St. Paul daily globe., 1895-09-16
SYSTEMATIC GIVING,
Rev. Addison Moore Urges It's Nc.
cessity in the Church.

Rev. Addison Moore Urges It's Nc
cessity in the Church.
Rev. Addison Moore preached a SER
mon on Systematic Giving" at the
Woodland Park Baptist church last
night, using as text: upon the first
day of the week let every one of you
lay by him in store as he hath pros
pered. ."-Corinthian l., xvi, 2.
THE problem of church life today"
said he, ''is the financial question; and
a very troublesome question it is. The
experience of the churches in this city
has been substantially the same, so
far as financial matters are concerned
and it is doubtful if, in all the city,
more than one church can be found
which is not in more or less trouble
over it's income, or, rather over it's
lack of income. Salaries have been re-
duced, expenses have been cut down
to minimum, and still the cry goes
up on every hand that treasures are
overdrawn, and that finance commit
tees and boards of trustees are at
their wits ends.
Similar difficulties have existed in
other days; and then, as now, the
churches endeayored to raise money
schemes. A century ago it was not
unusual to find church trustees invest
ing in lottery tickets for the benefit
Of the church, and on my study-table
there is record OF a church in New
Jersey that bought a sailing vessel
and conducted lucrative trade in
carrying rum and molasses. Today we
betake ourselves to fairs and dinners
and concerts, and poster pedestrians
and haunt householders until we sue
ceed in badgering them into buying
tickets. It would be ludicrous were it
not such a pitiful pervasion Of the
purpose of church life and work.
"The church has, as it's absorbing
mission, the duty of ministering to the
needs of the soul; and as the greatest
hindrance to this ministry is the lack
of money to meet the ordinary ex-
penSeS of the church, and, as under
present methods, we are not only fail
ing to get the money, but failing also
to reach and to hold men, it is certain
ly the part of wisdom. as well as
part of our obedience to church vows,
to no longer play at working. The
needs are great, and the SpaSmodic
grudging of money will not meet the
demands. The whee@ing process fos-
tered by church SupperS and baZaars,
and indulged in so extensively by
bands, boards, brotherhoods and bri-
gades, must be abandoned for the
scriptural and apostolic method. So
while I decry the prevailing tendency,
I also unfurl the standard of the text
and ask you to observes that it teaches
the Importance of systematic giving.
"In writing to the early church at
Corinth the Apostle Paul recommends
that every one shall lay aside some
thing out from whatever he has gath
cred, and store it away until the first
day of the week. when it shall be pre-
sented as an offering for the work of
the church. st. Luke's wife did not
preside at the lemonade stand, dis
guised as Rebecca at the WELL to raise
money to send st. Paul to the heather
in Macedonia; nor did the church at
Corinth run opposition to the restau-
rants down town. to raise money so
that the saints at home might be re-
lieved from the necessity of contribut-
ing to the cause of Christ. But st.
Paul bears witness that according to
their ability, and even beyond their