Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter (we'll be reading from the 1862 edition available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example) -
Today was a fairly large reading which concluded the book. It gave practical tips on how to implement the practice of catechising.
Firstly we were given five directions for bringing our people to submit to the exercise:
1.Conduct yourselves in the general course of your life and ministry, so as to convince them of your ability, sincerity, and love to them;
2. Convince them of the benefit and necessity of this exercise;
3. Put catechisms into the hands of every family in your congregation, whether rich or poor;
4. Deal gently with them, and avoid every kind of discouragement;
5. Expostulate with such as are obstinate and disobedient.
Secondly, we were shown 12 directions for prosecuting the exercise with success:
1. Address a few words to them in general to mollify their minds, and to remove all offence;
2. Take them one by one, and deal with each of them apart;
3. Take an account of what each of them has learned of the catechism;
4. Try by further questions how far they understand what they have learned;
5. When you have tried their knowledge, proceed next to instruct them yourselves;
6. If they appear to be unconverted, make some prudent inquiry into their state;
7. Endeavour to impress their heart with a sense of their deplorable condition;
8. Conclude with an exhortation to them to believe in Christ, and to the diligent use of the external means of grace;
9. At dismissing them, mollify their minds by a few words deprecating anything like offence, and endeavour to engage the masters of families to carry on the work you have begun;
10. Keep a list of your people in a book, with notes of their character and necessities;
11. Through the whole course of the exercise, see that the manner as well as the matter be suited to the end;
12. If God enable you, extend your charity to those of the poorer sort, before they part from you.
Today we got a real glimpse of the evangelist in Baxter. He provided quite a significant speech to give to the unconverted and I'll include a section of it here: ''Truly my friends, I have no mind, the Lord knows, to make your condition worse than it is, nor to occasion you any causeless fear or trouble; but, I suppose, you would account me a treacherous enemy, and not a faithful minister, if I should flatter you, and not tell you the truth. If you seek a physician in your sickness, you would have him tell you the truth, though it were the worst. Much more here! For there the knowledge of your disease may, by your fears, increase it; but here you must know it, or else you can never be recovered from it. I much fear that you are yet a stranger to the Christian life. For if you were a Christian indeed, and truly converted, your very heart would be set on God and the life to come, and you would make it your chief business to prepare for everlasting happiness; and you durst not, you would not, live in any wilful sin, nor in the neglect of any known duty.'
I love that argument for telling people plainly the gospel.
It would be a terrible doctor who didn't tell you that you had terminal cancer for risk of upsetting you.
So even more terrible is the minister who doesn't tell you of the cancer of sin for risk of upsetting you.
Although I don't agree with Baxter's central thesis that catechising is the most important task a minister can accomplish for his people, this book is a treasure of insightful material that exhorts the minister to be faithful to his calling.
Next week's reading
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
No comments:
Post a Comment