Evening times-Republican., 1903-12-24
OUTSIDE POINT OF VIEW
Every Church Needs Preacher as {
Well as a Pastor /

Every Church Needs Preacher as
Well as Pastor.
some years ago the writer heard an
anniversary sermon preached 1t was
SO many years that the preacher had
been with them. So many deaths had
occurred and SO many had been added
to their membership He had made so
many pastoral calls and apologized for
not making more. And then he said
that if his sermon lacked fresh ideas
If he sometimes repeated things said
before they must excuse him, for with
the many calls upon his time, being
the pastor of 4 church of nearly goo
members, he did not find time to
read up" on the vital questions Of the
day, No man could continually pour
out without occasionally filing up"
And that is the text of this article.
The great advantage the young
preacher Trash from college has over
the jaded minister of ten or more Years
of pastoral experience, is that the for
mer can pour out and the iatter cam
not "fll up" one is pouring out ten
years of mental accumulation Will
the other is pouring out a short week $
previous absorption. The one pourss
out ana has something left in the
hrainy receptacle. the other pours out
and strikes bottom and dregs before
the desired quantity is had. Is this q
fanciful notion? one can answer by
another question. HOW many in our
church audiences fail to notice "th
good sermon we are getting since Nj.
A. came back from his vacation"
Again. omitting from this discussion
for the time being. the question o.
.fling up is not the life Of the ordi
nary pastor demoralizing? Not in the
sense we usually use the word. but IN
the sense that man is largely intiu
eneed in thought and action by his
environment. Take the ordinary law
Yer. for instance. Start him out Mon
day morning and let him spend the
better part of the following five days
attending the sick making pastoral
calls, attending sewing society spcia-
5les. spending his forenoons in =
study at home. surrounded by and
mixed up in the little home affairs.
then spending the afternoon calling on
the women members of his congrega
ton, listening to their tales of woe, rs
well as giving the needed admonitoas
and religious advice. Then follow il
up in the evening With an eShilaratinS
prayer meeting in the church parlors.
Let the attorney keep this up a year.
what kind of a plea can he make III
court al the end of that time? No.
lawyer could be successful as a law
yer and do this amount Of pastoral
work. Not enly does he fail 10 read
up on law, but he wastes his mental
in attention to matters out
side of his profession.
$50
Many of our large churches in the
city have seen all this, and acted upon
It. Only this week the writer has been
reading OF the successful preaching of
Rev. Mr. Bagnell in big New York
City Methodist church. Some of the
readers of this article will remember
him as formerly of Webster City. Sioux
City and other places in northwestern
Iowa. The writer was fortunate in
his acquaintance with this preacher.
The word is used advsedly. He's q
preacher, ana while here in Iowa his
talents as n preacher were known ana
appreciated his pastoral duties here in
Iowa prevented his evolution into Al
great preacher. till he reached New
York City. where he has an assistant
pastor" as we'll as a business
to attend to the finances OIL
the big church. Now Rev. Mr.. Bag
nell has the time to pursue his studies
not only OF books, magazines, church
and daily papers. but also his study Of
man, this by having the time for much
personal contact and conversation. OF
the writer's knowledge. while here in
Iowa Mr. Bagnen kept up this part of
his daily education, /. e., filling up
even if it was sometimes detrimental
to his pastoral duties.
Now it goes without saying, our
small churches cannot afford TO hire
both pastor and preacher. But this
can be claimed as businss IS PROPOSE
ton, as something that Will pay, leav-
ing out of the argument entirely the
religious side of the question. any
church that can afford to pay min
ister $1,000 TO Sl,500 year. can az
ford to pay $500 for a pastor say
1000 ana a preacher $1,000. A preach
er, IN the large sense of the word. VIII
I'LL formerly empty pews. Larger con-
sregationS mean more collections Tor
all charitable and church purposes
Men Willingly pay for lecture courses.
and men ana women can be found III
every town who will pay money for
two religious lectures every Sunday for
forty weeks in a year. And outside OF
the business part of this proposition s
this Churches that have preachers
draw to their pews class of men ana
women who now are conspicuous by
their absence from church services. Not
necessarily the rich, but the more SO
,ha moor. No more critical man lives
today than the average mechanic in
pur biz, cities. He knows why he stays
away from church 1t is just as true
of the clerk in the stores. the lawyer,
The doctor and the business man. They
are not in the churches on Sunday, on
Iy in very small percentage. Why
Many reasons can be given. But this
in the writer. opinion, Is the great
reason for the lack of interest In re-
Iigious matters by the mass of our cii-
zens. Yet that is hardly the way TO
nut II for the mass are still interested
in religious questions. Why are not
our city churches filled ON Sundays
Simply because they are offered ad
iresses by pastors rather than preach
ars.