Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1901-09-20
The MODERN CHtRch,
The Rev. DIR. TaImage Says Practical
Gospel Is Helpful.
Ministerial Laziness Is Denounced..The Church
Needs No Apologies.
copyright, 1881


WASHINGTON, D. C.-Most encouraging
II all Christian workers is this discourse
of DR.. Taimage while denying the accur-
ICY 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. 1t 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
az demand and supply is as MEMORABLE IN
he kingdom of God as it is in the world.
More churches supplied argues more
church privileges demanded. More banks,
wore bankers. More factories, more man
"facturers More ships. more importers
More churches more attendants.
In all our cities within few years
churches have been built large enough to
swallow ur two or three OF the old-time
.hurcbes 7 cannot understand with what
Kind of arithmetic and slate nencil man
calcu'ates when he comes to the conclusion
that church attendance in America is IN
cccadence. Take the aggregate OF the
numher Of people who enter the house OF
t.ol now and compare it with the aggre-
.-ate of the pcople who entered the house
az Col TWENTY-FIVE years ago, and the
,,resent attendance is four to one. The
facts ere most exhi!erating instead OF
hpinr depressing. That man who presents
The opposite statistics must have been
most unfortunate in his church acquaint-
Cnce.
You are not to argue adversely. because
here and there church Is depleted
Churches have their day Sometimes
merchandise will entirely occupy neigh,
lorhood and crowd out the churches and
families ordinarily attendant upon them;
oyct;-oes = ohur-r rn"'ehoS t1rougH ~
terneeina strife. But there are no facts
to overthrow the statement that L nave
made in regard to the increasing attend
ance upon The house of God. Now. am
ready 10 admit, as every intelligent man
will admit. that there are churches when
have been depleted. and it Is high time
that sermon be preached for the oenent
ii Young men who are just entering the
cosne ministry and for the warning OF
nrosperous churches as to what ere the
causes of decline in any case: Ii mer-
,handise crowd out church, that cannot
be belped but under all other circum'
stances decadence in church attendance
j. the fault either Of the church or OF the
rastor.
Churches are often cleared OF their a,i-
t;ences by the attempt to transplant I'll Lne
modes of the past into the present. Inc
modes and methods of fifty years ago are
no more appropriate for to-day than the
modes and methods of to-day will be 40
nropriate for fifty years hence. DR.. Kirk
DR.. McEroy, Dr. Mason. DR.. De Witt
DR.. Vermilyea and hundreds OF other
men lust % 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 Oh INT
day in which we live. All the woeoegoh
isb statistics are given by those who arr
irving in our time to work with the worn
ont machinery of the past times. Sucl
men might just as we'll throw the furnace
ont of our church Easements and substl
tute the foot stoves which our grand
,nothers used to carry with them to mee'
ing. and throw out our organs ana GU
comets and take the old fashioned tunin
fork. striking it on the knee and then M
INT il to the ear to catch the pitch OF tn
HYMN, and might as well throw out GU
,nodern platforms and modern pulpit
and substitute the wineglass pulpit u
which the minister used to climb to tn
Iizzv height of Mont Blanc solitarines
end then go in out of sight and shut tn
toor after him.. =,
The trouble begins away back IN tn
theological semiparjes. 1t is shame tina
larger provision is not made for minister
q: religion, for the sick and the aged an
The jnfirm who have worn themselves OF
I, the service of God. We have nav;
rsv,ums and soldiers asylums for men VIII
fought on land and sea for our countr
1vhen these men have become aged
crippled, and it 10 shame. that large
10 Gov hn
-,iers of Jesus Christ who have wor
themselves out in battling for the Lore
N,ut lack of provision in that respe'
.aakes tendency to turn our theoiogic;
Seminaries into hospitals for SICK an
aged and infrm ministers. -,
When a man begins to go down the
rive him the title of d. ID. by way OF r
,u.citation. If that fails, then the ten!
encv is to elect him to a professorate
.ome theological seminary. There al
rand exceptions to the rule, but 1T Is o
en- the case that the professorate IN
theo'ogical seminary is occupied by SON
minister of the gospel who, not being alb
40 preach himself. is set to teach othel
low to preach. In more cases than OF
the poorest speaker in the faculty IS II
rofessor of elocutlon. >,
We want more wideawake, more adj
Iodied. able-minded men, more enthusia
&c men. in our theological seminaries an
IN the professorates-men like Addlso
Aleyander. who could during the wee
teacb Young men the theory of preachir
end then on Sunday 60 into the pulp
md with the thunder and lightning
CHRISTIAN eloouence show them how. VIVA
would YOU think of faculty of unsucces
FIJI merchants to train young merchan
or a faculty Of unsuccessful lawyers
train Young lawyers!
tt is often the case that theological ser
inaries cut man and clip him and squa
lir, and mod him and bore him an
twist him until all the individual IS goI
out of him. and he is only poor. copy
man who was elected to professora
lecause he could not preach.
We want less dead wood In the tneoiog
cal seminaries and more flaming evangel
' declare that a man who cannot prsaf
himself cannot teach others how
preach.
At meeting Of the General Ascend
e. the Presbyterian Church of the Unite
states. a clergyman accustomed on u
Sabbath to preach to an audience OF tV
or three hundred people in an audien
loom that could hold 1900 was appoint,
10 preach q sermon on how to reach u
,rssses / am told the incongruity vi
TOO much for the disabilities of many OF Il
,,ergv in the audience. Now, your
NAN coming out from such bedwartng !
Huances, how can he enter into the wan
and the woes and the sympathies OF pc
lie who want on the Lords day prac
,al gospel that will help them all T.
week and help them forever?
Young ministers are told they mu