SQLite format 3@  O{tableTopicsTopicsCREATE TABLE 'Topics' (Title NVARCHAR(100), Notes TEXT)K~3[A 00 - Introduction{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f3\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\hyphpar0\s1\sb240\sa120\tx0\lang3082\f0\fsG000 - StaleyWW - The Minister{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue255;\red0\green0\blue128;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\nowidctlpar\lang1033\f0\fs24 THE MINISTER \par Series of Five Addresses \par \par By KEY. W. W. STALEY, D. D., LL. D. \par Pas1olk, Virginia, Christian Church, Since 1882 \par \par Delivered at " The Seaside Chautauqua and School of Methods," \par Virginia Beach, Virginia, July 21, 22, 23, 24, 25:1914 \par with introduction: by Rev. A. W. Ughtbourne, \par D. D., Pastor of the People's Church, \par Dover, Delaware \par \par Published for the Author by \par THE CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION \par DAYTON, OHIO \par 1915 \par \par \par COPYRIGHT, 1915 \par BY W. W. STALEY \par \par 665749 \par \par CONTENTS \par \par INTRODUCTION \par CHAPTER ONE THE MINISTER IN HIS STUDY \par CHAPTER TWO THE MINISTER IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE \par CHAPTER THREE THE MINISTER IN HIS PULPIT \par CHAPTER FOUR THE MINISTER IN HIS PARISH \par CHAPTER FIVE THE MINISTER IN HIS COMMUNITY \par \par \par formatted by David Cox (c) 2008\par \pard{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "mailto:dcox@davidcox.com.mx" }}{\fldrslt{\cf2\ul dcox@davidcox.com.mx}}}\cf0\ulnone\f0\fs24\par \par \cf3\kerning32\f1\fs23\par } 24\tab\lang1033\b\f1\fs32 INTRODUCTION \par \pard\nowidctlpar\b0\f2\fs24\par THESIS addresses on the Christian Ministry are unique in their combination of comprehensiveness and condensation. They are replete, witn suggestion, adequate in conception, and, forthright and epigrammatic in expression. After reading these addresses many far more pretentious volumes will suffer by comparison. It has been my good fortune to hear this subject discussed by those who were themselves models of the preacher's sublime art. It was my privilege to hear these addresses, and in my humble opinion they are, in some very important respects, superior to any previous deliverances on this great theme. \par \par I desire particularly to commend the style here employed. There is no rhetorical splurge or garish display. Too much color is as suspicious in composition as in complexion. Here \par \par is strength rather than sheen; force rather than flare. There are no trick phrases, no artful alliterations, no startling antitheses, and no attempt to cover deficiencies in thought and argument with the gloss of verbal veneer. \par \par Brevity, clarity, simplicity, are here combined with the deepest reflections and the most striking and appropriate forms of expression and illustration. In scholarship, mental poise, intuitive perception, terse and luminous phraseology, the author is one of the best-equipped men to conduct such a series of didactic addresses for the benefit of young preachers. \par \par The author has exalted his theme. The preacher is here presented in his call, his preparation, his mission, his message, his methods of study and work, his personal Christian experience, and his private and public life. One is surprised to find so much included, and so little omitted, in a volume of this size. May God speed it upon its carer of usefulness and make it a blessing and inspiration to those for whom it is intended. \par \par A. W. LIGHTBOURNE. \par \par Dover, Delaware. \par \pard\cf1\kerning32\f3\fs23\par } tand upon my watch, and set me I upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will, say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. \ldblquote (\cf1\ul Hab_2:1\cf0\ulnone .) Habakkuk wanted to know God's message for men through him; and that is the high privilege and plain duty of all ministers. His Study is the \ldblquote watchtower j\rdblquote the \ldblquote Holy of Holies\rdblquote where Shekinah glory illumines his soul with visions and messages; Paul exhorts ministers to \ldblquote study to show themselves approved unto God; workmen that need not be ashamed.\rdblquote This suggests \ldblquote a study; \ldblquote and, this study is the mint where his gold is coined. Here he broods over kingdom questions, weighs soul-interests, meditates upon eternal destinies, and prepares for assaults upon the citadels of wrong. \par \par The minister's study is larger than the room that contains his books and in which he com\par \par THE MINISTER \par \par munes with God in prayer. His study includes all subjects, all worlds, all peoples, all ages, and all of God's plans for redemption. His horizon is larger than that line where earth and sky seem to meet and mark the limits of the world. \par \par There is no line of truth that may not run into his fountain of knowledge. If he confines himself within the walls of his study, he will be narrow and contracted; yet he should have such a study; and it should be the hotbed of his garden, the arsenal of his warfare, the pilothouse from which he looks over the sea of 'humanity and steers the ship of Zion. \par \par In his study books should be examined, great minds consulted, information gathered, problems solved, and inspiration received for the duties of his calling. Riehlieu says \ldblquote that all great things are done in silence.\rdblquote Pilgrim's Progress was born in Bedford jail; and some of Paul's great epistles were written in a Roman prison. But the minister should not use the forms in which he finds truth stored in books outside of the Bible. He should reduce all \par 10 \par \par IN HIS STUDY \par \par reading in the mill of his own mind to such fineness that it is meal and not corn. He should break up the crystallized thought of others as workmen break up granite and mix with sand and cement to manufacture concrete. They make a new substance out of old material, and the minister can do the same. He can use books, sermons, comments, magazines, and the Bible; but he dare not copy them. He must make concrete all his own. He may create new archways that will sustain the tonnage of a nation's thought. He can rightly divide the word of truth. \par \par The study is not a place for rest or ease; but a place of prayer, research, testing, decision, creation. Like the camp of the Romans the work here is twice as heavy as on the field. \par \par Here all the past, all the future, and all the live questions of the present, converge in the minister's mind like sun-rays in the sunglass. \par \par Here his mind and heart mature in the silence and deep reflections of his soul. Here is the place of growth. All growth is under hidden \par 11 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par conditions. The, germination of seed, the development of rootlets, real, contact, with soil and air, the: forces, that enter into life, and burst out into flower and fruit, all work in silence and in darkness. Here self and God are discovered in their holiest relations, and character is crystallized in the quiet of the study. Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, as he paced his palace floor, \ldblquote Is not this great Babylon that 7 have built?\rdblquote \par \par \ldblquote But the kingdom departed from him.\rdblquote The woman who was healed said \ldblquote within herself\rdblquote \par within the secret chambers of her own soul \ldblquote If I may but touch His garments I shall be healed.\rdblquote The explosion in Vera Cruz was the result of the quiet loading of the shell in the factory. The Panama Canal was worked out by the engineer, and an act of Congr ess, before the thousands of tons of earth were removed and two oceans met and kissed each other at the cost of nearly four hundred millions. \par \par What sort of a man must the minister be in his study? Sincerity and self ^surrender to God should characterize the minister in, his study. \par \par 12 \par \par \par IN HIS STUDY \par \par His Tieart miist be engaged as well as Ms head. \par \par He must hot only seek after human wisdom, but spiritual inspiration. He is not working out science, he is seeking a message from God. The mineral wealth of the world was fashioned in the quiet recesses of the mountains or underneath the rocks of the plains long before the mines were opened or the iron was wrought into use. The Bessemer process fashions the steel rails that glisten across a continent and bear the tonnage of an empire. The chick comes forth after those brooding weeks of the mother, the most trying and exhausting of her life. It is brooding over the thoughts in the library, in the study, that brings forth new ideas to move mankind to Jesus Christ and a new life. Ideas are not born in the crowd. Great thoughts are born in solitude. Jesus retired from the multitude to prepare Himself for great service and ministers can do no less. He spent most of that time in prayer. Napoleon spent whole nights in histent mapping out his plans for battles and campaigns. Napoleon did not depend on the \par 13 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par inspiration of the occasion to win battles. He worked out his plans in histent. The minister ought to study the map of his own work, of his own country, of Bible lands, and of the whole world. This will give him a vision of missions and fire his heart with a zeal according to knowledge. The field is the world and the minister ought to know the field. Geography is close to the Bible. It is \ldblquote The Land and the Book.