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of eight men, but one who gets eightmen to do the work. It may

be commendable to be thejack-of-all-trades, master of few, andrunning all over the community tryingto meet every need of each individualwho calls upon the pastor, but it is notscriptural.

A SPIR¡TUAL MINISTRYThe pastor must concentrate on four

major aspects of the min¡stryy'prayer,message preparation, preachihg. andpresenting Jezus Christ in personalcontacts. ,lThe apostles in the earlychurch in Jerusalem were not willing tohandle a problem which, important as itwas, would have taken their time fromthe Word of God and prayer. Sevenlaymen were chosen and they d¡d thejob efficiently. As a result, "the word ofGod increased: and the number of the

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disciples multiplied in Jerusalemgreatly. . ." (Acts 6). The pastor mustmajor on the major and not on theminor,

The local church can stifle a pastor'seffectiveness by taking advantage of histime and energy. He can become thelocal errand boy. performing small jobsthat many members of the churchfamily can do. To relieve the spiritualleader of burdensome responsibilitiesthat the church members could do is torelease the pastor to perform that towhich God has called him. A prayingpastor produces powerful results. Aprepared preacher can proclaim God'sWord with knowledge, authority, andfirmness while the congregation watchesGod save souls and edify the saints. Apastor who is given the time to counselthe seekers and disturbed, encourage theafflicted, and admonish the erring isestablishing a strong church. H is

spiritual ministry, rather than physicallabor, will be a blessing to the churchand community long after he has goneelsewhere.

By Dennis Wiggs

A good pastoris not one who does the work

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DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBI LITYNot only can the church restrict a

pastor's spiritual responsibilities, but thepastor himself can rob his church ofblessings and instructions that they need'

to receive. i-Praying is hard work.,rStudying is iime consuming. Powerfulpreaching is born in the prayer closetwith an open Bible. However, it is easier

to work with the hands. lt is muchsimpler to be the church and

community ecclesiastical bellboy. When

a job needs to be done, it is muchquicker, the pastor often thinks, to do ithimself rather than request assistance.Even when assistance is rendered, he

declares that often the job is not doneproperly and he must do it again.lnstead of developing and teaching hispeople to serve the Lord by doing these

timeconsuming tasks, very often thebusy pastor tries to handle the jobs

alone plus carry on the major matters ofthe ministry. This results in frustrationand fruitlessness.

The pastor must teach his people

methods' of administration and free

himself to perform the most importantworks of the ministry. He may be a

good carpenter who can rePair thechurch foyer, but that older churchmember could do it and get a spiritualblessing. The pastor may cut the grass

beautifully, paint without dropping anyon the floor, type a perfect bulletin, and

regulate the thermostats to ideal

comfort. Howwer, every minute he

spends doing something that a churchmember can do, he robs that Christianof a blessing and himself of precious

time of spiritual preparation.

ABOUT THE WBIIER: Mr. Wiggs is pastor ofthe First Free Will Bapt¡st Church, Beaufort,North @rolina. The Free Wil Bapt¡st BibleØllege alumnus serves as moderator of theNorth Carolina State Association and is amember of the National Foreign MissionsBoard.

"The pastor mustteach his people

methods ofadministration and

free himself toperform the mostimportant worksof the ministry."

SHEPHERD AND OVERSEERThe pastor is a "called" man,

anointed by God for a specific task. He

is a man sent from God with divineauthorization. The off ice of bishop,elder, overseer, or presbyter (they all

refer to the same office) should not be

taken lightly. Paul told Timothy that itwas an office to be desired. ln the earlychurch it was not the easy posts, theplacid positions, that were sought after,but the hard and even perilous jobs,

reports commentary writer, GuY H.

King. This select man of God must be

able to control himself, he must be able

to control his own house, and he mustbe a contender for the truth of God, tosummarize the qualifications presented

in I Timothy 3.

- The called man of God has two mainduties'-First, he is to feed the flock ofGod. The Scriptures elevate him as aspiritual leader, a shepherd. This duty isaccomplished through preaching and

visiting in the homes. Secondly, thepastor is to do the work of an overseer:

"Taking the oversight thereof," Peterwrites.

F eed ing God's Wo rd t o a

congregat¡on or to a family demandsmuch prayer, Bible study, and spiritualwisdom. One pulpit committee said itwell when they advertised for a pastor

who was tall enough to reach heaven on

his knees. The congregation and thepastor need to understand the main

duties of the ministry. A parked pastor's

car at the study or parsonage should notindicate slothfulness but a man of Godsecretly praying, searching theScriptures, and seeking wisdom in

directing a growing church.-'Overseeing the work of God is also a

pastoral duty and the area where so

many good preachers get derailed ord e toured. The Present-daY churchoperates teaching, training, and

preaching ministries that must be

correlated and directed along spirituallines. Someone must guide these

activities so that they will remain trueto the Scriptures and reach as manypeople for Christ as Possible' Thepastor-overseer will Provideinformation, inspiration. and instructionto his people as the budget is prepared,

the Sunday school is organized, or a

new visitation program developed.However, no Pastor should try toperform all of these functions alone' He

will oversee the work while co-laborerswill actually carry outtheresponsibilities. BY examPle and

explanation, he must lead them in themany necessary church projects and

programs.

The successful pastor must be able todevelop and select qualified workers,train them, spell out their duties, trustthem to do their job unto the Lord, andperiodically check on how well theministries are being conducted. Toooften laymen do not understand theirresponsibilities. lf the pastor wouldspend a little time putting on paperwhat is expected, God's work could beaccomplished much easier and withfewer problems.

Churches are full of believers whowant to work but need a spiritualshepherd to lead them. He must bewilling to do his part, always eager tohelp in whatever capacity needed.However, the man of God must majoron spiritual matters, leaving most of thephysical activities to the people that hehas instructed and inspired. When theapostles gave themselves continually toprayer and to the ministry of the Word.the church experienced growth andblessings. When a twentieth centurychurch releases a pastor to perform thatwhich God called him to do and relieveshim of the "small jobs," then we canexpect the same results. a

CONTACT VOL. XXII, NO. 2

Publ¡shed monthly by th€ Nâtional Associat¡on of Fr€s Will Baptists,Post Off¡c€ Box 1O88, Nashville, T€nn6sÊóe 37202. Addrose allcorre3pondanc€ and subscriptions to th¡s addrsss. Subscr¡ption rat€s:1 year, $4.OO; church tam¡ly plan, $3.48 por year; church bundloplan, 31 cents p6r copV, Såcona class posttgr€ paid at Nashville,T€nnss3se. Copyr¡ght privileges, r€s€rv€d. O 1975 M€mber of thsEvangolical Pr€s3 Asiociat¡on.

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THE PASTOR

By Gilbert A. Peterson"True leadership must be for the

benef it of the followers, not the"Nobody should be chief executive enrichment of the leaders.,,,,ln combat,

officer of anything for more than five or officers eat last." ,,Most people in bigsix years. By then he is stale, bored. and companies today are administered, notutterly dependent on his own cliches - led. They are treated as personnel, notthou gh they may have been people."revolutionary ideas when he first These brief quotations from Robertbrought them to the office." Townsend's outrageous book, Up The

"one of the important functions of a organization, introduce us to our topicleader is to make the organization of management. Management inconcentrate on its objectives."

-\Christian work is similar to management

in any other realm. All pastors andChristian leaders are engaged in themanagement tasks of planning,organizing, staffing, directing andcontrolling. These tasks are theresponsibility of managers þ all types oforganizations. Leaders are responsiblefor thinking ahead, thinking accuratelyand thinking productively. Pastors must

_)be planners if churches are to succeed.- The past is unmanagaþle; the present,infinitely short and also difficult tomanage. Therefore, our hope foreffective manaçùent lies in planningthe future and in our utilization o.fprogressive and próductive ideas.

Pastors are also administratorsdealing with a variety of th¡ngs thatcome along. The task is to arranç andrelate work in such a way that we will

accomplish the objectives of ourrespective institutíons. lt is ourresponsibility, tlìerefore, to organizeand arrive at proper conclusions andeffecfive judgments.

-"--ù nneltERs NEEDTNG ATTENTIoNif pastors and Christian leaders are to

zucceed in dweloping, under God,ministries that will bear future fruit, anumber of. very important matters mustoccupy our attention.ç1. Anàlyzing church directions and

programs - ln the area of planníng,pastors must spend more time in givingcareful consideration to the direction oftheir churches and to the programs thatare in progress and under consideration.To quote Abraham Lincoln in l8bB,,,lfwe could first know where we are, andwhither we are tending, we could betterjudge what to do and how to do it.,,Careful analysis of the trends andprograms of our churches will cause usto become even more viable andrelevant in the days ahead.- 2. Setting objectives - We need to

avoid, very carefully, platitudes andco ncentrate on measu rableperformance. We need to both do better /gli¡g¡ and do__thinss åetæ¿WãÌreã to-define very carefully what we meanwhen we say we are building a betterchurch or that this year is even betterthan last year. We need to specify thecriteria in measurable terms.- 3. Thinkíng through our priorities -Peter Drucker, in his book, The

Effective Executive, says that.concentrat¡on on a few major areaswhere su perior performance willproduce outstanding rezults is one ofthe keys to success. Effectiveexecutives, he sayq force themselves toset priorities and stay with their prioritydecisions. They know that they have nochoice but to do first things first -second things perhaps not at all. We areoften so wrapped up with the urgentthat we miss the ever present important.- 4. Thinking through our people and

lheir tasks - The right person in the rightplace doing the right thing is a crucialelement in the achíevement possibilityof any organization. Constantenraluation of what is being done andwho is doing it ought to be before us.Helping our people grow and growzuccessfully in their lives and ministriesis our concern.

