Quiet Hints, Chapter 5–"Starts Good and Bad”

Topics: Pastors·Preaching

Notes taken from Quiet Hints to Growing Preachers by Charles E. Jefferson, Chapter 5,"Starts Good and Bad.”

“A bad start in a pastorate is disastrous. The blunders of the first few weeks may throw a shadow over many years.”

“When the minister goes into his new parish he ought to give himself at once to his supreme task, feeding the sheep.”

“But if he begins, as many a man has begun, by endeavoring to show the sheep what a wonderful man he is, he will wreck the peace of many days.”

“Nor should the new minister convert his earliest sermons into programs of parochial work. We are living in a driving age, but it is possible for a clergyman to drive too fast. A minister of the Gospel is not a sheep-driver, but a sheep-feeder.”

“For a stranger to come into a parish and proceed forthwith to tell his hearers what he expects them to do borders closely on the impertinent. Why not first of all feed the sheep?”

“Sheep like to be fed. They never resist. When repeatedly fed by the same shepherd they will follow him whithersoever he leads them.”

“Many a man has complained bitterly of the foolishness and stubbornness of his sheep, who would have had no trouble had he only placed the feeding before the shearing."

“Nor should there be undue haste in knocking to pieces the contrivances which the former minister created. These things should be allowed to stand, if not forever, at least till day after tomorrow.”

“You may be able to introduce an improvement here and there as the years come and go, but please wait until after dinner before you start.”

“Instead of splitting former societies and methods into kindling wood why not be content to feed the sheep? Feeding sheep involves no perils, whereas kindling-wood may lead to a conflagration.”

Visitor Comments:

January 26, 2010, 3:46 AM Patrick Sullivan says:
British / Australian . Retired Pastor. Hospital Chaplain. Creator and Webmaster of www.jesuschristonly.com	Ray at the risk of hogging the blog to much. I just must say what absolutely solid sound advise this man is giving to those entering the ministry. Oh the heart ache and turmoil many ministers could have saved them selves by following the advise Charles E. Jefferson has to offer. I wish I had been shown this book when I was setting out in the ministry some 40 years ago. Absolute gems, worth there weight in gold.......Thanks Pat
January 26, 2010, 12:31 PM Derek says:
KBM Website Administrator	I notice that Jefferson repeatedly warns shepherds not to browbeat or criticize or weary the sheep he has been charged with feeding. This strikes me as very wise and good counsel, though oddly, I cannot think of a specific Scripture that phrases or frames it the way he does. Pastor Ray (or other pastors reading this), do you know of any good Scriptures along these lines?
January 26, 2010, 2:37 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	One reason I like Jefferson is that he emphasizes things that are timeless—matters of deportment, issues of temperament, how we treat people, how we look at our ministry. Amazing how relevant he is even though he lived in New York in the early 1900s and we are a century later.
January 26, 2010, 2:40 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	The Bible is filled with references to the shepherd/sheep analogy. I think Ezekiel 34 and John 10 fit very well with what Jefferson is saying.