The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1893-06-29
THE SAVING POWER.
REV. THOMAS DIXON ON THE NEED
OF MORE EARNEST PREACHING.

Professionalism Apparently Failing In the
Great Cities--Causes Therefor Church
FormaIism-Lack of vitaIity-Too Much
Dignity.
New York, juno 25.-Rev. Thomas
Dixon, Jr., closed this morning in Asso-
citation hall the series of sermons that
have been running since the 18th of April
on 1.-THE Gates Of He'll In Modern Baby
lon." The series have been one attended
with extraordinary interest from the be-
ginning. The Sundays work also closed
the years ministry in Association hall.
The months of July and August he will
have as vacation and will preach prob
ably in tho south during those two
months somewhere on the eastern shore
Of Virginia, N. G. The pulpit in AS
sociation hall will be supplied by the
Rev. Frank Dixon Of California, his
younger brother. The subject of the
sermon this morning was "The Church
Triumphant" The text chosen was "And
the gates Of hell shall not prevail against
it" (Matthew xvi, 49,
Of Christendom when the church faced
graver problems than the church Of the
modern city is now confronted with.
The past 90 years have boon conspicuous
in church work for its dismal failure in
our cities. The progress of Protestant
ism has been beneath contempt. Does
this mean that the gospel of Christ has
failedp Does this mean that the church
is on the down grade and must perish in
the twentieth century? All things are
surely being tested by the supreme test
Of the furnace of these latter times.
All things must stand tho test or go
the way Of tho past. Before all things
holy, all things sacred, as well as
all things traditional and secular, this
modern world has written large interro-
cation point. The very existence of the
church is questioned by large class of
thinkers, and the need of priest or
preacher is called in issue. The Chris
tan ministry that survives must be
worthy, and the church that survives
must answer with q good reason for its
existence.
l do not hesitate to say that 1 believe
as clearly as l believe in my own exist
ence that the church of Jesus Christ, in
its inadequacy, in its simplicity, in its
power, will triumph. Jesus has GER
tainly promised that it shall. However
dark the problems, however overwhelm-
ing the forces that oppose, "The gates of
hell shall not prevail against it," Upon
what is this promise of triumph based?
1t was based upon the confession of faith
made by the apostle. Peter said, II be-
ieve." If the church is to triumph and
receive this promise, it must be through
the exercise of triumphant, militant
faith. If the church really believes in
its mission and in its Saviour, three
things must como to pass in securing it's
triumph and must come to pass of ne
cessity because of that faith.
MAGNETIC POWER.
First-She must present to the hosts
Of evil in our civic centers ministry of
power. The preacher who survives in
the twentieth century must be man of
power. He must be man called of God
to the work. The ministry that will
survive cannot therefore be mere pro-
fession. 1t must, in the highest sense,
be a calling, and that calling must be
based upon the bestowment of divine
gifts-gifts of brain, gifts of heart, gifts
Of personality, gifts Of magnetic power
incident to personality. A ministry of
power in tho modern city must show in
the pulpit manhood first. The preacher
who is a man Of power today must first
be O man-not clothes or ceremonies Of
ecclesiastical machinery nor churches
nor rituals-but man. The Office is
nothing, the man everything. Manhood
is sacred; Office is q name. The minister
Of the future who is q man of power
must be SO from his mothers womb.
He must have the ordination of nature.
The personal equation must grow neces-
sarily larger.
A man will be sacred not because he
is in the line Of traditions, but because
of the inherent, the irresistible force of
his manhood. Jesus Christ declared that
he had chosen men; that he had ordained
the personality of men. 81 have chosen
and ordained you and sent you forth
that you should 60 and bring forth
fruit" A man delivered speech in the
assembly rationale of France which fell
upon listless ears. Rousseau heard it,
saw it in its power, it's thought, memo
rized it, and charged with his personal
ity as delivered tho next day it electri-
fed the assembly. Such must be the
power of personality in the ministry
that will command tho rushing throng
of the city that now is and that is grow
ing. A minister, finding the fire in the
grate had gone out, asked his wife to
bring in something dry with which to
light it. The good woman went out and
pulled from barrel an armful of her
husbands old sermons. The day has
gone by when that sort of sermons can
command even the Estless attention of
the passing few.
A COUNTRY CLERGYMAN.
Such ministry must abide in Christ.
The scope and method of its work must
be of the scope and method of Christ's
work. To be successful it must be as
broad as his gospel. He came to save
the world. Behold the Lamb Of God
that taketh away the sin of the world
His mission was to save the whole world.
"The Lord hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor, to proclaim the
acceptable year"-to preach to an i'm
prisoned world the gospel of liberty. He
preached an intensely practical gospel.
He cut to the very heartsof mems secret
lives. He preached an applied gospel.
To preach is not merely proclamation
It is an application practical to life. One
Of the secrets of the failureOf the church