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 Recently,
while looking for some comments by David Lipscomb on another
subject, I read what he had to say about women preachers.
(Queries and Answers, Edited by J.W. Shepherd.) He cited the
usual passages on the subject, then said, “There is not the
least difficulty in explaining all the passages in harmony with
these, if we will recognize what is true — that God intended
the great burden of prayer, teaching, exhortation, and
admonition to be done in private, not in public. (emph.
mine, rt) Woman has free access to this great field. We have
perverted this order; we do all of our preaching, teaching,
exhortation, and I fear, praying often, in public; so interpret
the Scriptures by our practices, and not by the will of God.”
(4th. Edition, publ. 1918)
I
will excuse my dearth of private teaching on the obvious basis
— I am a preacher. And how will you excuse your failure? Let
me guess. You are not a preacher, so you don’t know how to do
it. We agree it needs to be done — we will talk about it
awhile — and then go on in our old ways.
But
bro. Lipscomb hit very close to the vitals of many problems. The
work of the Lord has somehow become one and the same with some
sort of public function — a “service” of some sort — and
the seven- days- per- week concern for souls (ours and
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others) is missing.
Even
“Personal Work Programs” are often so organized, so wedded
to “the establishment” that the personal touch is
smothered. Telling another what YOU know, what YOU did in coming
to Christ — even if it is a stumbling account — is far more
likely to generate fire than some calculated, methodical “plan”
that lacks “people” affinity and feeling.
I
believe there is a valid and useful place for public teaching.
(I preached 314 sermons in 1971— averaging more than one a
day, six days a week, straight through.) There is evidence of
much good done.
74 articles
were written during that time, and given to the public. These
too have produced fruit, as indicated in your letters. Church
doors should remain open, and saints must continue to assemble
to worship God, study and pray. But that which is missing is the
going forth — leaving the meeting place with a
renewed determination to carry the gospel to our contacts.
And
without this sort of going out I am afraid that the coming
in soon becomes meaningless. If the “great burden” of God’s
work must be done in private, we had better “get with it.”
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