Newspaper Page Text
ESTABLISHED 1821.
JFheGhristianlndex
fublitnel Every Thursday
By BELL &• VAN NEBS
Address Christian Index, Atlanta, Ga
(rgan of the Baptist Denomination in
Georgia.
Subscription Prick:
One copy, one year SB.OO
One copy, six months I.o*
About Our Advertisers.—We propose
hereafter to very carefully Investigate our
advertisers. We shall exercise every care to
allow only reliable parties to use our col
-amns.
Obituaries.—One hundred words free of
* eharge. For each extra word, one cent per
■word, cash with copy.
To Correspondents—Do not nse abbrevi
ations; be extra careful in writing proper
names; write with ink, on one side of paper.
Do not write copy Intended for the editor
and business items on same sheet. Leave
off personalities, condense.
Business.—Write all names, and post
Offices distinctly. In ordering a change give
the old as well as the new address. The date
Os label indicates the time your subscription
txplres. If you do not wish it continued, or
der it stopped a week before. W'e consider
tach subscriber permanent until he orders
his paper discontinued. When you order it
stopped pay up to date.
Remittances by registered letter, money
order postal note.
The Fourih Gospel
But if neither biography nor
theology, what then? Recall
how the evangelist himself de
scribes his work —a selection of
scenes from his Lord’s life, re
counted in order to produce a
practical and controlling impres
sion on the hearts of his readers.
And then consider how the per
sonality of the author pervades
the whole narrative, not obtru
sively, but as the individuality
of the virtuoso pervades his ren
dering of another’s music, Bee
thoven's or Chopin’s. The book
is full of details which have no
appreciable significance for the
life of Jesus nor any appreciable
bearing on the argument for his
Messiahshipand Saviorhood. We
are told that it was the tenth
hour when Andrew and another
came for the first time into fel
lowship with the new Master —a
matter of no concern to the evan
gelist’s readers of any century,
but of momentous interest to
those two. He remarks that John
the Baptist’s first testimony was
delivered at an otherwise un
known Bethany beyond Jordan,
that his later confession was at
Aenon near to Salim, that the
pool of Bethany had five porches
full of sick folk, that it was Laza
rus’ sister Mary who anointed
the Lord in Bethay. These and
many like details have small sig
nificance for a biography, none
at all for a Christological argu
ment; but they are naturally
characteristic of a memory dwell
ing lovingly on the experiences of
a momentous youth. They give
the impression of abundance of
resource; the evangelist could
have told much more and told it
more fully had he wished. Some
of the details are clearly for the
reader’s benefit, that he may un
derstand more fully. Some of
them show that the writer has
been carried back into the past,
and a far-away ness, like the ab
sent look in loved eyes when
early days come to mind, per
vades the words. True, every
such touch of unstudied reality
serves to bring more vividly be
fore the readers the scenes which
fill the evangelist’s heart. Biog
raphy could have no more price
less material, argument no more
convincing evidence. But these
are not studied data nor con
scious argument. They are little
marks telling of the vividness of
that inner picture from which the
evangelist draws for the comfort
and admonition of a later day.
The author’s personality ap
pears also in the comments and
explanations which he often in
serts in his narratives. Most
commonly these seek to help his
readers —as when he explains
Jewish terms or customs which
would be unfamiliar to them, or
notes that some of Jesus’ doings
and sayings w’ere not understood
by his disciples until after the
resurrection, or explains some of
Jesus’ words by referring to his
superhuman knowledge. Now
and then, however, after some
most exalted word of Jesus, or
high testimony to him, the com
ments carry us away from the
simple record and into the inner
chambers of the disciple’s soul,
to share his deepest contempla
tions. As we pass from Jesus’
heavenly teaching of Nicodemus
to those dear words, “For God
so loved the world,” we are with
drawn from that upper room
with its dim lights and eager in
quirer, and listen to the medita
tions of a soul completely mas
tered by the Lord of his youth,
and wont to contemplate with
love and adoration the meaning
of that life and death.
