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Las diogrammas suivants illustrant la mAthoda. ■1. ■/ ■ o '^ iriiiMBMa. 6 J MKXocory ibouition tbt chart (A^l pnd ISO TEST CHART No. 2) ^ /APPLIED ,. 1653 East Main Street S (7t 6) 482-0300 -Phone V ^ (716) 288 -5989 -Fox ".V ^^j Mot"") •■^•»^»*,*...,«f3Hn> #■ "\' ••*■ f^ Church Folks & ,*;• ;i r ■ to *" Church Folks BEING PRACTICAL STUIMKS IN CONOREOAIIONAL LIFE « By Ian Maclaren" (Dr. John Watson)'^ Y- VA. A , AUTHOR O*- "illlDt THK BONNII BRIII BUtH,"^ "THE MIND or THE MAITEB," ««THE CURB Of tOULI," ETC. -?► ^1 TORONTO LANGTON & HALL H 1900 * •• ■ ■*! I CopyrlKht, iS,,, „^, by thi. CiirtlH PubllnhlnK Company t;«)pyrlKht, K^,, by DoubloUay. Page « Coi«|wny JIH. I 4 J95? ^|F" m. COWTF.NTS. 'Aav. I. How to Muko tho Most of a 8«riiioii. i H. How to Muke tlio Moat of Your Miaistfr ..." 10 -III. The Cimdy-pMll Systfin in Jho Church, .......;. 37 IV. Tho Mutineer In Vli«! Cliiirtli. . . . m y. Should tho Old Clergy man Hi! Sliot? 71 |^ VI. The Minister and the Or^rim, '. . . 88 ;. VII. Tlie Pew and the Mun in it, . . / m VIII. Tho Qonteel Tramps in Our Church- IX. Is the Minister an Idler? . . . . 14.5 X. Tlie Minister and Ills Vacation, . . YlRT XI. The Revival of a Minlsilcr, . . . . 180 }4'0-\ 49f , .(#' f.f^- -#■ 9-.f>- > -*■ CHurch Folks. Ho^v .40 TiTE Most of a See- Unto the success of ii sermon two people contribute, and without their joint efforts the sermon must be a fail- ure. One is the preacher an J the other is tho Iiearer, and if some art goes to the composition of the sermon, almost as much goes to its reception. In the art of the hearer the first •canon is practice, for it is a fact that the regular attendant not only hears more but also hears better than the per- son who drops into church once in two >. W ■■ 2 Church Folks months. :^o doubt if the preacher has ■ Uings of brass, and ttie hoarof is not stone?' deaf, a casual can catch every word on tlio rare occasion when he at- tends, although for the past six weeks he has worshipped at homo or made the round of the neighboring churches, riiere is some difference, however, be- tween a, steam whistle which commands Its audience within a given area witl^ out distinction, and a musical instru- ment to which ears must be attuned for its appreciation. The Ghiep GoxDmoN of Successful : , IIearino. * ; The voice of a competent speaJcer is not so much sound merely, but is so much music, with subtle intonations nnd delicate modulations; his pronun- ciation of a word is a commentary upon ; It ; his look as he speaks is a translation of It; his severity is softened by the I: Church Folks ^r- be- pathos of his tone ; his praise is doubled by its ring of satisfaction. A stranger's car is not trained to such niceties ; it is the habituated ear which reaps the full . sense. -■ Besides, every speaker worth hearing creates his own atmosphere, and one cannot hear with comfort until he is acclimatized. The speaker has his own standpoint, and one friust be there to tliink with him; he passes every word' through his own mint, and o^e must be familiar with^ tl)o stamiung.V Casuals >re puzzled by the man, biit his famil- iar friends are aMiome with iJim. "He said this or that," the casilal urges. "Oh, yes/' answers the exjtert, "but with him that means somethiag.more." Perhaps the chief condition ^.f success- ful hearing is to know the speaker, his working axioms, his special ^evo^ion, his unconscious prejudices, his charac- teristic message, and^ tins knowledge can only be got by continual hearirig. ■^1 y- 4 Church Folks When A Ministek Reveals Uimself. It is not in privatoHlmt a minister really reveals himself; it ^s in the p„l- pt^yWheri you met him dn Saturday upoif the street he spoke of tli^ weather or about a book, hiding himself, ^^ every real man does, in ordinary intercoHrse; on Sunday, >vithout knowing, he drops liis mask till you can read his charactei. and have seen his soul Of course,' some men are as veiled in preaching as m conversation, but in that case their liparers have lost notliing; there is no • individuality to reveal, only a lay figure sl)oneath the conventional garments of % Jay. It takes one month of con- *\t wear to break in a pair of heavy "fe boots, and at least' six months - xxt iVo a new study chair; a year of y^'^^^^^ttendance is required to place *^^nis with a preacher, and intage must not be thrown away. A ir- ./. Church Folks -A Scottish Conohegations Which Ap- ' PEAR Asleep. Tho second canon is attention, which • Comes to this, that d hearer shall make his body serve his soul in church. Peo- \ plo may be listening when they sit mo- tionless with their ej^es shut,- and many explain that they have simply with- drawn themselves from a disturbirig en- A r ' vironment, but in that case they ought • to give some sign of life at interv;als, if only to reassure the preacher and to ^ save their neighbors from the sin of V uncharitable judgment. ^. There are con- gregations in Scotland where one-third of the audiencp appears to be asleep, but \. the preacher is afterward assured that these very hearers could give the best account of his seririon and arc the keen- est critics of his orthodoxy. They do not, however, form an exhilarating spec- tacle for the preacher, and his tempta- tion will often be to say something .\- \ 6 Church Folks lietorodpx in order to compel them to g^ve some sign of interest. _ If. ah,v one, on the other hand, is af- flicted by the evil spirit of restlessness Which is c'cr impelling him to fidgdt and sometimes drives him beneath the book-board, then this man ought either to master his tormentor by practice at home, or he should be placed in some special sdit where he may hear but not be seen. 4-.- \ Am^iENCEs OF Studied Neolioknce. Nor does it, in any way, assist sym- pathetic hearing for a man to fold his arms and throw himself into his seat as one who knows what is before him and will endure to the end without flinch- ing. A preacher may at any time refer to the noble army of martvrs, but he does not wish to address abody of mar- tyrs in his OAATi church. K^thing ..^^u more certainly discourage a preacher^ H^ Church I 'oiks 7 till the words break on his lipa and he can hardly maintain grammar, than an audience in every aUiludo of studied negligence, and norfung will more cer- tainly inspire him than one imbroken expanse of intelligent faces. When a Bermon Can be irEARi) . . Aright. . ^'^ Next comes concentiration, and hcfe the ti'ained^^aror has an pnormous advantage. If it be difficult for some people to listen, it is ten times harder for other people to follow, for it is evi- dent a person may listen and not follow. Very few are accustomed to think about the same thing, or, indeed,^ to think about anything, for thirty minutes ; after a brief space their interest flags and they fall behind; they have long ago lost the thread of the preacher's ar- gument and have almost forgotten his subject. The sermon which suits such ' ^^^Tvf ?''7^, ; 8 Church Folks 1 -■ - i ■ a desultory mind is ono of twenty para- grapliB, each paragrnpli an anecdote or an illustration or a startling idea, so that wherever the hearer joins in ho can bo instantly at homo: Sensible people ought, however, to remember that a Bcries of amusing lantern-slides and a work of severe art are not the same, and if any ono is to expound the gospel of Clirist worthily he muTt reason as he goes and ask his hearofs to thttjic!'' The chain Uiay bo of gold, but there ought to bo links securely fastened together, and a hparer should try them as they pass througli his hands. If one does not brace himself for the effort of hearing a sermon he will almost certainly finish Mp by complaining either that tlie J>i;cacher was dull or that the discourse was disconnected. Ko sermon is worth hearing into Avhich the preacher has not put his whole strength^ and no sermon can be heard aright unless the hearer gives liis whole strength also. j ^BKv;" i Chiircli . Folks What a Eiikaciiku ih Kntitj.kd to. My fourth cnnoH of Huccossful listen- ing is ctmdor, jiiul n preadior is entitled to ask this quality of h\n liohrer. If a jurynjau enters t|io box with his innid made up regarding the ca^e, then it is vain for any counsel to speak, and there 18 no hoi)o of securing a just verdict. II a person enters church. Avith hope- '|q»s prejudices in the matter of truth, t|kh it docs not matter how able or how clo(pient the preacher niay be, he can- not get access to that hearer's mind. The honest hearer is one who is willing to consider every argument and to re- vise every conclusion, except, of eoiirse, those half dozen outstanding verities which no preacher of intellectuar'sanity wonld cv(*r attack and which every re ligious jTcrson accepts as final. There arc,^ however, many sides of truth which a hearer may never have seen and many api)iications of truth which / »*■ 1:1 ■ lo Church Folks may jiovor luxvo, wcurfod to him. Ho oii^ht to bo willing to fr,How tho prcndHM- 08 n ^uido tin.l nt 1(>V;«' 'to j,„lgn tho I)ro8i)oet iov hinusolf: l,r ought to be willing to considor hon- fa,- tho preacher's word a fTocts his ?)vvn X'on- duct. A^'othing Htimuktofj a preacher and gives him greater confidence in ex- pounding truth than tho assuranco that every word which ho 8i)eakH from an l«one8t mind will ho consid(.re(l hy lionest hearers. Ho feels that if they agree with liim, it will ho because they Iiavo been convinced; if they disagree* with him, it will bo because in their judgment lio has failed to make good bis plea. The Atmospiierk Killt.vo CiruRcir. TO A And the last canon is charity, which blesses tWico-^the man who preaches Church Folks 1 1 atul tho people wlio honr. No ntmos- l)h(>ro is 80 injurious to tho lieurcr, and none so trymp; to tho pronchcr, a« petty criticisma und nmlicious interpretatiom People ought to hear in a largo and generous spirit, remcuiWring that th0 preacher is a man of like frailties with themselves, and' remembering that no man ought to bo judgc^l exeept on tho length and breadth of his teaching. It is possible that one day ho may bo dull —it is a matter of tho weather; it is possible another day that ho may not bo sweet-tempered— it is a matter of digestion; tho hearers ought to make great allowances for one who has to work with the double instrument of a fieklo mind and an imperfect body. ' Hearers should lay it do\\Ti as a rule that no man ever can bo equal except" he travel on tho plane of dreary com' monplace. " 1 -• t n urch Folks t* TiiK PuKACiiKH Who ih Always tiik Hamk, It is gfticl thnt once n dopufntion from a Vttcont congregation wont to lienr a nil(Mlo-ag.',l doctor of (Uviiiity, a man <»f placid dirtpo^iti,,!, and unin«pirod mind. After hearing him preaeh a ser- ni^iii which lie had prepared on tho iMonchiy forenoon preceding, and tho liko'of whicii he couUl hjivo prepared every forenoon following, they asked one of his congrc-^ration whothor thftt jj wa^^ fair epocimcn of tho doctor's preaching. " Yc may," ho BJiid, ''depend on that; hear him onco yo hear liim ever; he's iiyo the eanie; thcro arc no nps and downs with tlio doctor." Cer- tainly lie never •kKciiuled helow tho even road of hare common sense, and certainly he never ascended to tho heights of inspiration. :Many preachers finil that Qvcry fourth or fifth Sunday, as the case may be, they fail, beating , t t aP^ >3 Htifidfu on tlio ■y will on joy with itM far w, all tho Icy wlieroin ttlio ground with tluli* Avlnj^s, nml' not ^^Uting ul)l« to r\m. , 'dkkiHiutgrcgnlionrt will fcccivi* uiii|t)o ^^iindfty following, nii 1 the iQf of th«^ nionnlii view untico. It Is not neccagary that the -., preacher bo didactic, saying as to chil- '•^dren, "You must do this or that," which is insufferable and ineffectual. The best preachers are suggestive, mak- ' ing men ashamed of low living by the exposure of sin^ and moving men to nobility by exhibiting the beauty of ^' -.-^{^ . Ii»5- ^.^ ■■ix :% 1 6 Cliurch Folks virtue. The lioncst hearer does not do good afterward because he wa3 told, but because ho must. lie has opened his heart to the message of truth as soft spring soil for the seed, antl in this hospitable home the seed springs up. .: The GiiiEF End of Every Seumox. Above all things, the Christian preacher makes two demands, and both can be justified Qiily by the obedience of the hearer. He invites his audience to become disci}jlcs and servants of Jesus; he magnifies the Master's gr^ce and power; he assures his fellow-men that to trust in Jesus and to follow Ilim is to live. If the hearer argues and debates about Jesus, he can never arrive at the facts, and he has not dealt fairly with the preacher. Let him put the matter to the test and make the adven- ture with Jesus as did tii^ first Chris- tians. If he does, then he will be able to judge the preacher; if not, he ought ~- ■'■' -■. ■[ : ' ■ ;-•-:-,■ ■. --; ;. --.. --- ■.V..,,. ■ •!■.■' -'■ ■■■' -■ • \ \ ■ ' . ' [:■' ■■ i; ■ ' f ■ ' 'V- ■ " , i \ ' ■;. ■ ■ r I '■ , ., , '<>. • ■i- ■ Church Folks 17 to be silent. NiDvor has there been more futile criticism than that of hearers who will not believe: such people wander round the outside of the cathedral and discuss the painted glassj which can only be understood from the inside. Another appeal of the Christian preacher is for sacrifice, and it is his duty to magnify the glory of unsclfisli living. lie asks people to do what is hard and unattractive, and promises tbem a gain which is spiritual and unseen.- It lies upon the hearer to verify this commandment for himself, and to find out whether serving others, arid not one's self, docs make one hap- pier and stronger. The chief end of preaching is, after all, inspiration, and the man who has been set on firi6 i^ the vindication of the pulpit. The fchief disaster of preaching is detachmerit and indifference. Xevev was any sermon so poor and thin but it contained riiore than its hearers coiild-' ■■ Tw-^mw^ 1 8 Church Folks practise. No sermon lias failed which has sent one man away richer by a single thought, or stirred to a single brave deed. / / \ .-I I wliicli r by a single ^Av-— II. %*. / How TO Make* the ]\Eost of Your . Minister. . BET^yEEN a ininistor and liia congre- gation tlior6 is an action and a reaction, so tliat the minister makes tlio congrega- tion, and the congregation makes the minister. When one speaks of a minis- ter's service to his people, one is not thinking of pew rents and offertories ^and statistics and crowds, nor of schools and guilds and classes and lectures. The master achievement of the minister is to form character and to make men. The chief question, therefore, to con- sider about a minister's work is : What kind of men has he made? r 20 Church Folks ■li And one, at least, of th*o most decisivo qnestiona by which the members of a congregation can bo judged is: What have they made of their minister ? By that one does not mean what salary they may givo him nor h^w agreeable they may be to him, but how far ho has be- come a man and risen to his height in the atmosphere of his congregation. Some congregations have ruined minis- tors by harassing them till they lost liean and self-control, and became pee- vish and ill-tempered, ^ome congrega- tions, again, have ruined ministers by so humoring and petting them that they could endure no contradiction, and be- came childish. That congregation has " done i.ts duty most effectively which has created an atmosphere bo gonial, and yet so bracing, that every good in its minister has been fostered and every- thing petty killed. (i-. A 7 • /• Church Folks 21 What the Congreoation Must Do. A young"* minister is a charge com- mitted to a congregation, and its first duty is patience, especially with his preaching. One extremely youngs and, what is not the same thing, very imma- ture, minister began life as assistant in a city church famous for its activity and earnestness. His work was to visit sick people and to attend to details, and, wisely, he was seldom asked to preach. When ho did preach liis sermon was a very boyish performance indeed^ — shallow, rhetorical, unpractical — and he had/sense enough to be ashamed. By and by ho was appointed, for accidentaf and pe;*sonal reasons, to a church of his own in a remote country district. Be- fore he left the big city church, one of the elders called to bid him farewell. He said he felt that it was only right to point out where the assist;ant had succeeded and where he had failed*. A V 'M- II :i! ! i 22 Church Folks/ *' You have been very attentive to tlio invalids nna--er— tHe el.ildren, nnrl I may say without flattery that you have been well liked, hut you know that God has not given you the power of public t^pcech. I am afraid you will never bo able to preach. Still, you may have much uaefulness and blessing as a ims- tor." It was not 'a cheering prospect to wait on old ladies and attend Sunday- school treats, but the lad thanked the candid elder with a sinking