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SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST, ' ' THE CHRISTIAN HERALD,
of Alabama. ’of Tennessee.
ESTABLISHED I 811.
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX.
BY JAS. P. HARRISON & CO.
Subscription, per year J 2-60
Table of Contents.
" %
First Page—Alabama Department: Fitful
and Permanent Pastorships; Dejection.
Religious Press.
Second Page—Correspondence: College Edu
cation in Georgia—Free Tuition—What
Some Catalogues Say; Calling a Preacher;
General Meeting; Free Tuition—Pope
Barrow ; Jottings By The Way—J. M. G.
Medlock. Missionary Department.
Third Page—The Children's Corner: Bible
Explorations ; Enigmas; Little To-Tote,
etc-, etc.
Fourth Page—Editorials : Infidelity; The
Bible Makes Baptists; Glimpses and Hints;
Georgia Baptist News.
Fifth Page—Secular Editorials : Mr. Edward
Atkinson—His Parable of “ Th* Black
smith That Went to College;” Literary
Notes and Comments ; New Books; Geor
gia News.
Sixth Page—The Household: Recompense
—poetry ; The Religious Paper in a New
Home; Health Notes, etc. Obituaries.
Seventh Page—The Farmers’ Index : Plant
ing and Care of Orchards; Fence or No
Fence; Northern Ideas of the South; Hogs
at Home.
Eighth Page—Florida Department; State
Convention; Where “We” Have Been;
Florida Association. z ’
Alabama Department.
BY SAMUEL HENDERSON.
FITFUL AND PERMANENT PAS
TORSHIPS.
Several years ago, a worthy minis
ter in Alabama, in the southern part
of the State, who stood as high in pub
lic esteem for character and ability as
any man in his part of the State, took
it intoAkia Auil(l -» substantial
ctapeion his own plantation at his
own individual cost, call himself to oc
cupy the pulpit, inviting all his neigh
bors to hear him preach, who felt in
clined to do so, and entered heart and
scul into the work. Disgusted with
the caprices of the average country
churches in their annual calls, which
had degenerated into about such scam
bles and heart burnings as are en
gendered at a mere constables election,
he resolved to have a church after his
own heart and model, and commenced
"running the schedule” on that line.
In a little while, there gathered
around him a mass of solid, working
material, that in a few years developed
into one of the best and one of the
most prosperous churches in all the
country. His very name became the
synonym of all that was noble in
earnest piety, all that was reliable in
stability, and all that was praise
worthy in “works of faith, labors of
love, and patience of hope.”
Without stopping to discuss the right
or the wrong of the policy adopted by
this brother, it may serve to suggest
something worthy of every man who
thinks; and as to those who are gov
erned by impulse, caprice or prejudice,
we shall throw them into brackets, and
allow them to drift as they list. The
pastoral relation was evidently de
signed by the Head of the church to
be permanent. This is evident,
whether we consider the nature of the
office, the work committed to it, or the
influence it is intended to exercise
upon church and society at large.
As to the nature of the office, it is
spiritual. Pastors are spiritual gifts.
Christ bestows upon His churches.
They are therefore to be isolated, as
far as possible, from all other pursuits,
"separated unto the gospel of God.”
When rightly viewed, and properly
appreciated, it admits of no complica
tion with other pursuits. Hence the
emphasis of Paul’s command to Timo
thy, “study to show thyself approved.”
Hence also the oppositeness of the
reason given by Peter to the church at
Jerusalem, when he directed them to
choose “seven men” to fill, as we sup
pose the deaconship of that church,
when he said, “we will give ourselves
continually to prayer, and to the minis
try of the world.” His business is to
cultivate his head and heart so as to fit
him for that greatest work God has ever
committed to man—to win souls to
Christ, and then train them for the
bliss of heaven. Now, can any man
suppose that Christ would ever bestow
such gifts as these upon his churches,
and then hypothecate their contin
uance, not upon the best judgment of
the pious and good, but upon the
whims and caprices of the malcontents
of our churches, whose piety is always
at a discount? For, are not these the
men who,generally breed discontent
with existing relations, and who, by
adroit management, gather around
idem the very elements in the
churches, who betray the least con
cern for its prosperity? It does seem
to us, that of all agencies in the world
that ought to be most permanent, that
agency should be, which Christ em
ploys to convey, instrumentally, the
choicest blessings He has to bestow.
