Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 285, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 December 1910 — HELPING THE PASTOR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HELPING THE PASTOR

jHMMast HE notion prevails more or less extens,vel y in all the IJ] # churches that the pastor is solely responsible for the successful prosecution of religious work. As a result of this fact he is frequently left to stand alone, and to do what he can without much assistance of any kind. We need not waste time to show that such a view is essentially erroneous. The great Pauline and Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of the people puts every individual believer under bonds to contribute the full measure of his influence to the furtherance of the kingdom of Christ. We wish that we could impress this thought with due emphasis upon the minds of all our readers. Its Importance is such as to entitle it to the most serious attention. To be more specific, there are many ways in which the flock can and ought to aid the pastor. They can relieve his mind from the pressure ot worldly cares by providing; for him a competent support. It would! be a great calamity if the salaries, of Christian ministers should ever become so large as to constitute an attraction to insincere and ungodly men. But there is not the slightest prospect of any immediate danger in that direction. The real trouble is that so many able and excellent men are put on. short rations, and compelled to prac-. tlse a pinching and almost niggardly l economy in order to make ends meet. Nor is there any good reason why it should be so. That the majority of Christians are poor, we very well l know; but still there is scarcely a circuit or station among us that could not, by equitable distribution of financial burdens, make a comfortable provision for its pastor. The failure to do this is to be attributed to the, thoughtlessness of some folks and the, downright stinginess of others. This is plain language, but none too plain. The doctrine that the laborer is worthy of dlls hire is of divine, and not! of human authority. They can strengthen his spirit by entering sympathetically into all his. plans of work. If they look upon hist efforts with an unfriendly eye, or if they simply sit still In idle indifference, they make it virtually impossible for him to accomplish anything that rises above the level of a commonplace result. Their refusal or neglect to lend a helping hand neutralizes his best endeavors. How can he confidently essay any great task when he knows that he is to be met with hostile criticism or with frigid Unconcern! It is bad enough to have the sharp opposition and the keen contempt of "those that are without,” but a great deal worse to suffer the same treatment from those that are within the fold. If, on the other hand, the members of the church do their pastor the naked justice of giving him their intelligent co-opCTation, they multiply his power a hundred times, and guarantee the corresponding fruitfulness of his ministry. “Let Your Light So Shine." Still more can they be helpful to their pastor by leading lives that are worthy of the gospel of Christ. We suppose that nothing heartens a man of God so much as the fact that those to whom he proclaims the truth are diligently trying to fashion their characters according to its requirements. To bring about this very end is, or ought to be, his one supreme desire. If he falls here, he falls everywhere. No mere superficial semblance of success in other respects can be a compensation to him for the fact that the men and women committed to hie keeping are disorderly, or inconsistent or worldly-minded. No other burden Iles half so heavily on him, or gives* him half so much concern. It disturbs his waking thought, and walks like a forbidding specter through his very dreams. Oftentimes, if he be of an acute and sensitive nature, he feels that, without relief, he cannot longer bear up and go forward. If your pastor is in this condition, will you not come to his relief, and that speedily? —Christian Advocate.