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 A
small group of saints had agreed to work and worship together,
and had obtained a meeting place. They met regularly for several
months, and were growing numerically as well as spiritually.
Then, from another city, they were visited by an elder and a
preacher. The preacher asked to speak to the assembly, and his
request was granted.
He
congratulated the group on their fine beginning as a “mission”,
and said that since the church where he preached was an “organized”
church they had consented to take this new “mission” under
their wing. Henceforth, all bills would be sent to the city
church, as well as all contributions. The city church would send
a preacher to the “mission” at times.
When
he finished, one stalwart man present asked politely if the
elder had anything to say. No, the preacher had stated things
quite well. The man then asked the preacher if he had any thing
to add. He did not. So the local man made a very simple
statement: “There on the wall are your hats; and there is
the door! Now, get out of here, and don’t come back!”
That’s what I call getting to the point, and I think he was
clearly understood.
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In
my earlier years I preached at a small country church in Indiana
and was surprised to see one of the elders pull his rocking
chair into the aisle directly before the pulpit, and from this
position, listen carefully to my sermon. I assumed he was
hard-of-hearing, or something like that; and it was not until
later that I learned he was “presiding” — a custom brought
over from England.
I
was also told that some months before, a stranger had asked to
speak and his request was granted. As he developed his subject
he advocated a premillennial position. The elder had tapped his
cane on the floor for attention, and asked the speaker to repeat
his last statement. When he did so, the elder said: “That’s
what I thought you said. Get down out of that pulpit!”
Perhaps
this was lacking in style and finesse, and I can not vouch for
the elder’s objectivity, but there is a beautiful simplicity
in the finality of the matter.
This
is not written to advocate arbitrary rule or censorship. But
we sometimes long for men who will say something positive
and mean it.
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