{QUOTABLE} Let Christians then awake from their respectability. Let religion cease to be an amusement, and let it become a holy trust. Let the churches open their doors freely to all classes, and let members go to their neighborhoods and invite them in. Let the public halls and theaters be open for evangelistic services; and let plain earnest men go wherever they can gather the masses together in little communities or great and preach the gospel in the power of the Spirit and the simplicity of love. Let the interest of our church be forgotten in the honor of Christ and the peril of souls. Let us be sure we are saved, and let us be sure men are lost. And then let us speak as men that believe. Let us give up our plans of pleasure, selfishness, and ease and prepare for a winter of earnest work. Let us put away our idols and turn from our abominations. And above all, let us cry mightily to Him for the Word of Power and the breath of life that alone can change this valley of dry bones into an exceeding great army of living souls and soldiers of the cross. And we shall find that there are resources enough among us, if touched by the consecrating power, to save the city—to save the world. - A.B. Simpson, reflecting on NYC circa 1881
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 12:39:12 +0000