The Baptist Worker.
LOYALTY TO CHRIST IN ALL THINOS.
VOL. II, NO. 10.
GASTONIA, N. C., DECEMBER, 1900.
25 Cents a Year.
Some Points of Progress.
The South Fork Association now
includes Gaston, Lincoln and Cataw
ba counties in its territory. It is
about fifty miles in length and about
25 in breadth. It numbers now
about 3,700 members. It has grown
in twenty years from a membership
of 800 to this large number. Its ter
ritory has almost doubled. Twenty
years ago we gave about $65 to mis
sions; now we give about $800.
We will notice some points where
our work is increasing rapidly:—
Bethel we found flourishing, hav
ing several baptisms and growing in
every way under Pastor Hoyle. Five
years ago we were locked out in the
woods at this point; now we have a
church'and community which could
handsomely entertain our large
body.
At Gastonia we find Eld. Watson
and people erecting a new house with
as good Sunday School as is in the
State, baptisms all during the year
and the work in general is in excel
lent condition.
Then comes Hickory with an ex
cellent new house under way, a mis
sion chapel just completed and bap
tisms frequently, with all depart
ments of the work moving on well,
which shows Pastor Gwaltney and
his people to be wide awake.
Maiden comes forward with 27 bap
tisms; increase in liberality, and go
ing to have preaching two Sundays
in the month next year.
The work at Mc.Vdenville under B.
I.. Hoke as leader, is moving for
ward, They are building a new
house: baptizing frequently. Breth
ren Watson and Vipperman helped
in the good work in a meeting at this
point. The work here is in very
good condition.
In the front rank stands Mt. Holly
under the wise leadership of Pastor
Murchison, with 15 baptized; the
work in good conditions: a good in
terest at Tuckaseege as a mission
point, and having advances from
confusion to preaching twice a
month, and doing good work all
around. Vhpperman and Watson add
ed to the interest here bj' their aid
in meetings.
Lincolnton is moving along. Eld.
B. L. Hoge of Concord, did e.xcellent
work in a meeting of ten days. Four
have been baptized and the church
is just about beginning a new par
sonage.
At Leonard’s Fork Eld. B. L. Hoke,
aided in a meeting in which great
good was done and 8 were baptized.
In connection with this church, is
Crouse, where they are struggling to
build a house.
At Newton the work is continually
growing in interest. A good Sunday
School is doing excellent work.
River View is making great strides
forward. Brethren Bridges and Put
nam aided the pastor in meetings in
which were many conver.sions.
Twenty-six have been baptized and
the work is growing under Pastor
Ila\naer.
At Salem Bro. Watson aided in a
a meeting where 12 were baptized.
There are other points where there
has been large growth. Indeed,
there has been a healthy growth
throughout the entire Association.
It is remarkable how the whole
country is coming to our views of
Bible truth, and if we, as Baptists,
will onlv do our duty, it will not be
long until every community in our
territority will have a live Baptist
Church. —From Minnies of South
Fork Association.
From Miss Bostick.
Dear Brethren .\nd Sisters :
Brother ^loore writes me that you
hope to be in your new house of wor
ship by the first Sunday in this
month, which is to-morrow. I know
it will be a day of rejoicing for you
all, and I shall rejoice with you and
my prayer for you is that the Holy
Spirit may continue to manifest his
presence with you and may you all
grow daily " In the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
It' would afford me great pleasure
to be ^yith you on the day our church
is dedicated, but as the great, wide
Pacific stretches between us and for
bids that, I can only be with vou in
prayer. \Vhat a blessed privilege is
prayer! The greatest distance on
earth can not forbid us all coming to
gether around our Heavenl3'Father’s
throne.
M>’ Sunday begins when j'our Sat
urday night begins and so at the
close of my next Sundaj' I shall think
of you all as gathering together in
your new church to worship.
I am still studying on the language
all the time I have left from my
household duties, and as is the case
with most beginners in this language
I am making mistakes at m>' own
expense. This week I handed the
washer-III an my clothes, to go to the
laundry and I thought I was telling
him there were seven pieces, but he
grinned at me in an unusual manner
and Mrs. League told me I had told
him to ”eat the clothes.” and so the
family laughed heartily at' my mis
take.
This is a strange language and a
strange people. It is astonishing how
sonie of them continue to get some
thing to eat. Ever>'day there are sev
eral beggars at our door trying to work
on your sympathy as strongly as
possible. To-day a j-oung man look
ing to be about twentj'-one years
old, came by carrying an old white
haired lady on his back begging in the
the most pitiful tone he could com
mand. Now, of course if he could
carry his mother through the streets
that way, he could work, but he is
like some people j'ou may know, he
doesn’t care to work. Besides there
are so nianj', nianj- people here it is
difficult to get employment, even
though men do here, what the horse
and mule do at home—that is pull
carts and ”jinrikishas.”
We are waiting here with many
other missionaries hoping and praj--
ing that matters will soon be settled
so that we may go to our stations
and tell to these perishing souls "the
old, old story of Jesus and his love.”
We can not tell when this will be,
but we hope it will be no later than
next spring.
I notice the tendency of some of
our Christians in the home land is to
say of China: "Ephraim is joined to
his idols, come awav and let him
alone.” This is indeed a critical
time for poor old China, but when it
C asses I believe there will dawn a
righter daj’ for her and she will be
blessed as never before, because the
power of God will be manifest upon
her. God’s promises are bright,
shall we not make them ours for
China?
Praj’ for China that there maj’ be
" Showers of blessings” upon her,
and nray for me that God iiiaj- use
me to His glor\'.
