Apologies: Counsel to Young Ministers
APOLOGIES.—Do not make them, dear young brethren, just entering upon the noblest of vocations—the Christian ministry. Your self-respect, respect for your audience, the high character of your office, all require that you should feel the solemnity of the occasion, the fitness of the theme, and your ability to improve the opportunity. If you have failed to qualify yourself for the service, an apology will not benefit you—it will excite distrust or commiseration, and thus rob the cause of a certain power. Better fail once, twice, many times, and let these failures teach you a salutary lesson, than to get into a habit which so ill befits the pulpit, excites too much personal interest on the part of your friends, and tempts some in the congregation to suspect your sincerity. Do not apologize, no matter what has happened. If it is your duty to be in the pulpit, it is your right to be there without a word of explanation or apology.