Pointer's to Progress

Monthly pulpit pointer's by the Ministry staff.

By the Ministry staff. 

BUDGET PLANNING

Under the present economy we hardly plan to employ young married men as personal workers. At least in some lands we have not con­sidered the matter seriously. As a result, today this most important personal work, which is equally as important for men as for women and was so strongly featured in the earlier days of our message, greatly lacks interest and prestige. And this trend is gen­erally interpreted to mean that the gifted and productive personal evangelist is inferior to the pulpit worker. We would not underrate either office, but we would emphasize the need of a closer affinity for both types in our evangelistic program, for one is so dependent on the other.

We have in our midst young men who are God-called to personal evangelism, and who long for our conferences to open their doors for their use­fulness. Such workers are diligent workers—veritably on fire for soul winning. While it would be un­profitable planning to rush them into pulpit evan­gelism, in their proper niche these genuine per­sonal workers will gather a rich harvest for the message. And isn't it a harvest of souls that we are aiming for? Shall we not recognize the need of these personal workers and consider them in our budget planning?

"NOT AS MAN SEETH"

Many young men aspiring to the ministry are highly talented—they are fluent speakers; they sing; some are capable organizers; others are ex­cellent promoters. Good as all these things are, we all recognize that they are not enough.

Any man who shows promise of becoming an effective worker should have opportunity to make full proof of his ministry. But consecration should ever mark the lives of those called to be messengers of light. Entire consecration may not be measured as a "talent," but it is of prime importance in considering those who must stand before men as ambassadors of God.

Have we not all seen young men of seeming or­dinary talent, but who have felt the hand of God upon them, go forward and do unbelievable things for Him? When the Spirit of God supplies all our need and makes up for our deficiencies, then is fulfilled the promise we have so often quoted: "There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God."—The Desire of Ages, pp. 250, 251.

Who can judge in these important matters? Who but God can see these things? With merely human vision it is easy to make mistakes, "for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Even the prophet Samuel, except for divine direction, would have chosen for king one who seemed more qualified. Much prayer must characterize our decisions when selecting men for the ministry. When administrators and committees have to make decisions affecting the life service of the future workers of this cause, they surely need the guidance of God.

We remember one conference president who each year used to make it a policy to wait until all the other conferences had chosen their prospective workers from the graduating class of the senior college in his union. Then he would come in to interview what was left of the class. Through the years he has started many fine workers who today are doing outstanding service in the cause of God.

Surely if we look to the Lord for guidance He will, by His spirit, help us to discern genuine talent in many cases where it is not so self-evident because of what we sometimes call the lack of natural en­dowments.

FREEDOM

Freedom may be the emptiest of all words if it means only absence from restraint, or absence of authority. "Freedom of speech," says Dr. Robert M. Hutchins, "is empty unless we have something to say."

What good is free speech if we use it to lie and fill the air with bunk? Freedom of worship is empty if we have no God to worship. Someone has said that some of our people here in the land of the free were terribly upset when Russia closed its churches, but didn't even know that their own American churches were open! Freedom of religion? —They were free of it entirely. Freedom from kings, tyrants, autocratic authority?-0f what use is all that if we take it as the inalienable right to do as we please? The Prodigal son had that, and it took him straight to a pig-sty. The Emperor Nero had all four freedoms, and he used them all to make him­self a scoundrel.

Freedom is no good if you make it an end in itself and divorce it from Divine purpose. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." That is positive. Not freedom from something, but freedom to something. Not absence of restraint, but presence of possibility. Not just the power to do as we want, but the power to do what God wants. There is a vast difference between Christian liberty and the cheap substitute that our secularism has made of it.--J. WALL ACE HAMILTON in Horns and Halos in Human Nature.


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By the Ministry staff. 

September 1955

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Secret Sins

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