Spiritual leadership in the Adventist Church opens a door into the most absorbing lifework under heaven. And there is something seriously wrong with the man who, entering this work, is not wholly absorbed by it. The very conditions of a minister's work, which put into his own hands the control of his time and the ordering of his days, impose a peculiar responsibility. If he fritters time away in idleness, if he squanders in nonessential reading of the newspapers and magazines those precious morning hours that ought to be rigorously safeguarded for wrestling with the Word of God, he damages his pledge to Jesus and dishonors his high calling.
We who are called to be leaders in God's service at a time when a chaotic world is topsy-turvy with war, dope, riots, and infidelity must recognize that the minister of the gospel has a superhuman task, and hence he must be endowed with superhuman power. No minister in his own strength can measure up to the standards he is called to preach to others.
Power Needed Beyond Our Own
Ellen G. White has stated it this way: "Man needs a power out of and above himself to restore him to the likeness of God."—Review and Herald, Nov. 1, 1892.
If the minister himself cannot reach the ideals he is called to preach without "a power out of and above himself," in how much less degree can he hope to help others to reach the high standard he sets before them? The minister of the gospel does indeed need divine power, not only for himself but for his task of lifting men and women from the sinking sands of sin. His duty is to connect them with the divine current of saving and keeping power.
In my study of the theme, "Leadership and Spiritual Growth," an exceedingly solemn impression came to me as I pondered the repeated admonitions God has sent this church with reference to our need for spirituality and power to do the work He expects of us. The time is at hand when we must not only listen to these solemn messages but obey them.
In the book Education, page 257, we are reminded that "through faith in Christ, every deficiency of character may be supplied, every defilement cleansed, every fault corrected, every excellence developed."
This admonition is positive and without qualification. Shall we not accept it and in demonstration of our acceptance, remove all hindrances in our lives to the manifestations of the Holy Spirit?
Yearn for Spiritual Growth
When we recognize that "through faith in Christ every deficiency of character may be supplied, every excellence developed," we need not feel alone in our struggle. And when we remember the words of our Lord recorded in John 14:26, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things," we need not despair. These pertinent words should inspire in every minister who is called to proclaim the great threefold messages of Revelation 14, a yearning for spiritual growth and high accomplishments for God.
The time is at hand when consecrated and spiritual leadership and power ought to characterize all our efforts in a definite progressive program to finish the work. We must become channels for the Holy Spirit to flow through to every member of our church and out and beyond the church to all with whom we come in contact. God has chosen us as His sons as well as His servants, and He requires much more of us than He requires of others.
It may be well at this point to say something of the danger that our work may be merely routine. Our constant association with holy things and daily deeds of service is likely to make them commonplace. We must not permit this to happen. Our only safeguard is that we shall daily find• time for the study of God's Word and ample time for prayer. Therefore, we need to set definite appointments for ourselves, clearing these times of all postponable interruptions. We need some order and plan that will enable us to make good use of such cleared time by quickly and reverently entering into the audience chamber with Him who is the Man of our counsel.
Clear the Lines for Prayer
But let me give a word of warning: As we set out to clear times for prayer and study, we must keep firmly in mind Christ's ordained system of priorities. Jesus could and did free Himself often from the immediate burdens of busyness to meditate and pray. There were doubtless some sick people looking for Him when He went to the Mount of Transfiguration. On the other hand, for the conference worker who is too busy reaching conference goals to involve himself in human needs, he related the parable of the Good Samaritan. Here Jesus seems to say that we must always be ready to lay aside our ministerial and devotional tasks to meet serious human emergencies.
In the Bible we note that the pure in heart shall see God. The psalmist prayed most earnestly, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." The wise man puts it this way: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." As workers in God's cause we must follow this counsel because we who are in roles of leadership, such as presidents, institutional workers, departmental secretaries, pastors, evangelists, and Bible instructors, must guard well the avenues of the soul. There is no one thing that we need so much to learn as to learn how to pray. How better can we learn than by watching how Jesus prayed and then try to imitate Him.
