The Ohio Independent Baptist, August 1963

'rt nn ,( ffiRJt br pi~r l lb t\lttttl1... ' ,,. THE MISSION FIELD By Bobby Nance Rccentl\' . Dr. rthttr illiam . a " i1rofc ~" r at ( t;dar,,ille allege and 8t)ard \ler11ber of .B.W .E., poke to our B.r .F. grou,p about mi ion . H .. ~atd that all f u can be mi - ~t '1nar1e . e\ n if we do not go to the foreign field. He al o aid that 1t 1 n t nece ar 1· to wait until we are old r: if \\ e are children of God \\ e are already mi ionarie . We n11ght not be fai thful, but we have been ent. e can and hould wit- ne to our fr iend and neighbor and \\ e hould not be afraid to do o. To be effectual mi ionarie we need three thing : ( I ) We need to k11o lv l1,J1at lve believe and wh} 1 .) Go<l· Word ay in I Peter 3: 15, "But anctify the Lord God in your heart : and be ready always to give an an wer to every man that a keth )·ou a reason of the hope that i in \ ou \\'ith meekne and fear." If we .. are aved. the Holy Spirit bear wit- ne within u . We mu t not only know that we are saved but we mu t al o be able to show that we are aved. If omeone should a k u how \\e know that we are aved, we hould be able to show them from the Seripture . John 5: 24 i a good \er e to memorize. It says, ' Verily \.'erily, I say unto you, he that heareth m}' word, and believeth on him that sent me hath everl a ting life. and shall not come into con– demnation: but is passed from death unto Jife. ·· Another good passage to u e 1s I John 5: 10-13. ( 2 ) W e need to know what 1ve 1vill meet. As a good general will stud) 1 the strategy of the enemy, we mu t know \\ hat false religions teach. I t is a part of the Christian~s task to instruct those who oppose them– sel\1e and to recover them from the snares of faJ e r el igions in which the}' have been sought. ' 'And the ervant of the Lord must not trive, Page 10, AUGUST 1963 areers or l)ttt l1c gentle t111to all 111cn. apt to tcac l1, 1 atic11t, 111 n1ccknc'i ir1strlt ct · ing tll()~c that oppose thcn1selvc ; if (1 J r1cradven t tire wil I gi c then1 rc– r1c11 tnncc to the acknowledgi ng of tl1c trt1th. nd that they may re– c er then1 elvc ou t of the nare of the dev il, who arc taken captive by hin1 at hi~ will." (II Tim. 2:24-26). ( 3) W e 11eecl f<) kr1 o w 0 1,r Bibles ~Veil. I I Tin1othy 2: 15 ay . "Study to how thy elf approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be a hamed, righ tly dividing the word of truth." We mu t tudy the Word of God o that we can be u ed by od to direct other to Chri t. THE PASTORATE We al o appreciate what Richard Mclnto h, Dean of Students at Cedarville College, told us about the pa torate. He spoke on the prepara– tion, qualification , re pon ibilitie , and remunerations of the pastor. Preparation for the pastorate 1. The first prerequisite for the pastorate i to be born again. In order to minister the Word of God to the people one must know God in an intimate personal way. This i impo ible apart from the new birth which i by grace, through faith in the fini hed work of Chri t on Calvary. 2. The second prerequisite is to know how to maintain one's own spiritual life. A dry brook cannot satisfy thirsty souls. A pastor must be able to drink of the water of life to the satisfaction of his own soul and then to drink beyond that so that his cup overflows, making it necessary for him to share the Word of God with others, that they too may be refreshed. 3. The pastor's call to the minis– try is a part of his preparation. He mu t know that it is a call, that it is God's will for hi life. The pa tor– ate should never be entered with the idea of personal gain. 4. A thorough education is neces– sary. The pastor should have as good an education, or better educa– tion than anyone in hi congrega- ristians lion. In J 9()() on ly 4~r of the high <;,chooJ gratlu alc!-, went on to co ll ege: today 40% do. The f t1turc pastor <; holtld plan on foLtr years of college, and then three or four year~ of ~cm– inary training. His c l1oices of ,._1,J1i( /1 coll ege and emi nary are al'io very important. When we con,ider that a doctor spend 8- l O years preparing to treat men' bodies, it i <; not too much to expec t 7-8 of preparation to trea t men' oul s. 5. Practical experience is i m– portant. We learn by doing, and there i o much we can do while till in high chool. We can pray for our pa tor , deacons, Sunday School teachers and officers, our mis ionarie and mi ion board . We can visit home mi sion field and keep ourselves informed of church and mi ion activities by reading the OIB and the Baptist Bulletin. We can take advantage of every op– portunity that presents it elf to wit– ne s for Chri t to individuals and before groups. We can serve will– ingly in our young people's groups Sunday School , DVBS, child evangel– ism classes, or where,,er we have a chance. In a Christian college these opportunities will be greatly in– cr eased and enlarged to include or– phanage, jail and hospital visitations; preaching; Bible club work, and the mini try of music. Qualifications of the pastor The names which the Scriptures give to the pa tor tell us a great deal about his qualifications. 1. He is a shepherd. As a shep– herd be must feed the flock. He mu t also lead the flock, not drive them. As a shepherd he must care for the weak and sickly, and he mu t seek the lo t and wandering. 2. He is a teacher. See Ephesian 4: 11, 12. Teaching i a year-round task. He must teach the Word in the pulpit and in the homes. He mu t al o take active part in all the educa– tional work of the church. 3. He is a minister. This con– veys the idea of servitude. Tho e who would be leader mu t fir t be ervant . The pa tor serves the Lord fir st and foremo t. Second, he erve the church. Next, he serves individ– ual believers, and fourth, he serves The OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST