The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1883-04-04
For the Central Presbyterian.
Review of the Aggressiveness
Discussion.
BY THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLES ON 9TH

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLES ON "THE
AGGREssIvENEss OF PREsBYTERIANIsM" IN
THE SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIAN REVIEW
The first noticeable feature about this
discussion is the number and character of
the men who advocate change in our
system; and this, while it should lead
their opponents to give due respect to
their convictions and due weight to their
arguments, ought not by any means to
be interpreted by these advocates as
proof that they have, so to speak, " the
worla in sling" in this matter. Only
the Very smallest part Of the Church has
been heard from, and the affirmative In
such discussions always creates sensa-
ton far out of proportion to It's real COM
parative strength. With this preface,
the pr esent writer proposes to give an
exhaustive recapitulation of the discus
sion pro and con.
The advocates Of change base their re-
concentrations upon two general grounds.
LIST. Scarcity of Ministers. End. NJ
maeT1ca5 Disparity IN Membership.
1. Scarcity of Ministers.
An elaborate pastoral letter, prepared
by special committee of the General
Assembly, and by its order read last
year from our pulpits, gave extended
and detailed statistics for period of ten
consecutive years, 1871-1880. 1t gave
the net increase of the ministry for ten
years at 80, D. e., eighteen per year, or
about o11e;tourth of minister to each
Presbytery'; it stated moreover that one
fifth a. e., about 400) of our churches
were vacant. In 1872 there were in all
stages of preparation 205 candidates in
1882, after ten years of presumable pro-
gress and increasing demand, there are
160 In the last Minutes of the General
Assembly 1882, p. $500 there is given a
comparative summary for the last five
years, 1878-1882 the increase of minis
tiers is thirty-seven, T. e. about seven each
year for 8irty-8lr Presbyteries, and in
these Presbyteries according to the same
Minutes, there are four hundred and
8e0e1aty-thTee unsupplied churches. The
reader can calculate how long it would
require for our annual increase to sup
ply our vacant churches, even if it were
all devoted to this purpose.
But how about the evangelistic work =?
Official reports state that Gin most of the
Presbyteries the unoccupied territory far
exceeds what has been taken possession
of. Our Church papers have stated
that in Virginia, there were forty-two
counties in which there was no Presby-
terrain preaching, in North Carolina
thirty-four, in Kentucky fifty. 1t is to
be remembered that these are three Of
the strongest Synods Of our Church, con-
tanning nearly half Of her whole member
ship. If we consider the smaller, weaker
and younger Synods, the demand for
evangelistic labor is simply incalculable
TO meet this demand and suppL over
four hundred vacant churches, ne hare
according TO the last ten gears, eiqhteen
ministers per annotD1, and occor1ing TO the
lost tTUe gears, SeUenI
The pastoral letter quoted above con-
cludes thus: "The decrease Of ministers,
if not remedied, must paralyze the
Church. Her work must cease for lack
of fundamentally to carry it on"
Contrasted with this appalling dearth
in our ministerial supply, we are pointed
to the fact that the Methodists and Bap-
lists are afflicted with no such scarcity.