The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-04-15
TH0UGHTSbo
AOHM
MORALS MANNERS
&OHM
By A CLERGYMAN.

The chief weakness of the church today
Is in the smallness of its actual working
force. Take out of the average church
twenty women and half as many men and
what would be left of it? Very little
hardly enough TO sit for photograph
The foremost duty of every pastor is to
increase the workers and decrease the
shirkers In his parish. How? By max
ing each member of the church RESPONSE
BILE for something. Make each a major
general. Remember that responsibility is
the great educator. Here is young wife
left suddenly a widow. Before her
loss she seemed hopelessly frivolous.
She dated time from ball to
ball and lived for gaiety and
pleasure. She farmed out her chill
dren nor Irish help and sauntered from
dinner-table to theater and from theater
to bed. But now, with the care of her
children's education and entrance into life
thrust upon her, see how prudent and
sagacious she becomes. how compre-
hensive in views-how sober in conduct.
How much intellect and character she
surprises her old friends with What eff
fected the changer Responsibility Let
IL be understood then, that when con-
yerts come into the church they come not
only to be saved but to be saviors. Give
each member q function and magistracy.
Do as the bees dosing the drones out
of the hive. Create an almost hive OF
Christian work. Make doing the text of
being. Oh. that the church might be in
oculated with the beautiful contagion of
apostleship.
Some theological graduates, when they
get their parchment diploma, only add
sheepskin to q sleeps head.
LET the preachers today speak the
truth and shame the devil. 1t has been
eagely said that the minister who is care
ANYBODY. People who carry their bosom
Gins to church with them will quite likely,
without some pungent preaching, take
their pets back home with them.
SOME one remarks that the church is too
often hidden under the bushel of atten-
ton to secular affairs. Only spare time is
given to the church. II, instead of this,
Christians would decline this chance to
make money, or that call to enjoy the
world, on the ground that they hadn't
time for these worldly matters. they
would impress the world with sense of
their honesty and reality in the
Christian life. This would give the
church an advertisements which it sadly
needs As it is, Christians are too apt to
give their time TO the world and their
leisure 20 the Lord.
Earnestness is as mighty in religion as
1t is in the world. In all departments of
human endeavOr success reserves its
crown for earnestness. Just so in religion,
Critics and unbelievers stand and ask:
How much are these Christians willing
and ready 10 sacrifice for their faith? Ac-
cording to the answer they get they are
weakened or confirmed in their position
outside of the church.
A church exists for a two-fold purpose:
To build up believers into the image Of
Jesus, and to disciple those within its
reach. The church which best subserves
this double mission is the best church.
But the church which resolves itself into
a mutual admiration society; which val
ues elegant surroundings IN themselves
and not as means to the grand end of the
religious life, and as the appropriate Access
sories of worship; which finds aesthetic
pleasure in fine music and pOeti-
cal preaching, and is disturbed
by a call to work-such church is
dead in life. 1t should be buried before
it becomes a stencil in the nOstrils of the
community. Ills gross delusion," re-
marked Guizot, ''to believe in the SOW
ereign power of political machinery"
The same thing may be said OF ecclesiast-
ical machinery. As, according to Sir
William Jones, "men, high-minded men,"
constitute a state; so men devoted N
mind, heart and purse to the service Of
God and humanity, can alone compose a
church. The world itself respects church
Just in proportion to its enthusiastic de-
vOtion 10 its wOrk-its evident sincerity
and zeal. And in this God and the world
are agreed. A selfish, lazy church is a
contradiction of terms. Such church is
In fact a synagogue of Satan. For all
good purposes it is
As idle As a painted ship
Upon q painted