The influence of a minister’s true Christian character is like cheering rays of sunlight—God calls upon ministers who accept His truth, and bear, in His name, the most solemn message ever given to the world, to lift the standard of Bible truth, and exemplify its precepts in their daily lives. Such a course would charm into believing many who have intrenched themselves behind the breast-works of infidelity. The influence of a true Christian character is like the cheering rays of sunlight that pierce to the remotest corners of the dark places into which they are allowed to enter. The light emanating from the example of the true Christian minister should not be fitful and uncertain like the flash of a meteor, but it should have the calm and steady radiance of the heavenly stars.—The Review and Herald, August 8, 1878.
(PaM 35.1)
Judas exemplifies ministers who may love Jesus, but cling to their objectionable traits of character—In Christ he beheld a character that was pure, harmless, and undefiled, and his heart was drawn out in love for his Master. But the light that was shed upon him from the character of Christ, brought with it the responsibility of yielding up every natural or acquired trait that was not in harmony with the character of Christ. In this Judas did not stand the test. The love of the world was deeply rooted in his heart, and he did not give up his love for the world, nor surrender his ambition to Christ. He never came to the point of surrendering himself fully to Jesus. He felt that he could retain his own individual judgment and opinion. While he accepted the position of the minister of Christ, yet he never brought himself under the divine moulding of Christ. He clung to his objectionable traits of character, and indulged in his own sinful habits, and, instead of becoming pure and Christlike, he became selfish and covetous.—The Signs of the Times, December 18, 1893.
(PaM 35.2)
Consecration
What we need is a converted ministry—What we need in this time of peril is a converted ministry. We need men who realize their soul poverty, and who will earnestly seek for the endowment of the Holy Spirit. A preparation of heart is necessary that God may give us His blessing, but this heart work is not done. O, when will the ministry awake to the solemn responsibilities that are laid upon them, and earnestly plead for heavenly power? It is the Holy Spirit that must give edge and power to the discourse of the minister, or his preaching will be as destitute of the righteousness of Christ as was the offering of Cain.—The Review and Herald, April 5, 1892.
(PaM 35.3)
Those with incorrigible, unbending, stubborn traits of character, when transformed, make the most valuable ministers—Ministers have been presented to me, with their course of action and their character before they were converted—the hardest and most incorrigible, the most unbending, the most stubborn—and yet, every one of these traits of character was what they needed in the work of God. We don’t want to kill that. It is needed in order to fill important positions of trust in the cause of God. There must be a transformation of character. The leaven must work in the human heart, until every action is in conformity to the will of God, and they are sanctified; then they become the most valuable. It is this very kind of individuals that God can use in the different branches of His work.—Manuscript Releases 9:61.
(PaM 36.1)
Piety and devotion are what count—It is not always men who are best adapted to the successful management of a church. If faithful women have more deep piety and true devotion than men, they could indeed by their prayers and their labors do more than men who are unconsecrated in heart and in life.—Manuscript Releases 19:56.
(PaM 36.2)
Self-Sacrifice
The minister’s work demands sacrifice, but less than many who have gone before—The preachers are not all given up to the work of God, as He requires them to be. Some have felt that the lot of a preacher was hard because they had to be separated from their families. They forget that once it was harder laboring than it is now. Once there were but few friends of the cause. They forget those upon whom God laid the burden of the work in the past. There were but a few then who received the truth as the result of much labor. God’s chosen servants wept and prayed for a clear understanding of truth, and suffered privation and much self-denial in order to carry it to others. Step by step they followed as God’s opening providence led the way. They did not study their own convenience or shrink at hardships. Through these men God prepared the way and made the truth plain to the understanding of every honest mind. Everything has been made ready to the hands of ministers who have since embraced the truth, yet some of them have failed to take upon them the burden of the work. They seek for an easier lot, a less self-denying position. This earth is not the resting place of Christians, much less for the chosen ministers of God. They forget that Christ left His riches and glory in heaven, and came to earth to die, and that He has commanded us to love one another even as He has loved us. They forget those of whom the world was not worthy, who wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, and were afflicted and tormented.—Testimonies for the Church 1:370, 371.
