THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH.
THE church of Christ is a missionary enterprise. It is not intended to stand still, but to "go." It is not intended to be self-contained, but to "make disciples," and "baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." It is not intended to be silent, but to "teach" the things that Christ has commanded. This is the very essence of Christianity, that it is an advancing, radiating, conquering religion. It is born to grow. It lives to spread. It is a centrifugal force, which works from the center toward the circumference. The church is organized to conserve, increase, direct, and apply that force. It is the body, in which the Spirit of Christ is to live and work. The Spirit of Christ is missions. When that Spirit wanes, the church is sick; when that Spirit dies, the church is a corpse.—Anon.