Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1909-01-27
The PULPIT
OF TODAY.
Extracts From Discourse BY Rev.
Crawford Grays.
(Published by request)

(Publ1Shed Dy feQueSt)
Someone will say, why pulpit for
TODAY? Is not the preachers
message the same for all the ages,
and are not the peoples needs the
same? In one sense this is true.
At the heart of the universe is the
eternal Gospel of Gods love. and
in the heart of humanity is the
eternal need of that saving love.
On the other hand, knowledge
grows, and God speaks new truth.
and the human heart develops new
needs. New problems come that
call for new application of the
Word of God. Our problems are
not by any means the problems of
the Fathers. Believing, then. that
as new needs arise God is continu-
ally revealing new satisfactions for
these needs, and that even old truth
has to be reinterpreted and put in
to the language of the day, l have
ventured to ask your attention for
a while to this subject-''The pull
pit for today
The pulpit must be TEACHING
PULPIT.
Some contend that the teaching
days of the pulpit have passed
away. Once, the preacher was the
only learned man in the commun-
ity; it is not so now; up-to-date
literature lies on the table in the
home of most people. The average
magazine is not only full of COM
mon knowledge, but is taking up
all those questions of ethics and re-
ligion that belong to the preachers
peculiar province. In face of all
this, many are saying the teaching
day of the pulpit has gone by. On
the contrary, l sometimes think it
was never so much needed. One
of the chief functions of teaching
is Interpretation, and there was
never more crying need Of the in
terpreter of the great flood Of mod
ern knowledge than there is today.
The province of the pulpit is to in
terpret truth, to see the spiritual
significance of every new word of
science; to lead the people thru the
confused and various PHILOSOPHERS
clamoring for utterance.
The greatest mistake some of our
fathers in the pulpit made was to
be afraid Of new truth. The sad.
dest thing this world offers is to
see congregation ahead of its
minister in tits appropriation Of
new things-for new things are OF
{ God as much as old. The men who
are doing most to save England to
a belief in God today are the great
teaching ministers. men who in
stead of fearing truth welcome it.
The pulpit that is injuring the
Church most today is the pulpit
that refuses to see what has beer
) gained in the modern study of the
Bible by the scholars, for it leave:
the congregation to move over tt
new conclusions unaided of a com
petent teacher and with no sym
pathy from the one who should b.
first to know and first to sympa
= thize. And congregations will d.
u this. The magazines are leading
u them to new ideas. Take, for ex
ample, Lyman Abbot's article il
the current edition of the Outlook
What the Church needs today is
4 fearless teaching pulpit.
II The pulpit for today must be a
. Inspirational Pulpit.
To meet the fag and strain an
: stress of our modern life, to kee
IL faith sweet and strong, to kee
' |" alive courage in mems hearts, t
l. keep before them the true worth
and values Of life, to put songs int
= the lives of jaded men and womer
81 to keep alive the Divine spark {
hope in every heart, to make me
ID feel how near the heavens are I
"a the earth, to show the victory thu
AZ can come from our defeat, to pot
balm into open wounds, to interpr'
IL loss and gain, joy and sorrow,
e quicken the soul to divine endeavo
a. n, to make the heart burn with ne
III and holy passion for the Lord al
o1 all His service-is the function
the pulpit. But, so much preac]
ing is assay reading about thing
US instead of a healing or quickeni1
~ vivid to men. Too much explain
70 ing the Bible instead of enforci1
ne the Divine message. Too mu'
IN preaching on what we should b
a, lieve instead of how we should liv
no When the pulpit deals with Il
as facts Of life and applies the tru
~ that meets the needs of the day
- will be inspiring, life-giving.
A Prophetical Pulpit is our nee
u A prophets chief characterize
ID is that he sees God in the life
q his own day, and hears what ne