VOLUME FORTY-EIGHT
NUMBER THIRTY'
ATjGtJST 21, 1924
the absentee mem
ber.
WHAT SHALL THE CHURCH
D# ABOUT HIM?
\ ______ •
By Rev. R. L. Russell, D. D.
Out of 7,000 pastors and 19,000
churches in a certain denomination,
according to a recent survey, there
were nearly 300 pastors, representing
possibly 1,000 churches, Who did not
report a single additon to the mein'
hership on profession of faith. S*ome
of these were churches with a mem
bership of from .500 to 600,
A survey of some 800 village, and
rural churches in this same denomi
nation revealed the fact that nearly
65 percent of the members otf! these
churches *were inactive, which ac
counts for the fact that many church
es are reporting no increase in mem
bership from year to year.1 It was
further found that only about 20
perecent of these churches were mak*
ing any perceptible growth from year
to year, while 10 percent of them
were closed. The Others were losing
from year to year or standing still
in their membership roll.
What is true of this denomination
may be said to be approximately true
of practically every Protestant de
nomination in the country. To> the
average pastor there is no burden
greater than that which the inactive
and absentee member leaves upon his
heart- He is a weight to fhe prog
ress of the Church, a hindrance to its
program. Both for these reasons
and for his own sake, he should be
dealt with in the early stages of b»
inactivity.
The gospel
necessary gos
as in physical 1
afford to preaS! .
er gospel for '& considerable time-—
at least until the inactive member
becomes active* the absentee pres
ent, and1 those who are asleep in the
Church are awake. Then the uncon
verted Nnan will more quickly believe
and accept the 'Gospel.
Let us make a few inquiries as to
why the absentee member has become
an absentee. What hindered him?
Why is he not in his place?
Causes of Absenteeism.
1. The manner of reception into
church membership at the hands of
many pastors. No preparation is made
for this great step and the reception
ceremony is often given in a desul
tory and perfunctory way that makes
no impression on the intoming mem
ber of the importance of the step he
is taking. This reception into church
membership should be bo well pre
pared for, so impressive and thor
ough-going, that it would be a'day
never to' be forgotten. ‘
2. Neglect. Too often the new
church member is simply presented
to the congregation, his name en
rolled along with the other members
and then forgotten. The pastor as
signs him to no particular work;, he
does notv-feel he has any real part
in an ongoing Christiah program.
And the members of the church do
not find their way to his home and
fellowship. Finding himself in an
alien atmosphere, "with no sympathy
in the time of hi's heart hunger or
temptation, he seeks fellowship among
those who show a friendly feeling to
ward him. Just wh6n the new con
vert and new member feels he needs
the influence of his church brethren
he does not have it! The world of*
fers its- hand of help and he becomes
an absent man from the houseof God.
It is to be feared that the/ church of
the present day may be driving many
of its members away through sheer
neglect., r , ■
3. The unattractiveness of much of
our worship. The hungry heart finds
no satisfaction for its hunger; Jh*
mourning spirit finis no joy; for its
grief; and the tempest-totesed soul
too seldom finds a peace apd calm.
And perhaps wfc Protestant ministers
preach' to our people too much. Whj
not make the evening meetings large
ly of a social nature—allowing the
people "
the proj
service with a fifteen minute evange
listic .appeal ?
These are only, a fevjr of^he.rca
dbns we have7 Absentee church mem
tiers. There may be legitimate trea
sons also; sickness, old age, and oth
er handicaps may prevent some from
attending the service of worship.
The great bulwark bf Christendom
should be the local church. We spend
much time and care and money ofi
inferences, when the prophets of God
may get together and discuss impor
tant questions, and not" enough time
on the individual church member
down in the congregation. He needs
to be set to work if he/ is going to be'
saved. The gospel of salvation means
more than to save a man’s soul; it
means to save his life! When one
joins, the church he has made/ but
the first step; he is to save' his soul
by helping to. save others.
