Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-11-07
Increase and Efficiency
Sermon by
REV. ELOiD W. TOMkINS.
TcNt: Eph. L. Lie

the word efficiency" because OF it's
frequent use in connection with the
great and awful European war The
efficiency" Of an army. of a nation:
the lower to- conquer because of years
Of preparation; the exact location OF
forces and the accuracy In the aim
, ms OF suns-thcsc do not appeal To
Christians, who hate as con-
tradiction Of the divine law of love.
Yet We should learn from the children
o: this world who are often wiser
than the "children of light" Ir NC can
only be efficient i'll our Chr.tian
warfare with sin as some nations arc
efficient in their terrible wa";ar'a
AGAINST their brothers. we VIII go forth
"conaucring ana to conquer The " Ird
increase" also IL subject TO criticism.
We are always counting success
measured by numbers: we say so
many hundreds or thousands. AID sc
delight in figures. What Will We do
when we see ~ great multitude which
no man can number? tRev. v!i. -.
Yet we wish to bring as many men mo
the Christian fold as we can. We
long to have the church increase IN
holiness and righteousness. We pray
. for an Increase Of grace in our OWE
' lives. So we may sauctify this word
also and lift IL up from human boast
ing to the high plane of Christian
service. Increase and efficiency. Dear
Lord. help m" 10 grow in grace and
40 bring others TO Thy cross. iicin
me 10 do better work and To strengthen
Thy kingdom here on earth" Tars
the earnest Christian prays.
INCREASED NUMBERS SHOULD
MEAN MORE EFFICIENT WORK
These Two cndeavors should always
be united with increased numbers
should come efficiency in character and
work. My church may he full Jf pcO-
pie. but IL they are not doing ANYTHING
10 help spread tho GOSPEL. II they are
not purer and noblcr and more prayer
ful rs n result Of their church attend
=, ancc, then their crowding the s.uctu:
Vary is simply the bringing of ~ vain
ob!at!on" lisa i Ia. What a,n |
doing 10 bring the world to Jesus
Christi" This must be the question
earnestly asked by every Christian
man. Hut AT the same time he must
ask himself: Am becoming b.
ter man In my moral living; In my self
control IN my unsclashucss. In my
prayer-life?" Phillips Brooks once
preached a wonderful sermon viii n
nc entitled. "Hulk and Essence his
text being st Matthew xii 20, and
in IT is this striking passage: 1T
was recently said to me that the mpSt
important question for the church in
'si Na"' - lll'f 4littIltiFt4 'lB'-Ilftt. MAS
for us II the church came 10 think IKE
that,
The financial question is question
Of bulk. II has no relation TO charac-
ter. 1t inquiries. How great can we
make the church, not, What can we
make the church" You might make
IN" church as rich as YOU please. and
make her narrower and bascr al! tho
time. The questions OF faith Of worship.
Of spiritual lif", OF missions, are cues
lions OF essential quality. No church
Is healthy which is not ready to see
herself made indefinitely small and
poor, IL only she can keep and feel
growing within her the love Of God
and love OF man, which are the cs-
sencc OF the church's life"
THINK TOO MUCH OF
HULK IN THESE DAYS
There can be no question but that in
these modern days we think too much
OF bulk. 81 hign"ss. OF physical increase.
With our great buildings reaching 10
The skies Ike twentieth century towers
of Babel: with our luxurious establish
mcntS with the census takcr coming
around every now and then to count
ny. and with the measure OF wealth
holding us individually and nationally.
He are made fairly dizzy. But the great
= moral issues, the questions OF impurity
and dishonesty. the sacredncss Of the
home. the uprightncss Of personal char
aCter-thcs" ar. sighted and counted
of secondary Importance. II is splendid
10 think Of our land a refuge for
The poor people driven from their ma
tive places by cruelty and oppression:
but arc we giving them rapidly as
they como the great lessons Of obedi-
,cnce to law, OF temperance, OF thrift?
Cod surely does not look upon the big
ness OF a state or upon its wealth. any
more than He considers the number of
feet and inches he measures He looks
at the heart-there is where the real
issues Of life are to be found
40 VIRTUE IN SMALLNESS
WHEN 1T NIGHT DE BIGNEsS
Yet we might not pass over increase
entirely as Of no Importance. The
church should grow. the Christian So
ciety should show advance. the Sunday
school should gather more children.
There is no virtue in smallness when il
might be b!gness, only want char
acter and worth in bigncss. II must
have such readiness as will bear inrcSti-
cation. such life as will throb it's power
into the weary world around it and
inspire that world to new hope and
courage a little man may he Il very
mean man. Just as big tall man may
be a very empty and unintelliScnt man.
Let us grow, but let our growth be
such that II can endure attacks and
hard times and survive criticism and
prove itself genuine.
But we must go a little deeper. Can
not increase and efficiency join hands
and help one another? If a strong
man can endure more than weak
man. and II an intelligent man can
gain more from life than an ignorant
man. then surely each needs the other;
one supplements the other. \ big
church. just because il is big, has n
7vo dcrful opportunity to do good
work. and a working church just be-
cause it is active, has Il great chance
10 grow spiritually. For. mark you.
the impulse is such that it feeds upon
it's own virtue and grows from its own
inherent force. The more people there
are in the church the more the de-
nand for service; the deeper the Chris
tianity OF church the more men are
attracted to her; the more one has the
,Snore he fs called on to use It, II gives
Sus that splendid mutual play upon
each other which increase and enicien-