The work committed to pastors de
mands a like permanency in their re
lations to churches. What should be
more reliable, more stable, more con
stant, than the source whence are
supnl’ed, under God, those doctrines,
re». fs, corrections, admonitions, en
c gements, and the like, by which
“the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto every good
work?” Where do you find, reader,
the highest physical health developed?
In the country, among people who live
at home, and who are accustomed to
the healthy bill of fare Hhey produce
on their own farms. Where do you
find dyspepsia, liver complaints, all the
aches and pains that flesh is heir to,
in greatest profusion? In towns and
cities, and among the travelling pub
lic, who are subject to perpetual
changes in habits and fare. So it is as
between stable and unstable churches.
Given a pastor who possesses all the
essential qualities of “a good minister
of Jesus Christ;” the longer such a
man stays in the same place, the
broader and more effective his influence
for good, His very work enshrines him
in the hearts of his people, and they
come to regard him every year more
and more, as essential to their spiritual
wellfare. They would almost as soon
thfnk of divorcing their old dear wives
as to sever their connection with the
old pastor, who stood by them in their
ass 1 lotion s, > deader parried
their young people, led their children
to Christ, nourished their own faith
and piety by a thousand ministrations,
imparting the last consolations to the
dying, and exemplifying in his life
all that is grand, and noble, and attrac
tive in piety. Must not every
one see that the longer such influences
can be retained in any community,
the better for every object that moral
excellence can accomplish? We have
occasionally known rude hands to
wrench one of these “trees of right
eousness” from the Master’s vineyard,
and that vineyard went into rapid de
cay. To recur to the imagery of John,
it is a most fearful and perilous thing
for any other than the Master’s hand
to “remove the candlestick from its
place.”
The. influence which the pastoral
office is to exercise in the church and
over society at large, supplies another
reason for its permanence. Moral and
religious influences, to reach their
highest point of efficiency, must
be the growth of years. “Confidence is
a plant of slow growth,” said a very wise
man once. Novelty, for the moment,
may seem to do much, but it soon
wears off, and only that which is solid
and enduring remains. This consider
ation is so obvious that it only needs to
be mentioned to be admitted by all.
The truth is, these fitful, frequent
changes in the pastoral offioe, recoil
upon the character of ministers as well
as churches, giving them a short-lived
reputation, no matter where they go.
It takes away the stimulant to study,
and imparts a sameness to their min
istrations that greatly circumscribes
their influence. When a minister
fails to take root, so to say, in the
affections and confidence of a church,
and the community in which he may
locate, one of two things, or both, must
be true. Either there is nothing in
him to inspire that love and confi
dence, or there is nothing in that
community, into which he can grow.
And in either case, the sooner he
leaves that place the better.
We only add that in years long gone
by, the call of a new pastor among the
Baptists amounted to something. It
was considered one of the gravest
questions on which they could be
called on to deliberate, and was gen
erally preceded by a day of fasting and
prayer. So that, when the decision
was announced, it came with all the
authority and solemmity which Chris
tian men, animated by the fear of
God, could impart to it. The pastor
called under such circumstances, felt
that he was obeying the call of his
Master, and would share the sympa
thies, the prayers, and the co-operation
of his brethren. He could, theiefore
ALANTA, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1881.
enter upon his work with some hope
that his ministry would be a blessing
to people who received him as from
the Lord.
DEJECTION.
