^MANUAL OF SOUTHERN METHODISM INCLUDING CHURCH HISTORY, DOCTRINE POLITY, A^D MISSIONS n^ EDITED BY DR. H! M. HAMILL ADVANCED CIRCLE COURSE NASHVILLE, TENN. ; DALLAS, TEX. ; RICHMOND, VA. PUBLISHING HOUSE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH SMITH & LAMAR, AGENT? 1913 COPYRIGHTED BY SMITH & LAMAR, AQENTS, 1909. INTRODUCTION. THIS book is part of the "Advanced Circle Course" for the training of Sunday school workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. It is based largely upon the earlier book of the Circle Course entitled "Doctrines and Polity of the M. E. Church, South," as written by Drs. Tillett and Atkins for the Teacher-Training Department when organ- ized in 1901. In accordance with the interna- tional teacher-training standards adopted by our own and other denominations in 1908, the book is now enlarged and revised. In ad- dition to most of the matter contributed by Drs. Tillett and Atkins, sections upon Church History and Missions have been introduced, and the book in its present form consists of four instead of two sections, as follows: Church History, by Dr. H. M. Hamill; Our Methodist Doctrines, by Dr. W. F. Tillett; Our Methodist Polity, by Dr. (now Bishop) James Atkins ; Church Missions, by Dr. E. F. Cook. As a condensed handbook the little book, in addition to its use in teacher-training, de- serves a place in the home of every Southern Methodist preacher and layman. (3) CONTENTS. SECTION ONE. CHURCH HISTORY. PAGE. I. The Ancient Church 9 II. Protestantism 23 III. Methodism 37 IV. Southern Methodism . 49 SECTION TWO. DOCTRINE. V. Distinguishing Features 67 VI. The Holy Scriptures 76 VII. The Bible Doctrine of Man 87 VIII. The Doctrines Pertaining to Personal Salvation 97 IX. The Doctrine of the Church. . 110 SECTION THREE. POLITY. X. The General Rules 121 XI. The Conferences of Methodism 146 XII. The Itinerancy 155 XIII. Our Connectionalism 166 (5) MANUAL OF METHODISM. SECTION FOUR. MISSIONS. XIV The Bible a Missionary Book 179 XV' The Modern Missionary Awakening. .. 190 XVI World-Wide Missions A Brief Survey. 200 XVII Missions of the M. E. Church, South.. 214 XVIII Missions in the Sunday School 239 SECTION ONE. CHURCH HISTORY, AS RELATED TO THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. BY DR. H. M. HAMILL, Superintendent of Training Work. (7) INTERNATIONAL TEACHER-TRAINING STANDARDS. As ADOPTED IN 1908 BY THE AMERICAN CHURCHES. FIRST (OR ELEMENTARY) STANDARD COURSE. 1. Not less than fifty study periods. 2. Not less than one school year of forty weeks for completing the course. 3. A minimum of twenty study periods on the Bi- ble, and a minimum of seven study periods each on the School, the Teacher, and the Pupil. 4. Written examination and passing grade of not less than seventy per cent. 5. Award of Church Diploma and International Seal. ADVANCED STANDARD COURSE. 1. Not less than one hundred study periods and not less than two school years of study. 2. A minimum of forty study periods on the Bible, and of ten each on the School, the Teacher, the Pupil, Church History, and Missions. 3. Written examination on completion of each sub- ject or section, and passing grade of seventy per cent. 4. Award of Advanced Church Diploma and Inter- national Seal. (8) I. THE AXCIEXT CHURCH. B.C. 4-A.D. 1517. Under five divisions, in order, the story of the Ancient Church will be summarized : 1. Organization, B.C. 4-A.D. 100. From the birth of Christ to the death of John, the last of the apostles. The ancient world in Christ's time was centered about the "Great" or Mediterranean Sea, his native Palestine occupying the stra- tegic junction of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Through this small country poured much of the commerce of the ancient world, and into it came the leaders of many nations. At the time of our Lord's advent certain con- ditions met in singular conjunction and aided in the organization of his kingdom and Church. In all lands, as in Palestine, Home held the nations in subjection, and her gov- ernors, garrisons, post roads, and especially her laws, were everywhere in evidence. The Greek language, too, was universally the medium of educated intercourse, and the Greek "Septuagint" version of the Old Testa- (9) 10 CHUBCH HISTORY. inent and the Greek Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament were accessible even to the common people. In nearly all cities and towns the Jewish synagogue, with its rolls of Jewish Scriptures and its worship of the one true God, furnished a place for preach- ing and teaching. Add to this the fact that among all nations at this time, especially the Jews, in response doubtless to the Hebrew prophecies and the brooding Spirit of God, there was a profound expectation of the ad- vent of the Messiah. Christ's ministry, when he came, was to the perverted Jewish sense a mockery of their hope and ambition. Four brief years were devoted to healing diseases and working mira- cles, to teaching the multitudes, to clashings with Jewish hierarchy, to training the Twelve as his successors and as missionaries and evangelists among all nations; ending in his thirty-fourth year in the death of a malefactor upon the Koman cross, followed by his resurrection and ascension. Then came the descent of the promised Holy Spir- it upon the newly born "mother Church" at Jerusalem, again at Samaria, at Caesarea, and at Antioch; the admission of the Gentiles; the three missionary tours of Paul ; the writ- THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 1 ing of the New Testament by eight inspired men ; the martyrdom, according to tradition, of all the apostles save John ; the beginnings of dire persecution at home and in foreign countries, closing this first century of or- ganization with the banishment and death of John, last of the apostles and successor to Paul, about the year A.D. 100. 2. Extension, A.D. 100-313. From the death of John to the Decree of Toleration by Constantine, the Roman Emperor. After the Apostolic Age, which closed with John's death, came what are called the "Sub- Apostolic" and "Patristic," which include the first four centuries of Christianity. Jeru- salem had fallen, but the "Holy Land" con- tinued to be a center of Christian interest and influence. Antioch in Syria became the great missionary and Gentile city, where believers were first called "Christians." Ephesus was the seat of Christian influence in Asia Minor, Alexandria was the great Chris- tian city of Africa, and Rome a the im- perial city and prison home of Paul, held high eminence among all Churches. Other Christian centers of note were Philippi, Cor- inth, and Smyrna. Among the greater lead- ers of the extending Church during this period J2 CHURCH HISTORY. were Ignatius, martyr at Rome, Polycarp, martyr at Smyrna, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen, greatest of all patris- tic writers and apologists of the early Church. Leadership, in most cases, was the inevitable credential to martyrdom. Twelve imperial persecutions occurred during the first three centuries A.D., chief of which in extent and severity were those under the Emperors Nero, A.D. 64-68; Domitian, 95-96; Trajan, 104-117; Marcus Aurelius, 161-180; Decius, 250-253; and last and worst Diocletian, SOS- SIS. As in all ages and lands, the Church grew and strengthened most w r hen its foot- prints were marked with its holiest blood. It was during these centuries, beginning in the second, that the New Testament canon as it now stands was finally determined. For a time certain books, as 2 Peter, James, 2 and 3 John, Jude, were accounted as "disputan- ta," or doubtful. Translations into the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Ethiopic were made. Her- esies began to appear; and as the centuries passed and the Church became corrupted, their number increased greatly. The one overshadowing heresy of the earlier Chris- tian Church was known as "Gnosticism.'' John, before his death and in at least two of THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 13 his books, found it necessary to condemn it sharply, and after his death it spread widely and perilously throughout the Church as a most plausible and dangerous doctrine. It was a mixture of Oriental and Platonic phi- losophy with Judaism and some Christian elements, denying that Christ was truly di- vine, but an emanation only of deity. It taught that matter was evil and that sin was in matter, not in spirit, which led to asceti- cism or bodily self-punishment on the one part, and on the other to bodily indulgence of the grossest and vilest forms. 3. Controversy, A.D. 313-590. From the Edict of Constantine to the accession of Pope Gregory I., the first recognized u Pope." Persecution ended for a long season upon the coming to the throne of Constantine the Great as Koman Emperor, A.D. 306-337. At first ruler of the so-called Eastern Empire, he overthrew the Emperor Licinius in the Western Empire, and in A.D. 313 published throughout the world his famous edict of full toleration of Christianity. The motive to his great deed is accredited to his Christian mother, Helena. In A.D. 325 the Emperor convened the first general council of the Church at Nice, its chief purpose being to 14 CHUBCH HISTORY. settle the controversy over the Arian heresy, which widely prevailed and which taught that Christ was created and was not of the same substance with the Father. The coun- cil condemned the heresy and cast out its au- thor and chief propagators. In A.T.). 465 began the series of barbaric invasions of Rome and the Empire, led by Vandals and Moors. At this time the bishop of Kome for the first time began to assume the title of "Papa" or Pope, though until Gregory I. the title was vigorously resisted. To this period also belongs the founding of the earlier missions of the Church, notably in Abyssinia by ^Edesius, among the Goths by Ulfilas, in Ireland by St. Patrick, in Scotland by Columba, and in Britain by unknown mis- sionaries. Successive councils decreed the celibacy of the clergy, and the consequent viciousness of this class soon began to ap- pear. It was at this time, too, that the Church began the canonization and worship of its martyrs and saints, of the Virgin Mary, and of images. The Church for centuries was vexed with controversies upon all pos- sible ecclesiastical and Scriptural matters. Councils were convened to adjust them at Constantinople A.D. 381, at Ephesus 431, at THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 15 Chalcedon 451, and again at Constantinople 553 all for the purpose of silencing the warring factions and giving official condem- nation or commendation to the doctrines in question, most of which had to do with the nature of Jesus Christ. Among the great leaders in these famous and often bitter con- troversies were Origen of Alexandria, A.D. 185-254; Dionysius, of the same city and time; Arius, who died 336; Chrysostom, 347- 407 ; Pelagius, 370-440 ; and foremost of them all, Augustine, 354-430. 4. The Dark Ages, A.D. 590-1270. From the accession of Pope Gregory I. to the close of the Crusades. The Middle or "Dark Ages" as they are called, lie between the ruin of the Roman Empire and the revival of learning and re- ligion in Europe known commonly as "Prot- estantism." The Roman Empire, for centu- ries the noblest patron of law and learning and of civilization generally, began to break to pieces A.D. 476 under the fierce irruption of northern barbarians. As the power of the State decreased the power of the Church increased, though not in spiritual ways. Gregory I., the first to be formally acknowl- edged as universal bishop or "Pope," was a. J6 CHURCH HISTORY. fitting illustration of the growing rapacity and insolence and wanton abuse of power both spiritually and secularly on the part of the Komish prelates. As one writing of this age says: ''Faith became credulity; the spirit of reverence was changed to cringing servility; the light held out by the Church, though not extinguished, was largely ob- scured." Monasticism began to flourish. Those who ought to have been the preachers and teachers of the unsaved masses shut themselves within monasteries and convents in selfish and luxurious, often in vicious, in- dulgence. Begging monks were encouraged, and at one time there were twenty-three rec- ognized monastic orders, among whom were the Benedictine, the Carmelite, the Domin- ican, the Franciscan, and later the Jesuits. Beginning in asceticism and in study of the Scriptures, these orders commonly grew wealthy, corrupt, and insolent, and their spacious endowed monasteries were centers of profligacy and of persecution. Yet to them it is just to say that we owe not a lit- tle of the literature and scholarship that sur- vived the Dark Ages. Of all the centuries of this darkness the tenth was the worst, to which belonged Pope John XII., who was THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 17 guilty of almost every conceivable crime. After him a few years later came Pope Benedict IX., who "committed murder and adultery openly," and "robbed the pilgrims at the graves of the martyrs and turned Kome into a den of thieves." Mohammed and his successors, with sword and crescent, for nearly two centuries broke in upon the darkness and corruption of Europe. Mohammed was born A. I). 570, and at the age of forty assumed the role of prophet of God, greater than Christ. Fleeing from enemies to Medina A.D. 622, his brief and wonderful career began. Dur- ing the seventh century his armies swept over Western Asia and Europe like a flame. Mohammed died in A.D. 632, but his "ca- liphs" took possession of Persia and Asia Minor, attacking Constantinople; then con- quered North Africa, and crossing into Spain, founded the Moorish Kingdom, scaled the Pyrenees, threatened Gaul, and finally, at Tours, A.D. 732, were hopelessly shattered by the ' "Hammer of God," Charles Martel. Mohammedanism was built in a sense upon the Scriptures and recognized the one God and Jesus Christ, but maintained the "Koran" as its Bible to be God's latest reve- 2 18 CHURCH HISTOEY. lation and Mohammed his last and greatest prophet. After Mohammedanism, as the next great event of the Dark Ages, were the "Crusades," seven in number, into the East for the recov- ery of the Holy Land and Holy City, espe- cially of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christ was said to have been entombed. During the seventh century these had become the prey of the conquering Mohammedans. The Cru- sades were at first organized by Walter the Penniless and Peter the Hermit, who led the First Crusade, which later, under Godfrey de Bouillon, resulted in the recovery of Jeru- salem, A.D. 1099. Bernard of Clairvaux led the Second Crusade in A.D. 1147. In A.D. 1187, after Saladin, King of the Saracens, had retaken Jerusalem from the Crusaders, a Third Crusade was led by Kichard Coeur de Lion and others. There followed the Fourth in A.D. 1204, the Fifth in 1229, the Sixth in 1248, and finally the Seventh in 1270. In the main they failed of their pur- pose, yet they brought together into a bet- ter fellowship the nations of Europe, and gathered from the East the best of its learn- ing and spirit, and in general broke the long stagnation of the Dark Ages. THE ANCIENT CHURCH. J9 5. The Awakening, A.D. 1270-1517. From the Crusades to the German Reformation. The Crusades, despite the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and vast treasures of money, were a decided step toward religious progress and purity. Yet stronger than the Crusades as an instrument in arousing the Church was its dire corruption and the wickedness and cruelty of its leaders. In Italy, France, Germany, and especially in Spain, the Romish Church had set up the "Inquisition," the most brutal of all agen- cies erected in the holy name of Christ, and incomparably be3'ond the barbarities of pa- gan persecutors. It was at this juncture that the conscience of the Church was further aroused by Pope Leo X., who, through Tetzel and others, sought to raise money by sale of papal "indulgences" for all manner of sins. Another sign of awakening was the uprising here and there of communities and individ- uals in protest against papal degeneracy and aggressiveness. Among these communities were the "Albigenses" of France, in the thir- teenth century ; the Waldenses, who began at Lyons, 1179. Of individuals were John Wyclif of England, 1320-84, translator into English of the Scriptures, and William Tyn- 20 CHURCH HISTORY. dale a century later, with John Huss, 1369- 1415, and greatest and boldest, Savonarola of Italy, 1452-98 all of whom became mar- tyrs to Christian courage and loyalty. Along with these pioneers of religious reform was a noble line of intellectual reformers, like Abelard and Bernard, Aquinas and Duns Scotus, and Bacon, chiefly of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The three great universities of Bologna, Paris, and Oxford also aided greatly in relighting the fallen torches of learning and religion, and it was said of them that their "Greek learning had risen from the grave with the New Testa- ment in its hand." That the minds and hearts of the nations were being aroused was further shown in the discovery of a new con- tinent by Columbus, 1492, and by the inven- tions that Providence gave through chosen men to aid in reforms. One has truly said of certain great discoveries of this age of awakening, that "gunpowder made liberty possible, while the printing press made it a fact." THK ANCIENT CHURCH. 21 THE ANCIENT CHURCH. Summary of Chief Events. [After learning what these names and dates stand for, commit them thoroughly to memory.] 4 B.C. Birth of Christ. 27 A.D. Baptism of Christ. 30 A.D. Crucifixion ; Kesurrection. 37 A.D. Martyrdom of Stephen. 38 A.D. Conversion of Paul. 48-58 A.D. Paul's three Missionary Tours. 58-62 A.D. Paul prisoner. 66-68 A.D. Paul's Martyrdom at Home. 70 A.D. Destruction of Jerusalem. 100 A.D. John's death at Ephesus. 165-167 A.D. Martyrdom of Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and Polycarp. 313 A.D. Edict of Toleration. 410-465 A.D. Rome assailed by Goths. 530 A.D. Clerical celibacy commanded. 590 A.D. Gregory I. with title of "Pope." 570 A.D. Mohammed born. 732 A.D. Mohammedanism shattered. 766-814 A.D. Reign of Charlemagne. 871-901 A.D. Reign of Alfred the Great. 1073-85 A.D. Pope Gregory VII. 1096-1270 A.D. The Seven Crusades. 1129 A.D. Inquisition begun. 22 CHURCH HISTORY. 1320-84 A.D. Wyclif, the reformer. 1369-1415 A.D. John Huss, reformer. 1452-98 A.D. Savonarola, reformer. 1453 A.D. Constantinople taken. 1492 A.D. Discovery of America. tt PBOTESTANTISM. A.D. 1B17-1739. THE word "Protestantism" stands for that great providential movement that broke the evil domination of the Roman Catholic .Church, reformed its worst abuses, set in motion the influences that have largely stripped it of secular authority, curtailed the power of popes and bishops, and finally, and we trust forever, abolished such ec- clesiastical institutions as the Inquisition and "auto da feV' This much upon the neg- ative side. As a positive force Protestant- ism restored religious liberty and freedom of conscience to worship God after one's own convictions and to be protected therein by the State. Largely too it has purified the Church by separating it from all unholy al- liances with the State, and by giving the Bible to the people in their own language. It has restored to scriptural orthodoxy and purity certain great doctrines of the Apos- tolic Church, as that of the Holy Trinity, the divinity of Jesus Christ, the inspiration of the Bible, the right of the individual in mat- (23) 24 CHURCH HISTOKY. ters of faith. If not in mere increase of num- bers, } r et in the uplifting of the race and amelioration of its suffering, in the en- lightenment of the ignorant and the main- tenance of pure morals, in the extension of righteousness both in the nation and the in- dividual, in great intellectual as well as spiritual quickenings throughout the world, Protestantism, though only four centuries old, has gone incomparably beyond the best that the Catholic Church has achieved in fif- teen centuries, and this without pandering to the vices and ambitions of worldly leaders or invoking the authority of secular kings and princes. Protestantism formally begins with the life and ministry of Martin Luther. For con- venience of study it will be presented in five periods : 1. The German Reformation, A.D. 1483- 1546- From the birth to the death of Lu- ther. While other factors already named in the preceding chapter entered into the German Keformation, it was under God the master- ful monk, Luther, who largely brought the Reformation to success. All agencies with- out him would probably have come to PROTESTANTISM. 