The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1915-11-04
In the Religious World
A King Who Put Business Into Religion.
Overlooking the Preacher.

TO have the temple repaired, but
without success. He Was slow In
finding out the reason. which was
nothing more or less than that he
had followed very modern fashion
OF trying to have the priests do 1t
all. He wanted the priests To pro-
vide the money and to do the work.
but that was more than even the
patient preacher could stand. Not
until q business system Was intro
duced, and burdens distributed. and
the lay workers called In each to do
his own part, was the big Job OF
temple restoration put through.
There are a good many objections
to the present popular program Of
loading all the work of Q church on
TO the preacher. One Is sufiicicnt
to point out. II does not succeed.
There never was preacher big
enough TO carry whole church: and
there never will be. Those congre-
cations who are asking their minis
ters to be srrand boy. parish visitor,
property committee, financial agent,
church supper organizer, delegste-to-
every thing, and general factotum
and roustabout, are guilty Of sew
eral blunders. the cardinal One be-
ing sheer stupidity. The only way
church IL going to thrive 10 for
everybody to bear his part. The
minister's tasks ought to be to
preach the Gospel. Instruct the peo-
pie and TO be a pastor Of the flock.
The officers OF the church should
have gnmption enough to see that
he does this without neglecting It,
and that they DO their own share Of
the work with equal fidelity. The
priests fitted beautifully into Joash's
scheme when Joash came to his
senses. and developed business.
like scheme for the enterprise of
temple repairing.
Money and Religion.
II has been said that the quickest
way TO dampen the enthusiasm Of
prayer meeting Is to talk money.
Nevertheless, as Of old, so today,
money IL needed for the work OF the
church. To secure 1t from proper
motives and in adequate amount, is
one Of the greatest single diflcul-
ties Of organized religion. Somehow,
the church has not as keen q flnan-
cial sense IA she had In the days
OF Joash. There Is more pettiness
exhibited In the financial aspect OF
religion than In any other manifesto
tim of Christianity-and that Is
saying a. good deal.
Anybody who has ever sat on a
church board has witnessed the
strange phenomenon of business
men, who are accustomed to doing
practical things in a practical way,
and to conducting large enterprises
In "A broad spirit, going about
church matters with an entirely new
state Of mind. which Is chiefly char
acterized, BY its &nallness. Who,
can explain why AZ is that when
business men 60 at the financial
side OF the church their ideas imme-
diatcly become peanut size? Men
who pay generously In the chamber
of commerce. or in their social clubs,
count pennies when 1t comes to the
church.
There Is many man with an in
come Of thousands of dollars q year
Who Is a total stranger to the expert
ance OF giving as much as one hun
dred dollars in a single year to the
church. A whole crowd Of epigrams
and stories have arisen. concerning
this well known condition. One is
Some men give according to their
means, and others according to
their meanness." Some Chris
tians are so stingy. that when the
minister gives out Old Hundred
they start to sing Ninety and Nine
In order to get one per cent off,"
II Christian has not religion
enough to give generously. proper
tionatcly and systematically to the
church, he has surely not religion
enough to take him TO heaven, or to
any other Christian goal The first
evidence of revival In religion In
many n church would be an increase
In the pastors salary, and the re-
pairing Of the church. have OBJ
served in heather lands that at the
entrance to the temples there is q
large chest--Joash fashion--for the
receipt Of offerings. The first act OF
worship in heathendom is to make q
gift.
Now, as of old, the grave problem
is one OF putting the church into At
condition on her material side, and
in her spiritual strength, to meet
tho crisis that is now open TIRE