It is not in fidelity to the
past but in fidelity to the present that the church can be Christian. It
is not the opinion of man, but the eternal truths of God that can make it
a sacred, holy thing. It is holy to the degree that God is in it. God is
as truly in the fields of grain, in the forests, in the mines, and in
those laws of Nature by which men convert the product of field and forest
and mine into the necessities of life. Therefore these are as truly holy
as this institution. Therefore, again, the ministry of farm, and mine,
and factory, and shop; of mill, and railroad, and store, and office, and
wherever men toil with strength of body or strength of mind for that
which makes for the best life of their kind--that ministry is sacred and
holy.
"Because I believe these things I am, from this hour, no longer a
professional preacher, hired by and working under the direction of any
denomination or church leaders. This closes my ministry as you understand
it. It by no means closes my ministry as I have come to understand it."
When he had finished they crowded around him to express regret at his
going--sorry that he was leaving the ministry; the church needed men of
his great ability--prayed God to bless him wherever he should go--all
this and much more, with hand-shaking and many tears from the very people
who had made it impossible for him to stay. For this is the way of us
all!
As quickly as he could Dan left the church, and with the Doctor walked
toward home.
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