THE young man who would become a preacher, while he is receiving knowledge, or obtaining the theory, must ply himself to the work, making a practical use of what he learns. A man may study for years and acquire an immense amount of knowledge, but having no practical use of it, he is as helpless as an infant. In precisely this predicament are thousands who have gone through the manufacturing process of making preachers, without any practical use of all they have learned. Indeed, many of them have learned nothing of consequence, of one of the most important chapters in a real preacher’s learning, viz: “The ways of the world.” The knowledge of the Bible—general “book-learning,” is all right. It is indispensable. But to know man, is equally important. Man must be studied to be known. We must converse with him face to face. We must know the world by actual contact with it. We must know the church by actual observation. We must know the obstructions in the way of truth and righteousness by actual contact with them, with actual and personal efforts to remove them.
Not only so, but the people must know the preacher—see him, hear him, and have personal interviews with him. His work can not be done by proxy. He must go himself and put his own hands to the work. He must be with them and give them a personal example of deportment and religious conversation, read the Bible to them, pray with them in their families, give thanks at their tables, go with them to the place of worship, preach to them and persuade sinners to repent. A man who does not do this, is really no preacher of Christ, and will accomplish nothing for his name.