26-Pastoral Visiting

CHAPTER XXVI PASTORAL VISITING To many pastors the most distasteful phase of their work is visiting from house to house. This antipathy expresses itself often in mere neglect; but occasionally, in a frank belittling of the task. It is said, “My business is not ringing door bells!” or, “I do my work with my head, not my feet 1” or, “I am a shepherd, not a sheep-dog.” Quite naturally attempts are made to justify this feeling on rational grounds. “Let the people send for me as they do the physician when they desire my services”; or, “A minister invites serious criticism by visiting the women when their husbands are not at home”; or, “Pastoral calling is unnecessary in the highly organized church of to-day” these and other reasons are urged as an excuse for visiting only the sick and the troubled. The fundamental difficulty here arises from a misunderstanding of the purpose and method of the pastoral call.

If one contemplates the trying exercise described by Dr. William M. Taylor, a distinguished Congregational minister in New York in the latter part of the nineteenth century, it is better that he leave it undone. “I was first settled,” he says, “over a church of about one hundred and eighty members, many of whom resided in the village in “which the place of worship was situated, but a considerable number of whom were farmers scattered over an area of about six miles in length by about two in breadth. I made my visits systematically, week by week, taking the parish in manageable districts. At first I was “accompanied on each occasion by an elder. It was expected that I should ask a few questions of the children, assemble the members of the household, give a formal address, and, then conclude with 2/3 274 THE PASTORAL OFFICE prayer. The presence of the ’lay brother’ was a great embarrassment. I supposed that because he was with me I should have a new address in every house, and should have a prayer in every instance perfectly distinct from any which I had formerly offered... So I went on from house to house, making a new address in each until, when it was toward evening, and I had walked perhaps five or six miles and made ten or twelve addresses, I was more dead than alive. You cannot wonder that, in these circumstances, pastoral visitation became the b$te noir of my life, and I positively hated it. Thus prosecuted, it was simply and only drudgery, and, so far as I know, was not productive of any good result.” 1 This kind of visiting implies an aristocratic view of the minister’s relation to the members of his church. Calling is an official function, a kind of spiritual inspection tour in which he formally peeps into their souls to see that they are swept and garnished. And after the manner of official affairs, the etiquette of the occasion is prescribed in great detail. This solemn farce gave the pastor no real knowledge of his people, nor did it permit them to derive any benefit from his presence, for an atmosphere of unreality wrapped both him and them about. But suppose that he had been actuated by the democratic motive of friendship, going forth to his calling, not because custom and tradition prescribed it, but because he sincerely desired to visit with old friends and to make new ones among young and old alike. And suppose, too, that he, in genuine friendliness, had come informally instead of formally, upsetting the routine of family life as little as possible, adjusting himself to the mood and circumstances in every home; praying here because it was perfectly natural to do so; omitting the prayer and even religious conversation there because it would have been an embarrassment to everyone; staying an hour in one place, and only five minutes in another, for precisely the same reason that it was Reprinted by permission of Charles Scribner*s Sons. Quoted by Gladden, op. cti, p. 197!.

PASTORAL VISITING 275 the wise and judicious thing for a friend to do. On this view of the matter pastoral visiting becomes a great adventure with the prospect ahead of endless variety a fascinating game, the object of which is to secure the good will of as many different persons as there are members of his constituency and show himself an equally good friend to all. If any object that “social calling” of this sort is not religious, it is well to remember that one cannot win people to Christ until he has first won them to himself. Moreover, we have no right to regard the social call as necessarily lacking in religious value. The religious motive does not express itself exclusively in formal devotional exercises. The call which promotes unselfish fellowship, deepens human sympathy, and increases the sense of brotherhood is as certainly religious as one which definitely concerns itself with religious subjects. Bishop Quayle gives a valuable hint to the pastor when he remarks, “That every call a pastor makes should be of the revival order is simply a piece of grievous misconception.”

