Shepherding the Flock
Listening In on the Presidents' Council
(Held Sept. 20-22, 1929, just prior to the Autumn Council, Columbus, Ohio)
The older a church grows, the more complicated its problems become. In its pioneer days its work is largely a question of persistent evangelism. But as membership increases, pastoring the flock and shepherding the lambs become an unescapable responsibility, while at the same time aggressive evangelism must continue and mission enterprises advance. This problem of shepherding the flock was one of the major questions occupying the earnest attention of the local and union conference presidents of North America, together with a few from abroad, under the chairmanship of Elder J. L. McElhany, vice-president for North America.
It was a unique and noteworthy meeting, the first of its kind in our denominational history. Its agenda included, among other questions, the matter of Irreverence in Our Public Worship; how can we correct this? Raising the Standards of the Ministry. When Is a Candidate Ready for Baptism? Shepherding the Flock; and the president's responsibility in seeing that this work is done.
The discussion of this last theme, crystallized into a series of constructive recommendations and ratified by the full Autumn Council, throws illuminating side lights on the development of this consensus of conviction. It should therefore be of general interest and value to all workers. Because of space limitations, only pointed excerpts from some of the speakers can be given here, but they evidence the great concern borne by the leaders, and recognize the imperative need of intelligent understanding of the issue and of united effort to remedy it. The adopted recommendations appear in the center opening of this issue.
The Question of Conservation
Chairman J.L. McElhany (vice-president, North American Division):
I am not here to make extended remarks, for this meeting is to be carried forward as a round table discussion. Not a single individual has been asked to make a set speech. We are here as a responsible group of leaders to counsel over our problems, one of which is the responsibility of shepherding the flock so as to conserve our gains. It Is to hold all members of the flock steadfast in the message, and to prepare them for the coming of the Lord. " As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." " Ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God." Eze. 34: 12, 31.
There is a very distinct and definite responsibility resting upon us for the shepherding of the flock of God, and there are various phases of this problem which should be considered. I think, in fairness to the responsibility resting upon us, and the great importance of the task before us, that we ought to view thoroughly the situation we are facing, and then, under the guidance of God, seek the remedy. As I have considered the matter, I have been led to wonder if part of our trouble is not due to superficial instruction before people are brought into the church, and as a suggestion for thought and discussion, I would like to ask, Are the people brought into our churches adequately taught the great fundamentals of the message?
P.E. Brodersen (president, Southern California Conference):
With other workers in this cause, I have been burdened over our losses, and it is my deep conviction that something needs to be done. I believe in bringing in large numbers, but I also believe that in bringing in these people we must see to it that each and every one is fully acquainted with the fundamentals of this message. As I have studied the situation in our field, I find that the drift from our ranks is more particularly true of new converts than of those who have been with us for years. As a rule, the older Adventists are stanch and loyal. Analysis of the situation leads me to the conclusion that we are not indoctrinating the new converts as we should. As workers in the conference, we got together to study and pray over the matter, and we agreed that for the future special emphasis must be placed upon thorough instruction of all new converts.
Our workers began to get a new vision. One particular worker, a young man, unordained, seemingly had thought that his success depended upon bringing in large numbers of converts. But after the workers had met together for counsel and prayer, and had decided on the necessity of doing more spiritual and more thorough work, he said to me, " Brother Brodersen, I am going to set apart a certain time each day for going to a secluded place to pray." He has done so, and he has had wonderful success in his work this year. His attendance has run from two hundred to five hundred, and in a Catholic city, where we had a little church of only thirty-six members.
Two weeks ago I went out to conduct his first baptism, and I suggested to him that we follow the practice, as in the olden days when I was initiated into the ministry, of questioning the candidates on points of doctrine, in the presence of the church members. And this young man did question those candidates in a manner to prove beyond a doubt that they had been thoroughly instructed. That Sabbath we baptized thirty-three. . I believe that one way of holding our people in this truth is to instruct them thoroughly before they are baptized or admitted to church fellowship. And I also think it is well for Bible workers, and other laborers, to continue to instruct them for a time after they have united with the church.