So we must raise the second im
portant question—How cab the church j
member who has become an absentee
be handled? In either of two ways
How to Deal- with the Absentee.
I. We may let him dirft, disregard
ing any claim he may have upon us,
cutting him loose from our influence
and organizations,4 thereby losing our
opportunity of tnaking a valuable
member-and a great influence in the
Kingdom of God.
II. Or we may induce him to re
turn to the fold of the Good Shep
herd. He has heard the voice of the
Shepherd and known, the safety of the
Good Shepherd s fold, but he has ab
sented himself so long from,, '
entity that he no longer fetls the
need of i t He can
duced to return
in
^IpThfdUgh experience have
found it a good idea to connect the
absentee member Vrith some other
(Continued to page 5)
TRANSFER Of DIST.
Pastors move from oAe Conference
to another; bishops exchange areas;
why should not the district superin'
tendents of ability be transferred
from their home Conferences to dis
tricts in other Conferences?
The aim of* the General Conference
in restoring the time limit to the dis
trict superintendency was largely to
keep one man from becemingia local
“boss”. The General Conference ap'
plied the tithe limit only to superin*
the same Annual
tendents within
Conferences. ' y. ;j
The bishops are beginning to feel;
an acute shortage of administrative
talent for this position! It is esti-j
mated that eighty percent Of the
districts within the fall Conferences
will have changes.- Some go' off
their districts automatically on ac
count of the , church law; Others will
be leaving beause of pastoral op
portunities presented to those who
are very near the time limit; still
Others will retire because ° of iage,
illness, or family reasons.
Not every pastor is qualified for
administrative tasks ‘ demanding un
usual ability. Some pastors' are
great preachers, but . poor in exec
utive management. A large number
are disqualified because of age, train
ing and experience. The choice nar
rows down' rather closely. The few
men who. might be acceptable are
showing ^igns of a'lack of desiro
for the place, partly because' of the
tfcne limit and partly because of the
exposure to . all kinds of weather,
physical and spiritual.
This resume of the situation has
led bishops^ to consider .the advis
ability of transferring district super;
intendents of proved experience. In
fact, v such transfers have / already
been announced In this paper, and
others are in contemplation. The
church at large will probably ac
quiesce in ^fhig departure from cus
tom, specially if the individuals giv
en such recognition are truly for
COLOR
Fattier of Late Mrs;'IMssevaiii
* Startles Crowd at Her Tomb.
■ , yj- » ' ' ‘ / "?f ''
Voices Protest .Ag*||st Shut
ting Negroes Out *lt tWetet
WESTPORT INft, N. Y., Aug. 18.
-—The race question was injected in a
dramatic manner yesterday in the
campaign which tKe National Wom
an’s Party is to wage for the election
of women representative in Congress
who will fight for the legal equality
of the sexes. After a memorial ser
vice for Inez Milholland (Mrs. Eugene
Boissevain), who died Jfpv. 25, 1916,
while campaigning for Suffrage in the
West, the delegates marched Out of
the little Congregational Church at
Lewis, twelve miles, froth here, and
thence to the top of the nearby moun
tain where the feminjat leader is
buried.
John E. Milholland, Jwe father, had
with him^ three Negroes^who are his
house guests at Meadqwmount, his
coutry place at Lewis; J>r. Emmetts
jT Scott, Secretary* and Treasurer of
Howard University, Washington;
Miss Lucy 0. Slowe, professor in
.“Friends of Inez,” he said4 with
obvious emotion. “I am her father,
and 1 waftt to say to you now what
I had,not intended, to sky until now,
as. I stand here beside her grave. I
feet* it my "duty to speak out. If
I did not, I think her spirit would
rise up from: the grave and say to
me: ‘0$d, why were you afraid?’