Again, pastoral visiting has no terrors for the minister who relates it clearly in his thought to his preaching. All sermonic material is not gathered from books. Much of it comes directly from life. We have seen that, according to the Protestant theory of worship, the minister acts as the representative of the congregation, giving expression to their collective thought and striving. This is true of the sermon as well as of the prayers. But how can he know what the people are thinking if he refuses to mingle with them under circumstances which lead them to express themselves freely? We do not mean to suggest that he should show servile regard for any individual’s opinion, or that he should fear to speak his mind when he differs honestly from others. The hope of lifting the congregation to higher levels of thinking and feeling and living rests largely upon the fact that the minister’s thinking shall not always conform to that of others. But we read that “the spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord”; that is, God reveals him 276 THE PASTORAL OFFICE self through human beings. We are likely to find the beautiful, the courageous, the heroic, the virtuous among simple persons as well as among the most learned. And how shall we receive the inspiration of their lives if we hold ourselves aloof from them? Pastoral visiting is highly accredited as a method of gathering homiletical materials, of acquiring the truth the congregation may have for the minister.

Yet another conception of ministerial calling will convert it from an unpleasant duty into a high privilege. The auricular confession of the Roman Church rests upon a sound psychological principle the demand of the human spirit in moments of worry, excitement, and remorse, for an opportunity to unburden itself. It seeks an ear into which it may pour its feelings. Evangelical Protestantism, for good cause, rejects the Catholic method of providing this ear, and finds in pastoral visiting a better device to serve the same end. This is in Bishop McConnell’s mind when he suggests that, in visiting the people in their homes, the pastor shall seek, not so much to become a good talker, as a good listener. To give sympathetic heed to what others * feel inclined to say to us, though it may seem trivial and commonplace; to direct conversation without forcing confidences, so that men and women and children may talk frankly about what concerns them most; to be patient while a nervous, perplexed, annoyed soul eagerly lays its fears and hopes before us is to render, often, the greatest possible service. It may be that a word of wise counsel can be given, or that relief may be afforded through prayer. But the very act itself of discharging the load of pent-up emotion loosens the tension and relaxes the strain so that the weary soul “feels better/’ though the outward situation may remain just as it was.

“If a pastor shows himself willing to listen, and can listen without fidgeting in a hurry to get to the next call on his list, he will be astonished to see how thoroughly people will open to him the depths of their lives, and how often they PASTORAL VISITING 277 will give him a message which is a genuine voice of humanity. A successful pastor once told me of the following experience: A member of his church suddenly met a terrible grief. For days the stricken man sat almost in silence, but when my friend called on him he was moved to talk by the rare sympathy of a skilled physician of souls, for my friend possessed such rare sympathy. The mourner talked for one hour, for two, for three, and found his way toward the light as he himself talked. For the rest of his life he held in grateful honor the memory of the pastor who listened while he talked. Now, what the mourner gained as he thus thought aloud toward the light was not less than the pastor learned. The pastor heard not just the man talking; he heard the voice of stricken humanity and a note from that voice sounded thereafter from his pulpit. One reason for encouraging people ’to talk themselves clear out’ is that in the experiences which are most peculiarly our own we may find ourselves to be most like other people. Who of us has not had thoughts and feelings which have seemed so peculiarly his own that he has been afraid to mention them to others for fear of being misunderstood and perhaps laughed at? Yet who of us has not had the experience of discovering that such thoughts or feelings when actually expressed have been those that other people have seemed to understand best? Many of these most intimate experiences are most catholic in their sweep. The man who knows these peculiarly personal experiences is able to preach in widely human terms. Moreover, apart from all such intimacies, the preacher who, with a consecrated desire to serve, mingles most closely with his fellows is the one who can most genuinely utter the voice which we call the voice of humanity.” 2

Finally, it accords with the social view of the minister’s relation to the church to insist that in his pastoral visiting he acts as the representative of the whole congregation.

