The Adventist pastor has many opportunities for guidance in the program of his church. In many cases, not only can he have direct contact with all age groups of society, but he can be a moving force in guiding and counseling in the church school.
Because the activities of the Adventist Church encompass more than a worship service once a week; because our religion is actually a way of life, the aim of a pastoral guidance program should be to help people plan their lives.
In this discussion the pastor's guidance work will be considered in two general areas of activity: (1) teacher guidance, such as church worship service and other gatherings where activity is directed by the pastor or by someone else who is the principal participant, and (2) group activity, such as panels, question-and-answer periods, and committee or group projects. In the guidance program there are five areas of human activity that the pastor might concern himself with, whether it be in the Sabbath morning service, in a group discussion at the prayer meeting, or in more informal gatherings. These five areas are: (1) religious guidance, (2) health guidance, (3) educational guidance, (4) vocational guidance, and (5) personal, social, and recreational guidance.
If the pastor wishes to know just how much time his church program allots to these specific areas, he could use a work sheet such as the fol lowing as a check list:
After listing and defining the nature of the activity the pastor could indicate in the proper category on the table the amount of time given to the various types of guidance. The results would give him a clear picture of the guidance activities, indicating either properly balanced guidance or areas of neglect and wasted effort. Depending on the needs of the people and the local situation, some categories, of course, would require more emphasis than others.
The introduction of specific guidance activities should be planned in advance so that they may be given at the logical time. This principle applies particularly to educational and vocational guidance. Group guidance is most appropriate when sponsored just before or at the time several people will want and need the same kind of information. To illustrate: the best time to introduce occupational information and guidance is when the juniors become interested in working after school or full-time during the summer vacation.
One of the most common and most serious mistakes in group guidance has been the at tempt to do too much. The pastor should present to the church members the problems that he knows are significant; then he should introduce guidance that helps toward their solution, remembering that haste makes waste. If the pastor employs the proper guidance approach, he will realize one of the goals of group guidance an increasing number will come to him for personal counseling. If those who are troubled with more complex problems recognize that the pastor is "aware of the world," they will come to him for personal counsel.
It is, therefore, well to keep two simple criteria in mind for his guidance program: (1) the requirements of adult society and (2) the common concerns of youth.
The Worship Service
"The first great lesson in all education is to know and understand the will of God." Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 414. An example of group guidance is the weekly Sabbath morning worship service. Here the pastor has one of his best opportunities to lead the church into a rich experience through group participation. Ours is a spectator age, when church services have many times resolved into pastoral activity while the congregation sits, watches, and listens to a performance, without personal identification or participation in the worship experience. Thus detached from the actual participation in worship, the individual members of the congregation lose much of the value of true worship. This situation is not intentional on the part of the pastor nor on the part of the people, who sincerely wish to worship. It is here that a technique of group guidance or leadership can be helpfully employed to bridge the gap between the help intended and the benefit derived from the worship hour. When the individual member is given opportunity to participate in the service, his sense of belonging is fostered and he becomes receptive to other well-planned worshipful acts, identifying himself with them. When one comes to church he should feel that he is realizing from the service, and from the fellowship, benefits that could not become his in any other place. If he is given ample opportunity to participate in every phase of the church service, he will feel that the hour has not been wasted. The term participation refers not only to singing, praying, and like verbal exercise but also to active thinking and mutual meeting of minds. As one participates more completely in the service, he may realize in the sermon, ad monition for him; and in the prayer, his petition and praise. We might well restudy the order of service with a view to having it arranged wisely. A suggested order of service appears here. It at tempts to include ample opportunity for verbal group participation and individual thought.
Order of Service, With Comments "Study to be quiet."
Prelude (This time will be designated as a period for si lent meditation.)
Processional (Choir and pastor enter.) Call to Worship (This could be a choral call to worship.)
Doxology: "Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow"
Invocation (This should be carefully worded so that it brings home to the heart of every member a personal recognition of God's presence. We do not need to invite God's presence He has promised to meet with us but we do need to pray for a consciousness of His presence, or thank Him for His presence.)
Hymn of Praise (Congregational singing.)
Responsive Scripture Lesson (This does not always have to be from the back of the hymnbook. Alternate verses can be read from the Bible. This latter practice encourages members to bring their Bibles; thus they will have them for the entire service. This period might also be used to memorize certain special texts as a congregation.)
Pastoral Prayer (The prayer at this point in the service is most significant when it is the earnest petition of the one who will deliver the morning message; or it might be a prayer for specific groups in the church: those who are happy and enjoying a good experience, those who are going through a time of temptation and trial, those who have recently lost loved ones, those who are losing their spiritual ardor and are on the verge of losing their way.)
Presentation of Tithes and Offerings Offertory Worship in Special Song, or Congregational Hymn of Meditation Silent Meditation (After a few appropriate remarks by the pastor, giving guidance to the thinking for the period of meditation, a two-minute period of complete silence might be observed, followed by the Lord's. Prayer.)
