King's Business - 1915-10

on Evangelists

By Dr. French E. Oliver

It is a crime against God and man for pastors to follow an.unnatural, unspiritual, unsCriptural frenzy of the flesh, because sec­ ular, Godless newspapers popularize as an idol, any evangelist who throws sweetened '«ops- info the lap ofWarrant, bigoted, reeking Romanism for the sake of newspaper popu­ larity and prestige with local commercial and political combinations; who says, “I would die, if 'I could not be in the lime­ light.” I say it is a crime for pastors to follow such a leader and unite to shut out talented, clean, eonsecr.ated evangelists from their cities for great union campaigns, be­ cause the object of carnal clamor cannot get to every city in the nation in a season or so. Greater 6ospel campaigns can be held, more lasting results secured, a spiritual at­ mosphere created which will bless_ the churches, if pastors will give more loyal, prayerful supportftb courageous, high-class evangelists who really want to see ten thou­ sand souls saved infinitely more than they want to see a check for ten, twenty or thirty thousand dollars for their services. It is an insult to God-fearing men who have .spent .from fifteen to. forty years pre- paring their methods and messages for great meetings to see the ministerial and press combinations 'seek to resolve the great cause

•"VERY evangelist should ap- / peal to the mentality and the conscience of his hearers, 'and have brains enough to __present ideas and Scriptural

truth to the people instead of depending upon acrobatic performances on the plat­ form, and other vaudeville tactics, or street novelties to catch the superficial, bizarre or shallow non-thinking ‘people of a city. Every evangelist who thinks more of se­ curing dates than getting people regenerated is a curse to the'Yity ^securing his services. Every evangelist carrying unclean helpers, who get drunk or are divorced, or practice the “laying on -of hands” on pretty girls and women, is endangering the morals of the people who have ■not formed ironclad or steel-armoured convictions regarding the sacredness of the call to Christian work. Eli’s sons were slain because of their un­ cleanness. Uzziaji became a leper because he tried to usurp the work of the priest. Annannias and Sapphira were killed because they lied to the Holy Spirit. Would to God there might be a complete cleaning out of the low-grade, cowardly,, sensual, ly­ ing; compromised, skeptical, gallery-playijlg,, grand-standing pastors and evangelists,' who degrade the work of God into subtle somnipathy—for revenue only!

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