valley Christian Center, has a B.A. and a Masters of Divinity and thinks both the spiritual calling and the education are necessary for responsible leadership.

"My personal belief is that there should be a balance," Morefield said. "Some put more emphasis on character and call (to the ministry) than education. The question is, 'Are people following somebody and is that person able to lead them to the Lord?' "

In his three-year Masters of Divinity program at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Morefield studied counseling, pastoral care and suicide prevention in addition to the Bible.

"It helps broaden your knowledge. It gives you a broader set of tools. Billy Graham once said that if he knew Jesus Christ was coming in 10 years he would study for the first seven and spend the last three years preaching. That's how important he thinks education is."

Rabbinical debate

The issue has turned into a dispute in the Las Vegas Jewish community, where several local rabbis received their ordination through correspondence with a rabbinical school in New York -- much to the dismay of their more lengthily educated colleagues.

"What makes a good rabbi or a good minister? Your personality, compassion, and your ability to service the needs of your congregation. Synagogues have different needs. Your temperament is important," said Rabbi Simon Bergman of Congregation Beth El, a traditional-reform synagogue that serves more than 50 families.

Bergman and Rabbi Gary Golbart of Adat Ari El received their ordinations in recent years from The New Seminary in New York via correspondence -- a two- or three-year mentor study program.

The school was founded in 1981 by Rabbi Joseph H. Gelberman, who specializes in Jewish mysticism and has been active in American interfaith efforts. Today the school only ordains people as "Interfaith Ministers." But before he retired last year Gelberman also taught a rabbinical ordination program and something called "Physician of the Soul" -- an alternative healing program.

"Actually, it doesn't make any difference where you studied. The studies are the same," Bergman said. But other rabbis in the community disagree and have formed the Board of Rabbis of Clark County, which will address rabbinical education standards, among other issues. In order to be a member of the board, a rabbi must belong to an official organization of one of the four major Jewish movements -- and those organizations, such as the Central Conference of American Rabbis, require advanced degrees from accredited Jewish seminaries.

"Fly-by-night diplomas will not get you in," Goodman said.

"Small schools are popping up everywhere -- where you can get a degree quickly -- and that's a concern of the rabbinical community, and it's a concern for the established schools," said Rabbi Sanford Akselrad of Congregation Ner Tamid, a Reform Jewish congregation. Akselrad is a founding member of the Board of Rabbis and has a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and a rabbinical degree from the 120-year-old Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. "I'm very supportive of Jewish unity so I do not want to speak badly about one Jew or another," Akselrad said. "But you can't compare what someone learns in one of these small schools to what one learns in five years of study.

"You need that piece of paper that says you've gone to school to achieve a certain level of expertise," Akselrad said.

"You can't regulate religion. And what they're doing is not illegal. All we can do is try to educate people as to the difference. We can't say they're not rabbis."

Golbart said that his training at The New Seminary was thorough and that he has no regrets about studying with the school.

"It is an unfortunate debate that I don't even care to enter into," Golbart said. "There are 70,000 Jews in Las Vegas, many of whom are not affiliated with one synagogue or another yet, and this whole debate may be out of a sense of competition for people. But we should all bring our talents and abilities to serve. Everybody has got to work within his own conscience.

"We are living in a time when there are many different forms of education for many professions, and technology allows for different kinds of study for those who cannot uproot their lives and move to a seminary but must continue to work while they study. Why judge that?

"The proof is in the way people can lead a congregation -- I was given wonderful skills to do that," Golbart said. "I'm serving 160 families in my congregation, and they are happy with my performance and if they were not, they are of course free to leave.

"I am not concerned with what a bunch of rabbis think. I am concerned about my congregation."

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