Every reader knows something about
being cast down, and will readily allow
us to present some thoughts on it, by
way of indicating its causes and
remedy. The world chooses its favor
ites from the ranks of prosperity—
God chooses his elect “in the furnace'
of affliction.” And as a life of faith or
iginates in a broken heart and a con
trite spirit, it is largely made up in its
after career of “much tribulation,” of no
little “chastening of the Lord.” When
He, who is “mighty to save,” under
takes the salvation of a sinner, we may
well suppose that He will choose the
most fitting methods to accomplishing
that end. Impurities are to be cleansed
that not only require the blood of
Christ, but the "floods of tribulation.”
Dross is to be removed, and this *s
only to be dene in the crucible of af
fliction. We are to be divorced from
the world, and this can only be done
by our being crucified to the “world,
and the world unto us.” The heavenly
inheritance is to assume its grand pro
portions before the eye of our faith,
and this can only be done as we con
trast “the sufferings of this present
time with the glory that shall be re
vealed in us.” Sacrifices are to
be made, and these require no little
self-denial. Crosses are to be borne,
in order that “patience may have her
perfect work.” Long, delicate, diffi
cult labors are to be put forth, and
these are achieved only at the cost of
many a hard-fought battle with “ the
lusts of the flesh” and the claims of
the world.
Now, all these causes,- and jiiany
others we cannot enumerate, combine
bidsjinring, t?i x*
scene. How, then, in “passing througn
this valley of Baca,” can we find the
“ well ” that shall refresh our wearied
spirits? What sources of comfort has
our Lord provided to sustain our
troubled hearts?
First of all, there is the indwelling of
the Spirit, the true spring of every joy
that can animate our minds. The
sweet name by which He is known in
the vocabulary of our Lord is, “ the
Comforter;” and He assures us that
this Comforter shall “dwell with us
forever.” And what may not that
Spirit do for us who “searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God? ”
What burdens may He not remove?
From what dejection may He not raise
us? What tribulations may He not
sweeten? and what afflictions may He
not alleviate? Os what can that man
be afraid, who has God the Spirit dwell
ing within him? It is no wonder that
Paul exclaims, “all things work togeth
er for good to them that love God; to
them who are called according to his
purpose.” How tender the words of
t ie prophet, addressed to the perturbed,
agitated spirit of the struggling saint,
“ 0 thou afflicted, tossed with tempest,
and.not comforted! behold, I will lay
thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy
foundations with sapphires!” Why,
his very pathway, like Solomon’s
chariot, is “paved with love.”
In addition to this, “ consider Him
who endured such contradiction of sin
ners, lest ye be weary and faint in your
minds.” And is it not something for
every Christian to know, that he is
called upon to tread no path however
beset with thorns, to drink no cup of
sorrow however mingled with gall, to
bear no cross however crushing, to ex
perience no heart-agony however poig
nant ; yea, to suffer no death, however
ignominious or torturing, which have
not all been exemplified a hundred fold
in the life and death of his adored Re
deemer! And is it not “sufficient for
the disciple that he be as his Lord?”
If he would be glorified with Him, he
must suffer with Him. This was the
ardent desire of the great apostle of the
Gentiles: “That I may know him, and
the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death.” If we
could only realize the depth of a Sa
viour’s love to us, who, while cherishing
that affection far more than a mother
can for her child, must resort to the
purifying power of tribulation to fit us
for the inheritance in glory, we could
not murmur at any calamity that flesh
and blood can bear. The compensa
tion, when bestowed, will inspire a joy
all the sweeter by the recollections of
our past afflictions.
