SECTION IX. CULTIVATION OF SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CHURCH.

 The development of a true Christian¹ life in the church depends much on the social influences which, like an atmosphere, pervade² and envelop³ it. These, therefore, the pastor⁴ should seek to inspire and control. As far as possible, the membership should find their society within the church—not in a spirit of clannish⁵ exclusiveness, but on the principle that the higher bond of spiritual affinity⁶, which binds⁷ them as a church to one another and to Christ, involves, as a natural consequence, the lower [p. 100] bond of social affinity, so that the church is the natural sphere of the soul’s activities, social as well as spiritual. To make the social life of the church strong, healthful, enriching, such as render it a magnet to attract other souls, is of primary moment in a pastor’s work. I suggest two ways in which this may be done.

 

1. Personal effort to promote mutual⁸ acquaintance in the congregation by introducing strangers, and by securing for them those attentions which will naturally draw them to the church as a home. See that they meet a cordial welcome at the public meeting, and also socially by the calling of members at their homes, and by extending to them social courtesies and kindnesses. A watchful⁹ pastor may do much to secure this by personal suggestion.

 

2. Social gatherings¹¹ in the church, in which the people shall have opportunity for acquaintance and for the exercise of the social feelings. These differ in plan. (1.) They are sometimes purely¹² social, in which the object is conversation, music, and such forms of recreation as may be innocent and healthful. The tact¹³ of the pastor will here be required to give the right tone and spirit to the gathering¹⁰, to promote general acquaintance and sociability¹⁴, and to guard against doubtful forms of amusement. (2.) They sometimes add to the social the literary element, and a part of the time is occupied with readings, recitations, essays, poems, and the discussion of subjects in history, biography, general literature, and science. These, when carefully managed, are often of great value in advancing the general culture and intelligence, and in calling out, especially in the young, talents which would otherwise be undeveloped. The successful working of such an organization of course presupposes broad intelligence in the pastor and not a little careful [p. 101] thought and labor¹⁵. (3.) Sometimes the object is not only social and literary, but also missionary¹⁶, and the exercises consist in part of reports on missionary work, home and foreign, correspondence with missionaries¹⁷, and essays on the lives of eminent¹⁸ missionary characters and topics relating to the missionary enterprise. The organization might also engage in different forms of actual mission work, such as mission Sunday-schools, religious meetings at destitute¹⁹ points, and personal labor, young men among young men, young women among young women, to bring them to church and otherwise help them in entering and prosecuting²⁰ a Christian life.

 

The social element is so mighty²¹ a force that no pastor can afford to ignore it; nor should he imagine that it will take care of itself, for, left unguided, it will almost certainly take a false direction and destroy much of his work. His true position is as its inspiring leader, thus linking its power to those forces which shall ensure his success.

 

Hints.—1. The pastor, I think, should ordinarily hold no official position in these organizations, but should stand related to them simply as pastor, and as thus the general head of all church organization; and he should be felt not so much (if at all) in the assertion of his authority as in the way of quiet suggestion and inspiration. 2. In all social life there will necessarily be different social centers, caused by naturally differing social affinities²², and it is unwise to attempt to break this up. But care should be taken that these social centers do not take on the exclusiveness of cliques²³ with party spirit and jealousies²⁴, and that the aristocratic element does not develop itself to the discomfort²⁵ or exclusion²⁶ of the poorer classes. These tendencies, always present, should be carefully held in check. 3. Every house of worship [p. 102] should have a church parlor²⁷, or some room which can readily be converted into one. This should be furnished attractively, and supplied with musical instruments, pictures, and other means of culture. If a reading-room and library can also be connected, it adds much value in the increase of intelligence among the people. A church will readily furnish funds for this purpose if properly instructed; for parents, aside from the advantage they personally derive²⁸ from such an arrangement, will feel the advantage to their families of a church social life so strong and attractive as to draw and hold the children to the associations of the church in preference to the associations of the world.

 

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 pervade   

v.弥漫，遍及，充满，渗透，漫延

参考例句：

• Science and technology have come to pervade every aspect of our lives.科学和技术已经渗透到我们生活的每一个方面。
• The smell of sawdust and glue pervaded the factory.工厂里弥漫着锯屑和胶水的气味。

3 envelop   

vt.包，封，遮盖；包围

参考例句：

• All combine to form a layer of mist to envelop this region.织成一层烟雾又笼罩着这个地区。
• The dust cloud will envelop the planet within weeks.产生的尘云将会笼罩整个星球长达几周。

4 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

5 clannish   

adj.排他的，门户之见的

参考例句：

• They were a clannish lot,not given to welcoming strangers.他们那帮人抱成一团，不怎么欢迎生人。
• Firms are also doggedly clannish on the inside.公司内部同时也具有极其顽固的排他性。

6 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

7 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

9 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

12 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

13 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

14 sociability   

n.好交际，社交性，善于交际

参考例句：

• A fire of withered pine boughs added sociability to the gathering. 枯松枝生起的篝火给这次聚合增添了随和、友善的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• A certain sociability degree is a specific character of most plants. 特定的群集度是多数植物特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

16 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

17 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

19 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

20 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

21 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

22 affinities   

n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 )；亲近；（生性）喜爱；类同

参考例句：

• Cubism had affinities with the new European interest in Jazz. 主体派和欧洲新近的爵士音乐热有密切关系。 来自辞典例句
• The different isozymes bind calcium ions with different affinities. 不同的同功酶以不同的亲和力与钙离子相结合。 来自辞典例句

23 cliques   

n.小集团，小圈子，派系( clique的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All traitorous persons and cliques came to no good end. 所有的叛徒及叛徒集团都没好下场。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They formed cliques and carried arms expansion and war preparations. 他们拉帮结派，扩军备战。 来自互联网

24 jealousies   

n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡

参考例句：

• They were divided by mutual suspicion and jealousies. 他们因为相互猜疑嫉妒而不和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I am tired of all these jealousies and quarrels. 我厌恶这些妒忌和吵架的语言。 来自辞典例句

25 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

26 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

27 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

28 derive   

v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。