heart, and went to his new Avorlc. I: * ll li Wjiat One :^r>N Bw for His MlNl«TER. Ilis first experiences in the new parish seemed to confirm the pessimistic prophecy. One day ho forgot every- thing in the middle of his sermon; anolher day, in expounding an epistle <)f Saint Paul, he had got his thoughts * church Folks 23 into such a tanglcil Bkcin that ho had to begin again and ropoat half his ex- position. On that occasion tlio young minister was so utterly disheartcnod that ho formed a hasty resolution in tlio pulpit to retire, and went into the vestry in the lowest spirits. Therq an old Highland elder was awaiting hiirt to take him by the hand and to thank him for " an eloquent discourse." " It is wonderful," ho said in his soft, kindly accent, "that- you arc preaching so well, and you so young, and I am wanting to say that if you ever forget a head of your discours^' you are mot to bo putting yourself about. You will just give out a Psalm and bo taking a rest, and maybe it ^vill be coming back to you. We all have plenty of time, and we all will bo liking you very much. The people are stying what a good preacher you arc going to be soon, and they are already very proud of you*" , j| "• 'it' »tv 24 church Folks Next Siuulny the minister entered the pulpit with a confident heart, and was enstainod by the buoyant atmos- , phcro of frio;ullino88; and as a conse- qne»ico ho did not hesitate nor forget, nor has ho required sinco tlmt day to begin again. Little wonder that his heart goes back from a city to that , Highland parish with . affection and gi'atitudo; had it not been for the char- ity of his first people be would not now bo in the ministry. A CONOKEOATION ]\IuST StAND BY ITS iriNIHTEIU • The members of a congrjDgation are boimd to stand by their minister in the outer M'orld. lie is their own, and they oiigfrt to be jealous of his good name. If ho says or docs whflit is less than right, let them tell him face to face in all tenderness and love; but if strang- ers criticise him, let his people defend Church Folks as and praifip. If u man's own houscliold is loyal, then ho is not east down by the hostility of tlio man on the Htrcct. AVlien it turns against him ]lo Iobob heart. Nothing will tcoeli a proper man to judge hiniHolf more stvoroly or to realize his faults more distinctly than the discovery that his critics in private are his advocates in puhlic. ' a^ It happened once .that a loii^ng member of, a congregation consith'red it his duty to remowt-raje with liis minister, to. whom hj) was deeply at- tached, because the ibinister's preach- ing had groAvn hard and unspiritual. They were personal friends, and tlie conversation was -conducted with per- fect tasto and temper; but the minister did feel a little aoro aftor\yard8, which was rather foolish, and ho '^vorricd him- self with the idea that hj^! friends and his congregation were jti*ning against him. A few days af tCfrward a brother minister called uppn hipi, and as tbcy i..>- I ♦ :l;. 26 Church Folks talked of oik, thing and anolhcr his ViHitor congratulatiul liim on the attach- nicnt of hiH pooplc. *' Why, last night at a (linnor-tablo old Boctor Sardine wan carping at yonv i)r('a(!hing-M'ttiling you a rationaliBt, an«l go forth — when Air. (,'oehrano Hpoke out at once and tohl tiio oKl gontU;nian that ho did not know what ho was talking about. * I go to Lis church/ Haid your man, * and I know that I can uover repay my nrinis- ter all that he has done for mo ond mine.' It was straight talk, and pro- duced an immense impression, and one minister envied you such a friend." NoTiriNo Helps a Minister Like Confidence. While his friend had told him his faults boldly, man to man,^ and ho had • taken ptivato offence, like a foolish child, that friend had been guarding his reputation with generous enthusi- * ^f ■■'A ■■# ♦ ' ' ■ ■>• **^f "■4 i > Church Folkff 27 Aiim, and at tliu tbougitt tliorcof \io wim muvcnl to rqK'titfmcc. 'L'lm ju tp in' hi3 forgotten >nvenient imday ho lat letter 10 had a And tho In^ with Bven (he the con- r w ^v_ ■. / ■■ '.■'■'-' III., :' -■ ■;" 'X : " , ■ ■■■■.■■.■ ■: ■ ■■ ■ \ , ■■-»■_. ■■ . ' ■ \ . The Candy-Puix System in the }\ Church. J ' . > ■■-'■'.■ ' i ' ■ ■' " Aa I write, thfllppeal of a Youiig Men's Christian 'Asjsociation to its mem- bers Ijes on the table bfefore me, and 1 copy it verbatim : - - ♦ " Do' Not Forget ' The ne\:t Social / The next Candy-pull The next EjitertainmenJt The next Song Service / ^ The next Gospel Meeting . * The next Meeting of. the Debating Club The next ChicRen-pio Dinner The next date when you oUght to make 'the secretary happy with your cash." > . This remarkable list of operations, combining evangelistic zeal, creature ■i f *i'. r ,- -^ V'i ' M . ^\ 5-' V J8 Church Folks coiuforls, i\\n\ biisinoHs slirowdnoss, ro- quirea no comnicntary : tlio items givo 118 a convincing illustration of an upr to-(lato religions instittition — avoritiiblG Inistlor of i\\. ]VI. O. A. . Perhaps ono department of tlio work requires a >vord of explanation; there ma/ bo ' some persons who liavo given eonsiderablo attention to Christian agencies, ami yet whoso researches mny not havo como across a " candy-pnll." This agency, if that bo the correct word, is A party of young men and women who meet for tho purpose of pulling candy, and, in the case of tho co^ ^ operation of sexes, is said to bo n very engaging employment. It may bo that candy-pulling on tho part- of , a * Y. ]\r. 0. A. is confined to one sex, and is therefore shorn of half its attractian^ but one clings ,to the idea that in these days of " pleasant" religious evenings the young men would iiot be Jeft to their oyjTX company. -^ X 1 ■•,►*., 1 ' 4 • ■ -.'i V f ■ ■: ■>.„ \ 3 . ..N * \^ \v ' ' ^-i ■J \','i ^ *', ■' VI • j - * — r ^ > ^ Ino89, ro- om H pivo f nil itjv voritublo tlici work •n; there ve given Christian jlios mny cly-j)nll." ?ct word, I women pulling the co^ le n very may l)c irt- of , a sex, and tracti»n> in these evenings i to their A: . V. \ .A V, Ghurch-N Folks CoNUUCTINU A 391 I f Lin EH. t ,/ ft The Christian ^4i«r<*|]i and y. M. C. A. are, of eotirse, very jlifTcr- cnt" iriatitutiona, nHdJIu" latter in free Irbm.any traditions of austere dignity; NJjut one ia not surpVised to find that the chutch has also been touehed with the sotyid spirit and is nlso doing her best to mnko religi'»n entertaining. One enters, what is callett 4 plaeo of worship and iniagines that he Is in a drawiiig-room. ^Tho floor has a thiclc carpet, tliere aro^ rows of theatre chairs,' a huge o^gan fillaN^ Ltho eye, a largo bouqnct of flowers . marks the minister's place ; people come in with a jaunty air and salutfi one another cheerily, hardly one bends his h%ad in prayer; there is a hum of gossipy through the building. T A man disentangles Kimself from a conversation and bustles up to the platform without clerical robes of any \n u r^ '■f ¥ I , ■f*' l1 1 40 Church Folks kind, as likely ni not in layiriaii'M drcan. A qnnrtctto ndvaiu'CH, iiiul, faeing tlm audience, fiings an antliom to tho con- gregation, wliicii (joes not rise, and later they Bing another anthem, alHO to the congregation. Tiiero^s one prayer, and one reading from ITc^y Scripture, and a Bermon which is jbriof ind bright. Among other intimation* the minister urges attendance at the Easter supper, when, as is mentiouod in a paper in the pews, there will be oysters and meat^ turkey, I think — and ice-cream. This meal is to be served in the "church parlor." ; / ■ -^ ,- _ •■ .' ^ .... ■I i ■' '- r 1 1 • ~ ^ Ah Soon as fupi Bknediction is Said. Ko Sooner b as the benediction been pronounced, which has sqiy|m» original feature introduced, than the congrega- tion hurries to the door; jjut although no one can explain how it is managed, th e minister is already there shaking #. .-"". .. .! ■■■■.■ '■ •.' ' / -v.- ^. i .::<■■(■.' ■f Church Folks ,f 41 linrnl«, lntro<1iiciiig pooplo, " glutting of! H)d tilings/' aitd RoncrttUy iiiakiiiK g thingH '* liuin." Ono imtsoii oowp^hitu latcH )i « for latcH liiin on h'm " talk —now nanio a Bcrmon— -ami another fluya it was Efforts li a Vo l)cort niado iti'^'EnRlftnd also to mako clnindi lifo roally popular, and, in ono town known to the writer, with BOmo fiUCCCHH of ita own kind. Ono church secured a new Bct of comnuinion latd hytho popidar device of a' dance; vaHotiB congregations gave private theatricals, and ono enterprising body had stage property of its own, Bible classek celdftratcd the conclusion of their jsessioA by a supper ; on Good Fri- days [there were excursions into the country, accompanied by a,/i> military bandj and a con8iderabl|Tiortion of the congregational income was derived from social treats of variotis kinds. This particular towm is only an illustration of the genial spirit spread!^ through-^ ,vl I- ^^% , : ■ , ■ . V ■ ■ » ;,-.■ . " •* ■-■. " '.^ '..:.?^, ' . . ■ •- ; \- ■>'-'.■ - -'. " ■ :■.- ■;. ■ '; '*. ; . ■ -.- ■ . " ■'■■*... •■' ■'. ' fi'' -■' . ./"^ ■ J ■-«■ -■ 'i.\ 42 Church Folks out the church in England. One min- ister lisos a magic lantern to give force to his sermon ; another has added a tav- ern to his church equipment; a third takes up the latest murder or scandal; a fourth has a service of song; a fifth depends on a gjpsj or an ex-pugilist. If this goes on, the church will soon embrace a theatre and other attractions which will draw youtig people and prC" vent old people from w'carying in the worship of God» ^ . -^ Is THE Xew Departure an iMPRovit^ .M MENT i . Perhaps it may be the perversity of human nature which is apt to cavil at new things and hanker after the good old times— which were not always good^ by any means — but one is not much enamored w-^th the new departuro nor at all convinced that what may.be called for brief >the "Candy-pull" system is any ,■ ■* - "*■ r i ' ■■■ I- ■I ■■■I f- ii I N. Church Folks 43 '% improvement on' the past. After a slight experience of smart preachers and ^church parlors and ice-cream suppers Xnd picnics, one remembers witli now respect and keen appreciation the mi n- ister of former days, Avith his seemly dress, his dignified . manner, his sense of responsibility, who canio from the secret place of Divine fellowship, and spoke as one carrying the message of the Eternal. He may not have been so fussv in the aisles as his successor 'nor so clever at games nor able to make so fetching a speech on *' Love, Courtship, and Marriage." :-■■- ■% ■ ■ .1 ■■'.I ■■%- ; % ■ Was THE Olr-Time Clergyman tOo ■ S Pfte members' of his congregation ma/ not have called him a " bright ^ ' V man" nor said he was " great fun" nor; , asked him so often to tea-parties, and it inay be granted that ho erred on the I 4 *^^t*- '~*1 44 Church Folks 1 side of formality; but, on the other * hand, they spoke of him- as a "man of • God" and a " good man," and in the ; straits of li|^nd in anxiety of con- ^science th(^H|M[pr him. They may not have likdj^m^sd well as the modern man, htit tjiey respected and Trusted him, which is far more important. > ^ Gtne is also struck by the change in the whole environment of worship, and there may be a diflFerence of opinion whether it has been for the' better or the worse. The church of our fathers was not well liglj^ed nor scientifically ventilated nor elaborately cushioned, and all there could be seen of carpet was on the pulpit stairs. .The church of to-day is amazingly decorated, and bright with innumerable electric lights. CONOREGATIONS ]\rR;ET TO LlSTKJlt TO THE Ciioiu. , 1 The service of the past was musically imperfect and Avas generally too long. • ■ ■ ■;■ ■ '^ . :.■ 1 - il ■ '!: : ■ ■ ■ ■ -1 ■■<• . "■; .. - ■•■ ■ '■' :: ^. & I ' ' ■ni^ -*■ „ O r^ . ChuFch Folks /) •- \ 45 ^ / w- and / ■ i ■i To-day the teuor in the choir is dis- missed if his voice shows signs of wear, and the* people sit in judgment jon how the anthem has been "attacked*' ^or " rendered"— j)erliaps it was " Holy," Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty"— 'and there is a noti'ce in the vestry (or minis- ter's -parlor) that the Scripture lesson niust not exceed fifteen verses — ten is preferred— ahd the prayers must not encroach on the music, and the sermon, whatever be its subject, even tliougn it be tho Judgment Day, must be " inter- esting." In the former time a congrega- tion-used to speidc of a sermon as " edifying" or " searching" or " com- forting." Now it declares that the preacher was in " great form," or it complains that lie was " off color." There are, no doubt, many points in which the congregation of the present * has advanced on the congregation of the past, but it ha^ not been all gain, for the^iief note in the worship of the 1 <> 46 Church Folks former generation. \vaa reveroricc — pcoWo, met in tiro preseneo* of tlio Eterbgl, /before whom every man ig less than nothing.' AihI \he chief note pf their children, who meet to listen to n° choir and a clever platform speakery is , self^ompiac^ncy. , ^ -,\ Fear op God Seems*; to Havev > >: It ought to be granted that on^ r£|son fqr this change in the spirit of fton- gregational ^.lif e js a feactionv from indivndualism and jgi new cgnceptioii of . the fellowship of the Christian church. A religious i)||8dn no' logger thinks of himself jas a solitary^ unit, isoiated from every other human .being in the ivorld, and whose^ chief business iji li^e "is to save his own soul. He has realized that his life is bound' up' with that of his neighbors; and that hd is a member of a society which extends over all the . V ' ' - r^ IS- fi 'onco — of tlio L ia less lotd pf )n to a° ilceFy is ^ ■-\ r AVE V } f eon;- ■ '.; ^ from ;. - • ion of: ' " ^ ■ . i "■.^' '" hurch, , Ji ■ ■ .■ y " ". . ■■■' : .' ■ -> nks of ' I frbm ^' i "is to' \^'-.' ,;"'i dfhat : : y of his ¥ ber of V- .■ ;"; 1 .r Church Folks - 47- ''worlS;\ that/ he muat hot deny ^ his humanity, and ,that in saving others ho is also saving himself. The tvorld is ^ no. longer a wildfenicss ithrough which " he jparchos a 'piTgrim^md stranger, but . ' his birthplace, to which he owes a duty, > .anil religion is not .so much an austere devotion io God as it is a useful, chari-. t>l]rS'm. ' i. . L „ The'' centre of thoUgl^t has, in fact, -shifted from eternity to time, from the .wo/ship of God tQ the service pf men. ' flid one idea was enshrined i?i a-Puri- ^ tan meeting, where ^ach man waited iti Hyistful ex|)ectation for a sign of iftvoT f roni the Almighty, or in the cathedral ' whcfre the multitude .bowed in silent / adoraftiort at„ the lifting of the llbst. , The other idea is visible in tlic building, , ' more concert-room than church, where '..a numbor of- gpod people meet in high . spirits and in kindly fellowship to move > "one another to good works, and to sing ': hymns. The ancient fear of , God seems '.^ y •/ •\ * ''f"'''*^i^^ "?T /< Annex. : '-■ \ . .' V, - • ' ■■■■■■j^^- ■■ ■■;■::• .■■,■.■■■■: Religioii, it ja .urged with cohsi'der- able force, Uiust provide not onl^ for the soul, biit| also for the mind and body.,* so that a Cfl^istian Will not need to go, outside the- chuj>eh for culture or amusement. 1/ he want relaxation, . "t . ( . ■ entertainments must be provided for him at his cEiKii, 8o4;hat he need not go into worldly Isociety ; and \yhatever^J>©* his intellectual taste, it must be met in . his ecclesiastical homo. His* literary and debating-society and, drawing-roojn and concert must be all under one roof , ': so that the young ^ Christian' may be sheltered from temptation. As this social tendency df the cottgre- gat;on is becoming more marked every > I :.'iH : ., ,^ A ■ :^4 ■'■ • .\x .■■»::■ ■] with it jh once ] p. ■ /■ * EDS AN otisider- . ^ nly for . j id bodyv ' d to go. . ^ ure or . ; ixation, ' i led for 1 not CO ' - ever^Jj©* met in ,' literary ig-room " le roof,': nay be CKurch Folks 49. yearj and new 'inventions are being added, it is vain to virge a return to the simplicity of tlio past, when a congre- . gation was a body. of people who mot , to worship God and study ^Ilis wUl ; but it. may bo worth while to poinrto. certain drawbacks in the new develop- ment. For one thing, if congregations ; are to become "universal providers," another kind of minister will bo needed. ft How- TII£ MODEBN MINISTER JQW' PARES Himself. IK ,For this kind of institution a teacher tp expound the Bible or a pastor to "train^ the character of , his people is hardly needed, 'and certainly lie would not be appreciated. The chief requisite demanded is a sharp ma% with the gifts of an impresario, a commercial traveller, and an auctioneer combined, , \vith the slightest flavor of a peripatetic evangelist. Instead of a study lined • » u- > >■ i i; i 1 i i •H--- •■ ( (', ./ ,J^ 't' 50 " Church Folks , .# wit^ Ibooka of grave diviiiity and classi- j' cal literature, lot him have an ^office with pigeon-hole8 for his programmer —^ and cndlesa correspondence ; cupboarda for huge btfoka, with cuttings from newspapers and reports of otjieR organ- izations; a telephone ever'4ingling, and a set of handbooks :^ " How to Malco a Sermon in Xliix'ty Minutes," or " One Thousand Racy Anecdotes from tlie Mission FieW.'