Untitled article by James White

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 8, 1865

The Ministry. No. 4.

By James White

WITH Seventh-day Adventists there is a great want of ministers. New fields of labor are open, but no laborers to fill them. And many of our churches suffer for want of faithful ministerial help. These churches are faithful to the system of benevolence adopted by our people, still, perhaps, do not have the labors of an efficient minister more than a Sabbath and first-day in three months. Our present system of sustaining the ministry would humbly support twice the number of preachers now in the field. Besides this, there are brethren who would hand out their hundreds to sustain missionaries in new fields, if the faithful men were to be found to send.

There are several reasons for this want of gospel laborers among our people, some of which we will here mention:

1. The work of teaching and defending unpopular truth is great. It requires intelligence, piety, experience, patience, and great fortitude of mind. To preach the fables of our time, and drift upon the broad stream of popular opinion, is comparatively an easy task. But to boldly preach unpopular Bible truth, and meet, in an honorable and Christian manner, all that naturally results from such a course, is quite another thing. Many among us have attempted the latter, and have failed from want of sound experience, or want of piety, or want of moral courage, or from all these wants combined. Some of these would have succeeded, and made able ministers, if they had seen the magnitude and sacredness of the work, and had entered upon it, having counted the cost, and had moved forward in the work, cautiously, and in the fear of God.

2. Among those who have embraced the opinions of Seventh-day Adventists, a greater proportion of those who had before been ministers, have proved reckless, and unworthy of the confidence of our people, than any other class.

3. Our people are anxious to have the truth proclaimed, and in their zeal, urge men into the field before they have sufficient experience. These men make a few efforts to bring people to the truth, and, perhaps, make some mistakes, get discouraged, and give up the work. But if they could have been left with the Lord, he would in his own good time, have led them to the work, prepared to stand the fiery ordeal of entering upon the preaching of unpopular truth.

4. Some of our young ministers are ruined by flattery. From our publications they rapidly learn our positions, and soon are able, with a little practice, to deliver quite clear and forcible discourses. The people, instead of praising God, the author of harmonious truth, and instead of prizing the labors of the pioneers of the cause who have written out these great truths, praise to their very faces these striplings, who only repeat the thoughts of others. No young minister can stand against flattery, unless he cherishes in his bosom a settled hatred of any thing of the kind. The most disastrous errors of Seventh-day Adventists has been ruining young preachers with flattery, and at the same time cherishing a spirit of fault-finding, and neglecting the old hands in the cause, who have been true every time, while suffering in the infancy of the cause nearly everything but death. There are those who hold themselves ever in readiness to complain of those in whom they have reason to have confidence, and at the same time are ready to lavish their expressions of confidence, and their means upon comparative strangers, who have never been proved.

5. The practice of our people in some States of placing men, who have not been proved, in responsible positions, and opening to them the treasury for their full support. Some very humble and good men may not be injured by such a course, while most disheartening experience has proved that many are certain to be ruined by it. These are a few of the reasons why there is so great a want of ministers among Seventh-day Adventists.

Ministerial experience, like the experience of all Christians, is understood only as it is entered upon. The unconverted man forms very erroneous opinions of the Christian life. So he who enters the ministry may have as mistaken views of the work of the ministry. For the church to take such an one, destitute of experience in the labors and trials of a preacher's life, up into their arms, as if he were a proved and accredited minister of the gospel, and give him influence and support, as if he were such, is simply depriving him of the privilege of being led by the hand of the Lord through that fiery ordeal which Infinite Wisdom sees necessary to prove and prepare him to endure, and finally share the full confidence of the church. If God calls a man to preach, the call will be attended with impressions, solemn, deep, and abiding. Support will not be the first thing with him, but how he can discharge the fearful responsibilities being rolled upon him. And he will not throw himself into the gospel market, with the bantering offer, "I will preach for you, if you will give me support." If God has called him, his arms are about him still, and you need not fear lest he become discouraged because he cannot, at once, have free access to the treasury of the church. Is he in pressing want? Then let him work with his hands, as Paul did, and preach what time he can spare. God, who works so great a miracle as to call a fallen mortal, and by his Spirit and grace qualify him to bear the responsibilities of the ministry, can, if he pleases so to do, move on the hearts of certain ones in a miraculous manner to supply his wants. In short, we say, Let God lead with his own hand, those whom he calls to the ministry, through the fiery ordeal he has chosen, to prove them, establish them, and fit them, worthy of the confidence and support of the church. Depend upon it, none but God can do this work. Then meddle not with his work, lest you mar it. And while this progresses, the church standing in the light, will not be ignorant of it, but will speak and act with tender care.

