The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-05-29
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. CURTIS LEE LAWS.
Theme: Men in the Church.


! 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:
| 1t 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 FROM all classes or So
| ciety. 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
| 1t is a fact to which we cannot be in
| nocently Indifferent. We must meet
| the situation fairly, and if the fault
| is in the church we must remove 1T.
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. l doubt very much If we
| have in Brooklyn single church with
more than thirty-three per cent. of
men in its membership. This is
startling fact when we come to con-
slider it, and it becomes more start
ling still If church membership bears
any relation to the question of saliva
ton. Few will claim that 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 a third of our membership are
men, and that, relatively speaking,
we have so few men in our congrega-
tions? Personally love men. re-
joice in their society and fellowship,
and 1 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. l come to the study
,, of this question with 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 to
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
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 or
more cultured than the men who do
| attend church? I would like to see
| the hen 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 / would
| like to drive slowly along the street
between these two groups that I
! might study their faces. On which
side do you think 1 would find the
brains and the culture, and the re-
| finement and the character?
Again, when non-churchgoing men
| pirate 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 about po-
litical 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 dull and inconsequential.
/ Again, it 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-
| lieve word of this. l have been for
years very closely identified with the
church life of great city, and 1 have
| been in close personal relations with
a greath many of our ministers, and
tell you that the whole Christian
church Is making mighty effort to
| reach the unchurched men of the city.
| And wanting them as much as we do,
| 1t Is nonsense to talk about not well
coming them. l have heard that in a
| certain section of Maine there is a
| church which has out in the vestibule
nickel-in-the-slot machine. All that
q stranger has to do is to walk in and
drop in his nickel and out from the
machine comes hand to grasp his in
cordial welcome. We do not have
anything like that here, but we can
beat that in our church, for here
many stranger gets a hearty hand
grasp and goes away with his nickel
in his pocket.
l tell you that men are welcome in
our churches; men, irrespective of the
accident of fine clothing; men, how
ever dressed and however wicked; ;
they are all welcome in nine-tenths
of the churches; and what is more,
they know quite we'll they will not
only be welcome, but that we are
hnf -
glance now at some of the real rea-
sons why men do not come to our
churches and into our churches, as
their sisters do.
Men are driven so hard by the work
of the week that when Sunday comes
many of them are in a state of col
lapse mentally, and so they spend the
time in bed, or else they betake them
selves to the parks or to the country
for recuperation.
| l know many men who are commit
ting a slow suicide by the work which
they are attempting to do, and | know
that when Sunday comes they snatch
little rest as their only safety.
feel that in some way they must get
out from under the burden which
they.are bearing, some by choice and
more by necessity or else while taking
care of this life they will by sheer
neglect lose the life which is to come
Now, women, on the other hand, have
their work for the most part in the
house, and they welcome the Sabbath
day and the church services as kline
of mild entertainment and pleasant
diversion. There they see their
friends and have pleasant word, but
1.-THE men have been seeing their
friends all the week, and now they
want simply rest.
| Men have many things in their
lives which furnish them with social
life, and with little balm for their
sore consciences. Tens of thousands
of men belong to clubs and societies
and lodges. Here they spend their
leisure time and spare money, and
many of them will single out the
charitable features of these organiZa-
lions, and will say that their lodge is
their church, intoxicating all that is
p,,I