UNHAPPY PREACHERS.
WHY THEY LEAVE CHURCH. OUTSPOKEN SYDNEY MINISTER. "Why is there a dearth of candidates for tho ministry? Why have wo. to record (he lapse of accepted candidates, and tho secession of ordained men, who have left tho Christian ministry for commercial pursuits? Wpro (hey sclfdeceived, or were they disillusioned in tho ministry ? It is an open secret that others will follow them. There is something wrong somewhere." Theso challenging sentences were tho keynote uf an address delivered to the Congregational Union in Sydney Inst week by tho Kev. 'J'. E. Ruth. He frankly told the assembled churchmen (hat they must givo serious thought to (ho conditions under which their ministers worked.
Mr. Ruth traced tho stpps by which a man reachod tho ministry. Having spent years in rigid training, in (ho acquirement of theological, ethical, and sociological principles, ho accepted a charge. But tho young minister, instead of "becoming an ambassador of the Eternal Throne," found himself a sort of errand boy to an audience, tlio collector of his own meagre salary, a manager of bazaars, a sort of bush lawyer. Ho was expected to engage in tho activities of committees, sub-committees, conferences, conventions—all dissipating tho energy that should bo devoted to the essential work of tho preacher.
"They wiint to bo preachers," said Mr. Ruth; "thai is tho last thing they are expected to be. They should bo free from anxiety about their personal affairs, but are not,. The preacher who has to fight poverty has no energy left to tight (ho devil, 'i hoy cannot bo blamed if they aro disappointed, and leave tho Church for secular occupations. "That is tho situation the Church has to face. Its work cannot bp advanced by an underpaid, underfed, and underload ministry. It- would bo better to have fewer churches and better-paid ministers. If tho churches want men who will say only tlip things expected ol them, iu stereotyped fashion, they may as well use dictaphones."
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19290429.2.148
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20241, 29 April 1929, Page 16
Word Count
327UNHAPPY PREACHERS. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20241, 29 April 1929, Page 16
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the New Zealand Herald. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence . This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries and NZME.