Editorial January 23, 1909 Issue

THERE IS "POWER IN THE PLAIN GOSPEL."

Archibald McLellan

The Detroit News, in an editorial upon a recent consolidation of two churches of one denomination in that city, says,—

The church is not a social institution like the corner grocery that must follow the trade: it is the organized testimony that a certain Master spoke glowing words centuries ago, which if a man test to-day he will be brought into a very real and helpful contact with that Master. That is the work of the church: it is a torch, a lighthouse, a spiritual inn, a haven, and its place is where the darker waves dash on the shore-line between good and evil.

It is almost a certainty that other down-town churches will move in time. Some of them are making desperate efforts to retain their footing and "draw the crowd." Heaven help the church that throws itself at the feet of the crowd! None of them ever think of advertising the message of light, but they do advertise their music and their specialties and their piquant topics. All this is a sign of the end. The audience gathered by sensational methods is an audience that loses its respect for the church the moment it yields to the lure of the posters. This is not power, but weakness. Either there is or there is not power in the plain gospel, and the churches will never determine this until they discard everything else for it. If it is powerful still, the church has its work cut out for it for years to come; if it is not powerful, then consolidation is only the postponement of inevitable bankruptcy and annihilation.

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