Ministry
Ministers: Preach the Gospel!
I am satisfied that the happiest minister is the man who most diligently discharges the office committed to him. None, I am sure, is so miserable as the minister, who, from laziness, or any other motive, lives below his light, and neglects his work. After all, no work is so satisfactory, and so lasting—as the [...]
Pastors: Bring People to the Great Fountain
Would you like to know what is our (Pastoral) heart’s desire and prayer for the souls to whom we minister? We want to bring them to the blood of Christ. We are not content to see our churches filled, our congregations numerous, or our cause outwardly flourishing. We want to see men and women coming [...]
The Purpose of Ministerial Ordination
Would you like to know what we ministers of the Gospel are ordained to do? We are not set apart for no other end than to read services, administer sacraments, marry people, and bury the dead. We are not meant to do nothing more than show you the church, or ourselves, or our denomination. We [...]
Pastors: Preach and Live the Gospel
We should beware of resting our claim to the people’s attention on our outward [pastoral] call only. It will never do to tell our people, “We are your ordained ministers, and therefore you must believe and follow whatever we tell you.” On the contrary, we must tell them to prove our teaching by Scripture, and [...]
The Responsibility of the Minister
Christian ministers are not priests, nor mediators between God and man. They are not agents into whose hands men may commit their souls, and carry on their religion by deputy. They are witnesses. They are intended to bear testimony to God’s truth, and specially to the great truth that Christ is the only Savior and [...]
The Danger of an Unconverted Minister
Let it be a part of our daily prayers, that our churches may have no ministers excepting those who are really called of God. An unconverted minister is an injury and burden to a church. How can a man speak of truths which he has never tasted? How can he testify of a Savior whom [...]
Test All Ministers By the Word of God
Let us beware of attaching an excessive importance to ministers of religion because of their office. Ordination and office confer no exemption from error. The greatest heresies have been sown, and the greatest practical abuses introduced into the church by ordained men. Respect is undoubtedly due to high official position. Order and discipline ought not [...]
Ministers Are Not Infallible, the Bible Is
Do not be content with saying, “I have hope, because my own minister has told me such and such things.” Seek to be able to say, “I have hope, because I find it thus and thus written in the Word of God.” If your peace is to be solid, you must go yourself to the [...]
The Chief Objective of a Minister
Let it never be forgotten that the chief object of a minister of the Gospel is to set forward the salvation of souls. I lay it down as a certain fact that he is no true minister who does not feel this. Talk not of a man’s ordination! All may have been done correctly, and [...]
Pray For Your Pastor
Do we desire to help forward the cause of pure and undefiled religion in the world? Then let us never forget to pray for ministers, and especially for young men about to enter the ministry. The progress of the Gospel, under God, will always depend much on the character and conduct of those who profess [...]