With Christian love, I am j’our
ser\-ant in the Lord.
Attie T. Bo.stick.
C. 833, Woosung Road, Shanghai,
China, Nov. 3, 1900.
The Church Not a Place of Rest.
The Church is not a Pullman
sleeper in which one may embark on
earth and in due time awake in
heaven. It is a place for work
which is to result in blessing to the
the individual and salvation for
others. The most useful and suc
cessful churches are those in which
suitable work is found for each per
son, and where each is found at his
work. Mr. Moody somewhat recent
ly said; "There is a great mistake
that a good many people are making
at the present time. They have an
idea that the Church is a place of
rest. Instead of going there to
work for God, they go there to rest.
‘There remaineth a rest for the peo
ple of God.’ We will rest when we
go home. We will have all eternity
to rest in. We do not want to talk
about rest here. I hope the time
will come, and I believe it will come
when they will ask this question of
all who are candidates for member
ship in the Church. "What work do
you expect to do ?” and if they are
going into the Church to rest they
will be told that we have enough of
such members now; and if we could
only get them out, and get some
others in who will go to work in
earnest, it would be a good thing
for all. We should understand that
we come into the Church to work.
All that seems to constitute a Chris
tian these days is to unite with the
Church and then, after they have
joined it everyone in the Church
must wail on them—the ministers,
the laymen all the members must go
and call on them; and if they do not
do this they go to some other
Church—and the quicker they do it
the better. ‘There remaineth a rest
for the people of God.' The idea of
our talking about rest here, where
Christ has been cast out,.where they
have taken the life of God’s own
Son. Why should we want to stay
in the enemy’s country at rest and
peace ? As long as it is the enemy’s
countiy let us not dream of rest.
We will rest by and by when Jesus
comes. Let us not talk about rest
now.”—Selected.
Love’s Cost.
We hear much of the sweetness of
love, of the joy of loving, but it has
another side also and that is why it
is forever the antithesis of selfish
ness—love’s cost. "Everj' love that
enters the heart opens the door to
sorrow.” No pain can touch the one
dear to us anci we do not suffer, also;
no danger can threaten and our heart
not keep anxious watch. Every'
cloud that darkeps that other sky
throws its shadow across our sun
light. Every sin that stains that be
loved soul, hurts and aches in ours
as if it were our own—aye worse! for
our own sins we may cast aside and
seek pardon for, but who can repent
for his brother?
Love’s pain lies in its powerless-
ness. To long to living relief and to
be unable to suffer with, because we
cannot sufler for, to watch from
without the battle we cannot help to
fight, and to share every heartache,
disappoiiitiiient and los.s—this is the
cost of loving. But only so does our
human life grow deep, and take on
worth and dignity. Only so can we
ever be akin to Him who bore "our
griefs, and carried our sorrows,” who.
"having loved his own which were in
the world, loved them”—through all
their blundering, their blindness,
their sins—"unto the end.”
Ministers* Children.
The salaries of the clergy of the
United States do not average $500 a
year, and yet as a class they are the
best educated, most active, refined,
and elevated of the nation. With less
culture, with less character, with less
mental power, there are men all over
this land who earn from $1,600 to
$5,0(W a year. But look at the results.
Taking them as they come, the bio
graphies of a hundred clergymen who
have families show that of their sons
110 became ministers; and of the re
mainder of their sons by far the
larger part rose to eminence as pro
fessional men, merchants, and schol
ars. As to their daughters, their
names are merged into others; but
there is a significant fact, which we
do not remember to have seen noticed
in that connection, that not only
here, but in England, where titles
are so highly prized, andthe posses
ion of gentle blood is a passport
to high places, it is very often
referred to as a matter of note, as
indicating softy and respectability',
" his mother was the daughter of a
clergyman.” We will venture the
opinion that three-fourths of the
great men of this nation are not over
two degrees removed from clergy
man’s families, or from families
strictly religious. When it can be
said of a man or woman that Ijis
father or grandfather was a clergy
man, there is a feeling within us of
a certain elevation of character—a
kind c>f guaranty of resi»ectability of
blood, of purity, and integrity.—Dr.
Haven.
His Eyes Opening.
The long list of distinguished Pe-
dobaptist scholars who bear witness
to the truth of the Baptist position
on baptism is continually lengthen
ing. The latest addition is Rev.
John Watson, better known to the
great public as "Ian IMaclaren.” In
the Expositor, the well-known Lon
don religious paper, of recent date,
he has this significant sentence:
"Without doubt the perfect idea of
baptism is realized when one vVho
has come to the years of discretion
makes himself his own profession of
faith in the Lord, knowing what he
has done and hav'ing counted the
cost, and then is immersed in the
waters of baptism.”
That about di.sposes of the whole
question, it seems to us; for why'
any one should deliberately choose
an "imperfect” idea of baptism,
when its "perfect idea” is so easily
realized, it is difficult to understand.
Nor is Dr. Watson content to stop
here. With this as a promise, he
goes a step further. He declares
that the two ordinances of baptism
and the supper are binding "upon all
Christ’s disciples;” "so that, if one
desires to enter into the church visi
ble, it must be througli the laver of
b,apti.sm.” These positions include
the idea of a regenerate church
membership, baptism for believers
only and at the entrance of the
Christian’s life, and tlie supper fol
lowing baptism and church member
ship. "Ian Maclaren” probably does
not know it, but, if he will stand by
these y'iews and their logical impli
cations, he will be a full fledged
Baptist.—Kelifcions Herald.
When a man lives with God his y'oice
shall be as sweet as the murmur of
the brook and the rustle of the corn.—
Emerson.