Sermon (This is 25 to 30 minutes in length.)
Hymn of Response (We often refer to this as the closing hymn. The expression used above is designed to direct thinking to the significance of the hymn. At times it might be termed "hymn of thanksgiving" or "hymn of dedication.")
Benediction (This can effectively be followed by the Mizpah.) The anthem of praise (or opening song, as it is often designated) has been placed immediately following the invocation so that the audience will already be standing. This eliminates confusion later in the service.
The announcements have been eliminated purposefully from the worship hour. Announcements not listed in the bulletin can be made before the worship service begins.
Even a small church can have a mimeographed bulletin that announces the order of service. Such a bulletin can actually contribute to the worshipful atmosphere of the sanctuary, for it eliminates the necessity of having a number of participants on the platform to announce songs and introduce the order of service. If the hymns are listed in the bulletin they do not need to be announced. The people will soon learn to look ahead and anticipate the next part of the service. This encourages a spirit of participation. The purpose of the Sabbath morning service is fellowship and worship, and all extraneous activity on the platform detracts from the service.
The worship service should inspire the congregation to higher levels of living and yet it can have an atmosphere of moderate informal ity. The following criteria are suggestions for measuring the success of the worship service:
1. Real worship leads men to discover their real lifework. Examples: Moses, Isaiah, Samuel.
2. Does the service have design?
3. Does the service inspire a determination for service?
4. Does the service encourage a resolve for greater holiness of life?
5. Does the service direct concentration on Him who is invisible? The pastoral prayer should be short and meaningful. It is here that the pastor can lead the congregation to great heights of petition and adoration. Careful thought and prayerfulness should go into the preparation of the pastoral prayer. Presenting tithes and offerings to God can be one of the finest forms of worship, if properly conducted a spiritual act of dedication by the congregation. If the offertory prayer follows the presentation of tithes and offerings instead of preceding it, the unfortunate but inevitable jingle during the prayer is eliminated. (See page 48 of the May, 1953, issue of THE MINISTRY for an excellent suggestion for group participation in this part of the worship service. See also hymn No. 477 in the Church Hymnal.) The remarks just before the two minutes of silent meditation should also be brief and well planned. A suggested introduction is given be low.
Directed Meditation
We have come this morning because God is in this place, and we want to make contact with Him. This is the greatest of all experiences possible to human beings, and it is best accomplished through silence. It is possible for everyone in this church today to come into such close contact and fellowship with God that he will be re-created. The peace and power of Heaven are ours, but sadly enough we get out of step, we grow too busy to recognize God. We are going to take time today to commune with God, to study our relationship to Him. Maybe you want to pray, or perhaps you want just to meditate awhile. Do not think about yourself or any of your problems, but think about God and His love. I suggest that you take a relaxed position, so that all tension may be gone.
The introduction to the silent meditation would vary, of course, each Sabbath to suit the theme and the need of the congregation. An alternate form of benediction would be congregational repeating of the Mizpah. The group is drawn together by this simple prayer. (Concluded next month} Uplifting Christian Standards in Church Bulletins [EDITORIAL NOTE. Scanning some accumulated church bulletins sent in to the Ministerial Association office, we were impressed with a plan that Taylor G. Bunch used at the college church in South Lancaster, Massachusetts, while he was the pastor there. The series builds most helpful thoughts on our denominational standards. The following appealing paragraphs appearing week by week stimulate serious meditation for a waiting congregation and result in revival. In this way a church bulletin has lasting value. The usual heading was "Denominational Standards" or "Christian Standards." L. c. K.]
Honesty Toward God
Honesty in our relations with both God and man is an important Christian virtue. We can not be honest with God and appropriate to our own use the tithe or any portion of it. It is "holy unto the Lord/' and those who withhold it are said to "rob God." It is that form of steal ing known as "embezzlement." Stinginess in freewill offerings is also called robbery. To those who are faithful in their financial dealings with the Lord He promises the richest spiritual and material blessings recorded in Holy Writ. Even though we are told that no thief can enter the kingdom of heaven, tithe paying is not made a test of membership. It is, however, a test of leadership, and no person is elected to office in the church or asked to do public work in our churches or be employed in our institutions who does not pay tithe. The reason for this is self-evident.
Honesty Toward Men
Christianity demands honesty in all our relationships, not only with God but also with our fellow men. A Christian's oral or written promise should be as good as and even more binding than the ordinary bond. He strictly obeys the divine command to "pay thy vows" to both God and man, and to "owe no man any thing" except mutual love, and love always practices the golden rule in all dealings with others. The person who lives by the principle of doing unto others as he would have them do unto him will never make financial obligations which he can not pay on the basis of the agreement. Strict honesty insists on the individual or family living within the income and avoiding debts as one would shun the leprosy. In case of debts through unforeseen circumstances, the genuine Christian gives creditors the priority over all others, including himself, curtailing personal expenses to the utmost limit and sacrificing the luxuries and even some of the comforts of life until the obligations are discharged. Refusing to pay a debt is one of the worst forms of robbery, and the divine decree is that no "thieves . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God."
