The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-30
SERMON ON DUTIES OF COMMUNICATES Rev. Quincy Ewing Breaches at Church of the Advent MEANS OF REDUCING CRIME Every Disciple Should Also Be Mis- sonary-Men Should Not Mere
 Iy Watch Their Personal
 Religion.
MEANS OF REDUCING CRIME

The Rev Quincy Ewing rector ol tile Church of the Advent, preached there yesterday on the Duties of communi- cants." He emphasized their obligations in purifying the world and winning the world to Christ
 His text was: But ye are chosen gen. eration, royal priesthood, an holy na- tion. peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His mar vicious light q Pet. 2:9).'
 He said.
 There have been many explanations or fered by secular and ecclesiastical hls- torians of the marvellously rapid spread of Christianity in the early days, and of the relative slowness of it's advance in all subsequent times The historical student cannot but perceive that, if in proportion to it's resources, the church had made as many converts to it's teachings in later centuries as il did in the first Of it's existence, the gospel would long ago have been preached to all nations, and the world have become Christian. The fact admitted. if was inevitable that his tDllHnS SGOulu ullhti i''iAt t' 'oNVN--- it. some on one ground. some on another Doubtless We need more than a single explanations and perhaps we can afford to attach some value to all that have been so far offered.
 But there is one explanation Of the failure of the Christian church to keep pace with it's opportunities in later times as il kept pace with them in the first hundred years of it's missionary activity, whch, 1t seems to me is more explana- tory than all the others that have been offered; and 1t is one, that so far as l know, has never been urged as strongly as 1t should have been.
 It is this, namely: the absence in the early time of that sharp division between the clergy and the people, the hierarchy and the laity, which we are faml,ar with today, and which began to be very soon after the apostolic voices were sllenced. Without dwelling upon the obvious causes that made necessary the rise Of what we know as the Christian ministry, we may say that it seems to have been followed almost, if not quite, immediately by decline in the aggressive spiritual fervor of the great body of those who were called Christians And the reason Is sim ple enough When the distinction became fixed and sharp between the hierarchy and the laity, between the officials or the church and the mass of the people over whom they were set the mass of the peo- pie were not long in concluding that as there were two separate orders of mem hersbin in the church, there should De also two separate planes of obligation ana ,esnonsibility, one for them, one Tor the officials above them; and wider and wluer xvith the lapse of years the separatioi' came to he in actual experience pe,"eeN the two planes of obligation ana respoil sibilitv. The hierarchy, on the one hahu too human not to feel the elevation oi their position and to claim ior .neiii selves as much power and distinction as ,,aseible. and inc people, on the other, human enough to be nightly appeaieu to Inv the temptation to shift responsi- hilities from their own to the shouluers of the hierarchy. the inevitable result TOT lowed that more and more II seemed to be the exclusive duty and business or ,he elevated order to bear witness to the redemptiye truths of the gospel, and add converts to the church
 All Disciples Missionaries.
 1nrmerly. every true disciple of Christ bad seemed to himself a missionary for Christ The numerous conversions to Christianity within the first fifty years of its existence cannot possibly De ac- counted for by simply the powerful nreaching and teaching of the apostles and others appointed by them to leader shin in the church They were far too few to have brought about result so immense, whatever their power, thelr zeal. and their activity. We must sup pose that they were largely assisted by their conVerts; that every true convert from the moment of conversion became himself or herself, vital centre of mis- sionary activity n teacher of the un- taught. a witness to Christ by the min istry of word and deed. We must suppose that the men and women made Christians by the preaching of the apostles under stood it to be their duty well as the apostles to make other people Christians by serving and proclaiming the faith they professed- lifting as they had been lifted from despair to hope, leading as they had been led. from darkness to light.
 Some were more gifted than others for missionary service of the cause dearest to their hearts, and differences of gifts were freely acknowledged; but there was no true disciple so ungfted spiritually as to suppose that his conversion to Christ conferred upon him a mere personal privi- lege. a mere private possession, which he Wdh uuttI np obilSdllpil lu SidIt Wllu those who lacked: no true disciple who supposed that the active zeal of Paul, Peter. John, absolved him from zealous activity. none who deemed 1t fitting that the extraordinary services of apostle, elder, deacon. should be held to make atonement for his lack of service--pro- vided only he gave them personally his sympathy and attention.
 The great distinction of the apostles in the eyes of the people generally was that they were witnesses of Christ who had been taught by Him face to face, not that they had been ordained by Him to the highest office in an organized sys- tenn of ecclesiastical polity; and herein too, was the chief distinction of all who took a leading part as preachers and mis- sionaries of the Gospel in apostolic days; they were listened to as men with a mes sage of peculiar value and importance. because they had first-hand knowledge of the truths and events they declared or because they had been intimately asso- ciated with, and those instructed by those who did have such knowledge.
 The passing of the first witnesses and their immediate successors issued in new