William Kelly's Advice to Budding Preachers

Article 9 of 26 from the Ponder This - 2005 series

February 2005 – William Kelly’s Advice to Budding Preachers by Ray Pritchard Recently a publisher in England sent me a brand-new book called The Irish Saint and Scholar: A Biography of William Kelly by Edwin Cross. I know next to nothing about William Kelly except that he was one of the influential early leaders of the Brethren movement in England in the 19th century. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he became a friend and associate of J. N. Darby, the most influential of all the early Brethren leaders. I picked up the book and started reading in the middle of the story. Since I don’t come from a Brethren background, many of the various controversies of the 1800s were new to me. The early Brethren divided over many points of doctrine and church polity, some of which might seem inconsequential today. The book makes clear that Mr. Kelly was a profound student of the Word and a gifted teacher. He also had an amazing literary output. He loved to encourage younger men who felt a call to the ministry of the Word. In 1884 he replied to a young man who sought his advice about a preaching ministry: One who believes the Lord has called him and given him a gift to preach and teach, need not be hasty or anxious. Power makes itself felt, and it is well to begin in a small (proving one’s gift and so be gradually led into a larger) way (p. 106). That strikes me as eminently practical advice for young pastors (a term Mr. Kelly would certainly not have used). I love the way he puts it: “Power makes itself felt.”� That reminds me of Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.”� A recent book advises the following three steps to success in life: start where you are, use what you’ve got, and do what you can. Just yesterday I read the story of Samson slaying a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:14-17). You wouldn’t think that a donkey’s jawbone could do that much damage. But you’ve got to factor in the Spirit of the Lord that came upon Samson. An old gospel song reminds us that, “Little is much when God is in it.”� True power from on high does makes itself felt, first in your own life and then in the lives of those around you. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to start small. Better to start small than never to start at all. And if we start too large, we may wish we had never started at all. William Kelly had it right. There is no need for young ministers to be anxious about anything. Study the Word every day and go through whatever doors God opens for you. Be faithful today and let God take care of tomorrow.