Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1901-09-21

=H'sai5.t.tS5e-SSii1e---------- y l1s'-Izu9
WASHINGTON. Sept. 15.-Afost cncour'
fging to all Christian workers Is this
discourse Of DR.. Talmage while deny.
Ing the accuracy OF statistics which
represent Sunday audiences as dimin-
ishlng; text, Hebrews x. %, Not for
saking the assembling OF ourselves to-
gcther."
Startling statements have been made
"a many OF the pulpts and in some
religious newspapers. 1t is heard over
and over again that church attendance
la America Is In decadence. | deny the
statement by presenting some hard
facts. No one Will dispute the fact
Chat there are more churches In Amer
lea than ever before. one denomination
averaging two new churches every day
Of the year. The law of demand and
supply Is as inexorable in the kingdom
Of God as II is In the world. More
churches supplied argues more church
privileges demanded. More banks,
more bankers. More factories, more
manufacturers. More ships, more i'm
porters. More churches, more attend
ants.
In all our cities within a few years
churches have been built large enough
TO swallow up two or three of the old
time churches. cannot understand
with what kind Of arithmetic and slate
pencil man calculates when he comes
to the conclusion that church attend
ancc In America is In decadence. Take
the aggregate Of the number of people
who enter the house of God now and
compare II with the aggregate 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 eXhilarating instead Of being
depressing. That man who presents
the opposite statistics must have been
most unfortunate in his church ac-
quantance.
You are not to argue adversely be-
cause here and there n church Is de-
pleted. Churches have their day. Some
times merchandise Will entirely occupy
a neighborhood and crowd out the
churches and families ordinarily at
tendant upon them; sometimes a church
perishes through Intcrneclne strife.
But there are no facts to overthrow
the statement that have made In re-
gard to the increasing attendance upon
the house Of God. Now, am ready to
admit, as every intelligent man will ad
nit, that there are churches which
have been depleted and It is high time
that a sermon be preached for the ben
.hg 1hgagg5nsgf, s,pnl2h "a. Mbo are Just enter
warning of prosperous churches as to
what are the causes Of decline In any
case. If merchandise crowd out q
church, that cannot be helped, but un-
der all other circumstances decadence
in church attendance Is the fault either
of the church or Of the pastor.
Modern Church Methods Needed.
Churches are often cleared Of their
audiences by the attempt to transplant
the modes Of the past into the present
The modes and methods Of fifty years
ago are no more appropriate for today
than the modes and methods of today
will be appropriate for fifty years
hence. DR.. Kirk, DR.. McEiroy, DR..
Mason, DR.. De Witt, DR.. 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
be interested in what we say unless we
understand the spirit of the day In
which we live. All the woebegonish
statistics are given by those WHIT are
trying In our time to work with the
wornout machinery Of the past times.
Such men might Just as we'll throw the
furnaces out Of our church Easements
and substitute the foot stoves which
our grnndmothers used to carry with
them to meeting, and throw out our Or
psns and our cornets and take the old
fashioned tuning fork, striking II on
the knee and then lifting 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 sub
stitute the wineglass pulpit up which
the minister used to climb to the dizzy
height of Mont Blanc solitariness and
then 20 In out of sight and shut the
door after him.
The trouble begins away back in the
theological semiuaries. 1t Is shame
that larger provision Is not made FOR
ministers of religion. for the sick AMI
the aged and the intirm who have worn
themselves out In the service OF God.
We have naval asylums and soldiers
asylums for men who fought on land
and sea forcur country when these men
have become aged or crippled, and II
is q shame that larger provision Is not
made for the good soldiers OF Jesus
Christ who have worn themselves out
In battling for the Lord. BIT lack OF
provision In that respect makes a tend
ency TO turn our theological seininaries
into hospitals fo- sick and aged ana
inErm ministers. When man begins
to &C down. they give him the title OF
d. d. BIZ way Of resuscitation. lf that
falls, then tie tendency Is to elect him
to a pro. .essorate In some theological
seminary There are grand exceptions
70 the rule. but It Is often the case that
the professorate In theological semi
nary Is occupied by some minister OF
the gospel who. not being able 10
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 vide awake. more ablebodied
gblemindcd men, more enthusiastic
men, In our theological semnaries and
In the professorates- men like Addison
Alexander. who could during the week
teach young men the theory OF preach
ing and then on Sunday go into the
pulpit and with the thunder and light
1 oh. hn