NEED OF THE CHURCH IS IT ALIVE TO ITS RESPONSIBILITY?

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 34, 10 February 1908, Page 7

NEED OF THE CHURCH IS IT ALIVE TO ITS RESPONSIBILITY?

SOME PROBLEMS. AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION. What is the greatest need of thp church? This question, introduced by tho Rev. R. M'Naughton, was discussed to-day by the conference of delegates of the Congregational Union. The church, said Mr. M'Naughton, had many needs, but most of these, in the opinion of the speaker, resolved themselves into one supromo nrcd. Tho church stood for Christian culture and Christian conquest. The conditioa of the church was such as to create joy in the camp of its enemies and alarm in tho camp of its friends. Tho church must be revolutionised. "The church has lost its grip upon the world," said the Rev. Washington Gladdou at the recent congress at Cleveland, U.S.A. The speaker also quoted from other statements of prominent leaders of the church. Instead of throbbing spiritual life of the church militant thoy had the feebleness concerned only with selfpreservation. Conformity to the ways of the world ; not godliness, but worldlineaj was tho prevailing characteristic ; making property more valuable than humanity. Instead of the call to advanco came the call to halt. -A QUESTION AND AN ANSWER, "What is the greatest need of the church?" asked t!i3 sper.ker cigain. .The practical recognition of the lordships of Jesus Christ was the greatest need of the church. Wero Christ regarded as the lord to be obeyed, what an impetus would there be to Christian culture ! The imperative call to evangelism would meet with a noble response. Tho pressiag social problems would be- vigorously assailed. The Christian Church had not been alive to its responsibility. The golden rule adorn lives as well as copy books if lordship of Christ were recognised. The competitive system would loss its cruel concomitants.. How was the practical recognition of tho lordship to becomo practical? Special prominence should be given iii the preaching and teaching to this aspect. Loving and loyal obadience must bo commanded from tho followers of the church. If Christ was not Lord of all, ho was no'u Lord at all. Either professing Christiana should hay» more coronation [ experience, or etas they should go in j their own place. The church inighh lose in numbers at first, but a revival of religion would follow, and the church, would become apostolic in practice. Every 1 evolution in tho church had its underlying basic principle. Tha principle enunciated by tho speaker might bo the origin of a new reformation and revival. IS IRREVERENCE INCREASING? Mr. Porter said that v irreverancw shown by the youth of the Dominion was increasing. If Christ was* put in his proper place by the church, the younger generation would 'show more respect lo the church. Tho Rev. A. E. Hunt fully endorsea the statements oi Mr. M'Naughton. His difficulty, however, was the practical one. They wero doing all they could at present, so far a3 the pulpit and the teaching was concerned- If they were truer to their ideals, they would exert a greater influence on the outside 1 world, but the teaching must be outside- the pulpit. Mrs. Miller asked if dancing was forbidden as it had boen in her day? The Roy. J. R. Glasson felt that they had been , passing through- very grrat changes in thought and sentiment re- j garding such matters as had been discussed. He could imagine anybody recognising the lordship of Christ and going to a danco, or even to a theatre. Manliness and straightforwardness and healthy human relationships wero coming to' be regarded as the essence of tho Christian life. It did not much matter what teaching you had from the pulpit if you had heathendom jn the pow, was the opinion expressed by a well known writer in a religious journal. Tho men who tnlked about enthroning Christ and hang "Crown Him Lord of AH" were much tho same in business as men who were not Christians, so one heard. They «mtered on speculations with the same motives and same principles. THE IDEAL. The Christ ideal should permeate th» whole of life. If thoy took Christ suriuusly and went out into Wellington and bore masks on_ their foreheads so that people would see that hero wero men who had something not common to all, then the Church would extend its influence. The practical question was how to get the power and then how to be the means of spreading it among other men. The only way to get the power was to keen one's eelf in quiet companiqnship with Christ. The Church was the Tragedy of Christianity. Did Christianity make any difference to men in their conduct? If Christians wero as hard in business as non-Chris-lians — and somotimes they wero harder — what could people say of them? If men were true Christians there would ! not be the unearned increments, the i building up of huge fortunes, the I trampling down of the weak sucn as were seen in our present civilisation. The remedy of present evils was tha spread and practice of Christian civilisation. The Rev B. L. Thomas thought that Mr M'Naughton's paper on th& question was hardly practical enough. Tho Rev. S. Griffiths took exception to the expression of Mr. M'Naughton's "If not Lord of All, not Lord at All." There wero the broken reed and the infidel and tho agnostic to be remembered. What thoy needed chiefly was the Christian spirit in practice Mr. E. Wood considered that personal self-surrender was the secret of successful work among ths churches The Roy. W. A. Evans held that the greatpst need of the Church was to realise the idea of a church. It was not a question of numbers The function of tho pulpit was not to multiply the membership of the church, but to inculcate tho teaching of Christ. Christianity was a power, and a church just the organ through which that power operated. They should therefore realise the idea oi a churchTho Roy. W. A. Keay endorsed tho arguments of tho last speakers, but objected to tho critici&rn on Christ that proceeded from some pulpits. Mr. Lindsay urgod that the pulpit was the means of drawing in or of driving out members. The great bulk 01 modern Christianity was nominal, most observed their religion by proxy. The Rev. Mr. M'Naughton replied briefly, and asked that a private conterencd might be arranged for a later date.