Ecclesiastes 12:9, “And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.”
My favorite preacher and mentor of the faith, Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), made these five life-changing decisions as a young 19 year old man, while pastoring his first church in east Texas:
- I will be a friend to my friends.
- Money will never influence my ministry.
- I will base my loyalties on principles and not on institutions.
- I will make my decisions on the basis of right and wrong, and not how it turns out.
- No one will ever tell me what to preach, where to preach, or how long to preach.
SOURCE: “There Is A Man In The Kingdom”
In his classic MP3 sermon, “Filled With All The Fullness Of God,” Dr. Hyles tells the story of how he was called to his second pastorate 10-miles outside of Marshall, Texas. None of the men in the church voted for him. He was called as their pastor by a vote of 28-to-27. Everyone who voted for him to be their pastor were the church youth and one lady adult.
Three bigshots in the church—the chairman of the deacon board, the Sunday School superintendent and the treasurer—called him close to midnight, demanding to meet with him immediately at the church. So a young 19-year-old Jack Hyles walked down a dark country road to meet with the three men at the church. As he sat listening in the front pew, those men told him that he wasn't old enough to pastor their church, and that they didn't want him as their pastor. They threatened Brother Hyles that if he did accept the pastorate, the treasurer would never write him a paycheck.
After leaving the meeting, Brother Hyles drove around in the wee hours of the morning in an east Texas pine thicket, praising God and feeling great peace and joy in the Lord. During that drive, the young Jack Hyles made five promises to God; namely:
- Nobody will ever tell me what to preach or where to preach.
- Money will never be an object in my ministry.
- I will always be a friend to my friends.
- I will be loyal to principles, and not to Institutions.
- I will make the decisions of my ministry on the basis of what I think is right only.
SOURCE: “Filled With All The Fullness Of God”
In the sermon Dr. Hyles states:
“Students of Hyles-Anderson College, do not give your loyalty to Hyles-Anderson College. You give your loyalty to what we stand for today, and if tomorrow we don't stand for it, you withdraw your loyalty—loyalty to principle, loyalty to right, loyalty to character, loyalty to integrity, loyalty to conviction, loyalty to truth; not loyalty to institutions.” —Dr. Jack Hyles, from the sermon titled, “Filled With All The Fullness Of God.”
In 1945, Brother Hyles became the pastor at the Grange Hall Baptist Church in Marshall, Texas. They didn't pay him for the first 8-weeks, and when he did get paid, his salary was $20 a week. In his sermon titled “Good Ol' God,” Dr. Hyles says that during those 8-weeks that the church deacons refused to pay him, he bought a push-lawnmower and cut the grass of church members for $1 to $2 to keep food on the table. He faithfully pastored that church and walked with God. Oh, how we need to get back to old-time Christianity in our churches today.
I don't know about you, but I have adopted Pastor Jack Hyles' five life's decisions for myself. I am a friend to my friends. I won't allow anyone to control when, where or how long I preach. I will make my decisions based on what is right and wrong, and not on expediency or convenience. I am being loyal to truth and not to institutions. Money has never been, nor will it ever be, an issue in my ministry. I hate money. If I have it, I love sharing it with others. There is nothing in this life worth hanging onto except Jesus!!! I love you with God's unconditional love reader, whoever you may be, and I pray that you will seek God in your life.
INTERESTING FACTS: In 1945 the average annual salary was $2,900.[1] Minimum wage was 40 cents an hour. The average weekly salary receiving minimum wage was $16 a week in 1945. That's $832 a year. Dr. Hyles got paid 25% more than minimum wage, which today in 2014 in Texas would be $9.06 an hour (minimum wage in 2014 in Texas was $7.25).
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