Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1908 — Evil of Too Many Churches. [ARTICLE]

Evil of Too Many Churches.

America has too many churches. Towns which might be well administered spiritually by one clergyman or two have six, eight or ten. No one of the six or more congregations can pay for a good preacher. Few of them can pay all the cost of any preacher, however poor. Nor can any one of them pay for all the time of their spiritual leader. So only very y6ung men are to be had, and the demands upon their time cover so wide a territory that preaching must be almost their exclusive occupation and pastoral duties be almost entirely disregarded. One of the clergymen observes tersely and Justly: “No business could flourish by that method and few churches can."