The palmetto leader. (Columbia, S.C.) 1925-196?, August 14, 1926, Page THREE, Image 3
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Saturday, August 14, 1926.^'
( |,X"W"XKK"XSK">M~K";,W"K"X":
I Church Fighters an
REV. ALBERT
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One of the most serious setbacks
to the expression of~practical Christianity
among us, is the preacher-fight .
ing'tendency that we find in so many
of our churches. It
is interesting to check -up the
people who make thppe fights from
* lime lu time and who thus intontkm-ally
s<fw discord in so many places.
- ? Again and again, W?. hear of churches
being locked against ministers against
whom no- charges have been jjroven.
Apd, as we face the group who are
"leaders in this movement, We find
thp snrriA or?no* of tVioir trirlfc Hno r\f
the reasons among others for this
trouble, grows out~of the fact, that
we, because of their financial standing,
have put unconverted men at
the head, of many of our churches.
The men in question do not understand
the program of Jesus Christ.
They have no vital interest in it. They
like to parade their unchristian im2.
portance before the people so as to
be, called big won. Other than fur
sethshr reasons,?they:Kave~ no spiritual
interest in the church whatever. Then,
too, we discover another preacherfigthing
man who is immoral. His
relation in his church will not bear
-investigation. It is his business to
watch the prehcher and the sisters.
He is never without fear that "the
preacher is going to make a mistake
of a. moral nature. In his prayers, he
especially prays that the preacher
may be kept straight. Now, the fact
of the matter is, the type of man in
question ia- one, of. the biggest hypocrites
that ever lived. He is the
first man find something wrong In
the preachjer and the last man to find
anything tyrong with himself. If you
hold a spiritual meeting he is the first
to get happy and he has the longest
" story to tell.-~He is ready Jo cry at
the dropping of a hat, and one of the
first to tell a lie just as soon as he
gets on the outside. Whenever a
petition is gotten up against the
preacher, his name is the first to go
on it. He is_ great in having the
;preachers changed, but it seems
never to occur to him that he-needs
a change. " ??
One other reason why we have so
much preacher-fighting in our churches,
is because we -keep?one^set of
men in office too long. Stewards, trustees
apd others should be changed
bunch that fights the out-going pastor
are right on the job to fight the
incoming one. As a rule, the same
complaints they find against the one,
they find against the other. When
* there are so many, good men in a given
church, I ?ee no reason why one
sat of thmilff V?j)Vf office for.ten.
fifteen and twenty years, just td be in
a position to fight the ministers who
come and go. And yet* such is the
ease in hundreds of our "churches.
During the many years that I have
been in the ministry, I have visited a
number of church trials in which
preachers were involved, I have never
visited one in which I did not see
1 spite?work?and?unchristian tricks
played on the preacher. Usually, a
group 0f men and women wanted him
- changed because he would not do
their bidding. In this, often the
.!- preacher'^ hand has been against the
, preacher ip these unchristian- tricks.
~The locking of church doors against
\ . # . >
ministers is becoming too common amongst
us.?I hold ho brief for an immoral
preached. I hold po brief for
a drunken preacher. However, in all
such cases, direct a charge against
?the?man-and?have him tried by- fa'ir
means and then let him go. But, Jf
the conditions uncover dirty laymen
? or any one else who are not ywhat
they ought to be, then dispose of
them also.
Quite a deal of the energy that
should be spent in putting over a program
for God and suffering humanity
in" this world is spent in dealing
wiflTTFie^ Troublesome people in question.
Then. too. some of our nreaeh
ers are to be blamed for the nefarious
^acts of the people. The "favoritism"
business has given a mighty
lift to this preacher-fighting program
in our churches. One preacher will
go to a place yid he will form a
ring. As a rule, that ring is good enough
f^r anything exdept singing,
praying and living right. They buy
up the .other preacher and mis-direct
him, then they stay on the job of
doing the same for the next preacher
that goes to that church. As a rule,
they care nothing for the la\^ of the
church. All that they want to do is
to 'boss the preacher and the church
, < and stay in a position to put a few
dollars into their pockets now and
then. If the preacher submits to
this, they call him a good preacher
jtnd they measure all others by him.
