Elder Reeves to His Son:
John, this is a mighty moment in your life and ministry. This sacred hour marks the fulfillment of a prayer that had its inception years ago when you were born. Your mother and I dedicated you to the Lord. We named you John Mark Reeves, and we prayed that as your namesake in Bible days was exhorted by the apostle Paul to be profitable even unto the ministry, so you would grow up through the years, and be so guided of God's Spirit that this sacred service to which we have now come might be possible. May God guide your steps, John. May He keep you from the pitfalls that are peculiar to the ministry. May God help you ever to remember that intellectual attainment, mere human ability, the praise of men, and worldly success can never take the place of the greatest thing in the life of the minister—the constant, transforming friendship of Christ, with the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God.
May the Lord help you to share the joy I have known in some small measure through thirty years of evangelistic ministry around the world. May I tell you, John, now, on this sacred occasion that the greatest joy this side of the kingdom of God is the joy of seeing souls won to Christ. And may God help you ever to exalt in your life and ministry the living Christ, the crucified Saviour. May you ever hide self behind the Christ of Calvary, and may there be seen in and through your ministry a power which shall ever draw men to Him. John, it is my joy, my overwhelming joy, and the joy of your dear mother, who is also here today, to witness this sacred moment. You, my son, now take your place in a family of consecrated workers, for six of your uncles are ministers of the gospel. And now with joy I salute you, not only as a son, my firstborn, but now, more significantly as my brother in the ministry.
Kenneth, you heard these good things that Brother Bauer just read in the ministerial charge he gave to you, and the wonderful advice and counsel Brother Reeves gave his son John. Accept them with fullhearted confidence and faith. The gospel that your father preached, and your grandfather, and your great-grandfather, is the same gospel that you have now begun to preach. There may be changes in its presentation; different words may be used in a changing language, but it is the same gospel.
You live in a time of greater opportunity, and probably of greater trials and tests. Satan will come to you in many temptations different from those met by John Wesley, John Calvin, Martin Luther, Sister White, and all of God's servants. And so, with all these other young men, I charge you, be faithful to the Lord Jesus, who gave His life for you. Be faithful to His Word, uphold it, always. Never deviate from the highway of truth along sidetracks or heed the clarion calls and the subtle whispers from the side. Never play to the grandstands, but keep your eye always on Christ. What would Jesus think, what would He do?
Make Him your criterion and make your decisions accordingly. And so, your brother who preceded you into the ministry by one year, your younger brother, and your sister, and your mother, your grandmother, and all of us, bring you our love and our prayers for God's richest blessings upon your ministry until the work is done!
