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T he Christian Index. Vol. 5 7—No 39 . Table of Contents. First Page—Alabama Department: Incon siderate and Hasty Ordinations; Lay Pow erin Baptist Churches; Church Disdpline; Spirit of the Religious Press. Second Page—Correspondence: Special and Ordinary Meeting—C.; Sermon by Rev. I. R. Branham, D.D., of Eatonton, Ga.; Mis sion Board Receipts; Sunday-school Les son for November 2; The Perfect Pattern. Third Page—Valuable Information, etc. Fourth Page—Editorials: Remembrance of God; Unhappy; Information Wanted; Tes timony of Outsiders; A Brother in Dis tress; Georgia Baptist News. Fifth Page—Georgia Association;Flint River Association; Secular Editorials: News Paragraphs; State Agricultural Depart ment: Jasper Centennial; Mrs. T. C. Boy kin; Literary Notes and Comments; Geor gia News. Sixth Page—Obituaries ; New Advertise ments. Seventh Page—The Farmers’ Index: Sep tember (Sop Report; The Losses of tne War;, Digging Potatoes. Eighth Page—Letters from Florida; Mar riages. Alabama Department. BY SAMUEL HENDERSON. INCONSIDERATE AND HASTY ORDINATIONS. The facility with which ordination is procured in our denomination, has created and is creating no little con cern among ourjmore thoughtful breth ren. Our peculiar views of church government—its democratic features— offer a t very tempting field to those whose aspirations are above their ca pacities ; so that it has come to pass that we have a very large number of ordained ministers who have no em ployment, either as pastors or as evange lists. For, after all, our churches have away of sitting in judgment upon the work of our presbyteries, as to wheth er they will recognize and appropriate this work of the presbyteries in their ordinations. This ought to inspire a little more caution among our minis ters and churches on the subject. For if there be wrong in the matter, the churches share it in common with the ministry, as they always take the ini tiative iti every ordination. It is not every good, man who has it in his heart to “build a house for the Lord,” that has the capacity, or at least that the Lord has chosen, for that work. The Lord may take it kindly of such a man, as he did of David, when he desired to “build him a house.” But he had chosen his son, Solomon, for that service, and so told David. So in the matter of preaching, a man may deserve commendation for “desiring a good work ;” but then, what if he can not do that work? Is it kind, is it just, to put him in a position that will subject him to mortification?—that will entail upon his whole after life a sense of the most humiliating failure? A little candor at the right time would have saved many a good man from the painful consciousness that he has missed his calling—nay, would have made him useful in other relations for which he had fitting capacities. We have heard a story of Andrew Fuller to this effect, which, whether true or not, we only say it ought to be true, as it has the (ring of old English candor and bluntness: A worthy brother, well known to him, took it into his head that he was called to preach, and asked his advice. The old man heard him patiently through his whole story, and responded about this “My brother, there are three sources from which a call to preach proceeds —the world, the devil, and Christ. As to the world, I am sure it has not called you, for nobody wants to hear you. As to the devil, I am equally sure he has not called you, for you are a good man, and he has no use for such people. And as to Christ, I am at a loss to know what use you could be to him as a preacher.” We need a little of the old-fashioned candor now. A man may “fill the office of a dea con well,” and yet not possess the el ements of a preacher. We once knew a good deacon ordained to the minis try, and the result was the church lost a very good deacon and gained a very poor preacher, one that no church was willing to receive as a pastor, and whose occasional preaching, so to call it, was endured because he was a good man, rather than enjoyed because of his ability. “Lay hands suddenly on no man,” is a caution we should careful ly heed. Nor is it every good preacher that will make a good bishop or pastor, any more than every good lawyer will make a good judge. There are certain administrative capacities essential to the pastor’s office that every worthy preacher does not possess; we mean those capacities that can organize and develop the working power of churches as well as indoctrinate them. A min ister may be skilled “in word and doc trine;” he may excel in the fervor and power of his pulpit ministrations, and, like Apollos, be eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures, and be a sig nal failure as a pastor. There are multitudes of little things on which SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST. . >. of Alabama. your successful pastor keeps his eye, and which are