William William of Pantycelyn, the great Welsh Calvinistic Methodist preacher and poet and hymn-writer, wrote the Welsh Christian classic Theomemphus, and towards the end of that very long poem (some 22 chapters), he penned these unforgettable and challenging lines:
But man without a calling, who is a wolf inside,
Will take the shepherd's wages, but not the flock provide.
These deeply challenging words will repay deep and prolonged study and meditation. How many mere hirelings there are in the church of Christ! How many there are who use the Christina ministry, that most holy and highest of callings on earth, as a cover for promoting their own real interests! How many use it as cover for promoting of their own ambitions! How may use it as a means to promote their own business interests! Alas, how many use it as the means of feathering their own nests, while caring nothing for the flock over which Christ has made them overseers! Part-time ministers! Part-time under-shepherds! Yet, the sheep are left to their own devices. But, and here's the BUT,
But man without a calling, who is a wolf inside,
Will take the shepherd's wages, but not the flock provide.
They take the salary each month, but use that pay to further their own selfish interests, not care for the flock.
Is it any wonder the church is in the state it's in just now? Ministers need urgently to review the reality of their calling before they take another penny from the church that called them.
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