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The faint marks left upon the sands of time by the ebbing tide of one cei tury is obliterated by the incomin tide of the next, and the drow s) nations, and sometimes not less drowsy churches, are content to murmur, ' The King is dead : long live the King." But these are things that cannot be affirmed of the century that has closed. Its epoch hours have been too numer- ous, its changes too startling, its achievements too grand to pass away and be forgotten. Wonder- ful as the century's achievements have been, they have in them more of prophecy than of fuifilment, and we confidently look forward to the coming century as one that will 3 P«««lng of the Century. outstrip its immediate predecessor as that has outstripped t'le centuries thai went befor- VWut t»ie last hundred years i.ave ocn accom- plished is only a preparation for ijreater thinj^s to come RehBiou. All this is prc-emin- ntly true in Movamantt. ^^^^^t wc Call the relij^ious sphere. The past century has b-en prolific of movements of far-reaching im- port, but not many have gauged aright their direction or ^heir strength. Some of these mi^e- ments seemed so hostile to Chris- tianity, and so irresistible, thai many trembled for the trV\ while some si' ^uted in a panic o '" it that the ark of God was taken. But one by one the tidal waves have re- ceded, and the " impregnable rock of Holy Scripture" stands un- moved. Thus, within the century, rationalism has risen and culmin- ated and declined, and is now re- pudiated in the land of its birth : materialism has bad a similar hi..- tory and shared a similar fate ; ritualism has risen, perhaps has culminated, but shows as yet no symptoms of decline; scepticism started for the hundredth time an avalanche of hostile criticism before which it was supposed nothing could stand ; literature has pi • claimed its mission to free the world from religious superstition, 4 an.i ' nrist born at Bethlehem has ; „ a to compete with the C hrist born of the poet's fancy, " carved out of an ideal humanity or de- veloped out of a benevolent senti- ment." And thus while the authority of divine revelation is discounted and called in cuestio: the authority of the last teliirjous (or irrelifjious) novel is virtually ac- cepted by many as a dictum from which there must be n appeal. Nor is this all. Anti-Christian forces assail the fabric of society, and while anaichism would raze it to its foundation and leave not a sinj^le stone upon another. Socialism would reconstruct it upon a Christ- less basis, and so build society's house upon the sand. Last of all, in the closing decades of the dying century the Higher Criticism has entered the arena, and while some of its leaders are trying with rever- ent care to distinguish between the precious and the vile, and to re- move later blotches of local color which they think have marred the beauty and lessened the fidelity of the original portrait of truth, others less reverent have boldly ascended the judgment seat, and summoning Moses and the Prophets, Christ and His Apostles to the bar, call upon them to answer for having deceived the world. But whence Anti- Christian Force*. Not all Discouraging are to come the witnesses to decide as to the guilt or innocence of the accused ? From among those who lived when the words were spoken and the deeds were done? No. but from among the recluses of present-day learning, some of whom appear to have been solemn- ly sworn upon grammar and lexi- con to tell "their guesses, their whole guesses, •'nd nothing but their guesses." At first sight all this seems di? couraging, but on a closer view perceive that much real progress has been made, and what seemed to be hindrances are turning out for the furtherance of the Gospel. Rationalism was but a recoil from unreasoning dogmatism.— a per- ception of the truth that reason, if not the supreme arbiter, is never- theless an essential factor in weigh- ing the evidences of a divine reve- laSon. Ritualism, although in some respect a retrograde move- ment toward mediaeval ecclesiasti- cism, was also a plea for the aesthetic and the beautiful in religious wor- ship, a reaffirming of the truth that man cannot live by bread alone. Scepticism rendered real though unwitting service bj' drawing atten- tion to strategic points in Christian truth, as well as to weak points in Christian apologetics. Literature 6 has demonstrated the necessity for a converted and consecrated press, and has shown what a powerful factor it may become in spreading the Kingdom of God. Socialism, which has been making its appeal unto Caesar, begins to perceive that society must be reconstructed from within, and is looking Christward with the confession, " We know that thou art a teacher come from God ;" while the Higher Criticism, which some have dreaded so much, may, when past the stage of guesses and conjectures, render invaluable service by introducing a more ra- tional and scientific exegesis of the scriptures than has obtained in the past. What, then, is the outlook for The New the coming century ? W' hat has it Centurv'» in store for the waiting peoples ? In the material sphere we may con- fidently look for