The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-07-07
Methodist Ministry.

1
of the pastoral term, and none that
puts itself forward so persistently for
a solution. Interest in the question
has been recently intensified by the
action of the Presiding Elders Con-
vention at Minneapolis. This Con-
yention expressed itself upon this
subject by majority vote in favor of
a removal of the time limit. This
vote, coming from the quarter it does,
has greatly surprised the conserva-
tive element in the Church. The
Northwest was the last place to be
suspected of holding this view of the
subject, and the vote of the Presiding
| Elders Convention is received with
alarm by those who are opposed to a
change in the pastorate. But the
arguments which those who favor a
removal Of the time limit ply the
conservatives with are numerous and
weighty, and seem to the writer to be
unanswerable. 1t is argued, in the
first place, that the itineracy, as it is
now, imposes unnecessary harship
on the preachers and their families.
The amount of labor and expense
and exposure which these frequent
moves entail upon the pastor and his
family is burden previously to be
borne. The time comes and the move
must be made, and there is no escape.
The minister himself may be sick, or
some member of his family, yet the
great iron wheel is revolving, he and
his are part of it, and move they
must. The writer, not long since,
conversed with preacher of the West
Virginia Conference whose wife's
health is broken, and he attributes
it to overwork and exposure conse-
quent upon removal in very incle-
ment weather; and there was no
reason why that man need move
other than the almanac and the bish.
OPP said "moye." He was beloved
by his people, and the church was
prospecting under his labors. 1t makes
of the preachers and their families a
kind of nomads. They certainly have
mo permanent abiding place." All
those delightful comforts and pleas
ures which can only be had where
the home is fixed and permanent are
denied the family of the Methodist
itinerant. 1t costs men who are COM
PEELED to live on shamefully small
salaries thousands of dollars annually
to comply with the demands of this
intiexible system. But if it could be
shown to be necessity, and that the
welfare of the church can be best
secured by this incessant whirling
round and round the circle of the
appointments of Conference, that
would put a different phase on the
auestion-at least in the mind of
every conscientious preacher of the
gospel; but this cannot be done. The
fact is, the contrary of this PROPOSE
ton is true. The church is actually
suffering by the temporary nature of
the pastOrate in the Methodist church.
Let us suppose minister sent to a
large church like the Fourth street
Methodist Church of this city-a
membership of four or five hundred
that man has got to be very in.
dustrious man if in addition to his
other work, he can become sufficient
ly acquainted with his Pensioners to
even recognize them on the street,
much less to understand them we'll
enough to intelligently shape his
preaching to meet their peculiar
wants. In his second year he be-
gins to have fair knowledge of his
people and settles himself to work,
but, alas, that fatal third year comes,
then the people begin to cast about
for new pastor, to turn away from
the man that is on the throne to his
successor, and the last half of the
third year is period of anxiety to
the church and the preacher too, the
church is anxious about getting
new man, and the preacher is anxious
about where his lot may fall. Under
such a condition of affairs as this
what good can be done? You place
man at the head of large business
enterprise, beset with one-half the
difficulties that confront a pastor of
large church, and announce to him
that you expect him at once to grasp
every detail of the vast business given
into his hands, and carry everything
to the highest possible success in
three years he will, if he be really
competent business man, refuse to
accept the position upon such condi-
tions, knowing success impossible.
A settled pastor aims to lay his
foundations broad and build accord.
ingly. He can begin with the little
children to train them for the church.
and God, knowing that if his life is
spared he will one day have about