! , ^ Here*6its an ^Wt, vivacious, inv6n- - tive manager, with his female stenog- rapher at a side .table, turning over one huge book to discover ,who is next in ' order of time for visitation, and another for details of families, or hastily exam- ining filed speeches of public men on some slibject to bo taken 011 Sunday. From morning to night he toils, tele- phoning, telegraphing, dictating, com- piling, hurrying around, conducting "socials" or "bright evenings," giving , f "talkg," holding' receptions, an un- ^ ■ >i ■? ,. .'S --4 ■ i ■ ■i \ Church Folks 5> ^ wearied, adroit, persev^cring innn. No oho can iielp admiring liia versatility and honesty of intention'; but if ho is to bo4|N) typo of the ministcf of the future, then he wilt supersede and ex- oludtei a better nihn. _ ; :t :l i ■ . ... Should the. Pulpit be (Jiven to . ,- - ,■"" ■..':'',' V Man AOEKS? ^ "■'...,■■ • Inhere are men who possess every becoming gift of learning and insight; aii4 devotion and charity wjio are abso- lutely incapable of " running" a church on modern lines. They could iguido a^soul in spiritual peril, but they have no talent for aniusing young people j . they,«ail declare the Everlasting Gospel of the Divine SacrifiecV but; they have no*' turn for nlachinery; they caii ox- ponnd the principles of righteousness, ,„^^ut they -refuse tp meddle with a rece^ strike of motormen. * . . ' v To^^' As regards the gain of the hew depart ^- ■ "^•^^- -■., / » .. ■ ■■" ■■ ' - ■ ■ ■'■ ;- * ■--JT! ■ x ili- I 111';. I. 'ill!: 52 Churcli ''Folks Wf6, 18 it certain that the socializing of the Churcli will makc» hor orcej and life attractive? I If it/«^- w .M ^ •4 ^ \ IV. The MuTiNEKtt m tiik Church. It takes nil kinds of people to make a worM, nnd it tqkcs almost na many kinds to make a congregation, but it is not necessary for congregational com- pleteness to possess tt mutineer. By a mutineer one means ft person we can eosily identify, and at whose hands most congregations have iometimca suffered. Ho is not to bo confounded with a Christian of old-fashioneft opinions, who is occasionally disturbed by a sermon on " The Fatherhood of God," and will come to the minister's study to explain thot ho has atlways believed God to be a judge. This man , f" church Folks S5 IB po||cctly J»nc8t, and ough^ to be ' treated witjipll conaidcration, bccauae be is BimPy ^'^^j* ^^ ^*^ hereditary faith, and all the Wno would like to receive the new gospol. Let him have a warm corner in the room, and a com- fortable scut, and free opportunity to runUhrough as many texts as lie wishes, and a candid hearing unto the hour of midnight. Ilo is open to conviction, and even if he leave unconvinced, ho ' will not go to set fire to the congrega- tion. Not he; but he will explain every- where that the minister is a faithful Bible studeiit and a patient pastor, and that it is a privilege and a responsibility to sit in his church. -W 1 1 Do KOT CoNFOtJND Him WITH THE Restless Pebson, >; Nor must the word bo applied to one of those restless people who are ever detecting some fault in affairs and who A . IF f 56 Church Folks wearj every person with random sug- gestions. One wee!k he writes that a woman was turndd away from the church prayer-meeting becaus'e the hall was ,. . full — the minister is always amused with this niythieal person and wishes he could see her in the flesh— and h| suggests that the weekday ser- vice-should be hcld.^in the church. He knoAvs a hundred people who would be willing to come— and this also Pleases the minister "very much, beoduse the good man hardly ever attends himself. !N'ext week some mysterious person informs this man that he has caught cold through the draught from one of the windows, and our friend writes sixteen pages to advocate window cur- " tains, which would make St. Peter's itself hideous and Worship impossible for all self-respecting peopleT^A month > later this same man is convinced th'ai^ the whole congregation is a rope of ; sand, and ought to bo bound up by a <8f ; *'A' •i^T'lr- : Church Folks S7 [n sug- that a in the le hall always »n and iesh— ly ser- i. He uld be )leases 3e the mself . person jaught me of writes V cur- ssil?Ie • nonth > i •■■■'■.- I that pe of , ':'"'- - .; ■■■• : . ■' . ■ -A ■J^: ■ ; , ■.-■■ i '':W/iJ general visitation on the pa^t of the oiBice bearers, for which Ke is good enough Jo sketch a plan ; and every other week he \vill make a new sugges- ^ tion in a voluminous letter^ till his brethren are apt to say strong words about his meddlesomeness. • Treat the Hestless Person with ,;V * ' '*Ees?egt. ^ ■ - '• ■^- • His brethren. ought rather to pbssess their 'soiils in patience and i^-eat the worthy AiianJ^ndly, for there is not a grain of mischief in bira, nor is there a better-hearted man in the whole con- gregation. He AVill be quite pleased if he gets- a civil answer, and I- would suggest this form for such occasions: "Deab Mb. JiJMP: I have received your interesting letter and. note your suggestion about the curtains. The miatter is one Avhich will require careful consideration, and I hasten to assure you that it is encouraging to; the minister and workers of the church to find -.v'Vx- -» ,- *,-• i i\ -\ :'! I Church Polks f thjft the welfare of our church in every respect lies BO near your heart. With very warm re- gard, believe me, . 1 ■ " Yours faithfully, ', _ 1 Lil 1 *' J°° HoLDFASTLPastor." ,^ Mr. Jump will be quite satisfied with ■ this letter, and in twenty-four- hours will have forgotten that he ever pro- posed curtains. It will be worth while for a congregatioiv to engage, say, one Jump, just to note defects and to keep things moving. Two Jumps might be too much for the congregation, and they had betteif' dispose of the second. The Over-Sensitive CiiUBCH / Member. There is another person who ought not to be considered a mutineer, al- though he is very wrong-headed and may become a real nuisance. He is th^ man who is apt to be offended and tb be "hurt," as he calls it, because some one passed him at the church door ■i \, ^' • V "5 i r Church Folks 59 /without speaking, or " said things " ' about him— he knwYS niot what-^bchinjl ' his back, or objected to somo pl^n which he proposed, or refused to do something ho asked. Having worried his wife about: the matter, and talked himself into a fever of wounded vanity, he gives . everybody to understand tliat ho ^ has a grievance, and assumes the air of a martyr. As a foripal protest he may even absent biraself irom church for two Sundays,"an^ will be still further • hurt if no one c^fe^^' inquire the reason. Of course, jS y cry. provoking, , but there is no m?iliS^ the man, and ' he ought to be gently treated. It is hi^, misfb^tune gather th^ his fault that ' ,he h^s no\s(;arf-skin &d no protection . ;ag^nst the inevit#o friction of life. A gentle touch and a.liberal use^ of '^ spiritual -ointment will cui'd hi^'wounds ■i— or, rather, scratches. . / » :/ \, y 4 .' to Church Folks How to' Detect Vjib Genuine' ,MUTINEEE. ■ f mutineer ik of anotfier breed and is an able-bodied luiscreapt, who will strike a hard ,blQw whenever he can get an opportnnitv^ and at any person whom he can reach. His sole desire is toido mischief, and the more pain Jie gives the better is ho. pleased. He wHl ^^rite insulting letters JK^ the minister, ^^ charging him with every sin from heresy to lying. lie will get iipa public controversy about the aifairs of the con- gregation in any newsptmer whid^^s foolish eiiough to insert his letterat lie will attack the i£pst reasonable pro- posals of the office oearerSj and impute to them the worst tiiotiv'es. Hg will move through the QOngregation as'sffn ineen-, ^ary, and set firato^ every in%mmable persor^. When he is in his glorv he will thrpatcn jfroceedings in the chu^f-cji courts or in the ci\^iLcourts; -and al' -\ f . . * \ viU He ro- ^ ite >vc 3n- • *- ^ ■: Church Folks 6i though he will never carry them out, being a coward as well as a bully, ho will take the preliminary steps, which cauac talk and alarm. It will also be part of his- role to pose as a straight- forward and honest man of unflinching rectitude and spiritual aims. What he does wUl always be under constraint of conscience, and he will summon himself - and his opponents with much rhetorical ' effect before the bar of eternal justice, lie is so big and blatant, *^and good people are so ' cllmritable and easily :<;Qwed, that they often take tliis pian at ^Jjfown value gnd come to terms with- him. ' :r :' Be SiiouiJ Receive T^TTLiJ Coif-, <% SIDERATION. As A inatt1|JpBf'fact,^ii an Utter humbug from ^ver^giSr of view ought to receive no^P^ey. Neith opinions nor his feelings nor his plaints nor his throftteriings should w; *!i -.-\i \ .. . ;■>:, « 1'' '" 4. ■ - i/ ■- • f . t .1 f w f^::- < \ urqii •#* 1 ■■'$ ■ r ^ i ■,, ''f'. '. ^^i '1 m ■*." 'l,. :, 1 ■> ^c-el^ one mpmdnt's consideration. Ilia first challe»g(fc, should bo accepted as a^^ declaration of \i'ar, and the war liad better bo without quarter; and it 18 astoiiisliing hoAV soon" this brigand can bo brouffht/ to his senses and to abject submission. , ,* ' Should he be established in a con- ^cgation and have shown his hand, the wisest plan i& to give him notice to quit. It is not- usual to ask any member to leave a church, and very unusual, if iie h.app<^n to be a m^jy of 4^b|^t)inco and position, as this *felW 'Often 'ie; ]>n% eon|(r^ations are much too>sanxiou9 to Keep every person, and much too sloMit , to recognize 'that some ^men's ab^gftoe is (| more profitable^'" ' .» -^* . .* eir pr9j|Bncc si V and heartburuidK their absence , Jind prosperity;, tWe if ..-presence sio6n 'drives jpny quiet %lk %way ; iheii** absonce^vo^: Jrelnoffe a sttimblinjg-; \ Church Folks 63 His iNFiuEircE 18 Always Detri- . ••' ;■; ,.* .y^' MENTAL. ■ ,\^ ■■; Should he apply for admission to^ a church where his character is known, then he should he plainly refused. Why should any minister, if it depend on him, receive a man who has half-broken another minister's heart? Wljy sliould a congregation give house room to a man who hap reduced the affairs of an- other to ruin ? The chances are he has left like an array which has eaten up one country and now must go to devas- tate another. If there be any power in a congregation that can do it, let the door be slammed in this man's face, and as he wanders about churchless perhaps he" m$y learn wisdom. Should any one say that we are treat- thc mutineer unkindly and un- cfristjanly, then he is carried away by ^m^eSs 'o4;^charity and is not facing the facts. T^^deal kindly with a muti- -^^ r ft ^-J-- t :u4 *■ V*; :.- ;„■ ,::;■.; J,; ■■ I \i ;♦ " V 64 Church Folks • .ncer is b bo cruel tp. the minister arid the congUgation. Although lie bo only a single incliviouuT, there, is no end to the mischief Avhicli this man /can do. For one thing, ho will gravely affect the preacher, and that, in ways which the congregation can hardly imagine. No preacher wbo is worth the name writes his sermons ^yithout reference t^'^his congregation^ as if he were liv- ing in another planet and were dealing only with the ideas of the study. As he sits at the table he is really in the pulpit and the congregation in the pews ; he speaks to -them, and they re- spond; \vb sees one he|^ lifted and another cast down, one rebuked arid another comforted, till the books of the study disappear and the room is full of human feelingv -It is inthis atmosphere that the preacher IjABo his best work and ^st perfectly Iflilfil liis mission. Supp«ic, therefore, that at the end of a pew-T-and that inhere he is certain ■ .V', '^;- "\. jib^ :#^; '.!.'■ sf? ■■ * Church Folks "65 t6 be, in Bom? prominent place— thin rebel is sitting, pugnacious, insolent, flnd defiant ^ is he not apt to be ^n influonxje in the sermon? - ■ — ■ ■ " ■ ' ■'■■•'. - ' ■ - ' ■•;■"■' ■ ,.-4.. r,:;' \;. '■ . '' ■ . Effect qv IIis " Pkesence in the ' No doujit tflbAre men with- such merital self-cohtroTand superb irtdiffer- enc€f to cireumstances that they will ignore his" existence. These are ip^en of the great order, and one canaot expect inany in the ministry or in any profession. For them there are no rules, aiAjM^iem ixo hindranSs T they are invul5rffle and irresistible. Upon ordinary men the mutineer has an irri^ tating and deflecting power, so that a preacher,' consciously or unconsciously, is ever taking him into account, and tfie sermon's course' is tp a certain extent .. regulated by this man's exist^ce/ If ; >-• the minister bo a gentle and, fearful^ w^ >. *-», •f, H. 1^ :|v 66 Church Folks V -w- mnn, ho h apt to bo ovor-considorate, and will omit things which ho ough||| to havo said lest ho should givo offonco. Instead oiHtho sermon's pursuing its strcright way and reaching 'its destina- 'tioiK with as littlo loss of distance as possibte,4||l will bo timi(|^ and subdued in stylo. WLo preaonir will bo continu- iUy qualifyii^in order not to bo caught by this critif^lli; he will bo continu||ly deferring lest ho sfetfpld give offence to this mighty man* rPeople will havo a vague sense of weakness, but they may never guess the causy. * The Preacher's Way of Dealing WITH Him. Suppose, howevof^' the preacher bo a strong and determijii^d man, but not one of the larger minds and the broader vision, then the mutineer will affect him after another fashion. From the beginning of the sermon the ppacher V- , ..,-.^;-. • -,- . j,iS^ -ivnf/' '~»-' Church Folks 67 will set himacif to deal with this man and to bring him to his boiihcs. Hit choractcr and his actions will bo do- scribed and denounced and satirized and threatened. He will bo pelted with the judgments of Holy Scripture; its commandments will be laid to his back like a lash ; the invitations of the Gospel will be denied him, and the historical rascals of the Bible will be suggested as his photograph. Unto any one who understands the allusion it will seem that this man is being Irardly dealt with; but to any one who tjiinks a little dec||p it will be seen that the prcachCT is |l<^pii^' The preacher has groAvn sonpWf vindictive ; the sermon hasi lost its grace and tenderness; aad^I know not which is the greater calanri^p^'a preacher without magnanimity or a ser- mon without nobility. '■<«r. \ ■, 68 Church Folks » He ih a I)1£)turoino Factor £ve»y- '[ WHERE. " Kemove this mnn from his placo In that church and the minister will give himself without disturbttnco to deal both with saints and sinners in the lovo of God. : The mutineer will also distinguish himself in arresting the activity bf the church both in work and giving. Should ho have a placo, say, in the Sunday- school, he will quarrel with the superin- tendent and every one of the teachers in turn till ho has the school to himself, and then he will lament the decay of Christian sacrifice in the spirit. If he be appointed treasurer of a fund under the idea that this will give \A something to do, he will be such ofTence that no one will subscribe; an^ if he be not treasurer, he will declare everywhere that the fund does more mischief than goo^and that those ■ m ■I" « -^ V :A Church Folks 69 ICO in' ■:^' I gire deal 3 lovo desiring tho wolfaro of tbo cliuroh should not Hubaeribe. And bcsiden all tboso miechicvoui acbicvemcntH, bo will poison the lift of tho church so thnt, instead of Iwing gracious and harmonious, it will become bitter and quarrelsome. If there bo a dispute in tho church, this man will foment it ; and if it bo possible to set two people by tho cars, ho will do it. When there is an honest differenco of opinion ho will sec that it bo turned into a feud; arid if a new proposal bo put before tbo people, ho will got up an acriTil6nIour"dcbatc. EFFECTUAL MEtIiOt)S OF TbiJaTINO ^■-■/HlM. _ || '■ Perhaps the jjiost oflectital system Hvitb such a man is not soolcling and .storming, but a policy of isolation. As ' ikaturo makes a cyst and encloses any ■ ettrangc material so that it bo kept se'paf )ii^«S:- ' ■ I ,* N V 70 Church Folks i-ato from tho body, let this man be imprisoned in a place . by himself. If he shonld offer any remark upon church affairs, let the other person answer on the state of the weather; and if he criticise a Sermon, say that he is sorry to hear of his dyspepsia. If he riselio speak at a chureh meeting, let the silence 1)0 such as may be felt, and after , he has spoken let the chairman caH for the next business as if he had never existed. If he has ever to be spoke^ lo, the best plan. is to treat him. as an absurdity, a^d play around him with ridicule, for this will give much i nno- a / cent anausemept to other peop^^ndTit^ is the particular attack wbieh he cannot stand. Between loneliness and laughter % will depart to another church, and then let th? happy congregation, sing I the Te JDeum. ;. i -fi - J- 1 :.-4- -^■. ;.■.<-,': "r {'' ■^'« ^v -t ..