And so I want to remind you i that in
the first Suffrage parade Inez herself
demanded that the colored women be
allowed, to march; and now to_day
we are told that it would mar the
program to have these guests of mine
speak. I have nothing to say except
that Inez believed in equal rights for
everybody.” j
There was a pause as Mr. Milhol
land finished and leadersf of the party
talked together in low tones, and a
suppressed murmur ran through, the
throng of delegates. Then Dr. Scott
was asked to say something.
“Inez ^Milholland had the courage
to face the application of democratic
principles and was not afraid to fol
low them to their logical end,” be
gan Dr. Scott. '‘There who fight for
a great idea and for a great ideal do
not fear to be counted as a friend
of the friendless and V defender of
the’ weak—and she was that, and
more, Howard University holds dear
among its traditions the unflinching
faith gnd courage^of the woman .who
in the moment <5 her greatest tri
umph forgot not justice and Jfair
play.
Miss Milholland’s Courage Gave
'< Negroe* Hope.
7
VAt a time when we were engaged
in a war to' make the world safe for
democracy, the great Woman Suffrage
parade was held in Washington. Miss
Milholland was its griad marshal. As
usual, the spectre of color arose and
for a moment threatened to thwart
the purpose of the great demonstra
tion. j When it came to placing,, the
young women of Howard University
in the college section there were those
who objected. The . Howard women
withdrew rather thap face hPmilia
tion and embarrassment. When Inez
Milholland heard of tips injustice she
demanded for opr wemen; their, proper
place. She was upwijUng to partici
pate in a parade symbolming 'a move
ment which waa not big enough to
J “She had her Way. The women of
Howard University took their proper
place. Again the courage of right
ousness had triumphed. The colored
women of America hav^ never forgot
ten this event and its bearing on their
political hopes and aspirations.
Strong leader^ are always needed in
just such crises/ .
A WAY TO END
LYNCHING.
Herbert Quick.
The cure 6f the mob evii-does not
lie in any United States statute. , It
lies within the States themselves.
And the cure is easy, except for cer
tain exceptional cases.
The State law should be changed
so as to make any lynching,: whether
.murderous or merely .violent, the
cause, of removal from bffice of every
officer of the law, sheriff, deputy, or
policenton, from whose custody, act* j
ual or legal, a prisoner is taken by .a |
mob. The sheriff should always be
legally out of office' the moment • a.
prisoner is taken from him, hiB
jailer dr any of his deputies. This
shield be true'whether he is guilty
of any traceable blame of not. His
prisoner is his ship,, and he should
* ' „ »' L ’I
go down with his ship. r I
Let the States pass such laws, and
every friend of the officer will be a
worker against the lynching. There
will be no more of those many cases
in which the officers make & gesture
of resistance and then sbccumb to a
show of force. The officer, will re
sist earnestly. We shall see, I should
hope* ther effteer prepared te nrow
down the mob with machine-gun fire
to protect hia charge, no matter how
guilty the latter may be, or 'how
aggravated a crime. We shall then
see, I hope, officers of the law spray
ing the gas 'used in warfare on
threatening mdbs. We shall see the
earnestness of self-protection exhib*.
ited by the officers of *th(? la^r as
against tlie earnestness of. ferocity
on the part of the mob.
Any seiferity is justifiable as against
mobs of lynchers; for thyeir attack is
not on the prisoner alone^but against
law and order, the safeguards df so
ciety itself. ■. > _ ’ Ki,
Let the fjjbecessful mob automat
ically "fire* the officers from their
positions* "A * r
'Sr
i under the auspices
Movement in 'the
11 be allowed to land
' Y$uife truly,
(Signed) ERNEST LYON,
GARVEY AND U
BER1A.
For tiie benefit and information of
American 'citizens or for that matter
of any person or persons who may
be interested by attractive offers and'
promises by the Garvey JSovement
With Liberie as the objective point,
as Liberian Consul General in the
United States, 1 am authorized to
say that no person or persons leaving
the United Stb
of the Garv*y
United States, will be
in the Republic of Liberia.
