📘 Harvey, The Pastor: His Qualifications and Duties (assigned excerpts)

1. The Call to the Ministry and the Inward Call

Hezekiah Harvey, The Pastor: His Qualifications and Duties (1879), chapter I, “The Divine Call to the Ministry”. Assigned excerpt. The interpretations are the author’s.

The ministry, then, is not chosen as a man chooses a profession, consulting his inclination or interest. It is entered in obedience to a special call from God, and the consciousness of this is essential to personal qualification for the work. The emphasis which the Scriptures place on the Divine vocation of the minister implies a distinction between a call to the ministry and the ordinary choice of a profession. This distinction, in one important element at least, may perhaps be thus expressed: In the case of the minister the work is one to which the conscience obliges; he feels that he ought to engage in it, and that he cannot do otherwise without guilt. But in the case of one choosing another profession it is a matter of aptitudes, tastes, interest; he feels that it is right and wise thus to choose, but there is no sense of imperative obligation, so that it would be morally wrong to do otherwise. In the one, there is the sense of positive obligation as expressed in its strongest form by Paul: “Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel” (1 Cor. ix. 16); in the other, there is a sense of the rightfulness of the choice made and a consciousness of the Divine approbation in making it, but the contrary choice would not necessarily be morally wrong.

As to the manifestation of this call, two opposite errors are to be avoided. On the one hand, the call is conceived as consisting in a mere preference for the work of the ministry, and the result is that men influenced only by literary tastes or unhallowed ambition rush unbidden into the sacred office. On the other, it is regarded as a supernatural manifestation, like a voice from heaven, attended with intense mental struggles; and, as the result, men who ought to enter the ministry are, in the absence of such manifestations, deterred from entering it and mistake their true mission in life. Evidently, this duty is to be ascertained in the same manner as any other duty. The call, indeed, is a Divine act, but so also is regeneration; yet in neither case is the manifestation necessarily or ordinarily supernatural. The evidences of it are found in a prayerful examination of one’s own experience compared with God’s Word. Christian young men, therefore, should be urged to ponder carefully the question whether God is not calling them to the ministry. A pastor’s utmost wisdom and discrimination should be employed in inspiring and guiding young men to right thinking in regard to their life-mission. Many a life-failure might thus be prevented, and many a noble man whose life otherwise had been devoted to secular pursuits would be saved for effective service in the pulpit. This call, I conceive, is manifested in the heart of the individual, in the convictions of the church, and in the providence of God.

I. The Internal Call.—The elements of this are: 1. A fixed and earnest desire for the work. “This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work” (1 Tim. iii. 1). There must be desire; for no man will succeed unless the work enlists the whole enthusiasm of his being. This is more than a love of declamation, a glow in the work of composition, or a taste for the studious, literary life of a pastor: it is a quenchless enthusiasm for the work as the proclamation of God’s message and the means of saving men. It springs from love to Christ and love to the work itself. Paul said: “None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God” (Acts xx. 24). 2. An abiding impression of duty to preach the Gospel. The apostle Paul said: “Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel” (1 Cor. ix. 16). Not always, indeed, will this inward impulsion to the work be so distinct and imperative, but it will always be felt, and with greatest force as the soul draws nearest to God and the true nature of the ministry is most clearly perceived. Hence, in determining the question of vocation much prayer is necessary, and the convictions which predominate in the soul, when most consciously in God’s presence, are to be most carefully considered. 3. A sense of personal weakness and unworthiness and a heartfelt reliance on Divine power. This, indeed, is not an infallible test, for youth is naturally self-confident, and in the case of some most useful ministers a reliance alone on the Divine Arm has come only after long and bitter experience of self-failure. But a self-confident spirit should certainly suggest the fear of self-deception, since it can only spring from a false self-estimate and from wholly inadequate views of the work. Paul said: “Such trust have we through Christ to God-ward; not that we are sufficient of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament” (2 Cor. iii. 4–6).

2. Christ the Great Theme and the Sources of Sermons

Hezekiah Harvey, The Pastor: His Qualifications and Duties (1879), chapter III, “Public Worship”. Assigned excerpt. The interpretations are the author’s.

