Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-10-03
The Decay of Evangelism.

Time was when every Methodist
preacher, whatever else he might not
be, was an evangelist. Very
frequently he was innocent of Greek
and Hebrew, did not know the diff
ference between subjective" and
collective" and could not even
make a definite and satisfactory
statement of the "five points" of
Calvanism. But in spite of these
defects he had learned the holy art of
catching the attention and stirring
the consciences of his fellow-men. AS
Bishop Haygood recently said, in the
Wesleyan Advocate, he could "carry
through an old fashioned, rock break
ing revival from beginning to end"
To have confessed his incompetency
at this point would have been to dis
credit himself in the eyes of his
brethren.
Weare panied TO believe that this
gift of evangelism is dying out.
Very often we meet with Methodist
preachers who are free to say that
they are not revivalists. The causes
for this state of things are many. In
the first place, there has been gen.
eral advance in public intelligence,
and corresponding demand for an
increase and improvement in the
teaching function of the pulpit. The
preacher no longer has it for his chief
business to arouse and fertilize the
emotional natures of his hearers; he
must also instruct and inform their
judgments. Preaching to them two
or three times every week, it is im>
possible that he should appeal direct.
ly and powerfully to their sensibili-
ties rs he might if he came before
them only once in month or a
quarter. But after all concessions Of
this sort have been made, it is still
true that whole gospel, faithfully
proclaimed by sincere and devout
man, will not fail to do its proper
work Of convicting and saving men.
If any preacher finds his ministry to
to be barren of fruit, it is time for
him to inquire whether he has not
been slack at some point in the
delivery of his message,
We also think that the growing
custom Of securing the services of a
professional evangelist has had a
most deleteriOus effect. The people
in many places seem to have reached
the conclusion that their pastors are
not able to hold forth the word OF
life 50 as to make it the power OF
God unto salvation, and they, there
fore, insist on sending off for an ex.
pert, even though both in the range
of his knowledge and in the tone OF
his life he be of inferior quality
There are evangelists and evangelists
Some are worthy OF all praise-de'
wont, modest, unselfish. Let then
be hOnored for their own sake anC
for their works sake. Others are no
fit to stand in the pulpit-ignorant
rude, avaricious. That such meI
should presume to set up as censor
of morals and teachers of religion, il
nothing less than a scandal. Tha
any man who supposes vulgarity Il
be wit, and mistakes brutal coarse
ness for fearless honesty, SHOULD TAX,
it upon himself to play the part of al
evangelist, is not to be tolerated.
More than this, the pastors every
where must resume their prOpe
places as the authorized leaders Q
the Lords host. Instead of mental
ing and bewailing their incapacit.
for the kind of work that we hav
J been considering, let them turl
afresh to solid and instructive read
ing, to the protracted and systemati
study of Gods word, to earnest
special prayer, TO diligent pastora
visiting, to the full discharge of ever
duty, and the full and intelligent us
of every opportunity that comes t
hand. So doing they will find tina
their labor is not in vain in tn
Lord. What they need is NOR
conservation, more zeal, more fidelit
s in holy living, more appreciatio
oAhe .erau privilege of working i