T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
10
January 1932
m KIND of PREACHING iL PEOPLE WANT .. .By Senator B. L. EDDY, Roseburg, Oregon
tical politics. They would prefer that he keep his crude ideas to himself. The informed hearer is especially an- . noyed when his pastor launches forth to deliver a “ canned” sermon received from the Federal Council of Churches on the subject of “ World Peace,” “ Child Labor,” “ Disarmament,” or the like. Such propaganda is usually unpatriotic and modernistic. In addi tion to that, it is often mere twaddle in an intellectual way. The minister who cannot discern such stuff for what it is should get out of the pulpit, open His Bible, and ask the Lord to enlighten the eyes of his understand ing. The average man in the pew who reads the newspapers will come nearer talking sense about the tariff, taxation, the size of the army and navy, and world peace than the most cultured product of the most learned theological seminary. The practical citizen does not go to church to hear such matters discussed. Even though he is not a regenerated man, he goes to church to get into a spiritual atmos phere, arid he likes to hear the Bible expounded and questions discussed which have to do with the soul and its relation to God. Even the unregen erate church-goes has more or less
[Senator Eddy is an attorney, a mem ber , o f the upper house o f the Oregon Legislature for many years, an elder in his home church, and at present is the Moderator o f the Synod of Oregon of. the Presbyterian Church. He has written this article especially for T he K ing ’ s B usi ness , and we heartily respond with an '■ Amen” to all that he says .—E ditor .] P. erhaps it is necessary first to inquire, Who are “ the peo ple” ? “ There are people and people,” says a proverb. When Job was a little irritated by the preaching of his friends, he exclaimed, “ No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.” We speak not for those who preach, but for those who listen to preaching, for those who sit in Job’s place, but who may lack the old patri arch’s patience, for the average folk who occupy the pews. These average folk are far from being of one mind as to preaching, or. anything else. An ancient saying is, “ There’s naught so queer as folk.” When a writer or speaker tells us o f the pref erences, the thoughts, the views, the wants, the likes, and the dislikes of “ the people,” we understand.that he presents his personal observations,' largely colored by his personal views or opinions. He speaks as one of the
S enator E ddy
people, with more or less knowledge of what others think. He necessarily gives prominence to the pronoun “ I.” How ever, we all reflect to some extent the expressed and unex pressed ideas and standards, as well as critical or uncritical views, of those with whom we have daily contact. Hence each observant person has some warrant for speaking for “ the people.” The word which I think is most used in praise of a preacher o f the gospel is not “ eloquent,” nor “fluent,” but the simple word “ earnest.” “ He is an earnest man,” says the everyday, practical citizen, of the preacher who has impressed him. A rich vocabulary, learning, rhetorical skill—all these count less with the ordinary hearer than the dead earnestness of a man. O f course, he must have some message to communicate. But he must thoroughly believe that message, and he must deliver it as though somebody may be lost if that sermon be not preached. When a min ister preaches as though he is throwing out the life line to his perishing fellows, and not as if he is merely pitching verbal horeshoes, average people will listen and come again. P olitics in the P ulpit Thoughtful church attendants do not care a rap for the preacher’s political views. They feel irritated when he strays into strange pastures. They know that, if he is giv ing proper time to the study and work of the ministry, he has no time to master questions of statesmanship or prac
faith in God and the Bible, or he would not be at church. He might not say so in so many words, but he instinctively seeks to find pasture for his soul. The church that does not furnish that pasture, but sets up a civic forum, a school o f politics, or a headquarters for some literary or scientific cult instead of preaching the religion of Jesus Christ, is ob taining money under false pretenses. What will be done to the Balaam-following church o f Pergamos will not be a cir cumstance to what will happen to these modern imitation affairs. T he M inister ’ s V ocabulary Even people of limited education like to hear the preacher use words with some degree of care. Such words as “ divinity,” “ religion,” and “ reform” have come to be used in a non-Christian sense, and when a speaker is refer ring to the deity of our Lord, he leaves only doubt or mis giving in the mind when he speaks o f His “ divinity.” When he talks of “ religion,” if he means Christianity, he had bet ter say so. When he uses the word “ reform,” as relating to an individual life, he should make it clear whether or not he is speaking of the new birth, or o f mere moral improvement. It has come to pass in our day that the term “ religious education” is of doubtful meaning. With some, it means the inculcation of ethical principles gathered from the va rious religions of the world, mingled with some Christian truth, but largely excluding the supernatural, sneering at
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