DUTIES OF OUR MINISTERS by Dudley Marvin Canright

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 15, 1876

DUTIES OF OUR MINISTERS.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

BY ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.

(Concluded.)

5. Objects to be accomplished by visiting. Very much has been said by our people about the importance of visiting, and justly; for it is the minister's most effective means of reaching the people, provided the visiting is done in the right manner. Like everything else, it may be done so as to amount to nothing, or be a positive injury; hence, there should be much care and great wisdom exercised in visiting. The simple fact that you have been to a house and stayed all night or spent a day there is no proof that good has been accomplished. Something beyond this is necessary. The minister must conduct himself in such a manner as to properly affect the family; the conversation must be such as to instruct and help them. Just being in a family and spending time in talking will amount to nothing. It is not talk simply that will tell. The minister goes into a family, has a good, sociable visit about the general topics of the day, offers a prayer himself, eats, drinks, sleeps, and goes away. What good has that done? None at all. He probably leaves the impression in the family that he is a clever, lazy, easy-going man, who is fully satisfied if he gets a good living. They will begrudge him what he has had, and cut down their Systematic Benevolence rather than pay it to such a man.

Again, a minister will meet with brethren and sisters or others, who can talk everlastingly without saying anything, who are idle themselves, always having plenty of time to talk, and they think the minister should have. They are ready to talk all the time—before breakfast, from breakfast to dinner, from dinner to meeting time, and after meeting is out till bed-time. Their object is not particularly to gain information or spiritual instruction, but simply to enjoy the great satisfaction of hearing themselves talk. Is it the duty of God's servant to idle away his time hour after hour, and day after day, with such persons? No; if he does his duty he will rebuke them for idleness and too much talk. He will set them an example of industry himself, and tell them that he cannot spend his time that way. Besides, good brethren

and sisters are frequently anxious to visit with the minister and talk about a great many things. They do not realize that he has many to talk with everywhere, and that his time ought to be valuable; hence they feel free to occupy his time in conversation that is not particularly beneficial or necessary. What is our duty in this respect? It seems to me to be very plain. If a man is able to instruct the people he must have some time in which to prepare.

When a minister goes into a family he should go there, not simply to obtain his food, lodging, and accommodations, but he should be very anxious to give some spiritual benefit to the family in return. In order to do this, he should inform himself of their condition, and upon what points they need help the most. A little observation will soon tell him how matters stand. Are the family heartily in the truth? If they are not, if there is any point, particularly, upon which they are in doubt or trial, then he should give such a turn to the conversation as to instruct and teach them upon that point. Does he go into families just inquiring after the truth? They will be anxious above everything to learn, perhaps, with regard to the Sabbath, nature of man, or something like that; or they may have a number of objections in their minds to be removed. Then that is the very thing to talk about. Get out your Bible, open it, and give them just as much truth as you can while with them.

If you are in a family of believers, do they have family prayer? If not, or if all do not take a part, that is an important subject. It should not be neglected. Is it not a shame that a minister will go into families of believers where they have no prayers at all, and still say nothing about it and make no effort to have them establish the family altar? Has he discharged his duty when he has prayed himself? What is he in this family for? Is it not for the very purpose of looking after these things and assisting individuals in them? Are they taking the periodicals? If not, here is a duty to be attended to. The minister can afford to spend one good hour's talk upon that subject. If it does not have effect that time, he should take it up the next time he comes. How about S. S.? Are they doing their duty in this respect? If not, here is another thing to talk about. Do they attend the prayer-meeting? Do they take part when they do go? Are they acquainted with the working of our institutions, and have they taken stock in them according to their ability? If not, here is something else to be looked after, and they should not be simply looked after once a year, but frequently.

Is every member of the family a Christian? If not, a personal talk should be had with each one. Seek an opportunity to talk with each alone if you can. Persons will talk much more freely. They expect you to do this. Many times they would like to talk with you, but hate to introduce a conversation themselves. They feel neglected and slighted if you do not. They lose confidence in your interest for them and for Christ if you do not. A personal conversation this way will frequently reveal feelings of which you were entirely ignorant. It will open the way for you to labor much more effectually in public. Why not act as wisely as a physician? Every patient he visits he questions personally and particularly with regard to all his symptoms and feelings; then he knows what to do for him. Why should we not do so, brethren? I believe our preaching would be much more effectual, and we could preach much more to the point, if we would do this. A direct and personal appeal will often move persons when nothing else will. Particularly should we endeavor to converse with the young.

We must also be careful not to show partiality in visiting among the brethren. Often it is very pleasant to go to the best house, where we will have the most conveniences, and stay there day after day without visiting at all, or, at the most, excuse ourselves by simply making short calls. Of course, if we are simply holding a two days' meeting with a church we cannot visit everybody, nor very many. But when we go into a family we should immediately give such a turn to the conversation as will benefit. We can in a proper manner soon ascertain the exact standing and feelings of the whole family. Then an earnest effort should be made to benefit them in some way. When you have done this, your duty is done. I do not mean by this that we should take no interest in the farm, stock, crops, and other matters of business which are of such great interest to them. It is right and important that we should show a deep interest in these things; but while we are talking on these matters we can always have the glory of God in view, and impress the minds of our brethren with their duty to him and to the cause. Do as the Lord did. Wherever he went, he always drew some lesson of religious duty from whatever came before his notice. Did he behold a farmer sowing wheat? What a beautiful lesson he drew from it. Did he see fishermen casting a net? What a moral he drew from that. Did he behold the lilies of the field, a grape vine, a shepherd or anything of the kind? He always turned it in some way to call the attention of his companions to their duty to God. Just so should we do on all occasions and everywhere. It is not only in meeting that men should think of God, but on their farms, while about their work, and in their houses.

