The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-06
ovER-sUpPLY OR UNDER-DEMAND!

OVER-sUPPLY OR UNDER-DEMANDc
A young clergyman of the Congregation
al Church, stranded in Chicago, recently
told of the failure of his little church,
in the farming section of the Northwest,
and of his inability to get another pastor
ate. He said he had tried by every known
means 10 find work in the field of his chos-
en- calling, and had written to a number
Of churches with respect TO the matter.
But in every instance the church address,
ed had replied that it had been in receipt
of from forty to 100 similar letters from
young ministers seeking employment and
that his application would have TO be con-
sidered along with the rest. And in every
instance said the young man of the cloth,
his letter went into the churchs waste
basket.
This incident has aroused considerable
discussion as to what is the matter that
there are ambitious young preachers with
out pupits; is there an over-supply or an
under-demand? The righteousness Of the
harvest and the scarcity of laborers in The
moral vineyard has been theme of Chris
tan pleading from the inception Of the
faith But here is condition showing the
righteousness of laborers and a scarcity Of
opportunities for them to work. DR.. Pratt
of Hartford, says there are not less than
500 ministers of the Congress tional denom-
ination that are without charges. He
thinks one reason for the surplusage OF
preachers is that wrong policy OF select
ing men to be educated in the theological
seminaries is being pursued. The right
kind of material is not always brought 10
the schools. Every young man who stud
les the law or medicine, or other of the
professions except theology, must pay for
his tuition. If the same were required
of divinity students, there would be fewer
mediocre minds trained to the ministry;
minds lacking in originality and power of
construction, and forced to forever reiter-
ate lessons and plattudes learned of their
instructors. Or. Pratt has the idea that
lack of fitness in a great many instances
is responsible for the idleness of the young
preacher.
President Hyde of Bowdoin, thinks there
is too much ignorance welcomed TO the
pulpit for the church's own good He says:
The most ominous sign is the disposition
of thoughtless churches to welcome TO
their pulpits unframed or half-trained
men from lay colleges, from Christian as
sociation and endeavor societies, simply
because they can declaim glibly and with
unctuous fervor the plagiarized platitudes
they have borrowed in substance or in
form from pernicious homietical helps No
wonder some reach the dead line at 50.
for the man in the ministry who is dead
al 50 was not Intellectually alive at %.
The young man who is content TO have his
views ready made for him by his teacher
is soon the man whom nobody wants 10
hear"
When all of this, and more. has been
said the fact seems to remain that there
are more preachers than there are places
in which they may labor. Has the church
drifted away from the people or have the
people drifted away from the church? The
harvest is just as plenteous now as it ever
was, and the fields are ripe for the labor
ers. The laborers are more plenti-
full now than ever before, and they
are anxious to work. Some of them
may not be as good as others;
some may have but two talents while
others have ten, but the former are none
the less willing and faithful. The question
is. how shall the laborers be given an OPP
portunity to work? The query, 1t seems
to us, is one which should appeal strongly
to those persons and organizations that
are interested in missionary work.