Young preachers, don't lose the passion in your ministry. Be zealous
and earnest to make the truth of the gospel known.
by Allen Harrison
It's hard to believe that I have been involved in the ministry of the
gospel for over fifty-one years. What a joy it has been, even with an
assortment of difficult times along the way. I only wish I could do it
all
over again and again. Thank you, Lord, for calling me to preach! What
a
privilege it has been and still is.
I did not always feel that way about preaching. As an extremely shy
teenager, I could not understand why the Lord would be pressing upon me
a
concern about preaching. It didn't make any sense at all and this
controversy with Him continued for some time. One day, without warning,
my
desires were radically changed. I wanted to preach, even though I knew
little of what was involved in the ministry. Looking back, I see the
gracious hand of our sovereign God overruling my obstinate reluctance
and
giving me new desires that were not natural for me. The sovereignty of
God
was very evident at the very beginning of my ministry, even though I could
not have discussed it in any understandable manner. I knew it was true
in
my experience, I would later see it clearly in the Scripture.
God's sovereign providence had already been revealed in some earlier
experiences in my family. My oldest brother was killed in flight training
in the early months of World War II. He was in a building on the airbase
when two planes collided overhead. The trajectory of their fall brought
them down on that particular building. As a young boy I could not believe
it was a sheer "accident." God had to be involved, but no one
had ever
taught me about His providence, especially the hard providences! A few
weeks before the end of the war, my other brother's plane was shot down
on
a bombing mission over Tokyo. It was not his regular time to fly, nor
his
regular plane and crew. He was a substitute bombardier on that mission.
Out
of thirty planes in the group only one was lost that night, the one he
was
on. Again, was this "incredible bad luck" or the sovereign purpose
of an
all wise heavenly Father? My family believed God was in control, even
though the pain was so great. Still, God's sovereignty was not explained
to
me from Scripture. That came years later.
While a student at Baylor University I was told of a church in Waco
where
they sold good books to students at discount prices. I walked down to
the
Tabernacle Baptist Church and was greeted by the pastor, Dr. A. Riley
Copeland. He asked if I had any "pink tracts." Well, I had given
away many
tracts but none of them had been pink! He filled my hands with tracts
written by A. W. Pink (I had not heard of him before). Returning to the
dorm I began to read these messages and realized I had never heard this
truth preached. But I knew it was true. There was too much Scriptural
emphasis on the greatness and grace of God. Soon I bought Pink's The
Sovereignty of God and my life was never the same! I still have, and read,
that old red hardback copy I bought nearly fifty years ago. No, it is
not
for sale!
In those days, a Baptist ministerial student in Texas was expected to
attend Southwestern Seminary. While at Baylor I had learned about Dallas
Theological Seminary and I really felt that is where I should get some
great training for the ministry of the Word. That was their emphasis.
I did
spend a very profitable year at Dallas but at the advice of Dr. Criswell
I
transferred to Southwestern and eventually got a degree there. Dr. Criswell
said, "Son, if you are going to work with Southern Baptists you need
to go
to one of our seminaries. But while you are at Dallas get all you can,
you
may not get it later!" While at Dallas my friends and I wrestled
with the
issues of limited atonement, etc. Dr. S. Lewis Johnson was a great help
in
solving some of those questions that kept us up into the wee hours of
the
mornings. The doctrines of grace were becoming very precious. I did not
yet
know that the background of my denomination had been almost totally
Calvinistic (a word I was feeling more comfortable with). I kept wondering
why I had not heard these wonderful truths about the grace of God in the
preaching I had heard all my life. Good men had been used of the Lord
to
help in my spiritual journey, but these great doctrinal truths had not
been
a part of their public ministry.
I pastored two rural churches while in Baylor and Seminary. Those dear
people will have special rewards for helping train this young preacher
with
their counsel and patience. My first full time ministry was in the Rio
Grande Valley of South Texas. I attempted to be an expository preacher.
The
study was a great help to me and there was some evidence of the Lord's
blessing. However, I was beginning to see that not everyone in our Southern
Baptist life was as excited about the doctrines of grace as I was. A few
debates came up over Scriptures that some of the folks had never thought
about too carefully. A dear older lady in that South Texas congregation
was
a great encouragement. She had formerly been a Presbyterian and gave me
her
copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith. I still have it. But I did
not
know until later that our Baptist forefathers had found that wonderful
document to be a helpful guide in formulating our early confessional
statements. Why had I not heard that long before?
