"I think I was in my pre-teen years, when someone whose name I did not hear at the time said this half in jest, but it made its point with me when I heard it and has stayed with me all these years. . He was British, and talking to an American pastor when he said, “The problem with you American ministers, is that you have an ‘office’ instead of a ‘study’. I’m sure there are plenty of British ministers who have the same misled mindset, but as I said, he made his point.
We have our big oak desks and book-lined walls and degrees to impress, and comfortable chairs for someone to sit in while being counseled; what this Brit was implying that too many of us look at it as a sort of throne room for the pastor, more than a closet in which to humble ourselves before God, and seek inspiration and revelation from God’s Word.
The clergy as a whole in this nation has no right to decry the misconceptions the general populace has of the church, or the dearth of dedication and zeal that marked previous generations in the church, until they go back to their books and their bibles and learn so that they are able to teach, and fortify their message and their daily pastoral duties with prayer, prayer, prayer!" - c.e.t.