The Ohio Independent Baptist, February 1973

:- 0 r e ·an1ple, it i a basic principle ,f the 111ini try tha t no man ca n be a\ ed apar t from the Word of God . ~ow, how you get God' Word to hin1 , quite on1ethi ng el e. Y OL1 n1 ay ,reach a ern1on , hand him a tract, 1r invite him to your hon1e for a ookout and conver e with hin1 in a a ual way. Or, it i a princ ipl e that he local c hurch mu t pray if God ~ going to ble . The method you u e J get your people praying will vary, nd what work in rura l Iowa n, ay 1ot work in met ropolitan hicago. ome churche thrive on early-morn– ilg prayer breakfa ts: others u e rayer cell in the home . No one nethod is more in pired than another. nd the pastor who marrie a method 1 ay have to perform a divorce when e moves to hi s next pastora te. The beginning pa tor, and the im- 1ature pastor, will become intoxicat– d with method . They will (con - iou ly or uncon ciou Jy) " imita te the ig men" and fa ll in Jove with every ew idea that is generated . It ma tte r ,ot that Saul 's arn1or doe not fit: 1e immature man will tu1nble round in it anyway because " this i that everybody i doing the e days.' ' ·ry to convince him that there i eally nothing new under the sun and e wi ll look at you with a larm. Try J convince him tha t the methods 1ust fit the man, and he will become uspicious of you and question you r ·rthodoxy. After a ll , there is today n orthodoxy of method as well as f doctrine, and some times it appear ,at the former is more important 1an the latter. Right methods, a nd methods tha t rork and that a re Biblica l, a re ce rt ai n– y important. A man told D . L. tfoody, "Mr . Moody I don't like our methods." The evangelist re– li ed, "Well, I 'm a lways looking for etter methods. Wh at methods do ou use?" Sheepi shl y, the n1 an re– lied, " I have no methods.'' To which tfoody answered, ' 'Then 1'11 stick to 1y own.' ' But we need to remember 1at methods deal wit h the how and ,f1a1 of the ministry, principles deal , ith the why. It is va luable to know ,hat works: but it is also va luable J know why it works. Psalm I03 :7 lustrates this truth. "He made known is ways unto Moses, his acts unto :'le child ren of Israel. " Israel knew ,hat God was doing; but Moses new why God was doing it . A man builds hi s principles out f his own personal experience with 1e Word of God . He is carefu l to !st his method<, by his principles. Vhen a man ministers according to rinciples, there is stability to hi s 1ork ; there are roots that wi lI not be haken by every wind of doctrine . The HE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST n1a n who follows Godgive n principles i no t a ttracted by all the latest fad s, nor doe he seek for the approva l of rn an. "He that docth the wi ll of God ab idc th for ever.' ' He that adopts a ll the late t n1 ethod is forgotten as soon as the met hod are forgotten. Thi leads to a third mark of ma– turity: the mature pa tor know the difference between popularit y and suc– ce . Barabba wa popular, but it i doubtful th at we cou ld call hin1 a succe s. Popu la rit y is a pa sing thing, succes. i pern1anent. (Of course, in can n1ake a success ful pa. - tor into a fai lure ; but the work of an obedie nt man continue to help ot hers.) The n1an who courts popularity wi th men may find him e lf a tranger to od a nd to od' bles - . 1ng. It was D. L. Moody who sa id, " If I ta ke ca re of my cha racter, my repu– tat ion will take care of itself." The mature man know that the most i1nportant part of hi life is the part that on ly God see . Wh at he is in the c lo et i much more important than what he i in the pulpit. The man who fail s in the sec ret place wi ll ultimatel y fail in the pub lic place. The mature man major on bui lding Christ ian character : he satu rate him– self with the Word : he spends time in prayer; he battles in . He Jets patience have her perfect work that he can mature in Chri st (J ames J :4) . He i not quick to jump into the potlight ; like Joseph, he kn~ws. that God ha Hi purposes and His times. . The i1nmature man covets prai se and success in the eyes of men . He reve ls in statistics and in comparing hi s work with the work of others. He forgets the warning of Pau l about those who "measu ring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselve , a re not wise" ( II Corinthi ans 10: 12). H e belongs to a "mutual adm irat ion soc iety and is very unhappy if someone .i no.t prai - ing him and the work he 1s do1n? . He is Ltnmindful of the counsel 1n IT Corinthi ans l O: 18 - "For not he tha t commendeth himse lf is approved but whom the Lord commendeth." When God wants to build a min– istry, He first builds a man, a man of cha rac ter and faithfulness. He tests him wi th a few things; if he proves faithful , He promotes him to many things (Matthew 25:2 1). But if He sees tha t popul a rity with t~e people is the governing force. of his life God abandons the n1an , JU t the wa; He abandoned King Sa~I and Demas. The mature pastor maJor on being a success in the eye of God, no matter what the others may ay. OP INION OR C'ONVIC ..I 'JON The 111aturing pa\tor is ab le to n1akc another dilitinc tion : he knowc; the difTercncc between opinion and conviction. Actually, there arc three concepts that n1u \t not be confuc;etl : prej udice, opi ni on, a nd convic tion. Prejudi ce is an unthinking thing, buried in a man's upbringing : it i<:i blind and dangerous. 1·hc n1 an who says " l fee l' ' 1s probabl y operating on the basis of prcj ud ice. Opinion i~ better ed uca ted; it is usuaJl y based on experi ence and reveal\ itse lf when a n1 an says .. J th ink ." 0 u t for a man to say ·· 1 know' ' dcn1ands conviction. To u c a simpl e illustration, if I refuse to fly to Denver becauc;e '" I just don ' t Ii ke airp lane~:· then that is prejudice. If l c;ay, HThe last three times I was up , I became very tll ," then th at i opinion . But if I c;ay, " M y doctor examined me and di scovered J have inner ear troubl e and mu c; t stay ofT planes" then I am speaking from convicti on. The tragedy i that n1 any pa tors think they are hawing con– viction when a ll we ee ic; c; tubborn– ness about the ir prejudice and opin– ionc;! The Pharisees in Jesus' day cla imed to have conviction , and because of their convic tions they cruc ifi ed the Son of God. Nobody, no t even Je u , could convince them that the ir so– ca ll ed convictions were me re ly tra– ditiona l opinions that they had never examined critica ll y and honestl y. Per– hap the orthodox today need to take thi s to hea rt . A man' maturity i te ted by the way he act towa rd tho e who disagree with him. A mature man ca n di sagree without becoming di - agreeable: he can love the truth with– out hati ng his critic . The man who refu es to examine the other ide of the aue tion is announcing hi im– n1atuiity and writing hi own ticket to fa ilure. The mature man is open to tru th , becau e he know tha t a ll tru th comes from God . He i kind to pa - tor of different belief hecau e he realizes that 'we know in part" ( I Corinthians 13: 9) a nd that seeking into truth i a lifelong cha llenge. The immat ure man think he al– ways ha to be righ t. He forget that we have our trea urc in ea rthen vessel , and that even Jo hua and Peter occa ionall y made mi take . A the \.\.' ind of change blow aero . the wor ld , the immature n1an rt1n into hi s private . torm helter and curses the wind : or. wor e yet, he n1ou nt hi tru ty . teed and becon1e .an evangelica l Don Qt1i ote \.vho tilt\ windn1ills a nd prides hin1 . elf at be– ing a "fool for hri t's ak. e." A f 001. perhaps: for hri t' sake - that re– ni ain to be ccn. The n1 atu re 111an {Continued on page 18) FEBRUARY, 1973 5