The Words and Wisdom of J.D. Tant
Bro. J.D. Tant was a very wise individual. Living and serving when he did, it was his duty to deal with the denominations, faithful brethren, and last but not least having to deal with those whom he would label as “Digressive.” Those who would be called digressive were those who believed that it was scriptural to have Missionary Societies as well as those who added to God’s word when they insisted on having musical instrument.
He dealt with those in the denominational world, but at least they were “what you see is what you get” and not sneaking organs into the church house on Saturday night so that “faithful” brethren would have no choice to make other than voting with their feet and leaving. In this way, they were in fact stealing the meetinghouse from those who labored to build that edifice. Now, at Tant’s suggestion, some were able to save their building but that was only after they had to go to court to litigate for it. What a sad day it was when this happened!!
The following article is from the Firm Foundation magazine and gives a brief idea of what Bro. Tant saw as wisdom in dealing with the upcoming generation. The young preachers needed to know how to deal with situations facing them. He starts the article with “Mistakes” which he had personally made. Finally comes sage advice for up and coming young preachers who desperately needed the advice.
Mistake Number One
These are only a few of the items that will be brought against you in almost every meeting you hold. Then mistake number one will be when you write a letter to anybody denying any charge or asking about anything you may have heard that has been said of you.
It makes no difference what you may hear that people say about you, for the Lord’s sake make no reply. If what they say be true, try to humbly correct the wrong in your own life. If what is said be untrue, nine-tenths of those who tell the falsehood will tell twenty more to sustain what they have said. Then never—no, never— think of making any reply to what some evil-hearted man or woman may say about your conduct. The less attention you give to what may be said about you, the less it will harm you; and the more it will harm those who make the talk.
Along this line I have made some of the most egregious mistakes of life.
While I would look back over bygone years and draw the curtain of forgiveness and forgetfulness, yet I can call to memory sometimes when I have acted indiscreetly by writing to someone who had spoken unkindly of me. I would stir them up to be still more bitter enemies and cause them to use all their extra powers against me to injure me. They have even written to places where my work would be to prejudice the brethren against me.
All this might have been prevented had I paid no attention to them, gone on preaching as I had been doing, and treated them kindly. Yet following the other course I have made them life enemies; and while I can freely forgive all wrongs done, still I think no circumstance can cause me to ever have any confidence in them. I suppose they look at me from the same point of view.
Then remember, dear young brother, your conduct is watched far closer than what people may say, and all things said about you will soon be forgotten, and your life of earnest work, in the minds of good men and women, will prove the accusation a lie, if you don’t keep it stirred by writing and denying the charges made against you. Don’t make the first mistake by writing the first letter on hearsay or what “they” may say; the second you will never have to write.
Mistake Number Two.
Young preachers often express themselves on any trouble before hearing both sides. Then, learn not to draw conclusions till you hear the whole matter.
Often, when you go to places, you will be told of some great crime that old Brother A or Sister B is guilty of. You will be told of some great wrong that has been done your informant, and you will be asked to give your advice. Treat their statement with courtesy but refuse to express yourself till you hear the other side; for frequently said parties are only telling you so much to get you to commit yourself that they may use it in their own favor to the downfall of the other parties. In all local troubles, have no pets; examine closely both sides before you speak, and then act as a man of God. Rule righteously, regardless of the Influence that may be on one side and the prejudice that may exist on the other.
Mistake Number Three
Some try to preach so they will not hurt anybody’s feelings by crossing their religious faith. I often see reports of meetings in papers, where the reporter is careful to say: “ Brother A is a grand preacher, and all the sect love him, and love to hear him preach”
I thank God that in all my meetings reported no one has ever reported such a meeting. Neither do I believe any man beneath the son can preach the gospel in all its plainness and purity and have such a report of his meeting. Christ never had such a report, nor Paul nor any of the earlier Christian writers who preached the gospel as God ordained they should do. If you go out to try to please men, you will not please God; if you preach in such a manner that the sects all love to hear you, then there is something wrong, either with the sects or with your preaching. In kindness, earnestness, and love preach the word, and don’t neglect to preach It straight. It is much better to preach it so it will save men than to preach it so it will please the Sects. Let God be your teacher, his word your guide. Seek to please him whether it pleases men or not.
This brings us to the fourth mistake, which will be examined in our next, GA vol 39, #26, 7/1/976, page 415
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Mistake Number Four.
Many young preachers, in trying to put themselves forward as debaters, challenge all they meet for debate before they are prepared to meet the doctrines of men. Even Paul exhorts Timothy to avoid this. Alexander, the coppersmith, claims he had greatly withstood even the words of an apostle. (2 Tim. 4: 14, 15.)
