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T H E . K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
August, 1942
same time the first-mentioned church was hardly reckoned with at all. Yet this man was undoing all that had been done ahead of him and was k ill ing the work. We noted several things -here also. This man spent far too little time in prayer. He had not that intimate' acquaintance with h is L o r d that should characterize God’s true pasters. Instead of praying for his flock and praying with them, he argued with and rebuked them, and no pastor can expect to see his work grow while he follows these practices. (We do not say there are not times when the true pastor must reprove, for such is a part of his work, but he must do it in the spirit of Jesus Christ.) Furthermore, during these t h r e e weeks of the special meetings, he went to his study, as we recall, only at the end of each week, and that was for the purpose of makifig his weekly calendars which he distributed on Sundays. He was required to do no teaching or preaching while we were with him, and hence he did no study ing either. There was no order to things in his study. The few books he did have were very poorly chosen and in no order whatsoever. The notes he made for his messages were very meager, and he had no system of keeping them for the future. He gave the impression that he worked only to make a living and not to do the great service of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, we remember that during the three weeks he made only one call. He wanted us to meet a certain indi vidual who was confined to a wheel chair. Otherwise he did not take us into the homes, either of members or of prospects. We urged him to make out a list so we could make some con* tacts with the gospel plan of salva tion; But he heeded not. A Matter of Attitude What made the difference? Both of these men c l a i m e d to have been [Continued on Page 319]
many book;; but those he does have are well ch)Sen and carefully studied. In his stuc'y everything is order. He has careful y filed away the notes of every mess ige he has delivered, and of every B'.ble class he has taught. When given but a short notice for a message, he can refer, either back to one of thes; messages he has already used, and which was fully developed in his notes, or he can quickly put the finishing tcuches on a message he has been preparing for future use. Conse quently, he is much in demand out side of his own congregation. (He a l ways has something worth saying, which he says and then quits.) Thirdly, he is a pastor in every sense of the word. He and his wife (and a real pastor’s wife she is) spend several afternoons each week in per sonal calls, for which the members of his flock look with much anticipation, and from which they all receive pas toral and spiritual help. He wastes not his time in the home on the passing things of life. O, that his clan might be increased! A Contrast Remarkable as is the experience of this young pastor, it is made more so by way of contrast with this expe rience of another pastor, into whose congregation we were invited, for a three-weeks’ campaign of evangelism. A short while before we arrived on this field, a fellow pastor had told us some things of the church and its pastor. He told us that the congrega tion was decreasing at an alarming rate, that this man’s salary was not being paid with any regularity, and that he tried desperately to get an other pastorate, but to no avail. This second church home was better located, as to surrounding conditions, than was the one of the former story. The building was just as fine, if not finer. The congregation was strong and in a fine condition when this man had become its pastor. In fact this had been one of the leading congregations in the denomination at about the
the months they had been following this plan; their love for God’s Word was increasing daily; their spiritual and Godward growth was remarkable; their fellowship was sweetened; their church finances were at the highest tide; and best of all, souls were being saved regularly.- The people were regular in attending the Services of the church ,so as not to miss any of these studies. The pastor told us the plan of study had paid big dividends, spiritually,' but that it had meant plenty of hard work for him. The Background Then we remembered the history of this Congregation. A little over twelve years prior to this, some of the leaders of the denomination were willing to abandon this church as a failure. A series of misfortunes of various sorts had made it a most unpromising place to work. But a m o n g t h o s e who thought otherwise was a young minis ter, who was then in his first pastor ate. Because of his stand, he was offered this difficult pastorate—a pas torate over a few disunited families. But he saw the future and accepted the challenge as from his God. He answered God’s call, and God has an swered his faith. During his tenth year he was offered another church. After consider ing the fact that he had been long in this charge, as pastorates go, he ac cepted the new call. But the church refused to accept his resignation. In stead, they produced a statement, signed by practically every adult member, asking him to reconsider and to remain with them. He prayed much over the matter and then made his decision to stay. This experience did much to unite the church, and they have now posted, in a prominent place in the church building, this statement with their signatures affixed thereto, to remind them of their covenant with their pastor. And why should it not be this way? Had he not taken a church that some would have abandoned and had brought it back to a quality of spiritual life in a matter of less than ten years that had made it one of the leading congregations within the de nomination? The Secrets of Success The key to this man’s .success lay in three things, as I see it, after know ing the history of the church and after being for a time in his home. First, he is a man of prayer. He lives humbly before h}s God. He knows the Lord and knows how to take his own and the problems of his flock to Him. Secondly, he is a man who studies the Word. As already , indicated, he spends several hours five mornings a week in his study. He does not have
Sermons are mere tools; and the business you have in mind is not making sermons or preaching sermons— it is saving men.— HENRY WARD BEECHER.
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