In the popular churches of our day the pastor is largely the business and social agent of the church. Each pastor regards the church to which he is assigned as his particular field of operations. His recognized duty is to feed and nourish the flock, guarding against the traps and snares of the devil; preach the weekly sermon or see that a substitute is provided; visit the sick, perform marriage ceremonies, conduct funeral services, attend social functions,—in fact, the pastor is the general superintendent of the machinery of the church. The inevitable result of such pastorates is the gradual development of formalism and a spirit of compromise with the world. The individual members of the church are relieved of responsibility; and while the church may grow numerically, there is a fatal lack of spiritual life and vitality.
An entirely different situation should prevail in Seventh-day Adventist churches, which are made up of persons who have been called out from all Christian communions and commissioned to do a great work of a clearly defined character. There is no legitimate provision made in our church program for pastors who consider the church as their field of operations; rather, the church becomes the pastor's working force, which is to receive due pastoral care while at the same time being organized, instructed, and trained for aggressive advance in service for kinsmen and citizens to whom the message of present truth is to be conveyed in a direct and personal manner.
The contrast between the church as a field and the church as a working force is both vital and significant. The pastor of a working force must be able to discern the special gifts which lie dormant in the individual members of the church, and wisely to develop those gifts to yield effective service. When the world, and not the church, is regarded as the pastor's field of operations, and each separate church becomes a working force, for the spiritual morale and activities of which the pastor is made primarily responsible, only then can the divine purpose in establishing the church be fulfilled.
The true pastor in the remnant church is a captain, to lead, to organize, and to use every member of the group over which in God's providence he has been placed. "If discipline and order are necessary for successful action on the battlefield, the same are as much more needful in the warfare in which we are engaged as the object to be gained is of greater value and more elevated in character, than those for which opposing forces contend upon the field of battle. In the conflict in which we are engaged, eternal interests are at stake."—"Testimonies," Vol. 1, p. 649. The duties of the Seventh-day Adventist pastor involve thorough understanding of the intricate missionary organization of the church, and ability to put the organization into living operation. The church under such a pastor would have no time for world-mongering, but from its ranks there would constantly go forth trained workers of power and efficiency to help in the great needy field.
Mountain View, Calif.
