Friend Seth B. Hinshaw observed 40 years ago:
“The great question concerning the spoken ministry among Friends today is not the outward form it assumes.
The problem goes far deeper. It is a matter of depth and power”
(Seth B. Hinshaw. The Spoken Ministry among Friends, p. 118).
From the start, Friends felt compelled to proclaim Christ and their understanding of salvation, and they found many ways to do that. They took seriously Christ’s call to be His witnesses, and they often engaged in public discussion to make Christ known. We might call what they did “political,” but they saw it as representing Christ. Their public ministry was vocal, and it often caused problems—even death. That didn’t dissuade Quakers from teaching and preaching Christ, though.
They viewed vocal ministry in much broader terms than preaching behind a pulpit. Vocal ministry can be one-on-one, sharing your faith, explaining the way of salvation, or opening the Gospel to others.
It could mean visiting a government official to address a societal need or problem. Some Friends took their message to the streets to proclaim the Light of Christ.
Preaching or vocal ministry entailed all the ways a believer may announce Christ to people lost in the darkness of sin and evil.
What was the source of power at work in them? Romans 8:5 explains,
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires;
but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
Our minds, Friends, must be set on what the Spirit of Christ, who lives in us, desires. Our vocal ministry flows from that way of thinking according to the Spirit.
A “lay person” may stand in open worship to share a message the Holy Spirit laid on the heart. Paul N. Anderson observed,
“As Christ is the one who desires to minister to others through human instruments, the minister and worshiper alike should attend Christ’s leadings first,
instead of wishing to be seen or heard humanly. That is what makes worship a divine-human encounter instead of an audience-performance event”
(Following Jesus, p. 55, 56).
This broader perspective of vocal ministry is relevant to our time. Hinshaw declared,
Great preaching is centered in the Good News of the Kingdom of God. … Preaching can mean individual witnessing,
sometimes just one person with another.
… Just how much many Friends meetings would profit by more stress on personal testimonies no one can say.
… A Spirit-filled testimony can bless the one who gives it, and those who hear it
(Friends Worship Today, p. 47).
I am thankful for Oak Ridge Friends Church, the meeting of my childhood. We were steeped in the truth of the Holy Spirit’s presence and leadership in worship and church business. Waiting on the Spirit in silence, expecting the Spirit to speak, was part of that upbringing. The preachers always seemed to wait for the Spirit and depended on Him when preaching. Open worship wasn’t rushed to allow the Spirit time to interact with the hearts and minds of worshipers, and I felt that as a kid—even before I met Jesus.
ABOUT
Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through Barclay College, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.
Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of Barclay College and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.
Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).