1 Samuel 14:52

"... when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him." 1 Samuel 14:52 .

This should be the rule of the Church. Does not the Church too often look out for feeble, quiet, timid, inoffensive men? Is not negativeness of character a recommendation to the pulpit? We hear of ministers being so inoffensive, harmless, quiet, as really not to excite any painful attention; and this is supposed to be a compliment to the ministers in question. No such record is found in the New Testament. Wherever Jesus Christ went a storm was created. Of the apostles it was said, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also." "Inoffensive" is the last epithet that would have been applied to an apostle. It does not follow that strong men or valiant men are to be noisy, demonstrative, or ostentatious; but it does mean that they are to be firm and clear in their testimony, resonant in their denunciation of wrong, and ever eloquent in their defence of that which is helpless and poor. Strong men and valiant men should be pre-eminently in the Church. The Church itself has become a controversial term because every one of its positions has been assailed, whether the position is doctrinal, ecclesiastical, or semi-political. Under such stress of assault we need strong and valiant men to repulse the enemy, and keep in full repair the bulwarks of the Church. There is no greater mistake than to suppose that a weak man may make a refuge of the pulpit. Congregations know when a man is weak, and they soon leave him in full possession of his undesirable reputation. A timid man in the Church not only does no good, he often does very serious harm. He seems to be insincere, and there he may do himself unconscious injustice, for sincerity and tempestuousness of manner do not necessarily go together. A man, however, must not only be sincere, he must appear to be sincere to those who are observing him; that is to say, he must be just to himself, and so give the full weight of his character and ability to the side which he has espoused. There is a common saying that the fool of the family is reserved for service in the Church; when Saul's maxim is worked upon that policy will soon be discovered to be not only an error in morals but a mistake in economical calculation.