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^ 5. Esablishing standards - Whilethis has been alluded to, the actualwriting down of the standards by whichwe expect the church and people togrow is a difficult, but necessary task.These standards ought to be agreed onby the leadership and the congregation.An atmosphere characterized byhonesty, objectiveness, and willingnessto change is essential. This ought to takeplace first at the highest levels of ourchurch organízation.' 6. Measuring and assistingprformance - The pastor must bewilling to provide help to those workingclosely with him by both measuring andassisting them in the performance oftheir responsibilities. We need to take a

hard look at how much time is beingspent in our week on these v¡talfunctions versus the time that we are

çending on oiling the machinery andperpetuat¡ng, in many cases, mediocrity.This is in truth the discipleship concept.

PEOPLE ARE OUR GREATESTASSET - TRUTH OR FICTION?One of the highest priorities in all

pastoral work is found in ourrelationship, concern for, and work withour leaders. lt is crucial that we see ourpeople as resources and not in one ofthe traditional manners of beingproblems, activities or the enemy. Wemust have a proper view of our peopleand of ourselves. Responsibility is a

harsh taskmaster. To demand it of

ABOUT THE WRITER: ln his role as presîdent of Christian Leadership Ministries, Dr.Petenon serves as a consultant to severatpublishing houses and churches in the area olChristian education and to Christianorganizations in the area of management. Heis currently afliliaæd with Trinity Evangelical@lleç, Deerfield, lllinois, in the division ofChristian Education. He was a seminarspeaker at the 1974 National Assaciation.

others w ithout demanding it ofou rselves is both f utile andirresponsible. Our people expect us todo a good job and to work productivelyand intelligently. They expect us to takeresponsibility for our work of planning,setting objectives, thinking throughpriorities, making proper assignmentsand establishing standards. They expectus to apply this first to our lives andwork before we apply it outside of our -

personal sphere.lf our "team" is to achieve, then we

must see our people as an ¡nvestmentand a resource to our lives and ourministries. We must avoid the threeaforementioned traditional approachesto managing people.r The welfare approach sees people asproblems. lt views people in terms oftheir weaknesses, and a pastor whoadopts this viewpoint thinks in terms ofhelping his leaders because of theirweaknesses rather than managing hisleaders in terms of their strengths. Helpis always a supplement and never themain ingredient in effectivemanagement.- A second traditional approach is thepersonnel management approach whichrelates mainly to the act¡vity needs ofour people: running programs andcaring for practical needs, such asproviding program ideas. suff icientchalk for the classroom and other likematters. This act¡vity, according toDrucker, is similar to vacuum¡ng theliving room and washing dishes in orderto maintain a happy marriage. lf toomany dishes pile up in the sink, themarriage may come aparu but spotlessdishes do not by themselves contributeto a happy and mature marriage. Theyare hygiene factors and if neglected theycause trouble, but the heart of marriageis deeper than dishes in the sink or duston the table. The same is true ofmanagement. Management is the makingof the strengths of people moreeffective.

'. The third traditional approach is totreat our people as the enemy, whichtends to develop an unbiblica[, defensiveand defeating type of leadership. Wemust move on to a higher level ofleadership.

ln order to move to this higherrealm, where the recognition of ourpeople as our "greatest asset" will trulybe implemented and maintained, thereare certain practices that we must enterinto.

PROFITABLE PRACTICESFirst, we must practice building

significance into the work, and bothresponsibility and achievement into theleadership who are performing thework. There is a need to set objectivesfor every task if the work is going to beproductive and the people feel a senseof achievement. Each of us, whether webe pastors or lay leaders, needs the.d iscipline and incentive ofresponsibility. To achieve this thereshould be an evaluation of all tasks,including committee work, and thereshould be a built in "stretch" in bothquantitative and qualitative areas. Theobjectives, of course, should be honestand realistic and in complete accordwith the church's objectives.

Secondly, our leaders need to be seen

as resources to ourselves and we need tolook to our people to help us as pastorsdo a better and more effective job. Toparaphrase Peter Drucker, we need toask the questions "What do we do as

pastors that helps our people achievemost in their ministries?"; "What do weas pastors do that hinders our leaders inthe accomplishment of theirministries?"; and "What can our leadersdo that can help us perform ourministries with a high degree ofeff iciency and a good measure ofeffectivenessT"

A third practice that will help us givemore than lip service to the expression,"People are our greatest asset," ¡s toplace our lay leaders where theirst rengths can become the mostproductive. We need to be sure that theministry work is appropriate to thetemperament, knowledge and skills theybring to the task. We should beespecially careful that our top lineleaders are not burdened with excessivebusy-work projects and unchallengingtasks. We should not be afraid to makeadjustments in the structure and inrelationships for the good of both theindividual and the church.

Our work as pastors is in the largestmeasure people work. Make a checklistusing the ideas previously mentionedand set yourself to be a people person.Determine by the grace of God thatpeople are your greatest asset in thehuman sphere of ministry and capitalizeon this by focusing on one man or a fewwhom you choose to disciple for God.

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by Herman Hersey

Are today's pastors under too muchpressure? As one who served as a pastorfor 23 years and has worked in a

capacity assist¡ng pastors for anadditional 3 years, I say "Yes." Few inthe congregation realize or appreciatethe kind of pressure the pastor faces.

,,ER RAND-BOY" PR ESSU RESHow do members of a congregation

v iew their pastor's roleT I wellremember an experience I had in 1953.About 9 o'clock one Saturday morningthe telephone rang. One of the womenof my church said something like this,"P reacher, you must come overimmediately. I need you right away."

lwent. lthought an emergencyexisted. A few years later, I first wouldhave asked a few questions. But thatmorning I learned first hand about this"first class" emergency. The lady hadexperienced a hectic week, her childrenwere coming for Sunday dinner, and I

was to take her to the grocery store.However, she wanted me to wait aboutan hour until she got ready. lmadesome excuse, suggested she call someoneelse, and got away from there, a littlewiser for the experience.

Thank God not all in the churchtreat the pastor as an "errand-boy." Thetelephone rings at all hours. Often it is a

real emergency. A wou ld-be su icidevictim pleads for help, or a woman hasjust been beaten by a drunken husband,or someone has been rushed to thehospital for emergency surgery.Sometimes mother or grandmother hasjust died. The pastor never knows whatrequest the telephone call will bring ordemand of his time, regardless ofwhatever plans he has made with hisfamily.

PRESSURE OF D¡SCOURAGEMENTSomeone has said that

"d iscouragement is no respector ofpersons." The pastor is not immune tothis either. A large number who havebeen leaving the ministry for secularwork have succumbed todiscouragement. When a man puts forthhis best effort, it gets frustrating topreach to empty pews, to toil alone fora church program designed to edify aswell as reach out, and to have thechurch "trouble maker" act up in thebusiness meeting.

FAMILY PRESSURESThe pastor's fam ily shares many

pressures with him. The joy of planningan outing is often clouded with the fearthat something will come up to changethe plans. Then, if his wife has a newdress, she is "showing off." But if shealways wears the same thing, she has"poor taste." ln some churches it is

excusable for the deacon's kids to misschurch, but not the preachers'. lt ispermissable for the young people of thechurch to be active in school functionsor attend the movies, but not the P.K.'sin the parsonage.

FINANCIAL PRESSURESln preparation for this article, I asked

12 pastors what theii greatest pressureswere. Every one mentioned f inancialburdens, and most put it at the head oftheir list. Pastors are, in the main,shamefu lly underpaid. The M inister'sL if e & Casualty Union recentlysurveyed the incomes of protestantm in isters f rom 15 denom inations.Twelve occupational classif ications wereused for comparison. and clergymenranked 9th in the rating. lt showed thatmost are merely "getting by."

ln analyzing the ig73 church lettersforwarded to the Executive Office ofthe National Association of Free WillBaptists from Oklahoma and Georgia, itwas learned that 53 Oklahoma churchesreported full-time pastors with 37full-time pastors reported as serving inGeorgia. The average weekly salary forthe full-time pastors in Oklahoma was$117.63 and $115.07 for those inGeorgia. Remember, only the letterschecking "pastor has no employmentelsewhere" were used in compiling thisinformation.