Consider further the unconcern
with which the evangelist passes
over long gaps in his record of
Jesus’ life. Between the events
of the sixth chapter and the sev
enth a whole summer has
elapsed. All of the rich ministry
in Galilee which is recorded in
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX.
9L
I • . CRI PTION, Pl. «a.OO. I
Ito .ministers. i. 00.1
our other Gospels is omitted
here, excepting the single inci
dent of the Master’s compassion
on the hungry multitude. Yet,
as has already been noticed, the
structure of the book is most sim
ply chronological. Evidently it
Ims not occurred to the writer
that these gaps and omissions
would cause remark. Had he
planned a biography he could not
have written as he has, unless he
himself were ill-informed. But
his purpose being to establish a
conviction concerning his Master,
he seems to have let his thought
wander over those blessed years
and select such scenes and teach
iugs as would best serve him—
perchance the scenes and teach
ings that had come to have deep
est interest for his own heart as
year after year he contemplated
the days so full of love and awe
when he leaned on Jesus’ breast.
Possibly his complete omission
of most that the other evangel
ists have recorded may have been
due in part to a wish to supple
ment them and show’ how far
from complete they are as rec
ords, notwithstanding their effec
tiveness as portraitures of Je
sus. This, however, if it had any
influence with him, was plainly
secondary. His first purpose was
to set before his readers those
scenes in his Master’s life which
after all the lapse of years most
moved him and seemed most suit
able to establish the faith of
others.
There is a like air of retrospect
in the descriptive title the evan
gelist uses for himself, “the dis
ciple whom Jesus loved.” If we
could think of it as used with
anything of pride or self-congrat
ulation, it would at once become
utterly odious to us. But as it
occurs in the Gospel it suggests
rather the disciple’s absorbing
recollection of a heavenly inti
macy. It is not difficult to con
ceive how one admitted to such
an intimacy would be so lifted
above regard for human fame
that the thought of what others
would find in his chosen self-de
scription would not occur to him.
It draws attention to the Master
rather than to the disciple. He
is absorbed in his devotion to a
Lord who gives his life its only
worth for himself or for others.
Finding a need for a fresh testi
mony to his Master's life and mis
sion, a need arising from pecu
liar conditions of life and thought
in what seemed to him the last
days, he collected and wrote
for the aid of wavering
faith some of his personal remin
iscences of those great and bless
ed years.
Such reminiscences reveal
quite incidentally the personality
of him who offers them. The
fact that with a naive of self-ef
facement he could name himself
as the special intimate of his
Lord, and that he could give us
just that picture of his Master,
so unapproachably glorious and
exalted as we have it in his Gos
pel, will always constitute his
chief distinction. He is the one
of the apostles who saw deeply
enough into his Lord’s meaning,
and thought profoundly enough
on his Lord’s nature, to preserve
his fullest self-declarations and
suggest the loftiest interpretation
of him. Interpretation is the
proper term, for, passing by the
prologue as not characteristic of
the evangelist’s thought, he gives
no evidence of being naturally of
a speculative mind. He loves to
dwell on fact, on matters of his
own and others’ experience. “He
that hath seen hath borne wit
ness” is his characteristic decla
ration. “We beheld his glory .
. . of his fulness we all re
ceived,” he writes touching the
incarnate Logos. His habit of
thought is truly objective; he
leans on facts more than on ideas.
True, facts are only significant
as they relate to spiritual things.
The spirit world is to him the
only ultimate reality. His assur
ance concerning it, however, is
not an intuition, but an experi
ence; as he puts it elsewhere,
“that which we have seen with
our eyes . . . and our hands
handled, concerning the Word of
Life . . . declare we unto
you.” To him —as to Paul—the
unseen things had objective real
ity, and could overmaster the
mind and absorb the heart. For
him that unseen world had had
one clear manifestation —“the life
was manifested, and we have seen
and bear witness, and declare
unto you the life, the eternal life,
which was with the Father, and
was manifested unto us.” He is
a man mightily controlled by an
influence from without himself.