« .... -«■■ 1 •:■"■. II **•■ *'1* : i- / r SuotJLD TUB Old Clergyman, be . :-^ -r--;^^ -- V -* .^-- Shot ? ■ .^ , ■,■ ------- On^ day, and perhaps quite sud- denly, a congregation awakens to the fact that a certain calamity 1^8 befallen the minister which "Avill cripple his power m^re and more every da^r and ^may ftWruin the life of the congfega- tion. it ISs Nothing ta do with his ' character, for he is Veally a much holier. > man, and perhaps also a much wiser ^ onc,,^fian he was twenty years before, . and certainly he commits fewer mis- . takes in wotd and deed than in the days '^ *of his' youth. Nor does it concern his " pastoral work-^for he is more than *evei* the. counsellor and friend of tb© • iS . — # J.' i ' > / xm : ^v':' ;«. 72 Church Folks people, speaking to them from a richer experience of life' and a larger charity. It is not ri^ht to say that it touches His preachiiig, for that is likely to be quite „ as solid aid as useful as it eter was; Indeed, ^ is spying the- very things he %sed to say with naueh acceptance, rfnd in the way he used to say them — long "_-»gA _ _ '_'. : . _ With the Svc>'age man there comes ' i *s .^w '•« .■■■■v- 74 Church Folks . ■■■ ■. .- . ■■ ' { f. ' ■>■'■ '■■'\ .. "■' / ' ■ : ^ ■ \ .'■■■.<« ■ / .A,T n %• a time when hia mind crystallizes and his beliefs becom^ absolutely fixed. He may not resent the discoveries of younger men; he^ certainly will not assimilate them. He may not oppose new methods^ of action; ho certainly will riot adopt them. His. preaching may be absolntely as good as it was before, because it will be the same, \vithout any^ addition' of new thought ; but it may be bad, comparatively speaking, because it should have much new material and should also" bo in much closer touch with the age. \ ■\ A ^ ■^f Ha Comes to be a Brake Upon i'HE Coach. ^ «' • . . With middle age there is apt'to set Ib^ suspicion of the rising generation and a keeit. resentment of its stand- point, 80 that the middle-aged man falls into a critical . and pessimistic mood. He comes to be a brake upon the cjoach, (^- -<*!-*, '« 1 1 ■ ' , «'* 1 . ■•'a ■ *^ ...-■...■ * /Church Folks*: 75^ and while the brake is n useful thing in its own place, it id a poor substitute^ for horses. • " If his work be in a city church, it is a grave question whethcr.any minister can now disclilarg^ it with efficiency who is above sixty years of age, Th6^ multitude of details in a city parish, the "excitement of the life, the severe' demand npon the mind, and^ the.heavy^ -burden of responsibility call for r ^' man in the prime of life, with an ajert intellect and an u^ailing bpdy. It is likelv as time goes on that men after, say, twenty years in a city will have to retire and take scwie quieter sphere in the country. They will be put, ^s it ' were, upon the semi-retired list. > • •^ Besides, as o^e cannot fail to no- tice, thq average .man of middle age, in. bidding good-bj^ finally to yoA'i himself also largely isolates himself from young people; \ They may be respectful to him, and h^ may be : '.' •■\: *« /■.-/: ■ir;-vf - ' ■-' f. ■ : ■•••J ,._i.-w ^. ;_ aV-."' ^ : '^^-:f-! ' •■ t^Sl- l:t ...-;.■ -I' ■)■'?.' '' ■ W-i ■'■■■.*■ '■' .;;-•■■ M.V:: %: ■\V,- 'V- tir- ^ ^ ^. ?6 Ghufch PoMca intferested in thomi but there is now no _ common language and no common sym- pathy. They arc apt to think him an " old, fogy" (and as a middlo-aged man myself I am inclined to think we 6,0 grow old-fogy ish), and he is apt to think them frivolous. There are few men who can bridge the gulf between two genergtionsand be equally accept- able both to the young and to the old, and the difficulty will inc/ease rather than diminish. And all this is the. penalty of growing old or even passing middle age. One E.minent Clerotman Suqoested SlIOOTINO. ^ What, then, is. to be done with this unfortunate man ? And the difficulty has been felt so acutely -that a distin- guished divine of* our day — who is now dead— proposqjd ihat a minister who was past his prime should bo taken out ~\ -^*v 4 I -i-^ ;^ ■_'. ; ' -'-i^r, ,ri*- /. church Folks 77 (I Wesunic^ toi some sheltered spot) and ^shot. His 1 idea was that clerical incttiii^bents sl^ould be treated after the same \fashioji as worn-out horses. It has aUVays been dangerous to use irony in J^ngland since the days of Swift, for although the English people may have every otl\er quaiity under the sun, they certainly' have not a quick sense of humor, m\^ I am not certain that some people did\not think that this eminent - person was\ serious in his savage sug- gestion. Certainly he expressed the mind of somdi ungrateful and miserable congregations, who would be immensely relieved to get rid of an old servant in the quickest and cheapest fashion. Perhaps, also, it would be the kindest thing to the minister when he discovers himself to be an inci^mVrance on those whom he loves and who once'^loved him, to give him by some moans the coup de grace; but tliere are objections on the part of an interfering law to this sum- y v.. ■i1 ^--^ 1 in f ^1 > '^ \\\ -U t i- : 1^- 7B ChuitJ\| Folks' mary raqthod of disposal, and one mu^, A^ abandon tho idea of an ecclesiastical . ^knacker's yard. ,■.«■'. -*"■ ' «-f -■■■■ V ■ ■ y»:. ■ ■'■ ■■■■ : / :* If He Had Any^ense of l*BOPRifiTY 1 He would Die. * • ' • ■ ' . You have, then, font courses of ac- . tion with this unfortunfito man, who, if 'he had had any sense of prppriety would have died decently of a shoH and pathetic illness at the ago of fifty-fiycj and the first is that the congregation do nothing and he be allowed to live out. his days in tho pulpit. Very likely he . used to say about the age of thirt_y that he would never continue in the minififtry .^fter hisJeaf had become yellow; that he wondered how old men could not see that their day was past, and that it would be better for them to' be pottering about in a country gardenl When he said these brave things he was .standing on the other side of the hedge, and now, J.- ■•:i tk ^ % k ^ % p. Church Folks 79 If when ho is doublo tho age, ho has quite another view of the aituation. Ho (Icclarca tliat he never felt younger in hiB life and never moro fit to preach. At. times he grows heroic, atid declares that as long as he can crawl he will mount the pulpit stairs" and that he will die in harness. . Foolish people (mostly old ladiesj^ will tell liim that he never preached sa ably as ho did last Sunday, and ho will incline his ear to this little circle of, admirers and will refuse the advice oi sensitjlo me^^ who have his welfare at heart and who suggest to him that he should of his own accord resign the office he hap bo honorably filled. So it will come. to pass ^liat church and city will see one of the saddest tragedies: a. niau, scattering the congregation he -once gathered and flinging away the reputation he once won. i^^'» «?»■ ■f- ■'' ';■■*•,■ •. \ ::4 ■ ■ ■ i ■' ■'.• / • \ ■«l ■■ ... 'i. 1 t :■ J '.■■■" ■ ■'"''".. - ■ . ^ ' ■■ •: ':■'-, ^ . ,. "• _ W^:.' '" ' '--v' ' ■;■• \. ,• . \'V" ■ ■■.•\\ ".s#. ." ;1^» V ■ '*, 80 Church Folks To SuooEMt A Cqllkaouk DoEii Not • Plr/thk. Or tho congregation niay pluck up courage and insist uiM>n (ho worthy old gentleman having u colleague. "Wo do not want to lose your services," it is explained to the uiirffster by some shrewd diplomat who knows that the minister, riot to speak of the minister's wife, is watching him all the time with suspicious eyes. "We only wish to relievo you of tho heavy end of your work. Would it not bo a good thing that wo should securp a vigorous young Muui who would take cflre of the classes and all the details of the church work, and preach once a day to save you fatigue ijnd allow you^ to go for a lengthened holiday from time to time? You liav/ been very good in not asking relief frch»»preaching, but tho congrega- tion feels that it is only ft bare duty to give ygu permanent assistance, Be- y': " I 4' i\ r 1 y-:.. ^^F Church # Bidoi," and now tlio oinlmsaiitlor fcola that tho miniBter'n wife it) togurding him with coiitoiiipt «« a (h'toctod cheat and un utter humbug, " it wouUl bo a good thing for a young man to have tho benefit of your preaching and advice." ^ V«ry likely the old gentleman, after Oa conference with his wife and her lady friends, will refuse to have anything to do with a colleague, and will explain that he will propose such a measure him- B<3lf as soon as ho really finds it neces- sary, and meantime that nothing could bo worse for a young man than to bo going about doing nothing. He will perhaps add, and add it-with deep re- gret, that ho is assured by influential ' members of tho congregation that tho intrusion of a colleague would undo all tho work that has been done and rend ^| tho church in twain. ■ V '4 * . ■o. .^^^■. {•lif i,#». ■Mj. '... ■,■ . . * ■ ^^^1 ^1 ^^1 1 ^^^H ^^^^^^^k^'/r ■' .' , ,' ■;'* 1 ^^^1 ^M ^^1 1 ^^^1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hl^,:.f :■-":' '■'"' HHBHJII VHl HUH 1 miiiii HHIiHHH^^^^^^^^^^^ '-'^ ' '.<'■"■■'■ , ■ . ' , '. ' ' ' »* ,■ ' '. .■_;...•• ■'■". '■' ■' . .''• ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^r •;■ -' '". . , ■ ■ o '■■.'-..■■■-, w^' ".. ''l ::''■' ■■■::-' ** ■ ■; •■ '■■■'■ ■■ . ■ : • , ■'■;.■■' ■'■-■■:■•■■:■,]'■ ''■■' ■■ ■ ' ■-■.-. ■■/:."-^--' ■ . 't . ' -V ■ ' • ■ . ''.. '•' >■ '■ " '■ . . ■ ' ■ ■ "* ■ ' . ' ■ - . ■*■■ . : ' ■" '■,«■" ■ ■■■; '■ ' . -*■',■' ' ',. * ■ , ■" - . ■ ■ ■ ' 'A ' % _ ■ '& -- ^ - . ' . ■^ ■ ■■;' . ^ ■ :■■■/ ■ " ./•••, , '■■^ - ■ ■- * ■ " ♦ ■ vX' ■ .■:•■-• '. '■ "' ■■".^ * , . 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'" ■:■ ' T.- * } - ■ ■ ' \ ' ' ■ ■ " " - A .. ■ '■•■'•■-™ ■'■ '■ ' ,^'".:' ■•'""■" ■ '^ ■■./■■ ■'.■^•■' "V- ,./.. ■.•<^' ■•■^■'- ■ ' ■■ ♦-"/■'.-■■ ■;■■ vV :'■■■■;.. ^- '-'■:■ •■■•\- '.'^ ■.'■ -' ■ :■•'■■■■■■ b-^— ^ — «-« — ■i ■ . , ■ . , '. ■ - ' -^r^ -•'•- * •.■.^" ;■ V'- : ■■ ■ 'v si,^^-" ■•■•" ^-^ « . ■■ . ■' ; • 1 ' ' . ■ . ■ ■ . ^ .- '-'.'."W- • " ■.'■-■*■* ',"■' '■ ,-" '^ i ' * ■ ■ ' ■» ' y • ' , - ■ ■ . ■ . . ■ ^'. . ■ ' ■ ■ . .-■ • ,■•..., ' \ . . ^ ^ ■■ . ■' '*v .' \ .'.' ' ' ":■"'■■.:■■■- "'- "^^■'^^' ■/'.■■■"■■■.■■ V :':~"^' " ',■*■ .■■'■.■..' ■" •■■■ ' •"'' '-. ■- •■.■■ :^'- -■■ ./: "■"'■•■" '■■*■. * ■'■':•■■*■> :*■ .:;.^;;:;,;:':.; :;_?<.^^:'i^,->.^^.:.,v^'' ;^^^ ,■■■■»'■ ',..-.'. ^y ^ - : ".';...■:' ' •.. ■ . • ■ -'-""■^v''-''';^^^ :-'V: '■;\;;-vV:;-.;;vv/^'':V:, 1 ^H ^^H|H|HH|^H ^■■■i ■■■■MHI •••OOCOW inoiUTION TIST CNAtT (ANSI and ISO TIST CMAUT No i) %: v^PPUED IN/HGE l«5J Eatl Main SIrMt (71») 2M - 5989 - r«, Inc 82 Church Folks .^'t TuQvui.K WiiKX Hk Consfnth to . . Have a Collkauuk. * Slioulil, how'ovor/tlie minister agree to a colleague, the result in iiino euaea out of ten will Imj disttstroua. Either the old uinn will so dominate his , younger brother that the latter will have no room for his individuajity and will never rise tt) liii height, or the young nuin will set himself against the old, and with the younger people at his hack will drive the senior minister from the ehuroh. It is indeed an unreasona-. ble and unnatural positio!! that two men shoidd have equal authority, and' all the more so Avhen they are both so dependent on popular opinion. "^^Was it ever heard of that there should be 'two captains in one ship, two commanders- in-chief in one army, or eveijt t-Wo engi- neers working one engine? And yet sane people will propose, not that a minister should have a'ssistanta oiv^/ *. :i \ Church Folks 83 (•urotcft, but that ho ftUould linvo n col- loliguo to Hliare with lifin equal uutlioi- ify and equal resiwnaibility. FouciNo THE Old AIinistrk to Kktiue. Of courBo, a cougrogation may niake it, so iineoii?fortal)lo for tho man who has sorved it during tlio boHt years of •IiIb life that he will have no alternative, and will be glad to leave, even if he go to obscurity and poverty. And when a congregation *taVe8 this way of cutting the knot one almost despairs of Chris- . tianitv. The meanest merchant wdio ever wrangled Qver. a cent would not treat an old clerk as a body of Christian people will sometimes treat a poor and Avorn-oiit minister. They have used up his youth and his lAanhood and his enthusiasm and his energy; they have had the bloom of his ntind and tho harvest of his soiil. ,For them he lived A 'if" w^m 84 Church Folks V • >■ ■■• i,"" ' and tlionp;ht; for tlioin in tho ilnj-H of Itii4 Htrcngth lu> oxlmnrttcd liiniHclf pvory Sunday, iind luis iMMMnimcnfly worn out hirt r,i'H»'rvo8 of llfo. All that thoy rould get out <»f him thoy havo got, and now, aftor wateliing for a year or two, thoy havp cpnio to tho conclusion that hia boHt days aro done, and thoy niako liim a trunipfry proac^ntatiou and hid him go. Then thoy go, cap in hand, to Bomo X)Oj)ular young nunistcr and entreat hia favor, declaring that their hearts have gone out to him, and they believe it to be God's will that he sh^idd bo their minister. And he, in his t|»m, comes, and sopn is to be heard dcclari'ng that there never was such a \oya.\ people. Let him wait a little whil^.' •V Why Not Oroanize a Retire1#ent SCHKME? Would it not bo better that each denomination, should organize a retire- . i: church Foljcs 85 ■V . ment soltoino \\\\o\\ u lurgo Hoalo witli two coiulitioii«i The lirst would bo that every ininistiT ftlioiiid Iw rcmovod from activo work nt tli(» ngo of, «ny, 8ixt}-fivc, nml afterward he mipfht give nHMiHtuiu'e to hirt hrethnu (1^ live in qiiiettH'HB, A8 he ph.'isc's. The uecond condition would Im* lliat ho receive a retiring allowance of not L#m than half " hirt salary up to, Hay,.$40Q0. Should any one say that auch n law ia arhitrary, then 'the answer is that sureJA^ any miniBtcr Would j)refer to retire by law rather than by force, and that bo would bo in good company, fot ho would sharo the lot of every uavar and military ofHcor and every civil w)rvant and every officer of any great coriioration through-, out tho civilized world. * And the ChurcM must not fall behind tho State. Upon the personnel of h(>r 'ministry must she depend for her visi- ' bl(B success, and her aim ought to bo that cacli congregation have a minister in •■,, 86 Church Folks full strength of mind and body, and flint cnch ninn, after ho hni* rxhatiKtcd U'limvK in the sorvico of tho Church, Hhould bo kept in comfort during the rnnniiiing years of his life. \ ' ■\ AoKO MlNIHTKUH IX AcTIVK DirTY AHK A IIlNDKANCK. Short of immorality and unl)elief, one cannot imagino' a greater hindrance to the energy of the (Church than a largo proportion of nge ♦v»* ■\r i Church Folks 87 cicB, hut n p'r|M'tunl tidfl of frrsh thought. At proRont, coiigrogntioni havo a griovanctt iigainKt old iuinUtor« who think thoy arr young, iind ol^-ininiHtori» have ft grH*v«ui<*<' iigjii;irtt corigrogntions who -do not rc»i*i>r('t agr, and In'twcMMi the two ariso nuiny Hcamhils and hrcachcft of \\\p i>oaco. Whrti tlio Cliurch in a« wcdl inanagod ad a lirHt-rattv huHinrsH concern, then this Htanmg llio bcit tUey coulel with joyful lijm miU iinging bravely in black prtwm*. But, like iniiny other goIi', tliry tli«l not know when jlho^ were wi-Il off, and by and by they iiiviMitt«d tho niohiiH-holy diantM whicli lavt^ Uvn a tlrawbadi to ChriBtianM <»f nil ginorntionH. On« MonM'liiiitm ..w'onderii how tho Friends aro abb to look s6 poacoful and why tiicir worHljip in bo di'iigiitful, and I am tempted t > think it iH Invauso tlu'y have no mimic in their i^ervif*'. llar IM any tmiibln in tho roiif^rt^ffiitloit nlN)ut thn tiiuiiifl, and if the tiiiniMtor vvvr worr'wn )iiinHi>lf, li»t it l)c afl at Dtico that tlit^ corigr(*i;it- (ion unil \\w rniniMti*r nro iilono to Itlaiiio. But tlioro nro (liftir; it in liwt to a«*copt what hf? givcm, and to rccogni/.o that it is hia aphcr© to do a» \w plouwn and the kphort) of every other jH«ri»on to decTare that what ho dooa in, on every occanion, too lovely for Iniiuan wordu, and that itd effect in alniont too much for ex*, hauflted human nature. '^ I'apl^ ^^'^ tribute which the con^?rrjittioti c^ht to pay to the moat npiritual OTfarti«t», the organiHt. <• Muaic iH What the CoNORioATioif Wantm, One really become« impatient with the miniHtor, who ought to know l)etter and yet forgets his own place, owing to *, ,«*» V:; .«r#- 9* Church Folks • want af irtiiiii^ apprwiaiion and to in ovttrwr^tting mnm of hia own oHk«. Up t^ncrtmcUm tm t\w or|^niit and ia Juitly piiniMhtHl. Thit mittitlfr otmht to n>iii(*nilrr — ^nnd I ho <»(>nKM*ffrdinirti« to that of tho nrtiit, and that tho rf*«t of thi* iM«rvicn ia iiniply intended to Iw a NU|>|)ort and an* vtronnittnt for thi» music. What i\w eon- gri'gation wanti to hoar ii, not hia a- vidwl tho pr(>nchf*r «lid not o«it of tho «l ott(« rock r»f (ifTi>n(*«\ It ii alif) iiifwt pr(>vokiii|( tlml h tiiittitti^r will int(*rfc*nf whli n lU'lcfMioti of liyititm, mid Mlill harping on liin M*r- iiiu% will iM«l(*«t liyiiiit* wliioli ci>rr»* i|)oit(l with il« lli«ni(t. Vi*ry liki«ly tlio liyiiiiiii iitny Huit tlin ti^xt |N«rf(*flly ami tiiay Ik^ v«ry |K>|ntliir with iImi |)«u|>Io, but it In unly tliii orgAiiiit who kiiowi whftht^r till) tuncw in th« hyiiinliook im high or U>w cIiiha intmit*. T\w tum*ii mAy U) io iN>{)uliir that oyi^ry p(*r»on in thirsting to Ring thrm with nit hi* hrnrt and nt tho |i(tc|| of hii voic!