Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-11-11
VIRGINIA BAPTISTS.
ANNUAL MEETING or THE GENERAL
ASSOCIATION IN ROANOKE.
Denominationai work Conducted by
Boards-What aPreacher Has To Do
Interesting Topics Discussed.
Especial telegram to the Dlsp ,tcnJ

few years ago only blacksmith-shop,
store, and a dwelling marked the classic
village Of big Lick" will prove one Of
moro than ordinary interest and i'm
portance. There were connected W IN this
general body at its meeting last year.
. district associations, S27 churches. w
ministers and 1901 members. For that
year. ending November !, 1892, there were
co.'s baptisms, and i0,O0S additions In AL
10 the churches. There were reported fiS
Sunday schools, 7.749 officers and teachers,
63, SOS scholars. 1901 scholars bapLiZed'
AMI sl2,7l0.l5 collected in the schools. me
total contributions OF the churches re-
ported last year were 1881, 1913. The
statistics for this year have not yet been
presented, but II is understood LAT de-
spite the financial depression OF the year
the exhibit viii be even better than -ast
year.
NO AUTHORITY.
This association has no ecclesiastical au-
thOrity whatever over the churches, bap-
tist church government being wholly con-
gTegational but is merely a missionary
body, composed OF delegates from the
churches met to deliberate about ana 10
promote the cause of missions and KIN
dred objects.
The General Association works through
the following boards: State Mission Board
located at Richmond, with Dr. Georse
cocner as president and William Ely
on. ESQ. as corresponding secretary lne
Educational Board located at Rlchmohu,
with DR. W. r. Hatcher as president anu
Hon. J. Taylor Ellyson as correspondins
secretary: the Sunday-School and Biple
Board. located at Petersburg. with pr' H.
w Battle as president and DR.. D. NJ
Pitcher as corresponding secretary the
Foreign Mission Board, located AT NoI
folk. with Dr. T. G. Jones as pfeSiuen'
and DR. A T.. owen as correspohhInS
retary: the Home-Mission Board. loca'eu
AT I.ynchburg. with DIR. J. ). rehA DO
president and c. j. Fleet as colrestUI Ill,
ing secretary; the Trustees OF the Miiiis-
ter Relief Fund. with T. ii. Elle''' hsq''
Of Richmond. as president; the commute
~ Co-operation. with J. Il. hontgoih-
cry. ESQ, OF Richmond, as chan
man. and the Trustees oi the
Orphanage. with DR.. w. Il. Hatcher as
president and Rev. George }. Hopuay az
superintendent The orphanase IL io'"'0O
at Salem
WILL MAKE REPORTS.
These boards and committees WIN inahe mar
reports to the General AssoclaVioi, a.
,,,or those REPORTS there will be such as
ILL.,, ubo, a,d action as may be deemed
proper. ,.,. ,,,u no intro
dvced NV resolution There will be an
uu,Vu business adopted but n1 cut
orI'i .I dr,od, programme, and the platform
go tba ooor are free for all VINO mag
desire to speak ,o,,,
MINISTER'S CONFERENCE.
rho pantist Ministers Conference pre-,
raratorv 10 the meeting OF the 1eheIai
Association. met at $3.50 A. NJ lne @',
tendance at first was not very lai "a. a.
Jafa afna
ministers. but the meeting gradualy gre"
ir numbers and increased in interest
pcv DIR. George F. Bagby. OF farm-
,,ne led the devotional meeting ana Inane
a brief address on the necessity OF uou
,rosence and blessing on this mee'lng
and on the General Association.
Rev. DR.. Landrum. OF Richmohu' wa
made president OF the conference anu
,node a brief but striking Introductory
nddress in which he said that the faith
T,,I nreacher who had charge OF a large
conpregation had more letters 70 write
than the corresponding clerk or hrge
firm more visits to pay than a physician
I'm full practice, more speeches. TO MAKE
than a leading lawyer. more business thah
a banker, and received more abuse IMAM
a plumber.
FIRST TOPIC.
The conference then proceeded under
the programme, which had been adopteu'
The first topic was "Our Young People:
How to Enlist them In Church anu AsSo-
ciational Work" The discussion was by
rev. DR.. S. B. Thames, Of Danvllle'
Who made an exceedingly conservative,
sensible speech He believed in some
sort OF organization among the young
neopIe but he would not care 80 much
for the organization as for the me- nut
would have life first and organization
subordinate.
lie would not let into the meetings OF
the Young people too much age, lest the
voung people take back seats and leave
the older ones to do the work. He would
not be over hopeful or too sanguine as
to results Above all, he would bring our
Young people into touch and contact with
the Church and the work. and with the
denomination and its work. each organi-
zntion be.-ia under the control of the
Church and adapted TO the circumstances
of the Church and the community.
DIR. RYLAND GREETED.
Rev. s. Saunders, of Radford. next
read a carefully prepared paper. At this
noint the venerable DR.. Robert Ryland
so long president of Richmond College
entered the church and at the suggestion
of the President, the conference and the
congregation rose to their feet and gave
the grand old man cordial greeting, TO
which he responded in graceful SEN
tence The question was then thrown
open for general discussion, and was par
ticipated in with brief, earnest, spicy
speeches by Rev. Nj. l.. Wood. DR.. s. b.
Thames. DR. George T. Ba8by. Of Farm
vile; Professor John Hart. OF Caroline
and Rev. George Il. Truett, Of Lynch
burg. -
sCRIPTURAL EVANGELISM.
Rev. DIR. r. s. Dunnaway. of Frede-
rIcksburg, opened the next topic. Scrip
tural Evangelism" with an able clear.
and very practical address. He defined
what Scriptural evangelism is. and indi-
Gated the means, under God Of pro-
noting IT,. insisting that while conse-
Grated laymen. colporteurs. and the cir
culation of the printed page are all
means which should not be neglected,
vet. after all, the preached words. in
humble reliance upon Gods blessings are
the great means Of evangeliZation. He
would have the preacher proclaim the
whole truth, and he had no liberation
for that modern liberalism. which would
ignore fundamental truth in order to
please any class Of people, but he would
| have the preacher tread the "old paths,
and preach the old. old Gospel which is
as old as eternity. but as fresh as the
new moon was. He expressed :he fear
that in these days We are relying too
largely on men and methods, and he
entered his earnest protest against GER
tain modern evangelists. and their
methods and manipulations. He earnest
iy deprecated the theology embodied in
'quit your meanness and join the
church." and insisted that the old-fash-
ioned repentance. and the new birth
ought TO be earnestly taught. He keenly
satirized the periodical ''once-a-year re-
ligion" OF the protracted meeting-an-
nuals instead OF perenniais-which
brings into the church scores OF mem
bers, and the church has to spend the
rest of the year in getting rid OF them.
Rev. c. T. Herndon, of Loudoun. one
OF the younger members, made an earn
esi clean-out, and every-way admirable
speech. I'm which he insisted that we
should study and cling 70 Bible methods
of evangellzation
Rev B. II. Dement,, Of Lexington.
made an excellent speech, In which ne
said that neither star, dust, nor mud
were needed in the pulpit.
BAPTISTS AND CLASSES.