Christ is the one great theme of the pulpit; around this all other themes gather as to their center and end. Paul said: “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor. i. 23). He states the message of the ministry: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. v. 19–21). All true preaching, therefore, however wide the range of its topics, has a real relation to Christ; and no topic is fit for the pulpit which does not lead to Him. The themes of the preacher are essentially the same in all ages, for the human heart, in its depravity and needs, does not change with changing years; and God’s remedy, the simple, primitive Gospel, remains ever the same. The facts, the doctrines, the duties, the promises, the threatenings, of the Bible are the subjects for the pulpit; none are needed beyond those supplied in God’s Word. The effective preachers in all ages have adhered to the same great truths; they have differed only in modes of illustrating and applying them. The idiosyncrasies of the preacher and the circumstances of his times necessarily modify the form of presentation, but the subject-matter of the ministerial message is unchangeable.

The Gospel furnishes an exhaustless supply of topics. Every minister should, however, use great care to secure copiousness and variety of matter and illustration. The best means are such as these: 1. The constant, careful study of the Bible itself. Its words are the words of God, living and powerful. “They are spirit, and they are life” (John vi. 63); and the pastor who makes this Divine book his chief study has a mind filled, not with the feeble, evanescent thoughts of man, but with the quickening, eternal thoughts of God. The difference is world-wide between a sermon filled with God’s thoughts and delivered as God’s Word—a Divine message to men—and one which is a philosophical discourse wrought out of the preacher’s own mind, and resting its authority on the mere force of human reasoning; and this difference is not simply in the unspeakably greater power of the former to stir and save the souls of the hearers, but also in the ever-increasing power of the preacher in sermon preparation, arising from the absolute inexhaustibleness of the materials for such a sermon. Some able and laborious men early exhaust themselves and fail of richness and power in the pulpit because their sermons are spun out of their own brain rather than from God’s Word. They draw from the finite instead of the infinite fountain, and the waters necessarily fail. 2. A rich personal religious experience. All hearts are essentially alike, and he will best know other hearts who most truly knows his own. The power of a pastor depends largely on his knowledge of the heart and its experiences under the influences of the Gospel. This is more than a knowledge of human nature as delineated in Shakespeare and works of fiction, valuable as this is; it is a knowledge of the human soul under the power of sin and of the Holy Spirit, as its experiences are delineated in the Bible and in the religious life and are realized in his own soul. 3. An intimate acquaintance with the religious state of the individuals composing his own congregation in their special tendencies, temptations, and experiences. Almost every religious conversation will suggest new topics of living interest for sermons. 4. Habitual reading of the best religious authors, especially works on theology, exegesis, and experimental religion. 5. A careful preservation of texts, subjects, trains of thought, and illustrations, by noting them down as they occur. These are continually presenting themselves in the social meeting, in pastoral visits, in reading, and in reflection. No man can afford to lose these. They should be preserved to enrich and make effective the work of the pulpit, and so preserved as to be readily utilized; for one may have large accumulations of such materials, but if they are not grouped under appropriate headings and made easily accessible, they may be comparatively useless, because eluding the search at the moment of need.

3. The Method of Pastoral Visitation

Hezekiah Harvey, The Pastor: His Qualifications and Duties (1879), chapter VII, “Pastoral Visitation”. Assigned excerpt. The interpretations are the author’s.

Here no single method can be suggested that will be adapted to all positions in the ministry, but the following general views may be considered.

The pastor’s visits should be distinctly understood as designed for religious conversation. There are other occasions for visits of mere courtesy and personal friendship, but here his object is to place himself in religious contact with his people—to learn their experiences, to remove their perplexities, to comfort their sorrows, to stimulate their religious activities—and thus, as one entrusted with the care of souls, to help them heavenward. The minister who passes from house to house conversing only on topics of mere secular interest neglects the great business of his life, and in the eye of the Master fails in the care of souls committed to his charge.

The visit should be religious, but it ought to be divested as far as possible of stiffness, formality, sameness. A sour visage and a formal style are not necessary to religious conversation. The pastor comes as a Christian friend deeply, tenderly interested in the religious welfare of the family, and while dealing with their souls in all fidelity, he should use a natural, genial, winning manner such as to put them at ease and invite their confidence. He is to study character, and to employ his utmost tact and judgment in adapting his words to those addressed. Some pastors have a few stereotyped questions and exhortations which recur in every visit. A process so stiff and unnatural lacks all moral power; it is soon felt to be mere formal professionalism. No duty is more delicate or tasks more fully the minister’s resources than the successful management of a pastoral visit, so as to leave a strong religious impression, and yet secure from old and young a hearty welcome for its repetition.

