The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1923-12-19

This is going to be addressed to thu
Protestant Christian preachers Of thu
United States.
For a long time have been lead
I ing up to the time when could givs
you q severe lecture
You need lecture. In fact yor
need series of lectures, and unless
this gets results, you will expect *
hear from me regularly-each week
like one Of those motion picture pc
rails.
Get off your high horse and sit
down. Calm yourself, because an
going to make you real mad.
/ have listened to you talk a long
time. I have attended, the services
and have been among the few mer
present in your congregations. Yor
haven't had so many women, either
That is, most of you haven't, and
know why. I am going to- tell yor
why. I am going to tell you how that
you may take your old church out Of
the GONE TO SEED" class.
This is why the average preacher
is standing still and seeing his con.
gregations stand still or grow but
slowly. He is afraid Of his congre.
cation. ~.
Yes, sir, those old preachers are
afraid Of their congregations.
Too many toes are seen by them
as they stand up in the pulpit. They
don't want to step on toes.
The result is you are preaching
sermons that have the sound of THE
OSOPHY, and that are as barren Of
religion as a frog is of feathers.
You are toadying to the "ISMS.''
There is everything in your sermon
but the Gospel. ~ .---
You are letting the modern schools
Of unbaked thought control your
thinking-or so-called thinking.
To be frank you are trying to carry
water on both shoulders at once. In
stead of forcing issues, or leading
the parade with good issues, you wait
with your ear to the ground until you
hear which side is going to be popu.
Lar, and then you hop onto that side,
Think of it. Preachers doing thatl
Yes, preachers doing that. God bless
you, not all Of them, but lot
You are thinking what kind Of an
impression you are making on the
whatever that outfit is that has
charge Of the finances of your church
Mustn't hurt any of them, or they
might decide to ASK the congregation
to side with them and ask for your
resignation. ~ -
Affects All Denominations
That sort Of thing is affecting
preachers Of every denomination, IN
til the church services are getting to
be so dead that to attend them seems
to be like a clark to the tomb
Your night services are failing to at
tract any, but few, and the prayer
meeting service, the spiritual dynamo
Of the church, is run down to a very
few. Those who are failing to come
to church when the weather is warm;
when the weather is cool, when the
weather is wet, or the weather is dry
Any old excuse counts for staying
away from church, and instead Of
the saying that "hell is paved with
good Intentions" it should read, "hen
is paved with poor excuses" It at
fects all denominations. Curiously,
however, my latest experience has
been with three successive preachers
Of one denomination, and that of q
church that prides and preens itself
on its great care for the education Of
those who would enter the ministry.
As all Of your Protestant churches
are more or less Boosting Of their
schools and colleges, I will not men
ton the church name but let you
ponder. Ask yourself-the question
TT is II" 'Is it my denomina-
tioa7" ...,
Being very much interested in that
part Of the instruction of Jesus ia
His disciples when He told them to
60 to John in prison and tell him,
"THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL
PREACHED TO THEM" naturally
have interested myself in a great
many things that have for their OBJ
ject the preaching Of the gospel
not to the righteous but sinners,
Those poor, and those sinners, the
outcasts Of society, in jails and
prison houses-have q great deal Of
my thought, attention, money and
prayers ] have seen marvellous
things come from the preaching Of
the gospel to the prisoners. Desir-
Gus Of quickening dead conscience
on the part Of the people, with ~
gard to this particular work, as Q
layman, with another party. interest
ed in the same work, I visited one
Of the leading preachers Of certain
denomination in a certain large city.
The idea was to secure his church FOR
. great rally Of Christian people ia
hear an internationally famous man
on the subject Of the unprivileged in
the jails and the penitentiaries. That
church had been given over to nearly
every sort of pink tea party that
could be imagined.