W.A. Spicer (president, General Conference):
In a visit that Brother and Sister White made among the Northern New England churches in the early time, Sister White said one thing that hindered them in their work for the churches was the feeling of indifference on the part of the older church members. So many had the spirit of saying, Well, if they want to go, let them go. She said they had to labor for the elders and for the older church members to get them converted so that they might feel a burden for the people around them. More love in the church will hold more people in the church. If somehow the temperature in the church could be raised, if members of the church realize that we are on the verge of the eternal world, and live in the face of eternity, with the love of Christ in their hearts, they will hold the people, young and old.
Wherever there is a soul that is within our reach that drops out of our sight, it is a summons to bestir ourselves to try to save that soul. He may have been brought into the church unconverted, but he is within reach, having been brought especially near to us; and no matter what the reason for his dropping out, let us go after him with all our heart and might. . . . Statistics are all right; but it is more than figures which should concern us, — it is living souls who come within our reach and go beyond our reach. If they have not been properly instructed before coming into the church, we must remedy that situation. Sometimes the pressure is hard. I believe in quotas for giving, but really I can't see much in quotas for souls. It seems somehow like counting the conversion of a soul as something we can arrange. We can manage pocketbooks,— there is something material about that; but I have been a little afraid sometimes that to press for quotas on baptisms would mean to crowd our men until they would be just a little quick in counting in order to make a good record. But on the other hand, it is not right to let men drift along with no results. . . .
The Testimonies say that every large church should have a training school for the members. If we could arrange to give instruction to the church members, going over the great lines of truth that make us Seventh-day Adventists distinct from the world, and teaching the church members how to give Bible readings, I believe it would be a good thing. We must not only instruct people before bringing them in, but we must instruct them all the way along. Let us organize every conference and every church to save those within our reach and to gather in others.
E.K. Slade (president, Atlantic Union):
A young man came to me at one of December, 1929 our camp meetings, bringing with him his young woman friend, and wanted me to marry them. On inquiry, I found that the young lady was a member of the church, but the young man was not; and also that he smoked and worked on the Sabbath. I told them I could not marry then], and that I did not think any of our ministers would marry them, under the existing circumstances. " Well," the young man said, " I am going to get into the church." It was at the beginning of the camp meeting when he made this statement, and it was only a few days later that I met him again, and he said, " I have been baptized."
Now I am wondering if just such things as that may not be a serious contributing cause to apostasy, and if as a safeguard on receiving and holding members, we ought not to place such individuals as this young man in a baptismal class for a time. I have seen a number of similar cases. I have seen children teasing their parents to be permitted to be baptized, and have heard them talking among themselves about baptism, saying, " I am going to be baptized! Are you? " We are acting too hastily in the matter of baptisms, I fear. I agree with what Brother Brodersen has said in regard to the need of more thorough instruction of the new converts, but I would place as a fundamentally contributing factor to our losses the lack of evidence of a change of heart failure to experience the new birth.
A.G. Daniells, (secretary, Ministerial Association):
I would like to speak to the question as to the causes of our losses, and I wish to refer especially to the two suggestions which have been made,—the first by Brother Brodersen, and the second by Brother Spicer. I think both suggestions must go together: (1) more thorough indoctrination of new converts, and (2) raising the spiritual temperature of the church to a higher degree. And coupled with these two leading suggestions is the third, by Brother Slade, that there must be a heart experience in the life of every member of the church. If I understand it, the doctrine, or the teaching, — the process of showing a person the truth of what he ought to know and believe,— deals primarily with the mind. But if the individual is to enter upon a spiritual life of godliness, a further work must be done than simply to instruct his mind to distinguish truth from error. The heart must be affected; a great change must be wrought through a miraculous, supernatural work which can be accomplished only by the Holy Spirit.
