The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1901-10-15
THE MODERN CHURCH.
The Rev. DR.. TaImage Says a Practical
Gospel Is Helpful.
ministerial Larluess is Dcnounced..The Church
Needs No Apologies.
Scopyright. lsI1


Of DIR. Talmage while denying the accur-
acy of statistics which represent Sunday
audiences as diminishing; text. Hebrews
4, %, 'Nor forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together"
Startling statements have been made in
many of the pulpits and in some religious
newspapers. It is heard over and over
again that church attendance in America
rs IN decadence. / deny the statement bv
presenting some hard facts No one will
dispute the fact that there are more
churches IN America than ever before.
one denomination averaging two new
churches every day of the year The law
OF demand and supply is as memorable in
the Kingdom OF God as 1t is in the world
More churches supplied argues more
church privileges demanded More banks
more bankers. More factories, more man
uiaeturers. More ships. more importers
A2re churches, more attendants.
90 In all our cities within a few wears
churches have been built large enough 10
swallow up. two or three of the old-time
churches. cannot understand with what
kind of arithmetic and slate pencil n man
calculates when he comes to the conclusion
mat church attendance in America is in
decadence: Take the aggregate of the
number OF people who enter the hoU~> of
God now and compare it with the agrre
gate OF the people who entered the house
OF God twenty-five years ago, and the
present attendance is four TO one. The
facts are most celebrating instead of
being depressing. That man who presents
the opposite statistics must have been
most unfortunate in his church acquaint
ance.
You are not to argue adversely because
here and there a church is depleted
Churches have their day. Sometimes
merchandise will entirely occupy a neigh
borhood and crowd out the churches and
families ordinarily attendant upon them;
sometimes church re~shcs through ~,
tnTnnNina efrifa INT fhnra G.
to overthrow the statement that ! have
made in regard to the increasing attend
ance upon the house of God Now. | am
ready to admit, as every intelligent man
Will admit, that there are churches which
have been depleted and it is high time
that sermon be preached for the benefit
OF young men who are Just entering the
gospel ministry and for the warning of
prosperous churches as to what are the
causes of decline in any case If mer-
ehandise crowd out church. that cannot
be helped, but under all other circum-
stances decaderce in church attendance
Is the fault either Of the church or of the
pastor.
Churches are often cleared of their au-
dlences by the attempt to transplant the
modes of the past into the present The
modes and methods of fifty wears ago are
no more appropriate for to-day than the
modes and methods of to-day will be APP
propriate for fifty years hence DR. Kirk.
u.
DIR. Vermilyea and hundreds of other
men Just as good as they were never
lacked audiences, because they were
abreast OF the time in which they lived.
People will not he interested in what we
say unless we understand the spirit of the
day IN which we live. All the woebegon-
lsh statistics are given bv those who are
trying In our time to work with the worn
out machinery of the past times. Such
men might just we'll throw the furnaces
out of our church Easements and substi-
tute the foot stoves which our grand
mothers used to carry with them to meet
ing and throw out our organs and our
eornets and take the old fashioned tuning
fork, striking it on the knee and then lift
ing 1t to the ear to catch the pitch of the
hymn, and might as we'll throw out our
modern platforms and modern pulpits
and substitute the wineglass pulpit up
which the minister used to climb to the
dizzy height of Mont Blanc solitariness,
and then go In out of sight and shut the
door after him
The trouble begins away back in the
theological seminaries. 1t is n shame that
larger provision IS not made for ministers
of religion, for the sick and the aged and
tho intrm who have worn themselves out
IN the service Of God We have naval
esylums and soldiers asylums for men who
fought on land and sea for our country
when these men have become aged or
crippled, and 1T Is q shame that larger
provision is not made for the good sol
ders of Jesus Christ who have worn
themselves out in battling for the Lord
But lack of provision in that respect
makes a tendency to turn our theological
semlnares into hospitals for sick and
aged and infTm ministers.
When man begins to go down they
give HIN the title of ID. ID. by way of re-
euscitation. il that fails, then the tend
eney is to elect him to a professionals in
some theological seminary. There are
grand exceptions to the rule, but it is Of
ten the case that the professorate in
theological seminary is occupied by some
minister of the gospel who. not being able
20 preach himself. is set to teach others
how to preach. In more cases than one
the poorest speaker in the faculty is the
professor of elocution.
We want more wideawake. more able
bodied, able-minded men, more enthusiasts
tic men, IN our theological seminnries and
IN the prOtessOrateS-me like Addison
Alexander who could during the week
teach young men the theory of preaching
and then on Sunday 20 into the pulpit
and with the thunder and lightning of
christian elOduence show them how What
would you think of a faculty of unsuccess-
m merchants TO train young merchants
or a faculty OF unsuccessful lawyers to
train young lawyers?
10 is often the case that theological sem
inanes cut man and clip him and square
him and mold him and bore him and
twist him until all the individual is gone
bub ol hlUls dNu ne lk only poor copy OF
man who was elected to a professionals
because he could not preach
we want lees dead wood IN the THEOLOGY
oM seminaries and more flaming evaneels
declare that man who cannot preach
himself cannot teach others how to
preach.
AT a meeting of the General Assembly
~ the Presbyterian Church of the United
Mates, a clergyman accustomed on the
sabbath to preach to an audience OF two
or three hundred people i'm an audience
room that could hold 1900 was appointed
70 preach a sermon on how to reach the
nassesi ] ann told the incongruity was
TOO much for the risiblitics Of many of the
clergy in the audience. Now, young
ran coming out from such bedwarfng I'M
haences, how can he enter into the wants
asd the woes and the sympathies of peo-
Dle who want on the Lords day a practi-
osl gospel that will help them ali the
week and help them forever?
Young ministers arc told they must
preach Christ and Him crucihed Yes but
net az an abstraction Many n minister
has preached Christ and Him crucihed i'm
such way That he preached TO an nu-
dence OF 800 down to 200 and from 200 TO
zoe and from 100 90 fifty and from fifty to
twenty and on down until there was but
httc lett save the sexton. who was paid
81 stay until the service was over and
lock up There la great deal of can't
ebou Christ and Him cruciGed nc ia not
0hrist and Him Cruci6ed as an abstrac-
ton, but as an omuipotent sympathy AM.
rticd 20 oh the wants and woes of our
immortal nature q Christ who viii holm
rs 100 every domestic. socI1l financial
polite national struggle % Christ for the
parlor. a Christ for tho nursery. O. Christ
it0r the kitchen, "a Christ for The barn.
Nl. aH N.e