Show CHURCH AND SOCIETIES tae attention of religious denominations is being called to the influence of private societies on the progress of the churches churched the episcopal method IMA are confronted by the te unpleasant fet that the net gain of communicants t tor the rapt past pear aall to the low law figure of 09 1960 while the average for the V abot ten tea years haw haer been the zions alon herald a methodist organ unhesitatingly 12 expresses the conviction the epworth worth league is responsible for foil the decline the paper summarizes its observations thus IL 1 it ts in the era of the epworth league lea gueIn in the church the league has been beahn given the right of way everywhere and what it Us bas stood for has vety very largely dominated the church the international convention at toronto last year filled the thought and life of the church as an perhaps no other gathering of recent years has done if the year b had been one of large spiritual ingathering gladly would we have accredited the league with having large part in the result now that the reverse is in so larnen lamentably ably true must we not with equal justice lay the actual consequences at its door 2 the work ot of the league though not so intended h has diverted the purpose of the church from its own historic and characteristic tic mission of soul winning and haa dissipated its energies into other chani nets while the motives of the league have been worthy they have not been OH oil that high plane of spiritual activity got which the church has always been distinguished 3 the separate epworth league meeting has drawn a line of demark atlon between this organization and abd the ch and multitudes have t unified nI fIed the league trove the church and ana made it a substitute for it la in many churches tl the league to Is only a V soba club and therefore lack wt ift in aspiration grip and pW erThe the effect or at he e league upon thousands of churches has been to tone down its spiritual and revival power the christian endeavor society receives similar criticism in england what far secir men in many denominations have forecasted is now being realized the british weekly an influential fluent ial nonconformist non conformist journal gives expression to the following views in many cases they the societies are encouraging they are especially so in mission churches where practically the christian endeavor society is the church in the denominations of methodism particularly they are strong and flourishing where there Is a popular minister and where the tide of prosperity has only to be swelled they are good also in other cases where the motto of the society for christ and the church Is clearly kept in view but it la obvious that in many places they are evil this is the testimony not merely of ministers but of christian themselves in particular there Is 19 frequent complaint that the prayer i meetings and week night services are seriously injured the young people go to the christian endeavor meeting and neglect the meetings of the chur churcott cit the old are in one camp anath new in another in IB many cases the minister is ignored and church services are often neglected nearly all the replies received from scotland and the great majority ot of the replies from congregationalists are to the effect that the society is not only not helpful to the church but distinctly harmful chathas Wh what athas has struck us very much Is that from churches where the ministers axe are prominent leaders of christian endeavor there ous complaints from members that their energy has gone too much into that op channel hannel and that the ordinary work of the church is impoverished some leading baptist ministers also are strongly hostile to the movement from experience from the standpoint of a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints the conditions complained of do not appear quite as serious as indicated by the quotations given above in the multitude of religious denominations and societies where ich claims to be one division pone one part of the so called universal church it would seem immaterial whether those religiously inclined devote their time and energy to this division or that the decline tn in membership noticed in the methodist organization is no loss to the so called church it if a corresponding increase takes place in the epworth league or the endeavor society any more than the withdrawal of a sum of money fro from in one safety vault and depositing it in another to is tn in itself a loss lose to the owner the question tion of the administration of the sacraments to is exclude daa das long settle as it is admitted that an organization can be a church without properly authorized servants of the lord to administer the ordinances and even entirely without sacraments still there is a truth h I 1 embodied in the objection to private religious societies as stated a truth which deserves attention at a time when societies and associations of all sorts seem seam to be the ahe order of the day the church of jesus considered in its external aspect is something higher and infinitely more sacred than any merely human organization however noble its aim it la in and must be a visible society of disciples of the master combined tor for the purpose of being the bearers of light and salvation to the actual human world to living and to dead for the accomplishment of its work divinely instituted ordin and rightly ordained officers are eft K sentral sent lal ial and therefore we meet la ft sacred writ with repeated T abed warnings to remain loyal to th the church and the leaders to whom god has entrusted atik 1 care to avoid division and all ail thab tha may lead to it whether tion or arrogance in acco accordance i wath ri I 1 this scriptural view of the church every tendency that leads church members away from their characteristic mission of saving souls and dk verts their energy into other channels must be regarded with deep colora cov am no matter how innocent it may look OW oa the surface A profession of love tor for tift lord roust must be proved to be enu inte W b sincere concern for the spiritual wet fare of his flock his church |