F. J. McConnell, The Preacher and the People, pp.

278 THE PASTORAL OFFICE He is the voice through which all the members speak to each.

These considerations make pastoral visiting an all-important part of the minister’s work. Indeed, they justify Vin-et in his statement that willingness to visit from house to house is the final test of a call to the ministry. “Public speaking is comparatively easy and agreeable; we can only be sure of our vocation to the ministry when we feel drawn and impelled to -exercise the duties of the care of souls.”

It would greatly simplify matters if a manual could be prepared, such as some have pleaded for 3 containing “examples and rules for the examination of the burdened conscience governing the wants of souls seeking guidance and help, and the ways for meeting them sanctioned by God’s Word, the church’s discipline, and the Christian experience of all the past/’ But the technique of pastoral oversight cannot be thus codified. Imagination, insight, and sensitiveness to moods and conditions are indispensable. Without these, rules are ineffective. With them, rules are not needed. If the pastor is not the kind of person who does the right thing almost instinctively and intuitively, he is not likely to do it because it is commanded; or if he should go through the prescribed actions, it would be in a spirit that would make them ridiculous. Nevertheless, a few general suggestions may be helpful in dealing with certain types of calls. i. GENERAL CALLING. By this we mean the regular and systematic visitation of every family in the membership and constituency of the church. The pastor may have assistance in this work, but he himself can never be excused from participating in it, however large his congregation or however numerous his helpers. No one has a right to regard himself as a good shepherd who does not plan to visit personally every family at least once a year. When F, B.

Meyer, S. Parkes Cadman, Charles Reynolds Brown, and ’See Bishop A. N. Littlejohj^ in The Christian Ministry at the Close of the Nineteenth Century, p. 322.

PASTORAL VISITING 279

Bishop McConnell never passed a year as pastors without making at least a thousand calls (Bishop Quayle always visited every family once a quarter), others may indulge no hope of pardon for neglecting this work. The busiest pastors have only to plan intelligently and conscientiously for this visiting to get into every home regularly each year. Let them divide the total number of calls which should be made annually by fifty-two to discover how much work must be done each week, and then see to it that as early in the week as possible the appropriate number of visits is made. If one were to spend but three hours a day, five days a week in visiting the people, he could make fifteen hundred calls in a year, allowing a half hour for each visit. In few churches will it be necessary to make a larger number, and most churches will demand less. This will leave four or five hours daily for study, and two more for correspondence and administration, provided the minister is willing to work nine or ten hours each day and he should be ashamed to work less. a. “What is the purpose of such calling?” First, the establishment of friendly relations between the minister and every member of every family. These relations spring up only as the result of careful cultivation. The diligent pastor will carry with him constantly a visiting list containing not only the names of the heads of the family but of every child and other person in each home, and when he calls, will inquire thoughtfully concerning each by name. He will keep a memorandum of pertinent facts about each individual. One of the great pastors of American Methodism twenty-five years ago was the Rev. Henry A. Buchtel, D.D, who is known to the church now as chancellor emeritus of the University of Denver and former governor of Colorado. On his first visit in a home he was accustomed to inquire carefully for the names and birthdays of all young people in the family. The occasion for this appeared later when the children on every successive natal day received from their pastor tetters written iu his own 280 THE PASTORAL OFFICE hand, and never two alike. Who could resist such overtures of friendliness? To recall that on your last visit the father was ill, to remember that James is interested in collecting stamps, and to send your regards by her mother to Mary, who is at college, may be small matters, but they do much to bind people to you. And whatever will do that is very important. The second object of this general calling is to discover any who may be troubled, disaffected, or indifferent, and to render such individual aid as lies in one’s power.

Third, this kind of calling binds the church constituency into a single spiritual unity. Like a human shuttle-cock the pastor moves back and forth through the community, carrying the same spirit and the same ideals into all homes, counseling, sympathizing, admonishing, rebuking, encouraging as each case may demand, but all to the same end.

Nothing could be more valuable from the standpoint of church organization. Commercial and industrial corporations often pay welfare workers large salaries to do just this among their employees.

