Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Oct. 20, 1922, edition 1 / Page 8
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Page Eight MAROON AND GOLD October 20, 1922 A. C. CONVENTION CONVENES IN SESSION AT BURLINGTON (Continued from page one) Eudenvor of the convention. The Burlington Christian church, where the convention is meeting, Rev. G. 0. Lankford, pastor, has made elab orate preparations for the convention. Many of the delegates have never be fore been below the Mason and Dixon line, and the local congregation has made every possible effort in planning for their entertainment and comfort while here, and expects to show them the true meaning of Southern hospital ity at its best. The people of the city of Burlington, too, are helping in every wav they can to welcome the visitors, and hundreds of automobiles carry the sign, “A. C. C. Delegates—Ride Free." At the church the ladies have prepared and decorated the class rooms and audi torium of the church, placing potted plants and cut flowers in every coneeiv able nook and corner, and the conven tion floor is indeed a place of beauty. Opening Session At 7:30 Tuesday night the convention was officially called to order by the president, Dr. F. G. Coffin, of Palmer College, Albany, Mo., following a song service led by Rev. J. F. Morgan, Win chester, Va., the convention director of music, in which the convention hymn was sung. Dr. W. W. Staley, of Suffolk, Va., who last year retired as president of the Southern Christian Convention aft er many years of service at the head of that body, led the opening devotiou- al exercises. Dr. P. H. Fleming, of die Burlington church, wac in charga of the communion service which was the closing item of the first session of the convention. Convention Sermon The convention sermon, preached by Dr. Roy C. Helfenstein, of the People’s Church of Dover, Del., was the main feature of the initial session, his ad dress coming on the program immedi ately following the devotional exer cises. Dr. Helfenstein is one of the ou'.- standing ministers of the entire de nomination, and the opening message he brought to the convention on “The Leadership of Jesus” was a master piece of thought, eloquence and chal lenge. Vividly and clearly he delivered his somewhat lengthy sermon, which in reality was a powerful oration. Beginning his subject of ‘‘The Lead ership of Jesus,” he read from Matt. 16:24, and based his message upon the words, “Follow Me.” “These two words,” he said, “embody the Mas ter ’s favorite challenge to men. He made this challenge to the young ruler who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. He made the challenge to Simon and Andrew, and again to Mat thew, ‘Follow me.’ On different oc casions He made the challenge as the climax in his requirement for Christian discipleship. ‘If any man will serve Me, let him follow Me.’ ” Continuing, Dr. Helfenstein declared that “the challenge of Jesus is to men and women in every condition and re lationship of life—‘Follow Me.’ It is the challenge of pardon to all who have sinned; the challenge of light to all who are in darkness; the challenge of divine guidance to all who have lost their way; the challenge of purity to all who would be pure. It is the chal lenge of strength to all who would be strong; the challenge of faith to all wlio are in doubt; the challenge of hope to all who are discouraged; the cliallenge of victory to all who have been defeated in their moral purposes, rt is the challenge of love to all who vould serve. It is the challenge of the ^on of God to the sons and daughters of men. “In considering the leadership of Jesus there are three main observations that claim our attention—the suprem- ftcy of His leadership, the nature of His lea(^ership, and the motives that impel men to follow^ His leadership. “Every person is following some leadership—either for good or for ill. Every person ought to have the inspi ration of some life far superior to his own as an ideal toward which to strive. ' The Man of Galilee should be the world’s supreme ideal. Other men have been courageous, but none so cour ageous as He. Other men have been wise, but none who had so keen an in sight into human life as did He. Other men have been true, but none so true ns He whose life itself was the very incarnation of truth. Other men have loved goodness, but none have loved goodness with such a passion as He did. Other men have cherished wide human sympathy, but none whose sympathy had sucli an unlimited range as had our Master’s. .Christ’s sympathy em braces all the ages and all conditions of humanity. “ Cliristianity rests its care upon “the love-challenge,” the ethical chal lenge of Jesus Christ. Those who fol low the leadership of Jesus, follow His principles by practicing His'spirit. Je sus does not lay down specific rules for every case in question, but He gives great altruistic priciples of life which may be applied to every case, and which if applied will solve every per sonal and social problem that brings confusion and discord to the human family. But the principles by them selves will not avail. They must be applied by man. The principles of Christianity, like the ‘ principles of mathematics, are worthless unless ap plied. The principles of mathematics are absolutely necessary, to erect a great bridge or building. But the bride or building cannot be erected merely by the principles of mathemat ics as written in a book. Those prin ciples must be applied. Following the leadership of Jesus means to follow Him in His devotion to His Heavenly Father and in His love for humanity. It means to follow Him in His prayer life, to follow Him in His loyalty to the Kingdom, in His spirit of sacrifice and service. It means to follow Him in His joy, in His magna nimity, in His sincerity, in His moral courage, in His affections, in His moral attitude, and in His manhood. Fol lowing thus the leadership of Jesus makes the Fatherliness of God as real to us as are our earthly parents.” Concluding His address, Dr. Helfen- stcin asked the question, “And what have we done to realize the hopes and prayers of our fathers, and the desire of our Leader, Jesus?” “As a denoni ination,” he declared, “we are strong er today than ever before in our his tory. Our future was never brighter,, if we are satisfied in merely building a stronger denomination. But it was not to this end that we were