\rdblquote \par \par \par The study is the place of prayer. There is no harder work than prayer; it is easier to read than to pray; but prayer is of more importance than reading. Jesus spent whole nights in prayer. Prayer was the only exercise that drew from Him drops of blood. Prayer engages the whole being and it is the only effort that does. \par \par Study puts us in touch with all that is material and human; prayer puts us in touch with the spiritual and divine. Paul and Silas prayed at midnight, in the Philippian jail, and the Roman prison trembled and the doors opened; and the jailer trembled and opened his heart to 11 \par \par \par IN HIS STUDY \par \par let the Savior in. Thought touched the mine under the last ledge of rock in the Panama Canal, by an electric wire from Washington, and opened the isthmus between two great seas; but it was the power of God that turned the Nile into blood and opened the Red Sea to set a nation at liberty. Moses got out of trouble every time by resorting to prayer. It was not his eloquence but his faith that made him the emancipator of millions. The world is slow to learn that knowing the truth sets men free. \par \par Daniel's habit of prayer was a power greater than the king's decree, and the lion's den could do him no harm. It was that quiet prayer chamber in Jerusalem that witnessed the noise and tongues of fire and, later, the conversion of three thousand souls. The scales never fell from Saul's eyes till he prayed; the prayer chamber is the dark room where the image of Jesus Christ is developed in the soul. It is in this chamber where the care of the church weighs heavily upon his whole being, where the factious spirit among members clamors for is \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par solution; where poverty cries from rags, huts, and domestic broils; where pride and ambition look in upon him with vulgar eyes; where shame threatens his church; arid lynx-eyed jealousies and complaints fret his being so that he cannot study. Then his only resource is prayer. He must have a new sense of God's help; that \ldblquote His grace is sufficient.\rdblquote There is no book on church methods that can tell him how to deal with these grave problems. He must get divine help not only for himself, but for those lives that fret his own. It was fasting and prayer that saved Esther, and the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces in the empire of Ahasuerus; it was prayer that held out the golden scepter and granted the queen's request. The study is the altar where the minister offers his sacrifices, makes his vows, communes with God, and renews his strength. \par \par The spirit said to Ezekiel, \ldblquote Go, shut thyself up within thy house * * * * but when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them. Thus saith the Lord. ' ' 3:24-27. \par \par 10 \par \par \par IN HIS STUDY \par \par There are times when the minister must retire, and keep silence, till God unlooses his tongue and puts words into his mouth and power in the words. His study is his waiting place for orders and a message. \par \par He stands between the living and the dead. \par \par His library is peopled from the past Abraham, Moses, Elias, Paul, Luther, Elizabeth, Mary, Florence Nightingale, Victoria a multitude which no man can number, who 'have come up through great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Moses and Elias appeared with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration; a mighty host surrounds me in my library. Peter, James, and John did not see as much nor hear as much as the minister in his library. Jesus is here, too, in the Bible and by the Spirit. There are more people in my library than in my church. \par \par They speak to me, they kindle the fires of my imagination, they quicken my faith, humble my pride, rebuke my wrong-doing and wrong thinking, warn me against sin, and point my \par 17 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par soul to the living Christ. I find tombs with angles, deserts with fountains, gardens with Saviors, prisons with praises, and crosses with crowns. Above the roar of the tempest,' the flap of the split sails, the creak of the breaking timbers, and the cry of endangered men, I hear Jesus say: \ldblquote Peace, be still.\rdblquote I hear Nebuchadnezzar say: \ldblquote I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God. ' ' I hear Paul in the midst of darkness and the raging sea, say, \ldblquote There stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear not.\rdblquote The past is a mighty host, their thought, faith, love, and lives still speaking to our own. The library is a transfiguration scene, crowning lofty summits, silently and sweetly speaking to the minister so as to inspire him with renewed strength and satisfaction that arms him for the good fight of faith. Beyond this teeming past are the living millions moving to and fro, loving and hating, helping and hindering, neglecting age, 18 \par \par \par IN HIS STUDY \par \par crushing childhood, desecrating the Sabbath, greedily preying upon their fellows, preparing for war and killing the flower of the age. The study should be the tower from which the minister looks out upon this age of living humanity, with all of its progress, religious movements, charity institutions, educational forces, its pleasure-loving and pleasure-seeking peoples, that he may come forth with a message of rebuke for sin, of hope for the despondent, and life for the lost. The minister should seek to interpret the present age in the light of the gospel and past civilizations. From his study as a tower, he should get his vision of mankind and God and then go forth to preach salvation to a sinning world. His sermon should be a message from God, supported by His word, fired by His Spirit, and delivered in the spirit of love. Lectures and tirades may have their place on the platform, but they should not come from the minister's study in place of a message from God. His study is the mint for purer gold. \par \par 19 \par \par \pard\cf2\lang2058\f3\fs23\par } [~3[A 00 - Introduction{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f3\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\hyphpar0\s1\sb240\sa120\tx0\lang3082\f0\fsG000 - StaleyWW - The Minister{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue255;\red0\green0\blue128;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\nowidctlpar\lang1033\f0\fs24 THE MINISTER \par Series of Five Addresses \par \par By KEY. W. W. STALEY, D. D., LL. D. \par Pastor of Suff HH ]GA 02 - The Minister In His Personal Life{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcMiA 01 - The Minister In His Study{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f3\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\hyphpar0\s1\sb240\sa120\tx0\lang3082\f0\fs24\tab\lang1033\b\f1\fs32 CHAPTER ONE \par \tab IN HIS STUDY \par \tab THE MINISTER IN HIS STUDY \par \pard\nowidctlpar\b0\f2\fs24\par \par IT WILL sharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f3\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\hyphpar0\s1\sb240\sa120\tx0\lang3082\f0\fs24\tab\lang1033\b\f1\fs32 CHAPTER TWO \par \tab IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE \par \tab THE MINISTER IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE \par \pard\nowidctlpar\b0\f2\fs24\par \par THE Minister is a distinct personality from the personality of the MAN. Jesus was a man; but He was more than a man; he was the Son of God. He said and did much as a Son that He could not have done as a man. \par \par As God manifest in the flesh He said: \ldblquote I am the light of the world.\rdblquote As a man He said: \ldblquote I \par am a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.