25 naught; with him they became mighty weapons offensive and defensive. Luther was born at Eisleben A.D. 1483, and died 1546. He came from a humble home, and was destined by his parents for another vo- cation than the priesthood. , Yet after his college life had ended he was so impressed by the sudden death of a friend that he en- tered a monastery, was ordained priest in 1507, and assigned to a professorship in the University of Wittenberg. In 1517 he issued his famous Ninety-Five Theses or proposi- tions against the Catholic doctrine of for- giveness of sin and its sale of indulgences through Tetzel and others. He was excom- municated by Pope Leo X. in 1520, and was summoned before the Diet of Worms in 1521 for trial, but refused to recede or recant. He published to Germany three strong ad- dresses entitled "An Address to the German Nobility," the "Babylonian Captivity of the Church," and "Christian Freedom," urging in these an independence of papal rule, de- nying all sacraments save baptism and the Lord's Supper, and demanding spiritual lib- erty for all persons. He was greatly aided by the learning of Melanchthon, by the friend- ship and help of Frederick of Saxony, by 2(> CHUBCH HISTORY. the Swiss Keformer Zwingli (1484-1530), by John Calvin, the Genevan Reformer ( 1509- 64), and by the famous Erasmus. The final seal of success was put upon the efforts of Luther and these helpers by the "Peace of Augsburg" in 1555, which allowed thence- forth a conditional choice between Roman- ism and Protestantism and equal protection to both. The Reformation passed quickly from Ger- many into Denmark under Christian III. ; thence into Norway and Sweden, and to a limited extent into France under Francis I. The city of Geneva in Switzerland be- came a new center of Protestantism under John Calvin, who was born in France, was famous as a student at the University of Orleans, took part in the opposition to the papacy, wrote with great force his "Insti- tutes of the Christian Religion," became aft- er Luther the head of the Reformation, and was author and apologist of the widespread and long-dominant system of theology known as "Calvinism." 2. The English Reformation, A.D. 1546- 1660. From the death of Luther to the death of Cromwell and end of the Common- wealth in England. PROTESTANTISM. 27 The so-called English Keforraation was simply an offshoot from that of Germany. Protestantism passed, somewhat in devious ways, into the countries of Europe, and by indirection soon reached England and Scot- land. Henry VIII. of England, crafty, lecherous, and treacherous, at first sought to engage Luther in controversy, for which he was dubbed by the pope "defender of the faith." But partly because of a growing in- dependency of England against the Conti- nent, and particularly because of his rup- ture with the pope over his refusal to divorce Henry's wife, Catherine of Aragon, the King in 1532 issued his declaration of independ- ence of papal authority, and his Parliament in 1534 passed in confirmation the "Act of Supremacy," which declared the king and not the pope to be the supreme head of the English Church. King Edward VI. (1547- 53), successor to Henry, was an out-and-out Protestant, and had as his counselors such wise, heroic advisers as Kidley, Latimer, and Hooper. The Book of Common Prayer was put forth in the English language. After Edward's early death came the blotch on the page of England's history, the reign of "Bloody Mary" (1553-55), who restored 28 CHURCH HISTORY. Catholicism, burned at the stake Ridley, Lat- imer, Hooper, and Cranmer, and very many others. Elizabeth, the "Good Queen Bess," succeeded Mary, and restored Protestantism during her reign (1558-1603), and main- tained England in the forefront of the Refor- mation for more than forty years. The "Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion" of the English Church, from which our Methodist Articles are abridged, were put in form. The terms "Independent," "Puritan," and "Nonconformist" were applied to the dis- senters. Some of the Independents were driven to Holland, and from thence came later to America. King James, whose reign (1603-25) followed Elizabeth's, played fast and loose with all parties, but took time to secure to the English-speaking race the first great and enduring English version of the Scriptures, the Bible most commonly in use in our time and known as the "King James Version." Cromwell's strong leadership (1649-60) made the English "Common- wealth" the chief supporter of Protestantism. In opposition to the widespread and ag- gressive system of theology proclaimed by John Calvin there was raised up providen- tially one who gave to the world a far gentler PROTESTANTISM. 29 system, known after his name as "Arminian- ism," constituting a body of doctrine that lies at the foundation of Methodism, and is fast supplanting the harsher features of Calvin- ism. James Arminius (1560-1609) was pastor in Amsterdam, then professor at Leyden, and leader of the "Kemonstrants." The "Kemon- strance" exactly opposed, point by point, the "five points" of Calvin, and maintained: (1) Conditional election; (2) unlimited atone- ment; (3) partial depravity ; (4) resistible grace; (5) possible lapse from grace. 3. The Counter Reformation, A.D. 15^0- 1648. From the organization of the Jesuits to the Peace of Westphalia. The Catholic Church, alarmed by the swift spread of Protestantism and the defec- tion of so many of its followers, set up a counter-reformation that did much to arrest the progress of Protestantism in all coun- tries. The method was twofold : to check its growth by any means, fair or foul, whatever; and to institute missionary enterprises for the occupancy of such countries as were yet unreached by Protestantism. The Council of Trent, which met in 1545 and continued several years in session, was a vigorous effort to drive Protestantism from within the Cath- 30 CHURCH HISTORY. olic Church. That Council reenacted many of the repulsive features of the Romish Church, and rekindled the bigotry and the hatred of the Church for everything that made for the freedom of the individual con- science. At this time too arose the Order of the Jesuits, 1540, with Ignatius Loyola as its famous or infamous head, the chief work- ing maxim of the Order being expressed in the words, "The end justifies the means," which meant that any command of the deca- logue or any law of the State might be bro- ken if only it be done to advance the Cath- olic Church and the interests of the Order. Not all of the Order were evil-minded men. Francis Xavier, for instance, who gave his life to missionary labor in India, China, and Japan, and some of the nobler Jesuits who came to North America and sought to civi- lize and evangelize the Indians and hardly less savage white settlers, deserve lasting honor and gratitude. Along with Jesuitism and as a formidable agent of the counter-reformation was the re- organization of the "Inquisition," of whose earlier cruelties mention has been made. On St. Bartholomew's Day, August 24, 1572, in France, a hundred thousand Huguenots, PROTESTANTISM. 31 men, women, and children, were slain in the darkness of the night. Two years later, when Henry IV. came to the throne, by the Edict of Nantes religious liberty and protection was thenceforth promised to French Protestants. Finally, after the "Thirty Years' War" (1618- 48), which had as its chief issue the cause of Protestantism, came to an end in the "Treaty of Westphalia," it brought equal rights and liberties to Protestants and Cath- olics. 4. The Wesleyan Movement, A.D. 16^8- 1739. From the Treaty of Westphalia to the organization of the English Methodist Church. One of the darkest pages of modern his- tory is that which pictures England, France, Germany, and even America toward the close of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth centuries, at the time that Wesley and his coadjutors were unwittingly mak- ing ready for the greatest revival of religion in the history of Protestantism. Spiritual earnestness seemed to have gone from the churches; morals were at the lowest ebb; not one in five hundred of the common people of England could write his name: drunkenness, gambling, and licentiousness were the trinity of national and popular 32 CHUBCH HISTORY. vices, even among men of the cloth. Christ's name was rarely heard except in blas- phemy, and it was deemed the mark of an educated class that it derided religion and made mock of the Bible. Bishop Kyle said of the age: "There was darkness in high places and darkness in low places; darkness in the court, the camp, the parliament, the bar; darkness in country and darkness in town ; darkness among the rich and dark- ness among the poor a gross, thick, reli- gious and moral darkness; a darkness that might be felt." Pressense', writing especially of France, his own country, said: "Nothing is so sad as the religious history of this coun- try." "In England and Germany a parching wind blows over hearts and minds." Presi- dent Dwight, of Yale, writing of America, said: "From France, Germany, and Great Britain the dregs of infidelity were vomited upon us." At such a time as this the hand of Divine Providence was making ready through the Wesleyan reformation for a mighty religious awakening, an age of spiritual as well as intellectual power and progress not equaled in the history of the Church. Out of the depths had come up before God the cry of p PROTESTANTISM. 33 the ignorant, the hunger of the lost for some- thing better than the husks of infidelity and the poison of sin, and God answered by giv- ing the world the ministry of a handful of chosen men. "There was a man sent from God whose name was John" Wesley! In 1730 his first "Methodist Society" was organ- ized in London, and this formal beginning of the "Wesleyan Movement" was made, further details of which will be given in succeeding chapters. 5. American Protestantism, A.D. 1607 to the present time. Protestantism found a congenial home and larger opportunity for growth in Amer- ica, which had from the beginning encour- aged the coming of the oppressed, whether politically or religiously, from all lands. In no nation have Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Gentile dwelt more at peace or been freer from persecution for the sake of conscience. The first distinctly Protestant Church to colonize in America was the English Epis- copal or Church of England. The Cavaliers who came to Virginia were stanchly Epis- copalian, and from 1607 to the present time that Church has maintained its stronghold in the "Old Dominion," as an illustration of 3 34 CHURCH HISTOBY. the permanency of a church settlement in contrast with a merely social or political settlement. Its first American General Con- vention was organized in 1785. The Puri- tans and Pilgrims (or, as now styled, the Congregationalists), first came to Plymouth Rock on the coast of Massachusetts, and lat er spread throughout New England, where their descendants still maintain a domina- ting position and influence. The Reformed Dutch Church, now called "The Reformed," came to Manhattan Island, the site of New York City, in 1623. The Baptists, under the leadership of Roger Williams, settled in Rhode Island, where they continue to occu- py the foremost place among the Churches. The Lutherans began in New York in 1669. The Presbyterians immigrated to America in large numbers during 1660-88, and in suc- cessive later migrations from the Old World. The first Presbyterian General Assembly was held in 1789. The Methodists came from Great Britain to New York and Maryland and began organizing churches in the year 1766. The first Methodist Conference was held in Philadelphia in 1773; and the Meth- odist Church of America was formally organ- ized in 1784. The first formal Catholic im- PROTESTANTISM. 35 migration to America was in 1632, under Lord Baltimore, to Maryland; though at oth- er points in the South, notably Santa F, St. Augustine, and New Orleans, and along the Mississippi Valley, earlier Catholic settle- ments had been begun, some of which soon disappeared. SUMMARY OF PROTESTANTISM. [After learning the facts, memorize thoroughly the dates.] A.D. 1483 Birth of Martin Luther. 1509 Birth of John Calvin. 1517 Luther's Theses against the Pope. 1520 Luther excommunicated. 1534 Act of Separation. 1540 Founding of Order of Jesuits. 1545 Council of Trent. 1553-58 Bloody Mary's reign. 1571 The Thirty-Nine Articles of Keligion. 1572 Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Edict of Nantes. English Episcopal Colony in America. King James Version of Scriptures. Coming of Puritans to Massachusetts. Dutch Reformed settle New York. 36 CHURCH HISTORY. 1632 Catholics come to Maryland. 1639 Baptists colonize Khode Island. 1648 The Peace of Westphalia. 1660 Presbyterians come to America. 1669 Lutherans settle in New York. 1739 First Methodist Society organized. III. METHODISM. A.D. 1739-1844. 1. The Wesley Family, A.D. 1690-1791. From the birth of the father to the death of John Wesley. The ancestry of the Wesley family was dis- tinguished in English history for five hun- dred years. The name can be traced to Wil- liam, first Baron of Wellesley, in 1343 A.D. From one branch came Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. The line is noted for the number of its distinguished preachers and scholars. The grandfather and great- grandfather upon the paternal side, and the grandfather on the mother's side were sturdy Nonconformist preachers, who opposed the doctrines and practices of . the English Church. The Wesley family, from which sprang, in the eighteenth century, our Methodism, had tkeir home in the village rectory of Epworth, Lincoln County, on the eastern coast of En- gland. The family numbered twenty-one the father and mother, Samuel and Susanna (37) 38 CHURCH HISTORY. Wesley, and nineteen children, nine of whom died in infancy. Three sons and seven daughters grew to manhood and womanhood, all of whom, except the eldest, were born at Epworth. The three sons were Samuel, John, and Charles. Samuel, the eldest child, was born in London in 1690, and came to distinc- tion as a man of learning, but was overshad- owed by his younger brothers. The seven daughters who grew to womanhood, in order of birth, were: Emilia, Susanna, Mary, Me- hetabel, Anne, Martha, Kezia. All except Kezia, who died in early womanhood, mar- ried ; and all of them inherited the talents of their parents. Eev. Samuel Wesley, A.M., father, was an English Episcopal clergyman. He was born in 1662, and died in 1735 at Epworth, which he had served as rector for thirty-nine years. He began his ministry in London in 1668, and married Susanna Annesley in that city in 1689. He was a prolific author and poet, especially a writer of hymns. He was the steadfast counselor and helper of his sons, John and Charles, in their efforts at laying the foundation of Methodism. The spirit of the reformer was upon him throughout his laborious and pious life. His last word to METHODISM. 39 Charles, on his deathbed, was: "Be steady. The Christian faith will surely revive in this kingdom." Mrs. Susanna Wesley, wife of Samuel and mother of John and Charles, is one of the noblest figures in church history. She was born in London in 1G69, and was the twenty- fifth child of Kev. Samuel Annesley, D.D., a distinguished Puritan divine, who was known as the "St. Paul of the Nonconformists." Mrs. Wesley's father was nephew to the Earl of Anglesea, and her maternal grandfather, John White, was a leading member of Parlia- ment. She was devoted to her family as few women have been, conducting a daily school for her children with such success that sev- eral of them became distinguished scholars. She was accomplished beyond most women. Dr. Adam Clarke said of her : "Such a woman, taking her for all in all, I have not heard of, I have not read of, nor with her equal have I been acquainted." Kev. John Wesley, A.M., thirteenth child of the Wesley family, the illustrious founder of Methodism, was born in the Epworth Rectory in 1703; and died in the parsonage adjoining the City Road Chapel in London in 1791, in the eighty - eighth year of his 40 CHURCH HISTORY. life. He was elected Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, at twenty-three, by rea- son of his brilliant record in the university; was ordained an Episcopal clergyman by Bishop Potter at the age of twenty -two; was three years a missionary to Georgia, chiefly at Savannah, under Governor Oglethorpe; and at the age of thirty-five entered fully upon his long and heroic itinerant ministry in Great Britain as an organizer and preach- er of Methodism. He was a minister sixty- five years. He reformed Great Britain, or- ganized Methodism, formulated its constitu- tion, polity, and doctrines, instituted its Con- ferences, and left many thousands of Meth- odists in his Churches. He wrote (or com- piled) for his Methodist people more than two hundred books and pamphlets. As re- former and apostle, he stands in history sec- ond only to St. Paul, whether judged by the extent of his labors or the far-reaching influ- ences of his ministry. His body rests in the little graveyard of City Road Chapel, Lon- don, surrounded by the tombs of Clarke, Watson, Benson, Bunting, and others of his helpers. In Westminster Abbey is a tablet to his memory, on which are inscribed his prophetic words : "The world is my parish." METHODISM. 4l Kev. Charles Wesley, A.M., ranks closely with his brother John in the founding of Methodism. The executive ability of the lat- ter was reenforced by the sacred music which Charles gave to the worship of early Meth- odism. From the beginning of Metho- dism to his death he assisted his brother in preaching and in organizing Methodism. Charles Wesley was said by Southey to have written the "finest lyric in the English lan- guage." He was the writer of many hymns, which are to be found in the hymnals of the churches. First of all is his hymn, "Jesus, Lover of my soul." 2. Organization of Methodism, A.D. 1739- 1791. From the first "Society" in London to John Wesley's death. John Wesley wrote: "The first rise of Methodism was in November, 1729, when four of us" [the Holy Club, increasing later to thirteen members] "met together at Ox- ford; the second was at Savannah, Ga., in April, 1736, when twenty or thirty persons met at my house; the last was in London, May, 1739, when forty or fifty of us met to- gether every Wednesday evening." W T hile these meetings led to Methodism, the real origin was Wesley's formation of the 42 CHURCH HISTORY. "United Society" in London in 1730. The first Methodist church building was erected by Wesley in Bristol, England, in 1739. The second church building was reared upon the site of the London "Foundry," from which it took its name, in 1740. Connected with it were rooms for Wesley's preachers, an or- phans' home, a "book room," a free dispen- sary, etc. The most famous of English Meth- odist churches, the "City Road Chapel," Lon- don, was built by Wesley in 1778. The first Methodist week-day school was established by Wesley at Kingswood, En- gland, for the children of the colliers, prob- ably as early as 1739. Wesley himself rode the first regular Methodist circuit in 1742, and then organized circuits for his preachers throughout Great Britain. The first class meeting was held at Bristol, England, in 1742, and grew out of a suggestion to use the class as a means of paying a church debt. The first copy of our "General Rules" was published over the names of John and Charles Wesley in 1743. The first Annual Conference was convened by Wesley at Lon- don in 1744, and included six clergymen and four lay preachers. The first "book room," or publishing house, was established by Wes- METHODISM. 