He thinks with that influence
ever in mind. Life and death for
him consist simply in the soul’s
relation to his Master. His heart’s
home is in that Master’s bosom
still. His deepest longing is that
men may know and trust his
Lord and find their deathless life
in him. —Rhees, in The Bible as
Literature.
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 26. 1896.
The Extensive Power of the King
dom of Heaven. Matt. 13:31
A sermon preached at the Baptist
church, Hawkinsville, Ga., Sunday,
November 15, 1896.
BY REV. R VAN DEVENTER.
“The tree is the product and
measure of the roots.” “The
world tree,” a Norse myth, had
boughs reaching beyond the stars
and roots that reached down in
the death kingdom. This sug
gests a truth relative to the
kingdom of heaven as presented
to us in the parables of the “mus
tard seed and leaven"—giving the
extensive and intensive power of
that kingdom.
1. The unpretentious beginning.
Had not the prophets of Israel
and poets told the Jew that the
kingdom would surpass for gran
dear anything the world had
seen? Their misconception of
poets and prophets’ words caused
them to look for a temporal king
dom. No doubt they had in mind
the great empires that had sway
ed scepters for a season and had
gone down to give place to an
other of more regal splendor. The
Assyrian had given way to the
Babylonian, the Babylonian to
Persian, the Persian to Roman.
They knew of the kings as they
went to conquest robed in purple
vesture striped with silver ami
over it a garment glittering with
gold and gems. Around their
waists a golden girdle, from
which hung the sword with scab
bard aflame with jewels. On
their heads were tiaras of rarest
gems.
Around these monarchs would
be gathered 1(1,00(1 pikemen with
their pikes tipped with gold and
silver, followed by infantry, cam
els and archers to the number of
(>OO.OOO. When the Jews remem
bered these things and were cher
ishing the prophetic utterances of
priest and prophet, and were put
ting a materialistic interpreta
tion upon these prophecies, we
are not surprised that they should
have been surprised when their
king was born in a manger. He
announced himself as Messiah
at the head of a few humble Gali
leans as obscure as himself.
They looked for a reign of ma
terial prosperity when the har
vest would be plentiful and
presses would burst and barns
would be filled to overflowing.
When poverty would flee away
and the social life of the nation
would be ideal. Instead of this
the king came with a new teach
ing, telling them to seek first
righteousness and other things
would be added.
There is in our day a tendency
in the same direction. The hu
manitarian, the Christian social
ist say Give us a reign of plenty,
fill the barns and presses, and the
ills that now beset us will be
gone. In the midst of it Jesus
says, My kingdom is not meat and
drink; but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Though but a mustard seed, in
it was the possibility of a tree
so large that comfort, home and
protection might be found in the
branches. The kingdom of heav
en, not the church, the reign of
grace might have such a modest
beginning, but in it was life to
produce the Christian civiliza
tion which blesses our world,
the Christian institutions and
churches that are helping God to
bring back a wandering world to
himself and the grandest mission
work that the world has ever
seen.
2. The kingdom of heaven is
a growth. David sung of the
vine that filled the land. Psalm
80:9. Daniel told of the stone
that filled the earth. Daniel 2:34.
We should remember that, the
kingdom being a growth, will re
quire time to reach maturity,
when it shall give place to further
plans that are divine.
Because it is a growth it is
slow.
The Bible we love so much is a
growth. Four thousand years
must pass after Adam before the
“seed of the woman” would
bruise the serpent’s head. The
Gospel of John could not have
been written till John had learn
ed about the divine nature of Je
sus. Even our Savior grew in
knowledge and grace. The time
came when his mission was un
folded, when the cross stood be
fore him and he knew for what
purpose he came to earth.
The Christian grows in his life.
To him Jesus is the larger Christ.
