The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-14
TALMAGE's SECRET.
How n SOlemn-Faced Missionary Be
came a Great Pulpit Actor.

How SOlemn-Faced Missionary Be
came Great Pulpit Actor.
In 1897 ministerial admirer Il DR.. Tai
mage told in the Chicago Times Herald the
following story of the genesis of the great
preachers success in the pulpit
The story as il was told me- We were
missionaries together in frontier town Of
the great Northwest; he a stiffback. strait
laced Presbyterian, who had swerved from
the old Dutch Reform Church of the Mo
hawk valley to fill a more modern niche
l of more liberal faith He was an old
man; 1 young. In one Of our many long
conversations, for we were cronies, and
liked to hear his "reminiscences, he told me
of his school-fellow Taimage. What! L.
De WITH Yea. verify. the same. We were
in college and in the theological seminary
together" Being encoura ged, the dominic
went on. Robert Talmage was the great
Talmage Of the Talmage family. He was
born great, he has been q missionary in
China many, many years, but De Witt has
made himself great" You interest me,
genius of birth and of growth both in the
grows. develops-there is hope for some of
US. maybe" A broad grin spread his
face as he complied We were installed
in charges not very distant from each
other, and as two young men began our
work. 1t was among the good old Dutch
Reform brethren, not far from New York.
now, De Witt and myself were brought to-
gether from time to time. We were inter-
ested. yes, glad, to know of the growth of
the Lords work in each others hands
During the first year we met one day, and
TO my hail, De Witt, how goes the times?'
he made an. answer Tvs SLOW slow g., slow
empty pews l tell you B., l am going TO
make a break L laughed and said: You
better spend more time with your Bible;
be on your knees more for your people.
Agonize more for souls He replied has
tily: Il do all those things, am wearing my
self out TO no purpose that way and L am
going to make a break.
I'VE went our several ways and had for
gotten his threat. if indeed it was a threat,
L am going to make a break, when one
day met committee, and / grasped
his hand with the We'll, old boy, how goes
it? His answer was 'First-rate. splendid,
and he looked it. But l whispered, they
All right said he. I'll go to a larger
place You made the break and have no
empty. pews; tell me about it,, And this
was his story. He noticed the show people
and theater people had the willing crowds,
and the churches the unwilling few. What
was the secret? Who had the secret? Evil
IDENTIFY the 7ctors We have had the best
of training, but the drawing power is not
with us or our teachers. Christ had the
multitude, why not We? Talmage had been
long thinking on those lines, and with him
TO think was TO act He Immediately wrote
TO a friend in New York city for the ad-
dress of some one who would be a good
engagement was greeted at his door. 1t
his annual summer vacation. The man
looked surprised when he learned De Wits
GRAND, seemed TO hesitate for moment,
and then said, Mr.. Talmage, 1 suspect you
are a clergyman, and | never train clergy
men, so cannot take you as a pupil De
Witt bridled at the thought Why. sir.
why?' Simply impossible. You would not
do as l tell you, and if you did they would
expel you g from ron the pulpit 3 But t., will will DO
expulsion But let me give you the story
in his own words. The trainer went TO
say: You were educated all wrong ac-
cording TO our standard of Speaking All
ministers are j answered promptly. j be-
lieve you He continued, You speak from
u little box pulpit high up? Yes sir viii
you agree to abandon that and have large
platform like a stage for you to walk
around on to talk to men from? Yes, sir,
with some hesitation, as the ghosts of min
isterial propriety glared at me from the UNI
changing past. However, Mr.. Talmage, the
greatest difficulty to remove l will find in
yourself rather than in the church building
There is not thing you have been trying
to do but is wrong He was growing in
teresting. Mr.. Talmage you believe in this
book picking up a small Bible, that men
must know it's truths: Yes, sir. l do
That II they would be saved they must re-
ceive them? That the choice of life death
is here?' Yes. sir That thousands will
go down to death unsaved unless you teach
them TO receive Christ? Yes, sir And this
is the way you go about it Changing his
quick nervous, earnest ways to great de-
liberation he Strengthened up to his high
est. seemingly. buttOned his coat, touched
UP his hair, slowly adjusted a pair Of
glasses, dropped his arms by his sides and
began a dead march in Saul pace 10 the
imaginary pulpit. A face of chalk would
have had as much expression as his as he
calmly opened the book and read in a per-
functory way some Scripture. He cleared
his ministerial voice, and turning TO me.
said. Mr.. Talmage did / do il justice?'
Yes too true to life He came back to my
SIDE unbuttoned his coat put on the alert
ok. strobe 10 his pulpit, opened the book
with ca gerneSS and with flashing eve and
fervid voice read Scripture, making my
blood tingle. His every hair seemed to be
lieve and speak. his flesh TO creep as If pent
with great message. He talked though
he stood between the living and the dead,
as though for the last time. AS though
earth a grain of sand were being lost on
the shores of Oblivion and frosted ana
palSied all the achievements OF man IL
lifeless with dignity before he was now all
life. all eloquence. He stopped and said
Mr.. Talmage. will you do like that? | said
1 will try He said: Note this. you min
listers express what you believe in such a
way that people do not believe you believe
IL while We actors express what we do not
believe in such a way thai. people believe
mage Il have the secret and the multi
tude."
Guided: when you again see the great
Talmage trying to force his fingers into the
wall TO scramble up the side, as he de-
scribes the sinking ship. and mans sinking
condition. you will remember that IL all
traces be ok 10 the time when he made q
break I'm our early ministry. when he be-
came a real man dealing with living issues.
before a real multitude. Talmage allowed
himself 10 be made over. he expresses the fire
and fury of our Saxon fOrefatheTs. He was
taught that God expresses himself I'm life:
life in face and feature. in foot and form.
Ii is so rare and racy and right that men
pay princely prices for Talmage-S500 for
one of his lectures-while i am fotgotten
Oh this frontier, but am not lonesome. /