The Christian's Clothing
Christlikeness demands words and conduct which are above question and which carefully avoid even "the appearance of evil." In this evil-minded and suspicious generation even that which is lawful may not be expedient or suit able to a Christian under the circumstances. A Christian man will be a gentleman and always play the man, practicing the social, moral, and religious codes of genuine chivalry. The Christian woman will carefully guard her femininity and will exhibit those qualities of modesty, delicacy, and sensitiveness which are distinguishing marks of true womanliness. She will therefore obey the divine instruction: "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man . . . : for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord." This eliminates the wearing of shorts, slacks, or dungarees on the street or in public places. The latter two are proper only in the home, the garden, the factory and some other places of manual labor, or for hikes in the woods or mountains. Wise parents will see that their daughters are taught these lessons of modesty and true womanhood from childhood. "In dress, as in all things else, it is our privilege to honor our Creator. He desires our clothing to be not only neat and healthful, but appropriate and becoming. A person's character is judged by his style of dress. A refined taste, a cultivated mind, will be revealed in the choice of simple and appropriate attire. Chaste simplicity in dress, when united with modesty of demeanor, will go far toward sur rounding a young woman with that atmosphere of sacred reserve which will be to her a shield from a thousand perils." Education, p. 248.
Christian Simplicity
The individuality and personal charm be stowed by the Creator are maintained by avoidance of all that is shallow and superficial. Since the appearance is an index to character, no at tempt will be made to improve on the handiwork of God by anything useless and artificial. The unnatural mars genuine beauty and gives, evidence of vanity and a lack of depth. "Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair," is an inspired statement that is still true. Such attempts toattract are repulsive to the refined and cultured. In our church standards the wearing of artificial flowers, useless ornaments, and noticeable or conspicuous make-up has always been discouraged as being contrary to the Scriptures and the instruction given us as a people.
The symbolic woman used in Scripture to represent the church of Christ is clothed in the beautiful garments of His righteousness and is, characterized by dignity, simplicity, and freedom from everything of a cheap and artificial nature. The other symbolic woman, representing the church of Satan, is described as having painted face and eyes, as being clothed in loud and gaudy garments, and "decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!" Deck means "to cover up something disagreeable or unpleasant by glossing it over." With no character attraction, she seeks to draw attention by out ward and artificial means. A study of the symbols of the two antagonistic systems of religion will help Christians to know how to be "living epistles" of Christ, "known and read of all men."
Modesty in Dress
The necessity for clothing is an evidence of our fallen state and that "the robe of light" which enshrouded our first parents has departed because of sin. Clothing should therefore not be used as exhibitions of pride. Genuine Christians will endeavor to follow the Bible standard of modesty and dignified simplicity as "befits" those "making a claim to godliness." Paul wrote: "I would have the women dress becomingly, with modesty and self-control, not with plaited hair or gold or pearls or costly clothes," and Peter intimated that dress should be an index to character and therefore give evidence of "a new nature within the imperishable ornament of a gentle and peaceable spirit, which is indeed precious in the sight of God," and that "in ancient times also this was the way the holy women who set their hopes upon God used to adorn themselves."
"Modesty" means freedom from boldness, forwardness, excess or extremes, and includes "purity of thought and conduct." William Penn gave wise counsel when he said: "Choose thy clothes by thine own eye, not another's. The more simple and plain they are, the better. Neither unshapely nor fantastical, and for use and decency, not for pride." Similar instruction has come to us through the pen of inspiration: "Our clothing, while modest and simple, should be of good quality, of becoming colors, and suited for service. It should be chosen for durability rather than display. It should provide warmth and proper protection. . . . Our dress should be cleanly. Uncleanliness in dress is unhealthful, and thus defiling to the body and to the soul. ... It should have the grace, the beauty, the appropriateness of natural simplicity. Christ has warned us against the pride of life, but not against its grace and natural beauty." Ministry of Healing, p. 288. "Another class who lacked taste and order in dress have taken advantage of what I have written and have gone to the opposite extreme; considering that they were free from pride, they have looked upon those who dress neatly and orderly as being proud. Oddity and carelessness in dress have been considered a special virtue by some. Such take a course which destroys their influence over unbelievers. They disgust those whom they might benefit. . . . But when we lose taste for order and neatness in dress we virtually leave the truth." Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 275.
As an index to character the Christian's dress should be a type of the beautiful robe of the righteousness of Christ. Those who live in harmony with these principles will dress as "becometh" those "professing godliness."
