The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-11-03

many who preach Christ and Him cruci-
fled till the audience come down from
five hundred to two hundred, and from
two hundred TO fifty and from fifty 20
twenty, and from twenty down TO q
little more than the sexton, who is paid
to be present and lock up at the close.
There is a great deal of talk about
Christ and Him crucitied which is can't
meaning nothing and less than nothing.
1t is Christ and Him crucitied as an Om-
nipOtent sympathy applied to all the
wants and woes of our nature, doe
trine that will help in all domestic, all
social, all political, all national strug-
gle, Christ for the parlor, Christ for
the kitchen, a Christ for the nursery,
Christ for the store, Christ for the
bank, Christ for the farm, Christ for
every duty, for every grief, for every
perturbation. People will largely OF
sparsely attend the church in proper
tiOn as they get spiritual help. Small
attendance means small help;
medium attendance, medium
help; large attendance, large help.
If there be famine in city and three
depOts of bread one depot with a hUnd-
red lOaves for distribution, another with
five hundred lOayes, another with ten
thousand lOaves, the depot with one hun
dred lOaves will have some applicants,
the depot with five hundred lOaVes many
more, the depot of ten thousand, thrOngs,
thrOngs My brethren of the ministry
we must somehow get our shoulders un-
der the peoples burden every Sunday
and give them good stout lift. And
we can do it. We have it all our own
way. 1t is great pity if, with the floor
clear and no Interruptions, we can not
in the course of an hour get our hymn,
or our prayer, or our sermon, under
enough momentum to swing somebody
clear out of his troubles and sins.
Ministerial Incidence also clears out
| the hearers from many church. Hear
ers, intelligent from the multitude of
newspapers and active association in
the business world, will not sit on the
Sabbath and listen to platitudes. Audi
ences will not gather to sermons that
have in them no facts, no information,
no stirring power, no adaptation, no
| fire. The pew will not listen
to the pulpit unless, at least on
the subject that day under dis
cussiOn, the pulpit knows more than the
| pew. Many clergymen lose the audien-
| ces through sheer laZineSs. They saun
ter about during the week, lOunging in
paTlOTs under the name of pastoral Yisi-
tatiOn, and gadding about the village or
the city on errands of complete nothing
ness, or wrap their brains around cigars
and smoke them up, and then on Friday
or Saturday put together few crude
thoughts, and then on Sabbath wonder
that Christ and Him crucified does not
bring large audiences, and on Monday
sit down and write Jeremiads for the re-
ligiOus periodicals on the decadence of
church attendance. Depend upon it,
people will not 90 to church as mere
matter of duty. There are not a thousand
people in Brooklyn who will rise on Sab
bath morning and say: 1T is command
ed that we go to church. 1t is our duty
that we 90 to church. Therefore, | am
going to church" The vast multitude
of people Whr go to church go because
they like it, while another multitude do
not go because they do not like it. l am
not speaking about what the world ought
to be, but about what the world is. TAX
ing things as they are we must make the
centripetal power of our Church might
ier than the centrifugal. We must
make our churches such magnets that
the man who stays away shall be un-
easy and say: 81 wish l had gone. L
wonder if it's too late to dress and go
there? 1t is eleven o'clock; now they
are singing. 1t is half-fast eleven; now
they are preaching; they are about to
disperSe. 1t is most time for the family
TO be home" When it comes to be un-
derstOod that by the architecture, and
the music, and the sociality, and the
discourse we are making our churches
the most attractive places in all the
earth, we shall want twice as many
churches, and twice as large, and then
they will not half accommodate the
people.
Much of the trouble complained of
arises from the misapprehensiOn in
Christian families as to which of the
sons ought to- become ministers. John
is very keen, bright boy. Make him
merchant. He will gather a fortune
very rapidly, and grow up among the
Grinnells and the Lawrences. George
has conspicuous cerebral development,
and, phrenolOgically, his language is
large. Make him a lawyer. He will
soon argue his way to the front and
stand among the Mansfields and the
StOryS. Henry has unusual girth at the
chest, and is military in his step and
bearing. Send him to West Point, We
shall live to see him brigadier general.
William is always sketching ships, and
understands vessel as well as an old
sailor. Make him a ship-builder. His
vessel will Outwrestle the Caribbean
whirlwind. Aleck has always had weak
digestion, and ever since that malarial
attack his spleen is enlarged, and he
cries easily and is morbid about the fu-
ture, and sits by the hour looking at
one figure in the carpet, and his man
ners are so delicate and soft and
heavenly. Make him minister. Great
mistake If you have any son you want
to cOnsecrate to the preaching of the
Gospel, take the most wide-awake, the
most robust, the most intense, the most
brawny, the most brilliant, the most ir-
resistible, the most potent. The most
tremendous work on earth is open be-
fore that profession whose mission is
the lifting of the nations toward God
and preparing them for heaven. Look
in upon an ecclesiastical court of any
denomination. First you find the man
of large common sense and earnest
look, and they are by education of mind,
and piety of heart, and holiness of life,
fitted for their work, while here and
there you find group of men who fill
you with amazement at the fact that
such semi-imbecility could get any pull
pits to preach in. If a man has no
qualifications by nature as well as by
grace for the Gospel ministry, no lay
ing on of hands by Presbytery or Con-
ference can Ordain him. Such man
will always be wOe-begOnish on the de-
cadence of church attendance. Frogs
do not croak in running water;
only in stagnant. We all need
N frachan mn IpaopIa triad