When the disciples left the sea
to follow him they knew but lit
tle about him. As they saw his
miracles in Canaan, hispowerover
devils, sickness and death, they
were impressed with his power
more and more, but when they
were on the Mount of Transfig
uration they gained a conception
they seemed not to have had be
fore which Peter expressed in the
w’ords, “Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God.” Even af
ter that he did not fill so large a
place in the minds of some. As-
‘ter his death and resurrection he
enabled Thomas to see him, not
“Jesus of Nazareth,” not the
“man of Galilee,” not the great
Teacher and wonder worker, but
"My Lord and my God.” As
God’s children grow in grace, Je
sus becomes to them more than
Savior, even King and Master.
Religion is more than a “life in
surance” against the ruin of time
and wrath of judgment; it is a
blessed life. Salvation becomes
something more than a "fire es
cape,” but a present power to
make this life a sacrifice well
pleasing to God.
The kingdom of heaven grows
into an organism.
The Assyrian, Persian, Baby
lonian empires were held togeth
er by a king. When he died or
was put aside the empire crum
bled —fell away. The Roman em
pire was held together by the peo
ple, every Roman being a part of
the nation. It is thus with the
kingdom of heaven —Christ the
head, every child of God, every
brother of Christ a member of
the body. While nobody would
die for Alexander or Charle
magne's kingdom, because the in
dividual was lost sight of, there
are and have been millions who
would die for Christ's kingdom,
because the individual was a part
of it recognized.
3. The kingdom of heaven in its
extension is for service. In the
mustard tree the birds find a
home —protection and comfort.
The kingdom is for man.
Paul understood it thus when
he said all things are yours. This
world —the literature, art,
science, wealth —all for man, and
Christ is for man. The kingdom
of heaven has come to us to fit
us for him who shall come to his
kingdom.
This reign has come to us that
we may reign with him who shall
reign as King of kings and Lord
of lords. The very life of this
reign of grace—Jesus is ours—
for man. I had the sin; he bore
the penalty that I might go free.
He took the shame and
gave me the glory; he took
the thorns and cross, and
gave ine the crown of life;
he took the humiliation and
death and gave me the life. In
this “reign of grace” we may look
for, we may expect, blessing.
The banner of peace is given
to the breeze. In the life of na
tions it flaunts the viifltue of Lib
erty, the deserts wild blossom as
the rose, and the earth will be
filled with (ruth.
F. r the Index.
Reminiscences of Georgia Baptists.
BY S. G. HILLYER
No. 16
JOHN B WALKER.
In the year 1784 or 1785, not
long after Cornwallis had deliv
ered his sword to Washington,
there was a group of emigrants
at Yorktown. Among them were
the families of Edmond Byne
and Robert Carlton. In the har
bor lay the brig Nancy, about to
sail for Savannah, Ga. Aboard
that ship the emigrants, with
their children, servants and
household goods, took passage
for their new homes in Georgia.
Mr. Byne’s family included his
wife and his children, among
whom were two daughters. Mr.
Carlton’s family also included his
wife and several children, among
whom were, at least, three daugh
ters. The heads of these families
were already members of Baptist
churches and were people of sin
cere and earnest piety.
When all things were ready
the ship weighed anchor and
passed down the Chesapeake
and out upon the bosom of the
broad Atlantic. The wind was
favorable, and the day was prom
ising. The passengers were full
of hope, expecting to reach Sa
vannah in three days.
But hardly twenty-four hours
had passed before the weather
changed. In a little while a
dreadful storm struck the ship.
