146
T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
S tarlit and gem -surrounded, To cast before th e th ro n e.”
gone to th e o th er extreme in a m ulti plicity of organizations; wheels upon wheels, some stationary, some turn ing , yet no grist. A recent rep o rt of a large denom ina tion in one of th e cen tral States, which includes over five hund red churches, showed a fraction over one addition to th e church yearly, upon confession of Christ as Saviour. Now, if th e business of th e church is to save souls, and if th a t is th e purpose for which th e Lord God has le ft His children here,— th e church is no t on th e job w ith any degree of efficiency. The w riter was for some years associate pastor in Beth any Church in Philadelphia, where the Honorable John W anam aker presided as sup erin tend en t of th e g reat Sunday School of 3500 members and also teacher of a large Men’s Bible Class, which was organized a fte r the Jeth ro fashion. Over every ten members he placed a “ tith e m an,” and over every ten tith e men, was placed a centurion. Mr. W anam aker directed th e cen tu r ions, th e centurions directed th e tith e men, and th e tith e men looked after' th e ir tens. This simple plan afforded a practical m easure for th e oversight of th is large Bible Class. W h at is th e conclusion of th e whole m atter? God’s people are in business for His glory; th e Holy Sp irit is the leader; He w ants practical helpers, with th e wisdom which He supplies, for ser vice. No wheels tu rn in g which do not bring a good grist. A man is wasting God’s tim e and his own life if he seeks to do th e work which someone else can do. Make all officers of th e church produce th e largest retu rn s. PRACTICAL POINTS (1) The Lord God is the Law-maker. (2 ) God has universal laws for gov erning th e universe. (3 ) God has specific laws regu lating m an’s relation to Him. (4 ) The propaganda of th e principles, is one th ing ; th e personal applica tion of them is another.
— Eva T ravers Poole.
This lesson gives us a little insight into Moses’ fam ily relations. He had a good father-in-law— a wise man, who had no doubt been g reatly helped by reason of his contact HEART OF w ith his son-in-law. THE LESSON “ Old men for counsel; T. C. H o rton young men for w ar” saith th e Scripture. Je th ro recognized a weakness in Moses’ handling of th e affairs of Israel, and gives a suggestion th a t is of real value concerning our service for the Lord. There should be a fair division of labor in th e affairs of th e Church. There is something seriously wrong w ith our method of managem ent of church affairs. The pastor of th e flock is expected to do too much work, and often he has had no form er experience in church life, and his official board seldom give much atten tio n to th e m at ter. The Lord’s work is th e most poorly conducted service in th e world. The theory which is dom inant is th a t if you have a p retty fair service on Sunday and get enough money to pay expenses, you ought to be satisfied. If things go along fairly well, th e p asto r is praised; if not, he is pushed along to some other post. There is no o ther profession in the world in which so much is expected of a man, so many various duties to perform , w ith a compensation so mea gre. Every theological sem inary needs a good business man to occupy the chair of practical Christian work; or, if you please, “C h ristian ity P ractically Applied Through th e Agency of the Church.” Many a poor m inister in th e pu lp it is w earing him self out in an unavailing effort to do all sorts of odd jobs for which he has no qualification, or tim e to perform . In an effort to cure th is church disease, some churches have
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker