Fishers of Men

AS WE discuss the role of ministers and physicians in the gospel commission, may I point out to each of you that the call to service for mankind today is the same as it was two thousand years ago. . .

-physician in private practice in Canoga Park, California, specializing in family practice, at the time this article was written

AS WE discuss the role of ministers and physicians in the gospel commission, may I point out to each of you that the call to service for mankind today is the same as it was two thousand years ago.

That call is found in Matthew 4 and elsewhere in the Gospels. Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. Seeing two brothers, Simon and Andrew, He issued an invitation: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." A short time later he saw two more brothers, James and John, and He also called them.

As we follow the careers of Andrew, Peter, James, and John, who were the first to be specifically called, we find that they had their ups and downs, but that all served their apprenticeship well, and through the grace of God all became great fishers of men. Today we are two thousand years down stream from that original call. But the call remains the same. Jesus is saying to you and me, "Follow Me, and allow Me to teach you how to catch men."

Christ doesn't call us because we are expert fishermen but because we need to follow Him. He doesn't tell us to go and take a postgraduate course on fish psychology or habits, but says, "Allow Me to teach you how to catch men."

Last year we were engaged in MISSION '72, and this year we have MISSION '73. Already we are planning for MISSION '74, and the serious planners are talking about MISSION '80. Do we really want to go on for another two thousand years, or have we arrived at a point when we are willing to allow the Great Fisherman to finish the work and cut it short in righteousness? There are certain problems in connection with this call that have interfered with its purpose. The problem is not with the call but rather with the recipient of the call.

As I review in my own thinking some of the reasons for our shortcomings and failings to fulfill the gospel commission and Christ's call to service, I find certain etiological factors associated with the sleeping sickness of the fishermen today.

In reviewing these various points I do not wish to point a finger to any individual, whether he be a physician, minister, or church administrator. I would prefer to consider these points as an autobiographical outline of various stages of my own personal experience, from which, hopefully, the grace of God has brought spiritual growth.

The first problem I encountered was that the fisherman doesn't hear the call. The noise of the activity of the affairs of life makes the call seem indefinite or far off. The focus of his attention is on self and selfish pursuits even when good causes are espoused. To him, especially, comes a message: "Let everyone who can hear listen to what the Spirit says" (Rev. 3:13, Goodspeed).*

Then there is the type of person who just doesn't care for fishing. He would prefer to remain on the shore mending nets, playing golf, or raising a family. Should he venture out into the lake, he prefers sailing to fishing. May I point out that all of these activities are good, but they must occupy a secondary role when the call comes to go fishing, otherwise the call will go to someone else.

Then there is the professional fisherman who takes up fishing as a matter of survival. He takes great pride in being a "spiritual" leader. He has bowls of fish that he hand feeds. Many fish depend on him for survival. In an evangelistic thrust, his success is measured not so much by his spiritual growth or by the devotional experience shared but by the number of baptisms. It is unfortunate that at times the posture of some administrative superiors encourages him to keep counting fish.

Another characteristic of the professional fisherman is that frequently he will resort to illegal fishing methods such as hooks, bright-colored lures, and even dynamite. The person who brings the most people to a meeting is rewarded with a trip to Hawaii, more or less. Prizes, medals, public praise, and at times even guile are means used to achieve a good record. Altar calls may be so emotionally packed that only the strong are able to resist. But when all is said and done, any fisherman knows that dynamite results in dead fish.

So much for the negative side. Thank God that there is a real awakening among lay people, ministers, and church administrators throughout the length and breadth of the land. I see a spiritual awakening not only among the laity but also among the ministry and the administration of the church. I see this happening in the medical profession and at our medical school. We are witnessing a spiritual revolution that may lead to the full outpouring of the Spirit of God. It is a constructive process and not a destructive process, but in the course of its development some of our past attitudes and practices must and will fall.

Christ said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:24). Christ has called you and me for this great purpose. It means sitting at His feet, using His methods, and following His direction. It means total commitment in all areas of our lives. It means praying for and being willing to accept His power in the innermost recesses of our personal life and being obedient to the power. It means being willing to trust God not only with the responsibility of our service but also with its success. We must stop counting fish. It means using the gospel net instead of the hook.

The greatest flooding of spiritual power will come when we give glory to God instead of to man. Everything is secondary to the glory of God. The three angels' messages emphasize this point. When we as individuals and as a people preach the three angels' messages on a personal level, then and then only will we be prepared to preach it on a prophetic level.

The gospel can never be finished in the world unless it is finished in the lives of the fishermen. Notice this challenge from a message of the Lord given to us in The Ministry of Healing, page 182: "Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on the merits of the Saviour. By prayer, by the study of His word, by faith in His abiding presence, the weakest of human beings may live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold them by a hand that will never let go."

Perhaps as you have read this statement you have placed it in a context of a personal devotional experience. If so, you have been absolutely right, because that is where it belongs. I am personally convinced that we'll never fulfill our commission as fishers of men until we start at that point.


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-physician in private practice in Canoga Park, California, specializing in family practice, at the time this article was written

September 1973

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