Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-12-17

$50 1 " 4 1%oLAA41 IL
ture; | went to worship, and / was simply entertained.
The preacher was a brilliant man, and his address was
an intellectual treat, but l did not go to church to. hear q
professional lecturer. I do not like to hear a preacher try
to be either orator or artist. ] am pleased if he is both,
but before everything else l want him to bear me the Mas
ter's message, and I want to listen to the word of Christ,
and Him crucifed.''
The man who said this was highly educated, widely
experienced, and acquainted with men and life. He was
world weary with the WEAKNESS which comes from inces'
SAINT contact with every phase of human activity, both
good and bad, and great and small.
Taking the above Illustration to be indicative Of the
desires OF the majority, and Judging from the great mum
per or people who day after day, and night after night,
listened attentively to Mr.. Sunday, it seems to us that any
observing person can make no other logical deduction than
that the people, first of all, want the man who is in the pull.
pit to be a minister of the gospel-they want him to preach
the word of God.
Ottumwa has had lots Of evangelists before Mr.. Sun
day, e~vangelists that were interesting takers, and some Of
them were magnetic men, but none of them got up in the
pulpit, pulled off their coat, and told the people what they
wanted to hear in the plain blunt way that Mr.. Sunday
has done. When he starts for a point he doesn't wander
around a bit, he goes straight towards the stake he wants
to drive, and hits it with a pile driver, and then throws the
governor belt off, and lets the hammer keep ON pounding
away. That's what the people want to hear from the pul-
PIT. That's the kind of expounding that men really want
from the pulpit and the only kind, that day after dav they
VIII go and listen to. 1t is written that people got up in
the middle of the night so as to be on hand early enough to
get a place where they could hear Savonarola. and came
to the door Of the building and waited outside until it
should be opened, paying no attention to the cold Of win
ter.
81 Tho Sanon oan ba co;J oF Dill, g.. 49, ,, #
and lots of them too, came to the afternoon meetings at tho
tabernacle carrying their suppers with them SO that thew
could be IN time to get a good seat for the evening services
1t is not Mr.. Sunday IS oratorial abilities that draw the nec-
pie thus, it is not dowery language or polished rhetoric.
it is simply because he breaches the Bible and ,ol;a;on
with that intense and earnest effort that can only be
createdby a most unlimited faith.
Faith in the teachings of the Bible is tho nover +h.4
must help the successful minister of TODAY. inst . =
helped the disciples. The minister whose sermons ; 1o
lures or SIMPLY discussions Of current topics. is. when ba
IS preaching them, furnishing all the evidence that Is >
essary TO establish the fact that he himself does NOT have
faith enough IN the Bible to believe he can interest his liz
teners while ne is preaching it. If he did have that fa;t,
he would be preaching a good sermon instead Of maxine
a poor lecture.
Billy Sunday has the faith in the Bible that makes bin,
know that the people want to hear it, therefore he nro.oho,
a good sermon.
Billy Sunday is a full grown man. He was . man -
fore he was a preacher; he knows men and he knows y,
world. He knows that the man Of today does not, want =
hear, from the pulpit, of new discoveries or invantiona
but what he does want to hear from the pulpit in n1.;.
certain and decisive tones and words, is the fundannonta,
teachings Of Christian religion. He wants to hear ~ !,
story-he knows the new ones himself. That 10 nho4 ~
man of today wants to hear from the pulpit. and R;11n
Sunday knows that he wants it, and he gives # to him
nelectual personality, deserved and West. died sa+mso