born, nor for this cause came we into the world. We came to preach a liberal and practical gospel, and to lead the way to Chris tian union. To be honest with our selves and with our God, and with th« Kingdom, we should either strike out the sixth item in our cardinal prici pies, that of Christian union, or else make an honest and unbiased effort to practice that principle by seeking union with some denomination that stands ready and waiting to effect such a union with us. We should either at tempt union as if we meant it, or else quit talking about it, and put our hands to the task of strengthening our ropes for the sake of a larger and more effi cient denominational life. Wednesday Morning Session During the session committees wero named on Resolutions, Dr. E. A. Wat kins, Ohio, chairman, A. J. Brownell, Dr. L. E. Smith; on publicity with Dean Geo. C. Enders, Defiance, Ohio, as chair man, and for the committee on »roll with McD. Howsare, Dayton, Ohio, a-^ chairman. President’s Address The outstanding feature of the sec ond day’s program of the convention was the quadrennial address of the president of the convention. Dr. F. G. Cofi&n, Albany, Mo., president of Pal mer College, who has for eight years been serving his cliurch as head of this convention. He is an eloquent speaker, classed among the best of the country. Beginning with the purposes and mo tives of the forefathers who established the church, he sketched in a general way the growth of the denomination to its jjresent strength, and the reasons for this steady growth. “For over a century and a fourth,’' said Dr. Coffin, “the Christian church has been broadcasting a message to the w'orld. It is not known how many re ceiving stations have picked it up and toled it out, nor how many have known its origin, but the message has been tlie important and effective thing. Our ambition should be to make ours the holiest in motives, the purest in life, the most efficient in service and the greatest in strength. Low aims and high attainments are never found to gether. “Hitherto we have attempted to make the principles of our church its selling point. Their worth has justi fied the most extravagant things we have dared to say of them. They, have needed no revision in 130 years of ser: vice—a unique ecclesiastical history,” continued Dr. Coffin. “In view of these observations, if I were to venture a personal interpretaion of our con fronting task, it would be first, that to belongs the task of all other churches and with all other churches to make our divine Lord supreme over all in a Kingdom into which all the earth is to be gathered. This is equiva lent to saying also, that we shall ef fect a common good in humanity throughout the world. To enable us to do these two things about which we are thinking, five processes must be vigorously at work within our body: “First, a better understanding among ourselves of our purpose and work. A larger volume of forw'ard-looking lit erature should be created and distrib uted. “The second is a closer cohesion of our forces and uniformity in our meth ods. We lose much of the value of concerted effort, so successfully effected by some other denominations. “This suggests the third process of transcending value to our plans, name ly, more nearly universal co operation in making the church effective every where. Not only do many of us not co-operate, but the desires of some seem to be against co-operation. “A fourth process ever growing among us should be the courage for larger tasks. Of how much temerity has robbed us we shall never know, but certainly of great things. “The fifth process should be to Vanstorfs Clothes for Men and Young Men Suits $22.50 to $55.00 Fabric and Worknianship the Best We Invite You Vanstory’s GREENSBORO, N. C, When in Burlington ENJOY YOUR MEALS AT THE Washington Cafe A 1 >£/*«£ FOOD 'ROMTT SE'RVICE 207 Main Street MELETIOU BROTHERS Phone 492 I, Did You Know That You Could Buy J A S3.50 MEAL TICKET FOR $3.00? | —At— 'Penntngion's 'Dairy' Lxinch (Next to “Uncle Buck’s”) See Us for Real [state and Insurance The morning session was given over thrust ourselves more deeply into th-3 entirely to the submitting of Reports. After the morning meditations con ducted by Rev. D. B. Atkinson, of Al bany, Mo., Dr. J. F. Burnett, Dayton, Ohio, was first on the program with his report as Convention Secretary. Dr. Burnett has been secretary for the American Christian Convention for 32 years, and at the conclusion of thi co-operative movements of our day. These have much to offer us, and we have a real contribution to offer them.” For the afternoon session reports of the various departments were submit ted, as follows: Departments of Sun day schools and Christian Endeavor; the Commission on the State of the Church; the Superintendent of the For STANDARD REALTY AND SECURITY COMPANY D. E. FONVILLE Manager Insurance Dep’t C. C. FONVILLE Manager Real Estate Dep't The Vogue Shop tor IHen TEN PER CENT DISCOUNT TO ALL STUDENTS Greensboro, N. C. Guilford Hotel Comer filing of his report he made it known * ward Movement, and the Commission to the convention that he would re sign. He has been a faithful and ef ficient official and the securing of j worthy successor will not be an easy task. Reports were heard from the Secre tary of Finance, John G. Myers, Pleas ant Hill, Ohio; for Foreign Missions by Rev. W. P. Minton, Dayton, Ohio; for Home Missions by Dr. Omer S. Thomas, Dayton. Ohio; for the Department of Education by Rev. W. G. Sargent, Prov idence, R. I.; for the Department of Publishing by Judge O. W. WhitelocK, Huntington, Ind.; an(i» for the Aged Ministers’ Home by Rev. John B. Grovo ' of Sprakers, N. Y. on Organization. ELON STUDENTS'—VISIT 0. K. Barber Shop Front Street Burlington, N. 0. DR. HENRY V. MURRAY DENTIST First National Bank Building PHONES: Office 604, Residence 769-W BURLINGTON, N. C. This REMINGTON Priced to Sell See It Today A Good Value in « Secondhand Machine We can also furnish you with Genuine Factory Rebuilt type writers, at factory prices and terms. The L. 0. Smith, Undefwood, Remington and Royal are four Standard makes. Shipped to you| on TEN day’s Trial. Burlington Printing Company OFFICE SUPPLY DEPARTMENT ^ ’Phone 431 Burlington, N. C
Elon University Student Newspaper
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Oct. 20, 1922, edition 1
8
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