When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he was thoroughly instructed in the doctrines of the day. He was a great teacher of the Bible truths, and yet the very first thing that Jesus said to him was, " Ye must be born again." And I believe that is still the very first step which the Saviour would lead the individual to take in entering into the experience whereby he will be enabled to live the truth he has been taught. A doctrine does not work in a man's heart the change from an ungodly to a godly life. It is Jesus Christ who does that. And it is the new birth which brings the sinner into union with that living Person. As the physical birth is the entrance upon a life of conscious, active endeavor, so the spiritual birth is the experience which leads into the spiritual life. And no man or woman can live a Christian life until he receives the new-birth experience. We may teach a person the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and lead him to an intellectual knowledge of the Bible. But that is not sufficient. The individual must be born again. . . . The apostle Paul, when he came to one church where the believers had been highly instructed by a great teacher, made the all-important inquiry, " Have you received the Holy Ghost? " It is absolutely essential that individuals shall receive a new life from above, the life of Christ. And we are told that " the Holy Spirit is the breath of spiritual life in the soul. The impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ."—" The Desire of Ages," p. 805.
Now it is very hard for me to believe that our dear people cannot be held. I cannot bring myself to believe that this drift must continue. I would not be radical and say that there would be no losses at all, but I cannot help feeling that the great majority of our dear people who come to church, pay their tithes, attend the Lord's supper, contribute to our foreign mission work, engage in Harvest Ingathering and all the missionary enterprises which are established, will remain true if they are built up in Jesus Christ and strengthened in Him. . . .
I think, brethren, you are studying one of the greatest problems that should be on the minds of the preachers of this denomination. I believe this problem can be solved to a large extent, but I believe it must be solved on the spiritual basis primarily. I believe with all my heart in the teaching of our doctrines. I have given fifty years of my life to teaching this message. But the situation demands more than the teaching of doctrines which form the links in the mighty chain of present truth which is to encircle the globe. Uniting and extending through all these lines in unbroken contact there must be the living Christ. We must present truth as it is in Jesus. Aside from Him, truth is powerless to hold the believer steadfast and unwavering to the end. . . . This problem is one which touches my heart most deeply. I believe that the ministry of this denomination is under bonds to God and to our brethren and sisters to find the cause of our present weakness, and also to find and apply the remedy. . . .
I believe that as we find and apply the true remedy for stopping the drift from our churches, we shall discover God's way for the carrying of the third angel's message to the ends of the earth in an equalized and safe way. God's purpose is for preachers of the gospel to go out into the field and bring in souls, and I join in every word that is spoken for greater soul winning. It is right and proper to talk for larger soul-winning effort and larger results; but in connection with this we should make sure of conserving what we get, and when we do that, God has provided the means that we shall need to carry on the work.
G.A. Calkins (president, Southeastern California Conference):
The burden resting upon my heart is in reference to the losses sustained to this cause by many of our young people's drifting away. In our field we have a great many young people, because of the medical school, two nurses' training schools, and the junior college located there. Many times as I have talked with young people who have become cold or indifferent, I have been met by the charge that the ministers themselves are not consistent with what they preach. I do not mean by that that they charge the ministers with openly sinning, as we speak of sinning, but they think we are careless in the little things, and careless in our treatment of others.
These young people observe the workers in our institutions taking automobile rides on the Sabbath just for pleasure; they see workers traveling on the Sabbath when it is not absolutely necessary to do so; they see them conducting their business or private enterprises in a way that really is not Christian; and the result is that in the lives of these young people there is developed a spirit of carelessness, indifference, and with a few even open rebellion. They say to me, " You tell us it is wrong to do that thing; but why do the ministers do it? " It makes me heartsick as I have listened to their charges. On our shoulders rests a heavy responsibility for the example we set before our young people.
I believe that if we, as leaders, would be more careful of our example in these comparatively small things, we would do much to stem the tide of apostasy among our own young people. I cannot help but feel that this is a contributing cause to the situation which we face. It is a challenge to us as ministers to live a consistent life before our young people, and then before the members of our churches, teaching them to live right before their children. It is a great responsibility.
