Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-17
The Gospel for Poor and Rich.

Rev. D. Morgan, pastor of the Clinton
avenue M. E. church, preached a sermon
yesterday morning from the text found in
Matthew xi:5. The gospel among the poor
and rich was the theme. The preacher
said:
The greatest evidence that the gospel is
divine is the fact stated by Christ to Johns
disciples that the gospel is preached to
the poor. If Christ had been human and
his gospel human invention he would not
have been found teaching the woman at
the we'll, or spending 30 much time preach
ing to publicans and sinners, but he would
have sought the scribes and Pharisees and
tried to convert the leading men of the
Jews.
First, the mission of the church
is to reach the masses.
Are we doing this? Where are our
churches located? Look at a map of St.
Paul or Minneapolis and you will find the
mass of churches built within radius of
half mile. Do the poor live within that
charmed circle. Do our board of educa-
ton locate our schools in the same man
ner? 1t is true We have few mission
chapels scattered through the city to reach
| the poor, but one of the churches within
| the circle has cost more than all the mis-
sion chapels put together.
In New York there is one church to
every 1000 inhabitants in upper tOaUn,
while only one to every 10000 in loloer
town. 1t can be said of this city what has
been said of New York, that the gospel is
preached to the people almost exactly in
proportion to their worldly prosperity.
| Again within that circle which We have
drawn on the map, We find the best
talent in the pulpits and choirs that the
churches can afford. While in our mis-
sions among the poor We send young men
and boys to preach the great tidings. We
spend tens of thousands to make our
churches attractive to the upper class and
| only few hundred to reach the lower.
AS my passionate closes by Limitation at
conference, you are asking, that one of the
best preachers of the conference shall be
sent here. Are you asking the same for
the mission chapel on the flats? While
you are planning to beautify this church
and spend hundreds of dollars to make it
attractive, are you planning like
Improvement for the attraction
of the poor in your mission?
Understand me, 60 not complain that
We are making our churches attractive
to the better class, or that we should cease
our efforts for a moment to save them, but
that while we are spending thousands to
save them we are only spending few
| hundred to reach the masses. Do not love
the richless but love the poor more.
Second-How can we reach the masses:
1. By building churches in their midst,
| as we do school-houses, pleasant, beautiful,
attractive churches.
2. By sending the best talent we have
to these churches. Christ went himself
Paul, the chief of the Apostles was sent to
the Gentiles.
Oar missionary societies ask for the best
talent the church has to preach to the
heather. Do We not need at last equal
talent to reach our lower classes? While
our talented missionaries 60 out into the
streets, market places and highways, like
their master and disciples did,to ''seek and
save" the heather, we in this christian
city let that work be done by few
fanatics or ignoramuses while we are
preaching in our half-empty churches.
When will our churches realize their mis-
sion of carrying the gospel to the poor.