Holding Our Converts
The church's duty embraces not only aggressive evangelism, but holding and upbuilding those already won. Guarding the back door is quite as essential as making successfully attractive the front door. Losses are an unconcealable sign of weakness. They really imply that some of our accessions were not truly converted. Yet surely the basic requirement of admission to fellowship is a genuine conversion, a spiritual rebirth from above. To be simply intellectually convinced, and so to join the church chiefly upon the constraint of fear, usually means increasing carelessness and ultimate disseverance. Of course, after birth comes growth, which demands nourishment, exercise, and training. To upbuild the personal character and to train for loving service for others is the church's bounden duty toward her converts.
L. E. F.
Shepherding the Flock
By N.C. Petersen
It is a sad fact that altogether too many individuals received into church fellowship become discouraged, and sooner or later drop out by the way. A number of justifiable reasons may be set forth as the cause of this situation. In many cases it is the result of uniting with the church under pressure of excitement due to sensational methods of preaching, without experiencing genuine-conversion of heart. In other cases the departure may be due to lack of careful instruction in all the doctrines and beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists; while a still further contributing cause is failure on the part of the individual to maintain spiritual life, with consequent yielding to the appeal of worldly pleasure, riches, or position which is ever pulling in the opposite direction. Whatever the cause may be, the fact cannot be ignored. The vital question is, What measures can be taken to lessen the steady stream of discouraged, bewildered souls who are passing out through the rear door of the church?
First of all, there is need of utmost faithful diligence in making sure that candidates for church membership are properly and fully instructed before being baptized and uniting with the church. We are authoritatively told that " unless those who receive the truth are thoroughly converted, unless there is a radical change in the life and character, unless the soul is riveted to the eternal Rock, they will not endure the test of trial."—" Gospel Workers," pp. 368, 369. There needs to be more earnest attention given to the work of riveting to the eternal Rock. This may require more time and labor than we care to give, in connection with the strenuous activities which we have in hand, but we read that " God would be better pleased to have six thoroughly converted to the truth than to have sixty make a profession and yet not be truly converted." — Id., p. 370.
And second, but of equal importance, is the need of shepherding those who are brought within the fold. The new members of the flock must be carefully nourished and fed with spiritual food, and this cannot be accomplished without the shepherd's knowing each by name and experience, and this necessitates close personal contact. It is too often the case that evangelists and pastors manifest admirable zeal and earnestness in bringing the individual to decide for the truth and to take the forward step into church membership, but after this is accomplished, leave him to find food and pasture and to keep in line as best he can. But grievous wolves, of many species, are always watching for the lone sheep unaccustomed to the pitfalls by the way, ever ready to ensnare and to devour. The true shepherd will know the spiritual status of each member of the fold, and diligently guard against every encroachment by the enemy of souls.
Not only must the new convert be guarded and fed, but there must be development and growth in Christian life and experience; and the most effective means to this end is to teach him to labor for the rescue of perishing souls. Our instruction on this point is clear: " Upon all new converts should be impressed the truth that abiding knowledge can be gained only by earnest labor and persevering study."-- Id., p. 368. " Let ministers teach church members that in order to grow in spirituality, they must carry the burden that the Lord has laid upon them,— the burden of leading souls into the truth. Those who are not fulfilling their responsibility should be visited, prayed with, labored for. . . . Teach them . . . that they are to use their talents in giving the truth to those around them. In thus working they will have the co-operation of heavenly angels, and will obtain an experience that will increase their faith, and give them a strong hold on God." — Id., p. 200. It is the shepherd's duty to know just who in his flock " are not fulfilling their responsibility," and then to visit, pray with, labor for, and teach them how to use their talents. Oversight and neglect of this important phase of the shepherd's work lies at the root of the much-regretted exodus from our churches.
