for him because his nature inspired endless
devotion. It is easy to lose sight of human values in a large
institution, but he was the kind of person who was quick to apologize
for any rudeness, and if the instance had to do with some fine point of
procedure, he would grin and say, "But I was right!"--and he was. A
unique thing about his rectorship was his willingness to take the blame
upon himself when something went wrong. He felt he was at fault for not
having given his subordinates the right training. The conception he held
of his office of rector impelled him to give each year a comprehensive
report of his parish work along with an audited financial accounting of
all monies that he had handled personally.

In the services of Christ Church, Frank Nelson's individuality found
complete expression. The Prayer Book offices were marked by an absence
of ceremonial, but filled with a profound simplicity and a noble
dignity. People coming from other parishes and accustomed to
considerable ritual and better architecture (Christ Church has been
likened to a Moorish mosque!) learned that such externals occupy in
reality a subordinate position in the Christian life, as the rector's
manner and forceful preaching lifted them to the plane of spirit-filled
worship. He was concerned not with the creation of an atmosphere in
which to bathe with satisfaction one's feelings about God but with the
living message of the Gospel. One came at last to love the old church
building because there the spirit was fed, the mind enlightened, and the
will impelled to action.

People came to be in his presence. They found a new, bright sense of the
glory of religious faith; they felt how precious is the least of the
human vessels into which God pours His Spirit. The man in himself
communicated a personality so wholly infused with the grace of the Lord
Jesus that his hearers were stirred to action, which result stems from
the authentic note in preaching. "Effective preaching can only mean
effective in the sense of doing God's work."[14] Frank Nelson did God's
work. He stirred people to do God's work. The atmosphere of conviction
generated by the preacher is due to his whole personality rather than to
his words; hence the impact made upon his hearers at the moment of his
speaking is never conveyed through the printed page. Its influence,
however, continues in their lives, and measured by this standard Frank
Nelson was a powerful and effective preacher