The Republican journal., 1911-02-02
How to Decrease Gracefully.

Elderly Ministers Advised to Cultivate the
Generous, Unsel6sh Spirit which Wei
comes the Younger and Stronger Men, in
Whom Is the Hope of the Churches.
Rev. E. P. Parker, D. D., in the South
Church, Hartford, Conn.,, Sunday, recog-
nized his recent completion OF fifty one
years of service in the South Cnurcn ana
the seventy-fifth anniversary OF MS Dirtn-
day, speaking, in part, from TINS text:
HE must increase, but l must de-
crease -
He said, in part:
s'The time comes when, Whatever our
merits are or may have been, we must
say. either in sourness and bitterness of
spirit. or in the nobler spirit of glad
recognition of the gifts and callings OF
God in others. He must increase but
must decrease Oh for the spirit that
can greet and rejoice in those who COM
ing after us are preferred before us,
since but for such preference human pro-
gress would be stayed; to salute those
who God has raised up and made capable
of greater and better things than we can
do, or have donel | once climbed to the
summit of the Corner Graf, near Ter
matt, by the light of moon and stars,
and from that crag beheld the sun rise
and from its splendor over all that vast
realm of peaks and glaciers, while the
stars paled and the moon hung like the
ghost of a moon just over the Matter
horn. The splendor of that dawn was
glorious, but | can never forget the fad
ing beauty Of the moon and the stars.
And as we'll might moon and stars envy
the rising sun, as we those VINO rise
about and among US to usher In new
day and to make human progress pos
sible under the sun. Let us with decent
dignity and inward gladness salute those
through whose advent and ardors all
things, instead of declining with us,
shall move on to better and best. Enough
if, in our day, we have in some measure
prepared the way for such successors.
1t is worth noting in John the Baptist
that in view of Jesus's advent he did not
relax his own endeavors nor quit his own
work in any Encouragement. He held
on bravelys until murdered for speaking
the truth
Whoever may pass US in the course, we
yet have our race to run. While we
must, as cheerfully as possible, accept
our limitations, we must see to 1t that
even our next-to-nothingness does not
come to absolute nothlngness but to
something, however little. Now would
insist that there is a power as we'll as
beauty in the spirit which have indi-
Gated, and which the example of John
the Baptist illustrates. While the power
of what one may say or do, decreases in
time, the power of what he is, by virtue
of generous sympathies and cordial
appreciation Of the gifts and services of
al l. of fish
increases to the end.
elm welcoming those who coming after,
are preferred before US, in giving way
and place to them, not because we must
but because we should, as to those who
are able to be of greater service, we
may perhaps, crown the service of our
own lives, and put beautiful kind of
completion upon our own work.
mot long since | read in an English
paper the following sentence: old men
are proud and their pride shows itself
chiefly in their persuading themselves
that they are more efficient than ever
Perhaps this is true of some and of many
old men, ministers and others. But as
for myself, it is not true. | know per-
as a minister, than formerly. l know
L
merly.
LET me now quote sentence or two
from an article by DR.. Tucker, late presi-
dent of Dartmouth College:
No one can expect to compete with
two generations. If one has been sue
cessful competitor with the men of his
own generation, let that suffice. Not
only are the general laws of progress to
be recognized, but also the changing
fashions in ways of thinking and in
modes of action. The period for which
anyone may regard himself or allow him
self to be regarded as an authority in
any profession is very brief.
This statement seems to me true and
fraught with comfort to- the elderly men.
Here and there an exception to it can be
taken, in the case of minister, judge,
legislator, or other public character, but
the statement holds true, and we have
abundant recognition of it's truth in the
age limit prescribed for judges, college
professors, and various persons in the
civil and military service of the govern
ment. No one can be expected to com
pete with two generations. That eX-
presses my own settled conviction con-
corning men in the Gospel ministry.
1.-The Christian minister who has sue
ceeded in so fulfilling the duties of his
office, as to have won the respect, conf
dence and appreciation of his people
throughout the period of one generation,
must be content to decrease thenceforth,
and to see the increase and preference
of the men Of another generation. He
should not be disheartened nor regard
himself as failure, because of this de-
crease of his influence and efficiency.
His service during the proper period of
it is none the less an established fact,
not to be disregarded by himself or
others.
perhaps the very best thing such a
man can do, in the decline of his profess
sional usefulness, is to cultivate and
manifest that gracious, generous, I'M
selfish spirit, Of which l have spoken,
which cordially greets and welcomes the
younger and the stronger men in whom