It being true that there were men of ability who opposed the truth so much that an apostle could write to a young preacher to beware of certain ones, our young brethren should take heed and not too soon overestimate their ability and want to meet some man in debate when they are not able to do so. It is not every man that is a good preacher who can debate; and while I am strictly in favor of debates, I visit many places where debates did no good. They were brought about by unfavorable surroundings, by one side bulldozing and old Adam on the other, by a spirit of controversy rather than a seeking for truth. Also, I have been to places where one man was unable to meet his opponent, and, as a result, harm came to the church there.
Again, I would say that one of the most fatal mistakes a young preacher can make is to try to meet a man on all low, vulgar positions he may take. While ridicule and vulgarity may take with some people, it will never take with that class who build permanently society or the church of God. So, above all things in debate, keep yourself above the low and vulgar. It makes no difference if your opponent goes there, tell him you are a Christian, must give an account to God for your conduct, and cannot afford to stoop below what is written. This kind of debating may not suit some, but will win in the end, and also be more acceptable to him to call you to be a soldier.
Mistake Number Five
You fail to teach the brethren their duty concerning the support of the ministry. I am well aware that nine-tenths of our young preachers make fatal mistakes at this point. It is not necessary for you to say something about money in every sermon, but in all meetings have one or two good sermons on scripturally spreading the gospel. Let the brethren plainly understand that if God has called you to preach the gospel, he has also called them to support you in so doing, and while condemnation may come to you in not preaching, equal condemnation will come to them in not supporting you while preaching.
Don’t try to visit all mission points at your own expense, for such will soon close you out, and you will become discouraged in not being supported; whereas had you done your duty at the beginning in teaching the brethren, there would have been no necessity in your quitting.
Some ungodly man or woman may accuse you of preaching only for money. Don’t regard the accusation. So, true man or woman will ever fall out with you for teaching them their duty. Along this line I have made some grave mistakes, which I am trying to correct as I grow older.
Error is killed out only by the practice of truth, and had our brethren always been as faithful in teaching the people on giving as they have in preaching baptism for the remission of sins, there would have been no occasion or place or time for the organization of the different societies that have infested the church.
So, dear young brother, from the beginning teach them that the fellowship is of as much importance as prayer, apostle’s doctrine, and breaking of bread.
Mistake Number Six
Jealously toward other preachers. The first thing every young preacher should learn is that they never made any two men to occupy the same place in the church of Christ. After learning that then it will not be hard to understand that our brother is not in our way, but only as a member filling his place in the body to all complete in one. I have found some preachers who did not like for another brother to come on their territory, and especially if some of the home brethren spoke kindly of the visiting brother. I have also seen many preachers who could never speak a kind word of another preacher, showing they were jealous of the other man’s influence. No difference what evil report they heard of their preaching brother, they never lost an opportunity of telling and magnifying the same.
Dear young brother, your preaching brethren are not in your way, but only companions doing their part in the great conflict, as God has ordained. Then let them be your friends, and not your enemies. Speak well of them; be not jealous of them, even if they can preach better than you. Do the best you can, and leave the consequences with God, knowing that an angel can do no more.
Our next will be advice to young preachers.
GA Vol39, #27, 7/8/97, page 432
Along the line of advice, it may be well to say in the beginning that preachers are born, not made. Perhaps there are men preaching to-day who should be in the penitentiary, and men in the penitentiary who should be preaching.
Paul shows, in Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12, and Eph. 4, that there is one body, and all the different members are fitted together in that one body to make all complete in Christ. In all well-organized and well-regulated bodies, one member never gets in the way of another, neither are there too many members for one body, neither are there any provisions made for dead members to be carried about by that body. In all cases where a member becomes dead, there are only carried about by putting double work on some other member. Should some member become dissatisfied with its place, and try to take the place of some other member of that body, nothing but confusion would follow. If you should sit down at the table and the foot fly up on the table, take hold of your fork to convey your food to your mouth, all could see the failure at once, and realize how ridiculous the performance would be to look upon. Again, if you sit down to write a letter and the foot fly up, take the pen, find and begin to write, where could you find a place for your hands? Should your head jump to the ground and begin to walk, what service would your feet be? These thoughts suggest the propriety of carefully considering the position God has ordained we should occupy in the body.
