Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-06-01
Ministerial Cultural

haA
The grandest work ever committed to
man was that given By the Savior to His
disciples, and their successors. when He
gave the commission. Go ye into all the
world and preach the gospel to every
creature No other work imposed upon
humanity approaches it in the sacrifices to
be made and iu the far-reachng result to
be obtained. Those called to the work of
proclaiming the good news of salvation
through Jesus Christ. whether we consider
their preaching opposed by the Journalism
OF the Jew, the philosophy of the Greek,
the worldliness of the Roman in apostolic
times, or by the ignorance and uubelief of
human hearts of to-day, are called to
position of the highest responsibility, one
which must demand the highest possible
qualification.
While there is diversity of opinion in
regard to what shall constitute the qualif-
cation of the minister of the cross. we take
it for granted all will readily admit that
the primal necessity is the enduement Of
power" Without this preparation from
God, no man, whatever other qualifications
he may possess, can be truly successful
preacher. In addition to this the more
quaintance with letters in general, and
theological studies, that is, 1.-The science of
God and His relations to His creatures
the science which treats of the existence.
character and attributes of God, His laws
and Government, the doctrines we are to
believe, and the duties we are to practice"
the more able the minister will be n the
presentation of the truth. and the more
respect and attention he will command
from his hearers. These two lines of cul-
ture are so intimately connected with
preaching that the Importance of fattending
to them as = means of success is at once
seen. By what means cultivation in these
two directions is secured is not of first i'm.
portance. The esSe1tl1L matter is by all
means to obtain it. This needs the greater
emphasis when we consider two relations
which the minister sustains to the people.
One of these is that OF leader. He is
to lead men from life Of sinfulness TO
righteousness, and lead the church on to
growth in gr ice and iu the knowledge Of
our Lord Jesus Christ" To accomplish
this he needs, in some degree, qnalihca-
tions analogous TO those which have mark
ed the great leaders who have influenced
so greatly the destiny Of the world. In
general they have been men whose early
lives were given to studies which fitted
| them to exert the particular influence they
did upon society and so the minister Of
Jesus Christ, If he become leader of the
people, must discipline himself also BY the
pursuit of lines Of study which will develop
proper qualifications for spiritual leader
ship. 1t is worthy of consideration that
since the Apostolic period the men that
led the church out'most grandly into the
| light, have been men of superior cultiva-
! tion. In support of this statement mention
need only be made OF such names AS
Luther Calvin. Wesley and Whitefeld.
! The other relation that the preacher sus-
tains to the people is that of teacher. He
is to be an Instructor Of the people, bring
| ing before them constantly things both new
and old for their edication. Two things
are highly important in the preacher con-
! sidered as teacher: The faculty Of inter-
estng, and the possession of fund of
| knowledge to draw from in his miustr4-
tion OF the people. Literary culture will
be found highly conclusive to these ends.
1t furnishes the means Of improving b.. h
the manner and the matter OF the teacher.
consequently II larger and better hearing
will be had By the speaker And the man
who has never studied science will make
but little headway in directing the mind of
another An army cannot prosecute war
effectively without base of supplies so
the conclusion follows that the study Of the
principles of Gods moral government, the
theory Of the plan whereby God proposes
TO saw, and the practical duties Of the
Christian life should be quite fully under
stood by the minister to hi him TO teach
und'rstandingly. The more he pursue the
study of systematic theology, and becomes
mighty in the scriptures. the more useful
he will be TO the generation he serves.
Ihe Scri iptures furnish very important
ins. ruction in reference on this point. In
the Old Testament we read of the schools
of the prophets where doubtless instruction
was given fitted TO prepare the young men
OF such schools for the exercise of the pro-
phetic office. The Apostles enjoyed the
rare opportunity Of receiving instruction
from the Savior himself. In regard to
their work Of proclaiming the truth they
were not Ignorant and unlettered men, -
but graduates ofthe bes' school of theology
the world has known, and their com
|
human history. Strong in this wonderful
preparation they went forth upon their
active ministry, and thousands were con-
verted. Consider Paul, the chief of the
apostles This man, standing pre-eminent
in learning, stands also pre-eminent in the
work of the ministry He it lis that startles
King Agrippa into the confession: Almost
thou persuadest me to be a Christian =
whose truth and logic make Felix the
drunken governor tremble; who carries
the message of salvation outside of Jewish
limit. and inaugurates the movement of
bringing the world to Christ. This same
apostle writes to Timothy, who from bis
youth had been instructed in the Scriptures,
Give attendance unto reading" and in
another place he urges, Study to show
thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth"
We repeat that the manner Of obtaining
literary and theological culture on the part
of the preacher is a matter OF secondary
importance. The main things is to secure
it. In general We would advocate sys-
tematic course Of training in the college
and seminary as the best mesns of secur-
ing this most desirable end Doubtless
many young men are urged to enter the
active work of the ministry without the
necessary preparation. The result has
been failure to secure the results which
might have followed il better judgment had
been exercised and they had received an
appointment at some good school, instead
of assuming too soon the arduous and i'm
portant work of a minister of Chrlst.-By
Reu, John GOilogher, PlGttsDlottth, Ne6., in
| Central Christian Adrocdte.
| ORIGIN OF YANKEE. origin OF the
word Yankee is now difficult to trace. The
| old spelling WAS Yankev. Some have said