And, then, is there not something in
the fact that the Christian is a new
yreature—that he is now an “ heir of
God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ”
—that he is now within that circle of
influences, agencies, powers, which
come from the highest and purest
sources, and all of which are co-operat
ing together to bring him to glory;—is
there not something in all this to lift
him out of that “horrible pit” of dejec
tion, in which he too often immures
himself when battling with the storm
of adversity? Let him bethink himself
—if he carries within his heart a well
-grounded hope, a hope that anchors
■ttith'in the vail—if he is truly a child
of God by faith in Jesus Christ, even
though he be a veiy Lazarus in pover
ty, disease and suffering, there is not
an angel in glory but will feel honored
in bearing his spirit to Abraham’s
bosom. Nay, even in this life, “ are
they not all ministering spirits, sent
forth to minister for them who are heirs
of salvation?” Why should the Chris
tian ever grow weary of that song—
“ The sorrows of the mind
Be banished from the place ;
R“ligion never was designed
To make our pleasures less?''
The Religious Press.
In his speech at the late State Conven
tion, President Anderson incidentally
let drop a remark that every preacher
ought to take to heart. A young theo
logical student once lamented to him
that there is too little intelligence among
Baptists, and seemed to think it a pity
that his magnificent cultute was to be
thrown away on uneducated people.
The reply was : “My dear young sir,
did you ever happen to think what kind
of people the Lord Jesus Christ taught ?
And did it ever occur to you that the
highest achievement of the cultivated
intellect is to take the great truths of reli
gion and make them so plain and simple
-Jiat the average, uneducated man can
yiderstand them ?” Examiner and
Chronicle.
Die rffim who think* th'at he too
much culture to preach to uneducated
people, would do well to exchange the
ministry for some other calling.
One of the Professors in the Baptist
Seminary for preachers, neglecting to
exercise his religion, became dyspeptic,
and couldn’t receive for digestion any
thing but the whey of theology. Rev.
Dr. Toy theorized himself into strange
conceits. The electric flashes of a great
revival would have cleared his foggy sky.
Richmond Christian Advocate.
So says our Methodist, brother. Our
brother Paul, writing to the brethren
at Rome, once said “I long to see you
that I may impart unto you some
spiritual gifts, to the end that ye may
be established;” from which we infer
that the best way to establish a man in
the faith, is to put his heart in right
condition. There seem to be some in
these latter days, who say “I long to
impart unto you some ‘scholarly’ gift,
to the end that ye may be no longer
established.” Our brother Paul, speak
ing of such says “They became vain in
their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened; professing them
selves to be wise they became fools.”
Rom. 1.11, and 1. 21-22.
There is a wrong way of doing right.
A pious coachman became convinced
that his Christian employer did wrong
in compelling him to drive to church on
Sunday and remain outside during ser
vice. This was undoubtedly true. But
instead of having a reasonable talk with
him, and laying before him his scruples,
he waited, one morning, until the familv
were dressed for churcn, and then sud
denly "struck”; consequently the master
lost bis temper and the driver his place.
People who knew both parties believe
that if a wiser way had been taken to
accomplish the desired end, both would
have been gainers instead of losers.—
Evang. Messenger.
Our churches are full of men just
like that coachman; they take a wrong
way to do right. Abuses should be
removed, but kind and conciliatory
methods are always best. The trouble
is, that the reformers are not exactly
right at heart themselves. The wis
dom of the serpent must be combined
with the harmlessness of the dove.
A Christian spirit will do more than
force or logic to put down abuses. The
coachman was almost as bad as his
master.
Last week a sad faced, sandy-bearded
man appeared at the dopr ot the White
House, Washington, with a letter pur
porting to be from the Almighty, and
having a well-loaded six shooter in his
hip pocket. The man was arrested, dis
armed and secured. No harm grew out
ot the affair because the maniac did not
get a shot at the President, and the little
excitement caused by the event has pass
ed away. But is not this phase of mad
ness getting a little too common? The
public is getting familiarized with such
things, and the monomania may become
an epidemic. A large proportion of
crazy people now think they are divinely
commissioned to kill some one—usually
a man high in office.
