The minister of the gospel must be constantly on the alert not to be sidetracked from his calling. It would be well for him to review his ordination vows periodically. God calls men to the ministry for one main purpose only; namely to win souls to Christ. Paul expressed it in these words : "I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more." 1 Cor. 9:19. His emphasis was on gaining more and more souls for the kingdom.
Early in the Christian church the danger of straying from the real purpose of the ministry was present. Problems of relief for the needy and matters of church organization were making heavy demands on the preachers. Finally they decided on a council, and passed an action. which read about as follows :
VOTED that "we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." Acts 6:4.
This was a sort of "this one thing I do" resolution, and perhaps the most important ever passed by the church for the protection of the ministry. So far as we can ascertain, the apostles lived up to this recommendation much more religiously than we do today. Even though they were qualified to do other things than preach they were first and always preachers.
The minister must be primarily concerned with the spiritual needs of the church. Through his leadership the church can become a strong soul-winning agency. The spirit of evangelism will not catch fire if the pastor is devoting most of his time to running errands and becoming a sort of "chore boy" for the church. Someone has said, "The fact is that all our assiduous planning for increased efficiency in organized religion will lead to nothing unless we have a Church which is tingling and vibrating with the wonder of its own evangel."—Heralds of God, p. 45. If the ministers spend the major portion of their time repairing and oiling the wheels of the machine, who will supply the power to operate it? Who will keep aflame the fire of evangelism?
Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ so powerfully that it will bring great spiritual strength to the church, and fire the members with zeal to carry forward a strong soul-winning pro0-ram—this is the work of the minister. No amount of church business should deter him from these objectives. Our age is keen on organization and machinery. There is danger that the church emphasize organization to the neglect of the weightier matters. "The preacher's peril is that he is caught in machinery, excelling in mechanics and all the time missing the dynamics of P. spirit-filled Christianity."—A Minister's Obstacles, p. 67. Rather than go through the throes of Gethsemane to win souls for Christ, the carnal man will succumb to forms and ceremonies. Against this sin we must be constantly on guard. E. M. Bounds has well said:
"Preachers are human folks, and are exposed to and often caught by the strange driftings of human currents. Praying is spiritual work ; and human nature does not like taxing, spiritual work. Human nature wants to sail to heaven under a favoring breeze, a full, smooth sea. Prayer is humbling work. It abases intellect and pride, crucifies vain glory, and signs our spiritual bankruptcy, and all these are hard for flesh and blood to bear. It is easier not to pray than to bear them."—Power Through Prayer, p. 38.
This danger is not peculiar to the minister only. It also exists for the church. In fact, in many cases the church has taken the lead, and the minister, caught between the wheels, chooses to move along rather than take the risk of incurring considerable ill will. The prophet Isaiah tells us, "It shall be, as with the people, so with the priest." Isa. 24:2. If the minister of the gospel does not practice watchfulness, there is a possibility that the congregation will destroy his usefulness by making him like them.
The time of many of our members is taken up almost entirely with this and that promotional activity. A goodly number of these activities have to do with the raising of money. All of us who have been in evangelistic and pastoral work know that the need for finances is very real. I wonder, however, whether it should be necessary for the members and pastors to devote so many hours, days, and weeks to this particular task. Personally I believe that much money will come to the treasury if proper emphasis is placed upon heart religion. Should it be necessary for our own members to run the gamut of all money-raising devices to be inspired to give? In true religion it is the heart that prompts us to give, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. "This liberality on the part of the believers was the result of the outpouring of the Spirit."—Acts of the Apostles, p. 70. This is the "more excellent way."
I have no desire to criticize organizations within the church which raise money for this or that worthy project. A certain amount of this kind of work must be done, especially when we expect to raise money from those who are not members of our church. Conducted in proper places and in harmony with our standards, such projects can prove a great blessing.
The program should always implement rather than hinder our soul-winning endeavor. Parties of pleasure to secure funds for the support of the gospel are out of place. There is the constant danger that a church in need of money for this or that worthy endeavor will exhaust all its energy raising money, and thus have no strength left for its real mission—winning souls to Christ.
A certain woman wrote to Horace Greeley, saying, "Our church is in dire financial straits.
We have tried every device to keep it going—fairs, strawberry festivals, oyster suppers, donkey parties, turkey banquets, Japanese weddings, mock marriages, and box socials. Will you please tell us, Mr. Greeley, what we can do to keep our struggling church from disbanding?" The famous editor replied, "Try religion." Could it be that too many externals are evidence of something lacking internally?
Is there a dearth of heart religion? Has too much of our emphasis been placed upon outward incentives? "Were Christians thoroughly in earnest, they could multiply the resources a thousandfold."—Ministry of Healing, p. 206.
The popular churches of today spend much energy and time raising money through bazaars, raffles, circuses, and every other conceivable way which appeals to the carnal man. Traveling along the highways, one sees cars to be given away, and a sort of semicircus conducted right next to the church building and sometimes inside it. Usually the parson stands near and by his presence encourages the people to give money to a "good" cause.
"The trend of the time is always emphasizing the improvement of conditions and the betterment of life through environmental change. No one objects to these things ; we believe in them, and they follow the dynamic of the challenge of the gospel, but how hollow-sounding they are if no new man is created. Some preachers are sidetracked through a social application of truth and by political alliances. A plague on both substitutes should be the attitude of the man of God ! There is no substitute for the re-created life, the regenerated heart. Otherwise there is an emasculated Christian gospel."—A Minister's Obstacles, p. 72.
Everything the church or the minister may do sounds hollow indeed if there are no rebirths. As ministers, we do well not to lend our influence in creating more and more inachinery to operate the church. The wheels of machinery are getting so numerous and complicated that they take all our time to make them mesh to the satisfaction of each little and each big wheel. All of us realize that a certain amount of organization is not only justifiable but imperative. There is a minimum and also a maximum. Between these two we should operate.
The experience of a society woman related in the following stanzas is a picture of many people today who attempt to belong to every organization.
On Monday she lunched with a housing committee,
With statistics and stew she was filled;
Then she dashed to a tea on "Crime in Our' City,"
And dined with a church ladies' guild.
On Tuesday she went to a Babies' Week lunch
And a tea on "Good Citizenship";
At dinner she talked to the trade union bunch—
There wasn't a date she dared skip.
On Wednesday she managed two annual dinners,
One at noon and the other at night;
On Thursday a luncheon on "Bootleg Sinners,"
And a dinner on 'War: Is It Right?"
"World Problems We Face" was her
Friday noon date (A luncheon address, as you guessed);
And she wielded a fork while a man from New York
Spoke that evening on "Social Unrest."
On Saturday noon she fell in a swoon,
Missed a talk on the youth of our land.
Poor thing, she was through She never came to,
But she died with a spoon in her hand.
We are ministers called of God to preach the Word.With Paul we should feel."Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" 1 Cor. 9:16.
The success of the minister is measured not by his ability to organize committees but by his power to win souls for Christ. Let us never forget this objective. Through our leadership the churches should advance in spiritual vitality, and become a greater power for good in the community.
