The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-12-05

yet grosser practice of "letting out " the
church as concert and lecture hall, or
for such uncomfortable degradation as
may be included under the name "wax
works." enticirg the public to help pay
debts the people ought to pay, or not con.
tract. These things seem to us to be just
as surely possible bottiug out from our
church life the image and superscription
of the Son of God, and to be rendering
less and less probable the continuance Of
the church as saving, ennobling infu-
ence in modern society. Aud within the
realm of worship there are similar de-
structive Influences at work, which, also,
we merely mention. The use of rollick.
ing "revival" songs, that teach little
worthy to be learned, that emasculate the
gospel story, that involve trivial and
worthless tunes the irreverent and ir-
responsible work of choirs which disgrace
the service of the Divine Being; and,
above all, the eccentric, Christless preach
ing which wanders everywhere for ma
terial, and too seldom to him sin whom
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead."
The combined work of these destruc
tive influences has brought about the fol-
lowing conditions: II is sine qua non
that church shall be socisble; it is
often the first question asked, Is your
church social one ?" It is the unpard IN
able sin if you have been six times to the
church, and no one has nodded to you.
Ah," you say, "no such church for me.
It is too rich and too cold-it has too
many diamond earrings in it." And
the more active church is socially, the
more olive }" it is believed to be.
Now let us turn this matter over and
look on the other side. In the first place,
deny the premise that to "be sociable I"
is the first thing to think of in church.
This idea of sociability has become
perfect nightmare in the church life of
this countryside doctrine that if you are
a stranger and 60 to church the first
thing for you to do is to watch for bow,
and fird out how much organized socia-
bility there is. The first question in the
divine order il, "Do I find the Savior
honored here ?" and "Does this feed my
SOU ?" Now, il you cease attending
there because no one mods, and yet you
acknowledge the service and the sermon
glorified Christ and fed your soul, say
you have taken false position, and have
made the frightful mistake of assuming
that the church exists for social pur-
poses primarily.
1t does not 1t exists First, to Clio.
rify Christ, the Son of God; second, to
proclaim his gospel to the world, and
call men to repentance and renewal (;
third, to feed the religious life of be-
levers by causing them to seek more
and more to live Gin Christi" fourth, to
comfort all in sorrow, to cheer the faint,
to speak words of strength to the tempted,
to rejoice with the strong.
But you say, oman is social being;
he must find friends" So he must and
SO he will unless he holds off. There is
always social life in church, as l have
said, by necessity; there never was
church without it, and you will by de-
grees work into friendships if you show
yourself approachable. But the ideal
church subordinates the social to the
spiritual; does not try to organize the
social element as such lets it take care
of itself, and seeks only to draw people
into the work of Christ; and work of
Christ means brotherhood, the commun.
ion of saints
The disease fastened on our American
church life is Yankeeism; the idea that
you must be "chstty !" and if everybody
is "chatty," and the church life buzzes
along With little sociables, and parties,
,apd, ,suppsrs, and entertainments, and
pody has a jolly time, that church is
|ht-l lenty of life in that church.
sn't one of your "proud, stuck up
es" l here use the actual words
rs), "where you go in and out for
and nobody speaks to you, and
nothing but the service going
call this Y.nkeeism in church
without asking whether it iep-
true or false principle, only
gain the Christly ideal of the
emphasizing certain words ::
also loved the church, and gave
for it /; that he might sanctify and
with the washing of at, r. by
that he might present it to him
|90n glorious church, not having spot, or
wrinkle. or apy such thing: Init that IL