All Liberian counsuls in the United
States ere insrtucted and directed, not
to vifce the passports Of any persons
leaving the United States for Liberia
•under the " direction of that Move-,
~ ' ' , ■ ' V
ment.
It is due the public, in order to
save future trouble and embarrass
ment to uniformed persons, Vho
may leave' the .United States under'
the auspices • of the Garvey Move
ment for the Republic of Liberia,
that this' information be widely cir
culated'
XL—Among the Sailors: Blade and
White.
Dr. Alexander Whyte declared that
his best work had been done after he
reached the age of 55, and it is true
of many men who, amid the stress add ,
toil of ^nanhood, keep alive the spirit
of boyhood. They are Petej Pans,
who never grow old, but add to the 5
simplicity and naturalness of yofbth
the wisdom and experience of age.
Rev. William H. H. Kelshayrbelongs
to this elect company, and, aftetf pas
sing the age of 55, began his life's
greatest worje. For him God has
kept the best wind till the last.
Never before has he worked so hard, ,
enjoyed life so fully, or tbeen so 1
abundantly successful. Man’s first
yo*uth' is half in love with death. It
has not become^ acclimatised to the
earth, and- almost Wishes to return
to the world froip which it caine.
Most of the poems on death and kin*
dred subjects are written by the
young: The second youth, which
comes with the later years, is'*in
love with life, and the longing- for •
death has passed: Mr.’ Kelshaw is in
love with life and can sing, “Grow '
old along with me, the best isxyet
to be; the last for which the first
was made;”. *
The Seamen’s Mission was founded
in 1843, and Mr. Kelshaw went to it
four years ago. Rev; David Eop h*d
been there for many years before
him. David Roe was a strange man.
He was what few suspected him of
being. He was a dreamer. Nofittan
could has** , outwitted
marketplace, but nevertheleim, he
Was essentially a dreamer of dreams
■r-like all men who accomplish great
things. Long yea^s ago he dreamed
o^ a Sailor!? Home,, ahd all the rest
of his 'life was spent ins building the
dream into bricks and, stone. When
Mr. Relshaw went to Poplar he found
David Roe's dream a magnificent
reahty^ and entered into possession
of iy ¥he old man had left ft ready
to fiii| hafid.
stairs oipie ;Satur<iay night, when we
both ought to have been looking over
our sermons ior .the morrow, I. said
to* my friend Kelshaw, “Tell me about
Chunchie.” He <pade me comfOort
able in an easy chair,' settled him"
self in. another, and, while his-obarm
ing wife sat at her sewing, gave me
the following facts. Mr^/Kamal A.
Chunchie is the coloured ^mvangelist
of the Seamen’s Mission#^-He is,a
Oeylonnese who was
Wesleyan school at Kandf,
His father occupies an important-post
in Ceylon, and the boy was brought
up in the Mohammedan faith. Qnde,
when Rev* Walter J. Noble visited the /
Wesleyan school adhere young Chun
chie was a scholar, he put his hand
on the boy’s shoulder and said a few
kindly words.' The boy immediately
ran away to the bathroom and wash
ed his skin where it had been touch
ed by the defiling hand of the infi
del. "Yearp later, they met on a
Christian platform in England, and
Chunchie ibid the returned mission
ary the st<p?y. When the war Same
Chunchie Was a police inspector, but,
'as his father Wanted one off his boys,
to be in the army which was defend
ing the Empire, Chunchie joined up.
He served In the Middlesex Regi
ment both in Salonica and France,
and was severely woundled. The
story of his conversion is very re
markable. While in Egypt with' his
regiment he became acquainted with
*h English woman d£ the type of
iPotiptmr’s wife. HO resisted her ad
vances,-and, when he left for Sa
Jonica, she sent him a New Testa
ment, with a note in it whichfead;
“This is the only book I know H
for a mfn who wttl not enjoy lift
while he may.” The taunt cut deeR
and he wondered what kind of bool