The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-09-22
Laymen Needed
Lesson for September "a, 1861

"clOd" as some people think. A
layman in anything = farming.
medicine. law, the church is
simply a nonspecialist. A layman
in law may take a great interest
in law. indeed 1t may become
his hobby: but if he never went
to law school and never even
tried to pass a bar examination.
he's a layman. So with the
church. A layman is a Christian
without the specialized training
that the minister pastor. preach
er or priesto has had. Most
Protestants believe that minis.
ter's training does not make a
different kind of man out of him
Except as all education changes
any STUDENT. His studies, which
the church requires of him be-
fore he can be called a minister
in full standing. simply equip
him for the special kinds Of work
he has to do. The layman has not
taken these studies, and does not
preach. and is no pastor.
"The Truth Of Your Life''
For all that. If ever there is a
church where the laymen all be-
come dead wood" where all the
work is left to the pastor, that
church dies and doesn't take long
at it either. Laymen are even
more necessary to the church
than ministers are. Laymen can
be a church without a minister;
but a minister without laymen
can't possibly be a church.
What is a good layman? There
is nothing mysterious about it. In
the church, a good layman is
simply a Christian who lives his
religion = and has, to be sure,
a faith he can live by. The third
letter of Saint John, in the New
Testament, was written to a good
layman named Gaius. All we
know about him is in this one.
page letter. John speaks first Of
all of the truth of Gaius' life,
No doubt his ideas were good and
his beliefs were true; but for
John that was not what he
praised Gaius for. It was the
truth of his life that impressed
people most.
ANY Service to the Brethren"
Many people think Of church
work as anything done inside the
church walls. on church property
Now where Gaius lived, there
was no church building the New
Testament was completed before
Christians began to build church
es) and no organization in the
modern sense Of that word. And
yet Gaius was a loyal worker.
Any service" to other Christians
(the "brethren"D is called q
loyal thing to do. Gaius's par
ticular speciality seems to have
been hospitality. In time when
hotels did not exist. men like
Gaius would help the church by
taking into their homes travelling
preachers and bishops and mis-
sionaries.
A supporting player on rhe
stage or the athletic field. a sup
porting regiment in a battle, are
very important. So it is in the
church. The far-flung work of the
church. which is wider than most
members realize. would fall to
nothing overnight without sup
port. The goth century Gaius may
not find any wandering mission
aries at the bus station to take
home to dinner; but the money
he leaves in the church offering
plates goes a long, long way. The
intelligent layman will want to
know, and will find out, where
his "benevolence dollar" goes
and why.
1.-The Friends"
There's no special difficult
technique about being a good
laymar. Much of it is cultiyating
the simple arts of friendship.
There are boys and girls in the
church needing an older friends
word Of guidance mot dicta-
tionn; there are parents pretty
hard pressed who could use a
little help and announcement
from others; there are grieving
hearts, in need of sympathy, in
need OF a strong arm to lift them
and set them on the high road
again . If you can look around
you and see nobody who needs a
friend, send us your name and
address. You must live in Para
disc. But if you still live on this
planet, you live among people
who need friends better
friends too. Some people tear
others down; what is needed is
people who are friendly in the
name. and for the sake, Of the
Friend of us all.
Based on outlines copyrighted
by the Division Of Christian Edu-
cation, National Council Of the
Churches Of Christ in the U. S. A.
Released by Community Press
Service.)