We solemnly protest against novices and busy-bodies gathering around every young man, and talking to him about preaching, as though it were a matter of about the same importance as feeding the ducks. Stand back, friends, and keep your unworthy hands off from this holy work of God. This being in such a hurry to have men enter the ministry, with the full approval of the church, may be illustrated by the hasty folly of the lad, who, on observing that the hatching chickens had already got their bills in sight, supposed he could render efficient aid by pulling the shells quite off from them. But imagine his pain in witnessing the death of the unnaturally-hatched brood. The sad history of not a few men among us, who have undertaken the work of preaching, is: first, they were taken out of the hands of Him who was fitting them through crosses and trials for the work; second, in point of support and influence given them, they were treated as if fully proved; and third, they spiritually died casting an additional shade of discouragement upon the cause.

Seventh-day Adventists need laborers in the gospel field, and are willing to give them a good support. They should do all in their power, that they can safely do, to encourage the work of the ministry. The harvest is truly great, but the laborers are few. And while our people pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the field of harvest, they are ready to sustain such laborers. But it is no longer duty for them to liberally sustain ministers while being proved, when about three out of four prove unworthy of their confidence. We would here make a few suggestions relative to the proper course to be pursued toward those who offer themselves for the ministry:—

1. Men of good standing in the church to which they belong, and of good report in community, and who bear marks of intellectual strength, may safely receive license to improve their gift in teaching the people the truths of God's word.

2. In no case, however, should they receive with the license encouragement of support till they prove, first, that they are called of God, and, second, that they are faithful to the trust committed to them.

3. When they have given good proofs that the ministry will be a success with them, then let them be ordained to the work, and if they are in want, let them be recompensed for the efficient service they have been to the cause according to the judgment of the Conference to which they belong.

But it may be urged that there are very poor men who should commence preaching at once, who must be supported if they do. God knows all concerning their poverty, and will take care of that for those whom he calls under such circumstances. It is very evident that he does not require his church to sustain untried men. We would again suggest that such labor with their hands, as did the noble Paul, and preach what they can, and trust Providence to fully open the way before them.

But these men urge that they cannot work and preach; that they cannot preach at all, unless they are entirely freed from labor and care. Not so with Paul. He was a tent-maker, and had sufficient breadth of intellect to make a good seam upon the canvass, and at the same time arrange his sermons, so rich and deep in thought, his epistles being samples. But if these men really cannot preach, while their hands and minds have more or less to do with the things of this life, they are certainly too narrow patterns for the ministry, to meet all forms of opposition, and wiles of the Devil, in these times of peril. The "woe is me if I preach not the gospel," rests upon these men exceedingly light.

Once the proper course for our people to pursue toward those entering the ministry, was somewhat an experiment. But not so now. The experience of fifteen years has demonstrated the above suggestions, in the main at least, to be correct. Our really efficient ministers came to the work trusting in God. The hardships they have endured, the poverty they have felt, and the trials they have borne, have made them efficient, and faithful to the field. While those among us who have come to the work of the ministry, leaning upon a good support, since order and organization has put an end to our greatest discouragements as a people, lack efficiency, lack a love for the suffering part of the religion of Jesus, and are easily tossed to and fro.

It is said of the Son of God, Heb. ii, 10, "For it became him for whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering." Chap. v, 8, 9. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation, unto all them that obey him." Chap. ii, 18. "For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted."

If this be said of the Chief Shepherd, how much more necessary in the under shepherds. If he could drink of the cup of suffering that he might be a "merciful and faithful high priest," how eagerly should the unconsecrated minister press the bitter cup to his defiled lips, that he, through suffering, may become a faithful and tender shepherd to feed, and care for the flock. Happy would it be for some young ministers, and far better for the flock of God, if they would cast from their hand the whip with which they think to rule and drive the poor sheep, and seize the cup of suffering, which alone can perfect them. Does the Master say, My sheep see my whip, and they fly before me? No! never! Hear him: "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me."

J. W.