\rdblquote Two distinct personalities were in Jesus Christ. Two distinct personalities are in the minister. He is a Man and a Minister. Jesus was man last. He descended from the highest to the lowest; the minister ascends from the lowest to the highest. Minister is higher than man, though man is only a \ldblquote little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor.\rdblquote \par \par The minister is more than a man, and, therefore, he should be more in his personal life than a \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par man. His ministerial personality should represent his high calling. \par \par The chief thing in the gospel dispensation is the personality of Jesus. \ldblquote I am the truth.\rdblquote \par \par ' ' Come unto me. \ldblquote \ldblquote He that believeth on me. \ldblquote\ldblquote This is my son.\rdblquote The cross stands for the \ldblquote crucified one.\rdblquote The old dispensation was legal, ceremonial, sacrificial, and symbolical; but, in the fulness of time, God sent forth His Son. The personal element in the gospel is the vital force in salvation. No matter what the theological concept of this personality may be, the spirit of Christianity would disappear, if this personal Savior were left out of the equation of salvation. This same personal element is involved in salvation. \ldblquote Son, daughter, give me thy heart,\rdblquote L e, thyself. \par \par Jesus distinctly says, \ldblquote As the Father hath sent me, so have / sent t/ot*.\rdblquote That must include a personal ministry. Pulpit ministration is only one function of the minister. His personal life is the largest thing in his ministry. \par \par His personal character, habits, influence, attain\par 24 \par \par \par IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE \par \par inents, constitute the largest value in his ministry. In gunnery the rule is, that the gun should be a hundred times the weight of the projectile. In preaching the minister should he a hundred times weightier than his message. \par \par Jesus was always larger than His message or His miracle. What He did was never as large as what He was. No wonder Jesus spent thirty years in preparation and only three years in His public ministry. The most important thing in a minister is to prepare himself. We are all conscious that our ministerial weakness is in ourselves and not in the gospel. ' ' The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.\rdblquote Yet we know that we are slow and weak and do not reach the hearts of men. Our sermons are often better than ourselves. The need of the age is not good sermons, but good ministers. We are wise enough but not harmless enough. We \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par have not fully appreciated the importance of ourselves in the ministry. The personal value appears most plainly in the personal fall of a minister. A brilliant ministry may collapse in the personal indiscretion of the minister. The majesty and glory of the ministry of Jesus was in His spotless personality. They attacked His teaching but found no fault in His personal life. \par \par The least attention is given to personal training, though most important of all. Literary and theological training are stressed in school and before committees, while personal life is left to the result of forces that work without direction. The minister's normal habits are the indexes to his real character as expressed in his outward life. Whatever others may do 'he is not at liberty to indulge in games that waste time and contain no element of recreation. \par \par Keeping busy in good service satisfies the public mind and his own conscience. His habits should express his interest in people and in the gospel. \ldblquote On the job\rdblquote is a modern phrase that expresses what the public demands. No one \par \par L'fi IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE \par \par objects to recreation and the minister might well take one day out of seven as his day of rest. Saturday or Monday seem to be the natural days from which to make his selection. \par \par He must cultivate the habit of sincerity among the people. There is no room for specials; he must indulge in no hard feelings; his normal attitude must be that of impartiality. His disposition must not be churlish. He must not be grouchy. While he should be pleasant, he must not drop below the dignity of his high calling in Christ Jesus. \par \par Dress is more important in personal life than people imagine. Dress indicates stages in human progress. Trace British progress from the time when naked savages lined the shores of the British Isles till the present time and it will appear that dress is no mean part of that empire's greatness. Even in our own day savagry appears in our dress without the virtue that goes with savage stages of society. The tendency downward always appears in the fashion plates and the styles that force police\par 27 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par men to arrest women on the streets. The minister and even his family must set a standard of modest dress that common judgment approves. The minister himself must strike a medium ground in dress as well as other personal habits; he must not dress in too clerical a fashion, and he must not put 'himself in the class with the dude, the sport, or society man. Simplicity, neatness, comfort, should characterize his dress. Gay colors, latest cuts, jaunty style, are out of place. Spotless linen is always in taste and a personal asset for the minister. Moreover the minister must not be led into the danger of \ldblquote gay clothing.\rdblquote Jas. \par \par 2:3. His dress and his manner will go together and both should be inconspicuous. \par \par Business enters into the minister's life as well as all others. Here is a field of danger and opportunity. His life should be exemplary in this field as well as others. Business with the minister should come to him, in the necessities of domestic life, and church enterprises. \par \par He should not court business nor seek wealth; \par \par \par IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE \par  \par but in all his business duties he should be honest and fair in his dealings. It is a mistake for ministers to think they must keep pace with the styles and luxuries of the age. If possible, debt must be avoided. It is the peril of all men, but especially of the minister. Men will overlook almost everything sooner than an unpaid bill. His example here will mean much to the community. There is no better place for the minister to \ldblquote deny himself and take up his cross\rdblquote than here. He needs clothes, he needs books, he needs furniture, he needs food for his family. He is tempted to get them. Anybody will trust him till he quits paying. Remember Jesus \ldblquote made Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. ' ' \cf1\ul Php_2:7\cf0\ulnone . It was this self-denial that made Jesus; though He \ldblquote had not where to lay His head.\rdblquote The combination of personal poverty, decency, honesty, and manhood, is the most valuable asset in the minister's life. Nowhere has a rich and stylish minister been of great value. \ldblquote They left all 29 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par and followed Him\rdblquote is the greatest comment on the early apostles. We are not doing it now; but we ought to do it. The world never needed it more than at the present. Crowns bejewelled above the British crown in the tower of London await the families of ministers who live with him in the plain and simple life that helps the poor to be honest as well as pious. Extravagance is one of the dangers to religion of this age, and the minister's personal life counts for more than pastoral visit or sermon in this danger field. Extravagance in expenditures leads to extravagance in every line of life. \par \par Those who overspend will overspeak overlive and overpromise. No minister can preach with the incubus of debt upon him, nor with his family leading in the fashions of the day; downright honesty crowns learning, piety, and personal character. The minister cannot excel in business, or luxury, or even learning; his only field is to excel in personal life; and here is the field of largest opportunity to represent Jesus Christ. \par \par 30 \par \par \par IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE \par \par The minister is no less a social being than other men and his associations and affiliations will enter into his value among men. Jesus attended places of worship, funerals, marriage feasts, dinners, and