irer. The pulpit has been
ever the place of direction and, still more truly, of encouragement.
The Church has increased with the increase of the Preacher. Shall we
venture to prophesy? With his decrease shall come the decrease of the
Church. No Church has ever flourished in which the power of the pulpit
has declined. Primitive Methodism cannot afford to underestimate the
importance of preaching. _Her very life is in it_!

So the subject of preaching is of first importance. This must be
recognised by the preacher, but not by him alone. It must be
recognised by the Church as well. The preacher is prone to put upon
the place and work of his pulpit much the same estimate as is put upon
them by his people. There is one Church in this land in which the
people think little of preaching. In some great sanctuaries of that
Church it is a common occurrence for the congregation to leave the
building as the liturgical portion of the service comes to an end and
the preacher takes his place. The preaching in that body, although it
has among its ministers men who are among the pulpit princes of the
age, is speaking generally, a sorrow to all who long for the coming of
the Kingdom of God. "Like priest, like people," we sometimes say. We
might say with almost equal truth, "Like people, like preacher." Are
there no signs of such a belittling of preaching in our congregations
as may have the effect of lowering the preacher's ideals of his
labours, or, at least, of damping his enthusiasm and spoiling the joy
with which his heart should always run over? Do we never hear it said
that "it does not so much matter in _our_ circuit whether we have a
preacher or not"? Have we never been told that really the man most
needed is "a visitor," or "an organiser," or "someone who can raise the
wind"? "We want a sociable man," says the steward of one station. "We
want a public man who will make his mark on the civic and political
life of the town," say the brethren of another. We recognise that the
gifts of men differ. We see that each, in his own order, may serve and
build up the Kingdom of God, but to rank the business of preaching as
second to any form of service; to care less for the pulpit than for the
class-room, the social, the entertainment, the bazaar, is a fatal
mistake. You may make the Church a successful business concern, an
interesting and delightful social circle; you may make it a pleasant
and intellectual society whi