<>, hut an orgiiniNt will iN«'%iiii|ily ngiiiiMt nt tint tluMight of » ihiMMiUid |M>o|^(< going at hirgi*, ait it wc>r(S in hin )>ri)vincH>. It in /k p#Mlogt>, and a duuhtful ono nt the beat; thot thoy nhoiild Xw aIIo\vn<{ to Ring At all, hut if it Im! granted, tit«>y luuMt minglu trembling with their joy. > l^V^ lip J0 J^ <. I \ ■'t .--'S 94 Church Folks Organists are Doing Away Popular Junes. WITH Oiie of the chief efTorta of a really cultured (yrganist— there are cxceptiona — ^is to extirpate popular tunes and to replace them with arrangements which will .teach the congregation to keep silence. A case came to ray notice at one time— and when I hear of such things I do not know how my brethren have been made — where a minister got into a white heat with an organist^ because that eminent person had in- vented a tune of his own for "Bock of Ages," which was a ' dream of beauty and reduced the congregation ^ to distant admiration. iN'othing is more irritating to the musical temperament than to hear the people, who are alwdfys inspired with an insane desire to make a joyful noise^ get hold of a really fine tune and make it afterward hateful to' delicate ears. Nothing is more neces- \ 5 ■ Church Folks 95 \ sary than to guard the congregational praise from these follies an rcspoiiHcs, but hnvo not been arrnngod for; and tlion in the middh> of tho '\\i Dcnnn, through sonio fit of pUro cantnnkcrouwuoRH, it will tako n'f \\ijIp in a stiibborn silonco. For BIX months aftor tho opening it will bo in tho debtor's hands, and for a year following will not have com- pletely shaken off tho habit of a gay and frivolous youth, and tho congrega- tion will bo torn between two minds — secret satisfaction when the organ is not going and it has a chance of singing free, and a fierce desire to cart it away and have it thro^vn, into tho nearest river. What between building and renewing tho organ and adding stops to the organ and tuning tho organ, tho organ will cost every year in interest on capital and current expenditure enough 'm wK^. » , \.- 104 Church FoLks inonoy to^ have kopt a riilnHiotinry in foreign parts or to have Hup|K)rtwl a niiniHtPr in a pfM)r dintrirt of tho city; ond what it costH in anxittty to tho orgnniHt, who in apt to 1)0 UlAmod for everything, and who hm gon^rally to Bjwnd nn hour in its rfcvsHos witli his coat off 1)0 f ore sorvico, and to the eon- gregation in chronic irritation, would, If reduced to money value and multi- plied hy tho number of organ-ridden churches, clear the debt off every for- eign mission in tho Anglo-Saxon world. Choirs ark Ofttcn Accused of •» QtrAURKLLlNO. My o\vn experience of a choir and also of an organist has been altogether delightful, which is one of ray singular mercies of which I am not worthy ; but I move about in tho world, and I havi) heard things. As a choir consists, it Is presumed, of a number of select persons, l/: ■0. Church Folks 105 ^|!f nmlo niul fotimh*, who liavo corroot oari tttul rioli voici'M iiiintlotu>Ki« nrid poncp. KirinorM, however, roach oric'i* cars that the power of cpiarrclling within certain church choirs can only bo exceeded hy the high Hpirit of a Ixwly of Irish pntrlotH, nnd that there is almoHt nothing bo trivial and inviHiblo but that it will wet a choir by the oars. It may bo the place in the gtallH or the singing of a particular part or a corroo- tion of the choir-master or a word of approval to another choriBter or n re- mark dropped tender are the by one of the choir — so feelings of a chorister— anything or, i|or that matter, nothing, will hurt, lit will sulk or make un- phjasant remarks or resign or drive Bomo other persons out, and then on \ to6 Church Fofkii ■"t*. mmti gmat oooaaion all the menibora of tlio dinir will rralffti itnd tako thrttinoIvMi BO MTtouMly that tho «votit will b« con- •iilt>rc| on fire hy Hparkn from thitt miiMieal ^K^flngration, and whr> art* n(;ver perfectly certain whether they may not soino Sunday to do their own singing. )i,h 'I'l'NKH Wkwb in vTCiineWithero are, but poHsibly they aro foolish inomentH, when one remeinhers ir| i; ^"^^^ Church Folk* 107 n t« kirk wlicro a |>ri'C(ttitor raiiu'il that timo-honorod oM Hcotn tuiici " Martyr dntit" with a prm'^rfiil tiotn, itit«I 11 roti- grt'Katioti of t'i(>ttr*v«)i(!c>iu;o, and Hinif; t\u) nir gUirt- ouHly, with horo and thorn a hauH and u tonor, ovon, |M«rhn|)M, an alto thrown ill to onrich thr niuBic. Ani 'l *«' Jk^"/ iY!%• H ~JT > .-V r joS Church Folks should have every assistahco of good taste and musical art in subordination to the rights of the people, but it is best tlftt men should sing with lips which God has optjned and from hearts which have been redeemed at Calvary. ■ . _^'„ .^ :•; - ■ „: ■ " ■ . , „.. -.^-., . ■ : . - .._ ■'*"" .. ;.■ ■ • ■■- ■ - •.- ' i. "'■■..':' ::.■•■- 1 . J 4 ■ :• .•-' ■ . .; .:' ■■ ■ ' '■ ■v - -^L .: ^ /"■./:. '.V .-■.■ ,-'r'' -.'.'/^ A- . .'- , ■ "' ■ :T . ' . .. i ■' ■ J.. VII. The Pew and the Man In It. Various changes have ^mi wrought in the interior of the church since the days of our fathers, but no change is more significant than the opening of * the pew, which in its way has^ beeti. almost as great a chan^ as the lowering oT the franchise in England and the abolition of political disabilities. One's :; memory recalls the good old days, « which we call good largely because they were old and are now hidden in a mist of reverent affection. One sees the long row of family pe\vs, each carefully secluded from its neighbor and shut in A i.. '■;.■■ .■■"■■' In the Church of To-day All Are Stbangehs. ' No pilgrim nor stranger need be abashed in the modern church, for there is no bther person there except people •v ■ ■: i ■ :■-■: ■ /: '■'■ ;■■ •. ■■• ■'■ ' ■■. ' ■ -■ • .■ " ^ ■, ■ . ■■.■ ' ■ ■ " ' •• ' ■ ' ■ ■ . ° " „ " ■ ■" '■'.'.- .■■■■• ■ -. ■- ^' '.^ ..'■ ■:':.'■■■■ '■': ■ '■ X , .. . -. ■ ■ .'■■ ..■ ^4.. ■-■■■■■ ■ /• ■, . ■ ^ "■„ ■.;. •• /■ ■ ■ :" ■: ■ :- ■ ■% ■ i ■ - ■ .1 ■ •.' .''-■ ' .' ' --j ,:.■ . --'■' **, .: ,■.-■■"■' :.■:■■'■"■■■:. ' ' .- .,■■■.■'■" *■; "■ ■■'.■'"■■ ;' 'i '■ '\- ■■-'■' ;. y ■■"■"- ' ' •: ■ ■ ■ ■ '':" ■■ ■'■■'-.■ ' . '• ■■- ■ . ■• . ■ . ■■■;■■' -■- fi 1 1 8 Church Folks like himsolf; all aro strangerB, since ihcy have no right to an inch of ground, and all aro pilgrims, since they ndbd not sit twice in the same place. No one can complain of any person's selfish- ness, since all things are hold in com- mon. '. . -^ . ■ If Pives, locked within his do suggested oxclusiveness, it may bo. sai(i^ for him it was the cxclusiveness of home, and within the pew there was a little community — the original com- munity of life, which is tho family. And if something ^an bo said for gen- eral free and openness on the ground of Christian brotherhood and human equality, one still clings to the belief that he is entitled to bo with his ovm people^his wife, that is to say, and his children— in the House of God, and that he is more likely to worship God with reverence wn|pn he has some slight privacy. ..•« k ' ti- i\ • t Church Folks 119 . '." f^ ' ' unco 1 • \ The Family Exiuted Bkfobe the ' und, iitAod 4 1:- Pew. '\ Possibly a visitor may foci more lib- one fish-. • erty in a free And open church, but, on . > r the other hand, the family is broken up 3om- into units at tho door, and no mixed eaia • ■ *• 1 of - multhudo can over make so strong a congregation or one that appeals so powerfully to the eye as the long lino ' of pews, lot us say without doors and . was ■ > . furniture, but each containing a family, !om- with the mother at the head of tho pew nly. •'-V and the father at tho foot and tho young ■> gen- men and women between. For the - , und family existed before tho church, and nan if tho church is not to be a more pos^ lief session of priests or a lecture hall, the 3\vn his and ght ■ ., ■ church must rest <5n tho family. The pew is a testimony to the family, and ought to bo maintained, with itf doors removed, and it does not i^attet ■■-"! '■■ ■■■ ' - * . whether a man pay $50 la year for hifl^ i ■■- ■ . pew or fifty cents. Tho church authori-V " . ■ ; -, 4 ties should see that tho householder- ^^^^- - - ■ , •' .''■>' ■ ■ ■ • '- : ' ■ ^.' ; ; ■ ■ . . . ■ ■ ■..:■■ *. ' ' ■ ' ' ■ ;■ --^ ■ ■ ■ . ■' . •. ■ -■ ■ ■' • .' '■, ■ .■ ■ ■ ■ . ■ J ■' ■ " ' - ■ ■- ■' ' • ■ ■' ■ ■ ■ ■- ■ . , • ■ .' . i- ' ... ■ ' ■» ■. : >'■■:'■. ..'.:. '■'. ' : ' ":-' '■■/■■': ■ ■ ■;■■:-■■ ■^',.- ;. ' '. ' • ; . ■ . . - - . . > I20 Church Folks luiH IiIh jkhv, with room onoiigli in it for liimHolf, his wife, and the? children wliich Ood han givon tliom. Thc?rG ig A© reason in tho worM why tluj rich man Hhouh! not pay n liandHOnio sum for hiH church homo. And somo pf lis have never been able to understand why an artiHan should not give something for his church home also. Surely everv man wishes to do what is right in tho support of his church. Sunday BKotjAus and Monday Brqoabs. Every self-respecting man fikes to pay for his homo, whether it be largo or small, and it touches a man's honor to live in a workhouse, where he pays no rent and depends on the public. There is no necessity that this homo feeling and this just independence should bo denied in tho House Of Qpd, but it rather seems a good thing 'that tho man who works and gives to pro- Church Folks 121 vitlo a houso where ho ami hirt chihlron can livo together in comfort oiul iielf- respect six ilttys of the week uliouhl oggur on Sunday and a beggar on ^Monday. FoHHEiMiuN OP A Pew m a Test of Chabacteb. One, however, wiflhos to add, and with emphasis, that tho possession of a pew in tho sense in Avhich a man pos- Bcsscs his house is a test of character and an opportunity for hospitality. There is one kind of man who not only: regrets that ho cannot now have a door on his pew, but who would have it roofed in if ho could, who >yill resent th«^ introduction of a stranger— a^ -..Jfe- f f I I K% \ A* ..■V.--V i— ^ ''f' 122 Church Folks though there be plenty of room— as a personal affront, and will order strangers to be removed if, unhappily, they have been' placed in his pew by. taigtako before he arrives. If Aie only occupy half a pew, the officers of the church dare not put in another set of tenants for the othei* half, because he will quarrel with them as to which half they are to occupy, a^s to who is to go in first, as to a hymn-book that has wandered out of its place, or about a friend they brought one day wha infringed two ' inches upon his share of the pew. It is fair to say that the miscreant is no worse in church than he is elsewhere, for he is a churl everywhere — ^jealous, contentious, inhospitfible, unmaiiage- able. w One lSJji.N Whose Pi:w is Open and Free to All. ^ But, as a make-weight to this abuse of the pcAvs, t^ake my dear old friend ' ■„!■ ;ict ;ict Church Folks 123 Jeremiah Goodheart. He is now alone with his gentle, Jcindly wife, for the children hate made homes for them- selves; but he .keeps the family pew, and will on no account give up a sitting. It sometime^ seems to the managers of the church that Mr. Goodheart might take a homeless family in, but they do not press the matter when they remem- ber how long he and his have had that pew to themselves, and how well he uses the vacant space. He has a number of intimates who are now old and gray- headed, and who come from time to time to worship with him and his wife, and feel that thfe^r are in right good company. He has alj?«tan outer circle ^of friends which can be^lu^ered by the hundred, and its members are ^Iso in the habit of dropping in to sit in that' pew; and if he sees a stranger at the church door, Goodheart must needs say a word to him of welcome and good cheer. If the stranger happen to be . / -; -' - - - I I 124 church Folks a young man,' he will take him by the arm and bring him do\vn to his pew, and the chancesi are he will ask him home to dinner and will tell him never to sit alone in his lodgings, biit to Count this house his home. TlIEUE IS A WtiLCOME AwAITINO HiM ^' ■.. ■, IN Heaven.; .-.■ . And Mistress Goodheart tells her friends with much satisfaction the size of the joint they have on Sundays, because, although their own sons have gone, they never sit doAvn without some young men as guests, and Mr. Good- heart made their acquaintance throiigli the pew. If some family in the church has visitors, and extra sittings are needed, why, then, the children of the family sit in the Goodheart pew and are i^eceived \Ajith open arms. Bless his white hair and genial face, he never i^ entirely happy and never enjoys- the ^ tf- ' ■ - ■• Church Folks 125 le : sernion unless ho has his full contingent of guests; and there are times when ho : / & brings one too many, and then the other . " pew-holders contend as to who shall tn 3r . 1- .; ■:■--- ^-^ it have him for their guest. . . What he is in church he is at home, M ■ -• with an open heart and an open hand, - • never content imless his friends are r ' * • - coming and going, never angry unless ■ they will not stay and have a iijeal with i him, never so full of joy as when he is ; it* doing a good turn or going over old days *• 7 r ■ with those to whom he is bound by a . |i. e hundred-ties of kindly words and deeds. ; e « .-.. \ As he has dealt with all men, strangers 1 and friends alike, in his church and in v j his house, so \yill God deal by him, and ;-; 1 for hira we may feel sure there will be ' .'.■ ■' . a hospitable welcome waiting where the - churches of earth have changed into "t 1 3 ' «■" Our Father's House. » ■•w 1 . ■ t .,: \yy.::::^-,y''^ ;'..#' ■ « J r-^-^';-^--.--^ H J ') J. The Genteel/ TbImps in Our / ; J Ghueches. _ ■'a It is no exaggeration to sa^ that the use of money is a test of cha:^cter and *a revelation, of a man's nature. There • are men who lose money by their 1 foolishjiiess— Wastrels p there are men who spend" it on their vices- — Prodigals ; there are men who hoard it with jeal- ousy—Misers; there are men who lay it out in well-doing— they are the Wise , Men. ; .:' * - . '.. ^ . When I say well-dbing I am not thinking of that unreasoning and in- discriminate charity which, whether it take thetfomi of alms to a lazy vaga- bond or a large benefaction for the .y- '•'.. -'-\j •^ "^ ]<. ^ -.• "^ ^■c.. Church Folks 127 • creation of paupers, is a curse and not a blessing, a sin and not a duty. We are not to read in a mechanical fashion ' the advice of our Lord to the young •ruler to sell his possessions and give to the poor, for though that ;might have been the only pledge^of sincerity he could give in that day, it would-be a great calamity in our day. » / . If a millionaire wej^e to realize his estate and' to Arestow the proceeds upon that resfduuni of our population who .will not "^voi'lc. so long as they can beg, Jie ffpuTAdo the greatesj^ injury within his power to his :^ellow-men. If the same person used his means to give the opportunity of honest work, wher•. ^ 128 / Church Folks a manufactory in a small toAvn and pays , fair wages does ten times more good than he .who would use his wealth to found an alUishoUse. -^ ,. ^ -^^ ■'■■«» Head as Well a» Heart is Needed ; IN GiVINOi WJien a man's family claims hkve been pi^operly met, and his business enterprises have been soundly sustained, perhaps the best {wo things a man can do with his- superfluous wealth is to use it to s^nd the .Icnowledge of God to thdse who sit in darkness, or to bestow the liriceless gift of education upon those who hunger and thirst for knowledge. It id unfortunat(9^ that many persons have not learned to give, but it is also unfortunate that many people do nfet know where to give. . The'Kead as well as the heart is needed in giving, and givipg' is a training for one's brain as well as for one's feelings. ' I: *. * church Folks _, 129 f"* There are congregations which bring no intelligence to their giving, and for any good it does half, their liberality had bbttcr have been flung into the sea. They keep up mission-houses in poor parts of the city, \vhi\-' '■''■■ ;i_^_ % / • ■ ' V ■ ■ ■ v.- ■'6 . # -^ _-t-:j':-..L ;• ■■■■; .,.,• '* .' _ . t j' . % ^ ■ ■■:' ^-■-..