Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1901-09-26
PRACTICAL GOSPEL.
DR.. TALMAdE'S SUNDAY SERMON.
Helpful Methods In Church Work.
Ministerial Laziness is Denounced
The Church Needs No Apology.
Copyright 1881. ]

of DR.. Taimage while denying the accur-
acy of statistics which represent Sunday
audiences as diminishing; text, Hebrews
X. %. "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
is in decadence. deny the statement 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 memorable IN
the kingdom of God as it is in the world.
More churches supplied argues more
more bankers. More factories. more man
ufscturers. More ships. more importers.
More churches. more attendants.
In all our cities within a few years
churches have been built large enough to
swallow up two Or three of the oldtlme
churches. 7 cannot understand with what
kind of arithmetic and slate pencil man
calculates when he comes to the conclusion
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 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
horhood and crowd out the churches and
families ordinarily attendant upon them;
s0meti're = chur"I Da"'shss rhronpN ir-
ternecine strife. But there arc no facts
to overthrow the statement that / have
made in regard to the increasing attend
ancr upon the house of God. Now. i am
ready to admit, as every intelligent man
will admit, that there are churches which
have been depleted. and it is high time
that n 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. II mer-
chandise crowd out a church, that cannot
be helped, but under all other circum-
stances decadence in church attendance
is the fault either Of the church or Of the
pastor.
Churches are often cleared Of their an
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 to-day than the
modes and methods Of to-day will be aD-
proprate for fifty years hence. DIR. Kirk,
DR. McEroy DR.. Mason. Dr. De Witt,
DR.. Nermilyea 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 III which we live. All the woebegon-
ish statistics are given by those who are
trying in our time to work with the worn
out machinery of the past times. Such
men might just as 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
comets and take the Old fashioned tuning
fork. striking ii on the knee and then lift
ing it 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 Blame 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 shame that
larger provision is not made for ministers
of religion, for the sick and the aged and
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 a 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 tendency to turn our theological
seminaries into hospitals for sick and
aged and intirm ministers.
When man begins to go down they
give him the title of d. D. by way of re-
susctation. If that fails, then the tend
cncy is to elect him to Il professionals in
some theological seminary. There are
grand exceptions to the rule. but it is of
ten the case that the professorate III a
theological seminary is occupied by some
minister of the gospel who. not being able
TO 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 elocutlon.
We want more wideawake more able
bodied. able minded men, more enthusiast
tic men, in orr theological semlnaries and
in the profeSsorates-men like Addison
Alexander, who could during the week
teach young men the theory of preaching
and then on Sunday go into the pulpit
and with the thunder and lightning of
Christian eloduence show them how. What
would you think of faculty of unsuccess-
full merchants to train young merchants
a faculty of unsuccessful lawyers to
train young lawyers
1t is often the case that theological sem
inaries cut man and clip him and square
him and mold him and bore him and
twist him until all the individual is gone
out of him, and he is only poor copy Of
a man who was elected to a professorate
because he could not preach.
We want less dead wood in the theologi-
cal Summaries and more flaming evangels,
| declare that a man who cannot preach
himself cannot teach others how to
preach.
At a meeting of the General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church of the United
States. clergyman accustomed on the
Sabbath to preach to an audience of two
or three hundred people in an audience
room that could hold 1900 was appointed
to preach a sermon on how to reach the
masses! l am told the incongruity was
too much for the disabilities of many of the
clergy in the audience. Now. a young
ran coming out from such bedwar6ng in
iiuences, how can he enter into the wants
and the woes and the sympathies of peo-
nle who want on the Lords day practi
cal gospel that will help them all the
week and help them forever?
Young ministers are tod they must
preach Christ and Him crueihed. Yes. but
not as an abstraction. Many a minister
has preached Christ and Him crucifed in
such way that he preached to an au-
dience of 500 down to 200 and from 200 to
100 and from 100 to fifty and from fifty to
twenty and down until there was but
little left save the sexton, who was paid
20 stay until the service was over and
lock up! There is a great deal of can't
about Christ and Him crucifed. 1t is not
Christ and Him crucifed as an abstrac-
ton, but as an omnipotent sympathy ap-
nlied TO all the wants and woes of our
immortal nature, Christ who will help
us in every domestic social, financial.
political national struggle, a Christ for the
rarior, Christ for the nursery, a Christ
for the kitchen, a Christ for the barn, .
Christ for the street. a Christ for the
store. a Christ for the banking house. a
Christ for the factory, a Christ for the
Congressional assembly a Christ for the
court room. Christ for every trial and
every emergency and every perturbation.
Oh, my brethren in the Christian minis
try. we must somehow get our shoulder
under the burden of the people on the