Then every young preacher should ask himself the question: “What position has God ordained for me to occupy?” To that question you can almost be sure to find an answer by reading Rom.12. There you find all have different gifts, and you will see which one of these gifts you can best fill. After you prayerfully decide, and that decision is that you are to be a minister, remember you have taken upon yourself to fill the most solemn and responsible position that God has ordained man to fill upon the earth; remember you have become the Lord’s servant, and are expected to go forth among the children of men to do his will; remember, you are become a co-laborer with God to build lively stones into the spiritual building that was established by God, not by men; also remember that Paul warns you in thunder tones to take heed how you build thereupon, for every man’s building shall be tried at the last day. This being true, every thought should be studied with caution, and every step taken with care. One wrong idea developed, one wrong step taken, may cause you to branch off the main line and be sidetracked by the way-side. A life of usefulness may be destroyed almost before the star of hope begins to shine.
These thoughts, given by Paul, well considered and well developed, will safely guide any man through life as a preacher, and enable him to do the work God has ordained for him to do: First, “Preach the word “ (2 Tim. 4: 2); second, “Keep thyself pure” (1 Tim. 5: 22); third, “Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ “ (2 Tim. 2: 3).
If these three thoughts are well developed and strongly fortified from every standpoint, no young man need have any fear of a failure as a preacher in the church of Christ. But at the beginning of these thoughts many young men are met with the difficult problem: “How am I to prepare myself to preach the word?” To many this seems hard; to others, they see nothing difficult along that line.
To all I must say there are no insurmountable difficulties to that man who is willing to labor and to wait. I often notice calls in the papers from so-called noble young men asking some church to help them by sending them money that they may go to school. They desire an education that they may make a preacher. To these calls I give no heed, for not one of the young men in ten who make such calls will ever succeed. They are not willing to endure hardships as a good soldier, and only desire to be educated at the expense of someone else. If I were a stout, healthy young man, eighteen to twenty-five years old, and had been working for myself from two to five years, before God I would be ashamed to let people know I was so worthless as to have to call on someone to help me go to school. Almost any able-bodied young man can get work on the farm from $125 to $150 per year, and $25 to $40 of this money will clothe him decently. If he will spend his nights at home studying, instead of running around with the gay and frivolous, he can come to the last of the year with $75 or $100. With this money he can go to school six or eight months, then work and go again. When he shows that he is worthy of help, almost any community has some good man or woman who is willing to help him pull through. If there is nothing in him, help will do harm instead of good.
GA Vol 39, #29, 7/22/97, page 463
My last left me on the education of young preachers. While I am strictly in favor of educating young men for the ministry, I only favor this education so far as it goes to develop the powers for good that the young man may already possess. When you educate a young man as a professional minister, to make a “pastor “ of him, about nine times out of ten you lose a good plow hand, make a fool of the boy, and injure the cause of Christ. There have been many honest, earnest, godly young men who were doing good by preaching the word and converting men and women to Christ. God was blessing their labor; they were enduring hardships as good soldiers; they went to college, came back educated fools, had no piety, but little love for the Master’s cause, had made professional preachers of themselves, and were hunting a job. They were seeking to take charge of some church, desiring a place in all societies to make themselves popular, first-class young pastors, worth $1,000 to any church, and could not disgrace the profession by preaching for less. They generally fall in love with some church, and know from one to three other places which are anxious for their services at $1,000, but on account of the great need of the place where they are, they will work for $1,000, but will contribute $400 of that amount in preaching, provided the congregation will raise the other $600. I well know a young preacher in Texas who, in bygone years, was earnest, zealous, and a grand young preacher. Like Paul of old he was set for the defense of the gospel; he had good meetings, and it seemed the power of God was with him; but he was not satisfied in his humble, godly position. He went to college, and first became an advocate of societies in the church, because the popular current was on that side, and he could not say: “No” He never made a great sacrifice to become “pastor” of a church—that is, two congregations about thirty miles apart wanted him all the time, and had offered him $900 a year. He had only a few days to give them an answer; but on account of the great need of the church where he was, and on account of his great love for his dear little wife, from whom he could hardly stand to be separated two weeks at a time, he agreed that if the church would raise him $900 he would preach for them. He would much rather lose $300 than to be separated half his time from his wife. All the poor men who were controlled by their wives, and all the dear sisters with their societies, went to work not to lose this great man. The time came, resources were exhausted, and $500 was the greatest amount they could raise; but this man accepted the $500, and lost $400 to get to stay all the year with his wife. This young brother has lost said charge, and is located to-day, preaching for a small town church, and almost forgotten to the brotherhood, and, I fear, to God who called him to the ministry of his word. Another brother was once known for the great work he did; he became pastor, went off with the popular current, got $1,000 a year for two years, then suddenly got two calls, one for $1,200, the other for $1,500; but on account of the great need of the place where he was, he would make the sacrifice and preach for them another year for $1,000, and they accepted his call. He got the church greatly in debt by causing them to build a new church house. They were unable to pay the $1,000, and he had to quit to go into secular employment; but finally, he got another call for $800, where he is working now.
I only mention these things to show the dangers that come out before our young men. I am greatly in favor of an education, and never fail to impress upon young men the importance of going to school. I need to thank God to-day that we have a grand Bible School for young men, at Nashville, where the Bible can be prayerfully studied without addition or subtraction; that here young men may fit and prepare themselves to better proclaim the glad tidings of salvation; but should this school, like many others, seek to become popular, to turn out “pastors” instead of godly young men for the Master’s use, then I will be an enemy to that school as much as I am to some others.
Then, dear young brethren, if you are any account and worth educating, and it becomes necessary for the Master’s cause that you should be educated, don’t become discouraged at disappointments to-day, for success may come to you to-morrow. All who fight may expect defeat at some point. But profit by defeat; watch yourself more closely; work, fight, watch, and pray; and He who doeth all things well will finally come to your relief, and crown you with reward. GA Vol 39, #30, 7/29/97, page 480
Dear young brethren, as this is our last letter, I wish to speak of home and its surroundings.
- It Is well for preachers to marry.
- Preachers should act sensibly and marry one who will make a preacher a companion, not a heathen.
- All preachers should live within their income.
- All should strive to get a home.
But, you ask, when should I marry?
More young preachers kill their influence in marrying too young than do those in waiting too long. Very few young men are fitted to marry during the growing period of life. In our growing stage what we are this year we are not that next, and few girls who suit you this year would suit you next. Then, never think of marrying under twenty-five years old. It is much safer to marry from twenty-eight to thirty-five than it is from eighteen to twenty-five. If you get a good woman, she is well worth waiting for; if she is mean, you will have long enough to live with her, anyway; so, don’t be in a hurry to marry. Don’t be fearful that all the pretty and good girls will be married before you are twenty-eight, for I am sure we will have a supply of marriageable girls on hand at the last day. You are hardly competent to decide all the affairs of life so young; you are not able, and have not become settled enough, to become the husband of a good, Christian girl. Wait till you are developed in mind and body, then you will have more judgment to choose a companion who will be suited to you in all the conflicts of life.
Again, you ask, whom should I marry? I would say you should never marry a frivolous, giddy, lightheaded, selfish girl; neither a sectarian. On an average, all women are good enough for all men, but preachers’ wives are few. I know of some preachers in Texas to-day who have women for wives that are dragging their husbands’ souls to hell. I see no hope for such a preacher, unless he does as Abraham of old—leave his country and his wife’s kin behind; and he might go farther than Abraham, and leave his wife behind, too, if he ever expects to do his Master’s will. Only a short time past I stayed all night with a preacher whose wife seemed to think she had been called to abuse preachers (her husband in particular, because he left home and went off to preach the word). It took me only a short time to give her a few suggestions, which I think she will not forget soon.
Brethren, don’t fall in love with only a beautiful form, but court a girl on account of her sense, zeal for the Master’s cause, and desire to become a preacher’s wife. If you cannot find that kind, my advice to you is to never, no, never marry.
And now, as for your support, it is always safe, if we cannot pay for what we need, to put up with what we have. Many times, since I have been preaching, I have felt the need of more food than I had; many times I have gone into the pulpit feeling embarrassed on account of my old clothes; yet I pulled through with what I had, paid my debts, and lived honest before all men. Don’t go in debt depending on your brethren to pay, for many things come up to drive your brethren from you. They don’t pay, you have to suffer the blame, and your influence is crippled thereby. I know of preachers now whose influence is forever crippled on account of their dressing finer and eating more than their income could supply. Don’t think because you hold a good meeting and are paid well for it that such will always be true, for you may have to hold many without any pay at all. Finally, don’t make it convenient to move every change of the moon, but find a good community and buy you a home. A farm is better; if no more than five acres, it will be a home, and the rents you would pay in five years will pay it out of debt. Such a course will encourage your dear wife. She realizes that all improvements made are on her own, not another’s, home. Above all, don’t give occasion for people to say you have the meanest children in town. Properly direct the home. Try to buy a home. You may not need it now, but after a while, when the winter time of life comes upon you, you can lie down to rest, not an object of charity, but as a wise servant in the Master’s vineyard, having a home for your declining days, and the promise of a better home in that city whose builder and maker is God. GA vol 39, #31, 8/5/97, page 494
Brother Tant was one wise old fox when it came to his advice to brethren. Having followed his course closely, it never failed me to see how he was able to deal with nearly every error that came at him personally, not to mention the church. Let us follow his example in word and deed!!
Kyle Frank
An excerpt from the new book “Deep in the Heart of Texas, the life of J.D. Tant.”