the last few years. It seems the min ister must be a preacher, a teacher, a comforter, a psychotherapist, a marital counselor, a crusader, an ex positor, an administrator, and above all else, a church-builder. To be sure, he must integrate his drives in such a way as to focus on those things which will be of the greatest impor tance to his church. There are two which should be paramount: evan gelism and education. The Sunday school hasn’t always occupied the position that it does today in the minds of pastors. Pastoral partici pation spells the difference between success or failure in this area of the work. All of us know that Dwight L. Moody, although known for his evangelism, was interested in the Sunday school to the point where he became, as one biographer reports him, the moving spirit in the Sun day school. If we are not education- minded, we ought to become so. The final facet of this program must include renewal. With the mag nitude of today’s problems, pastors soon realize they’re insufficient. Much
more is necessary than merely pro gram and promotion. Prayer is the vital key. The man of God must find the will of God for his church. Like Moses of old, who was told to come up early and to come alone, our dif ficulty is that we scarcely come at all. I must learn how to structure prayer more into my church. I must evoke and illicit group action in prayer at every board, committee and organi zational meeting. There should be prayer b re a k fa s ts for the men, prayer meetings for the women, and the young people should be taught to pray as they have never been so in structed. Too many churches are teaching their youth to dance. It’s much more important to put grace into their hearts than in their feet. These five areas spell out an acros tic for P-O-W-E-R: Preaching, Out reach, Worship, Education and Re newal. This must be a decade of power. We have seen a revolution in the 60’s. Now, with God’s strength, let’s aim toward a spiritual counter revolution in the 70’s. May God help us all to do it!
Evangelical Free Church, Orange, Calif.
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