Journeying Through a Jungle
"...I think at one point -- and I know what it means when you spend your money to go to college and sacrifice to go to seminary, and this is important, we must not for get this, but on the other hand we must understand that the gospel - the pulpit - and God, have never promised to compete with the government. And that God has never promised to compete with industry. And then on the other hand, I don't like to hear any preacher talk about "his career" because when you're called to preach, you don't have a career. When you're called to preach, your life becomes a mission. A career is something you carve out and plan. A mission is something someone else plans for you. And a preacher, he doesn't have a planned career, 'cause he's got orders! And he might "plan" to go to New York, but his orders might say "Birmingham." Soldiers don't have careers and such. Our soldiers go into armies, and they don't know where they're going. Their superior officer says "Be packed tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock ready to get on a bus, but don't ask me where!" Your business is not where you're going, but you must be ready to go! And a preacher is under orders. And we've got to help our young preachers - we don't have to harsh with them - no need to tell them how long it took to get to where you are because they think they ought to start where you are now. You can't just tell 'em "Well, you know, I came from a country church, and I used to pastor in the country, and I used to get watermelons, and I used to get cabbage, and eggs, and bacon, chickens for part of my Saturday--" Young theological graduates don't listen to this. They don't want to go there, they ain't going this long route. They think they're ready to start where you are now. I don't care how long it took you to get there. But they need our counsel and our help. Now, they're not gonna believe all you say about how hard you had it. But somehow or another we've got to convince them that you don't put the ministry up against industry in terms of income. You might get a job for 12, 15, 18 thousand in industry when you come out of school. You won't get that in the church, you may never get it. But if you trust God, and if you trust people, and if you treat them right, you'll [?] benefits. You may not have all the security and all of the papers and all of the stuff that they can write up to say you're so secure ... There's discipline that we need in the jungle. Then there are dangers in this jungle. There are many types of strange animals in this jungle. This jungle is full of dope addicts, hustlers and hippies, harlots and hoodlums, pimps and punks, [?] and crooks, clowns, freaks and phonies, [?] and killers, conmen and lewd and shrewd. And every conceivable brand of animal is in this jungle. This is a dangerous jungle. And in this jungle, anybody can get hurt. In this jungle there's no regard for one's character or for one's devotion and compassion. In this jungle there's always danger and better you live the more dangerous it is. That's way this jungle can kill and this jungle has assassinated several people in this generation in very few years, some four or five years. We've assassinated a Medger Evers, and a Malcolm X, two Kennedys and King. There are real dangers. They're the danger of jungle animals destroying each other and thus perpetuating the jungle and those who fear the jungle find light in hostility of animal against animal, and those who profit from the jungle encourange jungle warfare. They know that so long as animals are engaged in jungle warfare they can never organize against the common enemy. And those of us who live in this jungle, and many of us who live in the worst areas of the jungle, there are people of try to encourage us to kill of each other, that in so doing we actually perpetuate the jungle. And the more negro fights negro, the longer the jungle will exist. The more preacher fights preacher, the longer the jungle will exist. The more organization fights organization, the longer the jungle will exist. Then there's the danger of getting caught in some bush or [?] and losing one's trail toward the promised land. We may never know how many well-meaning people have been caught in some of the thickets and missed the march to the promised land. People with talent, with promise, with gifts, with opportunities. Many of them have fallen into jungle snares or have been pounced upon by some vicious animal. Our courts and jails and penile institutions bear an astounding testimony to the hazards of the jungle. And there's danger of becoming a jungle dweller. There's a danger of becoming satisfied and contented in the jungle, and loving jungle life. And that's the reason I don't think preachers ought to play around and talk about "Well, I'm a preacher but [?], I'm a preacher but I can go where I want to go and I've--" I was with a preacher at a meeting the other day and he was talking about a man he met in California who used to run the ..."