Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1909-01-21

subjects we talked about from day to
day. The deepest concerns OF every
mans life are spiritual-his loves. his
hopes, his sorrows. his burdens. As !
lay there above the music OF the whir-
ring wheels, rejecting on these mat.
ters, there required to my mind sen.
tence from a little advertising pro-
gram that is given away on the Sound
steamers-"We have bodies; we are
souls"
do not know at Just what point In
my cogitations went to sleep. but the
subject walked up with me ] have
come to the conclusion that every man
IL spirit-hungry and spirit-sensitive
once in a while. Then Is the time
that a joke book or gay crowd will
not satisfy him.
The popular" Preacher.
Right here is where have Q kick
coming against the popular" preach
ers, the men who bid for hotel patron
age and advertise catchy topics. and
when they meet you are at pains to
show you what good fellows" they
are, and how thoroughly men Of the
world. In all the preaching that l
have heard from these pulpiteers they
never 90 more than skin deep. They
take their texts out Of the newspapers
and then proceed to talk lot Of cheap
bancombe, with mighty little religion
or sense in 1t. One Of them caused q
lynching in Delaware few years ago.
Out of a varied experience with
these pulpit performers I have come
to formulate a sort Of recipe for turn
ing out q successful popular" minis
ter; maybe can sell 1t to one OF
these rich theological seminaries.
First, the candidate must have beef;
let him be big and handsome. with
plenty of girth. Then he must have
lungs of leather. When ideas fail he
will need his lungs more. Next ] would
put an unabashed manner, which
would not be flurried by the presence
of popes or potentates, and which
would jovially slap the Angel Gabriel
on the back. This insures the crown.
Il ing qualification Of a popular"
reacher-ability to utter the tritest
and thinnest platitudes with the self.
confident air Of a great philosopher
and orator who is handing down
freshly coined truth from the mint OF
heaven. Given these furnishings, and
you have a man who will draw crowds
until the almost inevitable scandal
comes along and sends him to pas
lures new and greener.
How can such creatures help q
mans spirit? They are better quail.
fed to mend soles at a shoemaker's
bench (meaning no disrespect to that
honorable calling) than to lay their
great and grimy paws on the sensitive
souls of living men and women. !
wouldn't give the unworldly old pastor
of my boyhood, who never preached
to more than 200 persons at one time
| In all his life, and who was so wrapped
I'D in spiritual concerns that he would
Lnot have been able to identify his own
clothes were he to see them on q
tramp's back, for a CARLOAD Of these
ranting fellows who are the idols OF
foolish women.
The popular" minister's desire to
be popular is SO great that he is will.
ing to sacrifice his high calling for
the sake of being called good Eel
low" His ambition Is to be man
among men," and he is always afraid
of being considered too religious. We
had one Of them In smoking car q
year or two ago. He didn't smoke him
self, for he had to keep solid with the
w. C. T. u. crowd, and have no
doubt that he Is favorite speaker at
their conventions, but he fairly fell
over himself in his efforts to make US
understand his liberal and tolerant
views on the matter of smoking, yes,
and of drinking, too. For the express
purpose Of shocking him, one man
passed his flask around; but 1t didn't
jar him little bit.
The boys were bound to faze him
somehow, so they got to telling
stories, the ripest in their repertoires.
That minister never blushed or
squirmed; not he-and when his turn
came he left the lot Of them out Of the
running. Now don't let me lose you
here; / don't want to misrepresent
any goods / handle. This lobster is
not q fair type Of the Christian minis
try; he Is only one in hundred. He
is not At to travel in the same crowd
with most of the ministers know !
hear lots of would-be-wise guys blow.
ing of hot air about preachers as q
whole, but It is only hot air; they
Judge the whole by q small part. They
accept the noisy popular" minister as
q standard, when the truth Is that he
L only a pervert, religious monstros-
Nv. q mere wart on the face Of the
body ministerial.