43 ley in the Foundry Church building, Lon- don, in 1748. The first "missionary" collec- tion was raised at Newcastle, England, in 1767, for the American Indians. The first Methodist college was built by the Countess of Huntingdon in 1768, at Trevecca, Wales, for young men who, as Methodists, were be- ing persecuted at Oxford University. Wesley instituted and edited the first Methodist periodical, the Arminian Magazine, a month- ly, at London, in 1778. The first Bible Soci- ety known, the "Naval and Military Bible Society," was organized by Wesley in Lon- don in 1779, twenty-five years before the British and Foreign Bible Society began. The first Methodist Sunday school was formed at Bolton, England, in 1785. It was the first in the world to use unpaid teachers. 3. Methodism in America, A.D. 1735-1784- From the first Methodist preaching to the or- ganization of American Methodism. The Wesley/5 and Whitefield, along the At- lantic seaboard (1735-37 and later) were the first founders of American Methodism. In 1760 came Philip Embury and Eobert Straw- bridge, Irish local preachers; Embury or- ganizing Methodism in New York City in 1766, Strawbridge probably earlier in Mary- 44 CHUfiCH HISTORT. land. Capt. Thomas Webb, a British officer, organized Philadelphia Methodism in 1767. Robert Williams, an English local preacher, was the Virginia pioneer, in 1768. Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor were sent from England in 1769 as the first itinerants. William Watters, of Maryland, became the first native itinerant in 1773. Thomas Ran- kin, sent over by Wesley, held the first An- nual Conference in Philadelphia in 1773. Jesse Lee, of Virginia, planted Methodism in New England in 1789; Thomas Ware, of New Jersey, in Tennessee and North Caro- lina about the same time; William Losee, of New York, in Upper Canada in 1791; To- bias Gibson, of South Carolina, in the South- west Territory, around Natchez, in 1799; Jesse Walker, of Tennessee, beginning in 1805, organized Methodism in St. Louis and later in Chicago. Among the many historic Methodist churches of America, the following exhibit the progress of the Church: "Sam's Creek," Maryland, erected about 1766, of which Bishop Asbury wrote, "Here Mr. Straw- bridge formed the first society in Maryland and America, " John Street Church, New York City, built in 1768, oldest in the North ; METHODISM. 45 "St. George's," the historic center of Phila- delphia Methodism, built in 1769; "Lovely Lane Chapel," Baltimore, 1774, in which, in 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized; "Barrett's Chapel," Delaware, 1780, in which Coke and Asbury planned the organization of American Methodism; the church near Lexington, Ky., 1787, in which Asbury held the first Conference west of the Alleghanies; the "Blue Meetinghouse," Charleston, S. C., 1787, the first Methodist Church in that city of Wesleyan ministry; the Portsmouth Church (near Portsmouth, Ohio), 1801, the oldest in the Northwest Ter- ritory; the "Spring Hill Church," near Natchez, Miss., 1807, oldest in the South- west; the "McKendree Church," near Jack- son, Mo., 1807, the first west of the Missis- sippi, in which four pioneer Conferences were held; the "Old Tobacco House," of Washington, D. C., which served as a meet- inghouse for Washington Methodism from 1807 to 1811. President Jefferson attended services in this building. 4. The American Organization, A.D. 1784- 1844- From the organization at Baltimore to the division at New York. Methodism ia America was formally or- 46 CHURCH HISTORY. ganized as "the Methodist Episcopal Church" in December, 1784, at Lovely Lane Chapel, Baltimore, by the "Christmas Conference" convened by Coke and Asbury, with sixty out of eighty-three traveling preachers in attendance. Coke was appointed bishop by Wesley, and Asbury was elected bishop by this Conference. The first regular General Conference after this organization was held at Baltimore in 1792, and the third, also at Baltimore, in 1796, at which six Annual Con- ferences were erected, as follows: the "New England," the "Philadelphia," the "Balti- more," the "Virginia," the "South Carolina," and the "Western." Not until 1808 was a native bishop, William McKendree, of Vir- ginia, elected. Among the institutions of Methodism established during this period were the "Book Concern," in 1789, under John Dickins, "book steward;" the Metho- dist Magazine, in 1797; the "Missionary So- ciety," organized in 1819, Bishop McKendree the first president; the "Sunday School So- ciety," in 1827, the first of its kind in Amer- ica. In 1828 the Methodists of Canada, upon their request, were set apart as an independ- ent body. In 1844, upon the issue of slavery, the Church by vote of the General Conference METHODISM. 47 was divided, and the Methodists of the South organized, in 1845, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. SUMMARY OF AMERICAN METHODISM. A.D. 1703 John Wesley born. 1728 John Wesley ordained. 1729 "Holy Club," called "Methodists." 1735-37 Wesley in Savannah. 1739 First Methodist Society organized. First Methodist "Chapel" at Bristol. First Methodist circuit organized. Class Meetings begun. General Kules published. First Methodist Conference. First American Methodist Society. Philip Embury preaches in New York. John Street Church, first building. Kobert Williams in Virginia. Boardman and Pilmoor. First American Conference. American Methodism organized. Asbury organizes first Sunday school. Missions to slaves. Jesse Lee in New England. First General Conference, Baltimore. 48 CHUBCII HISTORY. 1808 McKendree, first native bishop. 1820 Formation of Missionary Society. 1828 Canadian Methodism organized. 1844 General Conference divides Church. IV. SOUTHERN METHODISM. A.D. 1&&-1909. 1. Southern Methodist Pioneers, A.D. 1760- 1850. From Strawbridge to Jesse Boring. Every Methodist should hold in reverence the heroic men who took their lives in their hands and planted our Southern Methodism. It is a fact worthy of note that much of American Methodism, in all its sections, was founded by men from the South. After Strawbridge, Williams, Watters, Owen, and the earlier company of pioneers, came the following native leaders : Along the Atlantic Seaboard, beginning about 1764, Francis Poythress and Philip Bruce, in Virginia; Thomas Humphries and Isaac Smith, in the Carolinas; Hope Hull and Eichard Ivey, in Georgia. In the Holston Country were John Tun- nell and Thomas Ware. In the Cumberland Country, from the Ohio Kiver to the Gulf, the chief pioneers were: Benjamin Ogden, Peter Massie, Wil- liam Burke, and John Page. In the lower Mississippi Valley were To- 4 (49) 50 CHURCH HISTORY. bias Gibson, Eichmond Nolly, and William Winans; in the upper "Valley" were Jesse Walker, James Gwin, and John Travis. Among the Methodist preachers who first carried the gospel to the Southern tribes of Indians were William Capers, Isaac Smith, and Alexander Talley. As early as 1829 the South Carolina Con- ference, followed by other Conferences, be- gan missions among the negro slaves; and among the foremost founders of negro mis- sions were James O. Andrew and William Capers. On the latter's tomb are the words : "Founder of Missions to Slaves." In the then Far West, which stretched from Texas to the Pacific, were Martin Ruter and Robert Alexander in Texas, and on the Pacific Coast, Jesse Boring. Four "mother" Conferences originally in- cluded the entire South the "Baltimore," the "Virginia," the "South Carolina," and the "Western," which last extended from the Lakes to the Gulf, west of the Alleghanies. In 1796 the General Conference organized definitely these Conferences and fixed their bounds. All later Southern Conferences, as we now have them, have grown from these four "mother" Conferences. SOUTHERN METHODISM. 5J Of the historic churches of Southern Meth- odism "Lovely Lane Chapel," Baltimore, Md., stands first as the place where Amer- ican Methodism was formally organized. "Ellis's Preaching House," in Sussex Coun- ty, Va., is noted as the site of three suc- cessive pioneer Annual Conferences, in 1782, 1783, and 1784. "Cumberland Street Church," Charleston, S. C., was the first Methodist Church to erect "galleries for the slaves." "Masterson's," near Lexington, Ky., was the first Methodist church west of the Alleghanies. The "Stone Church," Nash- ville, Tenn., was built near the "Square," as the oldest, and here, on October 19, 1800, Asbury, Whatcoat, and McKendree preached all on one day. "Midway," in Amite County, Miss., was the mother of many famous West- ern standard bearers. "Knobb Chapel," New Orleans, on Bienville Street, was served by William Winans, first New Orleans pastor. The first church in Texas was built at San Augustine under Ruter. "Union Street Church," in Petersburg, Va., now occupied by the Colored Methodist Episcopal people, to whom it was given, is the famous church in which our first General Conference met in 1846. Our oldest and most noted pioneer 52 CHUBCH HISTORY. Pacific church was built at San Jose", Cal. The "Wesley Monumental," in Savannah, Ga., the gift of all Methodism, fittingly com- memorates the origin and the founder of American Methodism. 2. Southern Methodist Growth, A.D. 1846- 1909. From the first General Conference to the present time. Southern Methodism was instituted by its first General Conference at Petersburg, Va., May, 1846, with sixteen Conferences, 455,217 members, and two bishops. This Conference began the work of foreign missions, extended later as follows: China, 1846; Mexico, 1871; Brazil, 1873; Japan, 1886; Korea, 1896; Cuba, 1898. In 1854 the United States Su- preme Court decreed a division of Church property between the Methodist Episcopal Church and Southern Methodisrn. In 1870 lay delegates were admitted to General and Annual Conferences; and the Colored M. E. Church, under our sanction, and with two colored bishops, was organized from our ne- gro members. From the sixteen Annual Con- ferences of 1846, forty-five, including eight Mission Conferences, have grown. Thirty bishops have been elected, ten of whom at this date (1909) are living. SOUTHERN METHODISM. 53 Taking the statistics of 1907 as a guide, the total number of traveling, or "itinerant," preachers of our Southern Methodism is 7,- 188, which includes bishops, presiding elders, connectional officers, and missionaries in foreign fields. The number of pastoral charges that is, stations or circuits is 5,642. As there are 1,725,4(57 members in our Church, this would give an average of 240 members to the preacher. Our Church has 10 living bishops, nearly 300 presiding elders, about 30 connectional or general officers (including editors in charge of Con- ference papers), 281 foreign missionary workers, 872 supernumerary and superan- nuated preachers (chiefly the latter). The number of local preachers is 4,703. This gives a grand total of 11,891 Southern Meth- odist preachers. 3. Our Bishops, A.D. 1844-1909. From the division to 1909. Including Soule and Andrew, who w r ere received as its first bishops by the first Gen- eral Conference of 1846, thirty bishops have served our Southern Methodism to date of 1909. Of these, twenty have died. Bascom was elected in May and died, the September following, holding the office about three 54 CHURCH HISTORY. months. Parker and Haygood served only three and six years respectively. Tigert was ordained in May and died in November. Haygood was one of the very few in Church history to decline election to the high office, yet he was again elected at an ensuing Con- ference. Galloway was thirty-seven when elected; Early was sixty-eight, the maximum in age at election. Counting our line of bishops from Coke (1784) to Janes (1844), the last bishop elected by the undivided Church, and then from Soule, the first bishop of the M. E. Church, South, to Atkins, elected in 1906, the total in whose bishopric we have direct part is forty-two. Of these, the average age at election was forty-eight years, and their average years in office about twenty-one. Bishops of Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Joshua Soule, ordained 1824; died March 6, 1867. James Osgood Andrew, ordained 1832; died March 2, 1871. William Capers, ordained 1846; died Jan- uary 29, 1855. SOUTHEKN METHODISM. 55 Robert Paine, ordained 1846; died Octo- ber 19, 1882. Henry Biddleman Bascom, ordained 1850 ; died September 8, 1850. George Foster Pierce, ordained 1854; died September 3, 1884. John Early, ordained 1854; died Novem- ber 5, 1873. Hubbard Hinde Kavanaugh, ordained 1854 ; died March 19, 1884. William May Wightman, ordained 1866; died February 3, 1882. Enoch Mather Marvin, ordained 186G ; died November 26, 1877. David Seth Doggett, ordained 1866; died October 27, 1880. Holland Nimmons McTyeire, ordained 1866; died February 15, 1889. John Christian Keener, ordained 1870 ; died January 19, 1906. Alpheus Waters Wilson, ordained 1882. Linus Parker, ordained 1882; died March 6, 1885. John Cowper Granbery, ordained 1882; died April 1, 1907. Robert Kennon Hargrove, ordained 1882; died August 3, 1906. 56 CHURCH HISTORY. William Wallace Duncan, ordained 1886; died March .2, 1908. Charles Betts Galloway, ordained 1886. Eugene Russell Hendrix, ordained 1886. Joseph Staunton Key, ordained 1886. Atticus Greene Haygood, ordained 1890; died January 19, 1896. Oscar Penn Fitzgerald, ordained 1890. Warren Akin Candler, ordained 1898. Henry Clay Morrison, ordained 1898. E. Embree Hoss, ordained 1902. A. Coke Smith, ordained 1902; died De- cember 27, 1906. John J. Tigert, ordained 1906; died No- vember 21, 1906. Seth Ward, ordained 1906. James Atkins, ordained 1906. 4. Southern Methodist Boards, A.D. 1840- 1909. The Board of Missions is the Parent Board, and was organized in 1846, with of- fice in the Publishing House, Nashville, Tenn. Its executive officers are a Secretary-in-Chief and several Assistant Secretaries, together with office Secretary and Treasurer. It oper- ates mission stations in China, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, Cuba, and has charge of work in the Mission Conferences in the United States. It supports twenty foreign schools SOUTHERN METHODISM. 57 and five hospitals and dispensaries. Its or- gan is Go Forward. The Sunday School Board was organized as now in 1870. It is managed by a General Sunday School Board, of which the Sunday School Editor is ex officio Chairman, and aid- ed by Annual Conference Boards. Its officers are the General Sunday School Board, the Sunday School Editor and Assistant Editor, and the Superintendent of Training Work. It supervises and directs all home and for- eign Sunday school work, and prepares and issues all Sunday school literature, and also directs the teacher-training work of the Church. The number of Sunday schools re- ported in 1907 was 14,955; of officers and teachers, 113,654; of Sunday school pupils, 1,127,359. The Woman's Board of Foreign Missions was organized in 1878. Its executive officers are the Corresponding Secretary and Assist- ant Secretaries, the Treasurer, and the Ke- cording Secretary. Its papers are the Wom- an's Missionary Advocate and the Little Worker. This Board operates in the same countries with the Parent Board. It con- ducts or aids seventy-five schools; also two hospitals. 58 CHUBCH HISTORY. The Board of Church Extension, organized in 1882, looks after the purchase of lots and buildings for Church or parsonage uses. Its office is in Louisville, Ky., and the work is under a Corresponding Secretary. Since or- ganized it has aided about 5,000 churches with loans. The Woman's Board of Home Missions was organized in 1886, and helps to build parson- ages, maintains mission stations among our foreign population in the United States, and conducts city and rescue missions and schools. Its executive officers are a General Secretary, Associate Secretary, Kecording Secretary, and Treasurer. Its official paper is Our Homes. It maintains 14 schools and 24 city mission centers. The Epivorth League Board, organized in 1890, is directed by the Corresponding Sec- retary and Assistant Secretary, and has as its official organ the Epworth Era. It su- pervises and assists the organized League work of the Church, and provides and directs "Culture Courses" biblical, literary, and historical for the Epworth Leagues. In 1907 there were in operation 3,663 Epworth Leagues and 127,924 members. The Board of Education, organized in 1894, SOUTHERN METHODISM. 59 supervises our system of church schools. Its officers are a General Board, a Correspond- ing Secretary and Assistant Secretary, and a "Commission of Ten" to unify and fix stand- ards. The system of schools at present in- cludes: One central university, 15 colleges, 47 unclassified institutions, 52 academies, 12 schools not meeting requirements for acad- emies, 2 special institutions, 5 schools for ne- groes, and 50 institutions in foreign fields under control of Mission Boards. The Board also has in charge Paine Institute and Lane College for negroes. The Advocate Family is an important aux- iliary to the Church, both spiritually and educationally. It has 10 papers serving our Southern Methodism, chief of which is the Christian Advocate, the connectional organ, the editor of which is elected by the General Conference. The editors of other Advocates are chosen by the patronizing Conferences. The other members of the Advocate family are: The Alabama Advocate, the Arkansas Methodist, the Central Methodist, the South- ern Methodist, the Baltimore, New Orleans, North Carolina, Raleigh, Southern, St. Louis, Texas, Weslej/an, West Virginia, Western, and Pacific Advocates. 60 CHURCH HISTORY. The Methodist Review is edited by the Book Editor and assistant, who also edit the General Minutes, the Book of Discipline, the Church Hymnal, the Course of Study, and the Church Catechisms. The Publishing House, founded in 1854, is located at Nashville, Tenn., with branch houses at Dallas, Tex., and Shanghai, China. Its directing Agents, two in number, are elected quadrennially by the General Confer- ence. 5. World-Wide Methodism. Of the twen- ty-eight bodies or divisions of world-wide Methodism, eleven are in foreign countries and seventeen in America. Of these, only one body, the Calvinistic branch, chiefly in Wales, differs in doctrine. In polity there are main- ly minor differences. SUMMARY OF SOUTHERN METHODISM. 1845 Southern Methodism organized. 1846 First General Conference. 1848 Missions begun ; Dr. Taylor to China. 1866 Fifth General Conference at close of war; lay delegates enacted; proba- tion abolished; pastoral term ex- tended to four years from two. SOUTHERN METHODISM. gj 1870 Laymen members of General Confer- ence. 1870 Colored M. E. Church set apart. 