Russell H. Conwell, Founder of the Institutional Church in America Part 10

Large as is the seating capacity of The Temple, when it was opened it could not accommodate the crowds that thronged to it. Almost from the first, overflow meetings were held in the Lower Temple, that none need be turned away from the House of G.o.d. From five hundred to two thousand people crowded these Sunday evenings in addition to the large audience in the main auditorium above.

The Temple workers had come to busy days and large opportunities. But they took them humbly with a full sense of their responsibility, with prayer in their hearts that they might meet them worthily. Their leader knew the perils of success and with wise counsel guided them against its insidious dangers.

"Ah, that is a dangerous hour in the history of men and inst.i.tutions,"

he said, in a sermon on the "Danger of Success," "when they become too popular; when a good cause becomes too much admired or adored, so that the man, or the inst.i.tution, or the building, or the organization, receives an idolatrous worship from the community. That is always a dangerous time. Small men always go down, wrecked by such dizzy elevation. Whenever a small man is praised, he immediately loses his balance of mind and ascribes to himself the things which others foolishly express in flattery. He esteems himself more than he is; thinking himself to be something, he is consequently nothing. How dangerous is that point when a man, or a woman, or an enterprise has become accepted and popular! Then, of all times, should the man or the society be humble. Then, of all times, should they beware. Then, of all times, the hosts of Satan are marshaled that by every possible insidious wile and open warfare they may overcome. The weakest hour in the history of great enterprises is apt to be when they seem to be, and their projectors think they are, strongest. Take heed lest ye fall in the hour of your strength. The most powerful mill stream drives the wheel most vigorously at the moment before the flood sweeps the mill to wildest destruction."

Just as plainly and unequivocally did he hold up before them the purpose of their high calling:

"The mission of the church is to save the souls of men. That is its true mission. It is the only mission of the church. That should be its only thought. The moment any church admits a singer that does not sing to save souls; the moment a church calls a pastor who does not preach to save souls; the moment a church elects a deacon who does not work to save souls; the moment a church gives a supper or an entertainment of any kind not for the purpose of saving souls--it ceases in so much to be a church and to fulfil the magnificent mission G.o.d gave it.

Every concert, every choir service, every preaching service, every Lord's supper, every agency that is used in the church must have the great mission plainly before its eye. We are here to save the souls of dying sinners; we are here for no other purpose; and the mission of the church being so clear, that is the only test of a real church."

The thousands of men and women Grace Church has saved and placed in paths of righteousness and happiness, show that it has n.o.bly stood the test, that it has proved itself a church in the true sense of the word.

CHAPTER XXII

HOW THE CHURCH WORKS

The Ladies' Aid Society. The Young Women's a.s.sociation. The Young Men's a.s.sociation. The Ushers' a.s.sociation. The Christian Endeavor Societies. The Many Other Organizations. What They Do, and How They Do It.

Now that the church was built, now that such power was in its hands, how should it work?

"The church of Christ should be so conducted always as to save the largest number of souls, and in the saving of souls the Inst.i.tutional church may be of great a.s.sistance," said Russell Conwell in an address on "The Inst.i.tutional Church." "It is of little matter what your theories are or what mine are; G.o.d, in His providence, is moving His church onward and moving it upward at the same time, adjusting it to new situations, fitting it to new conditions and to advancing civilization, requiring us to use the new instrumentalities he has placed in our hands for the purpose of saving the greatest number of human souls."

The conditions confronting him, the leader of this church studied. He turned his eyes backward over the years. He thought of his own boyhood when church was so distasteful. He thought of those ten busy years in Boston when he had worked among all cla.s.ses of humanity, with churches on all sides, yet few reaching down into the lives of the people in any vital way. He knew of the silent, agonizing cry for help, for comfort, for light, that went up without ceasing day and night from humanity in sorrow, in suffering, in affliction, went up as it were to skies of bra.s.s, yet he knew a loving Savior stood ready to pour forth his healing love, a Divine Spirit waited only the means, to lay a healing touch on sore hearts. What was needed was a simple, practical, real way to make it understandable to men, to bring them into the right environment, to make their hearts and minds receptive, to point the way to peace, joy and eternal life. He brought to bear on this problem all the practical, trained skill of the lawyer, the keen insight and common sense, the knowledge of the world, of the traveler and writer. Every experience of his own life he probed for help and light on this great work Nothing was done haphazard. He studied the wants of men. He clearly saw the need. He calmly surveyed the field, then he went to work with practical common sense to fill it, filling his people with the enthusiasm and the faith that led him, doing with a will all there was to do, and then leaving the rest with G.o.d. Never did he think of himself, of how he might lighten his tasks, give himself a little more leisure or rest. The work needing to be done and how to do it was his study day and night.

