The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-03-18
About Preachers and Preaching.

duct a religious service for a colored
congregation. They did good work
and it was highly appreciated. The
old leader of the church made the
closing prayer and prayed with ear
nestness and tender sympathy for "the
two young up starts" as he innocent
| ly called them in his prayer. 1t got to
be neighborhood joke. "What was
an upstart but parvenu?" The old
negro prayed not better than he ielt'
but possibly better than we at first
sight are likely to think. Milton In
Book II, of paradise Lost" makes
Satan speak as follows:
From them I go
This uncouth errand sole; and one iot an
Myself expose with lonely steps 10 treao
The un founded deep. and through the Vo'o
To search % with wandering quest place FORE
Should be. and. by copcurring signs, ere now
Crented vast and round, place 3i olinS ,,,o cod
| I'm the purieus OF Heaven, snd tnerein piaceo
A race OF upstart creatures, to supply
Perhaps our vacant room.
To get down to bottom facts, we are
all, according to Satan's notion at
least, a race of upstarts. Let us take
the meaning at its root and make the
best Of it.
Iconfess for fondness Of this idea
of an upstart ministry. It's in the
air. It's the very spirit of the age-of
our times-oars ION whom the ends OF
the world sTe come"
God is no longer waiting-no lrrev-
erence meant-for the slower processes
of familiar methods in use for ages in
the churches but is laying his hand
suddenly on this, that and the other
one putting him at work and forcing
him to the front in the great business
of saving men. Men with little intel
lectual preparation and furniture,
knowing little except the science OF
salvation and yet a great deal about
that, are under God doing a work Tor
Christ and his church to-day which 1t
really seems world remain undone out
for their labor and service.
"In Darkest England" is suggestive
of an upstart ministry.
One of the best things l ever heard
Sam Jones say I have never seen re-
ported among his sayings or sermons
I heard him once when he was speakJ
ing in what at first seemed like hal
apologetic way about his preaching
especially its usually criticised pecu-
liarities. "Oh Brethren,' said the
preacher, in tender, pathetic tones,
ooh Brethren, don't think hard or
strange of my way of preaching. It's
my way; I can't preach any other
way. / have my way, and your
preachers have their way. They can't
preach like me, and I can't preach like
them, and I aUoulcl,a't T could. we
NAV criticise him and such as he as
much as we choose, the people are CO.
ing to hear them. are going to come
away-some to scof to be sure, but
some to think and pray.
There is no doubt of it at all that g
decided reaction in favor of extempo
raneous preaching has recently set IN
both in England and America. This
method of delivering sermons is ne
longer regarded as "fippant, shallow
off.hand, extemporaneous dribble,
but as coming nearest to ideal perfec
ton.
The Rev. Upham, (M. E. Church,
!. is quoted as saying that recent ex
animation of more than dozen cata
logues of the leading theological semi
naries of this country revealed the fac
that they all make provision for train
ling their students in extemporaneou
preaching. ut has come to pass II
the popular mind that u man who can
not utter the simple message of saliva
ton without having resources to pill
of manuscript can scarcely be entitled
to take rank as a real preacher.
Let us have in answer to our praye
. that God would send forth laborers in
/ to his field, white unto the harvest
, just such instruments as he choose
: and just such as he puts the seal of hi
approval upon. DR.. Dryasdust has hi
field and his work. Let him have
and keep it. He wont be in the wa.
: of Gods unointed one to do grea
work, unless he puts himself in tn
way. And for the matter of that, no
, very long after he shall have done SC
: II Kings vii -
This is Il practical age Of ours. Th
people never needed the gospel more
: in the name of the Lord and for tn
S glory of God let them have it. Firs
of all, the gospel, pure and simple