The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-05-17
CHRISTIANS?
AN OVERDRAWN PICTURE, PIX
HAPS,
But Much Truth in it After ALL
Are You q Church Member Of
This Kind ?---Read and Answer
the Question in Your Own
Conscience.
TThe RAMS HOrn.l

whole village has been stirred. Every
person has been going to church. The
groups that used to sit about the stove
! in the grocery and spin their yarns and
those who used to borrow the heat from
the stove at the railroad station and the
usu al little gossiping circles of the small
parlors all gave up their usual occupation
to go to church. Nor was the revival a
mere artificial spasm of emotion. The
law and the Gospel were proclaimed in
unmistakable tones and men saw and
believed. The first Sunday in February
was glad dayi in that church. Thegreat
company OF new converts were all there.
| The village church was crowded to Il
Jam. The recent additions seemed a
congregation liz themselves as they came
out publicly that day, more than fifty OF
them. That night they had a Jubilee
service and then the pastor announced
that the revival services were concluded.
Monday night the church bell did not
ring and about the usual church time the
middle aged men began to drop into the
grocery as they used to do. They were
all members of this same church which
had felt such a revival. They filled up
the chairs and drew up the empty boxes
and peTched themselves on the counter
and the heads of barrels. Naturally they
|
| the latest cOmmOtiOn in the community.
They discussed brother Samson's sermons
and the terrible things he had said to the
wicked. They could not see how anybody
could resist his preaching of the Gospel.
| They talked about other revivals which
they could remember in that church and
other churches. They talked of the scene
the day before and how long it had been
since their church had had such a congre-
cation as they had just now. Then they
individually found some fault with the
preacher. He was a powerful man but
he was too hard on some sins. Here
there was q wide diversity of opinion.
The two brethren on the end OF the
counter winked at each other when the
brother next the stove said he did not
believe the preacher had any Scripture
for saying that man who was always
late at church would be too late to get
to Heaven. The speaker, of course never
was known to be early at the house OF
God. The grocer himself did not believe
the preacher was interpreting the Sermon
on the Mount right when he said that
man who measured out sand for sugar
here would get something beside Heaven
measured out to him at last. But they
| soon turned from the preacher to the
converts. eff anybody had told me that
Bill Williams would join our church |
would not haye believed him. eff any
body should tell me now that he will be
a church member in six months from this
time l would not believe him. 81
suppose the Lord could convert such a
lazy fellow as Tom Phipps and they do
say that he has been working ever since
he was converted, but in my opinion he is
converted to get the church to keep him.
l.. l. Il, hat
do of Sam. Stofer, Who didn't join the
us to hire him to do our painting"
"Who expects such a proverbial old
swearer as Jonas Overlook to quit
swearing and behave himself like a church
member?" "And l don't believe that
any OF that whole dozen OF young boys
had any idea what a church member
ought to be. l should not be surprised
if half of them would live to disgrace the
church and the preacher" "FCr my
part think the preacher was too careless
about receiving people into the church.
He did not seem to care whether they
would stick or not if he could only get
them in. [ don't believe that very many
OF them will be any account in the church. y
Aud so they talked till ten o'clock when
one OF them getting up and yawning
gave the signal for adjournment, saying
/ at the same time, "Well, we can only
wait and see whether they will stick or
! not
That same evening the grocers wife
was getting lonely by her fire side when
there came a rap at the door and soon
after that another and another and 6
l group of half a dozen women were
Y gathered in her coy dining room. 81
D declare,' she said to her friends, 81 have
t not seen you for six weeks except a
o church. | have been at church every
night for so long that | get lonesome az
. soon as | sit down at home" g thinl
> so too replied one, 81 seem more Of {
l stranger at home than do at church.
d eyes, but what big day we had yester
t day. Who would ever have thought tina
e our church could have fifty members a
r once?" "The quantity is good enough
uality," said one member of the grou]
with a sarcastic tone. "That's so,
don t know how brother Samson expect
e all those people to feel at home anon,
y us, He ought to know that some @
}. them are not our kind of people. The,
3 can come to church if they want to ant
= welcome but |, for one, can't notice then
; any farther" go WE'LL there is one cor
Y ISOLATION, it is likely that there will no
e very many of them last long. After tn
II first excitement is worn off they will 500
e quit coming to church and go back t
n their old life again. It's a pity too tha
2 something can't be done for such people
10 suppose there might be something lik
+ a training class for young Christians il
- stituted, but who wants to take tim
). and pains for such a thankless task a
7. that?'' Il agree with you there
'e suppose some people need religion just a
'e bad as anybody but it is too bad to tr
is to mix them all up with US who al
e respectable | believe in giving them
y chance to stick since they are in tt
10 church bat l can't see that there is an
- hope for them
% And so they talked till the grocer ha
ht locked up his grocery and come home fc
ID the night when they too, adiourne'
1- having talked religion as they though
i'll all evening. As they were scattering t
ID their homes they met the young member
s. of their families, church. members to-
"a who had been sitting about the fire {
~ the railroad station joking with Il
10 agent. The agent said, 81 hear thi
some of the boys on the other side
town Joined your church. YES" the
answered "but we don't have anythiI
more to do with them than we ever ha
They can look out for themselves and '
lat "a will look out for ourselves. You don
~, need to think that We recognize the
It Just because they have joined OF
'er church" Just then one OF these nc
A 4 - r