The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-09-17

"ASHlNGION, sept. 10.-MoSt en-
~couraging to all Christian workers is
this discourse Of DR.. Talmage while de-
nying the accuracy of statistics which
represent Sunday audiences as diminish
ing; text, Hebrews <, %, mot forsak-
ing the assembling Of ourselves to-
gether."
Startling statements have been made
IN many of the pulpits and in some Of
b religious newspapers. 1t is heard
over n over again that church attend
ance in America is in decadence. / deny
the statements by 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 in
exorable in the kingdom Of God as it is
in the world. More churches supplied
argues more church privileges demanded.
More banks. more bankers; more fac
tories, more manufacturers; more ships,
more importers; more churches, more at
tendants.
In all our cities within q 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 a man
calculates when he comes to the conclu-
sion that church attendance in America is
in decadence. Take the aggregate Of the
number of people who enter the house of
God now and compare it with the aggre-
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 exhilarating instead of be-
ing depressing. That man who presents
-%~%.4.@z -ox,z+ have h.on
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 a church perishes through n
ternecine strife. But there are no facts
TO overthrow the statement that I have
made in regard to the increasing attend
ance upon the house of God. Now, I am
ready to admit, as every intelligent nan
will admit, that there are churches which
AVE been depleted, and it is high time
that a sermon be preached for the benefit
of young men who are just entering the
gospel ministry and for the warning Of
prosperous churches as 10 what are the
CduSSS VI uSClllS III dug vast IL LIE
chandise crowd out a church, that canno
be helped, but under all other circum-
stances decadence in church attendance
is the fault either of the church or of the
pastor.
Use of Modern
Churches are often cleared Of their au-
diences 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 ap-
propriate for fifty years hence. DR.. Kirk,
DR.. MeElroy, Dr.. Mason, DR.. De Witt,
DIR. Vefmilyea and hundreds Of other
men just as good rs 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 Woe
begonish statistics are given by those
who are trying in our time to work with
the wornout machinery Of the past times.
Such men might just as well throw the
furnaces out OF our church Easements
and substitute the foot stoves which our
grandmothers used to carry with them 70
meeting, and throw out our organs and
our comets and take the old fashioned
tuning fork, striking it on the knee and
then lifting it to the ear to catch the
pitch Of the hymn, and might as well
throw out our modern platforms and mod
ern 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. When you can
get the great masses Of the people to take
passage from Albany to Buffalo in stage
coach or canalboat in preference to the
lightning express train which does it in
four hours, then you can get the great
masses of the people to go to a church
half a century behind the time.
The trouble begins away back in the
theological seminaries. 1t is q shame
that larger provision is not made for
ministers Of religion, for the sick and
the aged n the infrm 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 for our country when these men
have become aged or crippled, and it 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. But lack of pro-
vision in that respect makes a tendency
to turn our theological seminaries into
hospitals fer sick and aged and inhrm
ministers. When 4 man begins to go
down. they give him the title Of D. D.. by
way Of resCscitation. If that fails, then
the tendency is to eject him to a pro-
fessorate in some theological seminary.
There are grand exceptions to the rule,
but it is often the ccse that the pro-
fessorate n q theological seminary Is
occupied bF some minister of the gospel
who, not being able to preach. is set to
teach Others how 20 preach. In more
cases than one the poorest speaker in
the faculty is the professor CT elocution.
We want moro wide awake. more able
bodied, abic-li16ed men. more enthu-
siastic men "a o;= theological seminaries
and in the r-ofcSso-ates-men like Addi-
son AleS2cie=. who could during the
week teach yerng men the theory Of
preaching and then on Sunday go into
the pulpit and with the thunder and
fIghfrIrO 0f Cb-sS+ion al0OnQ0po show