The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-29

up, will be a failure. no matter how
 great that man may be-
 her of any of the organizations ol the
 church. assuming unto themselves lay
 popeship. has any right to suppose that
 he or she, individually, by service or opln-
 ion, are indispensable to the life of the
 parish II is a bad spirit, surely not or God, but emanating from the prince or this fallen world guised either by deceit 1 falsehood or hypoeracX. This "lay-pope
 or pope-ess" will desire to lead and
 eoeree. Instead of such person being es- ! sential. we may be sure that no matter | what his or her position is. socially, l financially, or otherwise the parish IS
 much better off without them. Be as- | sured that God will raise up someone bet 1 ter fitted to take his or her place. The 1 interests of the parish must ever rise su- l perior to individual interests, tastes and l wishes, while a sense of loyalty to the principles of Christian liberty will strenu- ously oppose the spirit of rule or ruin whenever and wherever manifest. For the ] sake of further comparison and illus | tration, let us refer more particularly to | some of the characters mentioned in con l nection with the text. First among them l is Moses. He was a natural leader, chosen | by God because of his special fitness and
 Individual Service Not Indispensable. No rector warden, vestryman. mem ability. God had sent him to theological | seminary for forty years, where the | course of construction was especially | adapted to the work to be performed. l Having thus been chosen by God Him | self, and having been trained for this 1 work this kind of leadership, he had right to lead this people. and should have | led them. The very fact that an officer | in our regular army has spent years in preparation for his work. and has ful- 1 filled all the demands and requirements | for leadership, entities him to the leader 1 ship, and to more consideration In the management of affairs than belongs to a private soldier. It is much the same with | the rector of a parish. First, he should | have natural fitness, ability in this dtrec- ! tion and q natural fitness for the work 1 in hand In other words. he must be sure 1 of his calling, and that it is indeed or God. Then he should spend years in | sAidy, training and preparation. It may be four. and it may be forty years | depending more upon the man himself 1 than upon the completion of a specified | curriculum. There is nothing more harm full to the cause of Christianity than an l uneducated, untrained ministry. The feeling that one is called of God is not ! alone sufficient for this great and respon- sible work He must add education and | training. The regulations of our naval academy require a cadet to spend two 1 years cruising between leaving the acad- l emy to his final examinations. I can con- | ceVe of no better training for our theo- l logical students than that each one be required to spend two years or more in the mission field, before his graduation. i Such experience would be of lasting ben | eft, not only to the candidate himself, | but to the church In many ways. Chief | est among which would be the testing of the qualities of the man and the awak ening of his interests in the needs of mis- sions which he could never forget
 Rector Not Responsible.
 | If a parish fails to prosper, the blame | is apt to be attributed to the rector, yet as we have seen, he constitutes but | one part of the organization. Where are | the Aarons and Hurs the warden and | vestry, whose duty 1t Is to hold up his 1 hands, to assist the spiritual and ma | terial intersts of the parish? There is a | church debt to be raised and finan- | cial obligation to be met, the rector's | stipend to be paid, business interests of | many kinds to be looked after--all are not the rector's business, except in a | general way. Therein lies the work of | the vestry. who as representative busi- ness men of the community have been | chosen for this very purpose. Why should | they be content to lay this matter upon the shoulders of the rector, who too ire | quently has had no business training, | and in all justice should never be re- l quired to do the work that belongs prop erly to them. It is his duty to confer and | counsel with them; theirs to execute. If | the rectors hands are not held up in | this, and especially in the matter of his | personal support. if month after month | he must devise means to meet the deficits of the parish, and his mind be burdened
 with fears for his personal credit and support of his family, his hands will sure l ly become heavy, his effectiveness weak | ened, and the parish suffer Must he bear | the blame for another's failure? Then. | standing on the other side, assisting the | rector to hold up the more spiritual in- l terests, are the wardens of the parish. | If the priest is not performing accept | able service, if the preacher is not de- l claring the true and everlasting gospel of | Christ, if the man is not walking among | the parlshioners, and In the community, | as becometh one of his calling. it is their | duty, and theirs alone, not the lay popes l or popess to bring these matters to his | attention, and to advise him in all love | and kindness regarding these things. It | Is theirs also to inform him when neces- | sary of conditions, which he, by reason | of his position or circumstances, is unable
 to discover for himself. If a grievance | against a rector is of sufficient impor-
 
 be mentioned to fellow parishioner, and l seldom, unless of minor importance, to l the rector himself; but rather to the 1 senior warden. If he be the kind of q | man he ought to be, and l may safely | say usually is in this respect in the vast ! majority of cases, the trouble will go
 on no further. His unbiased position and
 his deep interest in all that pertains tC
 the highest welfare of the parish, as re- | gards both priest and people. enables nlm
 to see matters in calm light, to offer | wise counsel, to mediate justly and thus | to pour oil upon the troubled waters
 How many a parish trouble that has as
 sumed serious proportions might have
 been settled and the parish spared by
 thus observing the proper method To the
 senior warden belongs the responsible
 duties of a kind of godfather to the par
 ish, as well as adjutant to the rector
 Again, grievances and differences arising
 In guilds and various organizations with
 in the parish should never be aired or
 discussed with a dsnterested party, es-
 pecially with a non-communicant: while
 to thus discuss personal faults failings
 and grievances, in connection with the
 parish. is little short of mischief-mak king
 The church is family. and surely any
 loyalty to its sacred environs should be
 free from being made subject of public
 gossip.
 SeIf-Respect.
 Surley one ought to have sufficient self.
 respect to keep private concerns within
 their proper circle. Again, no communi.
 cant has right to assume the duty oi | the warden, and to constitute himself ol | herself hIlrpa1l of tion to tb.