The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1908-05-28
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
Or. CURTIS LEE LAWS.
Theme: Men in the Church.

preached a special sermon to men
The service was held under the
auspices of the Mems League of the
church. In the course of his address
he said some very strong things. The
subject was why There Are More
Women Than Men in the Church.
He took no text, but at once vigorous
ly took up his theme. He said:
It is not a fact that our churches
are not reaching men In our day and
in our city We are reaching men;
we are reaching men in large num-
bers and men frorl all classes OF So
clety But It is fact that we are not
reaching men in the same proportion
and to the same number as we are
reaching women. This is a fact, and
It is a fact to which we cannot be In.
nocently indifferent. We must meet
the situation fairly, and II the fault
is in the church we must remove it.
Here are facts which no one will
dispute. Fully two-thirds of the
church members OF our country are
women and more than two-thirds OF
the people In the church congregation
are women | doubt very much II we
have I'm Brooklyn a single church with
more than thlrty-three per cent. OF
men in its membership. This is
startling fact when we come to con-
slider II, and 1t becomes more start
ling still IL church membership bears
any relation to the question OF saliva
tion. Few will claim that a man must
be a member of some church to be
saved, but all will agree that the
church is the place for saved men,
and that, generally speaking, saved
men are in the church.
Why, then, is It, that with all our
equipment and zeal, we are not able
to reach men in the same proportion
as we reach women? Why is It that
only third of our membership are
men, and that, relatively speaking,
we have so few men in our congrega.
tions? Personally l love men. re-
joice in their society and fellowship,
and do my best to interest them in
Christianity and the church, and yet,
broadly speaking, we have the same
conditions in our church that prevail
everywhere else. I come to the study
of this question with a great deal OF
personal interest and after a great
deal Of thought.
1t is claimed by specialists who
have studied this question that the
reason why men are not attracted &c
the church In larger numbers Is that
the ministry of the modern church is
not strong enough intellectually to
satisfy men of culture and education.
This is practically the ground taken
by writer in a famous article pub.
lished in one of our magazines. After
talking with hundreds of young men
the writer came to the conclusion that
"The modern pulpit is sluggish and
stagnant. and that young men alb.
sent themselves from church simply
because the average minister is dull
and heavy and behind the times.
Are the men who do not attend
church brainier, more intelligent OF
more cultured than the men who do
attend church? l would like to see
the men who do not attend church
placed upon the south side of one Of
our streets and the men who do at
tend church placed upon the north
side of the same street. Then I would
like to drive slowly along the street
between these two groups that
might study their faces. On which
side do you think | would find the
brains and the culture, and the re.
finement and the character?
Again, when non-churchgoing men
prate about the uninteresting preach
ers, ] always feel that they are cast
ing needless insults into the teeth of
their mothers and daughters and
wives and sweethearts. Women read
more than men, and except abou, po-
lltical and commercial questions they
are better informed than men. Not
withstanding their higher culture and
their greater refinement, the women
do not find the sermons of the average
preacher dun and inconsequentiaI.
Again, 1t is claimed that the
churches don't seek the mel nor well
come them to the services as they
should. Now personally | do not be-
lieye a word of this. / have been for
years very closely Identified with the
church life of great city, and | have
been in close personal relations with
greath many of our ministers, and
tell you that the whole Christian
church is making a mighty effort tc
reach the unchurched men Of the city
And wanting them as much as we do
Il is nonsense to talk about not vel
coming them. / have heard that in q
certain section of Maine there is &
church which has out in the vestibulC
q nickel-in-the-slot machine All that
a stranger has to do is to walk in anC
drop in his nickel and out from tn,
machine comes a hand to grasp his IL
cordial welcome We do not hav,
anything like that here, but we car
beat that in our church, for her,
many stranger gets a hearty hand
grasp and goes away with his nicke
in his pocket
/ tell you that men are welcome II
our churches; men, irrespective Of tn
accident of fine clothing; men, how
ever dressed and however wicked
they are all welcome in nineteenth
OF the churches and what is more
they know quite we'll they will no
only be welcome, but that we ar
praying that they may come. Let u
glance now at some of the real rea
sons why men do not come TO ou
churches and into our churches, a
their sisters do.
Men are driven so hard by the worl
OF the week that when Sunday come
many Of them are In a state Of col
lapse mentally, and so they spend tn
time in bed, or else they betake them
selves to the parks or TO the countr
for recuperation.
| know many men who are commit
ting slow suicide by the work whic
they are attempting to do, and kno,
that when Sunday comes they snatc
little rest as their only safety
feel that In some way they must ge
out from under the burden whic
they are bearing. some by choice an
more by necessity or else while takin
care OF this life they Will by shee
neglect lose the life which is to come
Now, women, on the other hand, hav