The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1878-03-13
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
Missionary Work at Home.


That the importance Of occupying the many waste
places both in the older and newer States, in which
there is little or no preaching of pure gospel, is
strongly felt by the Presbyterian Church in the
South, might be inferred from the constant emer
genee of questions connected with this subject IN
our Church udicatories, and papers And yet it
may be fairly questioned whether the Church is as
fully alive to her imperative duty in this matter as
she ought to be. While she is doing something,
and, we hope, with increasing interest and progress
to overtake these desttutions it is undeniabe that
more might and ought to be attempted. Why is
not more accomplished, or, at least, striven for P
1t cannot be the fault of our system of doctrine and
government For one of the fundamental charac-
terstics of scripturs Church must be its adapta.
bility for reaching with the gospel all classes Of
men. The light it holds forth" must, like the
sun in the heavens shine for no favored few, but
for ALL We are of those who are persuaded that
the Presbyterian church is thus adapted to all, and
fully furnished by the Head of the Church for all
that He requires. Butts the system fully worked,
and upon the principles which characterize it DO
we combine as freely and upon as large scale as
sive' features of our system, as so forCibly and
clearly brought out by writer in The Critic for
August, 1855? Is there not too strong a tendency
to apportion our working ministerial force too
largely to the passionate to the partial neglect OF the
| Epan1elistic or Domestic missionary work. Are
not our young ministers too much encouraged to
look for settlement as pastors from the very day
| O., ohu-
teres too little disposed to exercise their high pre-
rogative of calling under God to this EVangelistc
work these whom the Holy Ghost designates by
their peculiar qualifications for such work We
BY no means depreciate the pastorate; nor are we
unmindful of what is said about it in our standards
But surely, under the light of the Soriptures-in
view of the conduct of the Apostles-the evange-
list may be as necessary as important and as hon
orable, in land like ours as any other Office in the
Church. II he is not may not the. reason be found
in the undue stress already alluded to, placed upon
the pastorate?
The known destinations around the writer, and
the repeated dccI Htiops of brethren all over the
land have forced some of these questions upon him.
Besides this the strong and growing conviction that
there never was more suspicious time for renew
ed attention to this subject, and redOubled efforts
in behalf of these crying destitutiOns" thts noio
prompts him to invite attention to it once more
through the press. The people are ready, nay clam
o.ous for these efforts This is certainly true around
the writer and brethren all over the land say it is
measurably true of the regions about them. Amid
the aborous duties OF the pastorate OF two church
es we have eagerly seized opportunities during the
week and on Sabbath afternoons to 60 out into the
regions, lying ten or twenty or more miles outside
of our field, to preach in groves, or school houses
or private residences, and have almost invariably
found not only relatively large, but often actually
larger congregations than can be gathered in the
most furnishing churches in our Presbytery, eager
to hear the Word of Lite.
We are told, again and again. that the people
are weary of the partial and often erroneous pre-
sentation of the gospel to which they listen 1t is
for the most part given by men who plume them
selves upon their want of liberal education, and
boast that they come from the farm, the mill, or
the workshop to the pulpit, without any prepare
ton, to preach gospel that costs no money. Many
of these men are doubtless upright, sincere, ear
nest and of good, native ability. But these very
Qualities only serve to make the errors which spring
from their ignorance the more potent for mischief.
Hence the number and variety Of phases of belief
found among them and their hearers. The people
are weary of such preaching, and hunger for
purer gospel. They will welcome it from the lips
of Presbyterian ministry. As might be expected
from the staple Of the preaching to which they
have so long listened they have detective and alto
pether wrong views of the duty to support the gos
pel. This, together with the fact that they are
generally people with but little Of this worlds
goods, and able to do little more than live in their
frugal way from year to year, makes it altogether
improbable that they would or could do much for
some years to come to support the gospel among
themselves. But is this valid ground for with.
holding that gospel from themP Here we are met
at once with that doleful cry so often rung upon
our ears: we haze neither the men nor the means
for such cork Is it not high time for the
Church to look squarely at the meaning of that
cryP Should she not seriously face the question
whether or not she is using all the men and means
the Lord has given to her? Has He ever laid
duty upon his church for which He has not or will
not furnish everything necessary to perform it
Does He ever exact the 81 full tale Of brick while
He furnishes no straw for their manufacturer
These are questions which deserve to be pom.
dered again by ministers and people. In CONVEX
sation recently with an elder of our Church,
gentleman of large experience and wide observa
ton, and devotedly attached to his church-the
writer caught suggestion, which seems to him to
be worth an effort to put into actual operation. 1t
will be found in what follows. Cannot some plan
be devised by which our young ministers, espe-
cialy, may be induced to begin their labors in such
fields as we have been describing. and upon some
what smaller salaries at first than they have been
led to expect2 May it not be that the laudable eff
forts by our Committee of Sustentation to raise
the standard of ministerial support, have fOstered
in the minds of our young brethren the expecta
ton of too large salary at the vey beginning of
their ministerial careerP As compared with young
men entering other professions, it cannot be de-
MED that the standard ia higher in the minds of
ministers than of lawyers and doctors True, the
LAWYER or doctor expects to increase his annual in
come. while the minister rarely sees his 90 beyond
what he receives the first year or two. Now we do