suppers in private homes, and entered into the social life of His day, with all the ardor and sincerity of His nature. Ministers may follow His example in all the relations that represent the real life of their age; but their ministerial value is reduced when they seek popularity through doubtful associations in social entertainments, political contests, or sporting games. Paul entered the theater, but not as a spectator; \ldblquote when the city was filled with confusion, they caught Paul's companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, and rushed them into the theater. \ldblquote When Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. ' ' \cf1\ul Act_19:29\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul Act_19:30\cf0\ulnone . The minister need not spend all 'his strength in war on dancing, card-playing, and theater-going from his pulpit; but his social life must be a rebuke to all wrong-doing and an example for all sane living. \par \par 51 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par No rule can be fixed for his social relations except he must not subject \ldblquote himself to adverse criticism by the pious nor be used as an excuse by the godless. Jesus identified himself with no sects, held Himself aloof from no class, lived worthy of the imitation of all and taught purity of speech, purity of thought, and love unfeigned. The minister may exercise his political rights as a citizen, but should avoid partizan controversies and associations, lest he divide the flock. His patriotism should never obscure his Christianity and his political views should not destroy his spiri tual influence over men. His personal rights and ministerial duties do not conflict; but in all social relations his ministerial obligations are the largest of all. \par \par Paul was a great scholar, and a great Roman, but he was greatest as a minister. \ldblquote\ldblquote What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.\rdblquote \cf1\ul Php_3:8\cf0\ulnone . Political, educational, and reformatory opportunities should have no attraction for the real minister of Christ. \par \par There may be ministers called to these fields; let 32 \par \par \par IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE \par \par every minister weigh that question well. Paul exhorts Timothy not to participate in \ldblquote other men's sins\rdblquote in the selection of ministers. He would thereby adopt the sins he overlooked. \par \par Then Paul exhorts him, \ldblquote Keep thyself pure.\rdblquote \par \par The personal life of the minister is the real asset in his ministry. The winebibber cannot teach temperance, the fornicat!or virtue, the debtor honesty, the spendthrift economy, nor the despondent man hope. The gospel runs through the minister as the city water through the earth and its purity will be determined by the minister's life. Amos came from the vineyard; Elisha from the plow; Peter from the fishing smack; Matthew from the receipt of custom; and Paul from the office of a persecutor; but they all represented personalities of great strength and loyalty to Jesus Christ. The schools cannot make ministers; they can only educate them. We think of armies, navies, and forts as our national defenses; but the real strength of the nation is in the shops, stores, fields, schools, churches, and homes of the \par 33 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par interior where the arts of peace move on in regular activities, and souls fill temples with quiet praises. It is not the outward utterances from pulpit and platform that represent the real power of the ministry; but away back in the domain of 'his inner thought and affection, where character is crystallized and life is fashioned, that the minister becomes mighty in influence over men. The wealth of the world is not in the rumbling volcano sending forth smoke and fire; but in the quiet mountains where God fashioned the coal, the iron, the lead, and the gold. The volcano attracts the reporter, the mine the investor. Ministers need not court popularity nor the applause o multitudes; let them, rather, furnish thought, example, devotion, and character worthy of approbation and imitation. Men who have undertaken to give us the ministry of Christ have called their writings \ldblquote The Life of Christ.\rdblquote All biography follows this example. It is \ldblquote The Life of Cromwell,\rdblquote \ldblquote The Life of George Washington,\rdblquote \ldblquote The Life of Luther,\rdblquote \ldblquote The Life\rdblquote should be the largest, the best thing of \par the minister. \par \par 34 \par \par \pard\cf2\kerning32\f3\fs23\par } #\b0\f2\fs24\par The minister's study and personal life I enter into his pulpit ministrations as ^ seed and cultivation enter into the harvest. The pulpit is not the place where sermons are made, but the place of their delivery. The minister in his pulpit is more than preacher, though that is his chief function. \par \par In his pulpit he is the leader of devotion, the director of worship, the representative of all the activities of the congregation. The prayers, the reading of the Scripture, the music, the attention and reverence of the people, all enter into the ministrations of the pulpit. The minister in his pulpit is the conductor of all forces that pray, sing, preach, offer gifts, and worship. \par \par Old Testament preachers had messages from God to the people. Jonah was instructed to \ldblquote preach unto Nineveh the preaching that / bid 37 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par thee.\rdblquote 3:2. The prophets were preachers of righteousness to the people. John the Baptist preached af$ter long retirement and great preparation. Jesus Himself spent most of His life in preparation for His brief ministry. Pulpit is used once in the Bible. \ldblquote Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and Ezra opened the book. ' ' \cf1\ul Neh_8:4\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul Neh_8:5\cf0\ulnone . John and Jesus spoke often in the open and Jesus used Peter's boat for a pulpit. The pulpit now stands for the whole ministry of the Kingdom. The minister, in his pulpit, stands at the center of his ministry. What he utters there determines his value in the kingdom. Here the public hears him. \par \par weighs him, and renders its verdict. \par \par The minister should be himself in his pulpit. \par \par He is neither an actor nor an elocutionist. He should not try to ape other ministers in thought, manner, or style. His own individuality is the only usable quantity for the Holy Spirit. \par \par Unless God utters a message through Him that could not be uttered by any ot%her; he is self\par 38 \par \par \par IN HIS PULPIT \par \par deceived or a deceiver. His personality is nowhere more conspicuous or more potent than in his pulpit. You may not be able to define the strength of his ministry. You cannot tell whether it is in the man or the message. It is really in both; and the one would be powerless without the other. The name of Paul is powerful. He was a distinct personality touching not only his own time, but all times. The printing press cannot eliminate the minister, gigantic as the printing press is. \ldblquote It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believed.\rdblquote \cf1\ul 1Co_1:21\cf0\ulnone . Paul says: \ldblquote My preaching was not with enticing words but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.\rdblquote \par \par \cf1\ul 1Co_2:4\cf0\ulnone . Preaching differs from all other human utterances in the source of the message and the character of the minister. Scientific or historic truth may be found and delivered without& reference to the character of the author. \par \par An orator may portray great historic characters or events and be an atheist; but a sermon must be uttered by clean lips. It is this high quality \par 39 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par of character that makes the pulpit stand for all that is purest, highest, and holiest. Job asked, \ldblquote Who can bring an unclean thing out of an unclean?\rdblquote \ldblquote Not one.\rdblquote Isaiah speaks of himself as a man of unclean lips, dwelling among a people of unclean lips. Then he speaks of a seraphim bringing a live coal from the altar and laying it upon his mouth saying: \ldblquote This hath touched thy lips and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin is purged.\rdblquote Then Isaiah was prepared to say: ' ' Send me. ' ' The pulpit is not so much a place as a ministry. In coining money the metal must be of a certain fineness, a standard required by government. \par \par It must have the stamp of the nation that coins it. \ldblquote W'hose image and superscription is this?