Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God" (Acts 20:28). The first responsibility of the pastor is to take heed to himself in his spiritual relationship to God. His next responsibility is to his family. In Israel before the high priest ministered for the congregation, on the tenth day of the seventh month, he made atonement "for himself, and for his house" (Lev. 16:6). Well-balanced leadership is conducive to the symmetrical growth of every phase of the church program.
Because a pastor is concerned over the proper feeding of the flock, and knows this end may be partially achieved in the Sabbath school through the daily lesson study plan, he is vitally interested in the Sabbath school. If this phase of the church work languishes, the problem could well indicate a lack of proper pastoral direction and leadership. As a true shepherd the pastor must lead the flock to green pastures, which presupposes his own attendance at the Sabbath school and his participation in its program. Meeting with the superintendent and his council to select consecrated, well-qualified teachers, planning with the superintendent to utilize and develop the best talent within the church, are pastoral responsibilities that are basic to the success of the Sabbath school.
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3, p. 233) brought the golden age of Israel. So glorious and far extended was the influence of God's kingdom upon the earth that the queen of Sheba came to verify the report she had heard in her own land. Her reaction indicated that she saw infinitely more than temporal glory, wisdom, and wealth. She recognized a spirituality and a relationship to God: "Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants," were her words. Then she added: "Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee . . . : because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them" (2 Chron. 9: 7, 8).
Then she sent fabulous gifts. In one year 666 talents of gold came as voluntary offerings from non-Israelites (verse 13). This amount in modern evaluation would probably equal about $20 million.
As Solomon's dedication brought the golden age of Israel, would not rededication—a new birth—bring the golden age of our church and Sabbath school? Would not people come from far and near saying, "We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you"? Would they not share their wealth to give impetus to God's cause?
How real is the new birth to all of us? I remember holding our first child, a son, in my arms the day of his birth. A sacred responsibility for a new life possessed my soul. A new and greater dependence upon God to measure up to that responsibility challenged me to a deeper dedication. If we should visit the home of a new baby we would hear, we would see, we would look upon, and in most instances we would touch the little one. The new birth must be just as real if we are to fulfill our mission.
And Jesus Christ must be real to us. We must be able to say with John, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; . .. that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:1-3).
I read the following statement in one of our journals recently: "The Sabbath school is the sleeping giant in our midst. It awakens only when the pastor sees in each teacher and class an evangelistic unit capable of winning souls or conducting branch Sabbath schools. As a shrewd steward of manpower for God, the pastor will recognize in the Sabbath school a tremendous potential, namely: 'the greatest soul-winning agency' among us."—THEODORE CARCICH, Central Union Reaper, Feb. 28, 1961.
It is interesting to know that the Southern Baptists and other denominations consider that "the Sunday school is the chief evangelistic agency of a church."—J. N. BURNETTE, The Place of the Sunday School in Evangelism, p. 22.
Through branch Sabbath schools and Vacation Bible Schools the pastor and his board find unlimited possibilities to integrate the vast resources of church talent into an avalanche of soul-winning endeavor. The church of which I am pastor conducts a successful Vacation Bible School with a carefully planned follow-up program. Missionary-minded laymen are visiting every home from which non-Adventist children come. A bond of friendship is being established as part of a long-range program that will culminate in conversions. At present a year-round Sunday school is being fostered in our own church building.
The pastor must recognize the Sabbath school as a training center. "In our Sabbath schools the Christian youth should be entrusted with responsibilities, that they may develop their abilities and gain spiritual power."—Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 62.
The teaching of a Sabbath school class for several years was a vital steppingstone to the ministry for me. At the time I decided to go to college to study for the ministry I was serving as Sabbath school superintendent of my home church.
In this time of impending crisis the sermon and the daily lesson study plan alike may challenge church members to diligent personal investigation of Bible truth. They will be fortified to survive the shaking period and be sealed for the second coming of the Saviour. If we daily treasure Scripture within our hearts, then in the moment of necessity the Holy Spirit will bring to our memory the very passages that will meet the issue.
Under the loud cry of the third angel the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will compass the earth. How will this be accomplished?
"As trials thicken around us, both separation and unity will be seen in our ranks. Some . . . will in times of real peril make it manifest that they have not built upon the solid rock; they will yield to temptation. . . . But, on the other hand, when the storm of persecution really breaks upon us, the true sheep will hear the true Shepherd's voice.
"Thus will the truth be brought into practical life. . . . The love of Christ, the love of our brethren, will testify to the world that we have been with Jesus and learned of Him. Then will the message of the third angel swell to a loud cry, and the whole earth will be lightened with the glory of the Lord."—Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 400,401.
