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Show GREAT Ml illllS BOB INTERCHURCH WORLD MOVEMENT EXPLAINED AT PROVO COMMUNITY CHURCH. ..,; , . ., Rev. Wilson "of Denver Delivered ail ' Eloquent Address Last Evening at Local Church. Three Tragedies of . a Life Waa Batfs oT Talk. ' -Rev. Lawrence Wilson, regional director for the Congregational church with headquarters. In Denver, spoke in the Provo Community church ' last ; evening on, "A Great World . Movement," Move-ment," Rev,-. ; Wilson delivered a powerful address on the Interchurch : World Movement as same Is related to the Congregational churches. ' He said, In part: ; .-... "Every life holds a possibility, of three tragedies, first your life -may be lived in a period, when there are no great world movements. This Interchurch Inter-church movement is the greatest movement since the days of Martin Luther. 'It means the whole gospel for the whole world. A careful survey has been made of the various fields throughout the state and even the United 'States and from this : survey the churches will work in the future. It may be found that a certain denomination denomi-nation can function better or more I specifically in a given field than some other denomination and then the field will be turned over to that church and the injunction will be to that denomination denomi-nation to get on the Job. "The second great tragedy which may befall your life Is to live In an age of a great world movement and not embrace that opportunity. Tou will recall that Noah was offered a great opportunity to get into a world movement and he became afraid and went off and got drunk. Everywhere you hear these expressions, 'The war is over and I have done my bit' This is a dangerous expression and does not manifest the right spirit for a thorough American. Roosevelt once said, 'I would rather wear out than rust out.' What is more un-American for a big healthy man to isolate himself him-self from the world in order to keep from doing his share in the world's work. - "The third great tragedy which Is possible for your life is to live when a great world movement is on and have no part in it. Today the church has not had a real part in the world's r -movements and it should haye ajnore -definite part Abraham' Lincoln once said, 'No nation can exist half slave and half free'.' The church cannot exist half Christian and half unchristian. un-christian. The Good Book says, 'Ye are the salt of the earth,' but the salt will do no good if it Is hidden away In the cellar. The church must rub up against the world. We must be r the leaven which will eventually . leaven the whole lump. "the churches are facing three conditions, con-ditions, the first of these being that of losing ground. The Methodist church last year lost 80,000 members. There Is a decided lack of young men training for the ministry. Second, there is a serious lack of dealers, both In the ministry and among the laymen. lay-men. Third, 'there Is a great lack of munitions.' The church has been so penurious that it is really wrong for them to talk of the social injustice in the world until they adjust the ministers' minis-ters' salaries.. Some - denominations are only paying an average salary of $700 for the minister's whole time. Our young men are Just as willing to sacrifice as they ever were, as shown by the sacrifice In the recent world war, but they want to know whether the church is really back of them. Compare the wages of a plasterer or a plumber today with the wage of a minister. min-ister. But understand me that the young men are just as willing as they ever were to invest their lives for the Master's cause but they must ' have a wage on which they can live. "You heard the expression many times during the war that this is a war to end all war. Just so is this Interchurch drive a drive to end all drives. What are you teaching your people The reason Germany is the greatest autocracy in the world Is because be-cause for ages they have been taught that .all authority came down from the state. The reason Bolshevism Is rampant ram-pant In Russia today is because they have been taught that spirit. Taa reason democracy is supreme In America Amer-ica today is because we have taught the spirit of democracy for years and years." Rev. E. V. Kuhns, pastor of the church, presided last evening and expressed ex-pressed great pleasure in being able to present Rev. Wilson, to his congregation congre-gation for one evening. A splendid Easter program was rendered in the morning, at which time the children of the Sund&y school rendered a most excellent program. |
