All life is known by its manifestations. The latter is the outcome, the
effect of the former. The manifestations of life cannot by any means be
more important than the life which makes them possible. Christianity is
a religion of inwardness, it finds its root in the heart and soul of
man, then effects the outward life. Whenever the inner or spiritual life
is renewed, there follows from necessity a renewed exterior. There must
be first life in the soul. Nor can there be any evolution of the soul or
of society without a previous involution in them. The whole nature of
man must be wrapped up in the image of God before any fruits of
Godliness show themselves. The tendency in the Negro Church is to look
for these manifestations rather than to work for the indwelling spirit
who is the cause of such manifestations. Parallel with this tendency in
the church, is the effort which is being made after expression of
religious life when it should be directed along the line of impressing
it. The church is in need of a deep spiritual life, nevertheless it is
impossible to express what is not previously impressed in the mind.
There is a form of oratory prevalent among us, a mere jingle of sounds,
an expression of nothing of much value. Under its spell the man of the
world is caught, received into the church as a convert, but not being
impressed with the divine life and ideal, he soon falls away. The mad
rush after quantity rather than quality of converts is another
indication of the outwardness of religion in the church. One of the most
significant words spoken by Christ was, "Many are called but few
chosen." The church seems to be carried away with the idea of the
extension of God's Kingdom when it does not sufficiently grasp the idea
of its intension. Because there is not depth in spiritual life, not
intensiveness in the culture of souls, the church does not gain much in
expansion. Again, the church is an organization, but an organization
presupposes an organ. It is evident that if the organ--the instrument
upon which all order and arrangement depend--is out of gear, the
organization is valueless. All attempts to organize men without a
spiritual organ must be a failure. The organization of a church is more
than the putting together of bricks and other dead materials, it is the
bringing together, in an orderly manner, of living souls possessed with
spiritual power and renewed in the image of God. There is another form
of outwardness to which the Negro church is tending at oneself and
valuing oneself from appearance. It tends to make religion a puppet
show. The growth of the church is estimated at number of dollars
collected, number of churches built, and number of followers. The Negro
is prone to fall into this error because of the many denials his critics
make of his ability in self-government. It leads him to make a parade of
his religion and a show of his capabilities. The purpose of religion is
to deepen the spiritual life and help men to be in harmony with God and
nature, not to satisfy critics and detractors. The work of the church is
to lead men to have in full measure the life and light of the Spirit. It
is in the nature of life and light whenever and wherever found to be
active. They will assert themselves if they are in the church, not in a
boastful spirit but with Christian modesty. Cause must precede effect.
The foundation of the church must be securely laid before its
superstructure is attempted. There must be a base of supply before the
army marches to battle.
I have attempted to indicate briefly in what lines the church is exposed
and is tending to outwardness. It lays greater stress on evolution of
life; in eagerness for the expression of its life it neglects its
impression; it emphasizes extensiveness rather than intensiveness,
quantity rather than quality; it runs after the gewgaws of religion and
does not look inward, deep down in the soul; its organization lacks an
organ with a spiritual life deep enough to suppress worldliness.