[thePilgrim]

***I believe the answer would be - the Spirit of God.

Has He not done so several times in the history of the Church?***

My point is that McMahon has seemed to hang his hat on the fact that an ordaination to elder is valid no matter what the spiritual state of the ordaining elder. In that case, then an openly gay elder would be able to ordain and the entire church should recognize such an ordaination as valid.

Do you regard an openly gay elder as a valid elder and do you regard his ordinations as valid?

Thanks,
Christian.

[PetroniusMaximus]

***ordaination to elder is valid no matter what the spiritual state of the ordaining elder.***

An ordination is valid only if God has truly called a man to it. IMHO an elder has no magical power to confer a calling on a person if that person is not called of God.

I know the PCA will not let a man preach in their church unless he is an ordained minister of the PCA. This legalistic rule completely disregards the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit in his ability to choose men outside the "system". Something He has chose to do many times down through the ages.

I find it amazing that a Church could establish a rule for preaching that would exclude the very Apostles themselves (being that none of them are ordained in the PCA).


***Do you regard an openly gay elder as a valid elder ***

Would Paul?

Wouldn't living in open rebellion to the will of God automatically disqualify someone from holding a Church office?


***do you regard his ordinations as valid? ***

Again, man confers nothing on man that God has not already given.

[jude24]

My point is that McMahon has seemed to hang his hat on the fact that an ordaination to elder is valid no matter what the spiritual state of the ordaining elder. In that case, then an openly gay elder would be able to ordain and the entire church should recognize such an ordaination as valid.

Wasn't that the whole point of the Donatist Contraversey?