Evening journal., 1915-02-04
OFFICE IS
DR.. COOKIES THEME
Says 1t Has Lost Much OF
Its influence and
Prestige
SAYS RIGHTS MUST
BE RESPECTED


of Wesley NJ. E. Church. read the
following paper on THE Pastoral /
Office" before the Ministerial Union I
this week
"In bringing this paper before |
you, my purpose is 10 present a /
thesis in regard to the pastoral Of I
fee and to make plea for the pro- |
per treatment OF that Office.
MY thesis is this: The pastoral !
office, generally speaking. has lost
much Of its influence and prestige
among the people in recent years
The pastors influence is not felt TO
a large degree in the moulding OF
public opinion. In many cases the
pastors influence is not sufficient to
| check the tides of worldliness that
sweep through his own sanctuary.
! To a large extent, soul saving is
/ lost art even in our Evangelical
/ Churches. The present demand for
evangelists OF the bold and aggressive
4 type is largely due to the fact that
pastors have lost out in the art OF
exposing sin. Evangelists have their
!, place, but when the influence of the
Evangelist OvertOps the influence Of
the pastors in a community there is
something radically wrong
"The causes for this condition of
affairs are many. and they have been
in operation for many years. 1t is
, too much to expect that these causes
\ shall be removed at any mans bid
ding. There must be a long cam
!. paign of education on this subject
y and crusade for fundamental prin-
ciples. before these evils are correc-
ted.
Mote this as one cause: Under
!, the plea of democratizing the church
our ecclesiastical organizations have
been slowly drifting into an unregu
y lated socialism, that overturns al
legitimate authority. MaiOrities have
30 their rights and can at any tim'
, easily obtain those rights; but ma
-, jorities have no right to be tyran
:, nical. The pastor of every churcl
has rights that should be respecte
by all.
= MY plea for the restoration @
q the pastorate to its former glory,
the outgrowth of an earnest desir
to see the churches increase thei
power for good in the communit.
sr Not until our churches are enlivene
IS and blessed Of God. can they be
& blessing to the world.
"There are three essential factor
III in the administration of the pastors
to office that should be noted.
First. The pastor is proper
70 the executive officer Of the churc
If he is a good man and wise. he wi
ei not exercise his authority arbitrari
e, nor in defiance of the wishes of b
constituency. If he is too zealo
W. or too insistent upon the exc
else OF authority, there is liable
be an undercurrent of uncontrollah
"a reaction against him. II is plain tn
a. every church needs a leader and ju
n as plain that the pastor is the on
De authorized leader. T. is safe to 81
that there are only a few unreaso
able spirits in any church who
IS not recognize the right of the past'
d. to oversee and superintend the a
r. tivities of the church.
"a Second. He is the shepherd
IT, his people. II is his high and no
a. mission to bring back the wandere
ne to rebude the sinful. to stir UP u
+ indolent. to comfort the afflicted, al
"a to strengthen those who are fcebl
Je In an important sense he is a rectC
a. to make righteous the lives of h
ne people, curate TO cure their sou
W. of sin. To this end he must kno
his people, and must not be bin
to their faults. If we really 10
the souls of our people, we can
'r- them good by faithful labor for the
an welfare. Have we not at times be
err careless and superficial in this pa
&c ticular?
,et Third. He is a preacher of I
le- Word of God. The pulpit is
throne Of power. To be at his be
he must do his best TO excel as
gospel preacher. He must be Go
list man against the world To p
Ike suade men from sin TO righteousn'
eet is with him a passion and a delig
es- In the name Of God he assails
strongholds of sin in the hum
heart, and snatches men and won
alive from paths that lead TO Eter
itb death. The Bible is his chart @
los los his text book.
.ss "All Scripture is given by insI
alton of God and is profitable
doctrine, for reproof, for correcti
- for instruction in Righteousness, {
the man of God may be perfect, tn
oughly furnished unto all g
works" IL. Tim. 1917.
at follows logically that the I
pie should uphold their pastors