1878 Woman's Missionary Society organ- ized. 1881 First Ecumenical Conference. 1882 Church Extension Society organized. 1894 Epworth League organized. 1899 Branch Publishing House at Dallas. 1900 Joint Commissions appointed. 1902 Twentieth Century Offering for Edu- cation ; Joint Foreign Publishing House. 1906 Commissions on Vanderbilt University and on Eestatement of Keligion ap- pointed. 1906 "Methodist Church of Japan" set apart; new Nashville Publishing House. 1907 Laymen's Missionary Movement begun. SOME OLD WORLD METHODISMS. Members. Wesleyan 808,301 New Connection 46,689 Independent 9,147 Primitive 210,173 62 CHUBCH HISTORY. Members. United Free 103,019 Australasia 145,805 NEW WORLD METHODISMS. Report of 1906. Methodist Episcopal 2,910,779 Methodist Episcopal, South (report of 1907) 1,725,467 Methodist Protestant 183,894 Free Methodist 30,271 Methodist of Canada 317,717 Wesleyan Methodist 17,909 Congregational Methodist (white). 24,000 Congregational Methodist (colored) 319 New Congregational Methodist. . . . 4,022 Independent Methodist 2,569 Evangelist Missionary 3,014 Primitive 6,976 Union American M. E 18,500 Zion Union Apostolic 2,346 Colored M. E 214,987 African Union Meth. Protestant . . 3,887 African M. E 842,023 African M. E. Zion 596,305 SOUTHERN METHODISM. 63 DENOMINATIONAL NUMERICAL BANK. U. 8. Government Report, 1906. Members. Methodists 6,429,815 Baptists 5,073,823 Lutherans 1,841,346 Presbyterians 1,723,871 Disciples 1,235,294 Episcopal 1,232,149 Congregationalists 687,042 Koman Catholic 10,915,251 The above figures are taken in part from the Yearbooks for 1907 of the Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Episcopal Church, South. SECTION TWO. THE DOCTRINES OP THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. BY REV. WILBUR F. TILLETT, D.D., Dean of the Theological Faculty of Vanderbilt University. 5 (65) V. DISTINGUISHING FEATURES. METHODISM represents a distinct system of Christian doctrine, and also a type of Church polity. Methodists are not one the world over in their ecclesiastical polity: some are episcopal, some presbyterial, and some congre- gational. But all Methodists are practically a unit the world over in the type of theology which they hold. Most of the cardinal doc- trines of Methodism are held in common with all evangelical Christian Churches. Such, for example, are the inspiration and divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, the Triuni- ty of the Godhead, the divinity of Christ, the fall of man and the universal sinfulnessof the race, justification by faith, the necessity of regeneration, the future and eternal existence of all men after death, and many other simi- lar doctrines of the highest significance. But there are certain other doctrines which, though not held exclusively by Methodists, have at least been more strongly emphasized (67) 68 THE DOCTRIHES OF METHODISM. in the faith and preaching of Methodism than in any other branch of the Christian Church. Among these may be mentioned the follow- ing: .the moral free agency and accountability of man,' the unlimited atonement of Christ, the witness of the Spirit testifying to the re- generate man of his acceptance with Godj- the possibility of apostasy,' and the attainability of entire holiness in this life. Methodism has been the instrument in the hands of God of saving during the century and a half of its existence not less perhaps than fifteen to twenty millions of immortal souls. This result, which is without a prece- dent in the history of the Christian Church, is to be attributed in no small degree to the intensely earnest and practical character of its theology. " It was not new doctrine but new life that the Methodists sought for them- selves and for others," says Bishop McTyeire in the opening sentence of his "History of Methodism." But the history of the Chris- tian Church has established the fact that progress in the spiritual life and maintenance of sound doctrine are vitally related to each other. The doctrinal system of Methodism is some- times designated as "Arminian theology." DISTINGUISHING FEATTJBES. QQ This designation connects it with the name of James Arminius (1560-1609), a noted theolo- gian of Holland. As Martin Luther and his fellow-reformers, although reared in the Church of Rome, were led by their enlight- ened convictions to protest against what they considered the corrupt practices and false teachings of this Church, and were for that reason called Protestants, so James Arminius and his associates, although first instructed in the strict teachings of high Calvinism, felt com- pelled to utter a remonstrance against certain extreme Calvinistic doctrines concerning pre- destination, election, reprobation, etc., and were for that reason called Remonstrants. The celebrated "five points" of Calvinism, setting forth the peculiar and distinctive doc- trines of that system of theology, were offset by the no less distinctive "five points" of Arminianism, viz.: (1) Conditional election that is, God elected to salvation those who, he foresaw, would freely repent of their sins and believe in Christ, and to reprobation those whose willful impenitence and unbelief he foresaw. (2) Jesus Christ died alike for all men, but only those who repent and believe will secure the saving benefits of his atoning death. (3) The ability of fallen man to re* 70 THE DOCTRItfES OF METHODISM. pent and believe is of grace and not of nature, and spiritual renewal or regeneration is en- tirely of the Spirit's operation. (4) Never- theless divine grace and the influence of the Spirit are not, as Calvinism affirms, irresistible; but may be resisted by man, who is a moral free agent, and who, though he may be con- victed of sin against his will, is never con- verted against his will. (5) The possibility of a truly regenerated man falling away from his saved estate and being finally lost was first left an open question, but was soon decided, as the logic of the system required that it should be, in the affirmative. The doctrinal system of Methodism is also designated as "Wesleyan theology." This designation associates it with the names of John and Charles Wesley. John Wesley (1703-1791) was perhaps the greatest reform- er, preacher, and evangelist that has ever ap- peared in England. Methodism is but one of the many results that have come from his life and labors. John Wesley's theology was in- tensely evangelical and practical, and, like that of the apostle Paul, was to a large extent colored by his own religious experience. He accepted the system formulated by James Ar- minius and the Remonstrants of Holland, in DISTINGUISHING FEATURES. f\ all the points wherein that system differed from Calvinism. But he did something more for it than accept it. Arminian theology, as it was formulated by the Remonstrants, was, as an intellectual system of doctrine, logical, self -consistent, and true; but it was cold; it was lacking in the warmth and intensity of spiritual life; it needed to be quickened by the faith and the fire of an evangelical experi- ence. This is exactly what John Wesley did with it and for it. He carried it, as it were, to the altar, and there it was baptized with the Holy Ghost; and, surcharged with evan- gelical life and converting power, it was sent forth upon its world- wide mission of evangel- ization. In Methodism we find the doctrines of Arminius put into practice as living truths, made matters of personal religious experience, and utilized as mighty spiritual forces for saving souls and spreading the kingdom of Christ. |_In Wesleyan theology the intensive power of the gospel to save each individual from all sin is as much emphasized as is its ex- tensive power to save all sinners, whoever they may be and whenever and wherever they may liveH In 1784 John Wesley reduced the thirty- nine Articles of the Church of England to 72 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. twenty-five in number, and abridged and oth- erwise altered some of those which he retained. These he sent to America by Thomas Coke, whom he had ordained bishop, and they were accepted as the general creed of Episcopal Methodism in America. They have ever since occupied a foremost place among our doctrinal standards. John Wesley's sermons also have always been numbered among the leading ' ' doctrinal standards" of Methodism. They may be lacking here and there in the accuracy and uniform self -consistency of doctrinal state- ment that we have a right to expect in works of dogmatic theology, but what they lack in these respects they more than gain in the spiritual power that belongs to them as sermons glowing with a living Christian ex- perience and setting forth the great truths that pertain to man's salvation. Richard Watson's "Theological Institutes" may not be altogether up to date, but they have in them a theology that is well adapted to the world's conversion and upbuilding in the spir- itual life. Adam Clarke, the first great repre- sentative commentator of Methodism, showed by his able and scholarly expositions of the Holy Scriptures how thoroughly faithful to DISTINGUISHING FEATURES. 73 the Bible were the doctrinal teachings of Methodism. Charles Wesley, the poet-preacher and the- ologian, rendered a service to the theology of Methodism scarcely less important and far- reaching than that of his brother John. He gave happy expression in verse to all the great doctrines of Christianity, and he was especially happy in the hymns which he wrote embodying the more distinctive doctrines of his faith. These hymns became at once im- mensely popular with the people, and gave wings, as it were, to the doctrines they em- bodied. A sermon put into a song doubles its power for good. Nor did these doctrinal hymns of Charles Wesley simply meet a local and temporary need; they have an abiding value, and have carried, in the most effective manner possible, the doctrines they contain into the hymnals of all Christian Churches the world over. While John Wesley's hymns are not numerous, and are mostly translations from other languages, they are in no way in- ferior to those of Charles Wesley either in poetic merit or doctrinal value. Jt is in por- traying those doctrines which are matters of religious experience that the Wesleyan hymns are richest both in variety and in intensity of t4 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. utterance. The great reformation in Germa- ny in the sixteenth century owed much to the fact that Luther was a poet as well as a preacher, and embodied all his leading doc- trines in simple and popular hymns that were adapted to the common people as well as in sermons and theses that were adapted to the learned. But the Wesleyan reformation owed even more to its hymns. " Let me write the songs of a people," said one, "and I care not who may write their laws; I will govern them." " Let me write the hymns of a Church," said another, "and I care not who may write her creeds and ponderous volumes of theology; I will determine the faith of her membership." The Methodist hymn book has always been reckoned among the doctri- nal standards of the Church. It has ever been one of the most effective of the agencies employed for indoctrinating the people in that type of evangelical Christian faith which is known the world over as Methodist theology. But the designation of Methodist theology as "Arminian " and "Wesleyan " must not be misunderstood. Methodist theology is first of all and above all biblical. Every evangel- ical Church recognizes the Bible as the source and foundation of its theology. It is after DISTINGUISHING FEATUBE8. 75 all simply a question of the proper interpreta- tion of the Bible. Calvinism is a logical and self-consistent system of doctrine which finds its starting point and its determining princi- ple in the eternal decrees of Jehovah, and in- terprets the entire revelation contained in the Bible in accordance with that doctrine. Methodism also has a logical and self -consist- ent system of doctrine which in like manner is based upon the Bible, but it finds its start- ing point and determining principle in two doctrines that mutually necessitate and sup- 'port each other viz., the moral free agency ofman and the imlimifoifl ^j-onement of Christ; and we may say that every other doctrine of Methodist theology is a logical outcome of these two doctrines. Methodism, therefore, claims that its theology is the theology of the New Testament, the theology of Christ and of Paul. It is that simple and primitive type of theology which began to be preached in its completed form on the day of Pentecost, and has never since been without its true witness- es in any age of the Church's history. It has needed, however, to be restated and reformu- lated ever and anon. Such was the service rendered by James Arminius and John Wes- ley, and by others before and since their day. VI. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. WHAT doctrine does Methodism hold con- cerning the Holy Scriptures? This is best answered by first asking another question: What does the Bible teach concerning itself ? The Bible teaches, we answer, that "All Scrip- ture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- rection, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly' furnished unto all good works." It teaches that "prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; " and that " God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spo- ken unto us by his Son." Moses is represent- ed as having received directly from God the Ten Commandments, which are with us to this day, and whose high moral character well befits their claim of a divine origin. "The word of the Lord came unto me, say- ing," is the preface with which the proph- ets begin their messages. These remarkable (76) THE HOLY SCB1PTTJBES. 77 claims demand of us that we make serious in- quiry as to their import. If this Book is what it claims to be, no man can afford to ig- nore or neglect its teachings. ' ' These [things] are written," says St. John, in concluding the fourth Gospel, and it is in a sense equally true of all Scripture, "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." These quotations cover the three main questions which we need to ask concerning the Bible, and suggest the proper answers to them: (1) Where did the Bible come from? We answer that it is divine in its origin, in that its cardinal and distinguishing doctrines were revealed by God to man. (2) How did God reveal these facts and doctrines? We answer: Through certain chosen men whom the Holy Spirit inspired as trustworthy or- gans for the communication of the divine will. (3) What purpose are these inspired Scriptures designed to fill in the divine econ- omy as it concerns man? We answer: They are a divinely provided guide for man in all matters of a moral and spiritual nature, espe- cially such as pertain to his faith and conduct here and bis life in the world to come. Thus 78 THK DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. we have the three theological terms, revela- tion, inspiration, and the canon, answering the three questions as to the whence, the how, and the what of the Holy Scriptures. God reveals something of himself and of his will through nature and providence, but this general revelation has always proved in- adequate to meet man's spiritual needs, being insufficient to impart a true and satisfactory knowledge of God, of the way of salvation, and of the immortality and destiny of the soul. That religious knowledge which fallen man needed but could not secure from nature, God has supplied in a supernatural manner by revelation. It is these divine or supernaturally revealed facts and truths which, as collected together within the Bible, constitute it a di- vine Book. Nevertheless, the Bible is not wholly divine; it is rather divine-human, for much that is contained in it is human in its ori- gin and did not need to be divinely revealed. This unrevealed portion of the Bible is, in fact, the larger portion. It is, however, a faithful and trustworthy record, quite as much as is that portion which records the divine revela- tions. The human elements furnish the lit- erary and historical framework for holding the divinely revealed truths. The divine rev- THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 79 elations contained in the Bible are of trans- cendent importance, and so far give character to the volume as a whole that it is common, and not inappropriate, to designate it as the Book of Revelation. What is the evidence that the Bible contains supernatural revelations ? The divine authori- ty of the Bible depends upon the truth of the claim that it contains supernatural revelations; and if this be true, the claim ought to be sup- ported by supernatural evidence. And it is. The prophets who claimed to have received divine revelations proved the truth of their assertions by working miracles. When Moses, for example, announced to the children of Is- rael in Egypt that he had received a revela- tion and a command from God in the desert, they immediately and very naturally demand- ed proof of such a claim. The God who had given the revelation had provided for this reasonable demand, and empowered him to work miracles. In some instances the vindi- cation of the divine claim on the part of the prophet was found in the fulfillment of pre- dictions which he uttered concerning the fu- ture. In yet other instances the revelations announced by the prophets as coming from God were self-evidencing that is, weue in. gO THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. their nature so thoroughly accordant with the moral character of God and man's religious needs that they carried their own evidence in them, and hence did not need to be supported by miracles or predictions. Our reason, there- fore, for believing that the Bible contains .di- vine revelations is found in part in the mira- cles the prophets apd the apostles wrought, in part in the fulfillment of their predictions of future events, in part in the intrinsic moral excellence of the doctrines taught, and finally in the uplifting and ennobling moral influence the Bible has had upon the character of all the nations and individuals that have believed and followed its teachings. But the passages of Scripture which were quoted above seem to teach not only that God has made revelations of his will from time to time, but that it was his will that a trustwor- thy record should be made of these revelations. They imply that the Holy Spirit exercised an influence upon those who wrote the books of Holy Scripture such as cannot be claimed for the writers of any other books. This special influence of the Holy Spirit upon the minds of the biblical writers was designed to prevent them from making hurtful mistakes in the statements they should give of the great mor- THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 81 al and spiritual truths of religion, and in an important sense to make their words God's words, and their book to be God's Book. This is what is meant by saying that the bibli- cal writers were ' ' inspired. " St. Peter speaks of a certain scripture " which the Holy Ghost spake by the mouth of David." The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews uses inter- changeably the expressions " the Holy Ghost testifieth " and "one [that is, the writer] in a certain place testifieth." In other words, what the inspired writer says God says. To affirm that the biblical writers were in- spired does not mean that they lost their hu- man individuality and freedom, and were turned into machines. The inspired proph- ets and apostles were not shorthand report- ers. Only in a few instances do they tell us that they wrote down the very "words which the Holy Ghost teach eth." In the Ten Commandments we have the very words of God. But as a rule the expression of the thought, even when it was revealed, was de- termined by the individual writer, whose style and other mental peculiarities may be seen everywhere in his writings. There may be several accounts of the same events, all differing in the words used, and yet all be 6 82 THE DOCTRINES OP METHODISM. equally true and accurate. The great pur- pose of inspiration is to secure truth in the records, not uniformity and sameness of state- ment. The four evangelists record very much the same events, and yet they differ both in literary style and, as a rule, in the words used; but all are equally true and equally inspired. The various books of the Bible are as genu- inely human and as thoroughly marked by the individual characteristics of their human au- thors as if they had been written by unin- spired men. To recognize the distinctly hu- man element in the Bible is not to detract from its moral value, but rather to add to its value for man's guidance, even as the human- ity of Christ makes him a better Saviour than if he had possessed no human nature at all. Truth is none the less true because uttered by human lips. Christ is none the less divine be- cause he had a genuinely human nature. But the strongest of all arguments in proof of the doctrine of biblical inspiration is the manner in which Christ refers to the Scrip- tures, and the absolute divine authority which he attributes to them. To him and to the apostles they were none other than God's own words. Our Lord made distinct reference to David's inspiration when he asks: " How then THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 83 doth David in spirit call him Lord? " If the Old Testament was written by divinely in- spired men and possessed of divine authority, how much more the New, which was the full and final expression of the revealed will of God! We believe in the New Testament chiefly because of what it tells us of Christ; and in the Old Testament chiefly because of what Christ tells us of it tells us by the way he used it and appealed to it as the very word of God. Perhaps the best possible definition which we can give of the Holy Scriptures is drawn from their relation to Christ, thus: "By the Holy Scriptures we mean, (1) those ancient sacred books of the Jewish Church which Christ and his inspired apostles used and appealed to as of divine authority; and ( 2) those sacred books of the New Testament which set forth the life and teachings of our Lord, and which were written by or under the direction of his apostles." Christianity be- lieves in the Person first, and in the Book sec- ond. It is the divine-human Person that makes the Book, not the divine-human Book that makes the Person. Christianity could live without a Book, but it could not live indeed, it could not be at all without the Person of Christ. 