The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1908-02-21
A SOUL WINNING MINISTRY
By Rev. Israel Putnam.

IN FOUR PARTS.

10 the thoughtful, God and man
loving student of present day condi
tions this is most serious subject
The impression, has some way gained
footing. with some we'll meaning lay
men, as we'll as ministers, that al
ministers are not called to be soul
winners. Man made are not, hut God
called, are, if His glory te first sought
but not necessarily in all places, for
unbelief, as in Matt. 13, 58 and other
causes prevail often, SO the work is
greatly hindered, but there are few
cases of this kind.
Some assert boldly and with digni-
fled air, their peculiar gift is to build
fine edifices, Others to secure large
finds for benevolences, others to
move men by eloquence aud long lec-
lures. and still others have mbition
, TO be great preachers, the abuse of
which ambition has held to many sorts
of literary tricks; SO they often have
as mueh to say about Socrates, or
Tennyson, or Bill Nye as Jesus Christ.
Christ in choosing his Apostles, left
us an example for all men and forever.
which honest and intelligent iuvesti-
CATION cannot mistake and proves be
yond question that when He calls men
to be fishers of other men He turns
each and all peculiar gifts to count in
winning them from sin. Can it truth
fully be said than any whom He called
were not called to bring the sinful
world to God? Most certainly not.
But look, especially, at Mathew the
business man, Peter the cursing fisher
man, who. with the other original
eleven was unlearned, and Paul the
scholar.
Were they not all soul winners, and
soul-winneIs always, while on earth?
True, "The perfeoting of the saints"
is very essential, but the birth preoedes
the training and, as it looks to me, is
the first aud chief consideration of
every minister: Neither does the
Word show that one set of ministers
won and another set trained. but rath-
er that they who won also trained, or
taught in the greater things of the
Word and experienced, those who,
under their labors had been won to
Christ. Indeed, is not this the most
reasonable and natural, as we'll as the
most Soriptural thing that could be
expeoted9 Most certainly it is.
Methods may be unlike. Paul
preached with mighty power all
night, thundered the awful judgments
of God in the ears of Felix until the
naughty ProouIator trembled. spake
with such eloquent, personal appeal
before Festus and Agrippa that the
former said. with loud voice, ''thou
art beside thyself; much learnig doth
make thee mad" and the latter, al
mcst thou persuadest me to be a
Christian. John said, with a loving
heart, Little children love one anoth-
er." But both were soul winners.
Before ordination, to preach ChIist's
holy Gospel. is conferred the winning
of some to Him must be proven: See
Dis. P. 10, Par. 1903. That man says
he is called of God to preach is not
always enough: The church requires
that the fact be established by actual
demonstration.
And yet. notwithstanding all this,
aud the additional facts as we'll, that
our modern, as we'll as our ancient
fathers, In Christ, were soul.winners,
many present day preachers, in other
denominations as we'll as our own,
both privately and publicly and ap.
parently inditferently, declare, not