The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

leaders are busy with the work OF get
ting delegates to the national conven-
fons. Except a candidate have follow
ers who can be counted on when nom
nations are made, his chances of sue
cess are nothing. The methods anu
motives were vastly different, yet 1t Is
perhaps not irreverent to describe TINS
episode in the public work OF Jesus as
his enlisting of delegates. He was pc
ginning to build up an organization ana
these first disciples were to De tne
leaders OF his party.
Some persons may b shocked at the
idea of Jesus forming an organizatlon;;
He did far more than that, but ne olu
that too. His group of immediate Iol-
lowers were the nucleus or the Cntia
tiau church. Upon tn I'm he depenoeo
for the carrying out OF nj Work . 49,
he should be gone. They were sllL i
indispensable to him in his MISSION
That they were only the average sort
of men was no mere chance: Jesus
let it be known that ne depenoeu upoI I
the rank and file of mankind, men
whose mediocre talents became nasnCy'
when transfused by his spirit. TOT lhe
carrying out of his ideals This is a
great story for the commonplace HAL
The Hills of Home
Nearly a year elapsed between the
ffon of Jesus and his calling OF
the first disciples. Jesus had turneu
his face back to Galilee, his boynooo
home Amid the excitement OF NE VI
Jerusalem his human heart oIten a. 'I htiis
ed IongingIy toward the sweet mus
over which he had ranged in poynoou-
He Ionged for sight of the Wlld now
ers that he loved, and for the IreSh
breezes that blow over Gahlee- Inc
heart of man is hungry for nome; no
other spot on earth ever seems quite
SO attractive as that in which ne spent
his boyhood. ..,...
An out-of-doors, close-to-nature spirlt
was that of Christ. He loved the
sparkle of Galilee's waters in the sun
light, and the flashing of its surface
into great waves when W1nos dro9e:
The gentle green hills OF the mount OF OF
Featitudes the towering dignity OF
snow capped Hermon and the navy
brown of the hills on the eastern shore
of the lake, all were beaut11ul IN ms
eyes. Capernaum, the noble city at the
head of the lake, was a second home TO
him. 1888
He knew these people, and loved
them. They were his kind of folk
sturdy, brave, loyal, out-of-doors men,
1t was most natural that ne shoulo 30
workers He could understand ana
count upon them There is nothing
strange about the fact that Jesus went |
to the haunts of fishermen and peas |
ao+S ra+her than TO a theological SEM
Snary. when he sought members for his |
cabinet.
Team Work That Wins.
The big heavy boats of Galilee-I
have ridden in them. and have seen |
them half filled with fish-could not
be handled by one man; they neeoeo
team work. Jesus called to his serv-
ice men who were used to working
with men. That is first quality Tor
success in organized service. Inc
ability to get along with fellow WORK
ers, and to help and be helped neltn-
er overrating nor undertaking an as
soctate, is talent which often counts
for more than genius.
We have come to the era of organi- |
cation; and it is as distinct perloo
in church history as many OF the ms
tory epochs of the older days. Not
doctrine but service engrosses the
Thought of church councils today. |
The Men and Religion Movement IS
"a more typical expression of the sent1-
ment of our times than any new creed
formulation. Whether we welcome or
deplore it, the fact remains that we
have entered upon the organization
age. The temper of the times de-
the common welfare is the dominant
thought The disciples of Christ to-
day must learn how to pull together
in large enterprises for the service OF
the world
BY this men will now judge the
church. AS Christians, what are we
doing to ameliorate the unbrotherly
conditions in the world, ana TO propa-
gate the life of Christ? Such funda- |
mental considerations as these are
what make important the massing OF
the men of the land at the Christian
Conservation congress of the Men
and Religion Movement in New York
city next April. We shall then see
whether the modern Johns and James
and Peters and Andrews are equal to |
their task.
In the Hour of Crisis.
what if James and John, with ap-
proved business sagacity, had replied
70 the invitation of the Master, Cant
you see that it is obviously fmpossi-
bile for us to leave our nets. Bust- |
ness is business, and it must come !
FIRST They certainly did not realize |
the influences of the opportunity that
had come to them in the voice of
Jesus. They could not see ahead. But
thew were willing to follow the best
that beckoned. They put religion |
q hove revenue, belief above business, |
the Prophet above profits. They saw |
a CLEAN of new life, and by following |
it they become transformed and trans |
formers.
There is evidence to warrant the |
statement that many Christians to- |
day are being confronted with crisis /
which means as much to them as the /
call meant to the Gailean fishermen. !
New summonses to new service in new
ways are being sounded by Prov1- |
dence. This is not only day of or |
eanization, but also of reorganization, |
IN politics, in economies, in the So
cIaI order and in religion. The need |
&c CLAIMANT for steadfast spirits who |
will stand true to the service of !
Christ, and who, in fresh and varied ,
WAYS, will apply the message of Jesus |
TO our own time
lust as these peasant friends of our
lord found a great career for them |
selves by an act of apparent renuncl- |
alton and self-Sacrifice, so we today |
NAV win to worth in the kingdom by
tn iris NO I