The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-01-21
CHI U RICH w OR X.
REV. s. CRANE, D. D.

ly speaking, the work OF the cnurchT
w kind of work is distinctively
church work? We may obtain
better apprehension of the true an
swer to this question, perhaps, if we
first answer it negatively we first
notice few things that are not dis
tinctively church work.
The building of house of worship
for instance, is not, strictly speaking,
church work. 1t is important and Of
ten necessary work, but it is not in
of itself church work. 1t may be
done and yet really no church work be
done. If the work stops when the
house is built, as is sometimes the case,
nothing that can be called distinctively
church work is done. The building OF
the house is preparatory to the work
of the church, but it is not that. 1t is
getting ready to do something, BUTT is
not doing anything.
Again, raising funds to ''run the
church, }" securing the money to pay the
minister and the other expenses of the
church, is not distinctively church
work. 1t is necessary to the work of
the church, but it is not that. 1t makes
church work possible, but it is not
church work. 1t is the "sinews Of
war;" but it is not war. And yet peo-
pie seem to think sometimes that that
is about all there is of it. To get money
enough to run the church is all there
is to do. If this is accomplished every
thing is accomplished. Hence men
will take pew in church, or sign a
subscription paper, and think that is all
that is required of them. They seldom
attend church or do anything else in or
for the church. They seem to think
their work is done when they have paid
their subscription or pew rent. Indeed,
in doing this they seem to think some
times that they have done something
very Northumberland that puts
the church under great obligations to
them and ought to give them a high
seat in glory, when in fact they have
done absolutely nothing, in and of itself
considered; for if all should do as
they do, there would be no church and
not the least good done by all their
money. If all should give money and
stop there, the church would be as
powerless as though it had no money
and of course would cease to be. Sc
curing money, therefore, to run the
church, is not church work;-it is only
paving the way for the doing of that
work.
Once again, the getting up of social
entertainments to raise money for the
church is not church work. These en-
tertainments are sometimes helpful
and often necessary in the present con-
dition of the church, but they have no
right to be dignified by the name of
church work. They constitute very
much of the work the modern church
does, but it is not for the doing of this
work that the church of Jesus Christ
is in the world.
The sociability of the church is very
important. The church is the result of
the social instinct applied to religion.
When hearts are touched by the spirit
of the Gospel, their social instinct Gre
ates within them the desire to COM
mune and work with each other relig-
iously, and the church is the result.
Hence the social life of the church is
very important, and the social force of
the church one to be carefully Guilt
waited. But it is to be cultivated in
the interest of religion and not merely
for its own sake, and especially must it
not take precedence of religion. The
sociability of the church must be for
the religion, and not the religion for the
sociability. When church is run only
for sociability it ceases to be church,
and is no more worthy to be called such
than any other social club.
But when some money making
scheme is mixed with the sociability,
the tendency is very strong to put the
religion in the background. The So
liability and the money making to-
gether crowd all thoughts of religion
out of the minds of the people. Hence
in the modern church we have very
much financial sociability that contrib
utes nothing to, if it does not absolute
ly retard, the real work of the church.
We have a multitude of devoted
women whose whole energy is ex-
pended in getting up money-making
They really want to
do something for the church, and see
else that they can do, or they |
are forced to do this, because the church !
is too poor to run without it, or the |
men of the church are too
stingy to furnish the money. While |
we have not few women as we'll as |
men who take no interest in anything |
connected with the church except this
work, they care nothing for the re-
ligious work of the church, but they
are "on hand" when some social
scheme is on foot, and |
E.. = 49,