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Show , T Protestant on Protestant Ministry. The following appeared recently in the editorial page of the !Xew York Sun: . "To the Editor of the Sun Sir: Your able editorial edi-torial on 'Why Men Give Up the Christian Ministry' Min-istry' has set me thinking along a line not usually followed, by the Protestant mind at least. . "We rarely hear of a novitiate or full-fledged, priest in the Catholic church changing his field of activities, and why? In the first place, there are no soft snaps to be obtained by an aspirant to the Catholic priesthood; consequently only those are attracted to it who are of a sober, self-denying cast of mind and a simple faith in their singleness of thought. "Moreover, a priest knows that domestic ties are not for him. He is not going to be torn by conflicting con-flicting aims for the good of his Church and the good of his family. When the great sacrifice is once made he is at peace in so far as outside agencies agen-cies can affpet him. - "-' ''On the other hand, there is no doubt tltaCrhahy Protestant young men matriculate .for the; ihin-. ihin-. istry because the niche can be gained without serious seri-ous labor and without marked ability. They . arc frequently men entirely lacking in initiative or force, Avho supinely drift into a gentlemanly calling for which they are not-fitted, either by brain or manhood. : '"Having no serious convictions themselves, they naturally do not convince others. It is the best of these who, tardily awakening to a sense of their unfitness, gird up their loins and seek an honest livelihood elsewhere. i "Suppose a man in the Protestant ministry feels that he is doing good work, is winning tlif hearts of his people- and setting up an ideal of strong Christian manhood in the town in' which he labors. A Sunday comes when soine distinguished visitor from a neighboring city feels the force of this man's strong personality. He returns to his own place, and shortly a call from a prosperous city church comes to the man who has enthralled him by his eloquence. 1 "Now, here is the crux. How can this minister of the Gospel, who is also a husband aiid a. father, decide the momentous question in singleness of purpose when the 'salary he may be drawing is insufficient, in-sufficient, for. the needs of his growing family? His wife may need comforts he cannot, pco.vivde; his son may be reaching the college age; his daughter daugh-ter needs a. milder climate in the winter. 'The poor man . struggles in prayer over the call, resting finally on the whispered assurance that a man's first duty is to his family. And on the. following fol-lowing Sunday the. announcement, coltcbed, in decorous de-corous and solemn language, is made from the pulpit pul-pit that a call has come where a 'wider field of usefulness seems to promise, and after prayerfu'l consideration the pastor feels it his' duty to accept, the call, etc. . , "A few of his people go home and marvel over the little ironies of life. .; . v : v VsW " ' ' "HE LEX ATKINSOXj' '' -' "Montclair, Aug. 7." ' |