The annual letters from the 28churches with full-time pastors in the

Cumberland Association of Tennesseerevealed the average salary to be

$1 14.81.lf these 118 churches from 3 states

are representative of the denomination,the average salary for a full-time FreeWill Baptist pastor is $115.68. Evenadding the fair rental value of a

parsonage, if the church owns such,these figures would have been nothingto brag about tvvo years ago, much less

in this day of inf lation.True, some of these Free Will Baptist

churches give an additional allowancefor expenses, but the number is small.For example: of these 1 i 8 churchesonly 38% pay anything on the pastor'ssocial security and only 36% help withhospital insurance. The reporting formdoes not include whether the churchassists the pastor with a car allowance.But it would be interesting to knowhow many Free Will Baptist pastors aregiven some financial compensation forthe many miles they travel on behalf ofthe church.

Most pastors stay in debt and manyborrow money to keep serving thechurch. I know of pastors who have hadto borrow from the bank to feed an

evangelist or missionary's family for a

week. Even most churches that pay an

adequate salary give no consideration toan entertainment expense to be used

when an evangelist or missionary staysin the pastor's home for several days ora week.

Then there are fre critics (every

church has some) who say the pastor is

gettlng rich, that he enjoys numerousbenef its that make him better off thanmost people think. But a recentChristianity Today survey showed thetypical minister subsidized his church'sministry out of his own salary by $685each year because he was inadequatelycompensated for routine automobileexpenses. But our pastors keep going

and keep borrowing, especially in thesedays of unprecedented inflation.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Mr. HerseY is

Director of the Department of Retirementand lnsurance with of f ices in Nashville,Tennessee. He left a full-time North Carolinapastorate to develop th¡s denom¡nat¡onalministry into a full-time operation. He is a

member of Donelson Free Will Eapt¡stChurch, Nashville.

PRESSURES IN PREACHINGln the midst of all these pressures,

the pastor must remember he is calledto preach. This means he must havetime to study the Word and pray. Butthere are pressures in preaching too.

It sometimes is easy to compromiseor simply ignore an issue. An article inthe Sunday feature section of a Raleigh,N.C., newspaper was titled, "Flip-TopPulpits for Filter-Tip Faith." Thesub-headline read, "Modern PastorsRealize that Nice People Don't LikeUgly Sermons." The article noted mostcongregations are turned off by "uglysermons" which are really nothing butold-fashioned messages on sin andjudgment.

Yes, some pastors feel preszure to be

silent on certain subjects. lt is easy toput peace above purity. The pastorknows that the church covenant shouldbe enforced; that the Biblical teachingon divorce is being ignored; and that itis sometimes hard to take a stand onissues wherein disagreement existsamong the church farnily. The pressure

to be silerrt is especially great when thechurch members may turn on you - oryour family.

RELIEVING THE PRESSURESThere is much one can do to help

re I ieve these pressures and otherpressures which have not been covered.It helps to be aware of what thepressures are and to realize the tempterwill use them to his own advantage.

First, pray for your pastor. He is as

human as you are. Remember Paul's

admonition, "Finally, brethren, pray forus, that the word of the Lord may havefree course, and be glorified"(l I Thessalonians 3: 1 ).

Second, be sure to respect his time.Don't put unnecessary burdens on him.Be careful about calling him at home.Remember, he wants to serve you; so

call him when there is a need, but use

discretion at other times.Third. review his pastoral related

expenses. Use your influence to leadyour church to adequately relmbursehim for expenses. Does his salary reflectthe increase in the cost of livingT

Fourth, above all, remember that he

is God's man. When he preaches, he

becomes God's spokesman. Teach yourchildren to respect him and his office.Put yourself in his place or as a memberof his family. What better place to say -"Do unto others . . . .!" a

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One of the most crucial times in thelife of the local church comes when thepastor res¡gns and believers seek theleadership of the Lord concerning a newpastor. This time. though diff icult, need

not be confusing. The process of callinga new pastor should be orderly. (l Cor.

l,iå',Ì"H" J:iJ'ï:i i::'j,å'T:Ï Home Missions Directorconfusion and mizunderstanding in thisimportant task. Robert Shockey offers

CATLING A PASTOR

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First The church must agree on themethod it will use in def ining theresponsibility of a pulpit committee.The church with a constitution andby-laws may already have provisions fora pulpit committee. lf not, the churchmay decide to use the deacons or toelect a committee from the body. Whenthis comm ittee is selected, publicannouncement is made, and the namesof those serving are given to thecongregation.

lf changes in the relationshipbetween church and pastor are beingconsidered (salary, responsibilities,parsonage improvements, movingexpenses, benefits, etc.), this is theappropriate time to decide on sllchchanges. The pulpit committee is

promptly informed of such changes.Prayer groups should pray earnestly,

without political motives, thatthe Lordwill give clear direction to thecommiltee,

ABOUT THE WRITER: Mn ShocheYwos ø successful pøstor prior toøccepting his present Position øs

Director of the National Home MissionsDepartment, The Kentuchy natiue is analurnnus of Free Will Baptist BibleCollege.

suggestions for a local church.

Second: The pulpit committeeassembles all the information availableconcerning the men who might beconsidered as pastor. The committeemay want to contact the National HomeMissions Board, P.O. Box 1088,Nashville, Tennessee 37202 (Phone

615/244-34701 and secure a list ofavailable pastors, (A list of availablechurches may also be secured from theHome Mission Department.) Pastorswho are available may want to send a

written resumd, including their training,experience, family information, andqualifications to the Home MissionBoard. The pulpit committee may alsowant to consult various district or stateleaders regarding available pastors.

The pulpit committee may want tovisit the church where a prospectivepastor is presently serving(unannounced!) and see the man in"action." View him in his own familiarcircumstances. This visit helps thecommittee determine whether thispastor is suitable for their congregation.

Third: lnquire extensively into thepotential of the individual underconsideration. Gather all theinformation possible from everypossible source. The committeechairman should then call a meeting ofthe pulpit committee to discuss theinformation and pray about theconsiderat¡on of one man. (This stepshould not be taken until everycommitteeman agrees unanimously totake it.) Only one man at a time shouldbe considered, and this step shouldresult in a unanimous recommendationto the church that he be a candidate orthat his name be set aside.

The committee chairman thencontacts the candidate to ascertain if heagrees to be considered. Opportunity isgiven for the prospective pastor to learnabout the church and the church (alongwith the committeel to learn moreabout him. Many churches invite theprospective pastor to come for a ,,trial

sermon," a time of fellowship with thechurch and a special meeting with thepulpit committee. At this meeting theminister is given a copy of the church,sconstitution and by-laws and anup-to-date report on the churchfinances, goals, ambitionb for growth,etc. Normally, many questions areposed by the pulpit committee. Thefollowing list suggests some of the kindsof questions the committee may wantto use:

1. You may want the candidate togive a personal testimony about his ownconversion and/or call into the ministry.

2. You will want the candidate toexplain his concept of a pastor's dutiesand activities, including, perhaps: a.how his own Bible study and prayertime fits into his daily schedule; b. hispersonal responsibilities in and methodsof soul winning; c. his plans for his ownvisitation of the church members ingeneral, and sick or delinquent membersin particular; d. his own ideas about thekind of sermons he preaches; e. his ownrequirements about his fam ily life.

3. You will want the candidate totell about his own education andexperience in the ministry, including

any goals he may have for furthereducation.

4. You may want the candidate toevaluate his own previous ministry,indicating his strengths and weaknessesas he sees them, and indicating what hemay plan to do the same as ordifferently from the past.

5. You will certainly want thecandidate to indicate the kinds of planshe will have for your congregation if hebecomes pastor .This should include: a.plans for teaching new converts; b. ideasabout objectives and goals in thechurch's evangelistic outreach; c. ideasabout the means for, and amount ofattention to be given to, the edificationof the saints; d. especially, the methodshe intends using for promotion andchurch growth; e. standards he willexpect to ma¡ntain for church officers,teachers, etc.; f. program for teachertraining.

6. You will certainly want thecandidate to give you an idea of thekind of standards for Christian living heexpects to preach, and the approach heuses in such preaching.

7. You may want to inquire of thecandidate his views of certain specificmatters of importance to you, like: a.tithing; b. the ordinances; c. standardsfor church membership; d. churchdiscipline; e. attitude toward theassociations (district, state, national) towhich your church belongs; f. attitudetoward all Free Will Baptist doctrines aspresented in the Treatiæ; g. attitudetoward denominational programs andaims for the promotion and support ofthose programs within the church.

8. You will need to learn from thecandidate hís own expectations as to: a.the financial needs of himself and hisfamily; b. his ideas about vacationperiods, etc.; c. his ideas about theamount of time he will plan to be awayfor other purposes (revivals, etc.).

9. You may want to ask thecandidate about his own family,including such matters as: a. size; b.spiritual attitudes of wife and children;c. whether candidate or wife has been

This anicle is ava¡lable ¡n bookletform from Randall Bookstore, p.O.Box 1O88, Nashville, Tennessee 3Z2()2at a cost of 25C per copy plus postas.

divorced; d. wife's attitude toward workin (and out ofl the church.

10. You should also ask thecandidate about his own views onzubjects of importance on thecontemporary scene, like: a. thecharistmatic movement; b. newevangelicalism and ecumenicalevangelism; c. cooperation withmodernists, liberals, Catholics, etc.(including attitude toward the localministerial association and/or council ofchu rches).