[Ill.u.s.tration: This Picture Shows the Four Speaking Tubes Which Connect by Telephone with the Samaritan Hospital]

A reporter of the "Philadelphia Press" once asked Dr. George A. Peltz, the a.s.sociate pastor of Grace Church, "if you were called upon to express in three words the secret of the mysterious power that has raised Grace Church from almost nothing to a membership of more than three thousand, that has built this Temple, founded a college, opened a hospital, and set every man, woman and child in the congregation to working, what would be your answer?"

"Sanctified common sense," was the Doctor's unhesitating reply.

Rev. F.B. Meyer, in speaking on "Twentieth Century Evangelism," at Bradford, England, in 1902, made a plea for "the inst.i.tutional church, the wide outlook, more elastic methods, greater eagerness to reach and win outsiders, more varied service on the part of Christian people, that the minister of any place of worship should become the recognized friend of the entire district in which his chapel is placed."

The "elastic method" is characteristic of the work of The Temple.

When Dr. Conwell first came to Grace Church, he organized four societies--the Ladies' Aid Society, the Business Men's Union, the Young Women's a.s.sociation, the Young Men's a.s.sociation. Into one or another of these, every member of the church fitted, and as the new members came into the fellowship, they found work for their hands in one or the other.

The Ladies' Aid Society is the pastor's right hand. It stands ready to undertake any project, social, religious, financial, to give receptions in honor of noted visitors, to hold a series of special meetings, to plan suppers, festivals, and other affairs--whenever it is necessary to raise money. Its creed, if one might so call it, is:

"Use every opportunity to bring in new members.

"Remember the name of every new church member.

"Visit useless members and encourage them for their own sake to become useful.

"Visit persons when desired by the Pastors.

"Speak cheerfully to each person present on every opportunity.

"Regard every patron of your suppers or entertainments, and every visitor to your religious meetings, as a guest calling on you in your own house.

"Accept contributions and subscriptions for the various Christian enterprises.

"Bring in every suggestion you hear which is valuable, new or effective in Christian work elsewhere.

"Never allow a meeting to pa.s.s without your doing _some one practical_ thing for the advancement of Christ's kingdom.

"Make yourself and the Society of some certain use to some person, or some cause, each week."

The Society helps in the church prayer meetings, in refurnishing and improving the church property, in celebrating anniversaries, in missionary enterprises, securing the insertion of tablets in the Temple walls, in clothing the poor, in supporting the local missions connected with the church, in calling socially on church members or members of the congregation, in evangelistic meetings, in household prayer meetings, in supporting reading rooms, in comforting those in special affliction, in visiting the sick, in aiding the needy, in paying the church debt, in maintaining Mother's meetings, in looking after the domestic wants of the Temple, in sewing for the Hospitals, the Missions, the Baptist Home, the Orphanage, church fairs, Missionary workers, the poor, in managing church suppers and receptions connected with Ordinations, Conventions, and other religious gatherings.

It is one of the most important organizations of the church and has its own rooms handsomely furnished and well supplied with reading matter.

The Business Men's Union drew into a close band the business men of the church and used their knowledge of business affairs to plan and carry out various projects for raising money for the building fund.

They also took a deep personal interest in each other's welfare as is shown by the following incident, taken from the "Philadelphia Press":

"At one time a member became involved in financial difficulties in a very peculiar way. Previous to connecting himself with the church, he had been engaged in a business which he felt he could not conscientiously continue after his conversion. He sold his interest and entered upon mercantile pursuits with which he was unfamiliar. As a result, he became involved and his establishment was in danger of falling into the sheriff's hands.

"His situation became known to some members of the Business Men's Union, and a committee was appointed to look into his affairs. His books were found to be straight and his stock valuable. The members immediately subscribed the thousands of dollars necessary to relieve him of all embarra.s.sment, and the man was saved."

After the building was completed and the imperative need for such an organization was past, the members joined other organizations needing their help, and it disbanded. It is typical of the elastic methods of Grace Church that no society outlives its usefulness. When the need is past for it as a body, the members look elsewhere for work, and wherever each is needed, there he goes heart and soul to further some other endeavor.

The Young Women's a.s.sociation is composed of young women of the church. It bubbles over with youthful enthusiasm and energy and is one of the strongest agencies for carrying forward the church work. Its creed is:

"Secure new members.

"Attend the meetings, propose new work, urge on neglected duties.

"Help the prayer meetings.

"Volunteer for social meetings.

"Aid in the entertainments.

"Originate plans for Christian benevolent work.

"Welcome young women to the Church.

"Visit the sick members of the Church.

"Seek after and encourage inquirers.

"Hold household devotional meetings.

"Sustain missionary work for young women.