\rdblquote \par \par The mint is the coining and stamping agency of government. The minister is called of God and ordained by the Spirit. In his pulpit he is himself called and ordained to this high office of preaching. No human society can make ministers. Counterfeiters never use pure metal, and man-made ministers are spurious 40 \par \par \par IN HIS PULPIT \par \par because man is not clothed with authority to call men into the ministry. Amos says: \ldblquote As I followed the flock, the Lord said unto me, Go prophesy unto my people.\rdblquote Isaiah was associated with kings and courts and God called him through a vision in the temple and said, \ldblquote Go and tell this people.\rdblquote Saul's conversion and call to the ministry seem to have been almost simultaneous. Remaining with the disciples a few days in Damascus, \ldblquote straightway he preached Christ in the synagogue. ' ' All his previous history pointed in an opposite direction. The ministe(r is, therefore, a unique personality, differing essentially from all others in his call, his qualifications, his work, and his influence. \par \par In all ages men have respected their priests, followed their teachings, imitated their example, and feared their rebukes and warnings. \par \par This is conspicuous in all pagan religions Confucianism, Mohammedanism, and Mormonism illustrate this. Roman Catholicism confirms this claim. Protestantism is less so because of \par 41 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par the democratic ideas that dominate it; though the Protestant pulpit largely fashions the moral and social ideals and activities of the age. \par \par Hardly any institution can stand against the combined pulpit of Protestantism. Louisiana lottery disappeared under pulpit protest, and the saloon is doomed if the pulpit continues its \ldblquote cry against\rdblquote all wrong-doing. Jonah's method is not antiquated it is the most modern pulpit utterance because it is God's method. The p)ulpit must \ldblquote cry against\rdblquote all wrong-doing. It would be a shame on the nation and a disgrace to the pulpit to make war on flies and mosquitoes and leave the saloon and the brothel. The minister in his pulpit can \ldblquote cry against\rdblquote all evils in terms of scripture and by authority of the Holy Ghost. He may say a \ldblquote sinful nation,\rdblquote a \ldblquote people laden with iniquity,\rdblquote or \ldblquote thou art the man. ' ' The pulpit is no place for trivial speech, personal complaints, petty lectures on small questions; but the place for exposition of God's word, the treatment of great moral themes, the 42 \par \par \par IN HIS PULPIT \par \par appeal to the \ldblquote highest in human hearts, the comfort of those in trouble, and the invitation to all to come to Jesus for pardon and life. \par \par The pulpit is the place of authority; here the minister can say: \ldblquote Thus saith the Lord,\rdblquote as the judge on the bench can say: ' ' This is the l*aw. ' ' \par It is this association of the minister and the pulpit that adds the weight of divine authority to his message. \ldblquote What the judge says in the store does not have the weight of what he utters on \ldblquote the bench\rdblquote in the courtroom. \par \par The minister should have \ldblquote his pulpit\rdblquote the pulpit that is open to him and for which he is responsible. His place is not in commerce, politics, the market-place. His ministry should not be subordinate to some other avocation; all other avocations should be subordinate to his pulpit. Paul was a tent-maker; but preaching was his business. His pulpit was not in one house, one place, or even one nation. His whole life from his conversion was pulpit ministration. Prisons became temples, wrecks became pulpits, scourges anointing for wider fields of 43 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par usefulness. His learning put him before kings and philosophers, and his courage enabled him to speak to the mob from the stairway +in the castle in Jerusalem. His religious convictions and utterances opened the way for his great messages. If beaten and dragged out of the city and cast upon the garbage heap on the dumping hill, he would come back by the grace of God arid go on his way preaching the gospel. \par \par Paul calls this ministry a \ldblquote high calling of God in Christ Jesus;\rdblquote \cf1\ul Php_3:14\cf0\ulnone , or, \ldblquote heavenly calling. \ldblquote It is difficult to conceive of one called into the ministry and not called into a pulpit. \par \par Jonah was called and sent to Nineveh; Amos was sent to his nation; Nathan was sent to David; Moses was sent to Egypt; Peter was sent to Caesarea; Paul was sent to many cities and countries. It would seem a contradiction for the United States to call men into the navy and never assign them, when prepared, to a ship. It seems reasonable that men called of God to preach will be called of God to a field. Is it not possible for ministers to defeat God's plans and 44 \,par \par \par IN HIS PULPIT \par \par their own welfare by choosing a field or waiting for a ' ' good opening. ' ' Is not the smallest field large enough for the largest minister? Cornelius and Peter were both under the direction of the same Spirit. Do not churches decide what sort of a minister will suit them without asking God to direct them in their choice? The pulpit is commercialized, socialized, and educated away from God. Minister and people are making contracts, and trying to run the church on \ldblquote business principles.\rdblquote \ldblquote What do they mean by ''business principles?\rdblquote Do they mean surrender to the will of God, or do they mean that which will satisfy their own notions and carry out their own ideas? The pulpit is nothing unless it represent God. \par \par The minister in 'his pulpit should never court popularity nor fear criticism. These are the Schylla and Charybdis between which ministers must pass after escaping other Sirens of the world. Popularity is a gi-ant monster that greedily devours the worldly-minded. How often have we heard of the ' ' popular minister. ' * \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par Can that be said of any of the prophets or apostles? Was not their ministry a keen knife in the sores of men and of nations? Is it not said that \ldblquote the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church?\rdblquote Is not popularity the dream of vanity? To court popularity is to court a phantom and to lose out in the end. Sincerity endures longer than popularity. All popular fashions and popular men are short-lived. \par \par Criticism is the other rock of danger. Some ministers resent it; others are overwhelmed by it. The best way is to profit by it. It may enlighten the wise minister, show him his weakness, reveal his opportunity. It may be the result of green-eyed envy, ignorance, selfishness, or ambition. No matter what the source of criticism, it may be treated in such a good spirit, answered in such a faithful life, contradicted by such useful se.rvice as to really develop the stronger powers of t'he minister. \par \ldblquote Jesus was oppressed, and He was afflicted; yet He opened not His mouth.\rdblquote \par \par \par \par 46 \par \par \par IN HIS PULPIT \par \par Pilate said to Jesus: \ldblquote Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?\rdblquote \ldblquote He answered him to never a word. ' ' Jesus did not eo.urt the best nor fear the worst. His pulpit had a cross in it, but He never left His pulpit. \par \par A crossless pulpit leads to a crownless life. \par \ldblquote God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.\rdblquote Paul did not glory simply in the fact that Jesus suffered on the cross; but that he had Ms cross; for he said: \ldblquote I am crucified with Christ.\rdblquote \cf1\ul Gal_6:14\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul Gal_2:20\cf0\ulnone . He gloried that he was counted worthy to suffer in His name. The minister must have his cross in his pulpit and if cruel criticism nails him/ to it, he may glory in it; but he should not challenge criticism any more than he should court popularity. His ministry should strive to do the will of God without reference to flattery or complaint. Sincerity and impartiality will add much to the pulpit. \par \par The minister's pulpit should speak the word Paul's advice: \ldblquote Preach the word, be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, 47 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.