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Testimonies for the Church Volume 7
Ministers are not to be called hither and thither to attend board
meetings for the purpose of deciding common business questions.
Many of our ministers have done this work in the past, but it is not the
work in which the Lord wishes them to engage. Too many financial
burdens have been placed on them. When they try to carry these
burdens, they neglect to fulfill the gospel commission. God looks upon
this as a dishonor to His name.
The Lord’s great vineyard demands from His servants that which
it has not yet received—earnest, persevering labor for souls. The
ministry is becoming weak and enfeebled, and under its tame service
the churches also are becoming weak. As the result of their labors
the ministers have but little to show in the conversion of souls. The
truth is not carried into the barren places of the earth. These things are
depriving God of the glory that belongs to Him. He calls for workers
who will be producers as well as consumers.
The world is to be warned. Ministers should work earnestly and
devotedly, opening new fields and engaging in personal labor for souls,
instead of hovering over the churches that already have great light and
many advantages.
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