Finally, it should be said that in this persistent work of visiting the pastor keeps his parish maps up to date. He constantly re-surveys the field, noting new facts and faces in the community, changes of residence, and the like. b. “What do you do when you calif Chiefly, carry a spirit of buoyant faith and hearty cheer into the homes of the community. A sanctified imagination (common sense) will suggest the particular things which should be done.

These will vary with the personality of the pastor and with the conditions which he finds. If he arrives inopportunely, say in the midst of housecleaning, or just as his hosts are preparing to go oust, or when other company is present, he will make everyone happy by wishing all “good day” and leaving in a moment or two. Let him not be deceived by assurances that he must stay. A courteous mistress will always conceal, if possible, any embarrassment which a guest unwittingly may cause. Match her courtesy with an PASTORAL VISITING 281 other equally fine and refuse to interfere further with her plans, which are important, at least to her. “The getting away is quite as much of an art as coming,” says our wise Bishop Quayle. “Many times preachers are so engrossed with their pastoral concerns that they do not get at the magnitude of the concerns of others.” 4 On the other hand, circumstances may justify the pastor in lingering long to talk. Should the home be one in which dwells a lonely soul who is largely cut off from religious and social fellowship, and upon whose hands time hangs heavily, stay as long as you choose, talking about the life and activities of the church, telling all the good things you know of persons and institutions in the community, though, of course, the conversation should never degenerate into mere gossip. If the host be devoutly minded, it will be quite in order to read a helpful portion from the Scriptures and pray briefly before leaving. This prayer may be made sitting or standing as well as kneeling.

Again, it might be appropriate to stay and listen, rather than talk. As previously noted, there are burdened spirits who need nothing so much as a sympathetic and attentive ear into which they may discharge their feelings. They will derive more comfort from an inarticulate pastor than one who is voluble. It is a good thing for the physician of souls to know when his silence will be more healing than his words.

Let no minister suppose that he must pray in every home. A pastor on coming to a new church let it be known that this was his ideal, and later discovered that few people were at home when he rang the bell. A wiser pastor announced that, except in cases of sickness or trouble, as a rule he was not accustomed to suggest prayer when he visited members of the church in their homes. Since the obligation of hospitality was on them, he would wait for an invitation. His own hope, however, was expressed hu ’Pastor-Preacher, p. 139.

282 THE PASTORAL OFFICE morously by the comment that he expected them to be wellmannered in this regard. Why should the physician of souls have but one prescription, regardless of varying temperaments and conditions? Let him be as wise as the healer of the body, who makes a careful diagnosis of each case and adapts the treatment to the disease.

Some ministers utilize the mail as a valuable pastor’s assistant. The personal visits of the lamented Maltbie Babcock were very brief. Frequently he made as many as twenty-five calls in an afternoon. But he had the imagination to take in a situation at a glance, and on his return to his home often spent several hours writing notes of advice and helpful suggestion to those whom he had found in need of pastoral counsel. Dr. George S. Butters, of Boston, has followed a similar plan. In every community where he has lived men and women treasure pastoral epistles which he addressed to them at important crises in their lives, and literally hundreds of ministers in his denomination, whom he first met as theological students, preserve with great care letters which he has written across a long period of years. This use of the pen is commended especially to those who find it difficult to express themselves in speech when they feel deeply. In cities and larger towns it is all but impossible to see the men of the congregation during the day unless one calls on them at their places of busines$. As a rule, laymen rather like to have their pastor hunt them up at their work, provided he does not come too often or stay too long. This kind of a call usually should be very brief. The object should be merely to let the man know that his pastor thinks of him and wishes him well in all that concerns him. If one plans to consult laymen on church business during the day, an appointment should be made in advance for that purpose. Men usually are appreciative of any effort which the pastor may make to visit their families during the evening. They have time then for social and religious conversation which is denied them during the day.