It is stated, as the result of careful investigation, that the regular readers of our church paper, the Review and Herald, seldom leave the church. It is wise to heed this precautionary suggestion. The secret of remedying the situation involves the sermons which are preached in the Sabbath services. Long, labored discourses, which bring a sigh of relief from those who listen to the end, do not tend to hold and spiritualize our people. We are to present the living Christ as a personal Saviour from sin and sinning, the only One who is able to keep from falling, and to present faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
Lodi, Calif.
Never Let Go
By L.H. King
My motto is, Never let go of a member until every expedient has been employed, and has failed. I am decidedly opposed to the annual slaughter at the end of the year, in order to clear the church roll of nonproducing and non-attending members. My experience confirms me in saying that scores of individuals who would seem to come within this class can be saved to the cause of God and become active and dependable members of the church, through proper methods of pastoral labor. There is a tendency to become ruthless in severing souls from our enrollment, rather than to make diligent effort in behalf of their restoration to spiritual life. Let us be shepherds who seek for the straying members of the fold, and who will bind up the wounds and heal the bruises, and make the shelter of the church fold the most restful and enticing place for all who have once heard and responded to the call of the Good Shepherd, who gave His life for the sheep.
Buffalo, N. Y.
(To be continued)
The Junior Sermon (Concluded)
No Better Plan for the Pastor
By L.K. Dickson
I Am very much in favor of the Junior Sermon plan. I see nothing against it, and much in favor of it. The Junior Sermon is not only helpful to the children, but there is something very appealing in the simple lessons, even for older people. It is highly important for the younger members of the flock to feel that they have a part in the church service. There is no better plan than this whereby the pastor can get a foothold of influence with the younger members of his congregation. I do not think, however, that in working out the Junior Sermon idea, the pastor should feel that he is excused from making the regular sermon applicable and interesting to the boys and girls. I have found that the juniors take much more interest in the regular sermon if their interest is. aroused in the Junior Sermon.
New York, N. Y.
Interest Juniors in Regular Service
By Ernest Lloyd
The church should provide its juniors with small notebooks, in which each junior is requested, at every Sabbath service, to write the title of the opening hymn, the text for the Scripture lesson, a sentence or two from the prayer, and fill a page or two of the notebooks with a report of what the preacher said in his sermon; and also record the closing hymn. These notebooks are to be handed to the pastor at the end of each quarter, for examination. The juniors whose books show a perfect attendance during the quarter, and whose weekly reports are acceptable, should be presented with a small book by the pastor. The value of this plan is, (1) that more juniors will attend the church service; and, in case the parents are not in the habit of attending regularly, the interest of the juniors will increase the interest of parents. (2) The children will learn to become more attentive listeners, which is a valuable part of their education; they will also become more familiar with hymn books, hymns, Scripture, prayer, and sermon. (3) They will be building up a library of good books.
Mountain View, Calif.
It Requires Real Preparation
By Harriet M. Bolt
I believe that the Junior Sermon, when rightly given, has its place in the church. There are many ministers, however, who do not understand how to preach a Junior Sermon, and still others who do not take the necessary time for preparation. I think our ministers should realize that a Junior Sermon takes real preparation. To meet the need of ministers in this respect, the Missionary Volunteer Society has prepared printed suggestions known as " Workers' Aid," which are gladly furnished on request.
Glendale, Calif.
