Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-01-10


ey for luxury and amusement. Is 1t any
wonder that ask, Where Is the Chris
tian discipleship that gives so out OF
proportion to its own qualification com
pared with it's duty to great causes
and social needs? Lowelrs verse
haunts me:
"God bends from out the deep and says
! gave thee Of my seed to sow;
Bringest thou me my hundredfoldr
Can look up with face aglow
And answer. Father. here Is gold? y
"I am afraid the celestial record book
will not show a very heavy deposit on
the part Of the luxury loving Chris
tians Of this day and generation"
"Then you consider that one Of the
indictments against the church of to.
day" Gordon asked as Falmouth
raised his head and sorrowfully gazed
at a picture Of the cruciflxion that
hung over his desk.
Eyes, that and lack of willingness
to bear personal burdens, to carry
crosses, to walk humbly, to apply
Jesus teaching to business, politics and
amusements. There Is q striking In.
consistency between the church mem.
bers' vows and their daily lives, espe.
cially in the business and money max.
ing world. The Christians In our
churches are not making their money
as they ought, many Of them, and they
are not giving tenth part as much as
they ought to help Gods kingdom"
THAT is sweeping charge, Mr.. Fal-
mouth. Yet you remain in the church
and continue to preach and act under
these conditions"
81 love the church." Falmouth spoke
slowly, again sinking into reverie. my
father and his were ministers. My
mother is a saint II there ever was
one, and her heart would almost break
If she heard what have said today, for
she believes the church Is Gods leaven
in sinful world. So do 1, but see its
need of regenerative cleansing 80 clear
ly that am torn between remaining
where I am to preach the truth from
the inside and going out to do my work
apart from the church as an institution.
Yet where shall l go? There are no
other institutions that are more Christ
like than the church. The labor orders
are as selfish as the church. The Or
ganizations that do not profess any re-
lgious creed are no more hopeful places
for a man to stand than the place
where I am now. could lead q very
quiet, easy life here II l were content
to go softly in and out, preach sermons
that would satisfy the intellectual or
aesthetic demands Of my congregation
and let these problems Of humanity
alone. But, Gordon"-he turned his
face to the visitor, and the Intense pas
sion Of the man shone through the
habitual gravity and culture that 9TH
erwise distinguished him-I am, un-
happily, shall ay?-no, providentialy
caught up in the social whirlwind Of
the age, and cannot-I cannot let these
questions rest. Woe is me II preach
not q whole gospel! And in order to
preach 1t I must go the entire length
of proclaiming Christ's Golden Rule
and self denying discipleship, knowing
fully that my people will grow restless
under it, knowing that they are not
willing to take up the cross daily In
order to follow their Master. And yet
there is q faithful handful. There are
some who have not bowed the knee to
Mammon. Perhaps more than have
known. God forgive me If have been
unjust or erred in my judgment Of the
church In this age"
Gordon did not venture to break the
silence that followed. When Falmouth
again raised his head, he said, with a
rare smile:
81 envy you, Gordon. I would al
most like to change places with you.
You seem to be doing work that Aeeds
to be done. You are doing things. I
am writing about them. Some day.
He stopped abruptly and then asked:
"If you were in my place, what
course would you take with the mon
eyed business men in this church to
touch them with a sense Of their re-
sponsibility and privilege as stewards
of Gods wealth"
Gordon answered instantly:
"Get as many Of them as possible to
70 down into Bowen street and see
how the other half lives"
Falmouth's eyes cleaned.
81 doubt If they will go. I'll try It.
] have never been there myself. But
I see your point. You think the men
and women Of this city do not know
the facts. You think a knowledge of
the facts would teach them to do some
thing?"
"Not necessarily. But the cultured,
wealthy people in our churches as a
rule know absolutely nothing from per-
sonal knowledge Of the horrors Of city
life. They never go outside the little
circle of the respectable. comfortable
and in many cases luxurious conditions
into which they were born. am con-
vinced that If 500 of the best business
men in the churches of this city could
see the things have seen within the
last two weeks. and know the facts
that every resident In Hope House
knows like the alphabet, the present
awful wrongs would not be permitted
in the city. The Christ method was
personal familiarity with sinful con-
ditions. He was Il Saviour because he
himself knew the sinner. The weak
ness of the church lies IN the fact that
it has dropped out so largely the per-
sonal factor and exists too much for
it's own religious life in its elaborate
church services. which in so many
cases have no other meaning than
nri1e md voiDrlOrv Of tha M rtioi.