Thus, the weak, inefficient preacher is
a djrect contributing cause to this
t . . trouble that is. now afflicting so many
of our churches today.
There are thousands of christian
A*. ^ a a, ,..' . . *
t j ... 9 *
?M
d Preacher Fighters
H. LONG, D. D. ^ g
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'daymen and women in our churches'
' who have nothing to do with these ;
programs of preachei>fighting that
are put over in so many of our churches.
But for them, many preachers
coulj not function at all. The.devilment
of the group in question is as j
: -gxoat an q,fflictionjy>- the devout chris-~
dan people in"our churches as it is to'
_ the ministers. The teang. jn question
often go into our secret orders and
get the rings in them and brirtg them
into our churches so as to put over
their program of tearing up our
churches. These unholy rings are not
to be found in any one of ouq denominational
churches, but they, are found
in all of them. One often hears them
Wo *u:~ -u.? -t
...? vvuutivi i.iiia cnurcn. ;,it is ours
anj the preached who expects to serve
here, must 'do as we.-sky do. ^iis
bread ar>d meat are in'our hands. The
fellow who thinks that he can stay
here and" not obey us, will either move
or we., will move him.If he displeases
us and fails to^-go?we .will"
- crtarve liim out."
Thus the humble christian minister
whose ministerial rating waits
upon the dollars and cents he- can
raise rather than upon his character
and capacity for definite servicd, must
submit to a program that actually
- 1s at war with the program" of Jesus
Christ so as to please a gang that
cares nothing for.. j^Chi^iSt nor His
cause. When aU fail$,'then they select
a weuk woman to get up a charge
against him and the eff^ft is made
to crucify him as .the Jews crucified-Jesus
Christ. -It is well to note that
a church of-the character in question
cannot carry rout the program of Jesus
Christ. N0 minister can really
preach the' gospel in such a ' place.
However, if it is known that he will
preach one thing and do another, he
may stay there for a while and then
the bunch of hypocrites in..control of
the situation will strip him of his
murm garments ana senj him on in
tears to some other .place.
If it, were said that there are hundreds
qf ministers in this condition to-day,
the truth would be told.
Well, what remedy have we loT"
this condition that has well nigh destroyed
thq program of Jesus Christ
in our churches? The first thing'rto
face is, that unconverted men -^and
women can not run the church of
ey they may have, the-junsaved man
or woman, cannot- direct the program
of llesus Christ)- It is being
tried in hundreds of places and it is
a failure.; It has nothing to ofFer in
the future but a failure. The minister
that creates-such a machine in any
ahurch, gives birth to a plan that. _
./ultimately ends in his own death
a number of his brother min;
isters' who must, in the course of
: time, succeed. Thus we find men
failing today for whom the failure
"''was nlantod lnno- lipfnro Vmvr
___ 4 ? V V41VJ iVOVUCU '
| the fields to- which they wore sent,
j They are often responsible for a con- I
1 djtion with which they have h<*d
nulliing?more to do?than?the?mun *
in the moon. The fellow who built i
the float for his brother minister's :
j failure;?sets back -an annual conference
or an association and laughs :
while his brother minister is suffer- :
> ing for the mistakes 'that he is con- :
scious of having made.
; The .second * suggestion we offer
as a remedy for this terrible condition !
that afflicts, so many of our churches, j
I is that we change our Stewards, trus- 1
| tees and others occasionally, and thus i
' break up the unholy rings that oT-~~
j ten control our "churches. There are j
.officers in some of oilr ^churches who i
Thave been in office so-riang-that-dhey--j
I believe that they own the church to j
j whch they belong. One mdYi wfio j
I does his duty and stands fair in cha- I
1 racter and capacity, is" just as good |
, as any other man, and any honors' J
| that any one in that church has re-' j
j ceived, should be shared with him. J
4- j<
| There i would be fewer splits in our j1
j churches if we did this. There will ?
: be niore splits inrthem than tve now i
j have jf we do not do this.
