Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1917-05-31
Obo
Peoples Forum
What Ails Ashland,s Churches? ?

II. Barnnlll at the ldsI meetluB v
the Mems Social Service League.)
The views set forth in this pape
are fairly representative of a larg
percentage of church members ant
also of many outsiders. They ar
the result of twenty-four years o
more or less active church member
ship and are given for your careful
and prayerful consideration.
The trouble with Ashland churchei
can be summed up in one little three
letter word, which begins with the
crookedest letter in the alphabet ant
has a dot over the second one. We
church members are supposed to be
saved from our sins, but most of us
have either backslidden or never got
ten far enough forward to be really
inside the kingdom.
It is a very common and very
great mistake to take unsaved people
into the church About all that is
necessary to get into an Ashland
church is to say you believe in God
and the devils also believe and trem-
BILE. Who doesn't? It is really
easier than joining lodge, for in the
latter case you have to pay men,
bership fee, while some Christians
deadhead their way through church
and never pay for the benefits re-
ceived.
Conditions of church membership
are made very easy in order to get
as many people as possible into the
church, the intention being to save
them afterwards, If they are still in
a lost state But is this done? What
special efforts are made to make sure
that new members are safe within
the spiritual fold and have really got
ten the upper hand of the world, the
flesh and the devil? Is 1t not true
that almost all the effort in this line
is directed toward getting the out
sider's name on the church book?
After that is accomplished he is con-
sidered comparatively safe. He is
where he is surrounded by all the
good influences of the church and It
is assumed that he will grow in grace
until he has reached the full stature
of Christian manhood and woman
hood. II he dosen't, 1t is his own
fault, we say But is 1t?
In many cases the new member has
merely expressed IAN earnest desire
to flee from the wrath to come" and
he joins church in the hope that the
preacher and other members will
teach him the way of salvation. It
is taken for granted that the new
member is saved and sanctified and
he naturally feels backward about
confessing that he isn't, for that
would make him out something of a
hypocrite for joining. And so he
drifts along, soon learning to soothe
his conscience with the thought that
he has lots of company In the shape
of other members who haven't any
more religion than he has.
Meanwhile. the preacher and
band of peronal workers are making
every effort to rope in more new
members. But what does 1t profit
church to gain new members If they
lose their souls in sin? The crying
need of our church membership is
quality, not quantity.
The preaching which is heard in
Ashland churches would be more ef-
fective if It dealt less in obvious. self
evident truths and meaningless gen
eralities and more in practical discus
sions of particular problems. The
average sermon contains nothing new,
nothing that most Christians haven't
heard hundreds Of times. It is all
true enough and all good enough, but
you can't interest people by telling
them that two plus two makes four
and that we ought to be good because
the Bible says so.
About nine-tenths OF the preaching
we hear is adapted to those who have
never heard the Gospel, although the
average congregation is composed al
most wholly Of believers. people who
are familiar with the Bible and its
teachings. Sermons should be adapt
ed to those who hear them.
But" say the ministers, "1f the
people are familiar with the precepts
we preach, why don't they put them
into practice and live accordingly?
Because their hearts haven't been
changed and they are unable to over
come their sinful natures. Most
church members know about what
they ought to do, without being told
over and over every Sunday. Fur
thermore, 1t is a mistake to assume
that they don't do the good which
they know they ought because they
don't want to- AS Pau says, they
find within themselves two conflict
ing forces and that which they would