A call to the ministry is a call from God. The one upon whom the hands of ordination have been placed is, in a special sense, God's man. He is set apart by God for a special work. He is to recognize in his call that he is chosen to represent the Master before the world. A man may choose to become a doctor, a lawyer, a dentist, or a businessman, on the ground of natural ability and inclination. But he cannot rightly choose to become a minister. It is here that Christ's words apply, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you."
Satan is ever tempting men called of God to treat with indifference the sacredness and importance of this work. An indifferent, careless preacher is about the most effective instrument the devil can find. He helps no one, but hinders many. Men are ordained of God to preach the gospel. Regardless of the many side issues that may be crowded in upon the minister, he must not forget that his life's work is to preach the gospel. If he fails to recgonize this fact, or fails to do this work, he fails in his ministry.
What are the evidences that a man, set apart by ordination, is fulfilling the purpose for which he was called ? "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." John 15:16. "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples." John 15:8.
The acid test of every man's call to the ministry is his ability to win men and women to God. When Christ ordained and sent forth the twelve, it was to preach the gospel. They were charged under God to save men and women from sin. They were to make disciples for Him. Nothing was to obscure or obstruct this vision. From place to place they were to go with their message. They were not to be cumbered with material things. Christ said, "I will make you fishers of men." They were to catch men for God. And no minister called of God will be content unless he is out in the midst of the stream of humanity fishing for lost souls.
In emphasizing evangelism and its importance, I am conscious of the many demands made upon our ministers in the way of campaigns and money drives. Many things are crowded in upon us. We are not discussing how to do away with these things. They are part of our denominational program. But I think it well worth our effort to see if we cannot find more time for aggressive evangelistic work while carrying our denominational program. Not many, but some, have used the various campaigns as an excuse for not doing more evangelistic work. Perhaps they have not known how to organize their work. Since it is so much easier to rate men by a financial standard, they may have feared that their call to the ministry would be questioned unless they rated well as church financiers.
On the other hand, other men in the same conferences, working under similar conditions, have raised their goals, put over all the campaigns, and at the same time put on a definite evangelistic program. As we think of this matter, let us ever remember that souls, not goals, are the evidence of a man's call to the ministry. They are evidence not only of his call, but of his qualifications for remaining in the ministry.
Spiritually Minded vs. Materially Minded
In speaking about evangelism and a more successful ministry, there is one matter that I would especially emphasize. It is a thing that may become our greatest enemy. I will call it "becoming materially minded." Because a minister, as someone has said, has learned that he cannot "preach on earth and board in heaven," his mind turns to material thinking_ He cannot entirely divorce himself and his family from thinking along this line. He must buy, plan, and budget his resources. So many things in connection with the church work must be met by material planning and action. The constant whirl of activities, the many calls for money, the repairing and building of churches, all have a tendency to make men materially minded.
It seems impossible to separate the material from the spiritual in our work. But notwithstanding the many material things that must be considered, the minister must be spiritually minded. He must not forget that his is a spiritual work. Some ministers have given such close attention to the material things, have studied them so studiously, that they can tell you without hesitation the financial rating of everyone in their church. They know how many paying members there are in their congregations. This no doubt helps in organizing the finances of the church ; but can these same ministers tell how many praying members there are in their congregations?
I fear that some men are becoming more money-minded than Christ-minded. Important as finances are, let us remember that in our work the "almighty dollar" has never proved to be either "all" or "mighty." If raising funds and reaching goals makes a minister materially minded, then these things which have been intended to bless humanity in the mission fields beyond, become a serious stumbling block. I think it is possible for a minister, if he retains that relationship to Christ which he should retain, to be spiritually minded, to lead his church into green pastures of spirituality, and at the same time to make the campaigns in the church occasions for spiritual exercise, rather than hard money-raising drives.
I like Paul's expression—a "good minister of Jesus Christ." There is much in this. A good minister's work must not only look right ; it must be right. A little boy who received a puzzle for Christmas, after some effort in trying to assemble a square out of the many small pieces, came to his father and said, "Look, daddy; I got a square out of it." The father, looking upon the work of his son, saw that he had a rectangle—almost a square—with four pieces left over. "How about these extra pieces ?" "Oh, that's all right; it looks square."
That is the tragedy of it with many of us. It looks square. To mortal eyes, our ministry may look all right, but how does it look to Him who knows ? Are we, as ministers, measuring up to the requirements of God for such a time as this ? Have we allowed material planning and thinking to shear us of our locks of power? Are we satisfied with the success we have had?
The test of a man's call to the ministry is proved by his ability under God to win men and women to Christ. I think Christ is pleased to have His ministers bear much fruit. Surely the man who goes on from year to year with practically no fruit, no souls won, should himself question his call to the gospel ministry. A man who was engaged in reconstruction work, making over old buildings, once advertised his business in this way : "Conversions a specialty." That is not a bad motto for us as gospel workers.
No one can dispute the claim of evangelism. In my judgment, it is the primary task of the church. We all believe in it, and want to see it done. But we permit various things to crowd in, with the result that year after year slips by with very little accomplished. It seems to me that we have reached such a solemn time and such a late hour, that we dare not let the days slip by without every man's actively engaging in some aggressive form of evangelism.
I believe, too, that every minister of Christ ought himself to be an evangelist to the limit of his gift—or as Paul would say—"according to the measure of the gift of Christ." And I cannot imagine any true minister of Christ refusing to be such. It is his primary business to win souls for the kingdom, and unless he attempts that, he fails in his ministry. But it is possible to believe all that and yet miss the real issue, which is not, "Do I believe in evangelism ?" but, "Am I engaged in evangelism myself ?"
Lay Evangelism Is No Substitute
Much is being said right now regarding this matter of lay evangelism, and considerable emphasis is being placed upon it. Some of our ministers are spending considerable time and effort in organizing and helping certain laymen to get started in holding evangelistic meetings. I would say nothing against this, for I believe in it. But I would make this observation : No amount of planning and organizing of lay efforts will excuse the minister, called of God to preach, for neglecting personal evangelism himself.
Some have said, "I think it better to get ten men to work than to try to do the work of ten men." But this reasoning cannot apply when it comes to the work of the minister. Not one, two, or ten laymen can do the work of the man divinely called of God. Such reasoning puts the work of the minister on the same level as that of the laymen, which is not according to God's plan.
There are evangelistic endeavors which the laymen can carry on. A few laymen may be prepared to engage in public efforts. But in the majority of cases our work will be better represented, and more people will be won to the truth, if the public work is carried on by men who are called of God for this work, the laymen co-operating with the ministers by circulating literature, conducting cottage meetings, and assisting in the minister's evangelistic efforts.
Every time I read I Corinthians i :21, I am impressed with Paul's words : "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." God has a plan for everything. There are no substitutes for His plans. He has chosen to save men and women by preaching. There is a vast difference between the "foolishness of preaching" and "preaching foolishness." To the worldly-minded, the preaching of the gospel may seem foolish, but to those who will believe the gospel, it brings salvation.
We need to preach Christ—preach Him first, last, and all the time. Says He, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." In our anxiety to preach the law, let us never fail to lift Him up. I am convinced that we cannot make Seventh-day Adventists of those who hear us until we have made Christians of them. We must lead men to see that the cross of Christ is the only way to gain eternal life.
Our task in the metropolitan centers of the East seems especially staggering. Literally millions of people surround us, most of whom are in a spiritual blackout. They are groping in the °darkness. Various plans for bringing light to them have been suggested. And we gladly accept, with deep appreciation, everything that helps to give the gospel to these millions. But of all the plans suggested, nothing can take the place of the "foolishness of preaching." This still remains God's appointed way to save those who believe. I was much impressed by a statement made by David Lloyd George, of Great Britain. In viewing world conditions, he said:
"If the churches fail, I do not know what is going to happen. I am beginning to lose faith in conferences, for I have seen so many, and have seen so little come out of them. There is nothing in this hour that can save the world but what was once called 'the foolishness of preaching.' "—"The Wonderful Christ," p. 98.
He is exactly right when he says that only the "foolishness of preaching" can save the world.
