Center Church annual manuals: 1870 and 1871 · scan page 89

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46
At a church ineetintr held Jan.
»}(), the clKiirnian of the Coniinit-
tee, Mr. PL C. Kingsley, made the followinij
Report.
The appointment by
the church
of
a c;.>mmittee
to
consider
and
report in what ways
tlio
usefulness of the church may
be
increased,
assumes that the church reco^aiizes the duty and believes in the
[prac-
ticability of
increa.suig' its usefulness.
Any remarks on
these
points
may
therefore seem unnecessary,
bur.
the committee
have
thou<^ht
that they might, not inappropriately, say a few words
in
relatiun
to
them by way of adding strength to the convictions of
all.
The New Testament idea of a Christian church,
is of a body of be-
lievers united by the bond of a common
faith
in
Christ
for
nuitual
edification and for active
labor
in
his
cause.
As
the
love of
( 'hrist
for men brought him to a life
of self sacrifice
in our
world, so
it
is
expected of Christians that their love to
their
risen
Savior
will
lead
them
to active and earnest endeavors after those
for whom he
died.
Arguments, exhortations, invitations, encouragements to sucli work are
with great frequency and urgency addressed by the
Apostles
in
their
epistles to the churches.
No countenance is given to the idea
that a
Christian can be inactive or passive, or that the minister
of a church
is to do the whole work of the church.
The minister is indeed
under
Christ to be the head, the director,
tlie leader, the
guide, the teacher,
the counselor, but the directions of the New Testament
are
full and
explicit in demanding of all Christians active
service.
The
Christian
who has obtained a hope and
then
resigns
himself to
a
life
of ease
and repose, like the traveler, who buys his ticket and seots himself in
the railway car without thought
or care
for
the
journey, trustiuj-
to
the conductor for his safe arrival at his
destination,
is
not recognized
by the New Testament writers.
The Christian wlio
is satisfied when
his intellect is convinced by the logical argument, or when his im.igin-
ation is delighted and his feelings excited or softened by tlie eloquence
of some favorite preacher, but
wlio
is not moved by any or
all
the-e
to some active elTort and exercise
ol" the powers
within
him, wili find
at length his appetite cloyed
with
rich
food, his
strength
reduced to
weakness and
his
Christian
life almost
extinct.
Christian
lal.)or
is
essential to spiritual digestion.
On these points there
is no diffnence
of opinion among the members of this church.
We
are members
of
the body of Christ, eaoh
having
a
capacity
for some
function
;
each

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Silent Grounds Collective, Church Burial & Death Records, CH-P008-0089. Center Church annual manuals: 1870 and 1871, printed page not verified, PDF page 89. New Haven (Conn.). First Church of Christ; digitized copy contributed by Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center https://archive.org/details/manualoffirstchu00newh_0/page/n89/mode/1up Accessed September 8, 2026.

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