Accountability! — God pity the spiritual watchman who keeps his ear to the ground and gives his people what they want instead of what they need, or — just as bad — who preaches to please his superiors instead of getting his directions from his God. Personal accountability will never pass. It is demanded of the spiritual steward that he be found faithful.
Stagnation! — Sixty thousand popular Protestant pulpits failed to win a single convert last year. These churches sweep in the greater and the lesser denominations. Tremendous sums were invested. Preachers and people were supposed to be witnessing for Christ. Yet let us not be .too critical of others. What about ourselves? What about net gains in my church or district, my conference or union? Heaven's call is " out of Babylon; " not only out of her false teachings, but out of her likeness in such a matter as this.
Emphasis! — The older this movement grows and the more complex its ramifications become, the greater our peril and the tendency to place disproportionate thought and emphasis upon the conduct of its material aspects to the neglect of the spiritual. If the same amount of time were bestowed upon those great spiritual problems, if far-reaching plans for upbuilding life and character, winning and holding our youth, and fitting a people to meet their God, were laid, a mighty change would be seen. Our tendency constitutes a warning; our need constitutes a challenge.
Counter-Reformations! — Nearly every reformatory movement is confronted by a counter-reformation, calculated to mollify the call, to mitigate the circumstances, but actually operating as a substitute for the change called for. If God has spoken to this people, He has called in unmistakable terms for genuine reform. Let us beware of any counterreformations which would simply buckle the belt a little tighter, would roll up the sleeves a little higher, try a little harder along the familiar lines, and simply perpetuate the very weaknesses that have been reproved. God is not to be trifled with. He will never be deceived by external movements nor greater intensity. The call is inescapable. What is our response?
Limitations! — While a man has an inalienable right to personal convictions, he does not have a right to commit the denomination by public utterances to positions that have never been accepted generally or officially, and upon which there is difference of opinion. He has no right thus to embarrass his brethren. On essentials we are united, and these positions are known and clear. On nonessentials let there be restraint and prudence. For individuals with a burden on some point there is a legitimate way to proceed. Let them lay the matter before representative brethren, who in turn can seek wider counsel if needed. We must cling together as we face a hostile world, or else we foster division and retard the cause we love.
L. E. F.