Potential Questions for District Licensed Ministers Pursuing Ordination on the

New Mexico District

 

The following are the sorts of questions you may be asked during your licensing interview. There may, of course, be additional questions as deemed necessary by the committee.

 

General

  • Describe your experiences in ministry this past year and how these have helped/hindered your pursuit of ordination.

 

  • How are you personally? Are there events from the past year you would like to share with us? How do you ensure your relationships with your family and friends remain vibrant and healthy in the midst of pastoral ministry?

 

  • Please give us one example of how Scripture has formed your life in the past three months. What is your routine for your personal devotional times (how, when)?

 

Doctrine & Polity

You will be asked to submit typed, 2-page, single-spaced ((maximum), each year along with your application beginning in 2024.

 

Character & Life

  • How do you honor and observe the Sabbath?
  • Do you sense a commitment to holy mutuality (conferencing, teamwork, etc . . . ) with your fellow pastors on the district? Describe, or describe what this might look like.
  • Do you drink alcohol or use tobacco and/or marijuana?
  • Do you engage pornography of any kind? What sort of safeguards do you have in place to protect yourself from such material?
  • Explain your personal understanding and practice of financial stewardship. Do you tithe? How do you encourage your congregation to tithe?

 

Competency

  • Do you feel competent to fulfill the ministry to which you have been assigned and/or for which you are preparing? Why or why not? How might this committee assist you in this?
  • While you may not yet feel fully competent for the ministry to which you are not assigned, what are specific ways you are learning and growing in your ministry? How are you preparing for other aspects of ministry which are related to your current role, or to which you might be called one day?
  • What has been the greatest frustration you have experienced in your ministry and what have you learned from this experience?
  • Describe a time you led someone to Christ. How are you currently connecting with those that might be considered, non-believers, un-churched, pre-Christian, etc . . . ?
  • Tell a story of an individual disciple or group of disciples you have discipled who has/have gone on to disciple others.

 

Calling

  • Please tell us what you understand ordination to represent? Why is it important for you to seek ordination?
  • What is the mission and purpose of a local church? What is the pastor’s role? (What is your role in your local church?)
  • Do you believe that God is calling you to be ordained specifically with the Church of the Nazarene? Why? Describe your calling.
  • How do you feel about preaching? How are you developing yourself as a preacher? (If the candidate is on the Deacon Track, it would be appropriate to ask a similar question pertaining to the specific areas of ministry they are engaged in.)
  • How do you nurture God’s call in the lives of those under your ministerial care?

 

Context

  • How are the changing dynamics of our culture impacting your approach to ministry?
  • What are the most exciting and challenging aspects of leading pastoral ministry on the New Mexico District?
  • What does it mean to be missional in places where more and more of our neighbors do not know Jesus or the Church?
  • How are you pursuing mentoring and accountability as a person and as a pastor in a way that is related to your current ministry? Be specific. Name names of those you are connected to in this way.
  • Are you in agreement with the Manual statement on Human Sexuality? Why or why not?