84 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. The Canon of Holy Scripture, then, is noth- ing more nor less than that collection of sacred books which were written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the primary object of which was to meet man's moral and religious needs. They incidentally contain history, bi- ography, chronology, philosophy, science, etc. , but they were not written primarily to teach any of these things, and the entire accuracy of their statements concerning questions of this kind is a matter of absolute insignificance as compared with the great moral principles and spiritual truths that are the distinguishing features of the Christian religion. It is in reference to these truths that we appeal to it as the divine and authoritative word of God. The word " canon " means, literally, a rule; and the Holy Scriptures are a canon in that they are a divine rule of faith and practice, a standard of doctrine and ethics. The word " canonical" is also applied to the Holy Scrip- tures to distinguish them from books which were not regarded as inspired and of divine authority, such as the Old Testament Apoc- rypha. There is every reason to believe that the Old Testament Scriptures, as we now have them, are substantially identical with the Scriptures THE HOLY SCRIP-TUBES. g5 which Christ and the apostles used. These Scriptures of the old covenant are not called old because they are antiquated and obsolete; for, although the dispensation for which they were immediately written has long since come to an end, having served its purpose, these ancient Scriptures have an abiding significance and value. A large part of the Old Testament is occupied exclusively with setting forth the ritual and ceremonial law of the Jewish Church, which is not now binding and has never been since the day of Pentecost; but, so far as they embody God's moral law, they are of as much authority now as they ever were, and are of equal authority with the New Tes- tament. Inasmuch, however, as transitory and now obsolete precepts are intermingled with those which are of perpetual obligation, the Old Testament must be read and inter- preted with intelligent discrimination. All inspired books are of importance, but some are of more importance than others. That portion of the Bible which transcends in mor- al value all other parts of the Bible is the four Gospels. Christianity is a historical religion. Its Founder is a Person who lived at a definite time and place, and the Gospels purport to give a trustworthy record of the leading facts 86 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. of his life, his sayings and doings. The whole question as to whether or not there is a super- natural religion in the world depends upon the historical trustworthiness of these Gospel rec- ords. If any records in the literature of the world are entitled to credence, these surely are. Paul probably wrote his Epistles many years before the Gospels were written. Four of the Pauline Epistles (Romans, First and Sec- ond Corinthians, and Galatians) are univer- sally admitted by well-nigh all classes of theo- logians and critics to be genuine, and to come from about the middle of the first century. These Epistles establish the fact beyond a doubt that Christ was at that time regarded as a divine-human Being, who had died upon the cross and had risen again from the dead. These are the main facts of supernatural reli- gion viz., the incarnation of Christ and his resurrection from the dead. If these are true, the Gospels are fully confirmed, and the ex- istence of a supernatural religion, with its su- pernatural Christ, is established. This, we saw at the outset, is the supreme and final end for which the Scriptures exist : ' ' That ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." VII. THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF MAX. IF God is the chief object of divine revela- tion, man, we may say, is the principal subject of revelation. The inspired Scriptures are ad- dressed to man and are largely about himself, his nature and needs, his duty and destiny. The Scriptures give us four views of man: first, primitive man, in his unfallen state, as God made him, innocent and pure; second, man in his fallen state, as he made himself, sinful and depraved; third, man in a state of gracious ability, as Christ made him by his redeeming work; fourth, man in a state of re- generation or restoration to the divine image, as the Holy Spirit is ready to make all those who come unto God by Christ. In this chap- ter we shall consider man as originally created and as fallen. The only rational account we have of man's origin, that in Genesis, makes him to be the last and highest product of creation; and this is equally true whether the inspired narrative be explained literally or as truth taught in allegorical and symbolical form. This high- est of God's earthly creatures is possessed of (87) gg THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. two natures, physical and spiritual, in one per- sonality. Man is allied to lower animals in his physical nature, but to the angelic world in his spirit. His material or physical nature is sometimes called flesh and sometimes body. His immaterial nature is designated some- times as soul and sometimes as spirit. It is in man's immaterial or spiritual nature that we find the real seat of manhood. It is this spiritual nature that gives him his conscious- ness and reason, his intellect, sensibilities, and will, his conscience, his capacity for sin on the one hand and for holiness on the other, his capacity for the worship and service of God, his likeness to God, his divine sonship and immortality. Man is represented in the Bible as having been created in the image of God, endowed with reason and moral free agency, placed under moral laws, obedience to which results in holy character, and disobe- dience to which is sin and results in'sinf ul char- acter. His life here is probationary in that his character as formed here determines his desti- ny in the world to come. (The supreme purpose of God in creating man seems to have been to make possible the highest ideal of creaturely holiness and happi- ness.) There was need in the universe of a THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF MAX. gQ creature whose highest happineaa would bo se- cured b^ his highest holiness; and this holiness, in turn, would secure the highest glory of the Creator. The holiness of a free being is a higher type of holiness than any kind of holi- ness that might characterize a being who should be necessitated by the will of the Cre- ator to be and do what he is and does, and the former holiness would glorify the Creator far more than the latter possibly could. The lat- ter could glorify God only as a house does its builder, while the former would glorify him as a dutiful and obedient son does his father, a righteous citizen his ruler, or a brave soldier his leader. But in order for God to make holi- ness possible it was absolutely necessary for him to make sin possible. But while God made sin possible by creating free moral agents and placing them in a state of probation, he did not make sin actual. It was man, not God, who made sin actual. God, we may say, would not have made sin possible if he could have secured the highest ideal of holiness in man without such possibility. But there are some things which even omnipotence cannot do; it cannot do an impossible thing, and the creation and probation of a free being who cannot sin are an impossibility. But the high- 90 TH E DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. est ideal of the Creator as embodied in man, the moral free agent, would have been realized if 8in had forever remained simply a possibil- ity and had never become an actuality. That ideal has been realized in one, and only one the Son of Man. But the first Adam was as free from sin when he came from the hands of his Creator as was the infant born of the Vir- gin. The first man was under no necessity to sin. He was free. We may say, then, that while man's first es- tate was thus one of innocence and purity, two alternatives were before him as a moral free agent: holiness and sin. But the life and pro- bation of the first pair had not been of long duration before, by an abuse of their moral freedom, innocence and purity gave place to sin and guilt. The history of mankind, from that time on^ is the history of a fallen and sinful race. The "fall of man" is a phrase which is commonly used in theology to de- scribe man's loss of original righteousness and his coming under the dominion of sin. The fall of Adam is regarded as the fall of the race, because of the fact that he was not only the natural head, but in such a sense the fed- eral head and moral representative of the race, which was seminally in him, that certain con- THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF MAN. 9J sequences of his sin were entailed upon them. But Adam's relation to the universal sinful- ness of the race is a matter of secondary im- portance as compared to the undeniable fact that all men are by nature sinful and stand in need of a Saviour. The Bible uses various expressions to define the nature of sin. The essence of sin is self- ishness, sotting one's own will in opposition to the will of the Creator, or willful trans- gression of the law of God. Sin is "enmity against God. " The sinner is one who has de- throned God, the rightful ruler, from his seat of authority in the heart, and has set himself up as ruler instead, and the result is a state of internal moral anarchy. The fact that the will of the creature so often manifests its disobedience to the commands of God, by yielding to the solicitations of the fleshly or animal nature, has given rise to calling sin "the flesh" or "the carnal mind." The seat of sin, however, is in the inner spiritual man, in the heart, and not in the flesh. Outward acts are sins only in so far as they are expres- sions of inner volitions, dispositions, and states. "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts." If the tree is evil, its fruit must be evil. The look of the eye that comes 92 THE nOCTRINES OF METHODISM. from lust in the heart does pot need the out- ward act to make it sin. The decision to commit murder, or even the hate of the heart that may lead to murderous volition, makes one a murderer in the eyes of God^. There are different degrees of guilt. / .There may be sins oj culpable thoughtlessness and igno- rance,-NBins of surprise in which one is over- taken in a fault,"sins of deliberate choice and malice aforethought,^ sins that involve the breaking of a solemn covenant,* and sins against the Holy Ghost, in which the sinner, by persistence in willful wrongdoing, passes beyond the possibility of being renewed again unto repentance, and hence beyond the possibility of pardon. (Matt. v. 28, xv. 19; 1 John iii. 4; Rom. viii. 6-8; Mark iii. 29; Heb. vi. 6.) A But sin is not only a voluntary transgression of the law of God; it is also, according to the definition of St. John, any want of conform- ity to that law. Sins often repeated beget a habit of sin. Sinful habits long continued in beget sinful character. Sin in the first, in- stance always involves a consciously evil act, but the oftener a man sins the more does sin become to him the law of life, and the less does the element of consciousness enter into THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF MAN. Q3 his sinning. Whenever a man thus, by long- continued violations of God's law, reaches the point where conscience ceases to rebuke him for his violation of God's law where he ceases to feel painfully the guilt of his sins, where sin has become the law of life to him, has become, as it were, the natural thing to do then he has become possessed of a sinful char- acter. This is sometimes called acquired de- pravity, as distinct from voluntary sin, or the sin of nature, as distinct from willful sin. Sinful character is the result of sinful volitions and acts, but when character is formed it be- comes a predisposing cause of the volitions and acts that result that is, a man does not come from the hand of his Creator a bad man; he becomes a bad man only as a result of his own evil volitions and evil deeds; but when he has thus become a bad man, then the re- verse is true, and we may say of such a one that he does evil because he is a bad man. We thus see what willful sin is, and also its relation to moral depravity and to sinful char- acter. But there is such a thing as inherited de- pravity as well as acquired depravity.; It is commonly called original sin, and may be de- fined as that "corruption of the nature of 94 THE DOCTBINE8 OF METHODISM. every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby he is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that con- tinually." That all men do from their very infancy manifest a tendency to do wrong rather than to do right; that children left to themselves as they grow up will do that which is morally wrong rather than that which is right is one of the most undeniable of all moral facts. If the Church creeds and the biblical writers were silent about it, we still could not fail to recognize this universal sin- fulness of man. As this bias to sin charac- terizes man from his very infancy, it may reasonably be inferred that it is inherited. Hence it is sometimes called "birth sin." Many think it unfortunate that it ever should have been called "sin" or "guilt;" think that these terms should have been reserved for willful sin. Methodists do not believe that the guilt of Adam's sin was imputed or charged to his descendants in any sense ex- cept that certain consequences of his wrong- doing (as is more or less true of every par- ent's wrongdoing) were entailed upon his offspring, j Nor does the inheriting of a bias toward sin involve any culpability or guilt THE BIBLE DOCTBINE OF MAN. 95 whatever until a child arrives at an age of moral accountability and can bring the sin- ward tendencies of his nature under the do- minion of grace, but refuses to do so. Then he may justly be held responsible and punish- able for it and its consequences.] Another phrase that is used in this connec- tion, and is much misunderstood, is "total depravity." It is a term Unit was coined by theologians who took a view of original sin and its effect that Methodists do not indorse. This term and also that of "original guilt" are quite consistent with the cardinal doc- trines of Augustinian theology, but whenev- er they appear in Methodist theology (as they sometimes do) they call for definition and explanation. There is, as we have seen, both inherited and acquired depravity. We believe that a man may, by persistent, willful sin, acquire a character that is totally depraved. But the theological phrase "total depravity" refers to man's state as affected by the fall of Adam and by inherited depravity, and car- ries along with it the idea that all men in their natural state are totally depraved and devoid of all good. To say that sin has af- fected every part of man's nature (body, mind, heart, soul, spirit, etc.), that it is total, ex- 06 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. tensively considered, is undoubtedly true; but to say that all men until regenerated are totally depraved in their moral nature (a massa perditionis, as Augustine said), totally devoid of all good, as bad as they can possi- bly be that is a statement not in accord with Methodist theology.; Methodists believe that the atonement of Christ embraced all men in its saving benefits; and that, while men are not actually saved by it until they accept Christ by faith, yet many of its general benefits have extended to all men from the very beginning of the history of the race, and precede per- sonal salvation. There is some good in all men, even in unregenerate human nature, which is therefore not to be regarded as to- tally depraved. But, while this is true, Meth- odist theology affirms that whatever of good is found in unregenerate men is an effect of the atonement, and therefore due not to nature but to grace. If the fallen race had been suffered to exist and propagate itself unre- deemed, it would have become totally de- praved, but God did not suffer it to go unre- deemed. All men, as a result of the atone- ment, have gracious ability to meet the con- ditions of salvation. VIII. THE DOCTRINES PERTAINING TO PERSONAL SALVATION. IF we say that " God the Father plans, God the Son executes, and God the Holy Spirit ap- plies," we have a formula which states with approximate accuracy the specific work of each of the three persons of the Trinity in the great work of human redemption. The exe- cution of the divine plan of redemption was committed to the Son, and as fulfilled it is called the atonement. The application of the atoning work of Christ to the actual salvation of men is the work of the Holy Spirit, whose gracious influences act upon and cooperate with the free will of man. It is but another method of stating the same great truth to say that the originating cause of man's salvation is the love of God, the meritorious cause is the sacrifice of Christ, the efficient cause is the power of the Ht>ly Spirit, and the deter- mining cause is the free will of the redeemed sinner. In this chapter we are especially con- cerned with the two elements last named. Personal salvation is a result of cooperation " (07) 98 THE DOCTBINES OF METHODISM. between God and man, between the divine and the human will. Although salvation is of God's free grace, it is none the less of man's free choice. While man cannot save himself, neither can God save him, in keeping with the revealed principles of his moral government, unless man himself chooses to fulfill the con- ditions of salvation. As a mere matter of power, of course the omnipotent divine will can cause the finite human will to do any- thing, to put forth any volition whatsoever; but such a divinely necessitated human voli- tion could not be free, and in the matter of personal salvation man is entirely free to ful- fill or not to f ulfili the conditions of salvation. The Bible represents God as being without par- tiality and no respecter of persons. God our Saviour "will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth," and is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Personal sal- vation and damnation, therefore, are not de- termined by election and nonelection in eter- nity, but by the free wiH of man. ^The con- dition of fallen man as affected by the atone- ment is one of gracious ability to fulfill all conditions necessary to salvation; but while his present moral ability is of grace, that PERSONAL SALVATION. 