And don't forget that the candidatewill want to ask the committee manysimilar questions, too! The interviewmust be a time for each to learn, asthoroughly as possible, the other's ideasabout the character and program of thechurch. The meeting should include aseason of prayer, in seeking theleadership of the Holy Sp¡rir.

The church pays the candidate'sexpenses to the church and anhonorarium of appreciation is given.

Fourth: Consider the candidate andevaluate all available information. Thecommittee votes either to accept orreject the man under consideration as acandidate. Remember, only one man isto be considered at a time.

A written recommendation of thepulpit committee's decision is given tothe church as an offical notice that thecandidate being considered will be votedon at an announced time.

The constitution and bylaws need tobe consulted to see åor4l and when thechurch votes on a pastor. A letter ofinformation is sent to each member ofthe church with the candidate's name,and with the date and time of theelect¡on.

When the time comes for the vote,members of the church meet to vote"yes" or "no" as to whether theybelieve the candidate recommended isGod's man for the church as theyunderstand the leadership of the HolySpirit. (lt is advisable for the church touse secret ballots.)

lf more than a mere majority ofvotes will be requ ired to elect thepastor, the church should decide beforethe election just what percentage ofaffirmative votes will be required toelect. This decision helps eliminateserious division if the candidate shouldreceive only a. slight majority of votes.

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CALLING A PASTOR(Cont. from Page 9)

lf the candidate fails to receive the

necessary number of votes to extend the

call, the pulpit committee then meets

again to consider another candidate'lf the candidate receives the

necessary number of votes to be elected,

the pulpit committee contacts him and

relates to him the decision of the

church, and awaits his response' lf he

accepts, make provisions for his coming

to the church and let this be an

unforgettable exPerience.

WELCOMINGTHE NEW PASTOR

1. Write for a Picture of him and his

family (black and white glossy print)'

Ask for a resumd of his Christian lifeand service for the newspaper. Perhaps

on the day he arrives, a special ad could

be placed in the newsPaPer.

2. On his first SundaY, have

someone formally introduce the pastor

and his family to the congregation. lt is

appropriate to have a reception

following the morning or evening

service.3. Perhaps a house warming could be

planned by a special committee and the

members come bY the Parsonage or

home in the afternoon with a special

gift.4. For several weeks one of the

deacons and his wife could stand at the

door after the benediction and call each

member's npme as the congregation

exits in order to acquaint the new

pastor and his wife with his new

congregation.5. An úp-to-date list of all members

and their addresses should be made

available, along with maps of the cityand other helpful information, to assist

the new pastor in gett¡ng adjusted.It usually takes a pastor about a year

to adiust to his new pastorate and get

acquainted with his people and theirproblems. lt also takes about the same

amount of time for the congregation toget to know him well enough to share

their personal problemswith him. So be

pat¡ent, PraY much and work

cooperatively in order that God may use

the pastor and the church in fulfillingtheir God-ordained tasks. ¡'

\^/hat's yourpro6lelTì?

By R. Eugene Waddell

AUESTION: MY daughter

has asked me where in the

Bibte does it condemn

smoking mariiuana. Couldyou give me anY ScriPture

on this?

ANSWE R : The law Prohibits the use of

marijuana and God commands "Submit

yourselves to every ordinance of man for the

Lord's sake: . . ." I Peter 2t13.lf your daughter

takes God's Word seriously, she will see that the

Lord expects her to keep the law even if she

disagrees. You might help her study Titus 3:1

and Romans 13:.1'7.It is not a coincidence that those who

openly advocate the use of mariiuana uzually

call the police "pigs" and have a revolutionary

abhorence for the legal establishment in

general. This results from the deep seated

iinfulness which motivates many young people'

Marijuana is a part of the hippy package which

Satan has sold young people in protest against

the influence of the older generation - many ofwhom are hypocritical' The young question the

honesty of protests against "pot" (marijuana)

by those who can't make it through the evening

*ithout a few martinis or a six pack of beer' I

think they have a point. Although we don'tknow all the dangers in marijuana, we do know

about the problems of alcohol' lt's obvious to

me that legalization is not the answer to either

problem.Now if your daughter is sincerely seeking

God's will, you might point out that although

the word marijuana does not appear in the

Bible, God's Word deals with the problem' Like

many other discoveries and ¡nventions of the

devil, marijuana must be dealt with on the basis

of Bible principles. Even though God does not

give us a detailed list of all the sins and dangers

in life, He does give principles to guide us'

Regarding applying scriptural principles. to

r.ii¡uunã, ask her why people smoke this mind-

alterìng substance. People use it to get "high'"Ephesiãns 5:18 states "And be not drunk with

wine wherein is excess; but be filled with the

Spirit: . . ." This passage forbids the Christian

from "getting high" on material zubstances'

lnstead he is told to get his joy and power by

being filled with the Holy Spirit. a

"Does this mean we must praywithout the slightest uncertainty thatGod's purpose is to grant the request?"

9errr¡from the

Greek New Testament

kind of asking that isn't answeredbecause of doubting, divided opinion."Ye ask, and receive not," he says,"because you ask amiss, that ye mayconsume it upon your lusts." That kindof asking is not asking "in faith." ltcannot be, because the asker suffersfrom divided judgment and motive inhis own soul. He asks, pretending honestdesire for selfless and spiritual aims. Butall the while his heart is torn byconflicting motives, selfish desires he

must keep hidden.How then shall we ask and expect

God to hear? The answer is in simPle

trust. We may still have to saY, withanother. "Lord lbelieve, help myunbelief ." But at least we come in trust;and we come openly, honestly, simPlY,with one heart and mind, desiring what is

best for us, and what His will is for us tohave. I think it is not some noble, heroiccertainty that God requ ires of us. I

think He is more interested in ot¡rsingleness of heart, in childlike honestyand dependence on Him, in unselfish$bmission to His will. And when wecome to Him in this way, He answerswith open hand. without chiding. Theseverses, then, give us marvelousencouragement, not discouragement, toPraY. a

MOVE OVER, GERMAINE:REL¡GIOUS TITLESTOP SECULARBEST-SELLERS

Anita Bryant more popularthan Germaine Greer? Pat Boonemore influential than DaridReuben? You'd never know itfrom çneral best seller lists, butbook editor Michael Leach'srecent c¡rvey of religious pub-lishing for Publisherc Weeklyindicates that Christian anthorsfrcquently ouæll lheir æcularcounÊrparts by miles.

Leach notes that " 'a few Yearsago, a religious best seller enjoyedan annual sale of 10,000 coPies.

Now even the No. '10 titles on thecloth list sell better than 75,000copies. (lt is considered an

achievement when the 10th t¡tleon a general best seller list hitsthat figure.)"

Why a re religious booksprospering amid the church'sdecline? "'All institutions,including the church, are beingguestioned,"' explained oneeditor. "'But that doesn't changepeople's need for definition,direction and guidance. ln fact, itintensif ies ¡t and throws theburden of fulfilling that need

almost entirely on theindividual.'"

Adds Word publisher JarrellMcCracken: "'lf there r's apubtíshing tend, it is towardbooks whích help people in thegat level experienæs of life, butwhich do have some content andhelp people feel they aregrowing.'"

According to Leach, "in thedecade from 1963 to 1973,(religious book) sales climbedf rom $73 million to $125million" with the most dramaticincreaies seen in "sales of Biblesand in simple books of personal

rel igion related to everydayneeds."

THESINOF DOUBTINGPART II

By Dr. Robert PicirilliJames 1:6 encourages us to pray: "lf

one of you is lacking in wisdom, let himbe asking from God, the one who gives

to all openly and does not chide, and itwill be granted him. But let him ask infaith, nothing doubting. . . ."

Last month's column introduced theproblem of the words "nothingdoubting." Does this mean we mustpray without the slightest uncertaintythat God's purpose is to grant therequest? Only rarely, if ever, do we havesuch assurance. As we have seen, theword "doubting" refers to the same

double-mindedness and instabilitymentioned in verse 8.

Probably James' description of theway God gives to men is intended, bycontrast, to show the right way to ask.

The King James says he gives"liberally." The Greek word is haplos,and it literally means "not folded." Theidea involved is openness, simplicity,with everything showing, honestly.When something is folded, it is

complicated; something may be

concealed in the folds. But a cloth orpaper that is unfolded is simple and

open, hiding nothing. An open hand

conceals nothing deceptive.So God gives with open hand, and

that certainly includes liberality. But italso means He gives simply and

honestly, hiding or holding backnothing. This is, by the way, the same

word used to teach us how to give inRomans 12:8, where it is translated, "hethat giveth, let him do it withsimplicity." We are to give simPlY,honestly. openly, not.hiding or holdingback, not concealing some self ish

purpose. That is the way God gives.

That kind of simplicity, then, is theopposite of double-mindedness. He whogives with simplicity wants us to ask

without double-mindedness. One thing

meant, then. by the double-mindedness,is inner conflict and hidden motive. lfour prayers are to be treated seriouslyby God, they must come from an

honest and open heart, not from a heartwavering and vacillating, certainly notfrom a heart confused and undecidedbecause of hidden. conflicting motives.

James 4:3, therefore, probablyprovides the best commentary on the

ro¡dot!Fol--zoO

FREE WILL BAPTISTPREPARED MATERIALSAVAILABLE FOR SPRINGSUNDAY SCHOOL CAMPAIGNNASHVILLE, TN. Designed toinform, inspire, and stimulate active layparticipation, Outreach To TheUn¡eached is the third in a cycle seriesof Sunday school enlargementcampaigns written for, and by, Free WillBaptists. The campaign is bi-annuallysponsored by the National SundaySchool Department.

Beginning Sunday, March 2, 1975,and continu¡ng through Easter Sunday,March 30, 1975. Sunday schools whichexperience the greatest percentage ofgain over the 13 weeks averageattendance for the 1974 fall guarter(September, October and November)will be declared winners in theirrespective divisions.

The deadline for entering this 5Sunday campaign is February 28, 1975.Each entry form must be accompaniedby an order for enlargement campaignmaterials of at least $ 10.00.

Since each Sunday school competesin the division established by its averageattendance for the past fall quarter, noSunday school is prevented fromcompeting because of size. The divisionsare as follows:

DivisionDivisionDivisionDivisionDivisionDivisionDivisionDivision

A over 500 averageB 400-500 averageC 300-399 averageD 200-299 averageE 150-199 averageF 100-149 averageG 50- 99 a/erageH under 49 average

CHURCH PERSONNEL CHANGES

These chançs in Free Will Bsptistpôstoral and other church personnelare prov¡dci, by CONTACT MagÊzinaæ a service to its readers. No personnelwill b€ l¡st€d as having left a place ofrorv¡cs unt¡l he is called officially tosorire wilh another congreg€tion.

PASTORATES

ALABAMAFloyd C. Barber to Holmes Church,

Ariton from Red Bay Church, Red Bay

ARKANSASKen Dodson to Old Reyno Church,

Reyno

Houærd Hensley to F¡rst Church,Searcy from First Church, Blackrrræll,Oklahoma

speakers for Free Will Baptist BibleCollege's annual Bible Conference, to behosted on campus March 16-20, are theReverends Jim McAllister, Don Pegram,and Dr. Joe Temple. The AlumniAssociation of the B¡ble College and theFellowship of Free W¡ll BaptistChristian Day Schools will also meet inconjunction with the conference.

The Rs/erend McAllister, pastor ofthe First Free Will Baptist Church inFarmington, Mo., has been active in thatstate's ministry, serving as moderator ofthe M issouri State Association andchairman of the Christian EducationBoard. He is also a member of theNational Home Missions Board.

The Reverend Pegram, an alumnus ofFWBBC, pastors the First Free WillBaptist Church of Newport News, Va.He, too, is a member of the NationalHome Missions Board, moderator of theTidewater Ouarterly Meeting, and hasheld revivals and conferences across 1G

FLORIDACecil Williamson to Free W¡ll

Bapt¡st Temple, Winter Garden -fromFellowship Church, Orlorista

MISSOURIArchie Cooper to Loraground

Church, Novinger from Hazel CreekChurch, Kirksville

Edd¡e P¡orcs to MartinstownChurch, Worthington

Derl Hicks to Now Hope Mission,Neosho

TENNESSEEGerald Fowler ro Fåith Church,

Manchester

OTHER PERSONNELVIRGINIA

A. B. Brown to Fairmou¡t-. parkChurch as associate pastor from thepastorship of Bethel Church, Festus,Missouri

include churches in four states.Dr. Temple of Abilene, Tx., is

director of The Bible Center. Hemaintains an extensive radio/televisionministry, including the "Lest WeForget" radio program and "The LivingBible" television series. He is a graduateof Bob Jones College and currentlykeeps an active æhedule of revival andconference appointments.

Special music will be provided by theschool's Music Department.

TEXAS CENTENARIANPAID TRIBUTE ONlO2ND BIRTHDAYBRYAN, TX. - Mrs. Lillie FlannaganEdge, a charter member of the FirstFree Will Baptist Church in Bryan,celebrated her 102nd birthday onDecember 12, 1974. According to herpastor, Rev. Roy Norrie, Jr., Mrs. Edgeserved her church as a Sunday schoolteacher for over sixty years, and, still"sweet in her soul", the life-time BrazosCounty resident is a joy to visit.

Mrs. Edge moved to Bryan on May12, 1892, as the 2Gyear-old bride ofJames Lee Edge, co-owner of the EdgeBrothers' Dry Goods Co. When the FirstFree Will Baptist Church was organizedin 1894, Mrs. Edge was there. lnaddition to her teaching duties, she wasactive in the women's organizationsthrough the years,

The Edges celebrated 54 years ofmarried life before his death in 1941. Aresident of Shenvood Nursing Home ofBryan, Mrs. Edge was paid specialtribute by friends and well-wishers onthis special birthday.

FREE WILL BAPTIST

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BI BLE CONFERENCE SPEAKERS ANNOUNCEDNASHVILLE, TENN. Named as states. His 18 years in the pastorate

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PI EDMONT BI BLE INSTITUTEADDS NEW FACULTY MEMBER

CRAMERTON, N.C. - Danny Key ofKannapolis has been added to thefaculty of Piedmont Bible lnstitute,according to Rev. Roy Rikard,President. Mr. Key is a former studentof the institute and a graduate of Free

Will Baptist Bible College, Nashville.Key did further work at East CarolinaUniversity and at the University ofNorth Carolina, Charlotte, beforesettling at Kannapolis, where he is a

Bible teacher at A. L. Brown HighSchool.

Presently in its twentieth Year oftraining ministers and Christian workers,Piedmont Bible lnstitute is sponsoredby the Cramerton Free Will BaPtistChurch, Cramerton, North Carolina.

30 NEW STUDENTS ENROLLFOR 2ND SEMESTERAT FWBBC

NASHVI LLE, TENN. - Among the 499students who enrolled for second

semester classes at Free Will BaptistBible College here, 30 are attending thedenominational college for the f irstt¡me, according to a report fromRegistrar Robert P icirill i.

The College has enrolled 614students for the current school year(352 men, 262 women). This is downslightly from the 637 who registered forclasses in 1973-74. However, it is stillabove the 483 enrollment figure whichwas determ ined to be average in1973-74 among Bible colleges

accredited by the American Associationof Bible Colleges.

OPERATION PARTNERSHIP is a campaigrr

indebtedness on the National Offices Building.

AID THESE DEPARTMENTS

to pay off the

t Foreign Missions* Sunday School* Woman's National

Auxiliary* Executive Office* Executive Church Bonds* Home Missions-

Church Extension

3,000 loyal Free Will Baptists are needed who will give $50 totheir need.

III¡IITIITIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

tl! UuiI To' OPERATION PARTNERSHIP T

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or..l. o. O'Donnell, Campaign Coordinatot II Box 1088 I! Nashville, Tenn. 37202 IllIti I want to become a partner in OPERATION PARTNER' -

I SHIP. IITl-lI Ll I enclose my gift of-. ¡I r--r II Ll I will give a gift of $50. tI--tI n I will give $5 for the next ten months. I

Ill! Name !IItI Street or Box lI

! city state zip-I

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P4RTruER5þ.IIP

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MISSIONSHOTLINE

615 242-r77r

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A Special Walk with God ffii"'¡;:î:":,i:i'äJ,î'*SJlåWhen everyone had gone out of the

WORDS FOR WOMEN

By Jane Price

ln August o1 1972, my husband,Grady, and I were delighted andshocked to discover that, after eighteenyears of marriage, we were to becomeparents for the first time. We werethankful and ecstatic, praising God forHis goodness to us.

Our baby, a darling six pound, sevenounce daughter, Melody, was bornMarch 5, 1973. This was the mostoutstanding day in my life, because I

was granted a special walk with God.My blood pressure was much too

high when lwent into the hsopital.Things were going wrong, but I wasconstantly aware of the 23rd Psalm. ltwas as though God Himself wasrepeating it over and over to me. ThisPsalm had never had any specialmeaning to me before, but that day itliterally lived for me.

There was a period of time, possibly

four hours, that I was unconscious. Thedoctor talked to my husband andinformed him of his concern. He madeplans to operate within the hour ifsomething didn't happen. But, he said,there was a very strong possibility that I

wouldn't live through the operation,because my blood pressure was so high.

Then my Christian friends wereinformed and my prayer warriors wenton duty. Within the hour I becameconscious of my doctor s¡tt¡ng at thefoot of my bed with his head in hisarms.

The f irst thing I remember is

th in k in g, "Why, he is praying."lmmediately, he came forward and toldme his concern and said that lwasworking out a problem for him. I knewwho had worked out his problem forhim. lt was the "Great Physician." Ourdaughter was born so easily, they didn'thave time to decide what to give me

before she was here and crying.Later in my room, I was granted a

special time with God through the 91stPsalm. I was not supposed to movebecause of my high blood pressure.However, I knew there was a GideonBible in the nightstand that had been

room, I got the Bible and began reading.An experience of this nature never

can really be shared properly because ofthe intense feelings involved. God toldme his angels had charge over me. I

knew this was true, whether I lived ordied. I recommitted myself to Him andwas completely satisfied to live, or, ifHe chose, to die. lt didn't matter to mewhich He decided.