The law of succession in the pas- s
torate of our churches will have to be j[
studie(j in the future more carefully ;i
than it has ben studied in the past. ||
To send a type of man to a given j
church who really has a program for
the field to which he was sent, and ;
who really contributed something ;t
worth while to that field, and then'
change him and send another type of j *
mah to that field with no program at "
all, is really responsible for a deal j 3
of the trouble that we have in "ourj j
churches today.
No, the preacher-fighting church is' j
a failure as' a^jchristtart church. The! j
church fhat is ^governed by rings ?
rather than by the Spirit of God,' i
has lost its commission if it ever had \
one. There is no use for the unsaved !
to look to such* a place for salvation, i
The program of Jesus Christ is not to j
^ THE PALMET
be found-there. *A spiritual drouth- Hi
stays ut such places. Tfhe only program
to be found in such places
lying, backbiting and preacher-fight- ~M
ing. In such places a man will pray M
for you tonight and take the advan- M
tage of you tomorrow. He will invite >1
you to come to Christ luday, and thenattempt
to lead some member of
your family astray tonight. He will jp
get happy and get' so full of it that p
it takos four meirto_hold him tonight,
and curjso^and swear and black your
eyes for you tomorrow. It matters L?
not what the financial yield iuay h(>
from" all such efforts, it'( is well to '***
note that this is not the Christianity of
Tesifs-Christ.
All such places are a menace to
the cause of Christ." They give our
children a wrong' conception of what
a christian church is, and they are
the greatest contributing causb to tfie
godless conditions .which surround
hundreds of our churches today. '
Ihip christiun leaders of our group
must look into these matters or their
best efforts *will become a mockery in V1
the immgflia^ jCuture. ? y(
Charleston District, S. C.
Conference 7
Maryville, Aug. 5-6?A most ip-.
teresting and enthusiastic convention
was that of the Charleston District
held on August 5-6, at Emanuel
A. M. E. Church, Rev. J.- O. Johnso^. ??pastor.
There reigned true denipr
cracy. Each one did., with al}?their
might what their hands found to do,
especially ..where it was - hard and _
dangerous,, and have in the spirit of
the. Christ, matchead the work to _
which they w.ere called. W?
Every thinking and struggling?m
dividual must admit that oUr~ standard
of progress is measured by our
religion in this world/ ??
Our meeting was/graced with the
following pastors -hnd visitors:" the
Revs. Chavis and /Murph of Charleston,
Presiding Elder M. A. Hollings "
and Rev, W. R. k.-. Felder of-the Edis-i ?
to District, \jlxy effective and inter- !
esting were the remarks by each. " ?
We were-also favored with the pros-!
once' of Mrs.. Murph, who is a won- L
derful worker for the cause. ' Mrs.!
D. S. Green of'the Edisto District was I .
% ' " -I
aiso introduced. " "j
The Annual Sermon- was delivered-1
Hy the Rev. *J. M. Jackson of Eutawville.
Welcome Address by Miss '
Carr ,of MaryviRe. Response by j?Mrs.
E. A. Mance, Conference Sect.;!
Our Conference Branch President, <
MrsLlLu^K,. Nelso nwas. present- but j I
her stay was short. She stated that
. .?. .> i
the State Convention would not convene
until sometime in October, since J' .
|Li)|Bcf Phone 6026 ?
I: NT J. FREE
? > . v ^
0 Attorney-at-Law anc
:: '^ "T
'' Practice in all Courts1
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!! n'. 1119 Washington Street,
gojoa&ce3?iX>w
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Now Back in
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8 _ We are now b^Tck in business
g wn.n a complete line 01 staple i
3 shall be glad to have the bdsines
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oooa&aaoo a oo 00000000 hxfii aooo oc
THERI
I SATSFA(
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WORKMANSHI1
SEE Ol
f SPRING & ?
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f" WONDERFUL VALU
CJWEN &
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CALL 6963 FOR
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MRS. P. R. REE
A Full Line of Patent
Cigarettes and Tobaccos.