-.r-ji. I ^ • 4: 130 thurch Folks meeting, then all tliat Has to be done is for one of its wealthy Inembers to play the host on that .evening. The ^gathe^ing, both til numbers and en- thusiasmy will legve nothmg to be desired, and the good people of the rich " church will go homo feeling that they have « flourishing mission and are doing an imnjense deal of good, while the chancesare that they have really no mission in the religious sense of the . word, and that their money has done incalcijlablG mischief. ITpoi\ the whole, the. mission churcjies maintained on a principle of lavish expenditure by rich congregations corre- spond Exactly in their moral effect to the almshouses founded by people who have more money than they know what to do with and ilbt enoxigh brains to knpw how to use it. Had the money squandered on soup kitchens und clothing clubs and such like schemes for the maintenance of • 'V^ Follcs m iQendieants and their familiea been employed foi* tli€ erccfcion of a proper church, where j^nest pcoplo- among the poor ijiight worship God with^self- respecter of sanitary property, where working people might live in decency, at moderate repits, or for the Creation of a scholarship by which lads poor in money but rich in brains could obtain the higher ?;ducation,t then' social^ re- formers would have -cause to bless the' dhurch, and the Cj^itftpeli would be a means, of far greater*, good in the com- munity.)^ , ; ' « • • ■' f •.•■ When the Minister Heart. Has S.OPT r A West End congregation does not, liowever, need to^ go to the East End to do mischief, for it can create, if ij; so please^ a nursery of genteel tramps,,' within its own borders. When a minis- ■■■-■>■ . "^^ ter and his people have the imputation 7WT: . . i' X 132 Church Folks i of a soft heart, and by that is often meant a soft hcadj tl»o n(3vv8 spreads far and wide, and thdro is an immediate accession to the number of wor8hii)per8. Tradespeople of the lower class who wish to push their business and do not feel sufficiently confident about the goods they sell; young men who have lost their situations because they wouldn't do their work; families of women who Would consider it beneath them to do anything for their own living and are adepts in what may be called genteel raiding j jincapal)l^ pien of business whom no bank would trust with $50, but who hope to° get $1000 by quoting the Sermon on the Mount-^all these ; gather and sit down within the shelter- ing walla of this Christian asyluni. They All Gome TO Benefit Them-^ . , BEi-vEg Financially. They all come, according to, their own story, for the most' excellent aii'». ";:. - 'f' ; •.. ■' . . ~ _ '. \ ■'. . ^-v,; • ... V f ■ ■ ■ ■ ■» . ■ *-^ ■ ,%. 1 138 Church Folks "S When They Have Spun Theie Wbb Successfully. When the spiders have spun their web of delicate filaments, and have stretched it from corner to corner of the church, it is amazing how many flies, not all of them simple, they have caught and how. much spoil they have obtained. The wardrobes of the church, 'both of men and Avomen, iare at their disposal, and every month you are reminded of some old friend when you see our mendicaiit, and it is quite inter- . esting to trace fhe' "go-to-meeting" clothes of the congregation relappearing in new circumstances. Tpheir house rent is paid, in turn, by a set of good Samaritans, each of whom believes that he is the only one who has ever been allowed to do this kindness, and who^ does it under promise of secrecy, lest shrinking natures, poor but pro^, should be hurt, and that sdtrespect, '4 Ghun:h Folks 139 which is now, as they explain, their only possession, should bo desttoyed. , Some kindly doctor in the district gives his attendance, as is usiial with those men, without ijg^oney and without price. Medical ^ co^tetein^ the shape of cor- "^ials, jellic^H^ delicate food, pour into the house \i^ith such ^ a ^stant stream that 'it is not wonderful that dear little Alice does not recover (Juickly and* that the assistance of the family has to be called in to use up the dainties, Later, little Alice, who has been taken around, elaborately wrapped up and looking mostrpiteous, to thank her benefactors in person, and who comes on most' awkward occasions, has to be sent, through sheer pity, for a month, into the country, and the fond family who cannot bear tp live without little j^lice— they neve/ can quite shake off th6 habits of past^prosperity-^^EffV^ to accompany the convalescent. ' i. ■ ;S,- ity ■m' i > -. Ck 140 Church Folks ■ '.' ■ ■'■ ^- ■■ ■■ , ■' "■ . ' ■- ■- . ■ BORBOWIN-O i^tOM EvEBV^0nI5|.ThEY ' ■':.''■■.'■; Meet, ; ■■. ^ -.:,'■ ■ ■' ;■■■'' ' -l'^' ■■. " ■■■ ■/-'-■■"' ■, - Time wQuld fail - me to tell . of* the loans whiijli they "obtaiii f 1:0m almost cvef^body, ric'h and poor; Which are asked in every case incircumst^noes qf the , last extremity and withra peifect, agony of shanote; which is the first ItJ^agy ever borrowed by tli^ family, kng^!^ to be repaid in the course of fourteen days e^^aotly; for which secur rity is oiffered in the shape of an ancient gold brooch — -the last heirlooih of the family. It is only after jtVe long raid has ended,, atfd. the mendi-s cants have departed to another West End ehnreh.at a safe distance, tha.t peo- ple begin to cpmpare notes and add up accounts; 'wifert it is discovered that at ' -i. ;' *-■ ■ ■;:; : the, lowest estii^i^pie the family have , ■ lived upon the congregation at the rate 1 -.*'■;.■:■■■ of $1000 a year. . ^ ^\ ^ 1 i-:>--^'^^^^^^ This calculation is, of course, ex- 1 ■ ■ . r h -. . ■ . • ' - - t«k 4 ■ ■■ 'I;*' 1 C- ■ - .-■" ■ ■ " t . • 1 '■':.■ .^' . •. • ■ ;" . ■ ' ^:.-,':,.- V "■:;•:•. ^ -.:;-. :;':f ■,: B9 ' 1 "SSRHS?' r\?< - : ; Churth Talks 141^ cliiBive ■ of what they earn for them- selves; but, as a rule, this would not swell the balahco. If any form of work bo sii^^ested to thfe female mendicant iii rcditced Gircumstances, she struggles with her emotions,' but cannot conceal the fact that she is very much hurt. It may be fdolish, she explains amid her teark but her poor father -who has * generally been in the army, had often said that' no- daughter "<)f his name should oyer co'mc to work, ^nd sh^ fe^« •it^due 4;0 his metaory to' sustain thife noble . attitude, and on^ is" ^ -|>?uch ashamed, at his brutal suggestion -th^t he' willingly, pays an indemnity. ; ^ WuEir TH^ Mendicant is a Trades- ¥ i *• « ■ A •' Mabt, ■J. r *• It is of no use attempting td get a situation ^"f or a young fellow, (Jf this tribe, since either the place yPH g^ for, him does not suit his peculiar ability, or * 4 Z'- *^ *(* "if s ^' ^^- «€»' ^ » ■ f ?s 4 1 42 Church FolkfkL ■ . ■■ . • . ■ after he lias been there for three days there is a difference" between, hiln and the manager of .the office, which sMowgi that the manager has not been accus- tomed to deal witli gentlemen; and, of course, as the young man's mother tells ^ytnr,herson could nol forget the history of the family. If the mendicant be a- tradesman^ and you send him customers, for which, indeed, he has been touting, the things are so badly made that no one can wear them, and the price is so high that no one is inclined to pay it ; and then the tradesman generally belongs to that high and mighty class which will not condescend to make anything except in the good old-fashioned way ; and espe- cially will not, even at the point of starvation, lower the price. As a matter of faet-r-naked fact — this high-spirited tradesman does not want to work so long as silly people will'support him. /^ %'::: ^1 I. J ■Vf, /** ^^ church Folks 143 WiKEN THE Minister's. Eyes are ' OrENED." By and by ^eVentlie kindliest of ministers, A^ith the growth of Intelli- gence in the Christian church, will see through this cfess, and will promptly subiect them to & shrewd labor test, declining to mix up.together piety and beggary, and refusing t)f) believe that anybody haB ever got ftny good from' his ministry who will not work for his livitig. One alarf^expects that a con: gregation of Christianpeople, the most credulous bl i ^u earth, will pluck up CQuAge and at the same time rally their common-sense and refuse to make the Christian society a dumping-ground ^or genteel tramps, and the " Weary. Will- iam^" of religion will have to find out some new way of evading the ls\v that if a man will not work; neither shrfll he eat. / i > - V ■r !• 7 ■\^ r- I - ' \ 144" Cl^utch Folks _ ; , And the money which has bewl saved j»^ from these parasites might go to swell / the fund for the comfortable ' support - of retired ministers* f* . ■ ^ • • r « ■ ■' '' -5.^' f "W 'M-- . ■ ■ ••"NT .1 ■-r^,.— --< ■*f .1 I ' ■, ■ ■ .J *•■•■• , I ■ IX :f-. la THE JillNISTEB AN IdLEB ? . ♦ ) ■ . . ■ ^^ . ' "■■ •■■'■■■■•'■■'■'' '•'■'■ - • No man has more reason to be grate-, fill to his pi\blic than a minister, for I y^nqw np. serf ant who is more kindly treated. W»l)ild 'there are, no doubt, in 80 large a bodjras the Christian Church censorious hearers, and ill-mannered i . congregations, just as tWrc are lazy and cantankerpiis ministers, yet the average congregation is charitable in its judg- ment of its minister,- patient under his failings, keenly apprediatire of any good work he does, and most responsive to all his good offices. There are not many substantial complaints „ whiek^a ^ V X tf-v a ' •» St^ 1^. 146 Chucch Folks sane-minded and gdod*tem]^rcd niiiiig- ler" can bring against' the •verago'^on- gregation,' but, ho has Bometimos a grudge against hlB friends which he does not express, but which often rankles in his heart. It is not anything they say nor any tiring they dq; it is ' the quiet and perhaps "unconscious assumption on their part that ho has not enough work to do or that ho has a considerable quantity of time at his disposal. -Were he to depend upon their words, then this suspicion, would never cross his mind, because they have a trick, and a kindly one, of saying to him on Monday that he must be very tired after preaching two such wonderful sermons, and he, being only human, is apt then to imagine that he is exhausted, after guch an intellectual output. At other times they remonstrate with him in a casual way, after the talk about the weather, because he has been over- t t . I Church Folks 147 working, ami toll him that thoy cannot iijuagint) how ho is able to do fto niuch. All this 18 f ri^^ndly and comforting, and the minister has an agrooablo sense "that his work is appreci.ated, and that he is one of the austere toilers of the » world. ' ' 'w:' # i Tu£ . Miiif isTER'tj Time, IS Not Con- * SIDEBED. V " As, he grows' older^ however, and ^begins to attach morQ importance to the attitude of a person's mind than the irresponsible words whiA fall from his lips, ho has an uneasy sense that people are not so very much impressed by his exacting labors and his crowded hours. Delrghtful ladies, and all ladies are , delightful, invite him to afternoon tea - and such like functions^ where he ^^ill be the only gentleman present; or if there be another, he will be an elderly "man, long retired from business, 4, * . _ * ^^ j^ / ' \ i' T- f'l W ■ i <• i'i #■• i# 1 48 Church Folks While tho miniBter thanks the lady 'lor Jier thought of him, it coincij to his mind that jbcr own huabatid will not bo at tho ploaaant littlo party nor hor oWii sons, bocauao tlitjy arc too busy, and slid, would not drcand ;■ s'. > I': -V^ ^«r \ / / ■«o r» ¥ I 1 t.'4i ' 1 '■ , - * 1 ■ -^ r • " t i t 1 i > m „ • :'i' ':::■;;::•#;■■•:.,;.:■■;■ .450 Cliurch Folks ■■■.■■* ■ ' ' .. " ■ . ' - . I. • r .' ■ ■ ' ■' ' hi .■ .■■.>■■■.. '■,»,•'.■■ ■,,...■ Faddists of All Sobts Harass the .'*'■. > \u ■ ■,, '■%■'■ '■■ ".■'*.. MiNISTEB. ■ ■ ■■ '^ i ' . ■'■■ .-. . ■,• •■ 1* ■ ■ . ■ ■ » " "■ ■.■ ■ ' ■ _v' '■; >: ■ ■•■; ■' ■ ...'■■ .It was an excellent society, and It ! ■■,■■■/■ ■ - -,/ *■■. ■ . (•■ .r ...■.-.•.-» . •■ was necessary its committee should 1)© > re-elected, and the minister said so at [■■■■" " ' ■ "" i '■'.*■■. *"■ '. the length of ten minutes, but the bitter [. . .■-■■-■.■ • *•■' question ^y^s in his heart as he went 1-' J .'•. ■■■■• '..'-'■' . .:•. home, tii'ed and fretted : Was ^his the ' ■ ♦ ' ': :.-■.:-■ ♦. ■■■■ ■ best use he could make of ^his time, and would the secjretary, indefatigable • ^'!' .'."..■ '■ ■■■. ; ' '■^'- ■' though he was and full of push, have ■ •^ . ' ' asked a business man — ^^that is, a man ' • . i.-' L. '■ .'■'■'■■ ■ •. ■' ■ "' really busy— to have left his office in v---::.-^- ■.■■•■ the heat of the work and spend three :■■ -. ■ V . , ,:■"-'. hours of his tjmc in going out to a ! 1 . -.»...■. suburb and saying what was ef no im- portance to people on whom it would }' .. u- . ":- ' -■-'■:■■'■ ■ ; have no special effect? The minister knows, and the secretary knows, and , ::\y ■'■-■■■■:■ '^ everybody knows that the business man - f^ ""■•.■;. -• \' !■'■!-'.■ ■'■.'■■'■■■: ..: ■■ would have said no in the shortest form i ■ ♦■ " ■ ■ ■ .' of words, and no person would have ■■ .^^ "^- -■ '\ ■ ''"■'■ ■ Jf - . been indignant that he should say so, ,1 ■ ■-^..:-': ^:--- : ■■■ '>.■■■ . • :■ ■■ ■■■- ■ ' ■ .;. : ■„- -^.'^ . :.*■ ;. ■• , - ■'■'■'■ U:-:- ■'■ ■■ • ■■/.•. ..■•':.'' ■■■■ • - .. .: ■ '-'r ]■ ■ '■ -^■■ '•■•'■"■*" :■•.■ i ■. ■ ■■- ■ ■■■.,. . ,■ ..... ' ' ! ' ' ' > ■ "• :'' ■■ •-, \-. ' .■ ':. :■ ' ■■ .. • ■ ,. ■■-:■■■■ > ^:::S.-:..i:-':::::::':^:li^.^^ • '* Church Folks ifi and every person would have held him to be & foolish man if be had gone. Such an expenditure of time is impossible except for superannuated gentlemen and for ministers. • And, of course, if .ministers are simply fiddling away their time in the house reading magazines or looking out at the win- dows, or- if they are only jgadding arouna their districts paying compli- mentary calls and talking about' the weather, it would be a good thing, if only for a change, that they should spend an afternoon going'HSnd coming to a meeting and convincing the audi- ence that they ought. to re-elect the Committee. Faddists of every description drop int>.■■ 152 * Church Folk»> if we*atc carrots instead of, jneat; that the work carried on by sorafe person whosesi" name the minister can't pro- nounce, at a place in Asia Minor of which 4ie never heard, and on the sole responsibility of the man who draAvs the salary in Asia Minor, is the most important in the range of foreign mis- siojQS. Were any one of these vqliH^p people, and they are only three out of a, hundred, cacli with a bee in his bonnet, to visit a merchant's office, he would not likely bdv allowed into the principal's room, and if h^ were, he would soon again Jbe in tW outer office. ... The iflhppmcry of a faddist is amaz- )ut it has limits I and after a little experience the faddist leaves the mer- chant alone, and, as a rulo, he does not even attempt the doctor, but he settles doA\Ti as by an instinct and with a feel- ing of being at home in the minister's study. If the minister be a really good man, the faddist enjoys himself very "^ ": . • ^ ■ ■ ■■ ■' ■■ ■-'■(:;': A ."• ■ . ■,■■■■. ..•/* Y \'- ■ ♦■. y^- ■ ' y^ ., <*■'.-. ;■ \- • - Si" ■■:■■■■, •VV::':... .■■■ ■" - ./ '■ - ■ " I \, ■ ■ ■ . Church Folks i »53 T much, for he has got a helpless victim; _^ but if the minister be an imperfectly W.... sanctified man, then the faddist goes to the door almost as quickly as from the - merchant's room, Init the minister'^ knows that his life is.in the power of the faddist's tongue. : „ MiNisTEKS "Have Little Time foe - % Themselves. V What annoys the minister, and all / the more SO that he cannot express his • annoyance, is that aU those people : believe that he does not really know "-■■■■ what to do with his time, and that it is at every person's disposal. As a matter of fact, the cc^ciehtious minister of a city church works harder than any person in the community, except a ' ^doctor in general practice, a journalist ^ otf a daily paper, and »> seamstress under the sweater's lash.^ He may sit " ■ ^ as late as he please at night— and, indeed, must sit till, say, midnight at / ■ II ij -y*' / V« '*■■< Jll u ''a (! •■>;^ 154 Church Folks lea8t--in order to keep up with his reading, but he must be up early in ^e morning, because a business inan will come in to see him before nine o'clock^ ai*d bj that time he must have opened his first mail, vi^hich will amount to about twelve letters, and if he thinks • it necGssarj— and.in a city it is neces- sary— must have gathered at a glance A^diat^ happened yesterday in his com- >iunity aiicl in the world: From nine to one he is at work preparing fojr the pulpit, _for \yeek-night services, for ^^^^®!^v a»i■ '^t;^' I:'' '^~' A t ■^- i . Church Folks 15S \ American inveation, fertile i;i ideas and parsimonious of time, will ^nVent i liquid |ood which he can take in from a, pipe while he is studying. ^/:^ When He RiiTUKNs Htome Aftee a /■^■;' Susy Day. ■ , »■■.■;. If he has not promised to second the appointmeiit k a committee , o| ^orty members to iffanage a home for twenty girls, then hfe spends the time from . about two to six visiting people ^vho are sick, or wl^o have lost friends, orwliQ are ^ in religiousanxi<^, or wl^e suffering "^orldly^ss^ or who have just C9me to ' his chulih, or who are just leading his church, or whom he wishes to0flist -for work, G' whom, he has not seen for sori) ^me arid desires to ke^p-m touch , with. ' Hfe returns home in the evening,^^ / ,not because his wgrk is done, because \his kind of work IS never done and. never can be done, even if lie began at .',i^^'-" X ■■(.' ■ . \_j' r bcausc no matt<5^|f ft0' holers of Visiti^ ir-^nd I confess tj . M . ^ ,.n- ';rl«'^P^^|f-ftM Minister allows vih ims*- \!h^--'. ^^^*'<^^^^#9*»C:^:giiileless wtfitre^jil-^vboll:'''"'' • ^ -^ i V**? ^^^ ^^^ 5<^ ^tearnpd tlie . duti^ (y£ ' : X- V '■ ':^'M>- .