The Penn's Grove record., 1910-11-25
The Call
to Preach |
By REV. HENRY A. ALKlRE
Pastor of First Methodist Church
Whitehall, III.

preacher?-Romans x, "A.
Ecclesiastes is the first user of the
Germ preacher. God always spoke of
els Messenger" But Paul, our u
thor, repeatedly uses the word
preacher" Preaching is not a pro-
iession unless we make it that 1t
is purely and simply a calling. If a
calling, there must be a caller. Who
is the caller, and what constitutes
the call?
Some say the chruch calls men to
preach. But men have founded
churches. And men have been eY-
communicated from churches because
they answered their call to preach.
So John Wesley, Martin Luther. And
5. H. Hadley had hard work to get a
church to ordain him. Some Great
Power seemed to set apart these men
before the church had taken any no
tice of them. In evangelistical Pro
testantism we call that power d.
vine.
How can we determine God has
called a man to preach? by their
lIutIS JG 6udll hAOH IAC1As 49,
Word will not return unto BIN void
How can a man now that God has
called him? In theological lore we
say the man has a conviction. what
produces the conviction? l did not
know of anything that will send this
conviction deeper into a saved soul
than to look around upon the fields
white unto the harvest and behold the
fewness of the reapers. Seeing the
need is feeling the burden. Once in
sympathy with Gods cause, we Will
want to make others see their need Oh
God, and that will lead US to go forth
to remove the obstacles in the sin
ner's way. And am sure that it Is
only God that opens our eyes to all
this.
Going out to spend our lives break
ing down barriers in other peoples
lives implies conservation. So the
preacher is surrendered to the one
work.
The church declares that the min
lister is called to let other things
alone. Her messengers must practi-
cally bring themselves to three
great things: One book-the Bible;'
prayer; service means the feld-the
world.
For a century we Methodists insist
ed that a man could jump from plow
to pulpit if God called him. And we
ineirtsf nat our preachers should go
81 ere a were sent and be sent
into nev E Ids every year. And $50
fsr ibe q her with s25 for the wife
Fas Co1s.ts ed ample remuneration
Tor iurl1 Wollen streams, fighting
lid 1sasts and frontier ruffians snas
l1Suf. eoYeIingtS lures OF
WIZ zen sermons a week
.cWu ii
&at q ne .Uorpnosis! And what
it, st, the pew became
MI demanded al edu-
ted p1pi-
Then the coU try became thickly
tiled and the people demanded a
tiled ministry The pillar to post
"a hsa Bt.l, rnanency. The peo-
> .hensli7 IS ave created the pres
I condition The common schools
1nderfully d.. Hoped, and the doctor
d the law smelled of the col
"a. rs .hr., h demanded that its
InisLars Should be equipped for lead
ship. So the preacher must
It only q, ..4 - the college. but the
ytrtty sci o., and postgraduate de-
N this et1 pment costs money.
ID the anur- has had to open her
,Yers gene. gusly to hold the
,ung mai V1o has had more ambi-
o. than conse ration.
Formerly, the pulpit had no compe-
ton but Satan. Today it must COM
With the gress, lecture and Chau-
1tocs platform, and political stump.
his IS the sge of the specialist, but
ulaacher must be a ~general1st.
rue. lie mus know about everything
re gion. bit something about near
everything else.
- .ls urealAer is "a citizen unin-
,r-sta5. he IS a sentinel asleep"
Ms hold ais hand on the helm Of
s-3rm-
Ia INST ieep his finger on the
,lss OF trfistrial conditions. He
,ysf be & striot and keep his heart
,r7bbing varm for his W land. He
7, s,kee1 - ear close to the poIti-
;, AZ. erH be ready to back the
O. q lowing government He
.rst aa5s is pulpit a throne Tor al
cd eation and culture. He
a. center of the moral and
-e'fi life u his field.
Wal yoa say, what has that to
g wll the call to preach? l answer,
do greatest day Of the worlds
everything. The preacher that
,i{s f. any of these points is doomed
j., sooner or later fail utterly.
VIVA. then. is his real and specific
lty1
40 r. zsep his heart young that
"a ms +~fR the young not to iolter
I to strong manhood and
-r,. He must know how to
! who are so near the
-aat they have lost all
nterest in this. He must know how
0 keep close to the man of affairs
has such tremendous tempta
or heavy responsibilities.
In short, the present day preacher
must be a friend to poverty, a foe to
wrong a champion of truth. a def2nd
r Of human rights, a declarer OF thus
aith God" and a guide to heaven
Where Happiness Is Not.