\rdblquote \par \par \cf1\ul 2Ti_4:2\cf0\ulnone . \ldblquote All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.\rdblquote \par \par \cf1\ul 2Ti_3:16\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul 2Ti_3:17\cf0\ulnone . Modern preaching is often lacking in the WORD. Fads and fancies, reforms; and social service, charities and endowments, political problems and scientific q0uestions, the topics of the day, furnish themes for pulpit treatment. These may all be used to illustrate the Word, but not to substitute for the Word. \par \par The Word is the only thing \ldblquote that is quick and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ' ' \cf1\ul Heb_4:12\cf0\ulnone . Other topics pierce the head, the word the heart; never mind that the \ldblquote time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts will 48 \par \par \par IN HIS PULPIT \par \par heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. ' ' \cf1\ul 2Ti_3:3-5\cf0\ulnone . The pulpit needs the genuine minister in this age. Any man can run with the crowd, drift with the current, respond to the tendency of the age. It takes an Amos or an Isaiah to rebuke the sin of the age. No intellectual sword can conquer the evils of the age; only the sword of the Spirit can cut to the vitals and win men to God. The pulpit is not a show window to be changed with every new fashion that invades society; it is a lighthouse sending forth rays of light the same in every age. No matter what weather or what ships pass the light is the same; this is the one institution that must send out rays of spiritual light. The lighthouse tower stands on a firm foundation, surrounded by shifting sands or changing waters, and sends out its light over 49 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par calm or raging seas; so the pulpit is not changed by the evanescent movements among men; but holds up the word of God to light up the pathway of safety for voyagers over life's sea amid storms and darkness. \par \par \par 50 \par \par \par \par \pard\cf2\kerning32\f3\fs23\par } ))dO A 04 - The Minister In His Parish{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Ari2uM-A 03 -The Minister In His Pulpit{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f3\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\hyphpar0\s1\sb240\sa120\tx0\lang3082\f0\fs24\tab\lang1033\b\f1\fs32 CHAPTER THREE \par \tab IN HIS PULPIT \par \tab THE MINISTER IN HIS PULPIT \par \tab\par \pard\nowidctlpar"3al;}{\f2\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f3\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\hyphpar0\s1\sb240\sa120\tx0\lang3082\f0\fs24\tab\lang1033\b\f1\fs32 CHAPTER FOUR \par \tab IN HIS PARISH \par \tab THE MINISTER IN HIS PARISH \par \tab\par \tab\par \pard\nowidctlpar\b0\f2\fs24 THE minister is more than a preacher. His work is not Sunday service; it is all week labor. It is no small task to perform the duties of a minister. Jesus came into contact with large groups, small groups, families, and individuals. Jesus was a minister. \par \par There are some preachers who are not ministers. Men who teach, or edit, or manage institutions, or fill diplomatic places. Some of them are great preachers great occasion preachers. \par \par But this address is dealing with ministers, not preachers only. A good minister is larger than a great preacher, because he deal4s with more phases and needs of humanity. The great ministers of the world have been great teachers and great burden-bearers. Jesus was the great example. He said Himself: \ldblquote I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.\rdblquote Paul's 53 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par description of his experience in \cf1\ul 2Co_11:23\cf0\ulnone , ' ' Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep: in journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.\rdblquote The modern minister is not exposed to the same kind of per5ils as Paul; but as large a variety; and the care of his parish is an everpresent weight that tries his strength of body, mind, and heart. Opposition to the gospel is less than in the past, but indifference is almost as perilous to the kingdom. \par \par Pride, vanity, self-indulgence, and luxury, stand in the way of spiritual progress. In fact, ministers themselves are in danger of loss of \par \par IN HIS PARISH \par \par spiritual vitality by reason of the ease by which they are surrounded. If any worker needs robustness, a little hardship, it is the minister. \par \par Parishioners often think more about the minister's dress than his sermons; more about his manners than his character; more about his living than his life. \par \par Ministers ought to identify themselves with their congregations so as to enter into all their experiences. Jesus \ldblquote emptied Himself\rdblquote and took upon Him the form of a servant.\rdblquote But this is not the modern idea; it is that the minister must 6be a \ldblquote good mixer.\rdblquote Jesus was no mixer. Light does not mix with darkness. \par \par Right does not mix with wrong. The doctor does not mix with diseased ones. Jesus came close to all sorts of sinners; but He maintained His matchless purity. His sympathy was so genuine, His love was so great, His life was so helpful, that the common people heard him gladly. The minister should come close to men, but not mix with men in the sense of a \ldblquote hail fellow well met.\rdblquote There is a dignity and a 55 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par gentleness, a loftiness and a humility that goes with every true ministry. The minister should not be so high as to make the lowest stand in awe of him; nor so low as to make the highest feel no moral fear of him. The best should love him and the worst should respect him; and all should feel at home in his presence. \par \par You have seen the cart going about the city gathering up the waste and unsanitary heaps piled up on streets and back 7alleys. There is much accumulation of trouble, doubt, and misunderstanding in every congregation. Heaps of gossip, piles of imagination, pools of bad feeling, thoughts and hates that poison the social atmosphere and sicken church members. \par \par The minister is a \ldblquote carter\rdblquote going among his people to gather up this waste and this deleterious matter. Sometimes he need say but very little. His value is in \ldblquote his ability to listen sympathetically, to load up his mental cart with what overloaded lives will tell him. Men cannot carry their own burdens alone; that is the reason Jesus \ldblquote carries our sorrows.\rdblquote Many \par 56 \par \par \par IN HIS PARISH \par \par people have troubles they dare not tell their neighbors; it would make matters worse like throwing bones, cans, feathers, and egg shells into the neighbor's yard; but it is safe to tell it to the minister; and the minister should be so near his parish that all will feel like telling their inner life to 8him. When he leaves the house he \ldblquote carts away\rdblquote their troubles. If he dumps it out in the neighborhood it only makes matters worse; his dumping-ground should be beyond the pale of his parish. There is no better and no larger work than this for the minister to perform. Many a troubled life has been relieved of burdens and sorrows, in this way, by the minister who did nothing but listen. \par \par Broken-hearted mothers with drunken husbands, wayward sons, disgraced daughters, have found the friendly and sympathetic minister a source of sweet comfort as they have poured into his ears woes enough to crush life out of them. Pastoral calls in elegant parlors, teas and dinners in mansions, where intelligence and hospitality feast the minister, are not \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par the only places where the minister's life counts in his parish; though these furnish him an opportunity to extend help to hearts that carry burdens sometimes larger than their fortunes. \par \par But his e9ars may be open to other than tales of woe and current topics. Many men in the church, and out of the church, have A'iews and experiences which they love to tell to the minister. They have brooded over some passage of scripture, some personal vision, some business or domestic experience, until it burns in their being. The minister is the one to whom they love to tell their story. It may help the man to be more religious and the minister to preach more effectively. His teaching is broadened and deepened, his power over men is increased because they have led him into new fields and new opportunities. No experience has much force till it is told to others. Witnessing for Jesus Christ strengthens the believer. \ldblquote Go home to thy friends and tell what great things Jesus has done for thee.