essential to his efficien cy, that the mere evangelist would never see. There are aptitudes in the application of the divine law to recur ring cases that a mere preacher never has time to acquire. They are the result of constant contact with his peo ple, and a patient study of the living oracles. A lawyer maj’ know the laws of his land as well as he knows his al phabet, and utterly fail in the applica tion of its principles to particular cases. A minister may know his Bible by heart, and signally fail in that sagacity that discerns the contact between its principles and practical life. If the reader will turn to I. Tim. 3 : 1-7, he will find that portraiture of a “bishop” which meets the demands of the case. It is “ perfect and entire, wanting nothing;” and will be binding till the end of time. Let us conclude by saying that any church,worthy of that name, can, after due trial, ascertain whether any can didate for the ministry possess, these qualifications : Ist. A depth of piety which temptation Cannot swerve. 2d. A passion for souls which is uniform rather than spasmodic. 3d. A pro found and intimate acquaintance with the Word of God. 4th. A home rule that indicates|a high sense of order; and finally, that indescribable something we call common sense— that uncommon capacity, if the leader will indulge in the paradox, that always says and does the right thing at the_right time, at the right place and to the right person. Such ministers will always succeed, whether educated in the technical sense of the term,or uneducated. And such ministers are now the great want of our churches ministers whose faith, and courage and spiritual knowl edge are such that they are willing to imperil every earthly interest at the call of duty. Such ministers would soon educate our churches up to a proper standard of efficiency. LAY POWER IN BAPTIST CHURCHES. Within the recollection of many of our brethren, say the last twenty-five or thirty years, the Jay element in our churches has developed into a power of no common magnitude. It is seen especially in our general convocations, whether associational or conventional. Thirty years ago, no one ever dreamed of placing a layman in the presiding officer’s chair on these occasions. Now, nothing is more common. Thirty years ago, reports on the various sub jects were mainly prepared by minis ters. Now, they are at least fairly di vided between laymen and ministers. Thirty years ago, it was seldom we could extract a speech from our judges, lawyers, merchants, farmers, etc. Now they have come to the front, and are disputing the palm with our preachers in their fervid eloquence. We know of churches which possess an array of effective piety and talent in their private members equal to every emergency, and who promptly fill any lack of service the pastor may not be able to perform. They read and ex pound the Scriptures with a zeal, abil ity and power alike creditable to them selves and profitable to their brethren. And why cannot this be done in every church ? How it would enlarge its power and usefulness! The cause of Christ is entitled to the very best ser vice there is in every member of his spiritual body, and suitable methods ought to be adopted to call out this vast latent power. The New Testa ment is replete with evidences that this is the normal condition of Zion—a condition in which every member is swayed and impelled by one spirit. Whenever those occasional periods of revival in our churches, which compass the whole working power of all the membership, shall become habitual rather than spasmodic, then, and only then, will Zion be equipped for the conquest of the ’world. The Best Test of Christian Love. —There arc those who seem to suppose that soft words, kindly congratulations, and smooth things, are the true evi dences of Christian love. What a mistake! Genuine love will risk some thing in the way of candor and plain dealing with its object. If a Christian errs either from the path of duty, or in the management of his worldly affairs, an enemy would likely be silent, and let him go on and reap the reward of his folly. But true friendship would seek to “restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;” would risk a mo mentary alienation to save a brother. Blind love may prove our worst snare; but love directed by wisdom will seek the highest good of the party who shares it. While receiving the reproof, the admonition, and the caution, one may fret and chafe ; but ere long he will thank from his heart the one who had the courage to tell him the truth, and save him from bis folly. Atlanta, Georgia, Thursday, October 16, 1879. CHURCH DISCIPLINE. While we have never joined in that morbid, sentimental Jeremiad that depreciates the present in contrast with the past, at least in the general out look of Christian morality, we should nevertheless stultify ourselves if we said we did not see and keenly feel that church discipline