Words are always inadequate toexpress an experience such as this, butnever underestimate God's people andthe power of prayer; but mostimportant, never underestimate God!He has all power!

AEOUT THE WRITER: Mrs. Price is an activemember of West Calvary Free Will BaptistChurch, Smithfield, North Carolina. Sheformerly served as North Carol¡na's StateWoman's Auxiliary president and now issecretary of that organization.

CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

have compromised God's holiness. IáafGod will not do. God's grace offeredhope to us by providing in full what thelaw required. This requirement was metby Jesus Christ. He lived a sinless life,thus meeting the demand for absoluterighteousness. He zuffered the full wrathof God for our s¡ns on the cross, thusmeeting the demand for the penalty ofeternal death (lsaiah 53:6; I Peter2:24;Galatians 3:13; and llCorinthians5:21).

To understand the grace of God as

setting aside or diminishing therequirement of God's law is grossly tomisunderstand grace, and úrereby tocorrupt it. God's grace as taught in theNew Testament satisfies the demands of

lo¡¡olLFot-zo(.)rf

GorruptedLawBringsGomuptiontoGrace

PART ¡V

By Leroy Forlines

ln the previous article I discussedthe need of grace. The need of grace

originates in the requirements of law.Our interest in this article is theprovision of græe to meet the demandsof law. The purpose of this series is toshow that the B¡bl¡cal doctrine of savinggrace can be maintained only when we

maintain the interests of law.G race provides what the law

demands. lt does not set aside orweaken law {Romans 3:31}. The lawdemands absolute righteousness of allwho would be accepted by God. Thelaw requires the penalty of eternal deathto be pa¡d by all who fail to attain untothis absolute righteousness (Romans3:19; 6:23; Revelation 2O:1O: and21:81.

The demands of the law place fallenman in an awful predicament. He hadfailed to attain unto this absoluterighteousness, so he must pay thepenalty. Were it not for the grace ofGod that would be the destiny of everyhuman being.

How did God's grace offer hope forfallen man? lt was not by setting asidethe requirements of law and thus freeingus from this obligation. That would

LORD'S DAY GROUPURGES FORD:RESTRICT RETAILINGTO 6 DAYSMERCHANTVILLE, N.J. (EP) -President Ford has been urged bY

a committee of the Lord's DayAlliance "to exercise good

econom ic sense bY takingwhatever steps are necessary tocurtail business activities to sixdays a week."

"We would call your attent¡onto the ever-growing practice ofbusiness being conducted seven

days a week and in some cases

even 24 hours a day," said Dr.Samuel A. Jeanes ofMerchanwille, chairman of theState and National AffairsCommittee of the Lord's DaY

Alliance of the U.S."Premium pay is required for

Sunday work (sometimes up totriple time)," Dr. Jeanes said."O perational costs skyrocket.Additional fuel and energy are

consumed. More advertisingdollars must be spent to bring inthe trade. And all of this is added

to the consumer's price tag."

the law and in so doing made it so

'That he [God] might be lust [maintainHis justice, righteousness, and holinessl ,

and the justifier lthe one who forgivesthe sinner and declares him righteous

and in r¡ghtstand¡ngl of him whichbelieveth in Jes.¡s" (Romans 3:26)'

It can be clearlY seen that tounderstand grace one, must understandlaw. For that reason, the church mustproclaim both law and grace - law as

what God demands, and grace as whatGod provides to meet the demands oflaw. The statement: "God's grace freelyforgives sin to those who beliare in

Jesu s G h r ist" is open to gross

mizunderstanding and corruption if it is

not understood in the context of the¡nterests of law. Law as I am using it inthis series is the manifestat¡on of themeaning, ¡nterests, and concerns ofholiness, righteousnes, and justice. a

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By Garry B. RicheY

As I stood before mY new SundaY

school class for the f irst time and

surveyed the teenagers sitting in frontof me, a peculiar feeling ofresponsibility began to gnaw at me. Thegroup consisted of a dozen inquisitiveadolescents, yet none of them appeared

very interested in the class about to takeplace. I wanted to know why.

Gu id i ng the conversation fromfootball games and parties into thelesson was no easy mission. But tryingto get a reaction from the class was even

harder. I asked them who theforerunner of Christ was, and onlYreceived a minimal response. When I

asked who the father of lsrael was. all I

got was ducked heads and blank stares.

Surely these kids know these things,I told myself . But then I began toconsider the possibility that they maynot know them after all. That's when

that peculiar feeling flooded over me.

ENTE RTAINMENT VS. TEACHING

Strangely enough, this wasn't mY

first Sunday school class. I had taught a

couple previous to this. including a

young adult class. But for some reason I

had never before experiencif the urgentneed to convey the Word to those in myclass.

Sadly, that same attitude of "Letsomeone else teach them, I'll iustenterta¡n them," appears to be present

among many other teachers in our Free

Will Baptist churches. What else couldaccount for statistics that show that ouryoung people entering college have

ABOUT THE WBITER: After serving in theArmed Services, Ml. Richey resumed hisstudies tast falt at Hillsdale Free Will BaptistCottege, Moore, Oklahoma. The Free WillBaptist tayman is a member of the First Free

Witt Baptist Church, Norman, Oklahoma.

retained very little of what has been

taught in our churches?A recent testing of 281 students

entering Free Will Baptist Bible College

for the f irst time revealed some startlingstatist¡cs. Around 79 per cent could notidentify Matthew as the tax collectorturned disciple. When asked what book

the Ten Commandments were found in,

70 per cent did not know the ansr¡ver.

And 60 per cent could not even name a

single parable of Jesus.

All but 12 of those taking the exam

stated they had grown uP attending

church regularly. One should also realize

that most kids entering a Bible college

are those who are most interested ¡nBible related studies to begin with' ltstaggers the mind to think of the otherthousands of Free Will Baptist young

people who are graduating, and how

ill-versed they may be.

Statistics like these are shocking. Butthey are certainly valuable if they can

motivate us to imProve our SundaY

school system. We may need a shock to

iolt us into realizing how important ourSunday schools are to the lives of ourpeople.

AT LIFE'S CROSSROADS

As I studied the actions and reactionsof that dozen ninth and tenth graders

that were thrust into my care, I realized

that I had control of them at an

important iuncture in their lives. At no

time in an average person's life are theyas likely to be concerned about moral

values and standards than at that stage.

At this point in their lives, our young

people's development is accelerated in

all phases of their lives. This should be

especially true in their spiritual growth'So our teaching and training programs

should be designed to confirm each

person's faith in an age when doubt isconstantly being cast over previously

acceptd beliefs.

ro¡dot.L

FQ

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ARE I SUNDAY SCHOOLS

FILLING THE BILL?

ARE OUR SUNDAY SCHOOLSFILLING THE BILL?(Cont. from page 15)

At the adolescent age in the averageperson's life, religion may begin to loseits importance. Three-fourths of highschool students, but only a little morethan half of college students said thatreligion was important to them in a

nationwide survey. Similarly, 58 percent of high school students, but only43 per cent ofcollegestudents, repottedthat they attended a church regularly.

Granted, these figures may not givean accurate repreæntation of Free WillBaptist youth. But they do reflect thea/erage actions and attitudes among theyoung people ¡n our country today.

OUALITY LEADERS LACKI NG

Basically, figures and statistics suchas those given above are the rezult ofone condition. That condition is thelack of solid early training for theindividual students. And one conditionis basically responsible for the lack ofthis training. That reason, is the absenceof qualified leaders. The word "leaders"includes pastors, superintendents, andothers, but primarily we are concernedwith teachers.

This absence of quality leaders isprobably the weakest point in ourwhole Sunday school program. This is

not to criticize anyone who is willing tostand in the gap,ánd be used by givingtheir all in service. lt is simply a statingof the facts.

Though still college-age myself, I

have been thrust into teaching positionsfor years simply because I was a

preacher's kid and a "good boy." Thisaction is a familiar pattern in many ofour churches.

To prove this point one merely needsto visit Sûnday schools in a fewdifferent churches. Several years ago I

had the opportunity to travelextensively throughout several stateswith a singing group from the college I

was attending. Each Sunday morning as

we walked into Sunday school class, we

could see the teacher begin to panic.And almost invariably the teacherwould begin class with a statementsimilar to, "l know l'm not qualified toteach, but l'll do the best I can."

The sad fact remains that most ofthese teachers were nof qualified. Beinga preacher's kid does not make a personqualified to teach. Willingness by itselfdoes not qualify one, either. Andstudying the lesson in 45 minutes onSaturday night certainly doesn't qualifyanyone to teach a class.

TRAINING NEEDED

This is the heart of the problem,finding people who are qualified. Askany pastor or superintendent and they'llsay that a lack of qualified teachers isone of their biggest headaches.

The problem stems from the factthat most Sunday school teachers havenever received any basic training inteaching techniques. No army ever sendstroops to battle until after they havebeen trained. But many of our teachershave never been taught how to study orteach the Bible.

