Danskeren. [volume] (Neenah, Wis.) 1892-1920, 1915-09-15

informed my congregation that | would not
hold a club over them, but that they were
trying to hold one over me, and that | want
ed it understood that If they voted to close
my services here Sunday morning or even
ing, that they were voting On my resignation
at the same time. The result was that the
congregation unanimously decided to do moth
ing to hinder the Billy Sunday movement,
but we would continue our own services as
W had before. The result was that Billy
sunday never came to Mansfield. Here is the
place for a very good question If Billy Sun
day was IN his campaign solely to save souls,
would he have refused to come just because
one Lutheran church, as he desired, did not
yield to his demand2 Honestly, does it not
look as if he wanted the fifteen hundred
members at his tabernacle meeting the last
night TO swell the pocketbook2 The Literary
Digest Of April third, 1915 has a photograph
Of the following check:
Z"The Lane Title and Trust Company,
Philadelphia. 10. 1917. March 20, 1918.
Sol 1868. Pay to the order Of William A
Sunday #Fifty-one Thousand One Hundred
and Thirty-six Dollars and Eighty-fiye Cents.
The Seaboard National Bank, New York. l..
A.. Davis, Secretary -
The same magazine shows that he took
from twenty-one cities 1916, 665.91 Does
this look like the follower of the humble
Nazareneg At the present time arrangements
are made with Bob Jones to come to Mans
field this fall, but the Lutheran churches
will not join the movement. Why can we not
work tremendously with professional evan
gelism9 Here is the whole trouble. If the
evangelist represents no denomination, then
he must leave out the very things the peo-
pie need, for fear he offends the churches.
The result is that he does not preach a full
Gospel. The same is true, if he does repre-
sent another denomination How can two
denominations opposed in their doctrines
honestly work together and play the hypo-
critic either by ignoring the doctrines or by
seeming to agree when they do not2 TO re
present all the denominations is just as mega
tive as to represent none. You may examine
the whole evangelistic school of preachers
in this country from the religious vaudeville
actor Billy Sunday to the reyerential, deyo-
ted, humble, earnest, God-fearing Moody;
and you will find that there is no right con
ception Of the means Of grace in their theo-
logy. There is a woeful confusion in their
minds as to the work Of the Holy Spirit and
they seem to have no conception of the real
meaning of the Holy Sacraments.
II. This leads me to speak of the great
fact that the Lutheran Church has a perfect
right to make use of the very best of the
best eyangelists. 1t would be folly to say that
we cannot learn anything Of the professlo-
nal evangelist. He is a trained man and does
things which we should not ignore. As a
rule, the trained evangelist IS very earnest
in his preaching and is fearless in his expo
sition Of the Divine law and knows how to
press home the invitation to the sinners to
come to Christ. When a Lutheran goes to
Mortified, Mass, he is deeply impressed
with two things: first. the good 1t would
DO all Lutheran pastors and preachers to 90
TO Mortified to learn how to develop the
practical side Of Christianity; secondly. the
good it would do the Moody school of prea-
chers to attend a good Lutheran Conference
or school Of theology. We Lntherans would
do well to learn Of the average evangelist
how to preach earnestly. ! do not refer to the
elownish act of tearing off collars, smashing
chairs and jumping upon the pulpit, but the
Gospel Of Jesus Christ is too great a theme
to present in a sleepy careless way. We should
preach as a dying man to dying men. Let us
not be afraid to expound the law. The Ser
mon on the Mount shows us how fearless
Christ was in showing the real meaning Of
the Commandments We cannot picture SIN
too sinful. The thunders of Sinai must pre-
cede the peace Of Calvary. Let me make an
honest confession right here. | was ready TO
60 into the ministry before | heard a real
invitation given from the pulpit Of my dear
Lutheran church to outside sinners to come
to Christ | do not mean to say that there
were not things that could thus have been
interpreted, but | do mean to say that
never heard a real direct, strong, persuasive
invitation given for sinners to come to Christ
as it should have been given. Having the
truth as we have, we should not let any
evan0oTst surDaes rs in irving the invitation