The news & observer., 1904-12-04

parture from regular procedure Will
| his self-evident good intentions
| us there any other proof of the
brothers delinquency beyond your
statement" asked the Bishop and DR..
Smith redder than ever, gave 1t up ana
sat down.
Then there was considerable time
consumed by what was an apparent
effort to get Mr.. Stanfield made an
elder without filing the proper certit1-
cate, but the Bishop would have none
| of it. Mr.. Stanfield's fortunes were
assumed by Presiding Elder Gibbs,
who having failed to file the certificate.
endorsed the brother orally and then
explained that Brother Stanfield was in
the church. this evidently being in his
mind a clincher
| "Stanfield and his certificate are two
things" insisted the Bishop.
| During the progress of this matter
| DR.. Nash made frequent excursions
to the Bishops seat for whispered con-
ferences, while DR.. Gibbs repeated
without avail that Stanfield was in the
church. Finally the Bishop recognized
j DR.. Nash:
| 'Dr. Nash says Stanfeld amt ap-
/ plying for elders orders.
While DR.. Gibbs and others were out
preparing the Stanfield certificate. DR..
Swindell walked up with an air or
order and correctness with the papers
|
| der's orders.
"Ah," said the Bishop with satisfac-
/ ton. That's the right way to do it
] wrote it myself"
| Another name was called and at
tracted the immediate attention of an
| old preacher who arose and fired five
or six questions of a personal nature
with the rapidity of the late lamented
| Ii Hung Chang:
"How old is he? What's the size
of his family? What's the state of
| his health?"
] A layman explained: "He was
| thinking that he was proposed for the
superannuated list and, if he got on.
his living would come out of the fund
| by which he himself is Supported"
| Bishop to Young Preachers.
At eleven O'Clock William Henry
Brown and James Henry Buffaloe
were lectured by the Bishop on the
occasion of their admission into full
| membership in the conference.
| one was tall. with prominent feat
ures and a long coat that was wrinkled
with the lack of care that so often
| follows on an earnest spirit; the other
was short, dressed in a sack suit, with
eye glasses and a ~outhful brown mus
| tache-evidently preacher who had
gone into the ministry in spite OF his
environment.
| The Bishop spoke to these young
men for three-quarters of an hour
! with no attempt at elocutlon. on prac-
tical subjects, during the course of
which he attacked strongly the mod
ern trend of thought which processes
Ito have a personal faith while dis
crediting the Bible and it's teachings.
| The gain of faith by lack of con-
viction is the miracle OF moderh
thought" he declared. That is fanati-
cism-a faith apart from Gods word.
Spirit on the inside? That's what the
Mormon talks about. jefferson
/; would carry one away on bed OF
lrationalism. He had once read Tom
Paine's age Of reason-but he had al
so read Watsons answer. and that -
good to-day. "The man who rational
1 ICES is without spirit He can't bring
janybody to repentance-not even NM
/ self. He is fruitless, barren, his
Thought brings him TO life that leads
| to nothing"
Hold on to faith in God. 1t needs
no Mysteries to assist it. No minister
wanting faith can speak with author
| ity. Those afraid of being dogmatic
state nothing definite. The people who
talk the most about dogma are the
most dogmatic They are in the at
titude of saying "vou must not be dog
matte because | want space for my
dogma
! Take the Apostles creed-there is
Ino reason in that. The nationalist
says he believes in God. Why? II be-
lieve in God"-getting something out
of nothing is the worlds greatest mir
acle. | am hoping for big revival in
! the habit of saying what we believe.
| Preach good healthy sermons out
| of the Book" enioined the Bishop.
I"You can trust Christ and the Apos-
ties. l don't know why but God has
| chosen the foolishness of preaching as
the means of saving the world
Don't have one of those sitting down
and getting up services with forty min
! utes of performance by the choir en-
| joined the Bishop. God may have
/ called you to the ministry but he nev-
| er called a choir to sing forty minutes
| at q lick. Preach to them. Don
shift the center of the service. The
| church is rich in hymnology, but the
old fathers got along with very few
songs The church don't want a ca
! thedral service to empty seats-its
service is evangelical. Here is one of
these choirs that starts off the Lord
| is my Shepherd" and somebody else
says the same thing. and the basso
roots around and comes up with the
/ same thought and presently here they
Iall come loping along together and
they haven't got past the beginning.
Its out of place. Suppose YOU were
ia corpse and the choir should play