All this has painted a pretty grimpícture of our education and trainingprograms. Yet, Free Will Baptists havemade great strides recently in attitudestoward education. Only 20 years agochurches with paid educational directorswere almost nil. But today it is notuncommon for churches of any size tohave a paid member of the staff incharge of education.

REEVALUATE PROGRAM

But there are still many churchesthàt fall short in their teaching efforts.This fact is reflected in the statisticslisted earlier. These are the churchesthat need to be stirred enough toevaluate their program's effectiveness,and if necessary, take steps to improvethose programs.

One reason church educationprograms lose their effectiveness is thatpeople take for granted that their

program is working. lt ¡s imperative thatthe leaders in the church constantlycheck their programs for theirproductivity. A passive Sunday school isa dying Sunday school.

STEPS TO IMPROVEMENT

The problem of church education is adifficult one. lt is one that is much toobroad to be corrected in a single smallarticle. Yet, there are a few steps thatwould lead any program in the rightdirection.

A basic need is for people to beaware of possible failures in theirsystems. Training should not be takenfor granted. Just because werybodythinks something isgettingdone, doesn'tmean it is actually getting done.

Th is is where the pastors,superintendents, and teachers shouldcome into the picture. And basically,the success or failure of any programdepends on the leadership. The leadersin the chu rch should challengethemselves to continually morre

forward. They cannot allow themselvesto be content with the status quo.

The leader is the key. And his abilityto adapt or change with the situationmay be his most valuable asset. He mustbe open minded and willing to learn.Just because a certain method workedin the past does not necessarily mean itwill work now.

ln a recent national poll of 15- to21-year-olds, 70 per cent stated thatnew forms of worship make churchmore interesting to young people. So itis obvious that many young people arenot content with present methods ofworship and teaching. lt also seemsobvious that many of these presentteaching methods are not effective.

Therefore, it is crucial that each

leader evaluate their particular programswith a critical eye. ln some cases

revamping a total program is necessary.And in some cases only changingpersonnel is needed. lt ¡s up to eachindividual to decide which effort, if any,is right for them and their church. Â

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FEBRUARY IS TEAGHER TRAINING IYIONTH

1843 : Cumberland Association BornBy Robert E. Picirilli &

Mary R. Wisehart

Few CONTACT readers may knowth at members of CumberlandAssociation of Free Will Baptists inTennessee were once called "liberalBaptists" or that Cu mberlandAssociation was once named "Free WillChristian Baptist, Church of Christ."But these names are only part of a richhistorical heritage.

People make history, and thedevelopment of an organization usuallybegins with a person. Who knows whatunmentioned, behind-the-scenes peoplemay have contributed to theCumberland Association and arerecorded only in Heaven. Today, wemust judge by what is written.

One of the surviving documents ofthose early days is the ministerial recordof Robert Heaton. Heaton came to thecentral Tennessee area with his father,Amos Heaton. as one of the firstsettlers. He was ordained to preach in

1812.Heaton's

located nearchurch was Zion,

spot where AshlandCity Highway crosses White's Creek. He

established churches at Sycamore,Morrowbone, and Good Springs. Thechurches at first had fellowship with theNolin Association of Separate Baptistsin Kentucky. Apparently the Tennessee"Free Will" or "Arminian" churchesbelonged to a Kentucky associationbecause there was iro association of such

Bapt¡sts in Middle Tennessee.ln 1837 Heaton and Wilson L.

Gower, baptized by Heaton in 1822,withdrew the churches from the

ABOUT THE WRITEBS: Mrss Wisehart andDr. Picirilli are on the faculty of Free WillBapt¡st Bible College, Nashville, Tennessee.Both have been active in gathering andpreserving information concerning theheritage of Free Will Baptists.

FREE WILL BAPTIST IIERITAGE

firstthe

Kentucky association to join theConcord Association of SeparateBaptists. This Tennessee asociationrepresented Arminian Baptist churchesin Middle Tennessee which had split offfrom the Concord Association ofRegular Baptists. Baptists who believedin freedom of the will were frequentlyreferred to in those days as "liberalBaptists. "

When the Concord Association ofSeparate Baptists voted to go back intounion with the Regular Baptists in1842, H eaton, Gower and theirchurches asked permission to withdrawand form their own association. SixCumberland churches made uP thatassociation: Heads, Liberty, BlueSpring, Good Springs, Charity, and Mt.Zion. Some may recognize at least threenames in that list. Heads and Mt. Zionchurches have apparently continuedwithout a break, Good Springscontinues with some breaks. and theother churches no longer exist.

Since the first session in 1843, theCumberland Association has maintainedan unbroken existence. lt has notalways, however, had the same name.

The association began as theCumberland Association of Separate

Baptists. By at least 1856 "Free WillBaptist" had replaced "Separate

Baptist." The name was not definitelyfixed, however; and either "Free WillBaptist" or "Separate Baptist" was used

on the documents of the time.Sometime before 1896 ihe Rev. J. L.

Welch, father of our own J. L. Welch,came to Middle Tennessee from DekalbCounty. He had been associated withStone Asociation which called itself"Christian Baptists." Brother Welch

convinced the two associations thatthey were identical in beliefs. Theyexpressed their unity by each assuming

a part of the other's name. Each thenbecame Free Will Christian Baptist,Church of Christ, a name still used inStone Association. ln 1920 Cumberlandoff icially dropped "Christian" andbecame "Cumberland Association ofFree Will Bapt¡sts."

Six churches composed theassociation at its beginníng. By 1876 thenumber had grown to 19; in 1910 to26; in 1923 to 39. ln 1942 the numberhad decreased to 34. Today theCumberland includes more than 60churches.

This association has made manycontributions to the cause of Christ andthe Free Will Baptist denomination. Allcannot be listed.

It has trained and contributed itsshare of leaders for the denomination.ln addition to names like Heaton andGower, we could add George W. Head.T. C. Cofer, E. E. Collison, and G. W.

Carney. The name Binkley appearsoften in the lists of ministers. Some maywell remember Brother C. H. Pickle and

Brother G. V. Frey, or the namesArmstrong, Pruitt, Rogers, Fambrough,and Oliver. None will soon forget J. E.

Hudgens or John L. Welch. The womenof the Cumberland have taken theirpositions of leadership also. And weimmediately think of Fannie Polston,Mary Ann Welch, Mrs. J. E. Simpsonand Agnes Frazier.

One of the first things the people ofthe Cumberland did in 1843 was toprov ide for a travel i ng HomeMissionary, to be zupported by thechurches. The association has continuedto manifest concern for spreading theGospel and strengthening and unitingFree Will Baptists in the cause of Christ.Representatives from the Cumberlandtraveled to other associations of FreeWill Baptists in the west and east. ltsleaders encouraged the organization ofthe General Conference and workedtowa rd u niting the "Co-operativeAssociation" and the "GeneralConference" into the N ationalAssociation of Free Will Baptists.

The Association's written recordshows a continuous concern abouteducation for Free Will Baptists. Asearly as 1876 the minutes recommendcertain theological institutions to youngpreachers. Churches from the

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18¿t3: CUMBERLANDASSOCIATION BORN(Cont. from p. 17)

Cumberland sent some of their young

men to Eureka, the Free Will Baptistcollege in Ayden, North Carolina. Amember of the Cumberland, WilliamHenry Oliver, taught there before theschool closed. Mr. Oliver now teaches atF ree W ill Baptist Bible College,Nashville.

ln 1932 the Ladies Aid of the East

Nashville Church adopted a resolutionendorsing the idea of beginning a Bibleschool to be located in Nashville,Tennessee. When the GeneralConference met in Nashville in 1933,the Educational Secretary, J. L. Welch,reported a growing interest in a

centralized institution. He also invitedthe delegates to take a good look atNashville and decide whether it wot¡ldbe a good place for such an institution.ln 1940 before the Bible College was a

reality, the minutes record a reporturging the membership of theCu mberland to continue in theirliberality and cooperation with theEducational Board and its efforts toestablish a denominational school. ln1941 after reporting the purchase ofproperty in Nashville, the minutes showthat a definite budget was set up for thesr,¡pport of a national school, with thebody wen asking that the names ofthose voting for and against therecommendation b€ recorded in theminutes. The report for 1942 records an

interesting item. The CumberlandAssociation voted to buy a stove for theBible College kitchen, "not to exceed

$225." The minutes report thatCumberland rasied that year $1,868.15for the Bible College.

Cumberland Association took a giantstep in pro'nrotion for the College in1944 when the Education andLiterature Committee recommendedlaunching a building fund campaign toraise $100,0fi) across the denomination.adding: "and in as much as the college is

located in the midst of the CumberlandAssociation, we recommend that ourchurches and membership as a wholelead off in this campaígn as an

expression of our gratitude for thatwhich has been accomplished, and ofour faith in the future achievement . . .

further. . . that the standing Board ofEducation of this Association be

designated as co-promoters of thiscampaign along with the Collegeoffice."