O. Montgomery (general vice-president, General Conference):
I have been deeply stirred by what has been said by the various speakers as they have set forth some of the outstanding reasons for our losses, and I have jotted down the points under three general headings: (1) Lack of thoroughly indoctrinating the convert; (2) Lack of deep spiritual experience in the life of the church member; (3) Lack of genuine conversion in the lives of our young people. We might well emphasize the last point, and dwell upon it at length. While we have splendid agencies ordained of God to help our young people, there are altogether too many of our young people coming into the church in a sort of mass movement,
In our schools, we often see a whole row of students standing to give their testimony in an experience meeting, following the example of one girl or one boy in the row. I have seen the same principle operate in responding to the call for baptism and admission to the church. Now it Is all right for personal influence to have an effect, but the spiritual experience must go deeper than this in the lives of those who respond to personal influence.
I have talked with young people who have grown up in this movement, and they have told me that they had never known God's saving grace in their lives; did not know the first thing about the experience of the new birth; yet with broken hearts they acknowledged that they needed just such an experience, and must have it. We need to lay upon the heart of every teacher, every preacher, and every church official, the responsibility of ministry for our young people which will bring them to the foot of the cross, there to obtain a new life through which a living Christian experience will be revealed.
Brother Calkins touched a point that I had in mind, and I am glad that he presented it. There is coming in among the ministers of this denomination a lowering of standards, a carelessness of life, an inconsistency of conduct, and a lack of power that are hampering our efforts and finding their reflex in this very perplexing situation which confronts us. May God really convert the ministry, and help us to put out of our lives this carelessness and inconsistency.
There is another point which has not been presented as a contributing factor to the apostasy, but which I think needs to be emphasized, and that is a lack of pastoring the churches. I mean that we are not pastoring our churches as they ought to be pastored; we are not caring for them as we formerly did. I believe that if we will come back to a thorough, earnest, consistent pastoring of our churches, through the old-fashioned method of visiting the home and praying with the family, and talking with the different members of the family about their experience in the Lord Jesus, their difficulties and perplexities, not overlooking the individual young person and his special needs, we shall thereby go a long, long way in saving many of our church members from drifting out into the world. We are getting away from the old-time personal ministry in the home. The automobile of the present day makes it so convenient to go to a church for a Sabbath service, and then get back home to enjoy our home comforts, without taking the time to live with the people in their homes and help them in a pastoral capacity. . . . I think we should seek for a clearer vision and better understanding, and a deeper resolve under God to change the situation and save the souls that are drifting away from the church.
F. M. Wilcox (editor, the Review and Herald):
I believe that we are studying today one of the greatest questions that this denomination could study. I believe we need to study the question of conservation — how we can save souls; how we can hold the men and women who have been brought into our churches. I believe that one of the remedies for the present condition is the reiteration of the truth we hold as a people,— that truth that made us Seventh-day Adventists in the beginning. I am not in touch with the field as most of you are, but I am constantly receiving a heavy correspondence from the field. The cry which is repeated by so many of our brethren and sisters today is that they might hear the preaching of the truths which made them Seventh-day Adventists. They say, " We go to church, but we do not hear such preaching as we used to hear. We hear promotion plans. We want to hear the good old truths,—the coming of the Lord, the Sabbath, and kindred truths." I believe that that which made me a Seventh-day Adventist will keep me a Seventh-day Adventist, and I think that our brethren and sisters need to have the fundamentals of the third angel's message often reiterated to them.
And I think it very unfortunate that so many are today coming into our church who know nothing of the power of a converted life. I see it with my own eyes again and again. I believe that we need to place special emphasis upon the changed heart and life. We need also to instruct our people in the matter of Christian standards. Through the years there has been a growing failure to do this. I have observed in the advocating of Christian standards, during the last few years, the use of such general terms, and have seen emphasis placed in such an abstract manner, that nobody knew what the speaker was driving at. I believe that our people need concrete instruction in standards. Definite sins in the church should be pointed out.
You recall the case of Nathan, how he went to David and laid down a general principle, instead of dealing with the sin as a fact. It was an appropriate and far-reaching principle which Nathan enunciated, and David recognized the principle, and acknowledged that the man who had done that wicked thing ought to suffer death. But it became necessary for Nathan to say to David, " Thou art the man," before David recognized that he was the one concerned in the presentation of principle. And so I think there are many in our church today who hear the enunciation of beautiful principles, and the condemnation of wrong standards, and yet fail to recognize just what is involved. Our standards ought to deal with concrete conditions in the church.
