MINISTERS' TIME-LIMIT TENURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2076, 7 December 1893, Page 10

MINISTERS' TIME-LIMIT TENURE.

"Congregations get tired of hearing one minister preach the Gospel year after year," is the emphatic declaration of one section of the Victorian Presbyterian General Assembly. The Rev. Dr Rentoul holds the belief that it is enough to fossilise and ruin the spiritual life of a district for one cleric to be continuously and perpetually stuck there. At a recent meeting, tho report of the Time-Limit Tenure Committee, which had investigated a proposed scheme for limiting the tenure of ministers to a period of three or five years, was submitted by the Rev. T. Nisbet. The report pronounced against the system of transferring ministers from one charge to another, and set forth that greater care should be exercised in the selection of suitable men for the ministry, in order that those who did not possess the varied gifts necessary to satisfy a modern congregation might be rejected.

The Rev. T. Nisbet said that when he commenced investigations on the committee ho was predisposed in tavour of a cchemo of time-limit tenure for ministers, but after a year's research he was convinced that no such scheme could be adopted with benefit to the church. Those who spoke and wrote in favour of the principle carefully kept their scheme, if they had one, up their sleeves, and it seemed that the only scheme which could possibly ba carried out was one approximating to the Wesloyan method. His observation ot that method in the country disstricts of the colony showed him that ib was demoralising to the minister and demoralising to the community. lie yielded to no cne in his ndmiration for the splendid work done by the Wesleyan denomination, bat in so far as this principle of time-limit tenure was concerned, he prayed — aud prayed fervently — that the day might never come when the church of John Knox would be merged in the church of John "Wesley. — (Hear, hear.)

Mr J. Bennie supported the report. He had searched the Scriptures thoroughly, and found no mention of limiting the tenure of ministers to three or live years. The church was established by ths apostles, and those who attended the general assembly of the church at Jerusalem were not appointed for a term but for life. — (Hear, hear.) ..Mr M'Kcuzic, M.L.A., supported the creation of a time. limit tenure, the principle of which ho had himself bubmittid by overture to the assembly. There was a large body of laymen in this country viLo were convinced that the present pysicim of lif« appointment ot minibU.T£) wan snoat unsatisfactory. Many cougrogatiou^ in the country would glsd-y get rid of tUiir rjjii'iblcr if lh*y could yi'ssibly do so. There wc-i; m.iii.y ivunist.is who marched through the churi 1 ') kavijg a b'ackened waste of congregations behind them, aud tre admission ol 0110 Kioh iuiiu into the church was a grievous injury to the church. He would like to know also how many men were admitted as ministers from outside the colony who were unsuitable for the wurk.

I The Moderator ruled the introduction of such foreign matter out of order.

After discussion ib was resolved to approve of the recommendabion that the time-limit tenure for ministers should not be entertained, and to remit to a sub-committee the consideration of the proposal to institute a time-limit tenure for elders.