improvements, dis- coveries, inventions, beside which those of the past century will seem as nothing ; in the intellectual sphere for clearer perceptions of truth, a juster estimate of human relations and responsibilities, and a recognition of true religion as es- .sential to the completeness of indi- vidual character end to the pro- gress of the race ; in the ethical sphere for a higher standard of conduct, a loftier ideal of attain- Outlook. ment, and the application of the Golden Rule to all the concerns of life ; in the social sphere for im- proved conditions of human exist- ence, and a practical realization of human brotherhood ; and in the religious sphere for a great deep- ening of spiritual life, a profounder sense of responsibility, a clearer perception of duty and privilege, and a Great Forward Movement under the inspiring watchword. " The Evangelization of the World in this Generation." Pa*t Achieve- ment*. IN trying to form a just and sober * estimate of what Christian missions will accomplish in the next hundred years, the achieve- ments of the past century must be taken into account. A hundred years ago the missionary idea seemed to be the feeblest and most obscure force of the age ; to-day it is foremost of all the schemes of Christian benevolence, and challenges the respectful atten- tion of the world. Then it was confronted by the apathy of the Church, the ridicule of the world, and the bitter hostility of a solid heathenism ; but within a hundred years Christian missionaries have taversed every continent, and occu - pied every island ; they have raised 8 whole tribes from barbarism ; crys- tallized rude dialects into written languages ; paved the way for com- merce ; expanded the domain of science ; abolished in many com- munities the vices and superstitions of heathenism ; translated the Word of God into nearly three hundred languages and dialects ; and have so turned the sympathies of Christ- endom into line with God's pur- poses that some $12,000,000 are poured annually into the various mission treasuries. In this practical age every under- striking taking is judged — or ought to be — Results, by its results. There is no reason why this test should not be applied to Christian missions, and we may safely challenge any department of human activity to show results in the last hundred years commensu- rate with those of the missionary enterprise. Within the time speci- fied, missions have virtually solved the problem of the moral regenera- tion of India. Churches have been planted and multiplied ; hundreds of thousands converted ; education extended ; infanticide prohibited ; the suttee abolished ; government support withdrawn from idolatry ; caste broken down, at least, in part, and heathenism everywhere on the wane. In China, similar results have been achieved. Hiough not on 9 story of the Ulandt. SO grand a scale. The sea-board provinces have long been occupied, and hundreds of missionaries hav(i penetrated into the interior, and but for the antagonism and suspi- cion excited by the infamous opium traffic, and the greed of western nations for Chinese territory, the close of the last century would have seen the country largely evangelized, .\frica, too, has been girdled with a halo of light, and throughout its gloomy interior in the track of Moffat, and Living- stone, and Taylor, and Hanning- ton, points of brightness are visible amid the gloom, like the watch- fires of an invading host, telling that the advance guard of the Christian army is already in possession. And what is true of the contin- ents is true of the island.s. Who does not know the story of Mada- gascar, its missionaries and its martyrs ; of the Sandwich Islands, once darkly heathen, now civilized and Christian ; of the Fiji group, once the abode of horrid cruelties, now a land of schools and churches and of purified home life ; of the New Hebrides, transforme.r!-, they kept in view i; • Gospel campai' " the necessity i ■ there — apostles, gelists — to plant tr.e oUin -di r. ;f the ':og, ized 1. ' .i'?is 1 re and ^•ronhr.t- -van- .'.uicv' id to fead the hosts, but at —e same time laid upon every convert the duty of witnessing for the Lord Jesus, at least in his own neighbourhood and among his own friends. If any think they are exempted None are from this service, it would be well Exempted, for them to inquire on what «9 Are Modern Methods Right ? grounds. It cannot be for lack of time, for as some one has quaintly expressed it, you have all the time there is, and it does not require much time to speak a word to those with whom you are in daily asso- ciation. It cannot be for lack of means, for the capital required in this business is not gold and silver, but faith and love and the power of the Holy Ghost, and these can be had for the asking. It cannot be for lack of talent, for although talent the highest and the best is not too good for this service, and God can sanctify such to the noblest ends, yet talent the small- est may suffice to distribute the " five barley cakes and two small fishes," and these with Christ's blessing will multiply so that a great multitude shall be fed. It takes slender ability to sin, but whoever can sin can be saved from