The most recent project undertakenby the Cumberland Association on

behalf of Free Will Baptist Bible College

is the Cumberland Cafeteria. ln two andone-half years this association not onlymet their goal of $36,000 but exceededthat goal by giving $37,467.19. Thecafeteria was opend in the fall of 197 1.

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COOPERATIVE PLAN OF SI]PPORT

December,1974

Dec.'74 Dec.'73Coop Design.

$ ...589.64926.58593.88

1,246.6258.6365.68

1,915.43

s ...(589.64)

$ ...378.69

L,624.L5924.06423.50289.34110.90762.79

RECEIPTS:

State

AlabamaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyMarylandMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriNew MexicoNorth CarolinaNorthwest Assoc.OhioOklahomaTennesseeTexasVirginia\{est Virginia\{yomingTotals

446.3333.4090.13

Yr.to Date

I 2,547.291,442.20

14,776.746,784.05

10,t47.262,405.90

506.6713,097.02

õ78.782,375.L6

246.33682.56168.48!97.04969.79

35,688.7866.24

L,572.64169.03

LO,037.7439,909.04

5,209.731,746.07

482.4257.33

225.O0

$1!?{!9.19

$ 50,938.5234,075.2122,902.5619,781.3811,540.458,210.803,514.18

941.11178.98

65.00

23.7951.88

2,635.93 (2,635.93)37.29

2,829.00

t22.3678.52

563.383,40õ.85

349.03

'u:11

(3,405.85)

75.0076.72

t,632.48736.76123.03L42.r7

35.08

$13,214.46 s10,015.95

DISBURSEMENTS:Executive Office $Foreign MissionsBible CollegeHome MissionsChurch Training Serv.Retirement & Ins.Layman's BoardCommission on Theo-

Iogical LiberalismMiscellaneous

Totals

$ 1,347.002,776.232,439.791,656.70

797.72610.573t2.62

76.32

1,944.943,527.052,683.682,179.001,363.89

954.01406.5?

105.3250.00

$ (e32.84)(2,091.97)(L,229.LL)(1,168.99)

(528.26)(3e6.8e)(183.76)

(4e.60)(50.00)

$13,214.46 $10,015.95 $152,083.19

MilNISTERS ARE HUMANIMinisters are not gods! They do not

claim to be. A few men may project an

image of being zuch, but ütis onlyreveals the imperfection of beingmortal.

A true minister is a "man of God,"but not God. As a representative ofGod, he is an official ambassador. He

may exemplify the qualities ofgodliness; his purpose may be to glorifyGod; his goal may be to serve God; yet,he is an individual person with the same

human limitations as any other man.Recognízing the humanness of the

minister will go far toward alleviatingmisunderstandings concerning the roleof a minister. Accepting the fact thatministers must not be expected to be

anything other than human will helpovercome tensions and conflicts thatarise from a false image of the ministry.

The concept of a minister being a

"supersa¡nt" or a "spiritual superman"is a myth. lt is erroneous to think thatministers do not have trials, frustrations,disappointments, basic human hurts,and emotional hunger pangs as otherpeople.

To understand and accept the humanfrailties and fallibilities of those whominister for God does not mean thattheir failures, blunders or shortcomingsare justified. lt does mean that one willbe more realistic in evaluating a

minister's performance. And it willmean greater sympathy for the ministerwho is struggliñg to overcome hisimperfections, deficiencies and humanlimitations.

ln spite of all their human frailties,faults and shortcom¡ngs, ministers areGod's chosen vessels. While men are

$bject to all the weakneses of fallenmankind, God in His divine wisdom sawf it to chose men as H is servants.

When God wanis to do something,He looks for a man. This is why theterm "man of God" is found at least 50times in the Scriptures. Heroes of thefaith such as Moses, David, Daniel, andTimothy were repeatedly referred to as

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men of God. We read specifically ofElijah that he was "a man of likepassions as we are." lt is said of Johnthe Baptist that "there was a man sentfrom God whose name was John."

Jesus was referred to as the "son ofman" at least 60 times. He was

addressed as a man, described as a manand recognized as a man. He became theperfect example for all men to followand particularly for those who are calledof God to be shepherds of His flock.

An awareness of a minister's humancapacity enables the believer to findcomfort and courage in the midst oftrials. One can rest assured thatsomeone else understands and shares

their problem. Because ministers are notemissaries from another world, they can

enter into human sorrow, sufferings and

struggles of another and communicateGod's message to the one in need. lnll Corinthians 1 :3-7 we read,

"Praise be to the God and Father ofour Lord Jesus Chríst, Father ofcompassion and the God of allcomfort, who comforts us in all ourtroubles, so that we can comfortthose in any trouble with thecomfort we ourselves have receivedfrom God. For just as the $¡ffer¡ngsof Christ flow over into our lives, so

also through Christ ot¡r comfortoverflows. lf we are distressed, it is

for your comfort and salvation; if weare comforted, ¡t is for your comfort,which produces in you patientendurance of the same sufferings weilffer," NASB.A consciousness of human

limitations produces a spirit of humilityon the part of the minister. As stated inI Corinthians 1:26-29, God did not call

many wise men after the flesh, normany mighty, nor many noble. Hechose foolish things, weak things, base

things, and things which are despised so

no man could glory or boast in his ownaccomplishments. Because of his humanlimitations, the minister is forced toplace great dependence upon the Lord.ln this way no flesh can take credit forspiritual victories.

Acceptance of a pastor's incapacitiesreduces unnecessary demands upon him.It lessens complaints and criticisms thatarise wherever a congregation expectstoo much of the minister. lt prevents

the possibility of false guilt that maydevelop in the heart of a pastor because

he is unable to produce at the level ofsomeone else's expectation or because

of unjustified comparisons with anotherminister's abilities.

Rather than minimizing theminister's influence, an awareness of hishuman weaknesses will produce a

greater spirit of honesty, trust and

acceptance. lt will prompt Christians topray more earnestly for all ministers. ltwill challenge a congregation to offerwords of encouragement rather thancontinuous fault-finding which producesgreater frustrations on the part of theminister.

The ministry is a complex profession.

Many factors are involved, slch æpreaching, teaching, visiting, counseling,and administration. No one person is

capable of excelling in all of these

various areas of sewice. Therefore, it is

important that a congregation notforget that their minister is human.

Rather than add to the burden of theminister by criticizing him because he

does not possess certain desired abilitiesor gifts, why not help share his work?Laymen can compensate by using theirgifts to complement the ab¡l¡ties of thepastor. An expression of appreciationand confidence by church members willbe a means of encouraging the pastorand building a stronger relationshipbetween the church and pastor. Â

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CONTACT

P. 0. Box 1088

Nashville, Tennesee 37202

Second-class postage paid at Nashville, Tennessee

ContenfsFEBRUARY, l975

îå

Editor-in€hief / Rufus CoffeyAdministrative Editor / Eugene Workman

Circulation / Gerry Waid

O I 3 IT5OOOOCCTNC FRWLLBP TCDFREE.H TLL BAPT COLLEGE L TB3606 14EST END AVENASHVI LLE TN

?7 2C'

/

The Role of a Pastor

The Pastor and His Men

Are Paston Under Pressure?

Calling a Pastor

What's Your Problem?

The Sin of Doubting - Part llFree Will Baptist Newsfront

A Special Walk With God

Corrupted Law Brings Corruption to Grace

Are Sunday Schools Filling the Bill?

18¿13: Cumberland Association Born

Ministers Are Human

The Pastor's Role

ln years past a Free Will Baptistlayman, who formerly had been amongthe readers oi CONTACT Magazine, wasasked why he was no longer a

zubscriber. The essence of his answerwas that he was not interested in a

preacher's magazine.The point is not whether the

layman's accusation was valid at thattime but to emphasize that today'sCONTACT is planned to be of interestto all Christians from teen tograndparent. Whether we fully succeedin our planning is another question.However, this month the emphasis is on

Currently . . .

ByEUGENE WORKMANAdm¡n¡trrt¡Ye Editor

2

4

6

8.

10

11

12

14

14

15

17

19

20

Dennis Wiggs

Gilbert A. Peterson

Herman Hersey

Robert Shockey

R. Eugene Waddell

Robert Picirilli

Staff

Jane Price

Leroy Forlines

Garry B, Richey

Robert Picirilli &Mary Wisehart

Rufus Coffey

Eugene Workman

the pastor's role. I hope the articles willbe of as much interest to the laity as tothose who have accepted the call to theministry as their life's vocation.

As one who formerly stood behindthe pulpit of a local church each weekbut because of God's leading now findshimælf more often seated in the pew

alongside the laity, I think I am in a

unique position of looking at thepastor's role from both viewpoints.I trust this insight has aided in theplanning of this issue.

Many times a congregation is at a loss

as to what steps to take in calling a newpastor. Even in calling, I feel, most

church members are not fully aware ofthe scope of responsibilities they areasking a minister to assume. At the sametime, the demands of an active pastorateoften are overwhelming to the averageminister. Also, I feel the pastor needs toreevaluate his relationship to hiscongregation from time to time.

For these reasons, this issue seeks togive attent¡on to some of the problemareas relating to the pastor and his role.

THE PASTOR'S R()LE