What Prominent City Churches Require

William Henry Harrison Murray, writing over 125 years ago from the pulpit of Park Street Church in Boston:

“The administration of a prominent city church demands that the pastor possess the rare powers of tact, judgment, general ability; the qualities that make a preacher, plus those that make a statesman–the ability to both anticipate and provide for future contingencies.”

–H. Crosby Englizian, Brimstone Corner, 229, quoting Murray, Park Street Pulpit, 16.

The comment is succinct but worth pondering, particularly in an age when Christians are reversing past trends and embracing ministry in and to the city.