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It is not clear that a minister should announce publicly in advance that he will call on the families who live in a certain district during the following week. There is always a possibility that he may be compelled to change his plan, and some will await his coming in vain. Moreover, it may give others the opportunity to avoid a call which they need sorely. It seems better, on the whole, to take one’s chances on finding people at home, and, if they are absent, to call again.

It should be unnecessary to say that no minister should make pastoral visiting an occasion when he airs his personal grievances or works up sympathy for himself. He goes to give sympathy and not to get it.

Some ministers feel that their wives must accompany them in their pastoral visiting. When it is convenient and pleasurable for them to go, let them do so by all means. But that they are obligated to attend their husbands thus is not obvious. The minister’s wife may have a unique relation to the church, but certainly it cannot be that of parish visitor. Should a physician’s wife accompany her husband on his professional calls? Let the mistress of the parsonage have her own calling list independently of her husband. In many cases the same names will appear on both lists, but the lists will not be identical throughout. It may be urged that there is a type of woman in almost every community who is. especially attracted to ministers, and against these their wives must protect them. In reply it may be said that almost never does a minister whose heart is pure and whose manner is above reproach get into trouble of this kind. If he needs other protection than a clean mind affords, let him take as escort a male lay official of the church or an officer of the law or stay away.

2. SPECIAL CALLING. This includes all official visiting which is required by something exceptional in the experience of individual members of the church or its constituency.

It is additional to the regular visiting which should go on constantly, and, in importance, takes precedence over it.

284 THE PASTORAL OFFICE That is to say, an individual in especial need of pastoral attention has a preferred claim upon the pastor’s time, even the hours ordinarily set apart for study. This type of visiting embraces calls upon the sick, the troubled, strangers, and all who are upon the pastor’s “personal work list.” a. Upon the Sick. A pastor on going to a new parish should begin his work by visiting immediately all who are ill, and he should let the congregation know that he desires to be informed in the event that any home is stricken with sickness. Nothing but ignorance of the fact can excuse pastoral neglect of any who suffer. Those who are “shut in” as the result of chronic invalidism should be visited regularly, both by the pastor and any parish visitors who may assist him. Their names should be on special mailing lists to receive all printed matter issued by the church, and good wishes may be sent frequently over the telephone. In the case of acute and sudden illness the pastor should call as soon as he learns of the trouble, and, under ordinary circumstances, every day thereafter as long as the illness continues to be serious. Some of these subsequent calls may be made by telephone, particularly if the sickness is not of a threatening nature; but the personal visit will be more appreciated because it requires a greater expenditure of time and energy. The pastor should have two ends in view in visiting the sick: (i)composing the spirit of the patient, and (2) being a good friend to the family. In the first instance his call may have genuine therapeutic value. The relation of the mind to disease is now generally admitted. Depression and irritability are inimical to health and retard recovery from sickness, while calmness, buoyancy, and hopeful expectancy assist the healing process greatly. The wise minister may do much to create a state of mind favorable to the restoration of health. Nor does it depreciate the value of this service to recognize that it is accomplished by “suggestion.” It is not necessary to approve all that is said in the name of a be PASTORAL VISITING 285 havioristic psychology to use its method intelligently, as does the salesman in selling merchandise. The wise pastor knows what kind of a response he wishes to secure from the patient, and will plan his appeal with the utmost care. On entering the home, let him lay aside his outer garments overcoat, hat, gloves, and rubbers. His manner on approaching the bedside of the patient should be cheery, though quiet; and sympathetic, though not solemn. He should not stay long, for sick people tire easily; nor should he talk much of his own illnesses. Let him listen, however, if the patient wishes to describe his sickness. All this is of absorbing concern and relieves the mind. Then the patient’s attention may be directed away from his illness to people, things, and events of interest. Leave a book to be read when reading is possible, or flowers, either in your own or the name of the church. If you know a good story that will provoke a smile, this is the time to tell it. Let all that is said be designed to stimulate in the sufferer a hopeful, pleasant frame of mind. And, if possible, one should turn the conversation so as to suggest naturally the healing values of prayer and faith, for nothing is more potent in composing the restless mind. Thus the spirit, manner, and words of the pastor will be designed to induce an attitude which will be favorable to recovery.