6. It is the minister's duty to see that the ordinances are attended to, baptism administered and that the general discipline of the church is attended to. Suppose we appoint a Sabbath meeting with a church. Have we done our duty when we have simply preached a sermon or two and conducted a social meeting? No; this is not a tenth part of our duty. We should have our eyes open, and see, not only that we have done our duty, but that the elder, the deacon, the clerk, the s. s. treasurer, and all others are doing their duty. We should watch as those that must give an account. It is looking after these smaller things which makes the efficient minister. It often seems to me that it is downright shiftlessness and laziness, a disposition to get along as easy as possible and shift all the duties that he can avoid, that actuates the minister. That this is the spirit that actuates some of us, when we can pass from church to church with our Sabbath appointments and never attend to a single thing except simply preaching a little, is quite plain to be seen. I know we are very apt to say that it is because we have not the talent and ability; but I believe that in nine cases out of ten the real reason is, not a lack of ability, but a lack of disposition.

I am sorry to say that I have visited many churches in the past few months where they have not had the ordinances for several years, yet ordained ministers have visited these churches time after time. How the Lord can bless such labors I cannot see. It certainly cannot be a lack of ability that hinders them from attending to such duties as these.

7. And finally, brethren, there is one more thought which has made a deep impression upon my mind, to which I will here take the liberty to call your attention. Have you not all noticed, time and again, what good success many of our preachers have when they first go out to preach? The first year or two or three, they have excellent success. Church after church is raised up—one in most every place they go; but after this a change seems to come over them. They labor and labor, and but very little seems to be accomplished. This has been the case with a large list of our preachers whom I can name. What can be the cause of this? There certainly must be some cause. Surely, after preaching three or four years a minister ought to be better informed and have a better experience than when he first began. Naturally we should expect that we would have more and more success. Why is it, then, that the reverse is so often the case?

And another thing you cannot have failed to notice; it is not our strongest men, intellectually, who accomplish the most in the work. Very frequently it has been the case, and these cases are being repeated every season, that young men of very small talent and little or no experience go into new fields and accomplish several times more than these older and wiser men. To me the cause is evident. When these young men first start out, with them it is an important thing. They are exceedingly anxious to succeed. They have zeal and consecration to the work. They know that if they do succeed they have got to put forth every energy of their being; hence they go into it with a will. They feel an anxiety and burden for others. When a man feels that way he is sure to move somebody.

But there is another reason, and I think a more potent one, viz., these young men take up the simplest and plainest arguments which lay right upon the surface of the Bible, and which everybody can see at a glance. These they present with confidence and simplicity and urge and insist upon them over and over. These are always the arguments that move men. Long-spun, fine-haired, carefully prepared, and cautiously handled, deep subjects, in my humble opinion, never convert anybody. They may gain the admiration of hearers, but they never convict the conscience and stir the heart. Now, brethren, if such arguments are not more effectual than simple ones, why use them? Why not take the shortest and most pointed arguments which will do the most effectual work? This point has impressed my mind very forcibly for the last few years.

The best success I ever had in my life was during the first two or three years of my labors. It was when I could not possibly have given more than thirty or forty lectures. This would have exhausted all that I knew. In after years, since those simple arguments and scriptural proofs have been laid aside because they seemed to me too simple, and I have substituted in their place more argumentative discourses, I have had much less success. I believe that I shall return to my first mode of laboring. I have listened to the preaching of some of my young men who bring in from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty converts a year, and I notice that their arguments are not the most profound, but they are simple, pointed, stated with the strongest assurance, and everywhere intermingled with appeals for immediate action. The great mass of our hearers are of the common people. They are entirely unacquainted with even the simplest arguments of our faith; and because the proof text or the simple argument is a little stale with us is no reason why it is with them. No, we should endeavor to present it to them every time with just as much assurance, just as much confidence, and just as much freshness, as we did in the first sermon we preached. Brethren, herein lies our success. Abandon this fort and you are a weak man every time.

Do not dwell upon objections too much; there are a great many objections which we pick up here and there that nine-tenths of our hearers know nothing about till we present them ourselves from the stand. But we should endeavor to know what objections are really in the minds of our audience, and take them up and no others; and even these should always be answered in a short and positive way. A long, exhaustive argument on an objection makes that objection seem so much the greater in the minds of your hearers. They think it must be very weighty to deserve so much attention. First be sure yourself that the objection is not a sound one; then the more positiveness with which you assert that it is not, the better it will be for you. A square, positive assertion, put with confidence, will often have more effect than an hour's logical argument. Gain the confidence of your audience by proving your main points clearly and with positive Scripture statements. The rest can be disposed of in short order.

Furthermore, argument alone should not be wholly depended upon. Indeed, this is but a part of the means to be used. Get a man's heart warmed up, his feelings moved, his sympathies aroused, and you can convince him in five minutes of what you cannot, under other circumstances, persuade him of in a week's time. It is wonderful sometimes to see how easy you can convince a man's judgment when you get his heart touched. We must remember this in all our labors. In every argument, in every discourse, and always, mix a good share of tenderness, of exhortation, of appeal to the sympathies and consciences of your hearers. A man's sober, deliberate judgment is but one side of him, and this often the hardest side to approach. When you have tried this a spell, take him somewhere else. You will often find that he will yield quickly, and come to see things very plainly when the plainest argument would not move him at all.

Brethren, I am persuaded that the three special qualifications necessary for the successful minister are, strong faith, burning zeal, and untiring perseverance.