Ministers in this great cause have a grave responsibility upon their shoulders. They are entrusted with a holy work, which should be carried out with meticulous precision. If we are to be what God expects us to be, we must be men of prayer, men of action, men of the Book, and men of good example. God expects the very best of His ministers.
I have been increasingly alarmed at how little confidence many people have in our ministers because of the low standards of some. They have failed to raise the banner high and their ministry has dropped to the level of the commonplace. In plain counsel Ellen G. White states:
"What can the minister do without Jesus? Verily, nothing. Then if he is a frivolous, joking man, he is not prepared to perform the duty laid upon him by the Lord. 'Without Me,' says Christ, 'ye can do nothing.' The flippant words that fall from his lips, the trifling anecdotes, the words spoken to create a laugh, all are condemned by the word of God, and are entirely out of place in the sacred desk."—Testimonies to Ministers, p. 142.
"Our ministers need a transformation of character. They should feel that if their works are not wrought in God, if they are left to their own imperfect efforts, they are of all men the most miserable. Christ will be with every minister who, although he may not have attained to perfection of character, is seeking most earnestly to become Christlike. Such a minister will pray. He will weep between the porch and the altar, crying in soul anguish for the Lord's presence to be with him; else he cannot stand before the people, with all heaven looking upon him, and the angel's pen taking note of his words, his deportment, and his spirit." —Ibid., p. 143.
What kind of conversation characterizes an average pastoral visit today? Are comforting words spoken? How do you feel when you leave the one visited? Is there a sense of satisfaction? I believe too little visiting is done today, and when it is done, it is far from the ideal. How little we realize the struggles that go on in some homes. The heartaches—yes, in many Seventh-day Adventist homes! It is the duty of each pastor to visit each of his parishioners as often as possible even when there are no problems. He will save himself from problems that might come otherwise. The trouble with too many of us is that we tend to get involved with the nonessentials. Too much working on the roof of the church instead of with the hearts of the members. A short call at any home will bring rich rewards if done in the proper way. A word of cheer, a brief sincere prayer, a small counsel here, a suggestion there, and a smile as you go. Along this line of thought we again read:
"There are souls who are starving for sympathy, starving for the bread of life; but they have no confidence to make known their great need. Those who bear the responsibilities in connection with the work of God should understand that they are under the most solemn obligation to help these souls; and they would be prepared to help them, if they themselves had retained the soft, subduing influence of the love of Christ. Do these poor souls, ready to die, look to them for help? No; they did this until they could have no hope of help from this quarter. They see not a hand stretched out to save."-Ibid., p. 353.
Do Baptismal Goals Pressure You to Lower Your Standards?
Among the many things a pastor is called to do is to have a baptismal goal. Goals are good. They are something to measure accomplishments by, but let us not forget that quality should come first. What good is it to reach the baptismal goal for 1967 and then have more than half of the new members slide back into the world within weeks after baptism? Think about it. Altogether too much emphasis has been placed on numbers and too little regard as to quality and preparation. It is shocking to hear some reports come in of such instances. Here are two:
Here in the U.S. in a small town a certain pastor held a series of meetings in one of his churches. After the close he saw few results. This made him nervous. He called on some who had attended a few meetings and one man particularly. This man still had the tobacco problem. He chewed. But said the pastor, "My dear brother, it takes time to weed these things out. Come now, you have given your heart to Christ and He will help you to overcome this later. How about next Sabbath?" And the case of a young woman who still worked on Sabbath and promised to stop that as soon as possible, she also was hastily placed in the baptismal tank. Needless to say, although their names are still on the conference books, they don't attend church. They continue as they were! And so do many others who are hurriedly baptized without knowing a thing about such subjects as Spirit of Prophecy, tithing, or in some cases the unclean meats. I had one woman once ask me if I liked my broiled shrimp with or without mayonnaise! She had been baptized six months before. And I could tell of homosexuals and prostitutes who have been baptized without due precaution. They are still in the business, but they were included in the final count of the yearly baptismal goal, just for numbers' sake!
It is high time to correct this trend before it leads to disaster. As things stand there are too many apostasies already. Why add to the list? I appeal to our vast army of able young and old ministers in this marvelous work of God. Let us halt this needless waste of souls. Let us pray much. Let us visit much. Let us give our heart to God daily. If we walk hand in hand with God in spiritual contact, we need not worry about goals. He will give us the stamina it takes to search the souls out and will help us to find the sincere ones who will be noble and strong members in His cause. God wants quality souls, not erratic and fictitious figures on paper of souls who have gone back to the world.