In visitation the pastor should overlook none. Domestics and children, as well as the heads of the family, should share his attention and be made to feel that he cares for their souls. Nor should any family or person be overlooked or passed by, but the visit should be strictly impartial, made alike to the rich and the poor, the converted and the unconverted. For this reason, it is better to have a regular course in visitation. Then all know that there is no favoritism, and in their turn, they will alike share the regards of their pastor.

Ordinarily, the visit should be short. Circumstances will necessarily to some extent control this, but long visits almost inevitably lead to the introduction of secular topics and weaken or destroy the religious impression. Thoughtless persons will often importune the pastor for a half-day visit, to be followed by a festal dinner or supper. But let him beware of yielding to such importunities; it is fatal to his work in the study, and fatal to the religious force of the visit. No earnest minister will waste his time and powers in the gossip of such a visit. As a rule, a brief visit—genial, but to the point—followed, when practicable, by a brief prayer specifically bearing the individual needs of the household before the Throne, is the most effective, and it leaves time to visit the whole congregation without distracting from thorough pulpit preparation.

A pastoral visit should be confidential. No minister has the right to invite disclosures of the religious state of his people in the privacy of their families, and then go forth to retail these conversations through the community. It is the violation of a sacred trust. Many a pastor has thus destroyed his influence and barred against himself access to the confidence of his people. If he would be trusted as the confidential adviser and friend of his charge, let him be true to the trusts reposed in him in these visits.

Above all, the pastor must remember the injunction, “Instant in season, out of season.” He should make the most of opportunities. In the store, the office, and the shop, on the farm, the roadside, and the car—everywhere—he is to seek to lead men to Christ. Wisely, indeed, he will observe the proprieties of time and place, but he should neglect no real opportunity of conversing on vital personal religion. The care of souls is his life-work, his solemn charge, and concern for their salvation ought continually to reveal itself in his conversation. Especially must he seize on opportunities to speak the earnest, kindly word to the unconverted. Ordinarily, this is better done when alone with them, as they are then more accessible, and the appeal comes with greater power. The lack of this personal dealing with souls is one of the saddest defects than can mar the life of a minister.

4. The Pastor as Organizer: A Place and a Work for Every Member

Hezekiah Harvey, The Pastor: His Qualifications and Duties (1879), chapter X, “The Pastor as an Organizer”. Assigned excerpt. The interpretations are the author’s.

One chief function of a pastor is to develop and utilize the spiritual, mental, and social forces of the church. There is in every congregation much latent force, which needs to be developed, alike for the growth and usefulness of those who possess it and for the results it might secure for the church and the world. The minister is, in this respect, a general to whom troops are entrusted; his work is to train and organize and lead. The troops are to fight: he is to inspire and direct the battle. Some hardworking pastors take on themselves burdens which it were far better to lay on the people—better for the pastor, in leaving him free for other work, and better for the members, in calling out their gifts. Indeed, one of the strongest bonds which bind a church together is the consciousness of being mutual workers, each having a post of duty and a share of responsibility. No member should be left in a purely receptive attitude—a mere attendant and listener—but each should have a place and a work assigned him. That church attains the truest and highest growth in which every member is a worker under the stimulus of a consciousness of responsibility and of a useful sphere of activity. Much of the imperfection of church-life is due either to the fact that this latent force is undeveloped, or, if developed, is misdirected. Here I suggest:

1. A pastor should carefully study his people with the view of ascertaining and utilizing their special aptitudes and gifts. The prayer-room, the Sunday-school, the teachers’ meeting, and the pastoral visit all afford constant opportunities for this. One may show aptitude for teaching and may be entrusted with a Sunday-school class. Another has the weight of character and the tact of leadership which fit him for conducting a neighborhood prayer-meeting. Another has the solid judgment and clear discernment of character which will make him useful on a committee of discipline or finance. Another, though possibly not marked in exhortation or prayer, may have social qualities such as admirably qualify him for managing the details and arrangements of the social gatherings of the congregation. A pastor who will constantly act on the motto, A place and a work for every member, and will press this motto on those who conduct the different departments of work in his church, will soon find himself at the head of an active, living, and ordinarily happy people while yet he is not personally overburdened with the details of church-work. In some instances of eminent pastoral success, the chief secret has been in this power of developing and utilizing the gifts of the church.

