Between cathedral and monastery

Creating balance between a pastor's personal faith and public role Part 1: revisiting the munus triplex

Abstract

The journey to ordination begins with justification, in which the disciple experiences faith, hope and love in the midst of the Triune God. What follows is a process by which the Christian disciple learns what it means to be conformed to the likeness of Christ, who is prophet, priest, and king. Christ's on-going ministry has relevance to the church because in Christ's exaltation and Christ's spiritual presence in the church, Christ continues to lead the church as king priest and prophet. The church is called to live out the real presence of Christ in its midst and the ordained leader has a significant role to play in helping the church to do this.