A Pastor's 25th and a Church's 150th Anniversary

Added: Dec 28, 2017
A Pastor's 25th and a Church's 150th Anniversary: Rev. Owen P. Eaches, D.D -- Pages 7-8

Prof. Perry : Rev. Judson Conklin, of Trenton, will now tell us what " A twenty-five years' Pastorate means to the Association . "

Mr. Chairman and Friends:

I have had the pleasure in my short life of attending a silver wedding anniversary, but this is the first silver anniversary of a pastorate. It is a most delightful occasion and I am glad to be here, and I bring to all the membership of the Hightstown Baptist Church the sincere congratulations of the Clinton Avenue Baptist Church of Trenton. The Deacons and Trustees have united with me in this for you all. It seems to me that the church as well as the pastor ought to haveour congratulations today: for, if we were attending a wedding anniversary we would not extend all our good wishes to the husband and leave the wife alone. So, it seems to me that we should remember the church also. For whatever a man may be at the head of the church, unless the church has rare qualities, such an anniversary is impossible. I think that these anniversaries are wise things. They are so rare we cannot afford to pass them by in silence. I think we are all too much in danger of leaving the good things that we have in our hearts for others, until they are gone. Then we bring our flowers and our sympathies. Dr. Baldwin, in that delightful book of his, tells the storv of what was said at the funeral sermon of a pastor who had been laboring for over thirty years. At the services which were held in the church, the deceased was spoken of in the kindliest way. His wife listened to it all, and after all was over she said, " Oh ! if some of these kind words had been spoken to my husband, how they would have comforted him. If you have a word of cheer, speak it while I am alive to hear."

What does it mean to the association ? It means a great deal. Indirectly, it means a great deal because of the lesson which such a pastorate brings. This is a restless, shifting, and changeable age. When I looked over the ministers of the association I found to my surprise, that I was the second oldest settled pastor in the Trenton association. Yet, it seems to me that I have just begun my work. I suppose that while we believe that a long pastorate is helpful, we yet realize that some short pastorates are too long. But, after all, it is a wise thing that these biennial and triennial changes are not necessary, they are not es.sential to the well being of a church. On the contrary, wherever you find the strongest churches, as the Hightstown Baptist Church, the Calvary Church of Dr. MacArthur, and vSpurgeon's Tabernacle in London, you will find that there have been long pastorates. The strongest churches are those that have had a pastorate of eight or more years. The influence of such a pastorate is great.

But, directly it means far more. There is such a thing as a larger ministry. I believe that every true man of God should have regard for the community in which he lives. It is in the association, in the state and throughout the wide world, it seems to me, that the pastor and the church should wield an influence for good. First, in the community and then in the other widening circles around it. If there is such a ministry as this, the longer a man stays in a pastorate the better. And, brothers and friends, I congratulate you that in Dr. Eaches you have a man of wide- spread good in the association. Some of these pastors here have known Dr. Eaches longer than I have and they can speak better than I can concerning what good he has done the association. I pray to-day that this pastorate will continue. I believe that which has been read by the Trustees came from the heart, unlike the man who wished to get rid of his Irish servant and to that end gave him a hearty recommendation. The servant, after reading the recommendation, said, ' I guess I'll stay.' I pray that God's blessing may rest upon the pastor and upon all the members of this church, and may we all be here to see his 50th anniversary."