Page 3 Transcribed:
Page 208 “The Reformer” (Sheldon) Why should I run away from hard work, where _____ and yet no man knows unless he has been in the ministry the enormous demands on the profession. I am not speaking boastfulness or complaint when I say no profession requires such constant & varied exercise of all the power of manhood. Do you wonder that the ministry sometimes grows discouraged as it faces a labour that in the nature of the case can never be completed in any sense & has the vision of an ideal that no church or parish ever yet realised? And then of late I am haunted by a doubt as to the value of a great deal I am doing. It is not the hard work I am beginning to dread, it is the fear that it is wasted power & that the organised church of today ought to be changing much of its practice in order to do what Christ wants done...
Page 211- My people are some of the best men & women in the city, they are loyal & true & any man might well be proud of their friendship. It is a compliment to the ministry that the unchristian part of the community turns to the Church & the preacher for comfort & help. My ideals are constantly disappointed. It is not the service I shrink from.
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This appears to be thoughts and notes taken after reading Sheldons "The Reformer", not quotes from the book.
ReplyDeleteThe book "The Reformer" by Charles Monroe Sheldon was published in 1902 which puts us six years after the date written on the cover of this journal. I found out a lot about Charles Monroe Sheldon just by Googling and he is quite famous today but at the time this diary was written he would have been a fairly new and revolutionary writer. He is the guy who the saying "What Would Jesus Do?" was attributed to.
I love the honesty of the writer of this journal, especially in expressing doubt and discouragement so openly. We need this type of honesty in the church today.
"And then of late I am haunted by a doubt as to the value of a great deal I am doing. It is not the hard work I am beginning to dread, it is the fear that it is wasted power & that the organised church of today ought to be changing much of its practice in order to do what Christ wants done... "
ReplyDeleteahh man.. he/she hits a note with me when he/she says it is not the hard work but the fear that it is wasted power.. I would LOVE to have met the author and sat down over a cuppa for hours and hours.. but instead I will just look forward to reading more entries :-)