The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-17

service, old rich Methodist, a backslder
came to him and asked him where heaven was
and he said: "Up here on the hill is poor
widow, down sick with the fever and
with her child sick, too, and they haven't
anything to eat in the house, and nobody
to help them. Now, you 60 and get a wagon
load of provisions and take it up there, and hire
a cook and a nurse for her, and then read the
twenty third Psalm and pray with her, and you
will find heaven easy enough" Well he did it,
and he came back the next day and said to the
preacher: 'T saw it, after l had done oil you
told me- God and the angels seemed to come
down in that house and was in heaven for
more than fifteen minutes Brethren, heaven
is all around you and about you.
tell you the time has come when we ought to
lay aside our little differences and 60 to work for
Christ. When l wrote to Brother McConnsl
about coming here, said to him "Get all the
pastors in the city to help US save souls" Broth
er, I'm Methodist. My mother and father and
all my relatives were Methodists. | was born
one, just like | was born Jones, and if there is
anything wrong about that am not to blame
for it, If the mother of that Baptist preacher
over there had snapped babies with my mother
when was baby, l expect would have been a
Baptist preacher, and he bowling Methodist
Laughter. l am Methodist, born and bred,
and amt ashamed Of it, neither, and / amt to
blame for it. want to say this, that when the
Methodist Church or poity says / can't 20 where
please, and with whom please, to save souls
to Christ. Ill say, "Down with your isms; !
to any church, and it would try to keepme from
doing good, I'd cut loose from it in a minute.
Don't forget that lAppiause Christian fra
ternity-that's what We want am glad we
have all classes Of Christians, so that no sinner
perdition in hunting for chance TO join
couldn't find one to suit him. Some want
a church in which they can Dance play
cards and drink whisky. Well, can find 1t
for 'em; but be careful, brother, when you get
on that train that you don't go to hell. l want
fo Gadf md oil rr1pk linz To plo md
keep my seat till / get there; no little branch
lines for me. Laughter. l was pastor my
self once. an average pastor, guess, and | am
going to talk little to average pastors.
guess you Indianapolis preachers are all above
the average; this don't mean you. Look here.
1t does take more square religion for pas
tor to sit by and see another preacher have big
ger meetings than he does, than for most any
him have big crowds but he would rather have
'em himself. If there is drop of sectarian
blood in my views, want lancet popped in
and the muddy stuff let out like church pride
well enough. wish us Methodists had more of
it. II We had il like the Presbyterians, we
would pay our preachers better: and if like the
Baptists, we would stick together better. Take
them three churches and you can make mighty
good one out of them. Take Presbyterian re-
spectability and generosity; Methodist git-up-and
gitativeness, and Baptist fidelity. and we would
make things hum. Methodist fire. Baptist wa
ter and Presbyterian hold-on to what-youve-got
is what we want. Great laughter.
There is big work for the church of God in
this country, and it is time for us to roll up our
sleeves and go to doing it Why, in Baltimore
saw members of all the churches working to
save souls, and you couldn't tell one from the
other to save your life. Lets not fight one
another, but fight the devil, just like an old
colored preacher said down South: IF all us
Methodists would unite there won't be anybody
left to fight except the devil and the Baptists"
He was right about the devil, bnt wrong about
<ln De- fow 4haxy hn1x>t
work. ] want to see every gun of Christ turned
on the devil There are some of your old mus
kets up here that haven't been fired since the
war. Moral muskets mean. 1t is just as
essential to discipline a church and open the
back door it is to preach the gospel and open
the front door. When ! was pastor opened
the front door and said: Come into the church,
and all OF you that are in and amt going to do
sing few verses while you're going out
We don't want you" Laughter.] Look at em
in this town! There's a rich old Methodist
brother who rents house for whisky shop
What would you think of Union soldier who
would run a powder magazine and furnish pow
der to the rebels? Well, that is just what this
Methodist is doing giving ammunition to kill off
his own forces. Every Methodist here who rents
a house for a saloon, or house of illfame, it is
an eternal disgrace to the church he belongs to
and the pastor who allows him in it. Ap-
plause
The best meeting ever attended was one in
which the pastor turned out twenty five of the
leading members leadng-yes, leading the rest
to hell. Pillars they call 'em, but they ought to
spell it 'p-i-ll ow-s, for they something for
the rest to Icy their heads on and go to sleep.
might let poor fellow run that way with the
devil awhile, and still keep him in my church.
but wouldn't let rich | couldn't afford
to do it. Brother, tell you if / want 10 see any
body go to heaven it is the poor white and col
ored people. who lived poor and died poor; and
wouldn't it be awful to send them to he'll after
all thats If l ever made anybody walk the
chalk in my church it was the rich fellows.
Didn't l use to make fhem old judges and coll
onels and majors sizz Laughter Half of
them fellows amt worth killing. That Gods
truth. Get one of 'em in your church and he is
kept busy fighting the devil away from himself,
and if ever he stops to spit on his hands, the
devil will get him, sure. Git, you old sinner.
you cussing colonel aud beer-guzzling major!
But you'll find plenty of preachers in this world
that won't get after you so guess it makes no
hunt down every member that disgraces it and
put him out--that's it. Take the leading church
officials of this town and they represent mighty
little real piety. I'd rather have one good work
ing Christian than pen full of them. They've
got money. and that's all they have got and
when that's all mans got he's the poorest dog
in the world. Now, suppose you'll say Pm us.
ing slang, but amt; dog is a Scriptural word.
People say Jones uses slang, when he's only us
ing Scripture | understand you turning to Mr.
Smal) was rebuked the other day for using the
word ''buzzard." Luck to it, old fellow, it's q
Scriptural bird. Iwant you all to keep in mind
all the slang use. and tell me about it when
am through here. don't notice it, Sometimes
go ints town and pick up the express
sions there and use them. Well, that's
not my slang; that's your slang. JUST try to
get down to your level. that's all. have gone
down in the mud to save some poor drunkard..
and have got some of the mud on me- A few
days ago / went into round-house and saw
nice, clean, bright looking engine there--bat the
man told me it bad not been out of the shop for
six months. Pretty great big mognl
came in. all covered with grease and dirt, but il
had just hauled big train 150 miles That's it.
If could stay in the round house would be as
nice as any of you. Those round-house preach
ers all look nice--nice white cravats, kid gloves
and everything but, brethren, you go out on the
road to hell and pick up the perishing, as have
done. and you won't be so nice. For the first