99 grace itself is free and not arbitrary and irre- sistible. If the work of personal salvation be ana- lyzed and separated into its various parts, it may be said to consist of the following ele- ments: (1) Conviction of sin, which is that work of the Holy Spirit upon the conscience of the sinner by which he is awakened and made to realize his sinful and lost condition; (2) repentance, which is such godly sorrow on account of sin as leads to the forsaking of all sin and the confession of sin; (3) faith, or that belief of the mind and trust of the heart by which the penitent sinner accepts Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour; (4) justification, which is something done for us, being that act of God by which he pardons all the past sins of the penitent believer; (5) regeneration, which is something done in us, being that act of God by which he breaks the dominion of the sin of na- ture and creates us anew, which transforma- tion is called the new birth and is followed by adoption into the family of God; (6) the witness of the Holy Spirit to the spirit of the regenerate believer, testifying to his pardon and adoption, and producing a divine convic- tion of salvation; (7) sanctification, which as commonly denned refers to that work of the 100 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. Holy Spirit, in cooperation with the regener- ate spirit, which separates the soul from all sin, carrying on the work begun in regenera- tion, and completing it in Christian perfection. The first six elements enumerated above constitute "conversion," as this term is popu- larly used. * There are three salvations spoken of in the Bible. "Repent of thy sins and be- lieve in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved;" this is the first. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;" this is the second, and it is a continuous, pro- gressive work. "He that endureth to the end shall be saved;" this is the third, and refers to final salvation at the last day. A clear knowledge of all these doctrines may not be necessary to salvation, but there can be no in- telligent type of piety that is not based upon both an intellectual and an experimental knowl- edge of all that the Scriptures represent as necessay to salvation. Conviction of sin is a result of the Holy Spirit's application of the preached word and * If the term ' ' sanctification ' ' be used in its strictly Scriptural sense, it also is included in conversion. But the common theological use of that term refers* it to a work of grace, either progressively or instan- taneousiy wrought, subsequent to " conversion. " PERSONAL SALVATION. 101 the divine law to the heart and conscience of a sinner, and is often irresistibly produced; but while the sinner may be convicted against his will, and in spite of efforts to the contrary, yet he is not irresistibly converted. Under con- viction he is free either to resist the wooings of the Spirit or to follow the Spirit's leadings on to repentance and faith. [_A moral free agent is never more free than in that intense and critical moment when he is irresistibly awakened and brought to a knowledge of his true condition. " It is the most critical and re- sponsible moment in all his life; for then it is that his eternal destiny is hanging in the bal- ance, and nothing but the will of the free agent can determine which way the scales of destiny shall be made to turn. Conviction of sin is one of the chief offices of the Holy Spirit, as Christ promised: "When he is come, he will reprove [convict] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." (John xvi. 8. ) And he began this work on the day of his coming at Pentecost: " Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do ? " (Acts ii. 37.) Repentance and faith are man's work, the only office of the Holy Spirit here being to 102 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. graciously aid man in fulfilling these human ^ Conditions of salvation. The necessity, na- ^*~<--ture, and benefits of repentance may be shown in these words of Scripture: "Except ye re- ^pent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke ^xiii. 3.) "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isa. Iv. 7.) Of faith it is said: "Without faith it is impossi- ble to please God: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a re- warder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. xi. 6.) "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts xvi. 31.) This means to accept Christ as a per- sonal Saviour. Confession of sin and confes- sion of Christ prove that repentance and faith are true. Justification and regeneration, on the other hand, are entirely God's work; with them man has nothing to do, save that he per- forms the conditions on which the pardon and regeneration of his soul are suspended. Jus- tification is the pardon of sin, and is condi- tioned not on our good works but on our faith: "To him that worketh not, but belie v- eth on him that justifieth the ungodly, hia PKKSONAL SALVATION. 103 faith is counted for righteousness." (Rom. iv. 5.) To the penitent the promise is: "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jer. xxxi. 34.) But a deeper work than this is necessary: "Ex- cept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John iii. 3. ) This is re- generation; it also is conditioned on faith: "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." (John i. 12.) In the Cal vinistic system regeneration comes first; and faith, repentance, and justification follow. Faith is, according to Calvinistic theology, the first act of a regenerate soul. Regeneration, (which is confused with "ef- fectual calling") and irresistible grace, must needs come first because the fallen human race are regarded as totally depraved, as ab- solutely dead in sin, to exact conditions of whom would be like demanding acts of a phys- ically dead man as a condition of imparting life to him. If God had from all eternity unconditionally elected certain ones to salva- tion, and foreordained the means and the time of their efficacious call and conversion; if it were true that regeneration comes first, and faith and repentance follow, then would the preaching of the gospel to the unconverted 104 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. and the call of sinners to repentance and sal- vation seem to be a useless work, and the present mode of preaching the gospel and pressing the claims of the Christian religion upon the consciences of sinners could not be justified. More faithful to Scripture is that theology which teaches that man, though fall- en, and in a sense morally dead, is yet recog- nized as a living and responsible moral agent, endowed graciously with ability to seek and obtain salvation through divinely appointed conditions (repentance of sin and faith in Christ), on the fulfillment of which God gra- ciously pardons all his past transgressions, and so transforms his sinful moral nature as to deliver him from the dominion of sin and make him a new creature in Christ. It is of the greatest importance that we have true scriptural views concerning the doctrines of personal salvation. We should make no mis- take in answering the question of the awakened sinner: "What must I do to be saved?" It may be asked why personal salvation on God's part consists of both justification and regeneration. Why would not justification alone or regeneration alone suffice to make complete the salvation of a soul?.. The an- swer is not far to seek. It is because there PEBSONAL SALVATION. 105 are two kinds of sins actual sin, or voluntary transgression of the law of God; and the sin of nature, which consists of both original sin and the reflex influence on moral character of repeeted acts of sin, From both of these kinds of sin man needs to be saved. Justifi- cation, or pardon, concerns actual sin alone, and has nothing to do with the sin of nature; and so repentance also is of actual sins, and not of original sin. Regeneration, on the other hand, has to do exclusively with the sin of nature original sin and the habitus of sin, or hereditary and acquired depravity. A tendency toward disease (consumption, for example) may be inherited, or it may be superinduced by acts of imprudence or by sickness, or it may be both inherited and superinduced; and if so, the two tendencies run together and become one. And so it is with fallen man: he inherits a bias toward sin ; and this is strengthened by the effects of actual sin, both alike calling for that divine act which is designated as regeneration. If man were simply justified, and not at the same time regenerated, his past sins would be par- doned; but he would be left under the domin- ion of his sinful nature, and would necessarily continue to sin. <. Hence regeneration is rep- 1()6 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. resented as "breaking the dominion of sin," "cleansing the moral nature," "being born again," "created anew." Acts of sin may be compared to the black characters written upon a sheet of paper; the sin of nature, to discol- oring elements that enter into the very fiber of the paper itself. The blotting out of sins (Acts iii. 19) is the pardon of all actual trans- gressions, but another and different act is re- quired to cleanse and purify the sin-polluted nature of man. Justification and regenera- tion always take place at the same time. Conviction of sin is the witness of the Spirit to the sinner's true condition, and so the wit- ness of the Spirit to the regenerate believer may be called conviction of salvation. It is thus that the Holy Spirit both begins and crowns the work of personal salvation. The soul that undergoes all these experiences is a genuine and a happy convert, and nothing less than an experience of all these elements of personal salvation entitles one either to re- ceive from God, as a sacred seal to his salva- tion, the witness of adoption and the assur- ance of sonship, or to be regarded by man as a new creature in Christ Jesus. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." (Rom. PERSONAL SALVATION. 107 viii. 16.) "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself." (1 John v. 10. ) But what the child of God is conscious of is not "the witness of the Spirit," but the fact of being saved. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to convince him of this fact. But this blessed assurance that belongs by right to every child of God should not be confused with a certain ebullition of joy that sometimes ac- companies certain ' ' happy conversions. " The latter is a thing of temperament ; some have it and some do not; moreover, it "comes and goes." But the true witness of the Spirit is not a thing of temperament, it does not ' ' come and go ; " but is a birthright to be claimed by every child of God, no matter what his temper- ament. "Quit your meanness, and be saved," may pass for a "short method of salvation" and "religion made easy," and may be followed by shaking the preacher's hand and joining the Church; but it is not the full and com- plete salvation from sin that is described in the Bible. Conviction of sin, repentance, faith, justification, regeneration, the witness of the Spirit all these are necessary to make a genuine Bible Christian. Nor have we any right to make personal salvation any simpler 108 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. or easier than the Bible makes it. When con- version is based upon an intelligent under- standing and a genuine experience of all these elements of salvation, then, and then only, does it mean experimental religion and impart spiritual power. Nor should we recognize any conscious sin as compatible with the regen- erate state except to be abhorred and forsaken, pardoned and cleansed, as soon as it is seen by the child of God. This ideal of holiness and freedom from sin is the birthright privilege and duty of every child of God from the very moment of his regeneration; and we must not lower God's high standard to rpake it fit man's shortcomings. Great as is the work above described in the salvation of a soul, it is not all that is to be done; indeed, it is nothing more than entrance upon the Christian life. And the Christian life does not consist in merely retaining' what has been thus attained. The victory over sin has not yet been fully and finally won; the first great battle has been successfully fought, and the long warfare has begun. All sin "in sight" was given up at and in "conversion;" but other sin will presently come in sight as the Christian advances and his spiritual vision grows clearer. And all holiness and love PERSOXAT, SALVATIOX. 1Q9 and duty in sight were welcomed, and assumed according to the degree of knowledge and faith then possessed.; but knowledge and faith will increase, and soon it will appear that if the character attained in justification and regeneration was regarded as "perfec- tion," it was a very imperfect perfection. Sinlessness, entire holiness, the perfect life that is the ever-advancing goal that is ahead of the regenerate child of God. Christian perfection is the. name given to this doctrine which holds a place of highest hon- or in Methodist theology. Perfection is a term which the Scriptures use in describing the ideal religious experience and character which has been made possible by divine grace. Methodism, taking the term from the Bible, teaches that it is not only a possibility and a privilege, but the duty of every child of God to attain unto that type of Christian experience and character, and to lead that life that may be fitly described by the term "Christian per- fection." As to what is to be accomplished progressively and what instantaneously, and whether or not Christian perfection is a ihing to be "professed" these are points of secondary importance about which Metho- dists do now differ, and always have differed. IX. THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. OUR ' Thirteenth Article of Religion con- tains the following definition of the Chris- tian Church: "The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly administered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." This excellent definition suggests: (1) The relation of the Church to Christ, its divine Founder, whose ' ' ordinances " are its laws. (2) The Church is organized Christianity, not an aggregation of detached and unrelated units, but a visible "congregation" or collection of men bound together by a common relation to Christ and to each other, and organized for the accomplishment of a definite purpose in the world. (3) It is composed of "faithful men" that is, men who possess both faith in Christ and fidelity to Christ, to secure which type of character in its membership proper conditions of admission to the Church and a proper discipline over those in the Church must be enforced. (4) The first function of the THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. Ht Church is the teaching or preaching of the word, which must be committed mainly, though not exclusively, to those especially charged therewith and trained therefor that is, the Christian ministry. (5) The sacra- ments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, are to be duly administered. (6) There are some things which "of necessity are requisite" to the Church and its sacraments, and other things which are not of necessity required in other words, essentials and nonessentials in religion. In the former there must be unity; in the latter there may be liberty. While it is most common to designate the Church as the Church of Christ, it is none the less appropriately called the Church of God and the Church of the Holy Spirit. It is the Church of the Triune God. It is first of all called "the church of God" (Acts xx. 28) or the "household of God" (Eph. ii. 19). As such it has existed from the beginning, and is, in a sense, one in all ages. From the beginning of time there have always been true believers in God, and these have consti- tuted the true Church. The Church is most frequently and appro- priately designated as the Church of Christ, because it is founded upon his divine-human THE nOCTRTXES OF METHODISM. person and work, upon his life and teaching, upon his atoning death and resurrection, upon his session at the right-hand of the Father, and his intercession for the saints. The new order of things which Christ came to estab- lish, he usually designates as his kingdom, the "kingdom of God," or the "kingdom of heaven." Only twice does he use the word "Church" (ekklesia), the one case referring to a local assembly of Christian people (Matt, xviii. 