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[Dr. Broughton preaches his 13th Anniver
sary Sermon as Pastor in Atlanta.]
TEXT.—Zech. 8:13: “Fear not, but let
your hands be strong.”
T IS known to most of you, doubt
less, that I am tonight delivering an
anniversary message. Thirteen
years ago this day began my pas
torate in the city of Atlanta. Fvery
year since that time I have, in one
way or another, observed the anni
versary, and during this time I
have so often called attention to
I
circumstances and incidents in our history that
I do not feel tonight that it is necessary that
I should go into that kind of thing, and, yet, I
do feel that I would like the privilege of
touching upon a few of the leading incidents
in the passing of these thirteen years.
The text I am using for tonight is the text
I used for the first sermon I preached when I
came to this city thirteen years ago—“ Fear
not, let your hands be strong;” and while
the lessons I am going to endeavor to draw
from this text are very different from those
I drew from it at that time, it, nevertheless, is
a text which I feel will be helpful to us if we
can let it take root in our hearts.
Thirteen years ago to day, we looked out —
those who were then members of the church—
upon about as discouraging a situation as ever
mortal eyes faced. I am quite sure I am not
saying anything that would not be substantiat
ed by those present who were at that time
with us. We faced, to begin with, a church
in rather an obscure section of the city, five
blocks removed from this place, and surround
ed by circumstances that were not at all con
genial to the development of a large and pro
gressive church interest. There was nothing,
so far as the church was concerned, of an en
couraging character, except some of the very
best and most courageous people that I have
ever had the pleasure of knowing. From the
very first of our connectin with that work
it became evident that we had to have larger
and more commodious quarters for our congre
gations, for from the first Sunday until we
left it we were never able to accommodate
our people, and sometimes the crowds were
so large as to make the place dangerous, and
we were constantly being interviewed by the
police department for various and sundry vio
lations of the fire ordinance by reason of the
crowds that we were unable to control; and
that, too, when that church building was one
of the three largest in the city of Atlanta.
After about six months of ministry there we
proposed that we dispose of that church the
best we could and move nearer the center of
the city, where we would be able to do central
work. The movement took fire and was sub
scribed to with great readiness. Then we came
in search for a location and finally decided
upon this corner. It was a very unattractive
corner in appearance; it isn’t so attractive
looking now; that is, I have seen more pleas
ing things, but at that time there were two
small cottages in a very dilapidated state upon
it. It was the nerviest thing I ever knew,
except one, for we did not have a penny in the
the treasury, or in our pockets, with which to
pay even the retaining price. We got together
just a little handful and there was not enough
money represented to have made even the first
payment even if we had sold all we had except
our wives and children. Most of us were rich
in them. All we could do was to endorse each
other’s note and go around and borrow money
sufficient to make the first payment, and that
is the way we did it.
And then we started with our building upon
THE STRUGGLE OF COURAGE
The Golden Age for April 6, 1911.
Tabematk Sirmtn by Reb. Len G. -D.
Stenoffraphically report** for Th* G«ld*n Age.—Copyright a.ppii«4 fov.
this corner, a house that would accommodate
twenty-five hundred people. We had the faith
to let it to contract though we didn’t have
enough to pay the contractor for his first
week’s work. I said a while ago that the
original transaction was about the nerviest
thing 1 ever saw except one, and that is this —
the giving of that contract for the erection of
the building when the lot was owed for and not
a dollar in the treasury to pay the workmen
for their first week’s work. I do not think we
could be persuaded to do such a thing now.
The people throughout the community that
learned of our audacity commented very freely
upon it; comments like this, “These people are
crazy, and no wonder; they are carried away
by the wild talk of their pastor; they are not
to be blamed; they are to be pitied.” And
they were pitied by the whole community and
I was blamed for it. And it was freely said
that the building would soon be sold at auction,
and various lines of business were prepared to
buy it in. There was one crowd that talked
about buying it in for a dance hall. We had
them in Atlanta then. We have no such insti
tutions now. Another syndicate wanted to buy
it in for a huge livery stable; and so they had
arranged to take care of the result of our folly.
And I do not know, save as I look back at God,
how we kept from coming to that regretful
end; and I do not know where we got the
money, from almost everybody in Atlanta at
that time, except the little handful of three
hundred, perhaps less than three hundred,
members of the church, most of them unknown
people and people of no means whatever. Very
few, perhaps a half dozen, owned the cottages
in which they lived, and perhaps if the truth
was known, they did not own them. Just how
it was worked out, only God can answer.
On the first Sunday in March, we came in
here with less than three hundred members or
about that number, and about one hundred
and thirty-seven in the Sunday school. From
that time until this day, now twelve years, we
have gone on and on conquering and to con
quer until we have reached the present state.
We came in that morning practically owing
for everything in sight. There was scarcely
anything paid for. The people in the town
had criticised us until we had no financial
standing; people would not give us money
because they had no confidence in the way it
was to be spent. But somehow, God came
with us.
The first thing we did on entering the build
ing was to project the Annual Bible Confer
ence, which now brings to this city the very
best men from this country and from Europe,
that the church affords. Our next institution
founded was our hospital. I remember how
they talked about us in that matter. They
said, “That is the silliest thing on earth. There
is no place for a religious hospital.” Then
we started our Working Girls’ Home and they
said, likewise, “There is no place for it; it
can not be done.” And then it became neces
sary for us to do some work on our building,
and so we began to cast about, and a good
friend of ours, who is now in glory, gave us
the money to build the annex. He gave the
money conditioned upon our getting the land.
We could buy the land on credit. There was
no trouble about doing anything when we
could get credit; the trouble was getting the
credit. We remodeled this place and built the
annex. We have remodeled the building three
times. It does not look at all like the same
old place.
Then, about five years ago, we began to
develop a scheme known as our three-hundred
and-fifty-thousand-dollar enterprise—the build
ing of the new hospital, the Working Girls’
Home, and the building of our new Auditorium
and general workshop. And when we sprang
that enterprise they said, “That is the climax
of insanity.” We went to work, raised $150,-
000 in pledges and the panic hit the land and
it all looked like we were again up in the air.
But during the panic we built the hospital, the
first of the institutions,which stands worth
easily, according to any sensible estimate,
$150,000.
We would not stop, so we began work on
our new auditorium. It is now just upon the
eve of completion and I do not hesitate to say
from the standpoint of a church auditorium,
it has not an equal in the United States. That
seems big talk. I know it, but we are to be
pardoned tonight for doing a little big talk.
Wait until you see it, and then you come back
and say what you think.
During the past twelve years, since we came
on this corner, under these circumstances, this
enterprise that we have which had such a very
insignificant beginning, has raised and ex
expended in philanthropy for the poor and the
sick and the needy of this city and in our mis
sion work and in building work and in our
own current support over five hundred thous
and dollars; over half a million dollars in cash
has passed through our treasury. And we
have received into this church in the last
twelve years nearly thirty-five hundred mem
bers. Our Sunday school has gone from one
hundred and thirty-seven to over sixteen hun
dred, as our report today shows.
Now, during all this time, there has been one
text that stood in full view, and that is the text
upon which I am preaching tonight. “Fear not,
let your hands be strong,” and hence tonight, I
am going to speak to you upon the spirit of
that text, which is courage, and show to you,
if I can, that this is the need in every walk
of life, in church life, in civic life, in individual
life. There are three things I want to say
about courage. First, I want to show you that
it is essential, and that without it there is no
victory in any walk of life. Second, I want
to speak to you of its price. I want to show
you that there is nothing that costs as much
as does courage. Third, I want to show you
that it has the greatest reward at the end; that
there is nothing that rewards one so much as
courage.
Let us take the first—its necessity. It would
seem that God recognized the fact that courage
was the one thing essential in all his efforts to
correct the wrong and establish the right. If
we go back to the children of Israel when they
were standing by the border of the Jordan, and
when it became necessary for Moses to send
the spies into Canaan to spy out the land, God
gave to Moses the essential instruction for the
conduct of these spies and it was in these
words: “Be strong, and of a good courage.”
But they did not heed the instruction because
of their cowardice; they wandered for forty
years around the wilderness when they might
have been enjoying the fruits of Canaan.
Later on, when Moses was dead, and Joshua
assumed the control of Israel, and he was to
go across the Jordan and into the land of Ca
naan, God gave him likewise the instructions
necessary for the conquest, and he gave them
to him in these words: “Be strong, and of a
good courage.” This time they heeded the
words of Joshua and fell into line with his in
structions, crossed the Jordan, conquered Ca
naan, set up their banners and took possession
of the land. Later, when Israel, as a nation,
was organized, and Hezekiah was its king,
Syria came upon them with the intention of
taking possession of their territory and it look
ed as if they were going to succeed. God put
into Hezekiah’s mouth the words nesessary for
that conquest, and the words were: “Be strong
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