It dared not hug the shore, for
fear of the breakers along the
Carolina coast. Its only safety
was the open sea. Thus it was
carried far away from its proper
course. For days and weeks the
storm, with only partial inter
vals, continued to rage. I never
saw a storm at sea; therefore, I
cannot describe it. My grand
mother, the youngest daughter
of Mr. Carlton—a young lady of
about eighteen summers, was an
eye-witness of all the horrors
that threatened, for weeks, the
safety of the ship and the lives
of the passengers. From her lips
I heard (he fearful story. One
night it seemed as if the time of
the end had come. The passen
gers were lying in their berths
enduring as well as they could
the perils of the hour, when sud
denly the ship careened so much
that it seemed to be falling on
its side. It was then the voice
of one of those pious men was
heard, amidst the howling winds,
saying: “Lord, help us up,” and
straightway the ship was set up
right, and that danger was pass
ed. Was this coincidence, be
tween the earnest prayer to God
and the relief which followed, due
to the action only of unknown
“second causes”? Subsequent
events proved that God had
use for, at least, some of
those passengers and there
fore preserved them. I can
not linger longer upon this
memorable voyage. Suffice it
to say, that the brig Nancy,
after five full weeks of storm and
peril, dropped her anchor in the
river in front of the city of Sa
vannah.
After a short delay in Savan
nah, Mr. Byne and Mr. Carlton,
with their families, proceeded up
the country to their destined
homes. Mr. Byne settled in
Burke county, where, after a
time, he was ordained to the Bap
tist ministry, and Mr. Carlton
settled in Wilkes, near Broad
river.
In these preliminary para
graphs I have made special men
tion of Mr. Byne ami Mr. Carlton,
because (a) they were both Bap
tists; (b) they were from the same
county, King and Queen, in Vir
ginia; (c) their families were inti
mately associated in their fearful
voyage to Savannah, and, finally,
because both families have left
descendants in Georgia, many of
whom were Baptists.
One of the daughters of Mr.
Byne married Mr. —. —. Walker.
I am sorry that I cannot give the
first name of either of the par
ties. They made their home in
Morgan county, where they raised
a family of three sons and two
daughters. One of the sons was
JOHN BYNE WALKER.
With his early years I was not
acquainted. lie was a married
man and a member of the church
when I first knew him. He was
a large planter and lived, for a
time, on his estate in the country,
but after awhile he built an ele
gant house for his family in the
suburbs of Madison, that they
might enjoy better social and re
ligious privileges than they could
find in the country.
In that elegant home he and
his noble wife dispensed a grace
ful and a wide hospitality. They
also transferred their church
membership from Indian Creek
to the church in Madison, with
which their subsequent lives were
identified. In his new home
brother Walker was surrounded
with all that was needful to in
sure him and his family a large
degree of domestic happiness.
But it was in brother Walker's
religious life that I knew him
best. I was for two years his
pastor. I had known him, to
some extent, before; but as his
pastor I knew him in his home
and in the church. As a church
member he was punctual and
faithful to meet all that was re
quired of him. I really cannot
recall one single time that he
failed to be present at a public
service of the church except
when he was absent from home.
He was not used to speaking in
public, yet in conference he would
speak on any matter of business
with great clearness and with
sound judgment. Hence he was
listened to as a safe adviser; and
in prayer-meeting he would, when
called on, lead in prayer. And
he was liberal in giving to all the
charities of the church. True,
brother Walker was a rich man,
and some may say that he could
afford to be liberal. Very true;
but how many thousands are
there who can afford to give,
some more and some less, who
never give a cent? When Dr.
Mallary was collecting the first
endowment for Mercer Univer
sity (I think that was the time),
brother Walker gave his note
bearing interest at 8 per cent, for
fifteen hundred dollars. And he
paid that note.
Brother Walker loved his
brethren. Hence he was often
present at our religious convoca
tions. I remember once, at a
meeting of the Central Associa
tion, the colporter was making
his report. The incidents he told
were intensely interesting. He
told of meeting one old man who
was so blind that he could not
read a common Bible. He need
ed one of large type, but the cost
of such a one in those days was
very high—far beyond the poor
man’s means. The colporter
had none to give him. He told
this story with a pathos that
went to every heart. Brother
Walker met the case practically;
he told the colporter to get just
such a Bible as the old man
needed and he would “foot the
bill.” Such a man was John B.
Walker. A faithful Christian
and an earnest Baptist.