17), and the other being the classic pas- sage in which he refers to the visible organi- zation of Christian believers for all time, and announces the faith, the foundation, and the perpetuity of the Church : ' ' He saith unto them [his disciples], But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Bless- ed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt. xvi. 15-18.) When Christ said to Peter, "Upon this rocJc I will build my church," he prob- ably referred to St. Peter's confession, "Thou THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHUBCH. art the Christ, the Son of the living God;" the one great truth contained in which viz. , the divinity of Christ is the true rock of faith upon which the Church is built. Some think that Christ referred to himself as "this rock;" others, that he referred to St. Peter as a representative of the apostles, whose work and inspired teachings were, in an important sense, to constitute the foundation of the Church. The Church, again, is the Church of the Holy Spirit. The beginning of the Christian Church as a visible organization took place on the day of Pentecost. For this beginning Christ's work is shown by the Gospel records to have been preparatory. Not until our Lord's revelation concerning the nature of his spiritual kingdom was complete, and not un- til his atoning death and resurrection were become historical facts, had the time come for the historical beginning and foundation of the Church. (^The Church is the organ which the Spirit uses for the accomplishment of his work in the world. The Spirit can and does work under any outward form of Church government. That is the truest Church that can furnish, in the number of souls saved through its agency, the most indubitable and 8 114 THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. abiding evidence of possessing this supreme credential: the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.) The visible Church, in the widest sense of that term, includes all Churches and all mem- bers in all Churches who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Head and trust in him and him alone for salvation. These constitute but one spiritual body, as viewed by Christ the Head. The true scriptural unity is not so much one of outward form as of inward life; it is a uni- ty based on a true confession of faith in one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is entirely consistent with this idea of scrip- tural unity that there should be many reli- gious denominations within the Church of Christ, There is a distinction to be made between the outward and visible Church, which is com- posed of all professing Christians, and the true spiritual and invisible Church, which is composed only of real and true Christians. While the visible Church will always contain in its membership some who are not in the invisible and spiritual kingdom of Christ, yet an effort should be made to make the two cor- respond as nearly as possible. The Church of the New Testament is composed of the THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHUECH. H5 saved: " The Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved." (Acts ii. 47.) Before any one is admitted to full member- ship in the Church, he should give evidence not only of his sincere "desire to flee the wrath to come and to be saved from his sins," but also of "the genuineness of his faith;" in other words, he should give credible evidence of having exercised such repentance and faith as are laid down in the New Testament as the conditions of salvation. This will secure, ap- proximately at least, a membership of truly con- verted people. If these scriptural conditions of salvation be required as the conditions of admission to the Church, and discipline be duly enforced, then will the visible Church be made as pure and spiritual as is possible here on earth, and then only will the Church be a "congregation of faithful men." The Christian ministry is a divine vocation in that only those may enter it who are di- vinely called thereto. We believe that the Holy Spirit chooses those whom he would have to preach, and indicates his choice of them by making an inward impression upon their minds as to their duty in this regard. But the Church also must sit in judgment on those who feel called to preach, and thus "try THE DOCTRINES OF METHODISM. the spirits to see whether they be of God or not." The Christian ministry, as its name indicates, is first of all an office of service. Ministers are servants of Christ and of the Church. The most important function of the ministry is to preach the word. The salvation of sinners and the edification of believers de- pend upon their fidelity to this part of their work. If the "pure word of God" is to be preached, the ministry must be educated in a right understanding and interpretation of the Bible; otherwise false and fanatical doctrines may be drawn from the word of God by mis- interpretation and unsound exegesis. Methodism recognizes but two institutions of the Church as sacraments: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The Church retains the prim- itive and apostolic custom of baptizing in- fants. While it is the rule that the children only of Christian parents (or guardians) are presented for baptism, yet the Church teaches that the right of a child to Christian baptism grows out of his own relation to Christ, rath- er than that of his parent or guardian. As to the mode of baptism, Methodism favors pouring or sprinkling as more simple and symbolic of the "washing of regeneration," but allows perfect liberty on the part of adult THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. applicants for Church membership to choose either of these modes or immersion. The Lord's Supper is regarded as a memorial serv- ice and a means of grace of more than ordi- nary sanctity. It is the privilege and duty of every member of the Church to partake regu- larly of this sacrament as opportunity offers. If our doctrine of the Church be true, every branch of the Christian Church is free to de- termine its own polity or form of govern- ment. The value of each can be tested only by time and experience. The polity of Meth- odism has been on trial for about a century and a half; and that of Episcopal Methodism for a little over a century, during which time it has been constantly undergoing modifica- tions and adaptations to new conditions as its growth and ever- widening mission seemed to demand. Judged by its history in the past and its efficiency and rapid growth at the present time, it is doubtful whether any branch of the Christian Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has ever devised a more scriptural and efficient form of government than that of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. It behooves every student of Christian doctrines to give it a careful examination. SECTION THREE. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. BY BISHOP JAMES ATKINS, D.D. (119) X. THE GENERAL RULES. THE Church of Christ is an aristocracy of virtue. It is the only one which has serious- ly and successfully battled for a place among men. Truly it is a kingdom of grace, but the only end of that grace is holiness of character and life. Tender and all-giving as Jesus was in his attitude toward penitent men, nothing can exceed his burning candor in laying down the conditions of discipleship. These condi- tions would be indeed harsh if the power of execution were not furnished from above. But by the divine reenforcement all things are possible, and most moral achievements easy, to men who believe. A life of self-de- nial is the natural order for one in whom the supreme act and purpose of self-abnegation have gone before, and a life of heroic moral doings is easy to a man who is moved upon by the Spirit of God. The moral code of Methodism is contained in what are called the General Rules. These rules have thrown their gracious, helpful do- minion over many millions who in these more than one hundred and fifty years of our his- (121) OUR POLITY. tory have gone from the self-denials and la- bors of this life into the rewards of another. There are now about seven millions within the Methodist fold who are confessedly walk- ing by the same rules. The only condition required of those who seek membership in our Church is "a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins." This surely is broad enough, and yet when interpreted in the light of the Rules it leaves nothing to be added. It certainly excludes all who have a desire to flee from the wrath to come and to be saved in their sins. Those who have this desire to be saved from wrath and sin will, if the desire be gen- uine, give evidence of it in three ways: First, by doing no harm that is, avoiding evil of every kind. Secondly, by doing good to loth the bodies and souls of men. Thirdly, by attending upon the ordinances of God. THE THINGS FORBIDDEN. Taking the name of God in vain. This includes: (1) Profane swearing and all forms of curs- THE GENERAL RULES. J23 ing, especially such as involve the preroga- tives of the Deity. There is much sinful swearing which does not contain the name of God, but implies it. He who curses his fel- low-man, with or without the mention of God's name, assumes a place of judgment which belongs to God only. (2) Perjury, or intentionally false swear- ing, in which God is called to witness to the truth of what is false. This indicates the utmost baseness of character, and the penalties of the civil law against it are justly severe. (3) All sacrilegious and other vain or light uses of the name of God. (4) All idle swearing, which long ago Chaucer pronounced a "crudeness," and which is now, and must ever remain at the least, an act of incivility, and lead the way to more serious and more hurtful forms of the offense. The name of God stands for his character, and therefore the breaking of the third com- mandment is one of the most dangerous and debasing of sins. Profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein, or by buying or selling. 124 OUR POLITY. The three great doctrines taught by the Sabbath as we now have it are: (1) That God is the Creator of all things; (2) that Christ is risen from the dead; and (3) that all our time belongs to God. "The Sabbath, in its spiritual aspect and meaning, is one of the strongest defenses of the inspiration of the Bible and of the divin- ity of the religion which it reveals. It is man's day and God's day; more thoroughly man's day because completely God's day. It is their united time, time of fellowship, hour of communion, opportunity for deeper reading, larger prayer, and diviner consecra- tion." (Joseph Parker.) Christianity has no more important institu- tion than the Holy Sabbath. It would be difficult to overestimate the value of the day both to individuals and to communities. The demand for it is laid in the physical constitu- tion of man and the laboring animals. Not only was the Sabbath made for man, but man was made with reference to a Sabbath, so that in this regard, as well as in other things, it is to the best interests of man in his present state to obey God's commands. Such a rest is necessary to the highest sanity of the indi- vidual and the community, and hence it is THE GENERAL RULES. 125 that the Sabbath is one of the greatest safe- guards of personal and national life. It therefore becomes the duty not only of every true religionist and philanthropist, but of every true patriot, to advance by all means a proper keeping of the Sabbath day. It will be noted that in the divine institu- tion of the Sabbath it was made a day of rest, not of recreation. One of the worst evils of modern times is the habit of using the Sabbath as a day of recreation, and even of dissipation. It behooves all the teaching agencies of Christendom to set themselves against this pernicious drift by teaching in the home, the day school, the Sunday school, and the church how rightly to use the holy Sabbath. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; and in say- ing this he was breaking from off the Sab- bath those burdensome conditions which the traditions of the Jews had placed upon it. The divine Sabbath had been so obscured by them as to be wholly lost sight of. The re- ligious teachers who were objecting to Christ's use of the Sabbath for works of mercy were teaching the people that a man should not wear .shoes with tacks in them on the Sabbath, 126 OUR POLITT. lest the grass should be thereby crushed, and thus amount to a sort of mowing; and that a tailor should not place a needle in his coat late in the day before the Sabbath, lest he should forget and leave it there, and thus bear a burden on the Sabbath day. These are but samples of much foolishness which was in vogue in that day, and which perverted God's day so as to make it a burden instead of a blessing. Now Christ, instead of abrogating the Sabbath or implying that it was to be used for recreation, was but re- storing it to its original place as a day of rest and religious improvement. It seems that there were in the days of Isaiah some who took the recreation view of the Sabbath, and the words of the greatest of the old prophets are sufficient to fully cover the case now. God, speaking through him, says: "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of THE GENERAL RULES. 127 Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hpth spoken it." (Isa. Iviii. 13, 14.) Let it be noted that the command to work on the other six days is as explicit and as bind- ing as that which requires us to rest on the seventh. Drunkenness, or drinking spirituous liquors unless in cases of necessity. The Methodists from the beginning have been a temperance people, and they are still such, not in theory only but in practice. The American Metho- dists constitute, perhaps, the strongest single phalanx in the nation against this mammoth evil. But there needs to be the most thor- ough and constant teaching on this subject, in order that no generation of our young people shall be liable to repeat the folly and sin of drinking for lack of information. There is no sphere in which it is truer that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Intemperance is the costliest and most de- structive sin of mankind. It is this in itself, and in addition it leads in very many cases to every other form of sin. It is the mother of crimes. Intoxicants, even when used under the rule in "cases of necessity," ought to be used with the utmost caution and under the restraints of an enlightened conscience. The 128 OUR POLITY. story of the man who was bitten by a snake and was given whisky for it, though not new, is exact and apt. The bite got well, and in due time the snake died, but twenty years later the man was still taking the medicine. All in all, total abstinence is the best rule, because the only one that is absolutely safe. (a) Fighting, quarreling, brawling; (b) brother going to law with brother; (c) return- ing evil for evil, or railing for railing; (d) the using many words in buying or selling. (a) These things are but little less than barbarous, and are wholly out of harmony with that spirit of fraternity which is ever a mark of the truly regenerate man. (5) As a rule, litigation even for righteous claims is harmful to one's relations and influ- ence. In most cases it is better both morally and financially to pay a lawyer to keep you out of the courts than to take you through them. (c) "Evil for evil, or railing for railing," embodies the spirit of the old order of ' ' an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," which Christ distinctly condemned. (d) "Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." Talk straight to the THE GENERAL RULES. 129 point, and when you have done turn to some- thing else. The buying or selling goods that have not paid the duty. The days in which these rules originated were days of much smuggling. The govern- ment was being constantly defrauded by ship- pers and merchants who in various ways were avoiding the payment of the lawful duties. This was simply stealing from the govern- ment, and those who knowingly took part in the benefits were partners with the thieves. Of course no truly Christian man could do such a thing. The principle involved still abides. The tariff may be right or it may be wrong; but in either event the man who knowingly deals in goods which have not paid it is cer- tainly wrong. There is a very loose notion abroad as to the obligation on the part of the individual to deal fairly and justly with the government and with corporations. An honesty which does not deport itself with exact righteous- ness in relation to both is not worthy of the name. The giving or taking things on usury, i. e. , unlawful interest. 130 OUR POLITY. The word "usury" is from the Latin word usus, which in this connection means "so much for the use of" that is, any interest whatever. It is in this sense that the word is used in the Bible. It retained this sense until within the last three centuries. The Jews were forbidden by the law to take any interest from each other for the use of money or other commodities. Hence under their law any interest was usury. Usury now means unlawful interest that is, interest at a higher rate than that provided for in the law of the State within which the business is transacted. The terms "giving" and "tak- ing" seem to include him who borrows at un- lawful interest as well as him who lends. It must, nevertheless, be allowed that the two cases are quite different as to the moral ele- ment involved. Uncharitable or unprofitable conversation, particularly speaking evil of magistrates or of ministers. This is an exceedingly important rule. The power of speech is one of the greatest and most dangerous dignities conferred upon man. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Purity of speech is one of the highest signs of a noble and re- THE GENERAL RULES. fined nature. Coarseness and baseness of speech can come from but one source. Men do not often make mistakes in their esti- mate of it. The crudest men know that low- ness of speech is unbecoming the children of God. Uncharitable speech indicates a harsh and uncharitable mood, if not a fixed disposition. It always inflicts two injuries, one upon the victim of it and the other upon the author. Charity even toward one's enemies is one of the strongest pledges of trueness toward one's friends. Uncharitable talk when once begun knows no limits. It is like a fire in a field, which does not burn according to metes and bounds, but by its own heat and the material it finds in all directions to feed upon. The unprofitable conversation referred to in the rule means light and trashy talk, such as is common among gossips and gabblers, and to which young people are especially liable if not rightly guarded against it. The unfur- nished mind finds it much easier to prate about things of no value than to prepare for season- able and profitable talk. But unprofitable conversation also includes more serious and thoughtful talk which lacks a pure and helpful purpose. This is even more to be 132 UR POLITY. avoided than idle and meaningless conversa- tion. - Speaking evil of rulers and ministers is a very common fault. It seems to be assumed by many that any exaltation in office implies the right of the people to make a sort of tar- get of the man thus exalted. Nothing is far- ther from the truth. Such men deserve the sympathy and the support of those whom they represent in so far as these can be con- scientiously given. All faithful men occupy- ing places of trust and power realize that the higher they go as men reckon height, the heavier their responsibilities become and the more burdensome their duties. Men, wheth- er magistrates or ministers, who serve the people faithfully have a right to the moral support of the public. To discount this by evil-speaking is a wrong to the men and often- times a crime against the civil or religious in- terests which such men are set to serve. If rulers or ministers are either incompe- tent [or unfaithful, let a change be made in a constitutional way. Evil-speaking corrects nothing. In general, the habit of reckless criticism within the household needs to be most careful- ly guarded against. Much infidelity is bred THE GENERAL HULES. 