\rdblquote Even telling objections may lead to acceptance. Causes win in 58 \par \par \par IN HIS PABISH \par \par debate by allowing the opposition to speak. It will make an angry man friendly to allow him to abu:se you in his own angry way. He talks of his anger. The mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart; and hot words are like pus from a wound let them out and get relief. \par \par Do not undervalue ear service; it is not like \ldblquote lip service\rdblquote an abomination. Jesus always permitted the afflicted, the troubled ones, to tell Him their story. He even permitted the men to tell on the woman; but they went out ashamed of themselves and He said to her, ' ' Go and sin no more;\rdblquote and the presumption is that she did not. \par \par The minister in his parish should be benevolent, not only helping the destitute, but in bearing with peculiar people. Some good people are eccentric and almost every parish has this class. They are always suggesting what the minister and the church ought to do. They have some pet plan that no one could work. \par \par They hold strange views of certain passages of scripture. They tell you why the church fails. \par \par -.9 \par \par \par THE MINISTE;R \par \par They know certain bad things that they cannot tell. They have been ignored or mistreated by a leading member. They contribute nothing but words. They come just before preaching with new tales of calamity. They stuff you with stuff. Now the minister must use benevolence in judgment, discretion in treatment, and love within. This quality in the minister has to be cultivated. He must be all things to all men. \par \par Not do as all men do, but be adequate to all men, adjustable to all men. The hardest task for the minister is in his parish. The complaints and pessimism, the excuses and indifference, the immorality and stinginess, the domestic infelicities and dishonesty, continually fret his righteous soul; but he must endure all for the gospel's sake, and not his own. In order to meet these conditions in patience, sweet spirit, and hope, he will need much prayer, much spiritual help. \par \par He must have no pets, no partial feelings, no special friends. His parish should be his ministeror. The principle of giving is the lesson to impress, and the manner of giving left to the individual who gives. Do not provoke the unjust criticism that the preacher is \ldblquote always after money.\rdblquote Sensible men know that money is essential to the 2 \par \par \par IN HIS PARISH \par \par maintenance and extension of the gospel and the cultivation of a sensitive conscience and a worshipful soul will bear fruit in due time. \par \par Human distinctions often bar the way of real ministerial help. The rich embarrass the minister by their surroundings and the poor excite a morbid sympathy; both alike need spiritual sympathy and help; and that is the very thing the minister can give. Jesus set a good example when He went to the house of rich Zacchaeus. \par \par That man had no friends; and it is too often true of the rich; but Jesus went as a minister and his heart surrendered and salvation came to his house. Put the ministerial visit to the rich in place of the social call. Their hearts long for genuine spiritual interest. Do not think the poor want bread; they want the bread of life; they want soul-touch, human touch, a friendly interest in their life. Nobody can give this so well as the minister. The poor should never be embarrassed in the presence of the minister, and the minister should never be embarrassed in the presence of the rich. Human 63 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par fear and human taste have marred many a minister's usefulness. He is not dealing with conditions and environments alone; but with souls; and \ldblquote all souls are mine\rdblquote saith the Lord. \par \par It is this soul-power and this soul-touch that carries influence in the parish for good. Many can resist argument who dare not resist life. \par \par Many reject appeals who surrender to love. \par \par The minister's love wins where his learning fails. The heart is the center of being, while mind is only a function of life. \par \par \par \par \par \pard\cf2\kerning32\f3\fs23\par } @par His relation to other ministers is one of equality. No matter what education and what forms of ordination induct them into church relations the highest position is that to which ministers are called and ordained by the Holy Ghost. Any superiority claimed by one class of ministers, above another class of ministers, is of human origin and unsupported by Scripture or historic facts. The highest call and the 67 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par highest ordination is by the Spirit of God. \par \par Paul was never ordained by the church; in fact, the church refused to accept him at first. This principle of equality should be recognized by all ministers. The question of a closed pulpit might be justified by church polity, but not by the word of God. Jesus went into Jewish synagogues though the synagogue was not orthodox in the gospel sense. It is not a question of intellectual orthodoxy, but of spiritual life. \par \par Other ministers should be accorded genuine recognition in our hearts and inA our churches. \par \par The one should be as open as the other. \par \par The presumption is that this subject includes ministers of one's own denomination as well as other denominations. It includes all ministers of Jesus Christ. The minister's relation to them should be fraternal, frank, co-operative. Congregations follow ministers more than either knows. Unbrotherly ministers estrange congregations and weaken Christianity. It is not the divisions of Protestantism so much that weaken its force as the ignorance and unbrotherliness 68 \par \par \par IN HIS COMMUNITY \par \par of ministers; and that sometimes inside the pale of the same denomination. Petty jealousies, unholy ambitions, political scheming, and hostile attitudes have defiled the ministry and reduced church efficiency. Fraternal relations must not be feigned, but frank, growing out of heartfelt genuine brotherly love. \par \par This feeling may be cultivated like any other Christian grace; and no minister should wait for others toB make the advance. If snubbed, do not recognize it. Persist in brotherly advances and win out in your own soul, if you do not with other ministers. Jesus did not agree with all men, nor was He well received by all; but He was genuinely fraternal and affectionate towards all men. Ministers should be known, as t'he early Christians were known, by their love for one another. Co-operation is a law of nature, a law in modern business, and should be a law among ministers. The Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America has undertaken the Herculean task of cultivating this principle, not only among ministers, but 69 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par among denominations; and wonderful results are flowing from this movement. In every community, ministers should co-operate in all common interests of the kingdom; such as temperance, Sabbath observance, social virtue, charity. Some things are too large for one minister, yet easy for all. In some communities ministers are less cordial than business mCen or society women; but it should be remembered, always that ministers are responsible for the unbrotherly feeling, unrighteous treatment, and unchristian spirit among churches and people. \par \par Negative wrong often counteracts positive good. \par \par Individual churches lose as well as whole communities by ministerial aloofness or antagonism. The gospel lived is more potent than the gospel preached. This is seen in the life of Jesus who came to fulfil the law. His personal life was more than the ten commandments or the Sermon on the Mount. \par \par Ministerial association is essential to these conditions. It is not time wasted for ministers to meet and exchange views and cultivate per\par 70 \par \par \par IN HIS COMMUNITY \par \par sonal attachments. They will learn from one another and inspire one another. It will harmonize their pulpit ministrations and justify their association. \par \par Churches watch ministers in their relation to other churches than their own. Proselytism is Done inexcusable fault in ministers. Were it right to win members from one church to another, it would add nothing to the Kingdom. \par \par It is ecclesiastical gambling, one gains, another loses; nothing is added. Besides