sin, and whoever can be saved from sin can tell of salvation. When one reads how the Gospel was spread abroad in primitive days, it might almost lead him to doubt wliether some of our modern methods are not a mistake. With a command so imperative, with a need so urgent, with forces in the field so inadequate to cope with the work to be done, above all with nearly nineteen centuries behind us and the task of evangelizing the world only fairly begun, it does 20 seem as if there must be some other way by which we can more quickly " preach the Gospel to the whole creation." To fulfil a task so simple, why must we have such cumbrous and complicated ma- chinery? and why should it be necessary to guarantee a good salary before one can obey the command to " go " ? Surely a sense of responsibility such as the command of Christ implies should go far to effect a cure. /y/l ISSIOXS in the twentieth cen- tur)' will be characterized by a recognition of the duties and re- sponsibilities of Christian steward- ship far beyond what has been known since the days of primitive Christianity. In this respect the Church is slowly but surely revert- ing to first principles. For many centuries property in the Church has been held as a personal pos- session, but in the Apostolic Church it was not so. There the right of private ownership gave way to the responsibilities of Christian stewardship, and thence- forth, for nearly three hundred years, property was held as a trust, and so administered. This was not due to any express com- mandment, but to a divine imptdse, springing from the love of God in 21 Christian Stewardship. mmm Extent of Surrend) . How far ■5 this Binding? the soul. Private rights were not formally abrogated ; they were voluntarily surrendered with a view to a greater good. The extent of this surrender is indicated by the account given in the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. " And the multi- tude of them that believed were of one heart and soul ; and not one ot them said that aught of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resur- rection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. For neither was there among them any that lacked ; for as many as were possessed of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto each according as any one had need." If a question should arise as to how far the practice of the Apostolic Church is binding upon Christians now, the obvious answer is that the underlying principle is as binding as ever, but that meth- ods may not necessarily be the same. In primitive times the for- mation of a common fund was made necessary by the circum- stances in which the Christians were placed as a proscribed peo- 22 pie, liable to be despoiled of their goods at any moment through per- secution. But when the number of believers had greatly multiplied the method of one common fund was no longer practicable It was then that the principle of individual stewardship came into prominence, each believer holding his posses- sions as a trust and administering the same for the common good. In course of time this principle was entirely lost sight of, and the practice of Christians respecting the use of property was regulated by maxims of worldly prudence and selfishness rather than by the precepts and spirit of the Gospel. A marked change is taking place, although it seems to be slow. There is a growing conviction that modern charity, so called, is a very poor substitute for Gospel i -vard- ship. Within half a century much has been said and written respect- ing the tithing of income for re- ligious and benevolent uses, and not a few have adopted the prin- ciple. This, though an improve- ment on former practice, halts far short of the Gospel standard. Though useful as a tentative mea- sure, it must not be regarded as a finality. In fact, almost the only value of the tithing system is that it establishes a minimum, below which our gifts to God's cause must not go, but the principle of stewardship is far better. 23 The Principle Ignored. Direction of Wealth. Duty of those who Stay. VI/ITH this reviving sense of the duties and responsibilities of Christian stewardship, why may we expect that much of the Church's wealth will take the direction of missions ? For several reasons : 1. In the providence of God the great bulk of the world's wealth has been placed in the keeping of Christian nations, so called. 2. Of this wealth a goodly share is controlled by Christian men, who recognize their responsibilities Godward and desire to meet them in all fidelity. 3. There is a growing conviction tl)at among all the enterprises of the Church of God there is not one so important or so urgent as the evangelization of the world. 4. Thoughtful men are begin- ning to see that responsibility rests with equal weight upon those who go to the mission field and those who stay at home. There would seem to be a tacit understanding that he who goes out into the home or foreign field to preach the Gos- should be content with a bare g, and has n -> right to ask for _.