But the closing years of his life
were sad. Three of his children
died soon after they were grown.
Then his wife was taken away
also, and his other children were
separated from him. In the
meantime, as an effect of the
war, he was reduced to poverty.
He left his elegant home and
lived almost alone in an humble
cottage only a few miles from his
former residence. He was then
very old, but his faith in God was
never shaken.
A friend, who knew him in his
prosperity, when with him not
long before he died, alluded sym
pathetically to his heavy losses.
"Yes,” said this aged saint, “I
have lost all, except what I have
given away.” What he had given
away he had given to the Lord.
That, he knew, was still to his
credit. One might preach a ser
mon upon his words? “I have lost
all, except what I have given
away.”
In conclusion, let me add a
few more words about the Byne
and Carlton families. Mr. Byne’s
other daughter, Anne, married
Mr. Harris, of Baldwin county.
They had one son and t wo daugh
ters. Their son was Hon. Iver
son L. Harris, who sat for a time
as one of the judges of our Su
preme Court. A daughter of
Mrs. Harris married Mr. Hansell.
He was the father of General
Andrew Hansell, who was the fa
ther of Captain William A. Han
sell, of Atlanta, and his daugh
ter, Leia, is now the wife of my
son. L. P. Hillyer, of Macon. Mr.
Carlton’s eldest daughter became
Rebecca Matthews. She was the
mother of two Baptist preachers
—Philip and James Matthews,
Jr. His youngest daughter mar
ried John Freeman, a soldier of
the Revolution. She had one
daughter, who married Shaler
Hillyer, who was the father of
Rev. J. F. Hillyer, Hon. Junius
Hillyer and myself.
One of my sons, Rev. J. L. D.
Hillyer, is a preacher. So the
Carlton family sent out five Bap
tist preachers for Georgia.
Finally, I have in Macon a little
grandson, Hansell Towers Hi li
ver, who, on his father's side, is
a lineal descendant of Robert
Carlton, and, on his mother’s
side, is a lineal descendant of
Edmond Byne. Thus these two
families, a hundred years after
the voyage of the brig Nancy, be
came connected by marriage.
5G3 S. Pryor St., Atlanta.
For the Index.
The Unrecognized Diamond.
BY KEV. J. H. GAMBRELL.
It is related that a man bought
a piece of land. He was very
poor. A neighbor told him that
there was buried in an Indian
mound, on his land, a diamond
of great value. He rejoiced and
determined to find it without de
lay. He set to work digging for
the treasure. A passer-by asked
what he was digging for, and was
told a diamond. How long have
you been digging? was asked. Ten
days, was answered. And have
not found the diamond yet, was
rejoined. No, said the digger,
but I have found the prettiest
rock you ever saw. He took
from his pocket the pretty rock
and was told that was the very
thing he was seeking, when he
remarked, Bless my life. I found
that the first day I dug, and did
not know what it was.
This story ilb’strates a great
fact. This: people often are
richer than they think they are.
They have riches in their posses
sion of unrecognized power and
usefulness. It seems to, at least
one man, that this story illus
trates the status of affairs as be
tween Georgia Baptists and their
diamond-Mercc-University. Geor
gia Baptists have this diamond
of priceless value, but do not
recognize its worth.
Their fathers, now in heaven,
delved and dug for it, and, with
their final farewells, bequeathed
it to those who live to-day, yet
its transcendant possibilities for
good are unrecognized by the in
heritors. Georgia Baptists do
not love Mercer University like
their fathers did, because they do
not appreciate the power locked
up in it like the fathers did. If
Mercer University nestled in the
hearts of Baptists of to-day
as it did in the hearts of
those gone before there would
be no care-worn expression
on the faces of Bro. Bernard and
his immediate co-laborers about
the outcome of the effort to raise
that imperatively demanded
SIOO,OOO additional endowment.
