Alma White High School - Lance Yearbook (Zarephath, NJ)

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SPIRITUAL EMPHASIS

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SOME ADVICE T O YOUNG PREACHERS To be listened to is the first thing 3 therefore, be interesting. To be understood is the secondg so be clear. To be useful is the thirdg so be practical. To be obeyed is fourth, therefore, speak as the oracles of God.-Dr. A. W. Thorold. OUTFlT FOR THE MlNlS'1'RY Should the people of any church in the land pool their ideas as to what their pastor should be, some of the greatest religious leaders of the age wouldn't qualify, ex- plains Dr. Herbert Gezork, of Andover-Newton Theo- logical School. He has received many letters from as many congregations listing nearly as many qualities for which they are seeking in a pastor. In addition to being of good health and consecrated to the ministry, Dr. Ge- zork says, these pulpit committees ask that a preacher be filled with personal enthusiasm, be a good mixer, able to manage finances, be musically inclined, happily mar- ried, able to 'wear well over many years,' have a sense of humor, be a good speaker, and be forceful among men . . . and all this should be found in a man between thirty and forty years of age! l However, Dr. Gezork feels that there are three basic qualities that, if developed strongly, will outfit the min- ister of the gospel for his for herl coming years of service. First, the minister must be a true prophet of God. It is never an easy task, in an era obsessed with change, to preach such a changeless belief as Christianity .... To warn a successful people-such as Americans have been for decades-of doom to those who would forsake God, is not easy. To tell a nation with a glow of self-righteous ness to repent is difficult .... The clergyman must measure his for herb success not by the standard of the market place where big buildings and large sums of money spell accomplishment. A church's success is mea- sured by the standards of God. People today are hungry for convictions. We have had enough of the debunker. The central task for the ministry is to proclaim the judgment amd the mercy of God. Secondly, declares Reverend Gezork, the pastor must think of his members as persons. Today, the indi- vidual is thought of as a statistic, a voter, a producer, a consumer, or a percentage in some poll .... I don't know what Christ would do in a church of our times with all the outside pressures on the pastor's time .... But the individual would come First with Jesus in all His work because first He loved them ,' then He taught them. Finally, the clergyman must have the humility of the true servant because his character will be tested severely. His work must be for Christ, no matter whether it is in a large or small church .... And yet, after all this, the remaining test is found in the words of Christ after the Resurrection to Simon Peter, when He asked, 'Lovest thou m.e?' I I would be true, for there are those who trust may I would be pure, for there are those who oare,' I would be strong, for there is much to suffer,- I would be brave, for there is much to dare. I would be friend of all-the foe, the friendlessg I would be giving, and forget the gift ,' . I would be humble, for I know my weakness,- I would look up, and laugh, and love, and lift. -HOWARD ARNOLD WALTER