The condemnation of particular sins should be accompanied by proper discipline in the church. It was not enough for Joshua to fall upon his face before the Lord and confess his sins, at the time when Achan committed that great wrong and brought sin into the camp of Israel. The Lord said to Joshua, " Wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? . . . Up, sanctify the people." Joshua was bidden to get up and cleanse the camp from sin. I believe that proper discipline should be enforced in the church of God.
But I also believe that along with that discipline there ought to be proper labor. We turn men and women out of the church today, but too often we turn them out as we take them in without proper investigation and personal labor. I have seen men and women turned out of church simply because they failed to report, or because some one had heard that they were violating the Sabbath. I do not believe that such a course is in harmony with the instruction given in the word of God. With proper discipline there ought to be proper labor for the church members. But today there is grave danger of escaping this responsibility, on the plea that " we have so many goals to promote." I believe in goals with all my heart, but I do not believe that the value of a preacher's labor should be measured alone by the amount of money he can raise. The raising of funds and the reaching of goals forms a necessary part of the preacher's work, but he should never be diverted from the fact that his work is primarily the salvation of souls.
I believe in promotion; I believe that we ought to do all in our power to support foreign missions. But I see little value in our giving thousands of dollars to convert the heathen if at the same time we allow hundreds of our brethren and sisters to drift away from the church and become lost for eternity. I believe with all my heart that if we feed the souls of our brethren and sisters, and faithfully discharge our primary responsibility as ministers, the result will be the conservation of our members, which, in turn, will result in less time being required in labor for the raising of money.
C.V. Leach (president, Ohio Conference):
It is true that we are losing members because they have not been properly established, but my observation leads me to feel that this is not the main reason. Our principal lack, it seems to me, lies in our failure to do the work of pastoring, and thus reiterate the distinctive truths of the
message, and lead the people into an ever-deepening Christian experience. Last year I visited sixty-five churches, with an average membership of forty-six. I made it a point to inquire how long it had been since an evangelistic effort had been held in these churches, and in one church I was told that it had been eleven years since they had heard the truths of the message presented; and in another church it had been five years.
We have many members in our smaller churches who have not heard a restatement of the message since they came into the truth, and there are children in many Adventist homes, who have reached the age of responsibility, and have never heard a restatement of the message from a living preacher. Our people like to see new members coming in, but when things go along year after year, with no strong evangelistic program in the conference, and no new members brought into the churches, they begin to wonder if something is not wrong.
I believe we can do much to establish confidence in the minds of our constituency by providing the necessary pastoral and evangelistic help, not only in a general way, but for the churches which have not been fed with spiritual food. We do have unfed churches. We might as well recognize that. We send out quotas, and a department secretary to carry on the campaign for funds, but we do not feed the people in the churches as we should. I do not think that we ought to pull down the standards, but we should face the situation as it exists, and find a solution to the problem.
We have worked out some suggestions along this line, which I would like to present for consideration: (1) Every church in the conference, whether the membership is fifteen or one hundred, to have a two weeks' series of meetings each year, conducted by a minister who will present a restatement of our fundamental truths in such a way as to interest people who have never heard the message, and also establish the confidence of the church members. (2) Personal ministry in the homes of the members of each church. Under the present plan, our workers cannot stop long enough to get in personal contact with the people in their homes; but there ought to be provision whereby each church would have personal counsel and help by a visiting minister. (3) Labor in the homes of people outside the church. Many of our church members are engaged in personal work, and an interest is developed, but when a minister is not sent to assist them at the right time, they become discouraged. This is the program we have set for ourselves in order to meet the need, for we have come to believe that if we will feed our people, there will be few complaints regarding the heavy program.
E.P. Peterson (president, Upper Columbia Conference):
We have been working in a small way along the program outlined by Brother Leach, and have seen very good results. During the last two years, the largest baptisms in our conference have occurred in churches where we have gone to work to help the members spiritually, and there developed on the part of the church members a deep interest for the people in the community, which led to the baptism of some persons who embraced the truth for the first time, and also sons and daughters of Seventh-day Adventist parents.
