First the baby update: Dana is doing well. My mom (who is currently visiting) has dressed her in an outfit that I apparently used to wear, and that’s rather charming. Anyway, there are new photos online.
Now for the personal news: Monday evening at 6:30pm I’m going to be ordained as an Assemblies of God minister.
In case you’re curious about the administrative backstory, this means that I’ve now maxed out my ministerial certifications. I’ve been a licensed minister for a number of years, and I’m now being upgraded to full ordination. It’s like going from a master’s to a Ph.D., except that I didn’t have to write and defend hundreds of pages of academic drivel.
Instead, I merely had to defeat three ninjas in armed combat. Pretty standard stuff for a college minister, I have to say.
Ordination doesn’t really change anything for me as far as my ministerial functions (the Assemblies of God has been eroding the distinctions between licensing and ordination) or legal standing (I could officiate at weddings, for example, before this), but it is pretty cool.
Getting ordained reflects a sort of commitment to the movement. It’s not the same thing as going from being engaged to being married, but that’s not a horrible analogy. Continuing the metaphor, it’s a bit unfortunate from a commitment perspective that the Assemblies of God can be a bit of a tart…
Seriously, it’s a great movement (with some admittedly deep flaws) and I’m proud to be receiving my ordination from them.