If it should appear that the patient grows steadily worse and death is imminent, the pastor should be the most devoted friend of the family. This would mean, at the least, keeping in constant touch with them, and, at the most, putting himself entirely at their disposal for any service which he is able to render. One distinguished minister in Methodism well-nigh took up his abode at the home when death was expected in any family in his parish. Happy is that family whose pastor is gifted with imagination as well as sympathy so that he understands without being told how he can serve best, whether by speaking or keeping silence, by his activities or by his prayers! And this service should continue long after the funeral, if it comes to that. A cer 286 THE PASTORAL OFFICE tain bishop in the church is generally commended for the profundity of his thought and the simplicity of his utterance, but the sound of his name is like sweet music to one elderly woman because every day for three weeks he called at her home after a member of her family had died. He seldom stayed more than five minutes, but it was long enough to let her know that she and her loneliness were much in his mind those dreary days. The conduct of the pastor in the face of contagious disease will be regulated largely by the laws of public health.

He has no more right to consider personal danger than a physician; and his family is obligated to take the same risks should occasion arise, which are run by the doctor’s wife and children. But let him be guilty of no foolhardiness. If he must expose himself to contagion in the discharge of his pastoral duties, let him consult a physician concerning protective measures which may be taken, both for his own and his family’s sake. He should never be guilty of disregarding quarantines without the consent of health officials. The telephone and mails, of course, may be used to communicate with those who are isolated. As a matter of fact, visiting the sick is always attended by more or less hazard, and the careless pastor may easily become a “carrier” of disease. He will almost certainly shake hands with the patient, and may handle articles which the latter has touched. Consider how perilous that is in a case of tuberculosis. The thoughtful pastor, then, should always be careful to cleanse his hands thoroughly after a visit to the sick-room. The relation of the pastor to the physician should be one of cordial cooperation. Most physicians recognize the therapeutic value of the pastor’s call and welcome it, except where a pastor has proven himself to be a wretched bungler who irritates more than he soothes by his coming.

Generally, the minister will be admitted to sick-rooms, hospitals, and operating rooms when all others are excluded, and he may call at other than the regular hours for visiting.

PASTORAL VISITING 287 But should the physician leave orders that no one may see the patient, or if the nurse should warn, “Only a minute!” he must have the utmost respect for their commands. They are in charge of the case. Let him turn his attentions to the family, who need him in such an hour more than the patient. b. Upon Strangers. After the sick, strangers have the next best right to the pastor’s attention. It is quite possible that the minister may not understand how lonely new people can be in a community. He and his family receive so much attention when they come that he may mistakenly assume that others are as cordially received. It is seldom so. Often strangers wait in vain for signs of friendly interest in their neighbors. They may even attend church without anyone inquiring for their names or bidding them welcome. For an occasional Christian (?) takes the position that he does not care to make any new friends. As soon as he learns of their presence the minister should call in the name of the church, provided, of course, that they belong to his constituency. (If they are members of another denomination, he should give their names to the pastor of that religious body.) And he should urge the members of his own church who live near by to call soon.

