The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1913-09-18
SUNDAY SUBJECTS.

| what Is 10 De uOQe W1tu CLUTCH
members who have become indiffer
ent, lost their interest in religion, oil
worse yet, whose tupiritude demands
action by the church for its own pre-
servation? Names are dropping from
church rolls from various causes. In
a timely article on the subject the
Standard (Bapt) says: THE desire
to keep membership rolls from being
unduly inflated is laudable one. The
larger the church the temptation is
often the greater to keep its hundreds
on the rolls equal to those of the past
Such dropsical bigness is indicative
of neither size nor real strength. But
merely to puncture the membership
list to let out the lost" members is
an easy way of avoiding the real seat
of difficulty which too many churches
these days are adopting. While We
ought to do what we may to find the
lost II Is the part of wisdom for
our churches TO expend more effort to
keep their members from getting into
that condition.
| - - -
Replying to criticism by the Bos'
ton Transcript that the Episcopal
church refuses to enter into an agree
ment with other home mission; boards
to apportion fields in our own coun'
TRY among the different denomina.
lions for mission work, each agreeing
not to plant missions in the. field APP
portioned to, another, the Living
Church" II. rE.) says: "The Episco,
pal church, through all its agencies,
desires to promote church unity, but
all its agencies also decline to be a
party to pretending that it exists
when it does not. Churchmen hold
that the sacraments, as administered
by the Apostolic church, are import.
ant to all Christians; and as Protest
ants generally administer those sac
raments, If at all, in a manner that
churchmen deem seriously deficient,
it can sustain them; first. in order to
give to our own communicates the
spiritual food and assistance to which
they are entitled, and secondly, to
seek to bring others into touch with
these. Churehmen cannot occupy all
the field that there is, and in choosing
between fields IL is perfectly proper
to give preference to those that, have
least spiritual advantages rather than
to those that have some form of Chris
tian privileges already To that ex-
tent We believe our h church boards
desire to exercise the prin-
.eiple of comfy. But to promise in adj
Vance not to enter. certain fields, or to
assign fields irrevocably to Christians
who administer deficient sacraments,
our mission boards cannot do"
f. . "a
1T is an unfortunate weakness Of
human nature to be intolerant of
Others" says The Congregationalist.
Many a Christian is impatient with
those who because of weakness, mex
perience, lack of opportunities or suf.
fering the handicap of peculiar temp.
tations are laundering in the Chris
tian life. If ones real purpose is
right, If one is earnestly striving to
live righteous life, he deserves all
the encouragement and all the help
that can be given him and we should
be ever ready to quickly forgive fall
ures. Few of us do all that we ought
to do in helping one another to follow
the Master, in helping others to over
come temptations, In bringing that
which Is good and inspiring into other
disciples lives to take the place of
that which is unworthy. We shall
find as we grow more consideratef of
weaker disciples and as we tryJto
strengthen them; and to lead them
into broader fields Of service that our
own lives are enriched and strength
.ened and that we with them shall
surely and steadily grow toward the
stature, of Christ" "a' ~ +.