has become de plorably lax. Things are now silently tolerated that twenty-five years ago would have excluded multitudes of members from our churches. Much of this is doubtless due to the general de moralization of our country within the past few years. The tone of personal piety has insensibly lowered, and even the best Christians have felt incompe tent to “cleanse the sanctuary.” A consciousness of personal infirmities deters some, while others recoil from incurring the popular odium of an hon est effort to abate these evils. There is a class of offences, or per haps we should say infirmities, that do not come under the disciplinary juris diction of the church. These lighter offences which do not materially affect the Christian character of the party, are to be overcome by the milder means of reproof, rebuke, counsel, admoni tion, and the like, as well as by the persistent efforts of the person himself. A prudent church can readily make this discrimination. But then it will not do to apply this mild process of reformation to all offences. There are offences against great organic, vital principles of the divine law, which, we may say, strike at the very tap-root of the Christian profession, and which, permitted to go unnoticed, sink the reputation of the church to that of the world; nay, even lower. Our Lord seems to imply as much in His saying: “If the light in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness.” Or to vary the imagery from the same great Teacher, like unsavory salt, “it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be trodden under foot of men.” It is the glory of a Baptist church that it can exist only to do good. So soon as it ceases to do this, it ceases to be. The bonds of. Christian love ar® the only ligaments! that bind its membership together, and whbn these arc severed, it simply goes into disin tegration and loses its identity. The very perpetuity, therefore, of our churches depends upon the mainte nance of their purity. We boast of a converted membership. Converted from what to what? From darkness to light—from sin to righteousness— from profanity to purity of speech— from.drunkenness k/sobriety—from dis honesty to honesty—and so on through the whole duality of vices and their opposing virtues. The Churches of Christ are grand schools of discipline —discipline in the higher and nobler s<mse of that term—to develop and mature those virtues that adorn the character of God’s elect. We degrade the word discipline, by confining it to the bare infliction of penalties. The moment a man unites with a church, he places himself under that “forma tive discipline,” that moral training, which is to fit him for ever-enlarging spheres of usefulness. And this pro cess goes on during the whole period of his earthly sojourn. Now, for such a body of Christians to wink at such vices as dishonesty, profanity, drunkenness, and such like things, right in the face of the divine declaration, that “he that doeth such things shall not inherit eternal life,” involves a dereliction too manifest to be thought of. With what propriety can a minister appeal to the uncon verted to become Christians, when the church pews are filled with men not a whit better than they are? If our piety does not attract them, what will they gain by enrolling their names with ours? We understand that Dr. Renfroe is to be again connected with the Ala bama Baptist as one of its editors. This will boa source of high satisfac tion to his numerous friends, and add no little to the interest of that paper. As a writer, he has away of putting “hooks and eyes” to his thoughts that make them stick. Not all who virtually accept the principle that the end justifies the means are willing to confess it. Some who practice it might even be shocked at it in its naked statement. But that does not change the fact in the case. One may be practicing deception uj>on him self, his wishes clouding his intellect. When, for instance, human suffering is to be alle viated or church work is .to be promoted, and professing Christians, instead of giving what is needed for the purpose, even though this require some self-denial, resort to dances or theatricals to get the money for the pur pose, their consciences no doubt would often trouble them, if they were not guided by the thought that it is a good object that is had in view and therefore the proceedings cannot be sinful. Be not deceived : the end will never justify the means.