Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-03-28
BUSINESS AT HOME.
II Cor. 1875. Examine Yourselves"

tried with the church at IOrIntn, Ior
it was a hotbed of criticism and dis
satisfaction. The Corinthians were
the critics of the Apostles age. They
criticized his style Of preaching, said
that his personality was weak, and
declared that his speech was contem-
tible
With so many things 20. say
against the preacher, evidently that
church was looking for change Of
pastors and would probably have vot-
ed unanimously TO that effect If quar-
terly conferences, district superlnten-
dents and bishops had been known IN
church polity.
Ii had been in PauPs place, i
think / should have gathered up my
things as quickly as possible, wiped
the dust from off my shoes, and hunt
ed up another job.
AS dissatisfied as the Corinthians
were, there was one thing IN PauPs
favor that they were bound TO admit,
namely, that his writings were inn
pressive and carried great weight He
might not make good appearance in
the pulpit, and perhaps his voice was
pitched too high, or was raspy, or
husky, but his sermons, from a liter
airy and theological standpoint, were
masterpieces.
Did you ever stop to think how
much the average church wants In
one man, the man who lives in the
parsonage? First of all, he must be
a preacher IF he cannot preach, he
viii not be tolerated. He must not
only have a message, but he must be
able to clothe that message in attrac-
tive and striking language, taking
care, however, not to strike the men,
bers of his congregation. Let him
preach at the Invites, and the Jebu-
sites, and the Perizzites, and all the
other -ites, but none of his grape and
canister must fall on the heads of
his own people. One thing that made
Paul so unpopular with the Corinthi-
ans was his custom of hitting sin and
wrongdoing with his mailed fist
whenever and wherever he found
them.
That selfsame spirit that moved
the people to say to the ancient
preacher, Speak unto US smooth
things has manifested insef in all
ages and prevails in many church
today.
Then Paul was a small man, and
that was somewhat trying to his con-
gregation. Do you know that some
churches object to a small man at the
present time? He may be big men
tally and spiritually, but if he be I'M
dersized, ne is Objectionable.
Then the man who lives in the par
sonage must be a pastor, a shepherd
OF the flock The people demand Wis
ltatlOn-sOme of them a great deal of
It-and unless the demand is met,
trouble is sure to arise.
l never heard of but one minister
who visited his people as much as
they thought he ought. This prodi-
gy (I think we may properly call him
a PRODIGY used to start out on Mon
day morning with his invalid (7)
wife and three small children, spend
the entire week among his parishion-
ers, returning to the parsonage late
on Saturday evening, and to repeat
the performance the next week. And
his people were satisfied, yea, they
cried, ct is enough"
Again, the man who lives in the
parsonage must be a mixer cana
bic of adjusting himself to all peo-
pies and conditions. A minister with
out superabundance of sociabiIitv is
quickly frowned upon.
Still again, he must be a diplomat.
tactful, astute, skilled in the art of
pouring oil on the troubled waters
and IN bringing about treaties of
peace, yet preserving absolute neu-
trality all the while Some ministers
have problems beside which those of
a foreign ambassador sink into insig-
nifcance.
Still again, the man in the parson-
age must be q prophet, capable of
reading the signs of the times. Woe
unto him If he lack the qualities of
the seer He must also be a leader.
ready TO pilot the way into whatever
land his people maywish to be led He
must also be a scholar and a student,
keeping abreast of the times, well in
formed on the topics of the day. He
must also be theologian, able TO ex-
pound the Holy Scriptures. And last,
but not least, he must be a frst-class
fnancier, able to keep up a two-thou-
sand-dollar appearance on a one
thousand-dollar salary, and pay his
bills promptly.
| Not only did the church at Corinth
criticize Paul numerically, but went
so far as to deny his apostIeship-
/ said he had never been called to the
ministry.
For any man to continue his min
/ isterial labors with such church was
4 clearly impossible Most preachers
would have left IN a hurry and re-
/ Trained from all communication with
| the Corinthians ever after But not
so Paul. While at Ephesus he wrote
4 some letters to them. In those let
tiers he Wrests the sword of criticism
out Of their hands, points it at their
own breasts, and says, Examine
+ yourselves You have disputed my
4 doctrine; examine whether We be In
the faith You have made me prove
my apostleship; prove your own
selves"
Now, the fault OF the Corinthians
IS the fault Of the present age When
I / make that statement I do not mean
to say that people are generally given
70 criticizing and finding fault with
the preacher, but the spirit Of the Co
rinthians prevails TO an alarming ex-
tent We neglect our own business,
and, without waiting for an invita-
{ tTar din info T1na affairs or .%t,o~v