this, it disgusts intelligence not to say piety. The minister who enters another's flock and wins members is a thief and a robber. If members change, for reasons of their own, it is their matter and no blame attaches to the minister. \par \par It is the minister's business to look after the lost and all know there are many of them. His work is to save sinners; membership is secondary. This remark is made because it is one of the hard lessons to learn and harder to practice. \par \par In revival results it is difficult for the minister to be willing for converts to go to another 71 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par church, but let him grow in that direction. The difficulty is not in winning members, but in holding and developing them. \par \par Consideration for other chEurches, in planning for one's own, should enter into the equation of relation to them. It would be discourteous to hold some great social or musical affair in the midst of a revival in another church, in the same community. As far as possible all plans outside of regular services should include other churches. Churches should be neighborly institutions. Even social courtesy would call off a dance next to a home darkened by a death. \par \par Churches are really in a position to set standards of social courtesy and to do it in such genuine fashion as to teach great lessons by great kindnesses. Ministers should keep in touch with other churches and set an example worthy of imitation. \par \par The minister can do much good by visits 1 to services in other churches. Congregations appreciate it more than ministers imagine. \par \par While modern opinion feels that ministers are 72 \par \par \par IN HIS COMMUNITY \par \par not held in the same respect as in former days, yet that view is not sustaineFd by facts any more t'han that religion is declining, because people do not shout in meeting. Intelligence reduces noise and distance. Ministers are closer to the people now, but not less regarded, if their lives represent real ministerial worth and fraternity. \par \par A visit to a funeral, a special service, a marriage, any meeting is almost a personal visit to the individual members. The church is ignorant of herself and this multiplies the spiritual reasons for such visits and intercourse. The minister is more than an individual and must do most of his service in a public capacity. \par \par Exchange of pulpits, where church polity does not bar the way, has value in this matter of enlightenment and fortification. Business associations look to the common good and churches need this for progress. Any man or institution that lives within itself becomes casehardened. Even crabs throw off their shells to grow larger; and the chick comes out of the shell to grow in the barnyard. We might intro\par 73 G\par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par duee interchurch lines as well as interurban lines. The ocean flows toward the rivers and the rivers toward the tides; a stagnant sea would mean a dead sea; and a stagnant river would mean a river of death; flowing together they enrich the valleys and give health to continents. \ldblquote When a minister turns a good current into another church that church meets it with a purifying tide and good feeling. Never extend ministerial courtesy for popularity: do it because it is Christian. \par \par The minister is related to the community as well as to churches. The community is the largest body near by him. There is nothing so keen-eyed and so heartless as the public. It never nails its victims to the cross with tack hammers. It wields a sledge hammer with the arm of a Hercules and drives great spikes through its victim. But the gentleness of giant strength is the tenderest of all. There is no water so gentle and so graceful in its movements as the thin wavelets ofH the mighty ocean as they smoothe the tiny grains of sand on the 74 \par \par \par IN HIS COMMUNITY \par \par white strand. A baby may paddle in the gentle waters. The sun would consume the world as your stove the paper you throw into it; yet his beams touch the tiniest flower with a gentleness that dries up the dewdrop in its bright face and fills its life with sweetness. The big fireman lifts the babe from the burning house with hands that might grace an angel; though with those same strong arms he seizes the resisting burglar and leads him to prison. That huge thing we call \ldblquote the public\rdblquote passes judgment on ministers and judges Christianity by them. The public reads papers, men, current events. The public does not read the Bible. Ministers, Sunday-school teachers, invalids, and decrepits read the Bible. The public reads the \ldblquote living epistles read and known by all men.\rdblquote The ministers are the pages read most thoroughly and most often. Here is the minister's largeIst opportunity. He is the latest edition of Christianity. He circulates in society. They discuss him around the fireside, in the political meeting, in the saloon. He is not simply a clergyman, he 75 \par \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par is a man of God. The minister cannot preach to the community from his pulpit. Many people never enter church. He cannot visit every home, the task is beyond any one person. How shall he reach the community? By a life that contains all the essential elements of Christian manhood. Is he lazy? The community knows it. Does the ledger show him in debt? Every body knows it. Is he socially indiscreet? It is the community gossip's feast. Does he neglect the poor and ignorant? The air is full of it. \par \par No matter what he is, or what he is not; he is known and many estimate the gospel and the church by him. Here is a field large enough for all his power of influence. He need not know more about any one thing than anybody else, but he should know about more things than aJny other person in the community. His life must interpret his teaching, and his experience must touch God and humanity, not a few people. \par \par Jesus saved but one man in Gadara, but He touched the whole community. \par \par 70 \par \par \par IN HIS COMMUNITY \par \par The minister may visit the sick, bury the dead, and help the destitute outside of his parish, with the same sympathy and willingness as he ministers to those in his own congregation. \par \par Respond to all calls of real need and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, and not in the interest of your own church. \par \par The minister does not have to own property, do business, hold office, or belong to lodges to fill his true relation to the community. He is called to the task of living before the community all the virtues and graces that can cleanse the heart, purify politics, make honest business, expel evils from society, and cultivate a sensitive conscience. He deals with individuals; but his largest work is for the community. A negative view of his relation to the community will more clearly express his value. Eliminate the minister entirely from the community; let him fail in honesty, virtue, industry, or humility, and see what remains. He is a moral force, a spiritual personality, a divinely chosen teacher, a living example in the community. Every 77 \par \par THE MINISTER \par \par working man ought to do better work, every 'home ought to be happier, every business house ought to be more honest, every neighbor ought to be more neighborly, every life ought to be 1 purer, because the minister lives and moves and preaches in the community. His value is not in what he has, what he does, or what he says, but in what he is. A live horse has a value all his own. A dead horse does a damage all his own. \par \par The minister need not get rich himself, but the community ought to be richer because he is in it. \par \par 78 \par \par \par \lang2058\par \par \par \pard\lang3082\f0\par \cf1\lang2058\f3\fs23\par } ,,SwA 05 -The Minister In His Community{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Georgia;}{\f3\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\hyphpar0\s1\sb240\sa120\tx0\lang3082\f0\fs24\tab\lang1033\b\f1\fs32 CHAPTER FIVE \par \tab IN HIS COMMUNITY \par \tab THE MINISTER IN HIS COMMUNITY \par \tab\par \pard\nowidctlpar\b0\f2\fs24\par THE minister's sphere is larger than his own parish. \ldblquote The field is the world,\rdblquote \par and he is related to the whole field. It would be as illogical as it is unscriptural for a minister to care for his own parish and leave the regions beyond to the missionaries in foreign lands. But this address deals chiefly with those near-by relations that involve the minister's visible life. \par \?