— Lutheran Standard. The Religious Press. The, National Baptist makes the fol lowing important announcement: It is not the purpose of this paper to re peat idle rumors; nor to give currency to anything injurious to anyone unless there is good reason to believe it true, and not even then unless the public good requires it. What precious words these are! Idle rumors without the shadow of foundation in truth, injurious to the good name of us on whom the tower of Siloam has fallen, have been industri ously circulated by certain journals, many c< them professedly religious! nothing of the kind will appear in the National Baptist, thank God! Stories injurious to millions of people are told; of course there is always “good reason to believe them to be true,” for they are always told by some “gentleman who is perfectly reliable and who was an eye-witness of the facts but even these, the National Baptist (the organ of the American Baptist Publication Society) will not publish “unless the public good requires it.” Thank God again! The public good is never pro moted by inflaming one man against another, nor by inflaming one section against another. So the “outrage” bus iness will never pollute the columns of the National Baptist. There is no Bap tist paper in the world (of course ex cepting The Index) in which we take so great an interest. It represents the American Baptist Publication Society, which is the most powerful engine on the globe for the dissemination of Bap tist principles. No other paper so rep resents this Society, and this is why we are delighted above measure to see that the National Baptist is really Na tional, and that it will take no part iu the wicked work of trying to alienate brethren of different sections by giving currency to slanderous reports. We are sorry to see, however, that the National Baptist sustains the St. Louis church in its present attitude of defiance. The editor, it is true, takes painjjto say that he represents nobody bJahijuaelf; but the people do not doseJfcnatc between the editor , and the which y employs *him; and the IBtei’ (gill in quence. W'e should be glad to see this important and valuable journal really Baptist as well as really National. The Examiner and Chronicle, speak ing of the unhappy affair at St. Louis, says: We very much doubt whether if the Sec ond church were smaller and poorer, and had a less conspicuous record of its loyalty throughout the war for the life of the nation, there would have been half as much intensi ty of feeling with respect to any recent mat tors in its history. There it is again! Politics, politics, politics! Our New York brother seems to see politics in everything. Now no paper in the United States, not even the Central Baptist, has denounced the heresy of the so called Second Baptist church of St. Louis in stronger terms than The In dex ; yet we knew nothing of the size and wealth of the church until we had pronounced our opinion as to its ac tions ; and until we read the above ex tract we did not know that the church was at all “conspicuous for loyalty throughout the war.” There were a good many “rebels” in St. Louis, and we did not know but that the church was composed wholly of that class. We never even heard of Dr. Boyd be fore, and for aught that we know, he may have been born and reared in Mississippi, and may have been a son in-law and private secretary of Jeff. Davis. But the Examiner and Chronicle continues in a better stiain, and one which we like. Hear him : The Second church, and other chruches sympathizing with it, will have need of su preme wisdom to do just the right thing in the right way in this emergency, and we hope God will give it them. The kind of wisdom that is needed jis “that which is from above ;” and this wisdom is “first pure”. Mark the ; word first; then mark the word pure; ] let both words be emphatic. Let the ! church set itself right by acknowledg ! ing its wrong. Follow the apostle .James as he continues in verse 17 of I chapter 2 : “Then peaceable.” Mark the word then, and mark the word | peaceable. Follow the apostle still: ' “Gentle and easy to be entreated.” I Listen to our affectionate entreaties, I brethren of the erring church ; confess your error and restore peace! This is the supreme wisdom. May God im bue you with it! The following article from The Friend's Review, a paper published by the Quakers in Philadelphia, reprodu ces a part of one of our editorials ac companied with some valuable re marks of its own. Wo think our readers will be pleased with it. Wo have taken the liberty to put four or five lines in italics. Here it is: An earnest Methodist pastor, detailing to the writer of this the difficulties and disap- THE CHRISTIAN HERALD, of Tennessee. pointments which he had experienced in the I endeavor to interest the young people in re- • ligious concerns, said, that he had tried spe cial prayer meetings and revivals and other methods, but all. seemed to be of no avail. The flock wanted more liberty. Then, as if longing for the prevalence in the professing Christian church, of a better apprehension of Gospel truths, through which, casting aside its present so great dependence on the outward, it would be enabled to worship God acceptably in spirit and in truth, he continued—that he hoped the Quakers would hold fast the spiritual principles with which they had been always identified, and not, as seemed to be