The Call Of Rev. Paul Rader To The Pastorate Of The Moody Church

Every Condition Fulfilled.

“Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you” (John 15:16).

It was almost four years to a day from the time that Dr. A.C. Dixon, our former pastor, received a unanimous call to the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London until Rev. Paul Rader received a unanimous call from The Moody Church to become Dr. Dixon’s pastoral successor in Chicago.

The interim has been admirably taken care of by Rev. E.Y. Woolley, who was Dr. Dixon’s assistant and who later was made acting pastor of the church. However, the pulpit has been filled for the most part by outside “supplies” obtained by the pastoral committee, the members of which committee are J.S. McGlashan, E.Y. Woolley, A.F. Gaylord, Thos. S. Smith, John Morrison and Joseph B. Bowles.

There have been perhaps a few, even among our own members, who have thought it strange that the Church should have been permitted to go so long without a regular pastor. Possibly a few may have thought the Executive Committee negligent, or dilatory, or, on the other hand, too particular or hard to please. But a moment’s consideration would usually suffice to show the “difficulties” of the situation—the requirements which God had made plain must not be wanting in the man of His choosing.

He must believe with head and heart the whole Bible, accepting it as God’s inspired word from Genesis to Revelation.

He must be right doctrinally—right in his interpretation of what The Moody Church regards as the great fundamental truths of the Word, such as the substitutionary character of the atonement; salvation by faith, not by character or “good works”; the victorious life in Christ through the cleansing and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit; the eternal punishment of the finally impenitent; the pre-millennial coming of Christ for His bride, the church; and other like essential doctrines.

He must be right experimentally—believing with the heart unto salvation the things to which the head had Scripturally given assent.

He must be a man of prayer—acquainted well with the secret chamber of intercession; having, experimentally, instant and constant access to God; knowing God in confession, in thanksgiving, in supplication, in communion, in adoration; and able to lead others into the joys and victories of the prayer life.

He must be intensely evangelistic as well as soundly evangelical, having a passion for the souls of men as well as for the will of God and the vital truths of His Word.

He must be both preacher and teacher of the Word—proclaiming and instructing, warning and edifying, knowing when and how to preach, or to teach, as occasion might require; and with it all, moving men to decision and to action.

He must be well-poised, a man of sanity, of good judgment, of self-control—not quenching the Spirit, but proving and obeying Him; without fear, and yet spiritually politic; doing all things decently and in order; guarding the church against Satanic intrusions in saintly garb and against extravagances of every kind.

He must be not only of sound mind and warm heart, but of firm will—a man of executive ability—able to wisely direct and tactfully control; equal to any and every emergency.

He must be an all-round man—in perfect sympathy with young and old, with high and low, with sick and well, with lovely and unlovely (not with the unlovely character, but with the soul that lies back of the unlovely character or the unlovely exterior—the soul for whom Jesus died and whom God loves and pities). He must be in hearty sympathy with every legitimate department of church life, wisely counseling and prayerfully directing; and through it all possessing unflinching loyalty and courage, and yet having the “love that never faileth”—ever humble, ever “hid with Christ in God,” ever letting the Holy Spirit do all the work and get all the glory.

Does it pay to abide God’s time? Does it pay to let God do the choosing? Does it pay to wait only upon Him?

We believe that Paul Rader is the answers—GOD’S answer to these questions—and we believe furthermore that if The Moody Church is as true to God as we expect our pastor to be, if it measures up as a church to as high a standard in Christ as it believes that God has set for him as its pastor, then such a time of blessing is ahead as this church has never yet experienced—a new epoch of consecration, of spiritual victory, of expansion and development, to the glory of God, “above all that we can ask or think.”

We have called and are calling upon God, and He has answered and is answering with the “great and hidden things” which we knew not. All praise and glory to Him!

The circumstances of Mr. Rader’s coming to Chicago are related by him in his testimony, and hence we need not now dwell thereupon.

That he had never been heard of by anyone in The Moody Church four months ago, and that he had not been among us as much even as thirty days until he was recognized by the whole church, young and old, as God’s choice for the pastorate for whom we had been praying and waiting for nearly four years—all this constitutes a convincing evidence of Divine appointment.

On Wednesday evening, January 27, the pastoral committee brought into the Executive Committee a unanimous recommendation that a meeting of the church be called to choose a pastor. The Executive Committee unanimously adopted the recommendation, and named Wednesday evening, February 3, as the date. The church responded enthusiastically. The lecture room and room adjoining were packed to their utmost capacity—for both the prayer meeting, led by Mr. Woolley, and the business meeting which followed, presided over by Mr. Gaylord.

We take the following paragraphs from the report of our church clerk, Mr. William J. Kerr, who acted as secretary of that meeting:

“Mr. A.F. Gaylord was elected chairman for the evening. The names of Mr. Eilert Johnson and Mr. Antonio Scorza were recommended by the Executive Committee as deacons for a term expiring October, 1916, and a motion was carried that the chair cast a ballot for these men for this office.

“Mr. McGlashan read the recommendation of the Pastoral Committee, which had been previously concurred in by the Executive Committee, that we extend a call to Mr. Rader as our pastor. A standing vote was taken, which showed that the call was unanimous.

“A further recommendation from the Executive Committee was read to the effect that our dear brother, Mr. E.Y. Woolley, be elected as Associate Pastor. This also was a standing vote and the applause that followed his election lasted for several minutes. Mr. Woolley then gave a very helpful and interesting talk, expressing his love for the Church and its members and thanking them for the way in which they have supported him.

“The chairman requested Mr. Woolley and Mr. McGlashan to bring Mr. Rader and his family over from the home of Mrs. Brown where they were stopping, and when the new pastor and his family arrived everyone stood up and waved their handkerchiefs, to which Brother Rader responded with ‘Wave the answer back to heaven, by Thy grace we will.’

“Mrs. Woolley, after considerable urging, also came to the platform, after which Mr. Rader gave a short talk. Following his address the Executive Committee were asked to come to the platform and greet our new pastor, his wife and children.

“The good spirit prevailing in the business meeting was especially noticeable.”