Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-04-30
A LETTER ON THE PASTORS WORE
And the Duties Of the Churches.
From an Exchange.

NOG long ago your correspondent
had the pleasure of spending the
evening with few intelligent busis
ness men, and during the evening
the conversation turned upon church
work and church workers. The field
was pretty thoroughly canvassed, and
some new and novel methods suggest
ed. By agreement I was delegated
to review, briefly, the result Of our
point of observation.
Church organizations are designed
to ''do the greatest good to the great
est numb r, by providing religious
societies, whose combined Christian
influence and cooperation will, IN
the language of the Scriptures, send
out pastor and people "into the
highways and hedges, and compel
them to come in" LAS my Father
hath sent me, so send I you" This
would put in motion all resources at
their Command for the conversion of
mankind. The church having for
It's minister good preacher
and a good pastor combined, is
doubly blessed, and may reasonably
expect steady and healthy growth
IN It's membeIship-both in quality
and quantity. But, unfortunately,
you too seldom find those two much
desired qualities in one and the same
man. He may be 80 good preacher
but a poor pastor, or, Vice verSa-a
good pastor yet a poor preacher.
The best preachers do not always
build up the best churches. Pulpit
orators may fill the pews, but not the
| church-roll. An intellectual feast
may be spread which feeds the mind,
but not the soul. While power in
the pulpit is an element of success,
the value of which can hardly be
stimated, yet for the upbuild-
ing of church, full of 'faith and
good works. regular and devoted
pastoral work is absolutely indispen-
sable. The neglect or inability to
perform pastoral visits among the
entire membership of the church
has, and always will, prove fatal to
its healthy spiritual growth and tenn
poral prosperity.
The system of preparing our young
men for the ministry is defective IL
some respects. Young men, after
having devoted their whole young
lives to study within the walls OF
shoots and colleges, emerge from
these institutions Of learning men
tally and morally strong, but otter
physically and financially weak the
over-taxed brain has absorbed Sc
much of their vital power that they
go out into the gospel field poorly
prepared to vigorously and success.
fully labor in the Masters vineyard
7 Receiving call, young man il
established in a city church as it
, pastor He is ambitious and anxiou
l to succeed; hs close application
and hard study tell it's own story i
his sermons The people are pleased
and congratulations are in order
Everybody is encouraged, and tn
prosperity of Zion 10 this distric
of the Lords vineyard is Sc
cured. Months pass on, an
pastoral visitations have been reg
ularly made to all the nearby mem
bers of the congregation. They hav
been regularly visited because the
can be quickly and Easily reached
The walking is good, and the distanc
not far enough to seriously tax til
limited physical energy of the paste
But the largest and-pecunlarl
speaking-the poorest portion of til
congregation have not been Gale
upon at all. The session of I'll
church are also informed that 1t
physically impossible to prepare tn
sermons each week, visit the sick, a
tend the funeral and marriage SCI
vices, and perform regular pastors
n work in visiting all the families of tt
8 congregation. Many of these ne
E lected families reside long distan'
= from the church or parsonage, and
b almost every direction; hence
8 properly perform his duties in tn
s department would, if he had Il
3 physical strength to spare, consun
b so much of his time as to seriousl
8 and perhaps disastrously, affect /
y services in the pulpit.
h Many of the neglected membe
d of his congregation feel neglecte
g They hear of tour pastor visiti
8 families residing in the central pr
h of the city, where the walking
3 good, while they themselves ha
D never had the oft-wished-for pie
q ure of meeting him in their own hu
E BILE cottage homes, where an oppt
B tuniiy would be offered Christi
y mothers to introduce him to their
- L. AN1 4