the present tendency on the part of many of them, barter a valuable possession for an increased membership. “ You may think you are growing and prosper ing, but you will find this appearance delusive ; for receiving those who have no real regard for your principles, you will find that you cannot administer the discipline." There are, there fore, those, besides our own concerned mem bers, who are impressed with the belief that the Church militant, in its contest with the libertinism, rationalism and formalism of this age would suffer incalculable loss were the simple Christian principles which Friends profess, which have been so hardly acquired, and which there is every reason they should continue faithfully to maintain, to be cast aside or carelessly held as being “ill-suited to the times.” Since the above was written I have seen an article, copied from a Baptist paper, the Record and Evangelist, in which the writer affirms that “the most serious drawback to the progress of the church at the present time is, that there are thousands who have ‘joined the church’ instead of Christ. These are 'wells without water, clouds without rain.’ Having a name to live, they are dead, and the weight of the body of death hangs about the neck of the church to weigh it down, to paralyze its efforts and to sicken it with a deadly contagion.” If this be the state of the case, what is the remedy ? And how is Christ’s kingdom to be best extended? Briefly, by individual faithfulness. As well expressed in a late paper, The Christian Index : “The best place to begin to reform this world is right in the centre of one’s own heart. . . It is the I duty of every man to see that there is one | truly good man in the world. This [at the i least] is a part of the share which each man »>s bountfa’’., contribute. Now, which man ! V"J»ht to select ns ft- man whom he MffoontHbute to the stock of the World’s ' goodness's Supnose each man selects his neighbor. The' result would be that not a solitary good man would be found in the j world. All the effort would be thrown ! away ; but if each man begins with himself, and instead of trying to set the world right, determines to set himself right, then each might look for a fair degree of success, and a blessed state of society would be the result.” Which sound advice brings us back to that terse and memorable remark of William Penn concerning the faithful witnesses of his day, that “they were changed men them selves before they went about to change oth ers. Their hearts were rent as well as their I garments; and they knew the power and work of God upon them.” “Blessed is the man that heareth me,” is I wisdom’s promise, "watching daily at my I gate, waiting at the posts of my doors.” Prov. viii:34. L. —The High Church, Ritualistic, English | Church Times is puzzled. The phenomenon of the survival of the “Pilgrim’s Progress” for over two hundred years is one that it can not comprehend. The Non conformist’s mind would answer the question at once by saying that it is because the book is such a good one; but that theory would not agree with the High Church mind, because the , book was not written by a bishop, nor by one who cared for a Bishop. The I Times can find no solution except in the ap palling dreariness of juvenile literature be fore the days of Walter Scott. But that is] twice defective; the Pilgrim’s Progress” is I not ajuvenile book; and the solution does ] not account for its increasing popularity j since the days of Walter Scott. Really from I the Times’ point of view the problem ap pears insoluble; and it may bethat the Non conformist’s answer will stand awhile longer. • —lhe Methodist —Napoleon Boswell was a Confederate soldier in some Mississippi command. He was either sick or wounded, and his wife ] leaving her infant daughter among strangers, ’ went in search of him, to minister to his suffering. She was also stricken down, and both husband and wife died, and the little ] orphan found its way to Tennessee. She ] has sought in vain, to learn anything res- ] speeding her father. She does not know from what county he went, to what com- , mand he belonged, or when he died. Some ] comrade of Napoleon Boswell will confer a great favor upon his daughter by conferring 1 with Mrs. Ora Anna Thomp<on, Trenton, ] Tenn. Exchange papers, by producing the above paragraph, might aid in bringing informa tion to an anxious daughter. —Your new pastor, if you have one, de serves your oonfidunce and needs your sym pathy. Make haste to assure him ofa hearty welcome and faithful co-operation. Do not “wait to see what kind of a man he is;” he is an approved minister of the New Testa ment, or he would not be your pastor. The kind of man you "see" in him will depend Whole No. 2390 somewhat upon your sincere desire to see him at his best; and sb seeing him is the best way to get his best. Yes! If you watch your paster close ly, (whether he be a new or an old one) to see what his imperfections are, and how many there are of them, you will find enough of them to make his min istry unprofitable to you for the rest of your life. On the other hand, if you lose sight of the man, and give your attention to his message (not to its phraseology, or rhetoric, or to its style of delivery, but to its essence) you will be likely to derive enjoyment and ben fit from it. There is much in tbp hear er. Take heed how you hear. A good many 7 papers seem to take «• delight in representing the State of Mississippi as a sort of modern Sodom, where righteousnesss is unknown, and where iniquity is rampant. The fol lowing letter, from Rev. R. G. Porter, to The Methodist (N. Y.) explains itself and shows, we think, that there must be some mistake, somewhere, as to the low state of Mississippi morals. We may add that the habit of misrepresen tation and slander which some indulge in, week after week and year after year, argues as low a state of morals as can be found anywhere. But here is the letter: A Southern Village.—The village (Ve rona, Miss.) where I live, has only’ six hun dred and forty inhabitants—big, little, old, young, black and white. One-third of these are colored people. The M. E. Church, South, (white) has one hundred and fifty-one member; the Baptist church (white) over one hundred members; there are twenty or thirty Presbyterians in the town, but no organization. Most of the freedmen belong to some church; they have a pretty good house of worship and keep up Sunday-schools, prayer-meetings, and have preaching regularly. The white peo ! pie have two good Sunday-schools, and over I 250 scholars. Each church has a good or j gan, nice pulpits, good seats, beautiful chan- I deliers and carpeted aisles. We have school I buildings and grounds that cost ten thousand | dollars, good teachers, ten months’ sessions, and an average attendance of 175 pupils, local patronage, fine dry goods and family I grocery stores, two drugstores ; no gfoggery, mo saloon, no billiald tables, no , i looms, one •hotel, Lme iivwy staffie, one bank. Have lived kere ten months, have j seen but one-man dr link, no fight, and not a | iuss in the place in that time. Have had ] but one serious case of sickness in the town, and only one death, and that a child killed by the train. Not a married woman in tne town who is not a professor of religion, and | but five married men who do not belong to I some church. These are all moral, sober, | responsible, good men. Thirty grown men j in the town pray in public, or will lead a j prayer-meeting at any time. These are j facts. I know personally, and by name, ! every white man, woman and child in the | place. j Verona, Miss., Sept. 23,1879. j —There is a broad line between the king j dom of Christ and the world. Very loose notions prevail in regard to this distinction. What in general is the difference between a respectable worldling and rather below aver l age church member?— Christian Advocate. Well, the difference is so small that we are unable to see it. How many professed disciples are known as such of all men? Many a one would never be suspected of sustaining any very close relationship to the Church of Christ, if he were not seen sometimes jat the communion table. If the relig- I ion of Jesus does not show itself in ' one’s daily life, does it exist in his heart? —The end of Bonapartism in France | appears to be acknowledged. The cel ebration of the Napoleonic Fete of the j fifteenth of August was omitted in ] Paris for the first time in thirty years. | There is not a survivor in the family ' bearing the name who has brains or influence enough to excite the least enthusiasm, and an imperial party without a head is a dead body. Mr. J. Ewing Ritchie, in an article in an Eng ] lish magazine on the rise and fall o£ the Bonaparte dynasty, make the fol ] lowing emphatic statement in regard to | its inglorious end : “No one believes now in its resurrection; it has been, I stamped on by Zulu Kaffirs.” Still we believe that a monarchical ] form of government is better suited to the temper and tastes of the French people than a Republican form. There 'is a superstitious reverence for the j name of Napoleon in the hearts of the ] French masses,and should a bold, full brained man, bearing the name, arise I during the next generation, wo believe ] he could swing himself to the throne of France without rnudh trouble. “Don’t know half the value.” “They eared me of ague, biliousness and kidney complaint, as recommended. I hud a half bottle left which I used for my two lit tle girls, who the doctors and neighbors said could not be cured. I would have lost both of them one night if I had not given them Hop Bitters. They did them so much good I continued their use until they were cured. That is why I say you do not know half the value of Hop Bitters,and do not recommend them high enough.”'—B., Rochester, N, T , See other column.