-e. But it L.iis understanding is well founded, is not he who stays at home responsible in the same way and to the same extent — that is, to be content with a bare living, holding the rest of his possessions in trust for the Master, to be ad- ministered as conscience and the 24 providence of God may direct to enlighten and uplift the world and extend Christ's kingdom among men? Should this be con- 'meat' sidered too strong for average Christians, a little " mill: of the Word " may be administered by reminding them that a mere frac- tion of the wealth they now possess — a fraction so small as to be almost invisible — would suffice to meet the needs of the missionary enterprise. In our own Church alone an aver- age of one cent a day from each communicant would give an an- nual income ol one million dollars with twenty-nine thousand dollars to spare. Only a Fraction Needed. T ANTICIPATE also in the com- ing century a revival of the old spirit of flaming evr.ngelism which, while not neglecting its next-door neighbour, impelled men to go to the very ends of the earth. This has been the leading characteristic of all great spiritual movements from Pentecost until now, and such a revival is essential if the world is to be evangelized at all, much more if it is to be evangelized in this generation. Napoleon is credited with the remark that " the army that remains entrenched i already beaten." That the remark is not universally true was subsequently 25 Revival of Old-Time Evangelism. rmmi An Army on the March. proved when Napoleon's watchful adversary lay for months en- trenched behind the lines of Torres Vedras, baffling a French army of equal numbers, and ultimately com- pelling them to retreat. But whether true in military strategy or not, the saying is eminently true of the Christian Church. Christ's conception of his Church is an army on the march— not shut up in barracks or lying behind en- trenchments. A world is to be conquered, and this never can be done by a Church that merely stands on the defensive. From the day when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples their policy was to be one of ceaseless aggression. To them inactivity would mean disaster, and supine- ness be the sure precursor of defeat. Only by advance could they hold the ground already taken and consoli- date the victories already gained. The vision that seemed to be al- ways before the mind of the Mas- ter was that of a whole world re- claimed from revolt and renewed in righteousness before God, and this vision he sought to impress upon the thought of his followers as an incentive to constant and ceaseless endeavour. Till the last sinner was reached, the last rebel subdued, the great commission could not be cancelled nor could its urgency be relaxed. Every- 26 Revival. where and always the first duty of the faithful disciple is to " go." The indications that a revival of sign* of the old evangelistic spirit is com- ing upon the Church are neither few nor small. A certain as- tronomer, when relating his experi- ence with a splendid new telescope, said, " As the object glass, moved by automatic clock-work, passed slowly across the face of the hea- vens, I felt Sirius announcing him- self from a great distance, and presently he rushed into the field of vision with such overpowering splendour that I had to withdraw m.y eye from the dazzling object." Is not the Holy Spirit thus " an- nouncing himself " in the signs of the times? The thought of the Christian world is turning more and more toward the great mis- sionary enterprise. The Churches are planning for vaster campaigns. Desire for the world's salvation is more intense. Prayer for a new Pentecost is more fervent and be- lieving. The sense of individual responsibility grows apace, and thousands are saying, " Here am I, send me." The tithes are being brought into the storehouse that we may prove God's promises. The captains of the host are taking counsel together that all things may be in readiness. Above all a spirit of eager expectancy is grow- ing in the Churches, and earnest 27 Era of Co-operation. Evils of Rivalry. souls are looking for far greater things than we have hitherto asked or thought. /^NE of the most marked features ^^^ in twentieth century missions will be the spirit and practice of co- operation instead of competition among the Churches. In the in- fancy of the missionary enterprise the evils of rivalry and competition were almost unknown. In the earlier half of the nineteenth cen- tury but few societies had entered the foreign field, and their mission- aries were so few in number and so widely scattered that most of them would have welcomed the advent of other workers into their lonely stations, and there was little ground to complain of the waste of men and money. But in the latter half of the century all this has been changed. The number of socie- ties has greatly increased, and in some fields there has been an al- most reckless multiplication of agencies, while other parts of the great world-vineyard were left un- tilled. The reasons for this are obvious. There was, until recently, no con- sultation between the governing boards of the different societies, no knowledge of each other's plans, nor, it is to be feared, any disposi- tion to consider each other's inter- 28 Remedy. ests in the selection of territory and the disposition of