The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-10-04
THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH.
Rev. Wallace Nuttfng Suggests . starr
ling Innovation in Church Work.

Rev. Wallace Nutting Suggests . Start
ling Innovation in Church Work.
Tho Seattle Ministerial Association held
meeting yesterday at the Chamber Of Commerce.
There was large attendance and the meeting
was especially sgnalized by al address read by
the Rev. Wallace Nu.ting on "The Institutional
Church"
Mr. Nutting presented the idea that the
church in its broader sense is the entire body OF
the loyal subjects of the Kingdom of God. The
gospel will save the individual, but the church
will direct the power OF the gospel toward each
Human being The sweetest token OF loving
supervision of the world is the replacement OF
necessities lost by sin. Just the same as every
child Eas right to be educated, so has every
human being the right to be loved. Jesus Christ
came into the world to bring back the love, the
fatherhood, motherhood and BROTHERHOOD that it
had lost and without which humanity 10 u fail
ure and the wrath of avenging God is and
will be swift against that recreant church that
does not do its highest and best duty. Upon
these lines Mr.. Nutting argued that the best
human effnr. to meet the cry of blind, untaught
nature is the institutional church. He called
it church that was willing to use
any righteous agency to redeem the
world Ii a brass baud, bowling alley,
sisters OF mercy or a Jonah's message, then use
them all Only the unthink.ng man will say
that preaching alone Is unnecessary. Jesus
thought otherwise and In his short earthly
career he used preaching and healing, wonder
working and social events, object teaching,
benevolent gifts, political relations and even
the awful spectacle of an execution to strike
the attention, melt the heart and enthrall the
souls OF men. The church that breaches at a
man once a week and then casts him out for q
week may save him but the chances are
against it.
The practical idea of the speakers talk was
that, If a.youag man came to a strange city and
49, - 49,
form him II It was proper place or not. He
would need friends and the church should pro-
vide them. In fact all OF his needs, educational,
physical. social, benevolent and devotional
should be conferred about the institutional
church. A man on the street is tired and thirsty
and wants rest aad refreshment; instead of the
necessity of going into the open saloon it ought
to be so that he could go into church near by
and find what he needed. He said that we look
down with scorn upon the benighted Oriental,
but he at least does not fail to place drinking
fountains at conspicuous places He thought
that if part Of the energy that was spent in
scolding men was spent in providing them with
drinking fountains the cause OF temperance
would receive mora honor. He suggested that
there should be fountain before every church
in the city. He thought it should be that
there could not be need from an intelligence
office to a wife of the right kind that the in
stitutional church could not meet. II both men
ana women found all these things in the church
they would be indeed likely to worship there
Mr. Nutting said he thought there should be
man and woman at the church all the time
to receive all who cared to come in for rest or
food, or Tor the purpose OF worship or reading
and that the church should be open all tho
time. The trouble with the churches thus far
is that they give so much provision and atten.
tion to those who need it so little while the
great masses who are in sore need OF the inst-
tutional church left to starve and rot spirit
uaily. People whose church is too holy for any
thing but prayer never carry much of their holt
ness into their lives. Men could not be saved
when they were met but they must be hunted
out Every house. alley, tenement, dive, hell,
must hear the life-compeiling word of Jesus
The church can never be successful until it
goes everywhere and uses every body. Mr. Nut
ting closed his absorbingly interesting address
by saying that Christ would never be seen in
the world until He was behold in the lovabie,
intense, business-like subjects of His Kingdom.
At the cotc.usion OF the address general
discussion took place, in which Rev. g. J.
Burchett said he thought that perhaps Mr. Nut
ting went a little too far Rev. X. +. Dunlap
discussed the practical side Of the idea. Mr..
Nutting concluded with the statement that in
the smaller towns he wanted big
church, and that as far as he was concerned,
under such circumstances he was willing to
surrender Congregationalism for the general
good. The Rev. NJ. /. Rugg, of the North Seat
tie Baptist church, closed the meeting with
prayer. The following ministers were present:
Rev. Horato Alling, Rev. d. Bagley. Rev. ].
Duncan, Rev. H. f. Dunlap, Rev. 5. Dell John
ston, Rev. George H. Lee, Rev. X. H. Moss, Rev.
J. j. Moss. Rev. NJ. G. Murphy, Rev. Wallace
Nntting. Rev. J. Shepard. Rev. NJ. l. Rugg. Rev.