The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-21
DR.. BUCHTEL' SFAREWELL
IMPRESSIVE SERVICES AT CENTRAL
AVE. NJ. Il. CHURCH YESTERDAY.
Result of His Five Years and Half
Work-Rev. c. c. Lasby, of Ne
braskn, His Successor.

Rev. Henry A. Buchtel, pastor of the
Central-avenue NJ. E. Church, who has
preached in that church for five years
and a half, finished his work yesterday.
Next spring he is TO assume charge OF the
Calvary Church at East Orange, N j.
Meantime he goes to Mount Vernon, N
Y. to fill the pulpit of Rev George P.
Mains, pastor Of the First NJ. E. Church at
that place. DR.. Mains has ben elected agent
for New York for the Methodist Book Con-
Germ, and consequently has to resign his
charge. Until DR.. Buchtefs temporary
work at Mount Vernon is finished and he
enters permanently upon his work al East
Orange, his wife and younger children will
remain at Indianapolis. Rev. c. c. Lasby,
of Lincoln, Neb., has been called to sue
coed Dr. Buchtel 1t is expected that DIR.
Lasby will preach next Sunday.
Yesterday DR.. Buchtel preached his last
sermon at the Central-avenue Church. Sept.
80 he will depart for New York Much re-
gret is expressed that he cannot remain
here longer, but the rules of the M. E.
Church are memorable in requiring a pas
tor to be changed at least once in five
years. Very impressive and touching were
the services yesterday morning. DIR. Buch-
tel was vsibly affected. and more than
once the tears streamed from his eyes,
while the congregation wept with him.
DR.. Buchtel preached from I Thess., i, 5:
For our gospel came not unto you in word
only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance" Pauls
Characterization of the Christian religion,
the pastor said, was that it was that which
would harmonic man with Cod harmon
ize him with himself and harmonic him
with every other man in the whole world
He declared that the religion of Christ
has no other purpose. Then Paul character
lied the difference between Christianity
and other religions of the world in the
text, For our gospel came not unto you
in word only, but also in power, and in
the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance"
"Our source of faith" said DR.. Buchtel,
lis the book, the word Of God. The source
of our faith does not emanate from an old
man sitting on the banks of the Tiber nor
in company of bishops with car at
it's head, nor in a company Of Protestant
bishops and preachers, but in the book. So
then, the apostle tells US, it is book re-
ligion. In this respect it is like Mohammed-
anism and Buddhism. But when you begin
to examine the contents of the religion
the contrast is so marked that # it simply
ended in being a book religion Christianity
would remain the only tolerable religion.
No man can say with SO much pride, l
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ
as the man who has looked into all the
religions of the world. You may be able
to spell the name of God but if you have
no conception of the idea for which it
stands, you have gained nothing. The pic
ture of the poor Hindoo, stretched bleeding
upon bed of spikes, trying to get rid of
some of his lives, lies there with his mind
clouded by the doctrine of the transmigra-
ton of souls, so that he may not see into
the true doctrine of immortality The sys-
tenn is sterile. The conspicuous and funda-
mental difference between the religion of
hpiE n nd he hxNR 1irrfnr t. l.,
gospel came not in word only, but also in
power oh. the power of that gospel!
light and the sun breaks out shedding
his rays through all the world you don't
need a certificate of character of the sun.
When you are sick and long for health
you do not have TO have certificate of
health when your strength is restored and
you are a new man! You know YOU have
your health again. When a man is hungry
eats and is filled, he does not have to have
a certificate showing that his hunger is
assuaged. When a man is hungry for God
he knows what is lacking and when peace
comes to his hungry soul he does not wor-
ry any more or ask any more questions
All the difficulties of religion are of the
heart and not the head. When the seat of
a mans desire becomes cleansed all things
become plain and he realizes that the doc
trine of a great and good and loving God
is just what he has ben striving for When
the heart is right the intellectual difficult
THE NEW WAY OF SAVING.
toned to hearing teachers and speakers
but they were not familiar with the sight
OF a public speaker whose words carried
almost omnipotent power, so that his hear
ers must fall down and cry: What must
we do TO be saved?' What glorious re-
suits their words accomplished, Plain
preachers OF the gospel just obliterated the
gods on the top of Mount Olympus. so that
OF Jupiter and other gods of heathenism
nothing remains to us but the mythical
stories Ministers in all nations of the
quests, because they have gospeI Of
power But, you say, we see no such man
iiIestatlons to-day. Man do not fall down
III nystericad paroxysms, crying aloud for
The conditions are Changed, The
relglon of Christ has done away to a
great extent with the necessity Of srob
conversions, by saving men from nl,nein.
INTO the deep gulf of sin and degradafio5
Ip9 ON winch they can only be rescued by
places to-day where such things occur
come come with US to the rescue mission, and
air nlsnIiy you will see poor creatures
Almost beside themselves in their frantic
struggle for salvation from the deem deg
r roa ion IN which their lives have passed.
ing so far away that they can only ho ,as
cued in that way 70 'es-
,r onildfen, the pastor said. must be
the Holy Ghost, as was John the Baptist,
me Holy Ghost is mentioned in the text
Ni!e lded OF power. If there
IS any power in the preacher" the pastor
continued, or in the congregation it ORIG
mates mates IN the Holy Ghost. Every thing in
the world is done by the Holy Ghost All
CONVICTION is through the HOLY Ghost
GU never go out to- do anything but thai
the Holy Ghost has gone before YOU So
eager is He in the service of God that He
keeps every man in the world under con-
viction.'
DR.. Buchtel said that Bishop James. one
OF the great bishops of the Methodist Ennis
copal Church, was accustomed to pray
each day Tor each presiding elder he had
appointed within year. He then wanted
the presiding elders to pray for the preach
ers ana the preachers for the class leaders
anG the class leaders for the members BIT
IL d1d not end there. He wanted the mem
pers OF the churches to make a special
prayer each day for the class leaders. the
preachers, presiding elders and bishops II
wish you would begin that plan the day
that pr Lasby comes to town. If any
church in the city were to follow that pro
gramme OF prayer. it would not take
twelve months to double the church.
Bishop Bowman said Dr. BuchteI ode
clared that God always sent somebody to
listen. That is my conviction. that Cod
always sends somebody to listen OF the
hundreds of people here this morning 7
know that at least one has come to listen
L nave come here for five years and a half
with great delight, with intense iov in
knowing that God would send somebody
TO listen.
The Sunday-school teacher who finds
put two or his class at Sunday school he
must not say to the superintendent There
n