One chief function of a pastor is to develop and utilize the spiritual, mental, and social forces of the church. There is in every congregation much latent force, which needs to be developed, alike for the growth and usefulness of those who possess it and for the results it might secure for the church and the world. The minister is, in this respect, a general to whom troops are entrusted; his work is to train and organize and lead. The troops are to fight: he is to inspire and direct the battle. Some hardworking pastors take on themselves burdens which it were far better to lay on the people—better for the pastor, in leaving him free for other work, and better for the members, in calling out their gifts. Indeed, one of the strongest bonds which bind a church together is the consciousness of being mutual workers, each having a post of duty and [p. 103] a share of responsibility. No member should be left in a purely receptive attitude—a mere attendant and listener—but each should have a place and a work assigned him. That church attains the truest and highest growth in which every member is a worker under the stimulus of a consciousness of responsibility and of a useful sphere of activity. Much of the imperfection of church-life is due either to the fact that this latent force is undeveloped, or, if developed, is misdirected. Here I suggest:  
1. A pastor should carefully study his people with the view of ascertaining and utilizing their special aptitudes and gifts. The prayer-room, the Sunday-school, the teachers’ meeting, and the pastoral visit all afford constant opportunities for this. One may show aptitude for teaching and may be entrusted with a Sunday-school class. Another has the weight of character and the tact of leadership which fit him for conducting a neighborhood prayer-meeting. Another has the solid judgment and clear discernment of character which will make him useful on a committee of discipline or finance. Another, though possibly not marked in exhortation or prayer, may have social qualities such as admirably qualify him for managing the details and arrangements of the social gatherings of the congregation. A pastor who will constantly act on the motto, A place and a work for every member, and will press this motto on those who conduct the different departments of work in his church, will soon find himself at the head of an active, living, and ordinarily happy people while yet he is not personally overburdened with the details of church-work. In some instances of eminent pastoral success, the chief secret has been in this power of developing and utilizing the gifts of the church.
 
2. The organization of associations within the congregation for different departments of work is another means [p. 104] of developing and utilizing the spiritual forces in the church. I have spoken in another place of literary and missionary organizations, but I may here add that an association for Christian work composed of young men in a church, and a similar one for young ladies, may often prove of great value—the one to act among young men, to attract and hold them to the church; the other for like service among young women. To such associations might be entrusted also mission Sunday-schools and distinct spheres of missionary effort. In a large congregation it is often desirable to organize committees for the care of the sick and the poor, and ............