Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1900-11-25
In His Steps.
Coo tinued from page 3

pafssxive1y few men in the hall, now being held quiet for awhile by Rachel's voice, Represented thousands of others iust like them, to whom church and q minister stood for less than saloon or q beer garden as q source of comfort or happiness. Ought it to be sol If the church members were all doing as Jesus would do, could it remain true that armies Of men would walk the streets for jobs and hundreds of them curse the church and thousands of them find in the saloon their best friend7 How far were the Christians responsible for this human problem that was personally illustrated right in this hall tonight ! Was it true that the great city churches would, as a rule, refuse. to walk in Je- sua steps so closely aa to suffer. actual " suffer, for his sake2
 Henry Maxwell kept asking this ques- tion even after Rachel had finished sing ing and the meeting had come to an end, after q social gathering which was very informal He asked it while the little company of residents, with the Raymond visitors were having deyo- tional service, as the custom i'll the set tlement was. He asked 1t during con- fe9eneo with the bishop and Dr Bruce which lasted until 1 O clock He asked it as he kneeled again before sleeping and poured out his soul i'll his petition for spiritual baptism on the church in America suca as 1t had never known He asked 1t the first thing in the morn ing and all through the day as he went over the settlement district and saw the life of the people so far removed from the life abundantly Would the church members, would the Christians. not only ih the churches of Chicago. but throughout the country, refuse to walk in his steps if, in order to do so they must actually take up cross and fol low him?
 This was the one question that con tinually demanded answer He had world of sinful, diseased, depraved. lost humanity could only have the gospel preached to it by consecrated prima donnas and professional tenors and altos and bassos he believed it would hasten the coming of the kingdom quicker than any other one force. ssWhy, oh. why, he cried in his heart as he lis tened, ss.has the world s great treasurei in song been so ofteG held far from the poor because the personal possessor of voice or fingers capable of stirring di yinest melody has sl often regarded the gift as Something with which to make money7 Shall there be no martxrs among the gifted ones of the earthf Shall there be 10 giving of this great gift as we'll as of others2.'
 And Henry Maxwell again, as before, called np that sother audience Ut the Rectangle, with increasing longing for & larger spread of tho new discipleship. What he had seen and heard at the set tlene1rb burned into him deeper the be- lief that the problem of the city would be solved if the Christians in it should once follow Jesus as he gave command ment. But what of this great mass of humanity, neglected and sinful, the very kind of humanity the Saviour came to savg, with all it's mistakes and naTT0wness, it's wretehedness and loss of hope-ahove all. it's unqualified bit terness toward the ehurch2 That was what smote Henry Maxwell deepest
 Was tho church, then. so far from the Master that the people no longer found him tin the church? Was it true that the church had lost its power over the very kind of humanity which i'll the early ages of Christianity it reached in the greatest numhers9 How much was truesin what the socialist leader said about the uselessness of looking to the church for reform or redemption be- cause of the selfishness and seclusion and aristoeracy of it's members2
 He was more and more impressed
 And now the vision was troubled. It seemed to him that as he kneeled he be- gan to pray and the vision was more of longing for a future than reality ln the future. The church Of Jesus in the city and throughout the country would it follow Jesusg Was the move ment begun in Raymond to spend itself in few churches like Nazareth Avenue and the one where he had preached to- day and then die away as local move ment, stirring on the surface but not 10 extend deep and far2 He felt with agony after the vision again. He thouHht he saw the church of Jesus in Ane5lea open its heart to the moving of tie Spirit and rise to the sacrifice of its case and self satisfaction in the name q Jesus. He thought he saw the motto. S hat Would Jesus Dor in scribed over every church door and written on- every church member E heart The vision vanished It came back clearer than before, and he saw .she #ndeaver societies all over the world carrying n their great process eioAs a6 some mighty convention ban her .nn which was inscribed What Would Iesns Do7' and he thought in che faces of the y0RRg men and women A4