As time passed, I became increasingly concerned that methodology should
correspond to theology in my ministry. Did I really believe that God
sovereignly saves sinners through the work of the Holy Spirit applying
the
truth of the Word? Was I responsible to secure some sort of response to
the
truth preached? I came to see that both Scripture and experience indicate
that my responsibility is to clearly set forth the truth of the gospel
and
look to the Lord alone to produce the results. This is easy to say, but
the
task of altering popular methodology to correspond to biblical theology
can
be challenging. Belief and practice, however, must come together.
It was while pastoring the First Baptist Church, Ozark, Missouri that
I
came to the place where conscience would not allow me to continue with
the
traditional altar call system. Having seen it done all my life, having
practiced it myself (with growing reservations), I reached a point in
my
thinking that something must be changed! I had not read anyone else's
thoughts about this matter, but felt there must be many people likewise
troubled about this practice and the apparent problems it produced. But
again, why were we not hearing of the need of having theology and
methodology "in sync"? Could it be that our theology had become
such an
indefinite matter that we were trying to cover our lack of convictions
by
the use of psychological and emotional appeals that resulted in comfortable
statistics? I only knew that I had to make some drastic changes.
With some trepidation, I shared with our congregation in Ozark a list
of
reasons why I could no longer give a traditional altar call. The Scriptures
did not justify it, church history did not provide a sound basis for it,
and I had seen too many people spiritually and emotionally injured by
its
use. Amazingly, the congregation accepted the changes suggested and many
expressed their encouragement and agreement. I felt as if a very heavy
weight was lifted. I could preach more freely and urge people to respond
to
the Lord. If they desired to remain after a service they could express
their spiritual concerns with me, some of our deacons, or any Christian
present. It was no longer a rigid form of response that was required.
One
lady told her unsaved husband, "You can go to church now, listen,
and get
up and walk out. No one will embarrass you." He had some bad experiences
with altar calls before. She was right, he could come, listen, think,
and
leave, if he so desired. Anyone should be able to do that without feeling
manipulative pressure upon his emotions. When someone says, "I understand
you do not give an invitation," I usually reply that I do give about
a
thirty-five or forty minute invitation! The message from the Word is the
invitation. But I have not given an altar call since 1968. Convictions
and
practice should go together.
No, there have not been great numbers respond in my fifty-one years
of
preaching the gospel. I have never pastored large congregations nor
preached to great numbers of people. But the Lord has given evidence of
His
gracious work in the lives of some, perhaps (and probably) more than I
have
been able to discern. I have a note in my Bible that always encourages
me:
"Heaven will be the best and safest place to hear the results of
our
labors." I like that. I believe that.
It is great to preach without depending upon pressure-psychological
or
emotional-to move people to respond to the truth of the gospel. I really
do
think the matter of the altar call is one of the most important issues
for
us to deal with in our local churches and in our denomination. We have
seen
some encouraging things happen among us in recent years. Wouldn't it be
something if we really saw a great change in some of our methods of dealing
with people that would indicate we really do believe in the sovereignty
of
God? Our statistics would probably look a bit different, but we could
learn
to live with the honesty!
Looking back over a half century of ministry my heart overflows with
gratitude. I am still amazed that I have had this incredible privilege.
To
have the opportunity of preaching the gospel of the grace of God is,
outside our own salvation, the greatest gift God could give a human being.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:4, Paul writes, "But as we have been approved
by God
to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men,
but
God who tests our hearts."
This verse is sort of a summary of how I see the ministry. It is a gracious
gift from God and it is to be carried out in view of our accountability
to
Him - not regarding success, but faithfulness. It may be a lot more
successful than we yet know. Or, possibly, a lot less. He knows and that
is
enough.
There is a lot to discourage ministers of the gospel today. Hasn't there
always been? Paul's testimony to the Corinthians helps us deal with
discouragement. In 2 Corinthians 4:1 he writes, "Therefore, since
we have
this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart."
The
minister of the gospel is first of all a man who has "received mercy"
-
mercy in his own soul, and added mercy for the task of telling others
about
His mercy. Since this is true, we do not lose heart. We do not throw in
the
towel! We do not easily give up this greatest of all opportunities, this
preaching, this telling the old, old story whether anyone seems to be
listening or not. We must be passionately committed to this one central
task - the faithful ministry of the Word of our sovereign and gracious
God.
Young preachers, don't lose the passion in your ministry. Be zealous
and
earnest to make the truth of the gospel known. Thirty, forty, fifty years
from now, when you sit down and reflect upon the faithfulness of God to
you, your family, and the people in your care, may you also be filled
with
an indescribable sense of thanksgiving. Just think of it, God called you
to
be a preacher Now that really is amazing grace!'
[Allen Harrison is a retired pastor living in Ozark, Missouri.]
Founders Journal, Winter 2003