forces. So serious have been the evils grow- ing out of this policy that one mis- sionary declared in the London Missionary Conference that all the troubles he had met with in eleven years of missionary life had not caused him so much pain and dis- couragement as the trouble arising from rivalry. And the testimony of other missionaries, if not quite so emphatic, was substantially in the same direction. The Missionary Conferences of comity the last two decades, and still more the Annual Conference of repre- sentatives of Mission Boards in the United States and Canada in the last decade, have not only called attention to the evils of competition and rivalry, but have suggested methods of avoiding such rivalry in the future. At the recent Ecumenical Missionary Conference in New York, there was remark- able unanimity of opinion in favour of a policy of comity and co-opera- tion. Some have gone so far as to contend that the aim of the mis- sion movement should be the estab- lishment of a common Christian Church in each land, and not the extension and perpetuation of those divisions of the Church which owe their origin to historic situations significant to us, but of little or no significance to the young mission chuiches. 29 Aim not Utopian. Exodui of Missionaries Some may think such an aim Utopian at the present juncture, but nearly all the missionaries, and very many members of the Home Boards, are now of the opinion that comity and co-operation are quite practicable in regard to division of territory, overlapping of agencies, the use of missionary money as regards stipends of na- tive workers, hig' r education, hospital work, and printing and publishing interests. There can be no doubt that a mutual adjust- ment of plans along these lines, with consolidation of the work of different societies whose systems of doctrine and church order are similar, woulj result not only in a great saving of missionary money, now practically wasted, but would promote the spirit of true brother- hood and hasten the coming of the kingdom throughout the world. I ASTLY, the missionary enter- '■^ prise of the twentieth centurx- will be characterized by a vast ex- odus ^f missionaries to the foreign fiela. I infer this from several considerations : I, The whole world is now prac- tically open to the Christian mis- sionary- : hence the demand for im- mense reinforcements is more urgent and imperative than ever before. 30 VMi VII Movement 2. For years the prayers of the Church have been going up that God would thrust forth labourers into his harvest. And our God still answers prayer. 3. A manifest answer to these prayers is seen in the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions. Of the five thousand, more or less, who have volunteered for service, not less than ten per cent, have already been sent forth by the Churches, and the number is increasing daily. 4. As the natural and necessary voung ccmplement of the students' up- People-* rising, we have the Young People's po™'*"*' Forward Movement for Missions. Less than five years ago the move- ment began in our own country and in our own Church. It had for its object the training of our young people to pray daily for mis- sions, to study the missionary question in all its aspects, to give systematically to the cause, and, last but not least, to give loyal sup- port to the missionary work of their own Church. Already it has spread to the United States and England. It has been adopted by the Methodist Episcopal Church and by the American Board, and each has appointed a Secretary for this especial work. Other Churches are preparing to follow, and soon the movement will be universal. 31 A Qrand Opportunity. Forward I Advance of the Whole Line. WITH these fact.s in view — with the whole world open, with prayer j^oiiii; up unceasingly for labourers, with volunteers coinin{» forward in thousands, with the )-oun^ people organizing everywhere for aggressive work — is not it a fore- gone conclusion that not only the coming century but the present generation will witness an exodus of missionaries such as the Church has not dreamed of in the past. A summons from the Captain of our Salvation is ringing in oud cars, but it is not to a mere dress rehcaisal of " Forward the Light Brigade." as though He would send a forlorn hope — a " noble six hun- dred " — to charge an army. There are times when such examples of heroism and devotion are needed ; tim.es when Gideon's three hundred must face the hosts of Midian; or when Leonidas with his three hun- dred must guard Thermopyl.e's pass ; or when some " dauntless three '" must " keep the bridge " against the serried ranks of sin. Eut to-day the signal is for an ad- vance of the whole line — a sum- mons to every man, woman and child who follows the banner of our conquering Kin^, to take their place ir the ranks and march right onward to the spiritual conquest of the world. The summons is un- mistakable. " To doubt would be disloyalty. To falter would be sin." It is in a forward movement that the path of safety lies. To tarry behind is to perish in the overthrow of Pharaoh's host when triumph- ant Israel shall sing, " The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."