Prayer meant much more to Jesus than most of us are aware. It was not only His regular habit, but His resort in every emergency however slight or serious. When faced by the maze of perplexities, He prayed. When hard pressed by work, He prayed. When hungry for fellowship, He found it in prayer. He chose His associates and received His messages upon His knees. If tempted, He prayed; if criticized, He prayed. If fatigued in body or wearied by the throngs seeking His help, He had recourse to His one unfailing habit of prayer. Prayer brought Him unmeasured power at the beginning of His work, and kept the flow unbroken and undiminished. There was no emergency, no difficulty, no necessity, no temptation, that would not yield to prayer as He practiced it. Shall we not ask Him daily to teach us how to pray and then plan to be alone with Him regularly that He may have time to teach us and we may have opportunity to practice His teaching?
The messenger of the Lord through the years has given very earnest counsel on this matter. "Remember that prayer is the source of your strength. A worker cannot gain success while he hurries through his prayers and rushes away to look after something that he fears may be neglected or forgotten. He gives only a few hurried thoughts to God; he does not take time to think, to pray, to wait upon the Lord for a renewal of physical and spiritual strength. He soon becomes weary. He does not feel the uplifting, inspiring influence of God's Spirit. He is not quickened by fresh life. His jaded frame and tired brain are not soothed by personal contact with Christ."—Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 243.
Today in the hustle and bustle of life it is so easy to allow the cares of life to creep in upon us and to become so excited about the news events of the day that we spend more time with the nonessentials than with the study of God's Word and with the examination of the prophecies pertaining to our day. Would it not be well for us to take inventory of our own selves so that we might find more time for prayer and the study of God's Word?
The Man Who Reads
A slogan used effectively by a leading paper manufacturing company reads: "Send me a man who reads!" This unique motto helps one to recognize that reading is another essential that adds to a man's worth. The same manufacturing company also listed a survey of two hundred company officers in two different income categories. The result revealed that those who read more received and achieved more. Not only is this true in the everyday world but it is significantly valid in the effectual spiritual growth of a worker in God's church. A Christian who gives little or no place for Bible reading in his program will discover that his work will be of very little consequence when measured by Heaven's rule.
I am reminded by our statistics and our working policy that we are blessed to have a church that is highly organized. We spend much time talking about goals. We set goals for souls, goals for missionary work, goals for giving, goals for the circulation of this and that periodical, and we send out statistical reports. But, brethren, there is also a goal set before us in spiritual growth and experience, not a manmade goal of figures but a goal in the life of the Master Himself. In His Sermon on the Mount He commands us, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).
Our Vital Need,—God's Spirit
Surely our lack of money is not our greatest problem. I am convinced that our most vital need of the hour is the Spirit of God in our lives.
We could well take note again of these stirring admonitions from the pen of inspiration: "The position of those who have been called of God to labor in word and doctrine for the upbuilding of His church, is one of grave responsibility. In Christ's stead they are to beseech men and women to be reconciled to God, and they can fulfill their mission only as they receive wisdom and power from above."—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 360.
"In choosing men and women for His service, God does not ask whether they possess learning or eloquence, or worldly wealth. He asks: 'Do they walk in such humility that I can teach them my way? Can I put My words into their lips? Will they represent Me?' "—Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 144.
Brethren, it is our responsibility to lead the church of God during these closing days of earth's history. We must have power from God to do this. Great power means full surrender and much prayer. And the promise is as certain of fulfillment today as when spoken to the apostles. "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8).
What the church needs today is not new or better machinery, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use, men of prayer. The Holy Ghost flows not through methods but through men. The Holy Ghost comes not on machinery but on men; the Holy Ghost anoints not plans but men, men mighty in prayer. God help us to be such men. Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods. God is looking for better Spirit-filled men.
Some feel that the very nature of the preacher's calling should guarantee an invincible consecration. But all sacred things are double-edged; and if the tasks of the ministry seem to be a safeguard, they have their peculiar perils for those who handle the things of God with undue familiarity. William Baxter was right when he said, "It is a sad thing that so many of us preach our hearers asleep; but it is sadder still if we have studied and preached ourselves asleep, and have talked so long against hardness of heart, till our own grows hardened under the noise of our own reproofs."
