Book notes: Walking As He Walked

I had started reading Arthur C. Zepp's Walking As He Walked some months ago--and even quoted him in a sermon. I finally finished it during the flight to the States. He published it in 1912 as a reaction or response to two groups of relgious leaders: 1) those who stormed into town with fiery, motivated sermons, but then stormed away to the next town without suggesting or making the connection to a believing, worshiping body, and 2) the believing worhiping bodies who seemed to think that faithfulness is only about attending church once a week, reciting or canting the words put in front of them, and listening passively.

Zepp was a part of the multi-denominational "Holiness" movement which sometimes took the notion of sanctification to a uncomfortable, legalistic level--i.e. If you ain't livin' like thus-n-such, then you ain't really in it, and the Spirit ain't alive in you. Nonetheless, I often find great kernels of wisdom and a better sense of faith and trust in God's grace by challenging myself, because it's true, salvation aside since that is based on God's grace alone, I pray that the Holy Spirit's fire can be fanned within me, that it will change me and that I can be a better agent in his world!

Here's a few good quotes:

"A fanatic, at his wife's funeral, arose and said: 'I want to testify, I have gotten so far along I do not feel grief now.' The pastor dropped his head, as if in brief meditation, then suddenly looked up and said, 'Brother, go home and ask God to forgive you!' Amen. God wants none to get so far along!" (p. 22). Jesus was a man of sorrows; he walks with us and hallows our sorrows.

"Aggressive Evangelism Committees, Conferences, and Forward Movements...get together and discuss, discuss, 'how,' and 'method,' and 'ways' and 'means' of doing his work... The power of God would be present if half as much time were spent in humiliation, heart searching, surrender, and prayer, and faith for it, as is spent in discussion, suggestion, and debate" (pp. 73-74).

"An old minister once said...to a young preacher, 'Young man, you are called to this church, not in the first place to make so many pastoral calls, or to preach so many sermons, but to live among the people the best life you can" (p. 127).