A PLEA FOR THE DESPISED LAY PREACHER.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1601, 19 November 1912, Page 8

A PLEA FOR THE DESPISED LAY PREACHER.

Sir,—My attention was arrested by tho muling in your journal ol' the annual report, tc bo presented to tlie General Assembly ol the great Presbytoriun Church, opening to-day, and to the 'continued scant appreciation shown by tho digni-' taries 01 tho Church to the valuable work of the lay-preaching element. _ - It is simply cruel 'how .these self-sacri-ficing band ol noble men, who labour on year after year, are just tolerated as something that must bo put up with, and 'only casually noticed; and ono of the great evils is that tho real body of the Church get no opportunity of knowing the true facts of tue caste, nor are they, ablo to say: "it must be said that our people do not take kindly, as a rule, to lay preaching." I would like, to say at tho outset tliat I am in a position to speak according to fact and experience oil tuis vital subject. ' . For the past twenty-three years I have had tho honour (as a lay preacher) of occupying every Presbyterian and Nonconformist pulpit from Levin to Hunterville, and from palmcrston North to Pahiatua, but more directly. from Shannon round to Boston,. and (without boasting) I have only, on an average, one free Sunday, per quarter. . And I,ask again, Is it really truo that the people do not take kiudly. to our lay preachers, ..or., is it the idea cf the Ministerial 'Committee who make up 'the reporti- It certainly cannot bo any dislike on the part of the city or large town congregations, because they never get tho opportunity of judging.. No lay preacher'over gets tho houour of occupying tho. pulpits of a city or largo: town: well, "hardly ever." Therefore, if the bulk of the people do' not have to e'ndure the lame ministration of tho lay element, how can the ooinplamt coine from them of a distaste to tho layman? It must then.be from . the smaller or country element. This shows tW the report does not cume from the country, because it is absolutely against fact, and an insult to the country congregations. / Is it'the country congregations, who "ought, liowever, to be trained to listen ?"' Now for an honest example of what the Church would be without the lay element, and of what tho laymen are doing for the people, especially 'in tho country; also as to whether the people appreciate these men (or is it only Christian toleration). AVe will take this patch of country from Shannon round to Foxtoti, consisting of three charges, tinder three ministers, and I think this is about a fair sample of the state of things all through the country. I hope so, at-any rate., Here we have three ministers to provide services every Sunday for twelve pulpits. Then, of -course, there is only one service _ a day at five'of these places. ■ The ministers take seven out of the twelve, and the lay preachers tho other five everv Sunday. But what about the attendances?' Prom continued personal experience, and from the mouth of people, there is no difference in the attendance at the services, whether the man in the pulpit is a minister or layjnan. But of course they are only . country bumpkins—that's all! And aWo number of them are connected with the cow; have to tumble out of bed Sunday mornings 130—then buck-in till almost 11.30—' when the service begins; then harness up and drive for a distance of anything tip to eight miles, 'hungry for a gospel message. Perhaps .they would not be ■so ready, for the layman if they had laid abed till 8 or 9, and then only had a few hundred yards along an asphalt walk to their, cosy church. Who is it that dare bring a. charge against our homely and kind-hearted country congregations, that they do not appreciate and eucourage the lay preachers. It must be those who draw up the reports. "Oh!" but some 6ay, "is not this a condensed report compiled from all the minor ones?'' Perhaps sol Well, how are these obtained? Again, "There ought to be a vast reserve of force to be developed in the direction of lay preaching." AVhoro, in the country, or amongst the masses of young men in the cities or towns? At our Y.M.C.A.'s expensive institutions, or the large numbers of our Bible-class young men? We say, 1 Where? Further, is it also the fault of the lay element that ou,r prayer meetings do not seem to appeal to Christians to-day as in the past, and that the spiritual appetito is not so keen?" ITes, this is a debatable question! That 101 sermons per yeap arc not enough to keep the ilock in the. fold, but that another 52 must be given at these weekly services. Has any other method ever been tried ? Do those at tho head of these meetings over do anything to make them more co-operative and attractive to the peoplo so that the attendances may . become greater? Perhaps if a'little more of the Assembly's time was occupied in the discussion of these vital questions, and a little less on finance, the finance would then take caro of itself. The Church is a great spiritual organisation, with tho Holy Ghost as its source-rbut there is not enough of tho spiritual at the Assembly gatherings, or perhaps, tliero would be more glow in the Church fires. There ought not to be so many apologies to the great Three in One. Tf the Church will provide tho Elijah's tliero is still plenty of Sre available, plenty of power to shako the upper rooms provided the 120's of one mind are in tliem. A closing word for this question of tho lay element. I speak on behalf of tho Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist sections of tho great Church, and affirm, without fear of contradiction, that if the lay preachers wero to "strike" then just one-half of all our country services would liavo to be abandoned; and that it does not show an overplus of the spirit of the Great Master, that tho city and town Christians *how so little.appreciation, to tho army of their self-sacrificing brethren who labour without remuneration. Certainly the Master praises. The ministers serving the largo congregations ought to be inspired when they have from 300 to JOQ hungry souls tn front of thorn., wliil«