METHODIST CHURCH

Evening Star, Issue 23508, 23 February 1940, Page 10

METHODIST CHURCH

ANNUAL DOMINION CONFERENCE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BY REV L. B. NEALE SOLUTION FOR TRUCULENT IDEOLOGIES TRIUMPHANT CHRISTIAN CERTAINTIES “ We meet as a conference in the stormiest period of history, amid a ■world-shaking cataclysm the loudest thunderclaps of which aro yet to be heard,” said the Rev. L. B. Neale, 8.A.. F.R.G.S.. in his presidential address last night to the Dominion conference of the Methodist Church. “ The sharpest stiletto has yet to be hurled at the vitals of democracy. The boasted civilisation of the day has culminated in' terrorism and barbarity. The forces of' hell impatiently blast structural foundations. “ National megalomania has immolated the individual to a mystic entity. The conspiracies and truculent bombastries or false leaders have blinkered human mentality until nation afternation has become idiotic and automatic. The cult of Nationalism has created cynicism, savagery, and death. The denial of liberty and the deification of force have collapsed culture and spirituality. H. G. Wells declares that, “ A race is on between catastrophe and civilisation.” Oswald Rpengder, the German philosopher says, “ Civilisation is losing the race.” Reinhold Niebuhr, that fearless and prophetic spirit, says, “ Civilisation is doomed.” “ In this hour, while we witness the greatest fiasco of the devil, let ns don the panoply of God. Now—while the scourage of_ paganism with all its irrevocable kismet is upon us, let the Church of God lead the world to a Creative disillusionment. How?' What cultus? What ideology? What technique? What message has she for a frorld infinitely confused and spiritually exhausted? What pronunciamento has the Church for the soul of man that has lost its way? I am not thinking of pontifical pronouncements, findings or_ solutions on every position that has arisen or may arise. Ours is a harder task—to uncover the verities of life, to declare the principles by which human nature alone can work, to display something the world has yet to grasp and to present the ethic of Jfesus so challengingly and compellingly ihat men will find themselves on their inees before the Cross and in a spiritkal world. That is our task and Mission in these perilous days. While 111-starred leaders are offering humanism, morality, brotherhood, political, ind economic expedients as the way lut, it is our task and privilege to (entralise Jesus, and to stress the great poying themes. of religion as the only iasis of human redemption. A TEACHING MINISTRY. “ One of our most urgent needs is to re-think and re-teach our Christian Ideology with such conviction and larnestness that the truculent ideobgies of the age will be revealed in |ll their unreality. We have both the passage and the solution but we apobgise for our apologetic. We have lllowed Christian conviction to be htiraidated by unwarranted claims of fcience, to be subordinated to the phiiojophy of success through self-interest, b be weakened by over-emphasis upon he sentimentalities and sociabilities of nurch fellowship. Let us' focus the rue Jesus. Jjct us preach the full-

orbed Gospel. We have something which even Buchmanism in the realm of personal piety, Barthianism in the realm of theology,, and neo-Thornisni in the realm of social idealism, to name no others, can never give. It is the priceless privilege of the church to introduce Jesus to men < and to give to the world an, evangelism of spiritual compulsion and enriching revelation forcing life to the grand experiment of religion. POSITIVE TEACHING. “ We need more positive teaching. There is a type of evangelism which tries to break the spiritual drought by cannonading the heavens, and its devotees think they can promote a revival by adopting cheap methods of selling religion. An increasing number of theological pedlars is scattering abroad in pamphlets and tracts a lot of mischievous and unscriptural teaching. We are having a harvest of itinerant crack-pot preachers cashing in on the people’s longing for definite teaching, particularly on matters of human destiny. Everywhere we find purveyors of sectional and factional religion who become agents of an insidious proselytism. Intellectual incompetence and antagonism to modern critical scholarship are leading many sincere people to accept, and to teach assumptions fundamentally unscriptural, historically untenable and psychologically inexplicable, Too long we have remained silent and left unchallenged these propagandists who finalise in perilous terms the prophecies and symbolism of scripture. • With reborn conviction, earnestness, and definiteness we must give our people the triumphant Christian certainties, and positively state the distinctive teaching and conviction of our Lord. I believe nothing would so much restore the pristine glory of Methodism in this searching age as a renaissance of Biblio- centric. Christo-centric, and Cruci-centric teaching and preaching—a proclamation of the basic realities and simplicities of Christ’s teaching backed by intellectual competence and crimson devotion. A HEALING MINISTRY NEEDED. “ Statistics reveal that one person in every twenty-five sooner or later becomes mentally ill. Many human sicknesses and diseases are the result of physical corruption, mental or spiritual eruption. It is long overdue for our Methodist Church to exploit the possibilities of healing in the name of

Jesus. There is a technique of treatment peculiarly the responsibility and privilege of the church and Methodism should now inaugrate psychopathic and psychiatric clinics. Diseases not primarily organic but. of functional and nerve origin are capable of spiritual healing, enslavement of habits, criminal behaviourism, buried complexes, unresolved conflicts, hysterias and phobias are curable by men and women of God. The Christian minister is the logical specialist to deal with the neuroses which fundamentally are moral problems. 7 The twisted mind; the diabolic passion; the grip of sex; the hateful actions induced by environmental stimuli become a focus of mental sepsis. Here is an unexplored field for Methodism. The penetrating insight of the Christian psychiatrist, the sympathetic understanding and creative faith of the man of prayer, the direct transmission of divine power through human channels, are media of healing beyond the realm of medicine. Let Methodism no longer, remain inactive along these specialised lines. Let her set up her clinics and deal with many physical and mental maladies by psychological and spiritual methods co-operating with all branches of the medical profession. It is well-known that medical men woujd gladly give guidance and counsel in cases which belong to the specialised field of the church. CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONALISM. “We should define a progressive policy and gradually proceed to set up our own publishing and printing depots to disseminate Christian Jiteratun|. We should publish and distribute a thoughtprovoking weekly paper, and determine that a Christian film bo- exhibited at least once a week. We should erect Methodist hostels in_ all the chief centres and build hospitals and colleges staffed by our own specially trained doctors, nurses, and teachers. Build city missions. Erect homes for undernourished, ill-clad, sick, and orphaned children and particularly homes .and cottages and institutions for aged couples and the single aged. You know how greatly 1 am moved by this need. Do not regard it as mere idealism; it is surely a vision of Methodism in the new century in balanced action for the Kingdom of Christ. LEGATEES AND TRUSTEES. “It is in the interests of our Dominion Church that this conference should courageuosly implement a policy of aggression and advance. The last conference decided to inaugurate at this conference, a Centennial thanksgiving fund. During the year a special committee has been considering the scheme and its report will be considered in a few days. It is important that every member of this conference should prayerfully and earnestly consider this farreaching proposal. Financially, we are cribbed, cabined and confined. Our trust boards are struggling with mortgages approximating £159,000 and our circuit quarterly boards face indebtedness of over £5,000. Our connextional funds are too, weak to support movements commensurate with our needs. Many of our churches, Sunday schools, and parsonages require replacement or drastic alterations. No synodal district is free from financial problems. Our debts are impeding spiritual advance. Many of our ministers and home missionaries are receiving inadequate stipends. Apart from a few noteworthy gifts few of our wealthy people have awakened to a full sense of their responsibility to the church. Seldom is a worthy gift placed at the command of the church. So few of us tithe our income and so many of us give under compulsion. It would do all of us good to read John Wesley’s sermon on, ‘ The use of money.’ Christian discipleship involves personal stewardship. If all our people make a personal sacrifice this year, the thanksgiving fund will make possible a revitalisation of all departments oi our church.”