Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, November 14, 1915, Page 21

. ivirbebanlls 48 T —— R © o i oo ., ok L [ ## | THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE | i PAGES ONE TO SIX — = — — = SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS, A N the first Sabbath after “Billy” Sume day left Omaha the First Congrega- tional church, of which Rev, Dr. Frederick T. "Rouse has been pastor for eight years, was surprised to liear and see a most decided change in the pulpit #nd pastoral attitude of its pastor. Meekness had given way to militancy. The rastor stood right up in the pulpit and called « spade as he had never done before. He told them their faults in vigorous terms. He laid down the w to them. , He said: “My name has been Rouse. Lienceforth it shall be von Hindenburg." Has the mantle of “Billy” Sunday so far as Cimaha is coneerned fallen upon the shoulders of Dr. Rouse? He says: “I have been too soft oa my people and on myself. 1 will lay down the law more. T'eople want to be told what's what.” If people want “Billy” Sunday gestures, aphor- isms and lurid language, Dr. Rouse will preach to them that way. Dr. Rouse made things hum right from the siart. He renamed his bi-weekly church paper, changing it from “The Welcome” to ‘““The New Welcome,” and starting all over again at Vol, 1: No. 1. In that first issue he sald: “There is going to be new life in the First Congregational church. A new church, new people, new Sunday school, a new minister, a new light, a new love, a new joy and a New Welcome."” This issue contained announcement of evan- gelistic services every Sunday evening. “We want to open the trail to the foot of the cross, We want a large chorus choir of all those who have been in the tabernacle choir from our church and others who will help sing the gospel songs.” Who is this man, Rouse? Not an original “Billy” Sunday man. Flve years ago he voted against having the evangelist come to Omaha. Later when it was decided to have iunday come, Dr. Rouse was urged to be chairman ct the executive committee, which he declined. He was, however, an active member of the com- wittee and worked throughout the campaign, and here is what he thinks of “Billy” pow: “I have been in tMe Chapman meetings, the Sorrey meetings, the Moody meetings and with @ypsy Smith and B. Fay Mills. I believe that Sun- @ay surpasses them all and Is the greatest evangelist since Finney." Though staid members of this old church have leen startled by their pastor’'s new and up-to-the- minute methods, these methods have already urought results. The people are working as they rover worked before. Young men are distributing circulars, advertising the church and meetings taroughout the neighborhood. A score of women are organized to call on all within the church’s territory who signed ‘“‘Congregational” cards dur- ing the church census. They have divided the surrounding territory into districts and are mak- ing a house-to-house canvass, also. What is this Omaha “Billy” Sunday's status theologically? He is separated from “Billy” as far as the poles. “Billy” is the most orthedox of the orthodox Rouse is a liberal of the liberals, “Billy" accepts every word of the seriptures as Era of Evangelistic Preaching has been Instituted in the First Congregational Church absolutely, unequivocally tru® and the ingpired word of God. Rouse is very far from that. ‘1 suppose that theologically I am further removed from the ‘Billy’ Sunday teachings than any of the pastors in the co- operating churches,” he says. “‘His theory of atoncment, of inspiration, of creation, is very far removed from mine. He calls me a ‘Lastard evolutionist.” I accept the noun, tut not the adjective. It is more important for a man to get warmed by the fire than to hold the proper theory of combustion. My father had tie ‘flogiston theory’ of combustion. 1 hold the niodern cinemical theory. But he kept warmer than I because he kept nearer the flame of de- votion.” This is rank heresy, according to “Billy” Sun- duy's preaching. The very idea of looking at the atonement in theory! Or at the inspiration of the E’ble! e What the Rev. Dr. “Billy” Sunday would call t e Rev, Dr. Rouse is not a matter of theory. No, no. That is a matter of absoiute certainty. Dr. Rouse doesn't believe the Bible story of the creation in six days. He says he is too deep a 1allosopher and ecientist to believe that, “The people in those days simply didn’t know,” he says. “Why, they speak of God creating the rars after the earth. They thought the earth was the center -of the universe and explained it as best they could. Geology teaches us the countless ages 