Conscientious pastors use many devices to inform themselves concerning strangers. Blank cards are kept in the pews for reporting their names. The members of the church are asked to act as “sentinels” who notify him when he should call on new people in their block. Sunday-school teachers are trained to report the names of new pupils so that the minister may call on the parents. Ushers in the public service note the unfamiliar faces and quietly secure their names and addresses, introducing them when possible to the pastor. He, in turn, secures their “church letters/’ and builds them as rapidly as possible into the life and organizations of the new church. c. The Troubled. This group would be, as a matter of fact, identical with the entire membership of the church, 288 THE PASTORAL OFFICE for trouble in some form comes to all. Here the term is restricted, however, to those who are miserable for other reasons than physical illness. It includes the wearied, the worried, the anxious, the depressed, the perplexed, the discouraged, the sinful. The amount of mental and emotional suffering in the world cannot be exaggerated. The number of persons who destroy themselves annually because life has become intolerable; the multitudes who follow after Christian Science and other cults which promise peace of mind; the tens of thousands who take “the rest cure” in sanitariums; the millions who seek diversion and selff orgetfulness in drugs, intoxicants, and extravagant amusements these all bear witness to the far-reaching sway of unhappiness. The causes are numerous, sometimes found in external circumstances, and sometimes in psychological conditions. In part, they are due to the monotony of modern industry; in other part, to defective education in the home, the school, and the church; and, in yet other part, to the rapid pace of modern life, which gives very few an opportunity to compose themselves. Some of this misery is psychopathic, a matter for experts highly trained in the methods of psychoanalysis. Most of it may be relieved, however, by the “healing personality” of a sympathetic pastor who has the imagination to understand in how many ways the spirit of man may be burdened; and the patience to listen while the heart pours out that which has been too long repressed; and the wisdom to make helpful suggestion concerning the attainment of peace and self-control. The nature of these suggestions will vary greatly, for different problems require different solutions. When poverty is the real source of trouble the pastor must do all in his power to find employment, or, if that is impossible, to provide for permanent relief, enlisting the interest of all persons and institutions directly concerned. When the case is one of domestic unhappiness in which husband and wife are alienated, appeal, exhortation, rebuke may all be in order, according as the facts show that one or both are PASTORAL VISITING 289 culpable. No more difficult problem ever comes to the pastor than this, and, as a rule, he will do well to take with him a wise and patient layman for advice and counsel. If the troubled be young people who have blundered through ignorance or lack of self-mastery, the case is one for sympathetic reproof and constant watchfulness in the future. And if the case be one of moral “obliquity on the part of a mature person in the church, the pastor may find it necessary to speak as the voice of conscience, both of the sinner and the church. But we must say again that no set of rules can be laid down for handling any pastoral problem. Only common sense, imagination, and sympathy can teach us what to say or do. The spiritual welfare of the church membership may be increased by the pastor who emphasizes, both in the pulpit and his calling, the value of daily prayer and meditation. The discipline of Christian Science requires that a considerable portion of time each day shall be devoted to the deliberate culture of the sense of well-being by uncritical reflection upon the affirmations of “Science and Health.” This practice more than anything else accomplishes the alleged “cures” of this body. But anyone who will spend at least twenty minutes each day in religious meditation, closing the mind to that which disturbs and annoys, and filling it with that which is peaceful and holy by reading worthy devotional literature and engaging in prayer, will find his mental, moral, and physical health improving. An old monk long ago called this “practicing the Presence of God.” And there is no way of truly reviving the church except by cultivating this old habit. d. The Unevangelized. A final group which has special claims upon the pastor’s time consists of those who are unevangelized. The term is a broad one, embracing not merely the unchurched, but the unconverted, and all who have never ventured into the deep places of Christian experience, whether members of the church or not. Their names will compose the pastor’s “Personal Work List,” and none but 290 THE PASTORAL OFFICE himself and God will see it. These must be cultivated persistently and lovingly, though with tact and common sense.

There should be no nagging, yet there must be constant pursuit which never abandons the holy chase. Let the pastor angle for these souls as the fisherman angles for the wary trout. He should be tactful, yet at times be ready to risk a blunder by bold adventuring. This work must go on month after month,.intensified, perhaps, during special meetings, but not abandoned when meetings are done.

BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR FURTHER STUDY W. A. Quayle, The Pastor-Preacher.

Charles E. Jefferson, The Minister as Shepherd.

Washington Gladden, The Christian Pastor.

F. J. McConnell, The Preacher and the People.

John T. Stone, In the Footsteps of a Pastor.