The daily sentinel., 1901-05-15
soxE HOT SHOTS.
Former Grand Junction Divine
SRossts Methodist Minister'S
Calls Them Biowhards.


Methodist preachers and their methods
ID running their churches very warm
rpast, in paper on Needed Changes in
Metho6ism," which he read before a
minister's meeting held in Denver Mon
day.
The following account of the paper is
taken from the Rocky Mountain News
Of yesterday:
"Those who wish from the pulpit"
said Mr.. Grace, "eloquence, elocution,
evolution, science, philosophy, higher
criticism, and everything else but the
gospel Of our Lord Jesus Christ, say to
the official mambers OF the church. get
a preacher that can declaim on these
things and We will come and help sup
port tho minister &C d'the church.
"Harasned old rspgobates and rene
gades tho care no more for the welfare
OF the. church than hog cares for Sun
day-but their voices come into the
quartefly conference and the stewards
and leaders and local preachers look as
sober as tombstones, while they discuss
the failure Of the preacher to interest
the consummate sinners.
"Ihen they decide to have change,
and the man who has been praying and
working for the interest Of the church is
tumbled out and some other poor fellow
is tumbled in to go through the same
humillatinR experience.
"Then we foster this spirit OF unrest
by the fulsome self praise that finds it's
way into our church 'papars and passes
for news. 1 think we Methodist minis
ters are the worst set OF blowhards on
the footstool. The church paper comaa
into the homes telling of the wonderful
things taking place with this or that pas
tor and the people take them at their
face value, and begin to banker after one
OF these fellows that turns things rig ht
side up in jiffy.
"Now the remedy for this evil in our
Methodism is moderation. In the peri
odicals OF other denomination l can find
nothing nearly 30 bad in this particular
as we have it in our papers, and for this
reason they have a more satisfactory
state OF affairs, as far as contentment is
concerned. ....
"Another thing that. contributes to
this feverish unrest is the unscrupulous
way in which the men we idolize treat
tie average Methodist preacher. They
secure the official places in the church
which opens the pulpits to them every
where. On the testimony Of some crank
or wholly irresponsible party, our high
official gives it out to the world, that the
Methodist preacher as rule can't
preach and his absurd evidence is &C.
cepted.
"Now the remedy for this is to get
little common sense injected Into the
heads Of those whom we have elected
and appointed to go about the country
to demonstrate and represent the un-
common sense of the Methodist minis
try.
"Snce the beginning OF Methodism it
has been kept constantly before us that
the one thing of all was to be soul-win-
ners. Intoxicated with the success OF
the past century the call comes to double
our numbers in the opening years OF the
new Now il it were fact that the
100000 members today in the Method
ist church represented high degree Of
moral culture, of Intellectual training
and spiritual attainment, or il they rep
resented moderate degree OF all these
things, then the doubling up OF our
membership might be plausible. but it
is generally conceded that one-dfth OF
our membership or Ierhaps less, repre-
sents larger share Of intelligence, utili.
ty, piety and spirituality Of the whole
church.
III this be true, it seems the greatest
need Of the church is not 80 much the
iofiatlon as the toning up OF the stupen-
dously large proportion that practically
stand Tor nothing 80 far as vital religion
10 concerned"
All exempt and active volunteer hre-
men are requested to meet at the city