-' ?^^'"*^"?8t<^^8seri^ai^ at W(^]|^-:-;'; ■■'■ ., ^^■,:'^^^^^ his nex^l^lcx^ ' ■ ' v-^:': v'te^ and%as l^en waiting :f or, l^alf-s^^'ifc-' '!" .. ^' V^^';"l-'i^2'v: asitlic Help pf^tlic.ministbr foi^:f|vV'^ .' ' <> ' ^^^ ^^ ; a cause whiqji in two oases oVit olihre^^ ' ' ■ t '¥• j^ ' ■; t fi--:'\.'^'i;i ' '■\4\:,r*-'f'-;' ' ^* ^ ^^^ excrescence upon philan I'' . ^ - • ^' ^ • ^ tlifopj/and a cause Vith Whicli tlu ^ ■ >!^Y ' > ■ >liiinister ;Ha8 not the remotesi;. connei; >s-. ■■\ > -J ■ .W. I. tiic /ninister A'Has not the remote8|;. connei; ^ • <-\ ^ ^ Pooplejfc|p do not Imow migl t V pose tha^jjpPr^ the 'minister had * - his very modest m^al lie would liberty to sit with hi^ wife aiidchil -V />.:, .i- :1^ ■ i -^% u^s;^^;,. ;Chuh:h Folks 157 in the faraijly room and discharge ono of his duties as the head of the house- hold as well as to enjoy the sweetest pleasure of the (lay. It is a rare thing ■ that this uufortimatiMiian has an even- - ing to himself, because immediately; after dinner ho has to go to a service or to a meeting at his church, and while ^tiie liiemhtirs of the congregation dis- tribute themselves among the different evenings, which is quite right, he must be present at everything, or if he is not, then tlia^ Jh>!a \^ciire is absent begins x..^to'fail. . /V- ** 4w^-*C.' ■ ■ :■ '^ :■'-"-' " ^' ' ■-'■*■■■ r V ^»^N Hb Ho^^EI).FOK AN EvBNli^O TO ?:|^e, then of his cc^rei^mtdn will .^' .■■>. ; If im Stiiie 4 ■A-, id' % flsklii^iFo come # {^eetni^ on 1^1^^^ of som^hiii^' iyt other in,3v«hich iSFi^ *«»\ ^^^ :■•, /:ipte^st(^^ a|J-^ tCere^^'reasonf wliy^ '■*^- /■'•^■- '0K : the^iinister cannpOefuse. pl^cjl^ aMn /: \ |/ y v v ^ - not;tha^erY,g^eman had been sajj^ ::::J^M.:x^ "' - „^.-^^: /Vi,. ,Jt*' i'^*«*^j^ ■1?^. Bk- . 'VI ■ ...# 'f^.ri r - , ■. . w />" '::■■■ '^■'M-y---- \ M"! '11 I Church Polks 58 last wpek that the minister was over- worked and cngngements ninst not make ao many but when the time comes that ho has hn axe of his own tp grind- - he will not liave the slightest hesitatiori " in asking l|he minister to turn the , grindstone, i And indeed the public work of the minister is much increased . by his own people, who give the seere- \^j - taries and the faddists and the rest of the brigands letters of introduction 4^ which conclude, "I hope you will grant . Mr. Tootle's request as a personal flavor , to myself." The sanio gentleman may only do this once- in six months, but then ;. ft. hundred, other people in the \ church Avill do the same i^ intervals, Vt and so the minister is sold into bondage ' by those of his own household. WiiV He Seldom Has an Evenino to ,■■'-■ ..Himself.- ; ■.' Were I a layman, and some paid secretary who has nothing else ta do— i '3 . \ ■-'-i -4 ■i ■■."/ % ' ' ■ ' i - - - 1 i 1 * ■ , ' ■-!■ ■■ .• lany '» 3iuca rind • itiori ■ the 1 ■ i iblic ased -■;: '■■■i ., eere- ,\k- i .-^ Jt of ■/ '^ -'-J ;tion 3^ ^ ■■■'••■♦.. • ;:;/- ■ ■ rant .•■;,.■■ _ ■ ;| '■-. avor/, . ;_; ■';,/ f: '■■ may .■■- '':-';•!// 'tuo "V :■■■ ■ 'i; val8/,;'S-;;:':Vt;.;; Liage,-.;.^;, ■ ■-■ ■v.a' *■, - 3 TO. l:...':^:': paid . ; \ lo— ■ i ■■•■ %. :'. ■ Church Folks 159. i|iai it Bometiitic's appears' to nic — (',\c'oi)t to \vrit(^iuyic'et'88ary letters and get up wcarisonio nicetinga and harass niinis- ters, came tomic and asked mc to tease , ray minister into leaving his own work and attending tlie secri* »(■,''■: -4 w .n-.v— » ■ \f..' / 'P.:-:': • *>x ■•■; .?^^*:-,';:^ '^"if ICeithek His. T^ime^ Resi It is not tnat 'thelSaller would nature rally suggest Satan to a s^ftf^'r, for ho 18 simply a respectable, not very brilliant, citizen, belonging to the min- " t ' /;■■■ 162 Church Folks witli tluiir fainilios, ami ho wishes to Iw with his. Doctors havn u hard life, for the^ are liable to be col led out at any hour and to Ix? worke i^^ SSs. E -ywwi •m T M' ..J ^-' Church Folks 163 jyiMIHTJi:KU xS'eKD TimK TO KiCaX AM) TiiKNK. m When a mcivliuiil Iravt's hU ollujo and goes to Uh homo lit; would he aMtouiulcd if a cotton broker called and proposed to do huHiue'sH. A working- man luiH rest in liin own home, but n minister'rt homt! is u thorough tare ah)ng whieh all kinds of people travel. Why should not a nuniatcr'n home bo as sacred as that of a merchaiit i Why should he not have hii* periods 6T daily rest as much as the barrister? When will it be understood by congregations and by the public that if a man is to keep abreast with, the thoughtr-«f the day, and master the best tKouglkV^f the past, if he is to discharge, ajjight his pastoral duties and take his proper part in the greater movements' of the commonwealth, his time must be guarded from intrusion and his ener- gies gothered in from tkc dissipation I I I - . - ' H ! rf i I 'I t I Ul. ,■ /. 164 'Church Folks of potty meetings? When will people understand that his work is as serious and as exacting as that of any other professional man, and that while his time belongs unto his^Iaster, as well as his talents and everything ho pos- sesses, it does not belong to paid officials and garrulous callers ? When that is clearly understood, then it will dawn for the firs^ time on certain minds that' while the minister has many functions to perform, one of them is not to be the substitute in society for busy men or a talking machine at second-rate relig- ious meetings. ;* V-- . •if I / irt'. ■'■; 'v. .tA.-_-,-.. 1. ' '< ■t-/^TjB; t ■;'•*>-; V.'' i"A -■■ ■•-■.. ■^•wSBf' ■■-■ m ■A' ■ / h o fr -•■a ■'^f .'J"!,^,-*: ■ If I 5* .' ( -'^^' 'HAT" The MiifisTEB and His Vacation. There is no wholesome and sen&ible > minister who does not wish to have the good will of every class in his congrcga- ' tion> but he especiallx covets the respect 1 and confidence of the young men. This, is not because they are wiser than their' * elders nor because they are more spirit- ^' ual, but because thcv arc unconventional 4ind sincere 'to the last degree. ' ' A woman^ on account of her goodness ^ and reverence, will ^pspcct a minister because of his office ; a young man will 'only; respect him bccalisO of" himself. "^ If the ininister be unreal, shifty, cow- ardly, or lazy, then although he had ^ Jl« ..'i % Xt / I I t-T ■ « i " X ~\ - :f t A, f: 1 •' 'k '!» < i * } - V («■ .t •> '-%}.' 1 66 Churdi, Polks " «- been ordained twelve times and is ^s eloquent as ApoIIos'and has a melting pulpit voice aH . • will stand up for him wiici^ .his: hixck is ^ ' 1^ turned and ,will drop in Xo scchrm in" his study and win qoftsjilt him. when . they have got'inta a scrape. Tbcy h^- ' not judges of sfinc^ity, and are apt to \^ depreeiati) yeall;^ good'UK'n.lx'cause tJKjy/' .' afe . sometimes wif'akly and* eflFeminate< : ' but they are infallible Jiujgps' of manli- y Iri's^ arid;-aT^f^ve all fiiingnj tjiey believe; '* - in h' manly miiiisier. They, do not aslf: . nil \ V Y i ■r I 1 H. ^*,- ''i » i i- -^.- —.- i^ 1^. \ J?s * > a ■i. Church Folks 167 that he should play games, for he may bo growing old or he may be crippled in tibody, but they do astk that he play the v^game of life bravely and honorably.' The true minister is perfectly satis- fied to be judged by the young-incn's standard — how he plays the big game 1 — but he is sometimes concerned be- cause young men think that at one point ho has a special advantage, and he is the last man to desire favors ^ on the fioW*. He does "not want to be shielded rom criticism 'nor to be given into' on account pi his position nor to be petted •>, "^ in* any fashion, but to do his work and ^ take his chances, and sufferihis reverses and fight hi» battle like any o^herjnk iff And, therefore, the minister is ^ffit^ %fv- sonsi^ve aHrout one subject of criti^i^i,, and that is his holidays. J Xa$t summer, let us suppose, ne was spending the month of August i\n thp country, doing nothing AVorth inonti^n- ing, except walk and climb and psh an^ .V -A I* fl i 68 ^ / urch Folks / ■'^'^^Kf • t ■'<' >^ i>*>^^ ^"^ ^Jj'ive and ride and fifty other ., ' things he did when he w&s a boy. He jl had earned his holiday by eleven ' moajlis' preaching, teaching^ studying, presiding, advising, comforting, rebuk- ing, visiting, organizing, and fifty otheij ♦things he hover thought ho would ever i^ come to do wheri "he was a boy. His conscience was quite at ease at the close' ■ of the day, though he had not written a word, becaufee there was no sermon to preacji on Sunday; and though he had not visited a pers on/ because there was ;, not a person to visit, and he congratu- lated himself because ' through the . length of the long idle d^s he was gath- j . ering strength of body and reviving his mind for his winter's work. ^ ) , , A VisiTOBi Who Was Wabmly v^ Wei^comed. One evening a bicycle came along the lonely Toad at full pace and pulled up ^^ , V.;.-. V / iher He ven ing, ver 1 lis ose' ten to Lad tu- ;he . th- ; lis lie ■\ Chyrch Folks 169 at the^^ie, and through the garden . came a rj^r, clad in light undreBS) bareheaded, nis face burned to a choco- / late color, coviered with dust, pleasantly tired with his spin of forty miles, but .full of health and strength and glad- ness. H© challenged the minister to tell the truth as between man and man whether he knew him. . Knew him! XTpcto the^ whole, and making a virtue of truthfulness, the . inftiister admitted that ^^e did, for this -Ntas the yoi\ng fellow wh^ sat at the end of the front seat in the transept on Sunday mornings, and on Sunday even-* ings kept order in an East End school for boys, and was always! ready to look after «ome other yoilng fello%V, and was as good a sort of man as could be made. He was taken with triumph aild shouting into the .cottage, "and after a wash and a stupendous meal the minis- ter and* he wandered along the hillside and talked aljout many things, aijd came ■Xi ■ f Ill-'- ir :•■■ ■ \- '^■' ■ ( .«■'' " *■'■■' r ., ' '""■■■ , "V '■ '1 " - , • .\- . :■/■■ ■'tf' 170 Church Folks back §nd sat in the garden amiS the ^ smell of the flowers, till they could no longer speak for sleep. In the-morning Jhey climbed ;the hill behind and vie^d the country, and then the young^ man went on his way, and at the corner of the road he said f arexvell ; and as he did so he mournfully shqoH his h6&d„for he was making for the nearest railway sta- tion, and the next day he would be hard * at work in the hot city. " My last day," he said te tlie minister as they parted, •" and it has been a jolly one," and al- though the young man did not grudge the minister the extra fortnight he was ' ,^oing "to have, the minister could not help feeling th^t the/had not parted on' equal terms,' biit tbitt he was thought to have the bes,t of it. J "^-V, ; CoUNTiNG Up THE VACAtlONDAYS, > ' ' ■* '. ' When that happy summer day had become only a pleasant^ memory and ^ '<*■;;'■,'", •cy ■ •■■■K'i ■ A- '.'.'. ;' "■ ■ . ' '■,■■■■■ • :-: j I- ' '■ :\ ' ■' m »\- I ■ % -f'-; ■'■■ ■, ■ - /^ ;- 4 - ft- 1 . ■/, ;; '.■';:. ■ ■ ■■•^'^'- ■ ■ ■ • '■■■:■■'■■■:■ ', ."' Church Folks 171 M'intcr held the land, tlio two were sit- ting together again iti the minister's study — this time before the blazing logs. They were talking M many things — ■ among others that garden with its wealth of carnations— and the minister i charged the young man with his secret thought, and declared that ho believed every young man had the same idea in the background of his mind. It was agreed to have a debate there and then", and the minister imdertook to prov<5 that he had fewer holidays than a clerk in an office, and that not for the sake of arguing a ridiculous position, but be- cause ho believed it to bo the truth. The young" man was delighted to take the opposite side, • It was indeed a simple question of ; arithifieti'c to put two sets of figures down upon a sheet of paper and sub- tract the lesser from the greater num- ber; the balance left wouW decide the debate. - '\ 1 •;i| '••• V 172 Church Folks Ab the minis^or had a city parish and a considerate congregation, he was inore generously trcAtcd than -many of his breth|?p, and was allowed in the ^ourfio of the year ^ six weeks' holiday, which 4te diyjded into a month at the dose of summer, and a fortnight in the spring- time^ ^hen the heavy work of winter had been finished. And this made forly-two days. Between January and Becember he very occasionally had a day in the country outside holiday times, or half a day in the city, wherein he followed his own pleasure. ,The « country day very often meant golf, and the city half-day, hunting through a library and prowling among the book- shops. Let such odds atid ends be set down in all at eight days, and the min- ister's vacation amounted to fifty days. ,.^y. - \ ^,. V-, Church Folks , 173 1 Jt' - \ i When the Total was Written ■",.... /'. Down. ■*: Wheii^ the minisjter kitaBolf wrote down the total his opponent felt that it waai hardly worth stating his case., As theirainister insisted and furnished the youM man with a sheet of paper and a penlil the debate 'seemed to grow into k comedy. ^ " ; ' . . " Twelve days, is the rule in our of fice,'and one is liicky if he gets away in Au^st, ior he 'may be. put off with Aprtl," said the young man. And he was [already deducting 'twelve from fifty , and wondering what the minister would ' say to a iuajor^tybf thirty-eight* *^ Does your furlough," questioned ■ the mister, '^iiiclud^ Sundays in the ' twiv/ days ?"' The young man' ad- mitted it did not. And „so the figure twelve was changed to fourteen, but that did iiot mak^ any great difference. "■ ta yowr office open on Christ .y. -■•.'■:■ V' ''■■■■ ^ ■■"'. ^■ \ I s\ k ly 1 ~-r^" J «!*• ;• -, Si> >■ 174 Church Folks .. Day V" continued the ministor.. .**I tliink not ; nor on New Year's Day, nor Easter Monday, no? \yiiit ^londay. By tlio Avay, unless I am mistaken you have the day after Christnins, too, and another ^J^^^Easter time. AVo are - •coming^^MHi nicely; that makes six days PH^^W not reckoned, and Uien there is a^iRk holiday about the begin- ning of August, which you avoid when you are arranging your yearly holiday. Where are we now ? Twenty-one days,; I declare— three weeks. It is little enough for a manjvho mf^^^ so hard, but it is better than yQiTfed reckoned.'*. . " Yes, it reduces your majority, but it still stands at a respectable figure—-. twenty-nine days more to the minister thaji to the derk." . .' "Perhaps," replied the minister, but what a shameful thing it is that your firm, which has such a*good name and does such a large business, should -^ork their oleics the whole of Saturday^ / ii ■f^. .. ^ ■.■ 1.4 IM |Z2 2.0 1.8 M-' ■- J /IPPLIED IIVMGE Inc 16S3 East Main Street Rochmter, Hkii York 14609 USA (7f6) 482 -0300 -Phone' (716) 288 - 59B9 - Fax ■s- . tr- R- m 176 Church Folks young man ingenuously ; " it is quite true/., I remember pitying you one day when I was going to skate and came ^n to see whether you would go with me, and found you grinding at your second sermon." " Well,", said the minister, " half ^ day for fifty-two weeks comes' to twenty- six whole days, and deducting the two half holidays counted into your regular f^cation, that leaves twenty-five days to . -be added > to the twenty-on€, which ^ makes forty-six, unless my poor head is wtong in' tlie addition. '• "Oh!" said th^ minister, "I ^m^ right, am I ? You stand now forty-six against my fifty. 1 must congratulate • you upon, your minority. No minister complains of his work, not even of the push and anxie% pf Saturday, but I tell you honestly, Dick^^ there are times when hfi envies a layman his Sunday, *. for the Sunday is the layman's day of rest and "the minister's day of toil. On /■•..■:..' ^f..