2. The organization of associations within the congregation for different departments of work is another means of developing and utilizing the spiritual forces in the church. I have spoken in another place of literary and missionary organizations, but I may here add that an association for Christian work composed of young men in a church, and a similar one for young ladies, may often prove of great value—the one to act among young men, to attract and hold them to the church; the other for like service among young women. To such associations might be entrusted also mission Sunday-schools and distinct spheres of missionary effort. In a large congregation it is often desirable to organize committees for the care of the sick and the poor, and the visitation of strangers needing to be invited and welcomed to the congregation, and of erring and sinning ones needing to be won back to holiness and the church of God. In most places it is useful to have committees for the general visitation of the field occupied by the church, each committee being entrusted with a distinct district in it and made responsible for its cultivation. In neighborhoods remote from the church much good is often secured in local prayer-meetings placed under the supervision of some judicious person. A thoughtful pastor, thoroughly supervising his field, will find constant work, and manifold forms of it, in which he can utilize either individuals or organizations in his church; and in doing this there is a double blessing—that which comes to the workers, in making them larger and happier Christians, and that which comes to those for whom they labor. Two things, however, are here to be observed: (1.) Organizations should not be so multiplied as to conflict with the general meetings of the church or with each other. Each should subordinate its arrangements to those of the church, and each should have its own separate, distinctly-marked sphere. (2.) They should be kept under the pastor’s supervision and subject to his guidance. It will be readily seen that this supposes care and tact on the part of the minister.

5. The Pastor’s Secret Prayer

Hezekiah Harvey, The Pastor: His Qualifications and Duties (1879), chapter XX, “The Pastor’s Inner Life”. Assigned excerpt. The interpretations are the author’s.

I. The Habitual Practice of Secret Prayer.—For prayer is the bond which links the Divine power with the human. It is the channel through which God pours His life into the soul. It is the uplifted hand of man’s weakness taking hold on God’s strength. It calls down from heaven the sacred fire, which alone may kindle the preacher’s sacrifice. It has the most vital relations to the character and work of a pastor.

1. The relation of secret prayer to the spirit and purpose of the ministry.

Special dangers beset the pastor. The most sacred services, from their frequent recurrence, may come to be performed in a perfunctory spirit, and his life may thus degenerate into mere professionalism. Unconsciously he comes to meditate, read, and even pray with a view only to others and its effect on others. The sense of his personal relation to God is lost. As a public speaker a desire for popularity may unduly influence his preaching, and conspicuous position tempt his ambition, obscuring his vision of the great end of his ministry—the honor of Christ and the salvation of souls. The very respect which his office secures may foster spiritual pride and make him insensible to his defection in heart from God. Few men are environed by such subtle and powerful seductions to a false life as a Christian minister, and against these only a vivid consciousness of his high calling is an adequate safeguard. He is God’s ambassador, receiving his commission and his message, not from men, but from the Sovereign of heaven and earth. The souls of his congregation are entrusted to him, and the words he is charged to speak are the words of God’s saving power. “In them that are saved” he is “a savor of life unto life,” but “in them that perish” “a savor of death unto death” (2 Cor. ii. 15, 16). If faithful to his trust, he “shall shine as the brightness of the firmament” and “as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. xii. 3); if unfaithful, the blood of souls will be found on him in the day of God’s inquisition. Now, only a distinct realization of these responsibilities as an ever-present, living force pervading his spirit will hold the minister in his inmost life true to Christ and to his work.

It is here prayer has its mightiest reflex power. It gives a vital sense of God and of spiritual realities. It lifts the life above the control of lower motives to a loftier moral elevation, with a purer atmosphere and a broader horizon. The whole man is elevated, ennobled, transfused with Divine life, as he holds communion with God. When Moses had been with God in the mount, his face shone with a glory such that Israel could not steadfastly look on it. It was when Jesus was praying that he was transfigured, “and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light” (Matt. xvii. 2). God imprints His own image on the soul that comes face to face with Him.

The inner life of a preacher always stands revealed in the pulpit; it transfuses itself through his preaching. No mere declamation, no arts of rhetoric, no dramatic simulation of emotion, can conceal the absence of spiritual life. Moral earnestness can never be assumed; it is the attribute only of a soul profoundly feeling the power and reality of Divine truth. The man, therefore, who would speak God’s Word with the pungency and fervor of a Bunyan, a Baxter, a Flavel, or a Payson must, like them, be constant and fervent in prayer. The springs of spiritual life opened in the closet will pour forth never-failing streams of life in the pulpit. Luther said: “Prayer, meditation, and temptation make a minister.” He himself is said to have spent three hours daily in prayer, and those mighty words which thrilled the heart of Christendom were the utterances of a soul thus glowing with the flames of devotion.