If any Baptist thinks Mercer
is not equal to other institutions
and therefore sends his boys else
where to be eq- ipped for life’s
struggle, may it not be that he
would think better of Mercer if
he had done more for it? Be
sides this, is it not easy to see
that he is divorcing the interest
of his children from his own ed
ucational plant, and that in turn
the interest of their children will
be divorced from it to the latest
generation? There will be ex-
VOL. 76-NO. 48
ceptions, of course, but the rule
will be against: his own denomi
national enterprise. This is said,
not against other institutions,
but in favor of Mercer Univer
sity.
There is a rapidly growing con
viction that the State cannot
furnish the highest and most de
sirable character of education for
the reason that the State cannot
cultivate and develop the spirit
ual nature. Surface facts, that
are born of deeply underlying
principles, tell the observer of
the trend of events, in clarion
notes, that in the oncoming years
higher education will be almost
exclusively under denominational
and individual control. Institu
tions not under the prohibitions
that applies to State institutions
alone can play upon, develop and
polish the dual nature of the stu
dent. This they will do accord
ing to the ability their equip
ments furnish, and their equip
ments will be according to their
available resources.
It follows logically that the
institution with the best re
sources and equipments will do
the best work in producing sy
metrical man and womanhood at
the least cost. It is also true
that sensible people will pat
ronize the institutions that give
them the best returns, and for the
least money. The denomination
or individual in Georgia that
furnishes the best educational
plant for making polished Chris
tian men and women out of the
abounding material at the small
est cost is going to set the pace
for and lead all others of every
sort. Would that Georgia Bap
tists realized this fact!
If Georgia Baptists permit any
other denomination to furnish
better education:.! facilities than
they do, it is absolutely certain
that that denomination will lead
and have greater pow’er in the
State than the Baptists. The de
nominational institution that has
the best endowment and equip
ment in Georgia is going to lead
in the religious thought and con
viction of the State. Such an
institution will do better and
cheaper work, and will have more
students than institutions that
have to struggle, year by year,
for existence.
To at least one mind, it is a
perfectly clear proposition that
Georgia Baptists must either give
Mercer University an ample en
dowment or surrender the leader
ship of the educational and re
ligious thought of the State for
all time. Let this fact throb in
the very bones of Georgia Bap
tists: if we lead the educational
and religious thought of our
State, we must pay the price of
leadership. We must know the
cost of leadership, and like those
worthy to be intrusted with it,
hasten to pay it, before others
win the prize. Year by year our
Methodist brethren are making
payments on the price of leader
ship in this State by increasing
the endowment and facilities of
their splendid educational plant
at Oxford. This means that they
are after doing the best educa
tional work done in Georgia,
which will give them leadership
in the State. Baptists are mak
ing large contributions toward
securing leadership for our Meth
odist brethren by Going nothing
for Mercer University. Baptists
need not give any money to Em
ory College, but simply withhold
from Mercer University what it
needs, and Methodist thought
and conviction will dominate
Georgia in a few years. This will
be true because every student is
a live ally of the institution that
equips him for his life work. He
is not only an advertisement, but
an active agent. There are and
will be exceptions to this rule, of
course, but the rule holds good.
The very day that Georgia Bap
tists, by withholding the money
that it needs, agree that Mercer
University shall be second to any
denominational or State institu
tion, is the day that Baptists sur
render leadership and become
fixed in the public mind as sec
ond in importance in educational
and religious matters. Jesse
Mercer, Billington Sanders, Thos.
Stocks, the Crawfords, the Brant
leys, the Sanfords and a host of
other Baptists who sleep, never
intended such a thing should
come to pass. Shall we, who
have entered into their labors,
bring it to pass by withholding
our money from Mercer Univer
sity?
This article isn’t elegant in
construction or diction. It is not
intended to delight, but to stir.
It may “stir up a hornet’s nest.”
I hope for such a result, and
every hornet may sting the writer
if only it will pass on to Mercer
University with a Scriptural con
tribution for its endowment. Mer
cer must be amply endowed and
thoroughly equipped.
Greensboro, Ga.