One other point I think is very important to remember, is that simply to go to our churches and preach to the people, without setting them to work, will result in failure to accomplish what we desire. In the Testimonies we are told that the best help the minister can give the church is not sermonizing, but setting them to work. If we instruct the people in all phases of the message, but fail to set them to work, we shall continue to wander over the same trail that we have been traveling for so many years. The duty of every child of God is to do something for his Lord and Master.
H. A. Lukens (president, British Columbia Conference):
In a large church, it is impossible for the pastor to visit all the members every few weeks, and sometimes a person might remain away from church for six weeks before the pastor misses him. To meet this difficulty, I arranged a card index or rack for the church treasurer's receipts, and place this index in a conspicuous place in the church, so that the members take their receipt from the rack each week or month. When receipts are left in the rack for an unusual length of time, I know that there is need of a pastoral call to see what is the matter, and I find that the plan works very well.
Another check on the weekly attendance is to divide the church membership among the church officers, asking each officer to watch to see that each person whose name is on his list is present at the church every Sabbath, and in case of absence to visit and report. It pays to keep in close touch with the church members, and make sure that they attend church regularly, for thus they become established, and remain true and faithful members of the church.
H.N. Williams (superintendent, Newfoundland Mission):
I find that one reason why some new converts drop out of the church is because of varying standards in the church. When new members are brought into the truth, instructed on every point of doctrine, they soon find that the standard which they are expected to maintain is beyond that which some of the older church members are living up to. I believe that we as undershepherds should see to it that the standard is unified. One effective way of accomplishing this is to bring the candidates for baptism before the church and have the church members listen to their profession of faith point by point. It is inconceivable that a church member can listen to this service without resolving in his heart to himself take a new stand. I ask for a standing vote from the membership for admitting the new members to the church. I want them to signify whole-heartedly in this definite way their desire to receive these persons into fellowship.
There can be but one standard for the old and the new members; and there must be no retreat from the principles of health reform, belief in the Spirit of prophecy, the ordinance of humility, and all other points of doctrine. Instead of retreat, we must bring all the old-established church members up to the colors.
R.S. Fries (president, Central California Conference):
In my experience as an evangelist and as conference president, I have learned some bitter lessons about the results of bringing people into the church before they have been fully instructed, and I have come to have some very definite convictions as to why people drift away into the world. I believe that when people come to the place where they acknowledge the truth and desire to connect with the church, they should be placed in a baptismal class. And my first requirement of them is to read the book " Steps to Christ." The instruction given to the baptismal class includes all points of our message, and especially the Spirit of prophecy. In my baptismal classes during the last few years, I have given several studies on the Spirit of prophecy, and I find that this helps greatly. I have noticed that those who drop out are generally people who are weak on the Spirit of prophecy, or perhaps do not believe in it at all. So I consider that one of the main things in dealing with new people is to lead them to have faith in the Spirit of prophecy.
After thorough instruction has been given, and the people are ready for baptism, I question the candidates in the presence of the church. Then I ask the church members if they feel free to vote in favor of receiving the candidates after hearing their statement of belief, and no one is received into church membership unless the church votes him in.
A baptismal certificate is presented to the candidates after baptism. On one side of the certificate is printed the text which has been chosen as the motto for that particular class, such as " Be thou faithful unto death." On the reverse side of the certificate appear the questions to which the candidate has given an affirmative answer. In following such a method there is never opportunity for the candidate to say that he did not know or understand about the Spirit of prophecy, the ordinances, or any other point of truth which we hold as a denomination; and the church members know that. the candidate has been fully instructed, so in case of apostasy, the cause cannot be laid to failure in giving proper instruction.
The Conclusions Reached
In common with most extended discussions, many important but only related features came in for their pros and cons by strong men. These were interesting and profitable, but naturally had to be excluded from the report on this designated agenda topic. Upon conclusion of the two-day discussion, a subcommittee was appointed to crystallize the convictions of the Presidents' Council into a series of constructive recommendations. Reported back, these were unanimously adopted, and were later ratified by the full Autumn Council. They are recorded on pages 16 and 17.
