Nebraska advertiser. [volume] (Brownville, Nemaha County, N.T. [Neb.]) 1856-1882, 1869-06-17
BROWNYILLE NEBRAsKA. JTNE f.la E0I. .la

! -ll2L q i-,f...i r-. - sfaH EahEsaI
years, if i am rightly informed. after
the organization of the Church were
the Presiding Elders ever called to-
gether In council by. the BishOps. The
present mode of examination az cil ar
acter IN Annna1 COnferences is Ell ire
| Iy different from what it was twenty
years ago. We would think OF going
back to the day when q minister's sal-
airy, as in l77S,r was fixed at eight
| pOundS-Vifginia etrrehcy.s ( or even 10
the days nlalty OF as we1 RENE glbeF,
when the.sa any was 500 for. til e min
ister an q 81 90 tor.his wife. DOubtless,
when Be n1Ore1iberty was shown,
nlitiX saia s Let well enough alone"
and were terribly afraid the preachers
would become proud, rs not progress
a law 0f.soeietyF TIE road thfOEgll
| the fore EheRt tllt trees Weren eut
down nIs the sturnps bpt RaFtiallgreo
moved, was q great T1pfCVement oyer
| the wiHding road that d sed around
the roots 81 The trees b cleared and
graded toad eat IN oVsIaeRt tql8n
| that tie nllsl ellI sead ftIPslfshs
ing its smooth and Solid bed, was held
as almost perfection, and our strong
teainsters might have said, '1et' wen
enough along ;nnbut canals Wero pro-
iected, and freightsiYere remOEedlat o
| 1.-THE of the eXpenses--noF did we then
| let well enough alone. Steamboats,
and railroads followed suit, and BHen
came the telegraphie wires spanning
mountains and oceans, r. conveying
messages across the globe. C0nstant=
| ly, we seek to IMPROVE every art we
pFactiee1 severyl science we rcultiV ate.
Inventions and. discoveries are the
glory of the American people, but
they are all in opposition to the max
i'm, al 4et well efiough alone. 4ft is
never we'll ellOHgh when it is possible
I to be better.d1 .-itnfH .asud }saId t1ss
But it is said by some that they.
would have. no objection to adding
[ the lay element to the Council Of the
Church were itnot that they fear that
| factious, ambitious rich and ungOdly
men. would. find. itheirvW way to these.
centers OF, influence. And some say,
these offices would be filed by, the
rich only, who would seek tOtyrannize
over both ministers and members.
Let US examine this subject for few
moments, as may, doubtless, have
been affected by its plausible state
ment, and first, as to ungOdly men.
Such may make their way into the
Church. There was one such among.
the twelve disciples. There may be
such found even among the most ex-
allied ministry. Butthese are sad and
mOurnfuI exceptions. So with the
laity of the Church. There may be
~
among the Iaity, but we hope these
are comparatively few and far be-
tween. /. IF such be the general char
aeter of the laity, alas! for the work
which ministers have been doing in
the last century. I. Of how, little have
We to be proud if such is the character
Of the membership which we have
gathered together. But to suppose
that the ungOdly, the factious or the
ambitious would be voluntarily chO-
sen by the Church to represent them
is to suppose either great ignorance
on the part of the Church, or gross
carelessfiess or utter recklessness as to
its interest. But are these the char
acteristics of our membership? If
duty devolves upon them to selectOne
who shall be their standard bearer
and support their honor, will they Sc
lect one in whose religious character
they have no confidence, or one who
would dishonor the cause of God?
1t is sometimes said the churches
which have adopted this principle
have not succeeded. Be it so. 1t re-
mains to- be proved that their want of
of success arises from this fact, and
not from other causes. The Methodist
Protestant Church and the Wesleyan
Methodist Church, not only had lay
delegatations, but they abolished the
presiding eldership and the EpiscOpa-
cy.q May not their comparative want
of success have arisen from these
causes. But these lay delegate bodies
of Methodism arc by no means unim-
pOrtant to-day. Adding together the
Church South, the Methodist PrOtes-
tants, the Wesleyan MethOdists, the
African Zoin, and the African MethO-
dist Episcopal Church, we have a net
amount of about one million members,
approaching very closely to the
amount of membership now in what
may be termed the Mother Church.
And then we are to consider that,
within it, as shown by the last vote
upon lay delegation, a little over one
third of all the votes cast were, in IA
VOr of lay delegation. Without claim
ing any increase since that period, we
may simply say that at least one-third
of the old church is in favor of lay
delegation, and all the other branches
have adopted it, so that the friends of
Law delegation in the Methodist bodies,
taken as a whole are vastly in the ma
iority. And vet this growth of senti
ment has been in opposition to all
precOnceiVed opinions. How shall
this be accounted for if there be not
something In this change which COM
nands, almost irresistably, the con-
sent of the public mind2 And is it
wise tO'Fesist this tendency when we
NAV. by so slight an addition to our
sVstenl. bring ourselves in full harmo-
nv with It without materially chang
ing or modifying our system? -Hnr
Thirdly, this addition would make
the membership of the Church feelan
increased interest in the movements of
the Church, because additional re-
sponsibility would be laid upon them.
There is a great influence in the sim
ole words, 1--WE did it." If the action
he glorious we love to thiuk we were
DART anu ktllEEl VI bAAG7tlObDAps LAtAN W
tIisasterous, it tends to prevent muir
murings and discomfort. If where
measures are adopted, they are ad0pt-l
ed by general consent and agreement,
are they not more, vigorously carried
forward than if they are adopted sim
ply, by particulWpaT OF the church?
And who has not noticed in different
sections of our church, an exhibition
of the feeling thatthe church belongs,
in a great measure, to the ministers,
and they are held responsible for all
the difficulties, for all the legislation,
and, if any mistakes be made, for all
the mistakes. In some sections, We
have sseen members leaving the
church, as if tospite the minister, as
though the ministers were the church,
and not the laity as well. ..-.s
Lastly the submission of this ques-
ten to the vote Of.the laity7 seems to
me will necessiate the adoption of
coma svsfam or Law FPDreSe0tatiOn