Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-23
"A SECTARIAN CHURCH
SERVES ONLY ITSELF
William Horace Day breaches on "A
New Church for New Age"
at First Congregational
Church

institutional work in the hands of the
associations. The secretaries and officers
occupied seats of honor on the platform,
joining in the professional with the kind
ergarten church.
Brief addresses were made by the Sec
retaries of religious work, Miss Edith
Conde and E. H. Emmett. The earnest
ness and the wisdom of the plans for the
religious work for the young men and
women of the city, as outlined, made a
deep impression. The pastor, William
Horace Day, preached the sermon, taking
for his text Revelations xxi:5: Behold
l make. all things new" The subject
chosen was "a New Church for New
Age" He said:
''In though, industry and social life
this is new age. More rapid changes
have occurred in the last century than in
the preceding millennium. Bewildering in
novations come rolling in upon us as a
spring tide sweeps upon a level beach.
The most conspicuous fact in this new
age is the rise of democracy. Compass
sion for the multitude moves the hearts
of earnest men. Our art and our litera-
ture center our interest upon social situ-
ations. In this age of the social question
every city is trying to clean house. Such
an age cannot but develop religious tend
encies peculiar to itself. Among others,
me: The decline of sectarianism, the crit
ical movement, and the social passion.
One is ecclesiastical, one is intellectual,
and one is ethical. In response to the
new age, has new church been grow
ing?
Have we a new church? Many a sad
voice replies: Yes, alas, we have a new
church, and the Christ is dishonored be-
cause we have departed from the church
of yesterday. Jesus did found an abiding
church, and founded it on a rock. He
further warned his followers against the
new teachers who should come with fads
misleading the multitude. We have been
told by the new that the old is outworn
and should all be done away with.
when 1 think of the story which is as
eternal as Gods love and mans sin, l
feel like singing The old-time religion is
good enough for me-; but there is a sense
in which the old-time religion is not good
enough for anyone. Our Lord commanded
the man who should lead the church by
bringing forth things new as we'll as old
from his treasure. When the chruch is
content to live merely in the old, 1t fails.
1t must bring forth new ideas, new forms
of service to meet the needs of each new
age.
while the critics discussed the coffin
for a dead church, and friends were seek
ing a stimulant to awaken a comatose
church, the great head of the church has
been working without observation and
we have a new church for new age.
New Age
"Our Christian associations disclose a
new church serving a new age In no
small degree the associations have been
the agency by which this newness of SER
vice has been reached. I have spoken of
the decline of sectarianism, the critical
movement, and the social passion as be-
longing to this new age. In using these
tendencies as means of religious better
ment and in preventing them from being
one-sde>. and destructive, we have the
earnest leadership among the young men
and young women to thank. The secta-
rian church forgets that it is here to
serve the kingdom and seeks to serve it.
self
| '1t becomes self-centered ana self-satis-
fed. Your work has performed wonders
| in minimizing intolerant narrowness, and
| has no less served in preventing the op-
posite extreme-disloyalty to the church
by persistently seeking to be the servant
of the church. No one of us pastors here
can do other than rise up am call these
association workers blesseu for their con-
/ tributions to the vitality of the life OF
|
hand in meeting t. negative work Of
| the critical movement
| For a gener ion It's intellectual ten
dency has seemed to destroy reverence
and interest for the Bible. You have not
| furnished an arena for the controversy OF
| the hour, but you have redoubled your
work in teaching the Bible as the founda-
ton of inspiration for right living. In a
measure at least, through your work In
our colleges. there are today over $4,000
students doing regular Bible work
Whereas a generation ago very few high
er institutions hao courses of Bible In
their curriculum, today there are very
few whicn do not have such courses.
'That interest in Bible study has spread
and Roman Catholics and Jews are study
ing the word. I am not speaking at ran
dom when 1 say there are more earnest
Bible students in the world at this hour
| than ever in the human history. The as
| sociations are helping the church share
in the social passion. The meeting in the
upper room in st. Pauls churchyard
where the first association was born. was
led by George Williams, the young dry
goods clerk, who combined evangelistic
fervor with social passion. How to bet
ter the young men in the drapery trade
was the object.
ut was to be done by bringing the indi-
vidual to the Christ he had found in the
country chapel in Bridgewater, and also
to secure more reasonable hours of ser
vice. 1t was TO accomplish great service
as winner of souls and also in promot-
ing the early closing which finally affect
ed all British retaildo These associa-
tions have helped the new church tc
serve the new age because :. has beer
true to the old. The evangelistic purpose
has never been forgotten. In the associ.
ations the attempt has been made to an.
swer the question of the careless or the
perplexed, What of the Christ?' has
never failed of the message. Follow thou
me- In the presence of these our guests
we can never forget that the new church
is serving the new age