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The Vitality of the Ministry

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 2, 1910

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 87, No. 22.

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The Vitality of the Ministry

ONE remark made by Dr. John McNaughter in a recent address to the graduating class of the Allegheny Theological Seminary, is worthy of special emphasis. He says:—
God knows better than we that the vitality of the ministry hinges upon the vitality of the minister’s personal religion.
· Forgetting this great truth, the ministry of the great Christian church to-day has become in very many instances weak and powerless. The preaching of the gospel with too many has become a matter of theory only. Failure to experience the power of a changed life makes the preacher powerless to act the part of a minister of righteousness to those to whom he preaches. When one can go to the unsaved, and tell them that God will forgive their sins because he has forgiven his sins, that God will bring to their hearts joy, even as his own heart experiences the joy of believing,—then his message will be fraught with power. It is this kind of preaching that the world needs to-day.