We copy the above from the Messen
ger, though the fact stated is mentioned
in all the papers. We differ with our
contemporary in the opinion that a
large proportion of the crazy people are
afflicted with mania for killing; on the
contrary we think that the proportion
of them is very small. The number of
criminals acquitted on the ground of
insanity is very large, and every such
acquittal, when unjustly rendered, as
is the case with most of them, virtually
sanctions and legalizes murder. If
every malefactor thus turned loose were
to take for his next victim the foreman
of the jury that outraged society by
his acquittal, the number of,“insane”
people, so-called, would be greatly
reduced.
A writer in the Presbyterian reviewing
the minutes of the last General Assem
bly, says: “Gs the 5,598 churches on the
roll 2,075 churches do not report a single
addition on examination, while 647
churches received but one each, and 550
but two each.” And again, “It is a
deplorable fact that in nearly one-half
nf all the Presbyterian churches in the
United States, there was not one soul
added to the church by confession of
faith during the entire year ; while the
actual increase of the whole church over
the membership one year ago was less
than one half of one percent.”
This is bad, very bad; but bad as it
is, it is better than to fill the churches
with so-called converts, a very small
proportion of whom are regenerate.
Very remarkable facts are these, set
forth in a statement by the Christian
Secretary. We do not know, where the
information was obtained but we are
sure that the Secretary would not pub
lish anything of the kind except on
good authority.
The Baptists in Russia arc witneadag
a good confession. Some time ago the
government granted them toleration in
view of the uprightness of their lives and
the transparent integrity of their charac
ter. Os course the clergy of the estab
lished church were much disturbed by
this governmental action. The earnest
devotion and exemplary lives of these
humble people is a thorn in the side of
the ecclesiastics. In the town of Vlade
kavkaz the priests attempted to seize and
confiscate some religious tracts and
books that the Baptists were circulating
among the people ; but the civil magis
trates politely informed them that such
a course was illegal. Then the spiritual
fathers proposed a dispute. The Bap
tists consented, provided the test should
be a comparison between the morality of
the two parties. To this form of discus
sion the clergy did not dare to consent.
Finally the archbishop found a renegade
monk whom he attempted to palm off as
a Baptist missionary. The civil magis
trates insisted upon seeing the creden
tials of the monk before allowing him to
hold his meetings. An examination of
his antecedents showed that he had no
connection with the Baptists, but had
been expelled from two different monas
tries of the Gr< ek Church for miscon
duct. And so this ruse of the ecclesi
astics recoiled upon themselves. Here
we have illustrated the value and power
of a consistent Christian life —a power
too little used in this land, and perhaps
too much undervalued.
The first and only Baptist church in
South America is’ a Chinese Baptist
church at Demarara, in British Guiana.
The story of its origin and progress is
thrilling, especially of its pastor Lough
Fook, who as a Christian in China, sold
his time and service for five years to a
trading company, that he might bear the
knowledge of Jesus to his countrymen in
South America. He kept his compact,
but such was his value as a Christian
teacher that English residents in Demar
ara, after the expiration of three years of
the five under which he was held as a
Coolie slave, provided the price of his
freedom for the remaining two years.
He at once went to work for his Master,
and the fruits of his labors in spiritual
and material prosperity have been little
short of marvellous. The church has
greatly increased in numbers. It now
has two hundred. It has built two or
three chapels in different parts of the
city. It has sent liberal contributions to
push forward mission work in China. It
has done thriving business in stores,
calling the first “ Success Through
Grace,” the second “ Added Success
Through Grace,” and still a third called
“ Additional Success Through Grace.”
It has purchased a mission boat to run
up and down the beautiful Demarara
and on the coast, doing business for the
Lord Jesus on the waters. When men's
eyes are opened, it is not their self-inter
est to be blind to the salvation of the
heathen away from as well as on their
native soil: they will rejoice and be glad
that in South as also in North America,
there are grand beginnings of Baptist
church history and growth among the
Chinese. Let it be. It is of God. —
Herald of Truth.