1equired to form the earth. Yes, I am certainly an evolutionist.” What would “Billy” Sunday say of Dr. Rouse cn this count? A child could answer, if it knew cnough adjectives. “Bllly” Sunday was intolerant of any belief tut his as he interpreted the word of God. Dr, i.ouse {8 not only tolerant, but friendly toward all teliefs. “If 1 have one hobby,” he sald, “it is to be the pastor of a large-minded, tolerant church. I try to hold the irenic spirit toward every form of 1eligious faith. As founder of the church federa- t'on and for three years member of the executive committee of the Sunday campalgn, my brethren vill bear me witness that I have always stood for the larger heart and the extended hand. I think Mr. Sunday was wrong in his animus toward Christian Science and the people who ‘button theis collars in the back.” 1 was pleased at the tolerance toward the Jew and the Catholie.” “Bllly” Sunday would have to use up all the sdjectives he had left in another fusillade against Lis staunch supporter for this “herosy.” The First Congregational church was set egalust the Sunday movement at first. ‘““They vere afraid of ‘Billy’s’ slang and coarseness and Lelieved he was a grafter,” says Dr. Rouse., “I was convinced he was an honest n=n and delivered the goods. I took a strong stand in his favor. Out of the wvery heart of my congregation fifty of my faithful members went up the sawdust trall, The minister and his wife were glad to be among them The first night the trail was open I mozied T} to one of the strong men of my congregation Brother Mackay. who had never confessod Christ and said, ‘I would e proud to go up the trell with you.' He said, Would you? Well, I'll go.' From that time I bad sawdust on my shoes,"” As a member of the national council which met in New Haven late in October Dr, Rouse had the pleasure of defending the orthodox evangelist, “Dilly’” Sunday against the attacks of the retiring moderator of the council, Charles R. Brown, dean of Yale Theologieal seminary, and of seeing Ex- Mayor Beardsley of Kansas City, an ardent fol- lower of Sunday, elected moderator, “I have changed my methods of preaching since the coming of ‘Billy’ Sunday,” sald Dr. Rouse, *“I am going to lay more emphasis on redemption end less on the philosophy of religion, “Some people have asked me if I am going to imitate ‘Billy’ Sunday in his manners. I say, ‘Yes, - Up the Brussels Carpet Trail to Salvation Dr. Rouse’s Ideal Church “‘I would like to have a church whose doors were open * equally to high and low, to rich and poor, to advanced-and con- servative. There ought to be room for those who like the highly estheticised service and those who want the saw-dust trail. There ought to be room for. shouting Methodists and high- church Epigcopalians. There ought to be room for shouting Methodists and high-church Episcopalians. There ought to be room for one who leans toward new thought and one who bel- lieves in miraculous healing. Imitate the virtues, emphasize like- nesses, co-operate wherever possible and minimiw differences. When the disciples wanted Christ to call down some people who ware not following their trail He said, ‘ Forbid them not; no one can work in My name and lightly speak evil of Me.’ ‘“One funny thing happened. It is well known that my good brother, Mackay, did not favor the Sunday meetings. Well, one of the brothers-in-law of our church got warmed up a little, not warm enough to come into our church, but just about warm enough to get into Brother Mackay’s church. And now he is . going to take one of our good families away from us to join *‘On the other hand one good family with whom I have been laboring for eight years got so warmed up that our church wasn’t warm .enough for them and they are going to pull out and join a red-hot Methodist church. So there you are,”” T am going to imitate him exactly.’ ‘How is that?’ they say. I say, ‘He is exactly himself, and I am tolng to be exactly myself. He preaches the gos- pel uccording to ‘Billy’ Sunday; I am golng to rreach the gospel according to F. T. Rouse,’ I hive not changed my theories, but 1 have changed my emphasis. I shall preach more of sin and righteousness and faith and love and less of rnilosophy, science and evolution.” Has the new preaching brought results? Fifty- oight were received into membership last Sunday ond half that many are expected today, Tonight the first of the people’s evangelistic services will start with the throwing open of the “Brussels carpet trail.” 1f, in the language of the crthodox “Billy” Sunday, “the devil has hunted his hole,” the liberal Dr. Rouse proposes to “plug up the hole and keep him there.,” | T