Madam C. J. Walker's ]
Times. Ice Cream and ?
? -* PHONE 1
1422^ABBembiy Street/ -
ro LEADEtt
shop Hurst, presiding Bishop would Resolved-that:
Election resulted as follows:- J " of the South Carol
rs. A. C. Mayes. District President; the Charleston Disi
rs. S. A. Whitfield, Vice-President; the above named pi
rs E. A. Mance, Conference Cect.; } To "give hear
iss L. B. Ford, Corresponding Sect.;! pastor and ;co7igrega
rs. A. E-.-- Hampton, Treasurer.; I hospitality given u
rs. 11. Frasicr Juvenile Organiaor.?y Wherein : I'll
Executive Committee?"Mrs. A. H. j Mance, P. E. of th
amijton, Mrs. Sarah Williams, Mrs. trict, South Carolir
, L. Ball * J eminently, intellectu
The following resolutions were read spiritually qualifier
the Convention:;- 'meet with them.
i l'1'1 I , i W A 1 i 1 *
-SPECIAL-For
' . C*** We
are offering for the months of JyJy and Augu
siting cards* as follows: 100 Cards for $1.00 of e
ellum, Plate or Linen Finish Cards.
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These styles, are the ?exaet size of cards. Thefering
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When ordering acid 10c for postage and~Avrappii
THE P ALMET
31 O Assembly Street?
KKKK"XK*WK"X"XKK"X"XKK"X">^X";"X"X"Xl'X,v
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Residence Phone 6798 jij " ' ?
HUULK ?j- ofJThfc,
I Notary "Public. t- ' ]'> - Rfif
-State and Federal. ?j
-n lri
Columbia, S. C. . > '
i ?PALMI
yoQooD^^^oooooor>^cro^tfooo LEA
CERY COMPANY- ?=
Business | ' =
)n Street ?
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and Fancy Groceries. We ? .
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JUMMERJ,1
5am pees' --f jES
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infirm people of i
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A Full Line of._ ... | ness and up to $1(
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820 ? . kl a7, I REV. J,J. HAR
. Columbia, S. C. ,
THREE
We, the members abundance, an amount of experience
ina Conference of aij(j hcinj; greatly loved by the peo?c
- -session at?p[,, Charleston District and es
ace, Resolve, <= 1
ty thanks to the Itecially by the people of Mt. ZiQn_ ,
Aion f<Tr their kind \j |.- Church.. We most heartily
s? * . ' . * i
c Rev! Robert W. ^''s candidacy to the Bishopric
e Charleston Dis- and phd^e ,-our loyal support, for
la Conference, is .uch a character* will awaken loyalty
rlally,
morally and , , ~~'~4?? ? -??
* ' to t he Kingdom.
1, ppssesing in"!
. i \i. i .? ?i ?- > ?
?j.-irviMi u, roro, K(?porier.
.. -* __ <
The Months of
' c"-. "T J '' , .,
-"Ahgu^1-?-?"j"-' -' -jr
jf a v <W* *
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st.* to our readers,-A Special Reduction Price on
it her stvle listed belo\V, printed 011 Patrician
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se carcls_s^ir fgr SI.50 per hundred ;ijqt~ we' aw months
orrH-during th^ vacation period.
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CaIum&a?lS^C. ___
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r. J. J. HARRISON, Btmtc Mutir
D SONS OF ABRAHAM & D. of J,
W ' /which
is doing a great work for the poor' and
South Carolina. It has nt ita
__ ?- .vu IIVUU IVCV7 *1 . W .
laster. Prof. J. A. Kirk, State Secretary and
ate Treasurer. It pays to its members whila
:o the beneficiary something after death. It
> one hundred dollars for hospital benefits and
00.00 in case of total loss by .fire of house and
It pays from $1.50 to $3.00/per week for aick).00
on Doctor's bill.
and for any information write . ??*
RISON, S. M,,23H) Richlan^SC^^ttmM?y H.'CJ ^ j
KtRlfTS. Sec., Bennettaville, S. C. , '.J
^ A 1 i irfi i