The facts in this paragraph are such
as must touch every Christian heart, |
VOL. 59—NO. 45.
and win for Lough Fook an enduring
place among the Missionary Heroes of
he Baptist denomination. But there
is certainly one and possibly a double
mistake in it. We have two churches
in South America, both in Brazil; and
the oldest of these is probably prior in
date to the Demarara church. Pata
gonia, also, has a small Baptist church,
of English or Scotch origin.
Lough Fook, we repeat, was a hero.
He sold himself into slavery, in a for
eign land, for five years, actuated by
ardent desire to tell over to his country
men there that “old, old story of Jesus
and his love” which to believing souls
is ever new. In contrast with such
an example how cold does our zeal for
missions appear; how slight and insig
nificant our labors in that cause, our
gifts to it, our prayers for it!
In a serial “Popular Exposition of
the Augsburg Confession,” a corres
pondent of the Lutheran Standard
says:
The Lutheran Church may be known
by her confession with respect to the
sicraments. Her confession upon this
subject differs from that of anv other
church. The sacraments as found and
celebrated in the Lutheran Church are
accordingly marks of profession by which
she is distinguished from all other
churches. To attend the Holy Supper
at a Lutheran altar is to hoist the Lu
theran flag or mark of profession. It is,
in other words, a public confession of
the Lutheran doctrine of the Lord’s Sup
per. But such confession implies also
those doctrines of the church connected
with that of the sacrament. Now, to
confess agreement with the Lutheran
Church is to confess disagreement with
all other churches, and a public separa
tion from them all.
This is a warrant for a very stringent
“ close communion;” and the same
writer proceeds to say:
"Just as inconsistent and wrong as it
is for others to commune at Lutheran
altars, so inconsistent and wrong is it
for Lutherans to commune at the altars
of other churches. If it ip wrong for
non-Lutherans to confess the Lutheran
faith, it is equally wrong for Lutherans
to confess a faith not Lutheran. But
they would make such a confession by
communing with those who are not Lu
theran. Circumstances do not change
principles either, so that a person might
speak of a case of necessity in which a
Lutheran might enter into fellowship
with those not of his faith. It is never
right to confes s a lie, and therefore never
right to confess that you agree with
others,when in fact you disagree. A sin
cere and intelligent Lutheran would
therefore sooner die without the sacra
ment than to receive it from one or in
company with those who deny the real
presence of Christ’s body and blood in
the sacrament.
It is clear that Pedobaptists need to
to do some work at home, before they
open their batteries on the “close com
munion” of our people; nor is the work
a slight one, since Lutherans out-num
ber all other Protestant denominations
combined. It is clear, also, that apart
from the question of baptism, both
doctrines and usages may be associated
with the Lord’s supper which ought to
forbid our participation in it; for how
could we come to the Lord’s supper as
observed by this majority of Protest
ants, even if welcomed to it, when this
observance is linked to that most un
scriptural doctrine —“the real presence
of Christ’s body and blood in the sacra
ment?” It is, furthermore, clear that,
as the reception of the Lord’s supper is
a profession of faith, we are at least
safe in partaking of it among Baptists
only, as we know certainly what the
Baptist faith is, and hold it with all
our heart.
We notice that most of our Associations
neglect to print in their statistical tables
the amounts given by the different
churches for the poor. The fault is with
the churches, who fail to send up ac
counts of benevolence in this direction.
We hope more attention will be given
the matter. — Biblical Recorder.
The fault, we think, lies deeper than
the Recorder alleges. Neither churches
nor Associations sufficiently recognize
the mission of secular benefaction, to
which Christ calls hid people, and for
which he organizes them into churches.
“Benevolence in that direction” is not
duly regarded as a proper,an appointed
and an indispensable part of church
work. “Whoso hath this world’s good,
and seeth his brother have need, and
shutteth up his bowels of compassion
from him,how dwelleth the love of God
in him ?
—The Council of the Creek Nation
has appropriated $2,100, as the first
quarterly payment toward the support
of the Baptist Manual' Labor School,
in which there are 120 pupils—6o of
each sex.