(PaM 36.3)
Let ministers who feel they are suffering hardships, visit the workshop of the apostle Paul—Although feeble in health, he labored during the day in serving the cause of Christ, and then toiled a large share of the night, and frequently all night, that he might make provision for his own and others’ necessities.—Testimonies for the Church 4:410.
(PaM 37.1)
Trials prepare preachers for success as shepherds—Moses was directed of God to obtain an experience in care-taking, in thoughtfulness, in tender solicitude for his flock, that he might, as a faithful shepherd, be ready when God should call him to take charge of His people. A similar experience is essential for those who engage in the great work of preaching the truth. In order to lead souls to the life-giving fountain, the preacher must first drink at the fountain himself. He must see the infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God to save fallen men, and his own soul must be imbued with the spirit of undying love. If God appoints us hard labor to perform, we must do it without a murmur. If the path is difficult and dangerous, it is God’s plan to have us follow in meekness and cry unto Him for strength. A lesson is to be learned from the experience of some of our ministers who have known nothing comparatively of difficulties and trials, yet ever look upon themselves as martyrs. They have yet to learn to accept with thankfulness the way of God’s choosing, remembering the Author of our salvation. The work of the minister should be pursued with an earnestness, energy, and zeal as much greater than that put forth in business transactions as the labor is more sacred and the result more momentous.—Testimonies for the Church 4:442.
(PaM 37.2)
Compassion
Shepherds need kindly, compassionate traits of character—Brother A, you need to work with the utmost diligence to control self and develop a character in harmony with the principles of the Word of God. You need to educate and train yourself in order to become a successful shepherd. You need to cultivate a good temper—kindly, cheerful, buoyant, generous, pitiful, courteous, compassionate traits of character. You should overcome a morose, bigoted, narrow, faultfinding, overbearing spirit. If you are connected with the work of God you need to battle with yourself vigorously and form your character after the divine Model.—Testimonies for the Church 3:420.
(PaM 37.3)
Christlikeness means living to love and serve—especially the unlovely—What a wonderful reverence Jesus expressed in His life mission for human life! He stood not among the people as a king demanding attention, reverence, service, but as one who wished to serve, to lift up humanity. He said He had not come to be ministered unto, but to minister. I am sure that the great lesson of forgiveness must be learned more perfectly by us all, and we must practice the Christian graces. Wherever Christ saw a human being He saw one who needed human sympathy. Many of us are willing to serve certain ones,—those whom we honor,—but the very ones to whom Christ would make us a blessing if we were not so cold-hearted, so unkind and selfish, we pass by as unworthy of our notice. We do not help them, though it is our duty to do this,—to bear with their rudeness, while seeking to cultivate the opposite traits of character.—The Review and Herald, April 12, 1887.
(PaM 37.4)
Positive Attitude
Be cheerful and happy without indulging in lightness or frivolity—Jesting, joking, and worldly conversation belong to the world. Christians who have the peace of God in their hearts, will be cheerful and happy without indulging in lightness or frivolity. While watching unto prayer, they will have a serenity and peace which will elevate them above all superfluities.—Testimonies for the Church 3:241.
(PaM 38.1)
Doubt and unbelief, resulting from unfavorable circumstances, indicate spiritual problems—No greater evidence need be asked that a person is at a great distance from Jesus, and living in neglect of secret prayer, neglecting personal piety, than the fact that he thus talks doubts and unbelief because his surroundings are not favorable. Such persons have not the pure, true, undefiled religion of Christ. They have a spurious article which the refining process will utterly consume as dross. As soon as God proves them, and tests their faith, they waver, they stand feebly, swaying first one way, then the other. They have not the genuine article that Paul possessed, that could glory in tribulation because “tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.”Romans 5:4~5. They have a religion of circumstance. If all around them are strong in faith and courage in the ultimate success of the third angel’s message, and no special influence is brought to bear against them, they then appear to have some faith. But as soon as adversity seems to come upon the cause, and the work drags heavily, and the help of everyone is needed, these poor souls, though they may be professed ministers of the gospel, expect everything to come to nought. These hinder instead of helping.—Testimonies for the Church 2:514.