Viewpoint of the Home Commission
By A.W. Spalding
The problem is to attract and hold our adolescent youth. No two men are likely to be equipped to do this in exactly the same way; but any man who will do his best, in the best way he can find, is worthy of commendation, even though his method may not appeal to every one. Personally, the Junior Sermon idea does not greatly appeal to me, for it seems to me the equivalent of a confession on the part of the preacher that he lives in a world where there are no children, and must self-consciously step out of it before he can make children listen. Jesus did not teach in that way, and yet I am of the opinion that He interested children quite as fully as He did grown people, and it was accomplished in the one discourse. Jesus was a story-teller, not for children only, but also for adults. He was a student of nature, who found spiritual lessons in the works of God. He was a keen observer of daily life, and reflected upon its meaning and import. All these things infused His speech with vigor, novelty, and interest, and yielded the winning and compelling style in which eternal truths were presented. Such a style, followed by any preacher to-day, would attract the attention of both children and grown people, and make it unnecessary to provide an artificial division of the service for the juniors. Such a return to the divine method would eliminate the very patent objection that as soon as the Junior Sermon is over, the children forget the preacher and the occasion, and, with the implicit consent of their neglectful parents, turn for entertainment to a Sabbath school paper, or to pinching neighbor Tommy. Let me repeat, however, that I would not criticize any man for making use of the Junior Sermon, any more than I would criticize a man for using a crutch. I assume that the man with a crutch needs it, and admire him for his skill in getting about with the use of it. Just so, the preacher who needs the crutch of the Junior Sermon, is to be commended for the proper use of it, rather than to sit still and deplore the fast pace of the youngsters who go by.
Takoma Park, D. C.
Out of Four Years' Experience
By A.G. Wearness
For the past four years I have not once missed meeting with my junior congregation immediately following the Sabbath school. I would no more think of coming to the Sabbath service unprepared to serve the children than to come unprepared for the preaching of the regular sermon. Of course it takes extra time to prepare for the Junior Sermon, but it is worthwhile, and the results are inestimable. I wish all who doubt the feasibility of the plan might have attended our last Wednesday night prayer meeting, and heard the Juniors stand up and testify right along with the older folks. I have been following the Junior Sermon plan long enough to know that it pays, and is one of the best ways to keep the lambs in the fold. Why should we as ministers let the lambs get away, when only ten minutes each Sabbath will do so much to hold them? When a church once gets a good taste of the Junior Sermon, they will not want to be without it. To my mind, this is one of the great factors of evangelism.
Grand Rapids, Mich.
The SOS Call of the Church
By C. Lester Bond
Many of our boys and girls are lost! They are not kidnaped by bandits and hidden in a cave to await the demanded ransom. Were such the case, there would be an uprising of the fathers and mothers in the church, and thousands would join in the search for the missing youth, and no price would be considered too dear to pay for their release. Unfortunately, the losing of the youth in our churches, though very real and very sad, is not attended by frenzied excitement.
The fact is that the fathers have lost their own children. They have been too busy to sit with them at the fireside and answer their seemingly trivial questions during the years when fathers are the heroes of their children, and unconsciously they have lost their hold on the boys and girls, and they have slipped out into the great unknown.
Yes, and the mothers have lost the children! While engrossed in household duties or social functions, there has not been time to live with the children. The childish prayer has been lisped in the ear of another instead of at the mother's knee, and thus the parental cable to the little life has been cut, and the frail barge has drifted into deep waters.
The church has lost many of the children and youth in her care. Being so much occupied with sermons for the wise, the dignified, and the elderly, the minister and his associates have been unmindful of the needs of the youth, and have made no provision in sermon, song, or recreation for them.
The loss has become sadly apparent, and many sad-hearted parents and alarmed shepherds of the Lord's flock, are pitifully calling for help to find the straying boys and girls. They must be found, and they can and will be found when men and women are willing to search for them with a true comprehension of their needs and a determination to supply these needs through home and church and school. May God help us to do our duty!
Takoma Park, D. C.
From the Spirit of Prophecy
It is a wonderful thing that we can pray effectually; that unworthy, erring mortals possess the power of offering their requests to God. What higher power can man desire than this,— to be linked with the infinite God? Feeble, sinful man has the privilege of speaking to his Maker. We may utter words that reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe. We may speak with Jesus as we walk by the way, and He says, I am at thy right hand.—" Gospel Workers," p. 258.
The worker for God needs strong faith. Appearances may seem forbidding; but in the darkest hour there is light beyond.— Id., p. 262.
