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someday serve all mankind as a
spirit-composed leader and teacher,
the ministry endeavors to provide
each member with the opportunity
for instruction and encouragement
in the development of godly charac–
ter, the most essential ingredient
needed to one day guide others in a
just and righteous way.
From Sermons to Seminars
o accomplish this goal,
e ministry utilizes many
ducational programs. One is
e weekly Sabbath Church
services, which include sermons that
fulfill Paul's adíñonition: "And so 1
solemnly urge you before God and
before Jesus Christ.:....who will sorne
day judge the living and tbe dead
when he appears to set up his king–
dom- to preach the Word of God
urgently at all times, whenever you
get the chance, in season and out,
when it is convenient and wben it is
not. Corree! and rebuke your people
wben they need it, encourage them
Lo do right, and allthe time be feed–
ing them patiently with God's
Word"
(JI
Tim. 4:1-2,
The Living
Bible).
As a conseq uence, sermon
subjects range from how to live by
the Ten Commandments to prin–
cipies of good health. Each sermon
is heavily biblical in content, with
the congregation encouraged to fol–
low along in their Bibles as well as
take notes for further study. In or–
der to present such a varied spec–
trum of subjects, a minister is
required to spend a great deal of his
time researching and reading. A
one-hour serrnon may take many
hours of preparation, not to men–
tion the weeks or even rnonths of
background study in that particular
subject. Tbis is why a rninister's
study is usually filled witb books,
magazines, and journals; tbey are
tools of his trade.
However, a sermon is only one
means of imparting information.
Certain types of subjects are better
38
suited to formats that álso allow
people to ask questions about what
they have beard or read. Thus, as
well as giving sermons on the Sab–
bath, ministers of the Worldwide
Church of God a lso conduct infor–
mal Bible studies in members'
bornes or in small meeting balls if
numbers warrant it. Like Sabbath
services, tbese Bible studies are
open to anyone interested in coming
and asking questions about the
Bible or the Church. The topics of
these studies may be a detailed dis–
cussion of a particular Church doc–
trine or a verse-by-verse exposition
of a book of the Bible, including its
background and relevance to the
life of a Christian in the twentieth
century. A minister may conduct
one or two of these Bible studies
eacb week, thus requiring more
study and preparation on top of the
preparation for his weekly sermon.
But the time devoted to sermon
a nd Bible-study preparation oc–
cupies only a small percentage of a
minister's weekly schedule. The
Church's minis.try must deal with all
types of human problems and meet
the needs of each age group in the
congregation. To do tbis effectively
requires additional study and, when
possible, graduate-level courses in
sociology and human development.
The result is a program tailored to
reach the young, enrich middle–
aged marriages, or ·more effectively
utilize the elderly.
Asan adjunct to the efforts of the
local pastor. the Church from time
to time sponsors a series of profes–
sionally conducted seminars that are
open to the public. For example,
sorne of the topics presented a re
"Finding Your Personal Identity,"
"Keys to Motivational Leadership,"
"Achieving Success in a Cbanging
World," and "Facing the Alcohol–
ism Cballenge." These and similar
programs have already been con–
ducted in over 50 American and Ca–
nadian cities, with another fifty
schl;!duled for 1978.
Anotber important aspect of a
minister's job is his role as coun–
selor. A considerable portion of his
week is devoted to working witb
people on a one-to-one basis, ex–
plaining the Church's teachings to
those interested, visiting tbe sick,
counseling about personal needs or
problems, and making social, get–
acquainted visits in members'
bornes.
Also occupying mucb of the min–
ister's often hectic schedule are typi–
cal pastoral functions such as
baptisms, lay-leadershíp classes,
various church social activítíes and
organízations, public relations, and
community services like the P.T.A.,
Alcobolism Rehabilitation Centers,
tbe Little League, or even tbe Civil
Air Patrol.
And somehow in the midst of all
these numerous duties a minister
roust also assume bis share of the
Chu rch's Great Coromission o f
preaching tbe "gospel of the King–
dom" to all tbe world through his
own personal efforts of evangelism
as well as those of each member of
his congregation. The Church has
never practiced tbe door-to-door
style of evangelism, preferring in–
stead to let tbe Cbristian's life be a
witness and ligbt of Christ's work. It
has been found tbat often as bigh as
fifty percent of new people wbo ex–
press interest in joining the Cb urch
do so because of the example of
merobers' lives.
So a minister's job is more than
holding the hand of tbe dying.
It
is
more than administering the ordi–
nance of baptism or the Passover
bread and wine. It is the ex–
hilarating challenge of an Olympic
coach training his tearo to the peak
of their skill and endurance, in–
fusing them with the enthusiasm
and determination to win.
lt
is a
dynamic; exciting, always inter–
esting, never ending quest for ex–
cellence as an individual and as a
member of Christ's Body, the
Churcb.
O
The
PLAIN TRUTH August 1978