(PaM 38.2)
When the shepherd becomes discouraged, wolves devour the sheep—Satan will work by any and every means which he can employ to discourage the active servants of God. If the shepherd can be beguiled from his duty, then the way is clear for wolves to scatter and devour the sheep.—The Signs of the Times, January 3, 1884.
(PaM 38.3)
Dependability
Ministers need a steady experience, not one that flames up on special occasions, then grows dim—The ministers of Jesus Christ must teach, both in the church and to individuals, the fact that a profession of faith, even by Seventh-day Adventists, unless it proceeds from heartfelt piety, is powerless for good. Religious light is to shine forth from the church, and especially from the ministers, in clear, steady rays. It is not to flame up on special occasions, and then grow dim, and flicker, as if about to go out.—Testimonies for the Church 5:531.
(PaM 39.1)
If a minister is not reliable, other gifts cannot make up for it—Brother C can speak in a manner to interest a congregation, and if this were all that is necessary to make a successful preacher, then a class of brethren and sisters would be right in their estimation of him. But he is not a thorough workman; he is not reliable.—Testimonies for the Church 1:448.
(PaM 39.2)
Humility
Keep Jesus prominent and self out of sight—Your danger will ever be in despising counsel and in placing a higher value on yourself than God places upon you. There are many who are always ready to flatter and praise a minister who can talk. A young minister is ever in danger of being petted and applauded to his own injury, while at the same time he may be deficient in the essentials which God requires of everyone who professes to be a mouthpiece for Him. You have merely entered the school of Christ. The fitting up for your work is a life business, a daily, laborious, hand-to-hand struggle with established habits, inclinations, and hereditary tendencies. It requires a constant, earnest, and vigilant effort to watch and control self, to keep Jesus prominent and self out of sight.—Testimonies for the Church 4:376.
(PaM 39.3)
It takes time to learn to properly shepherd God’s flock—How long did it take Moses to learn the lesson of meekness, and become fitted to be a general to lead the armies of Israel out of Egypt? He went through a long discipline. For forty years he tended sheep in the land of Midian, learning how to be a good shepherd to the flock. In his position of shepherd he was called upon to care for the weak, to guide the wayward, to seek for the wandering. This was an essential training for him who was to be the leader of Israel; for in the care of the flock of God he would be called upon to nourish the weak, to instruct the wayward, and to bring the lost one back to the fold.—The Signs of the Times, January 16, 1893.
(PaM 39.4)
Responsibility
Feed, oversee, and be an example to your flock—The ministers of the Word, and others who fill responsible positions, as well as the body of the church, need this spirit of humility and contrition. The apostle Peter writes to those who labor in the gospel: “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”(1 Peter 5:2~3)—The Review and Herald, December 16, 1890.
(PaM 39.5)
Preach the Word, and visit the people—No part of the minister’s duty is to be neglected. He is to preach the Word, not the opinions of men. He is to labor with individuals, to visit families, not simply to talk of the commonplace happenings, but of things of eternal interest, praying with them, and teaching in all simplicity the truth of God.—The Review and Herald, June 30, 1891.
(PaM 40.1)
Arrange for each member to have something to do—The work of the minister represented by the seven stars is a high and sacred work. When he entertains the idea that his work is comprehended in sermonizing, he overlooks, and is sure to neglect, the work devolving upon a shepherd of the flock. It is his work to have care, to oversee the flock, to so arrange the elements of the church that each may have something to do.—The Review and Herald, May 31, 1887.
(PaM 40.2)