The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-01-19
=" WHY MINISTER'S FAIL."

Chapman told the ministers of Bos-
ton lately that he "marveled because
more ministers do not fail" In
fact, to him, "the wonder is that the
great majority do not fail" Re-
hearsing some of the causes for fail
ure, as he is reported by Zion's
Herald (Boston), he began by say
ing that preaching to some has be-
come a profession, instead of a pas
sion. The spirit of routine, of pro-
fessionalism, is fatal. There are
other failures due to the fact that
ministers use the wrong method of
approach. Thus:
They try to enter by the door of
the head rather than by the door of
the heart. The man who enters by
the head must come armed with
an argument and he is met by an
argument Then Greek meets
Greek. But the best method of ap-
proach is not by way of the head.
have found it very easy to enter
by way of the heart. This was
Jesus method. The successful min
lister must use heart influence as his
chief method of work.
Moreover, some ministers fail
because they have departed from
the Bible as authority. They forget
that Jesus and his gospel are the
only hope of sinful world. l met
on this tour all sorts and conditions
of preachers. Some were intellectu-
al giants; some transgressed the
training of the schools. Some were
splendidly cultured; some had been
denied the privilege of culture. But
wherever / went, l found those who
were preaching the divine Christ
from an inspired Bible were pros
porous; and those who were preach
ing anything else were preaching
to dwindling congregations. The
world is sick of sin and hungry for
the Word! The average business
man does not care to come to church
to have his faith unsettled"
Some failures he attributes to the
loss of the evangelical note"
though this element he finds hard
to define" Further:
with some men it is a flash of
the eye, a tone of the voice. Some
men have produced conviction by an
nouncing a hymn. The evangelis-
! tic note depends on what you are
| before God. If we had it, we could
| fill the churches. OF one minister
member of the official board said:
We think of Jesus Christ every time
we see his face In 1927, Josh
1hn rioo y,
village, and his name was by-word
for failure as he returned to Eng
land. In 1889, he shook three king
doms. In that year he had vision
| of God, and caught the evangelistic
note!
Furthermore, some ministers fail
because they have lost the note of
authority in the pulpit. 1t is a fatal
mistake to let people understand he
is afraid. He gets his commission
from God, not from the official
board Oh, the pulpit is the last
| place in which to scold, to say harsh
! things; but the message must have
the authority of divine commits
sion. A distinguished lawyer once
undertook to tell his pastor that the
parish needed a different type OF
preaching. The pastor replied: !
get my people before me in my Wis
ion as | study, and then | drop on
my knees. | find my text, and in
! the spirit of prayer l stand on Sun
day to preach what he gives me; and
not all the elders in the Presbyter'
ian church can make me change.
| The lawyer grasped his hand and
cried: No elder in the Presbyterian
church would want to make you
change!'
Some ministers fail because they
do not spend enough time in de-
yotional Bible study and private
prayer. / know the demands on q
preachers time. He is buster than
any other professional man except
the doctor. His hours are constant
ly broken into. And he must al
ways be at his best or hear some
harsh criticism which will well-nigt
break his heart. But with all this
he must bury his face in Gods Wore
more; he must be more in prayer
A man in Melbourne came to me anc
said: L believe God has given you
message, but / can tell you how tC
make it have a better edge. Take
more time for your Bible; more
time to pray And this old sain
was right. Every minister should
come from his knees to the pulpit.
Finally, with all else, failure II
sure without loyalty to Jesus Christ
AS the widow of ex-President Harri
son stood alone for a final farewell
beside the silent form, she heard thu
door open and saw an old soldier Ell
Tor On hia prufehRS He aDDrOache(