- Church Folks 177 that day most people have a little l6ngor sleep in the mprning— though very like-, ly you rise at five o'clock on Sunday morning to study IleBrew — and then they havca leisurely breakfast— for why should they hurry, it is not a Ayorking day? Between breakfast and church time they talk about all kinds of things and turn over books and read letters that have come from abroad, and have the sense of being at their case. If it be fair weather they take the longest •-road to church, walkp^ through a gar- den or a park, and-^f ^annte^ chui^phr ward with unembarrassed minds. -The fathen sits with his family in their pew and can give his mind to the worship without distraction and without fear. • Perhaps he never thinks about the min- ister's wife, who sits like a widow in her pew with her^hildrcn as orphans, for the Kead of her houseliold is that day on his hardest duty, and has so much to do in leading other people's i 11 1 178 Church Folks / worship that he can hardly be said to have rest enough of mind to worship himself. Please don't interrupt," for the young man was beginning to aak. terms of surrender. , ; . : - S«." IJ r iNCE THE Minister Had a Sunday TO Himself. iu know,"*flaid, the minister as" he^^fed into the dancing ftrelight, "that^some^^^rs agol had: a Sunday , to myself with nay family, and I can still taste its swe^ess. We started discussions on Bible characters and religious subjects after breakfast, and I found out for the first time what my boys were thinking about. We hunted up bdoks which h^d been mentioned, and I read favorite passages from the poets and showed rare editions and bits of binding^which I kept locked up from the light and dust. We gossiped, we loitered, we hung over treasures. We s^ i /■\- ■V-V s-^ ehurch Folks 179 took tea in the gartten, iwe talked of old days, we made plans for the future. Why, I walked with niy' family to chuijchj with no weight on my niind and no reason for hurry. So keenly did I enjoy the day that I resolved to taste. . it to the last drop. . '^'bQ you think I \\'ent into the vestry before service because it was my vestry, and Inatructed the minister about the notices because it was my church ? Cer- tainly .not. I went in' through the front door, like any otlier member of the congregation,, and. nodded affably to the officials as I passe>l. I walked up the aisle behind my family and sat at the end of my pew like any other head of a household. After service I did go -to the vestry, and haying been admitted, ; .thanked the preach^fr for his sern.ion as %ne of his hearers, >nd then wont home talking abotit the service with my boys, for it was anothei^ man's sermon and I could enlarge upon its good points. ■>■ > «. it ■ 4i I ,. -'-■-V:V^-^ jn . . tX-: f i-^ i ■ .■ f| I p. *A.,: 1 80 Church Folks ^^hat afternoon/ having time at my dis- po^M). I visited a hall downtown whore a man with a gift of his own was teach- ing two hundred uhskillcd laborers the elements of religion, and came home mightily refreshed, ahd. then we read again and talked, and my family and I became almost intimate, because we had leisure and it was Sunday. ":>^ " Arevening service I had thft pleaa- ure of picking Up a young man at the door who was waiting for a seat, and taking him to my pew, and explaining to him that he might always have that seat in the evening, and that I was glad' he had come, as we were going to haVe a good sermon. He looked curiously at me, and was about to say something when I anticipated him and explained that I was not the minister of the^^^ church that day, but simply a hearer ^ life himself. I had more talk with my family after service— the pleasant ram- 1 1:. ■.;■.•■•: ■;;;. bling but not unprofitable ( jonversation : ' -v^".;'.. '■ . R ■•■ • '- ■•' ■. ■'. '. B ■■■■■■■ '-^"-i^^^ ■ .• ■ ■ -^ ■■ ■ .. . . ■ ■.' ■■■■.' m ■/ , ^'^ -■ . ■ .. ::. .; . Church Folks i8i i of people who were not tired nor over- strung, and BO the day of rest closed in kindly fellowship and inward peace. We must all make sacrifices, Dick, but tTlft' hardest one that a minister has to make is his Sunday, for it is to the injury of his own soul and also of his family. Bo thankful for your qiiict Sundays and guard theiii jealously, for the rest of wind and body." " You have proved your case," said Dick; "adding fifty Sundays and twenty-five half Saturdays, I make my vacation ninety-six days against your -,fifty.'V, ■; ■/ I r L- There IS No IInd to the Church WORK^ " It is mean," said the minister^" to triumph over a beaten foe, especia% when he is such a good fellow, but figures cannot quite represent the case, because there, is the question of the ■m- ■■-■'•:■: ■■>>■ K-' • '/ t n_. -.f 182 Church Folks different kind of work done, say, in an office and in a study. I know-lAat business is exacting, that it "frieans^a steady grind, and that it is full of sur- prises and disappointments and the chance of'^reaf reverses, but the busi- ness man has his own advantages. For one thing, there is a limit to his work, and when he comes homo in the evening ho leaves his work behind hini. But there is no limit whatever to the njiinis- tcr's work, lit is ever hanging over him, evier distracting his thoughts, ever exasperating Jiis nerves, ever reproach- ing his conscience. When he allows himself a socialr evening, he does not meet Vith th^ other guests on equal terms, because! they have written their last letter an|l discharged their last duty for the day, and when they go home it will be ^ finish the last chapter of a pleasant book and go to bed ; but he tore himself away from half -finished work, and when his friends are sleeping i ■ -r *^-^ :^7: ■f Church Follcs 183 „ light will be burning on his desk. Igiiles— and, Dick, you cannot imagine wh|t this means— the merchant, knows that he can do so much work in eight hours, because he is dealing with affairs ; but th6 minister never knows what ho , can do, because he is dealing with ideas, ^t 18 the necessity of production, even when the mind will not produce, which grates upon the netves of a minister and is apt to break Ati his health. "The journalist w|tes every day, ^ut he has something new to .write about; the literary man writes when he • is inclined; the minister has to write on an old subject— although the great- est which can engage the mind— and he •has to write whether his mind is bright or dull. Possibly no man has moments of such joy— when he is inspired; cer- tainly no man has such hours of depresr sion-^when he has fallen beneath his subject. It is only by patient reading and unceasing prayer that he can .-"■.■ . "v. ■ i A 7; h^ 184 Church Folks nccoinplisli his duty, And then lio is cvor istrained to tlio utmost, aud never knows the rest o£ the nuin who does his work with time and strength and ideas to spare. When the minister in active service lies down to die ho will be giving directions in liis last conscious moments about a letter that had not been answered, and sending explana- tions to a family that has not been visited, and when his mind begins to wander, it will be among texts wi which ho has struggled and cfiorta which ho has made in vaini." — ^ LoNOEB Vacations Should be the - Rule. " He ought to have two months every year," cried Dick, "and 'When I am a deacon I'll s^e that my minister has a six months' holiday in addition every seven years, in order that he may begin again as a new man in mind and body." ^>. Church Folks 185 *• You arc a good foUow, Dick, and *you'ro wise for your years, and if the Church treated her minititerH after this fashion sho would reap all tlie gain. For every new idea which comes to tho / minister's mind, and every new book ; ho reads, and every new sight ho sees, and every now gallery ho visits during his holidays pass into his words and into his life, and tho thoughtfulness and generosity of congregations would edmc back to their own souls with usury of reward." -^ -J* !!__ ml /. I f-l u 91 XL The IIevival of a Ministee. It was uot that the minister had be- come too old, for he was still in the prime of life; or that his health had failed, for he was stronger than in the days of his youth ; or that he had ceased to study, for lie was a harder reader than over; or that he had lost touch, with the age, for he was essentially a modern thinker. It was not that ho was loss diligent in pastoralwork or loss skilful in organization, nor was it that ho had quarrelled with his congregation, or his congregation with him, nor was it that the district had changed or that the church had been left without people. .■J?>#^ < .. V. .■Jf>#- Church Folks 187 Ho preached uh well an ever ho ditl, nml witli iiuich more weight niulwitidotft than twenty yearn ago. There W(»re a$ many members on the roll, and a^ nuioh money rniHed, and uh nmeh work Uono, and the church had m great a roptiiti- tion. It wafl diflicult t<» hiy your finger upon anything wanting in niinis^ter pr people, ""d yet the niininter wu» con- Bcioiis ond the people hfld a vague HcrtHO that Boniething was wrong*. The spirit of the congregation was lower, their dis- charge 'of dutA' was fjattor, their re8[K)n80 to appeals was slowbr, their attendance - at extra services wad poorer. There was less enthusiasm, less spontaneity, less loyalty, After fifteen years of 8er-^_^ " vice in the same place, addressing the same people, and saying, of necessity, the same things, and moving about in the same" district, the mini8ter,'^vithout any fault on his part, but simply through an infirmity of human naturO, had grown a little weary. Ho had 16«t ■ ,♦ :.. . . ' ' ■ - ■■' ■ '■.■■'.■■"■■■■■"**■ .'..■■-* ■■■'"■.■"■■.'■,■'' ^^ '. , , _ : ^; . ; ] .-i -1 . ; «a ■•% i88 Church Folks A ■■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ' ■ ■., freshness, not of thought nor &f expres- sion, biit of spirit; and there was not in him now that buoyancy of soul and that hopefulness of tone and that per- petual joy of speech which once had attracted people and won their hearts. And, on their part, the people had lost freshness toward him ; not respect for him nor gratitude for his "past service nor appreciation of his present -work, but their sense of expectation from him and their affectionate delight in him and their joy in speaking about him. Their „ pulses were not stirred when he preached, nor did a Visit from him make an event, nor would his absence make any great blank in their lives. There was still an honest affec- tion between the minister and his people, but it had lost the passion and, romance of past years. It was now undemonstrative and well regulated ; perhaps a tp-ifle too sober and calm to b© called affection. Church Folks i The people had grown so accustomed to their minister, Ws appearance, his ^^e, his way of thinking, his tricks otmanner, that they were able to criti- cise him and note his faults with much accuracy. He did not oaro to be contra- dicted, and was apt to be irritated when his plans were opposed ; he was too fond of certain lines of thought, and 4i and he never could forget the Church Folks 1 99 marriage aidross ; another had lo«t a little lad quite Buddcnly, and he did not think that his wife and ho could have endured the trial had it not been for the miniater's Byrapathy; a third had passed through worldly trials, and it was the minister's sermon that had kept him ahovo water; and a fourth, who, as every one knew, had passed through fearful temptation, wished humbly to testify that he had not been that night &xf. office bearer in a Christian church without the minister's help in time o£ trouble. Others looked as if they could have spoken, several murmured sympa- thy, and one deacon surreptitiously used his handkerchief, and at last Mr. Jud- kin rose again and proved himself a man worthy to lead and to guide a church. « Brethren," he said, "I expressed the feeling that was in my mind, and I am thankful that I gave it' expression, for it has relieved me, and it has done H y .a^- ^^. V # ,f ■ \i aoo Church K- « t " good to you. Xrfovf withdraw what t said : I was a little di«couraged. lJn»th«r Stoniof iH qnito right, ai^l ho hiiH braced us up ; and if ho cloaru off tho deficit, for wliich wo arc all much obliged, I shall bo very glad if you allow mo, brethren* to repaint the church thi» fall, for tho col- ors arc getting a littlo faded, and I would like to do it as a sign of gratitudo for what tho minister was to my wife wlien our son was hanging bet ween life and death." Mr. Judkin's example sot the ofHce bearers upon a now track, ono offerinMMyifujK^ly tho Stvndayjchool with JN|nH||'-l>ookifPRout which there fflHKon sorao difficulty ; another declaring that if tho mother church waa, going to bo repainted, ho would see that the mission church should also get a coat; a third offered to pay tho quarter of a missionary's salary to take tho burden off tho minister's shoulders, and three other office bearers appro- pria^d tho rcmainiia(^ quarters, till at t: ■ H \ I .'i , Church FolTu 20 1 iMt thoro wan not a nan wbo had not Rocurotl tl»u right, pcrafcal to hira«elf, of doing «ouu'tl»ing, great or Hinall, for tho church, and cvory unp wn» to do it out of gratitude to the minister f#r all ho had boon to tlicin Arid all ho had dono for them during fifteen years. And finally Mr. tovojoy Jncl|Bd all hin brethren hy a prayor, in \viich ho car- ried both mininter and piHople to tho Throne of Grace, ajid ho intoiceded that every one felt as ho left the place that the blessing of God was resting upon him. Tho week-night service warn held on Wednesday, 'and, as a rule, was very poorly attended. On this \fcek the minister had come down to hit vestry with a low heart, and was prayimg that he might have grace to addross ^Ir. Lovejoy and a handful of devotit and honorable women without showing that he was discouraged himself and without discouraging them. There were days <«« 1/1 ' n V'^ '■'.;>' S'.w, r -^ ^.S£.(^? 'iW„ •vi,y ,^- ' ,1 (^ '-'J^'.V'v" '■,(. 202 Church Folks J I in the past when the service had been held in the church, aiid Mr. Judkin •\i8ed to boast in the city about the q^t- tendance; and then it descended from the church to the large hall ; but of late the few who attended had been gathered into a room, because it was more cheer- ful to see a room nearly full than a hall three parts empty. The room was next door to the vestry, and the minister could tell before he went in whether the number would rise or fall above the average thirty. This evening so many feet passed his door, and there was such a hum of life, that he concluded there would be forty, which was a high at- tendance, and he began to reproach him- self for cowardice and unbelief. He was looking put the hynms when the door opened, and Mr. Love joy came in with such evident satisfaction upon his gracious face that the minister was .certain some good thing had happened. "Excuse me interrupting you," said i0i' ^^' M m€ Church Folks 203 the good man, "but I camo to ask whether you would mind going into the hall to-night ? The room is full already, and more are coniing every minute. I sjhiould not wonder to see a hundred, perhaps two," and llr. Lovejoy beamed and quite unconsciously shook iiands afresh with the minister. " I'^ou may be sure that I shall bo . only too glad, but . . . *^hat is the meaning of this ? Do they know that I am preaching myself ? " And the min; ister seemed anxious lest the people should have been brought in the hope of hearing some distinguished stranger. " Of •course, they know, and that is why they have come," responded Mr. Lovejoy with great ghey "no other . person could have brought them, and if you didn't preach to-night, it would be the greatest disappointment the people ever had ; but I mlQst hurry off to see that everything IS right in the hall," and in a minute the minister heard the ■VH- . -, : I 1 '■-..! '> - ' J 204 Church Folks sbund of many voices as the people poured joyfully from the ^am into the hall, and even in the v^mj^'wa^ con- scious of a congregat4<3flo^^'i\8 he was speculating on the meaning of it all the door opened again and^ Mr. Lovejoy returned. 'r ^^ — ^ ^ _- . ," We hadn't faith enough," he eried; "we ought to have, gone to the church at once. Brother Stonier said in his usual decided way, ' No half measures, into the church with you;' hut I was afraid there would not bo enough. I was wrongj quite wrong, the church will be nicely filled from back to front, for the people are coming in a steady stream— it's just great to see them. I'll come back for you when they are all seated; but give them time, it's not easy moving from one place to another as we've been doing to-night ; but we'll ngt move another Wednesday, we'll just settle down in the church as in the J w '^ Church Folks 205 iotmet days," and Mr, Love joy left tho vestry walking on air. When the minister went in tho church was almost full, and he had some difficulty in giving out .the first hymn, for it came upon him that his people had seen that he was discouraged and that this was a rally of aifection. The prayer was even harder for him than the hymn, although his heart was deeply^ moved in gratitude to God and tender intercession for men. And then when he came to the address he threw aside what he had prepared, for it seemed to him too cold and formal, and he read the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Psalm slowly and with a trembling voice, and instead of commentary, he paused between the verses, and the people understood. When he read the last verse— "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious^ seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, ^ 2o6 C^hurch Folks bringing his sheaves with him"- — he hesitated a moment, and then pro- nounced the benediction. After a min- ute's silent prayer he lifted his head and found the people still waiting. Mr. Judkin rose, and coming forward to the desk, thanked the minister audibly for all his work ; and then they all came— men, women, and children — and each in his Qwn way said the same thing; and the story went abroad that Richard Stonier, who came last and said nothing, had broken down for the first and only time in his life. THE END. :■! ' ■ ■/I V i n ,. r t H^ /^■'