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Cbttorial Mot e* anb Cotn&
O PEAKING of 'the kind of a preacher a
O church needs, in order that it may do its
best work, a writer in the Horailetic Monthly
says he should be "a young man with good
schooling, practical experience, and initiative."
Is not this just the mistake that so many
churches make? And are not these qualifica
// ftons rarely, if ever, found in the same man?
I A man may be young and have a good educa
tion. But he has not had the opportunity to
1^-' gain experience, and without experience
? > enough to know the work that a church ought
1 to do and can do, it could scarcely be expected
* of him that he could initiate plans and methods
that would work out satisfactorily. No busi
ness concern would take an inexperienced
young man just from school and put him in
charge of a complicated business. A man of
experience who through years of labor had
worked himself up, and shown his ability,
would be selected. The business men in a
eliurch often do not show this worldly wisdom
in choosing a pastor. Instead of that a young
man just out of the seminary is called to take
charge of a large church. A farmer would not
expect a colt just broken to harness to do the
work of a hprse that had been pulling the
plow for years. The work of the pastorate in
a large church is too heavy in many of the de
partments for unhardened muscles of mind
and body of the young preacher. In dealing
with the various elements of the congregation
and the difficult problems that are coming up
continually, the pastor needs wisdom that
comes only from the experience of years. The
business men of the church often fail to take
hold of the plans proposed by the preacher
because they do not appeal to them as being
practical. They say of them either the work
of the church is not worth their taking in ear
nest, or else that they cannot follow the lead
of the preacher, as he is not practical. They
do not stop to ask why his plans are not prac
tical, or to see that the lack of experience in
* him is the real trouble. In this way both the
young preacher and the church suffer loss,
from which it will take a long time to recover.
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^ ' T) ILLS are disagreeable things to deal with.
v They are disagreeable to those who have
to send them out as well as to those who receive
lliem. There was a time in the past, we are
told, when men kept account of their indebt
edness and settled their accounts when they
were due. Now almost every one waits until
a bill is presented, and, indeed, many wait until
many bills are presented for the same account.
It would be so much better if every one, as far
as possible, should pay his accounts as soon as?
they are due. Many of our subscribers watch
the labels on their papers, which tell them
when their- -subscriptions are due, and send
in their payments at once. There are others
?a Kfl oonf oyi.^1 motef
to be sent. Some profess to be aggrieved when
bills are sent, saying that it shows a lack of
faith in them on our part when we send them
"duns." This is said even by some whose ac
counts are long over due. If each one of our
subscribers would pay up promptly, so that
we would not. have to send out bills, it would
lighten our labor, gladden our hearts, and
make publishers and readers all feel much bet
ter. in these days when the price of paper
and other expenses have about doubled we need
to economize in outlay just as much as pos
sible. We hope that our subscribers will co
operate with us in this matter. If for any rea
son it is not convenient for a subscriber to pay
his subscription when due, we are entirely will
ing to wait on him. But we would like for him
to write to us about it, so that we may know
the conditions and not press one whom we are
entirely willing to accommodate.
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& draper Jfor ?f)e iHseb
Oh, Thou, whose years fail not,
Remember Thou the frail.
The sins we pray Thee blot
Of those whom years assail.
sRemomber then the old,
Their steps have feeble grown.
They cannot now but fold
The hands which once have sown.
Stretch out Thy helping hand,
Reach down to them, we p<ay;
Twilight is o'er the land,
Hold them until 'tis day.
And when the darkness falla,
Still deeper is their need,
Hear Thou their low-voiced calls,
And gently give them heed.
And if, dear Lord, some wait
Until life's pleasures wane.
Before they seek the gate,
Which leads to greatest gain;
Then pity thou their case,
Forgiveness suits thy love.
Show thy benignant face,
Lead them to joys above.
Lydia L. Rouse, in The Christian Intelligencer.
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GOING to church is commendable under
most circumstances. But there are some
. conditions under which we doubt whether it
is an acceptable service to God. Much has
been said in the papers during the last year
or so about the Stonemen, an organization of
members of the churches of Philadelphia. So
rapidly has it grown that it is said to number
150,000 members. Its object is to cultivate
the Christian life and to spread the gospel.
If the reports in the daily press are to be ac
cepted, on a recent Sunday 10,000 of these
members, at a cost of $28,000 went from Phil
delphia to New York to attend church in that
city. We suppose the real object of the trip
was to advance the interests of their organiza
tion by impressing upon others the greatness
of their numbers. We are wondering if this
service of going to church under such circum
stances was "acceptable, well-pleasing to God."
They could have attended their own churches,
where they were needed. The quiet, restful
spirit of true worship must have been lacking
on such a trip. Many men were deprived of
their Sunday rest in order to take these men
from one city to the other and to serve them
in many other ways. It must have taken at
least ten railroad trains to have carried the
Sionemen. "The Sabbath is to.be sanctified
by a holy resting all that day." And this ap
plies not only to our own actions, but to what
we require of others. But someone may say
those men went to New York to go to church.
It is never right to do evil that good may come.
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OVER-CHURCHED communities, as they
are called, occupy a great deal of the
thought of some very good people. Such a
community would be a small village in which
three or four small churches are found. Neither
one is strong enough to have a pastor for all
of his time. The membership is small, and if
a church had only its own people to attend
its services, the congregation would be very
small. If all the churches were combined in
to one, this church would have a good pastor
for all of his time. It could have a better
building, and larger congregations, and money
would be saved in the running expenses. This
is the argument used by those who are daft
on the subject of church union. There are
not many communities of this kind, and where
they are found conditions are not usually half
so bad as they appear to outsiders. These
churches generally get on together as com
fortably as can be imagined. They usually
arrange so as not to have their services on the
same day. Practically all of the congrega
tions attend each service, no matter in which
church it is held. Besides the community has
exerted upon it the influence of all of the
preachers, if for only a part of their time.
The advocates of consolidation would be like
ly to find just as many reasons for combining
the churches in the cities as in the villages.
It should not be forgotten that the member
of the small church is just as loyal and loves
his church just as does the member of the
large church. It is disheartening and dis
couraging to these little churches to have
outsiders finding fault with them for their
very existence. Their members have the same
rights as those of the large churches. Their
principles are just as dear, and often times
they are as willing to make sacrifices as are any
members of the Church. If the advocates of
union would spend more time trying to find
some way to help and encourage these little
churches, and would prove more fully their
loyalty to the Church to which they belong,
a great deal more good would be accomplished
by the churches, small and great.
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