The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1897-01-01

head WI repeated. "tHf..I.. twinkle
little H.l.' AIH .hp service Ee ...I
Dee didn't lhiul 10 $50. mueH ol 90 Show
Tho hII...H hags iar most IeH.-
cratic D. th0l g. calling preacher It
q. tHe f"y u.. 81 simplicity Ih.v
can whom ,h.y p.raso ana every u.n-
Der Inns ayutc IA.y Ie.phinu laneua
No lH mutually uww1'pa4a t.il.rT. Isl
raH Dissolve .hr rotation on IlO.ur.
Oh course ihue always SOME Dmlar-
ras.Wrut about getting ril oft au un-
welcome preacher bat there oueuuv
tina. generally mccgHlul They can
s.8ryc hm uu. This method uiu
move h,m as rdectnal'y ar smoking o.
rabbit out Ui hollow tree.
The Presbyterian mode of calling
preacher has much t1 commend n after
10 is happily done, Dat 30 s. b,scl ai.b
cmhau mont iu lbe doing Oft Tho
call is strictly democratic lur c.uv
memh, la. a vote, hu. af,ar the ca.I
ia made aHd the preacher osiaired u
pastor the prn#by.cIy locks lbp door
and puts the loy iu its pocket aud ays
now thai y1u have not him you mu.t
keep Eiu .ull eav no. ftis liEa tho
law If marriage and divorce II iaca.y
enough i0 gc' married, but itugod tOhe
quite % difficult thing toge} unmarried.
] say III used 20 be-" ItiBnot much
trouble now, neither Is 30 as much
trouble 0s 1t used 10 bee for o preacher
30 get divorced from his church. If
he gets tired he goes. If ne has
more inviting call he goes. II the
climate does not agree with his health
he goes. If his salary is not promptly
paid, he goes, and ! see I'm late paper
that a preacher says the reason why he
resigned his pastorate and IFS seeking
another is that he has finished his
work in that community. That is
what the paper said. ] would like to
see that church. Everybody sainted,
I reckon, and TO outsiders to be
saiuted. Surely he dideut say that.
When a Presbyterian pastor has made
up his mind to change his base the
people had just as well submit as
gracefully as they can, for the prcsby-
terry viii Tatify it. No congregation
should try to keep an unwilling, dis
satisfied pastor, and they don't Preach
ers are Just human, and will seek to
better theircondition. Thebest preach
ers get the best places, and this is
right. 1t is the unwritten law Of the
church and Of the state-the law Of
business and commerce and art and
society. For ministerial talent there
Is always room at the top.
was Eliminating about these things
because we have lost our preacher and
are looking around for another. He
had a call to a bigger and maybe a bet
ter place with larger salary; and he
accepted before we hardly knew he was
called. He hadent finished up this
church and he knew it but / reckon
was afraid that it would finish him up
if he staid, for the times were so hard
we couldn't pay him promptly, though
we did the best We could. Preachers
want their salary in the bank, and it
ought to be. l was present once when
a preacher was ordained. After the
ceremony, when the people went up to
give him their hands and their bene-
dictions, one old man said, MAY tho
Lord keep you humble; we will keep
you poor" And they did For forty
years have been looking for n country
church that paid the preacher a sufh-
cient salary and paid it promptly.
Paying the preacher is the unsolved
problem and has been ever since there
were preachers. DeacOns and stewards
ought to get to heaven, for they have q
hard time here. Goldsmith tells us OF
the village preacher
"A man he was to all the country dear,
And passing rich at forty pounds year.
So great and good man es Jono.
than Edwards after twenty-four years
of faithful service at Northampton was
voted out Of his pulpit, and like On old
hoase turned out to Craze and die. WC
find o good deal Of fault with the preach.
ers and sometimes with their wives and
children, but after all they ere as q
class the best people we have got and
set MS the best examples. How soon
we would lose our morality without
them. They have their likes and dis.
likes, and perhaps their favoritOs il
the church, and so do we. In the ole
times they preached for smaller sala
ries. The salary was secondary coz
sideration, but now it is the first
Over fifty years ago I went to sChoo
to an Irishman who suddenly took {
notion that he would quit teaching apt
go to preaching. He studied a yea
and then applied to the presbytery a
Columbus for examination and license
The committee reported favorably anC
ne was about to pass successfully
when DIR. Goulding, the moderator
r. Il