133 in children by indiscriminate and indiscreet criticism of the preacher and the preaching. Whoever destroys in himself or another a genuine reverence for superiors in years, in attainments, in position rightly used, is fool- ishly cutting from above him the rounds of the ladder by which he would rise to higher things. A true reverence, especially in young people, is one of the most beautiful and charming of virtues, and is the spring of un- numbered blessings to society. It is the very chivalry of man's moral nature, and adorns every stage of life as nothing else can do. Doing to others as we would not they should do unto us. This is merely the negative statement of the golden rule, and includes all forms of in- jury to our fellow-men. Doing what we know is not for the glory of God: as. The putting on of gold and costly apparel. A display of extravagant and vainglorious finery is always unbecoming in the children of God. This is no doubt the spirit aimed at in this rule. Any such interpretation of it as would lead the Church to regulate the per- sonal habits of its members in regard to their attire has long since ceased. It is, neverthe' 134 OtTR POLITY. less, well for all to have due regard to situa- tion and ability in their dressing. The use of jewelry or fine clothing to the exclusion of a liberal part in the benevolent movements of the Church is wrong beyond question, and shows a low and selfish disregard of the claims of others for the necessities of life and for mental and spiritual enlightenment. It indicates a spirit which is far from the spirit of Christ. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The taking such diversions as ca/nnot be used in the name of the Lord Jesus. The language of this rule clearly implies that there are diversions which may be taken without injury. Diversions which are not in themselves harmful to health or character, when not used to excess so as to become a waste of time or a dissipation, may be used with profit. What those diversions are is left to the intelligence and conscience of the individual believer, except as to those which have been commonly condemned by men as evil, or have been pronounced against by the authorities of our Church . These prohibited amusements are dancing, card-playing, theater-going, attend- ance upon race courses^ circuses , and the like. fHE GENERAL RULES. Chief among these offenses is the modern dance. The bishops, in their address to the General Conference of 1874, speak on the point as follows: "An explicit utterance was given by order of the last General Confer- ence, in our pastoral address, on 'Worldly Amusements.' We now repeat that utter- ance. We abate none of its teachings with respect either to manifest inconsistency of such indulgences with the spirit and profession of the gospel, or the perils which they bring to the souls of men. . . . Among these indulgences ... is the modern dance, both in its private and public exhibition, as utterly opposed to the genius of Christianity as taught by us." The General Conference of 1890 appointed a special committee of fifteen to prepare an address on the spiritual state of the Church. The report of this committee was adopted by the General Conference and published in the Discipline of that year. In that report is found the following language: "In this same condemnation, as equally contrary to the Scriptures, which declare that 'the friendship of the world is enmity against God,' to our General Rules, and to the vows which our members have voluntarily assumed, 136 OUR POLITY. this General Conference would include card playing, theater-going, attendance upon race courses, circuses, and the like. These offenses are likewise justifiable grounds of discipline." The General Conference, having adopted this report, took the following action: "Resolved, That inasmuch as the deliver- ances of our bishops, as contained in their quadrennial addresses to the General Confer- ence from time to time, and as quoted at length by the Special Committee of Fifteen, have declared dancing, theater-going, card- playing, and the like worldly indulgences, to be contrary to the spirit of Christianity, and violative of the General Rules and moral dis- cipline of our Church, as also of the vows of our Church members; we therefore heart- ily indorse the aforesaid deliverances as con- taining the just and correct interpretation of the law in the premises, and as such this General Conference accepts the same as hay- ing equal force and authority as if contained in the body of the Discipline." (1497, Dis- cipline of 1890.) These utterances and acts put the position of our Church on these diversions beyond question. In this regard the Methodist Church articulates and authoritatively states THE GENERAL RULES. what all the leading Churches hold. Espe- cially is this true of the modern dance, which, though practiced by many Church members in the various denominations and is even con- nived at by some communions, is approved by no Church in Christendom, and is severe- ly condemned by most. A consensus of religious opinion running through many ages of trial and embracing many peoples touching the injurious nature of any practice is itself an almost unanswerable argument against such practice. But a care- ful examination into the data upon which the Church has made up and holds its estimate of the dance will furnish ample proofs to every age that the practice is thoroughly carnal, wars against spiritual interests, and brings much detriment to the spiritual life of many who engage in it. But let it be noted that a wise administra- tion of discipline in regard to these things will never be harsh. It is sometimes very difficult for young persons to see in these di- versions what the Church sees. While all sane young persons can see that a vow delib- erately made and deliberately and habitually broken involves sin, it is still best to ree'n- force them with such knowledge of the in- 1.38 OUB POLITY. herent or incidental evil of these practices as will make them both clear and strong in their own views against them. A wise discipline will, therefore, always be by instruction, by patience, and in the main by persuasion. TJie singing those songs, or reading those fooks, which do not tend to the knowledge or love of God. The songs and books of a people are the mightiest factors in determining of what char- acter a people shall be. Singing and reading are, therefore, suitable subjects for advisory rules on the part of the Church which would bring its members to the highest and best. This rule does not mean that we are to sing no songs or read no books except such as are distinctly religious in character, but rather that we shall avoid all such as are pernicious or empty of substantial good. In Mr. Wes- ley's time there was very little that was wholesome and edifying in the literature of the day, and much that was bad, and he did a truly great work in expunging, recasting, and making books for his people to read. There is now no more important interest for parents and religious teachers to look after. Many a young person has been ruined by making a companion of one bad book. THE GENERAL RULES. Softness or needless self -indulgence. There is no room for a lazy man in the kingdom of God. A self-indulgent and ease- seeking person cannot fairly claim to be a follower of our Lord, who himself came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and who went about doing good. The servant is not above his Lord. It is every man's duty to be diligent, not only in spiritual concerns but also in temporal affairs. No amount of wealth or opportunity for ease can free a man from the obligation to pursue with alacrity some chosen field of service. Laying up treasure upon earth. Mr. Wesley in one of his sermons gives three great mottoes on this subject: (1) Make all you can. (2) Save all you can. (3) Give all you can. Make all you can consistently with perfect integrity and the rights of oth- ers. Save all you can that is, waste noth- ing. Give all you can consistently with your plain obligations. Mr. Wesley himself made much, wasted nothing, gave everything. Had he been a man of family, he probably could not have made so much, wasted so little, or given all. Nevertheless, he preached the right doctrine and gave the right example concerning earthly treasures. Some wag has OUR POLITY. said pithily at least that the maxim which governs the business world of to-day is: "Make all you can, and can all you make." Perhaps no desire is more universal and more hurtful to spiritual life than the desire to lay up treasure upon earth. The Church is by no means free from it, and there is much need of sound teaching in order that our peo- ple may be saved from an inordinate love of the world. Sorrowing without a probability of paying r , or taking up goods without a probability of paying for them. This is virtually obtaining money or goods under false pretenses, which is a misdemean- or under the laws of many, perhaps most, of the States. Thoroughgoing honesty is one of the most valuable fruits of the gospel, and is one of the most charming traits in Church members as they are looked upon by the eyes of the world. There are honest pagans; shall any Christian be less? The next section of the Rules, on doing good, is given so clearly and in such detail as to need no comment. It is as follows: It is expected of all who continue in these so- cieties that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation^ THE GENERAL RULES. 141 Secondly, by doing good, by being in every kind merciful after their power, as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men: To their bodies, of the ability which Godgiv- eth, by giving food to the hungry, by clothing (he naked, by visiting or helping tJiem that are sick or in prison j To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse with; trampling underfoot that enthusiastic doctrine that "we are not to do good unless our hearts be free to it." By doing good, especially to them that are of tlie household of faith, or groaning so to be; employing them preferably to others, buying one of another, helping each other in business; and so much the more because the world will love its own, and them only. By all possible diligence and frugality , that the gospel be not blamed. By running with patience tfie race which is set before them, denying themselves, and taking up their cross daily; submitting to bear the re- proach of Christ, to be as the filth and qffscour- ing of the world, and looking that men should say all manner of evil of them falsely for the Lord^s sake. 142 OUR POLITY. It is expected of all who desire to continue in these societies that they should continue to evi- dence tlielr desire of salvation, Thirdly, by attending upon all the ordinances of God; such are, The public worship of God. There is much strength in fellowship, no matter what the issue; especially is this the case in spiritual things. No man is so strong as not to need the ree'nf orcement which comes from communion with those of like mind and heart. The doctrines of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man stand very close together. He who has lost his sense of fellowship would do well to look closely into i\\Q foundations of his faith. The great de- fection of Thomas against his Lord was due to his being absent from the first prayer meeting after the resurrection. "Forsake not the as- sembling of yourselves together, as the man- ner of some is." When the Pentecost came, the disciples were of one accord in one place. The divine presence is promised to the assem- blies of the saints. The ministry of the word, either read or ex- pounded. Jesus ordained that the world should be saved by the preaching of the gospel. There THE GENERAL BULKS. 143 is no substitute for preaching. It has regu- lated the ethical state of men through the ages more than any other influence, and will prob- ably continue to do so to the end. Paul asks: " How can they hear without a preacher '? " It may also be asked: "How can he preach without hearers ? " It is the plain duty of every member who can to attend regu- larly upon the ministry of the word, and espe- cially upon that of his own Church. All the good ends of good preaching are helped by good hearing. The Supper of the Lord. Our Lord, who while living made himself of no reputation, left of himself when depart- ing no monument except that he made of the perishable elements, bread and wine, a remem- brancer. Even this is conditioned upon love and faith upon the part of those who eat and drink. He did not designate a place, a time, or a quantity. He said in substance: Do this as oft as ye shall do it in remembrance of me. The use of this holy sacrament is both a privi- lege and a duty. Many have been deterred from it by foolish and superstitious conceits. He eats and drinks worthily who eats and drinks with faith, and, it might be added, with a sense of his own unworthiness, 144 OUR POLITY. It ij the place of the stewards in each charge to procure and arrange the elements for the sacrament. This should always be attended to in a becoming way. In some places there is much neglect. A neat pitcher, however cheap, is better than the bottle which some- times appears. There is no occasion in con- nection with which there is more reason that all the proprieties should be carefully ob- served. Family and private prayer. There can be no spiritual life without prayer. It is 'She Christian's vital breath. " The neg- lect of it is always followed by religious de- cline. The great movements of the Church can be marked by the presence of men and women who were mighty in prayer princes who prevailed with God. The family altar is the birthplace of rev- erence and devotion as is no other place on earth. Parents who allow their children to go into the severe ordeals of life without its hal- lowed memories and fruits commit a great wrong against their offspring. Searching the Scriptures. One might as well expect to become a great lawyer without studying the common law or the statutes of his State as to become a robust TUB GENERAL EULES. 145 Christian without a thorough knowledge and frequent reading of the word of God. It is the sword of the Spirit, and he who fights sin in himself and others must know and constant- ly use it. The tendency to turn all Scripture study out of the family into the Sunday school is pernicious. The home is the best place for readying and studying God's word. Fasting or abstinence. This rule has fallen very much into disuse. It is, nevertheless, an important one. There are occasions in religious life and effort for which fasting or abstinence is an almost nec- essary preparation. It is wholesome for the body, quickens the mental faculties, tends to a sense of dependence by impressing us with the perishable nature of our bodies and of all ter- restrial life, leads to gratitude for material gifts, and in many ways helps toward a more spiritual order of living. 10 XI. THE COISTFEREISTCES OF METHODISM. The assembly name of Methodism in all its branches is the word "Conference." The spirit and purpose of Methodist assemblies is very well conveyed by this term, which means a meeting together in order to confer touch- ing all the persons and interests which lie within the domain of the Conference. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, has five kinds of Conference : Church, Quarter- ly, District, Annual, General. 1. The Church Conference is composed of all the members of the local Church and resi dent members of the Annual Conference. The pastor is the chairman. A secretary is elected annually by the body. This Confer- ence is very much like a family meeting in which all the interests of the household may be freely discussed and all local interests looked after, and is invaluable in quickening all the interests of the Church. The Church Conference is directed to meet once a month in stations, and at least once every three months at each appointment on (146) THE CONFERENCES OF METHODISM. J4J circuits. For order of work see Discipline, 191. #. The Quarterly Conference. This body meets, as its name implies, once a quarter, or four times in each Conference year. It is composed of all the traveling and local preach- ers residing within the circuit or station, with the exhorters, stewards, trustees, and class leaders of the respective circuits, stations, and missions, together with the superintendents of Sunday schools who are male members of the Church, the secretaries of Church Confer- ences, and the presidents of Senior Epworth Leagues, when eligible. The chairman of the Quarterly Conference is the presiding elder or, in his absence, the preacher in charge. For order of work see Discipline, ^ 87. 3. The District Conference. This meeting is held once a year in each district at such time as the presiding elder may appoint. The District Conference is composed of all the preachers in the district, traveling and local, and of laymen, the number of whom and the mode of their appointment each An- nual Conference determines for itself. The chairman of the District Conference is a bishop or, in his absence, the presiding elder. For order of work see Discipline, 1 72. 148 OUB POLITY. 4.. The Annual Conference. This Confer- ence is composed of all the traveling preach- ers in full connection with it and four lay rep- resentatives from each district. The lay mem- bers are chosen annually by the District Con- ference, and participate in all the business of the Conference except such as involves minis- terial character. The number and bounds of the Annual Conferences are determined by the General Conference. The time of each meet- ing is appointed by the bishop in charge, and the place is fixed by the Conference. The President of the Annual Conference is one of the bishops or, in his absence, a member of the Conference elected by ballot. The presi- dent thus elected discharges all the duties of a bishop except that of ordination. This is by far the most important, though not the highest in authority, of all the Con- ferences of Methodism. It has executive su- pervision of all the interests of the Church within its prescribed bounds, such as furnish- ing the people with the gospel, Home and Foreign Missions, Church extension, Sunday schools, Epworth Leagues, and Christian education. It has also large powers of initia- tion. Indeed, much of our General Confer- ence legislation originates as to the thought THE CONFERENCES OF METHODISM. 149 and plan within one or more of the Annual Conferences, and no constitutional matter passed upon by the General Conference can become law without the approval of three- fourths of the members of all the Annual Con- ferences. The Annual Conference passes at each ses- sion upon the personal life and official admin- istration of every preacher who is a member of it. The method adopted in this is as open and clear as possible. The name of each man is called in open Conference under the ques- tion, "Are all the preachers blameless in their life and official administration ? " The answer must be audible and without ambiguity. If a negative answer be given by anybody, lay or clerical, the law provides for an immediate investigation, and the acquittal of the accused or the imposition of proper penalties, the extremest of which is expulsion from the ministry and the Church. The right of ap- peal belongs to every member who is con- victed of any crime. That appeal is to the General Conference next ensuing. If a mem- ber be tried and acquitted, there can be no ap- peal: the decision of the Annual Conference is final. The Annual Conference has the right to locate one of its members for ineffi- 150 OUB POLITY. ciency or imacceptability. Such action does not imply anything against the personal char- acter of the one so dealt with. We have forty-four Annual Conferences. Five of these are in foreign countries, and one lies partly in Mexico and partly in the United States. 5. The General Conference. This body is composed of an equal number of traveling preachers and laymen, elected by the several Annual Conferences. The maximum and min- imum ratios of representation are fixed by what is called the Second Restrictive Rule. Within the limits thus fixed the General Conference may determine from time to time such ratios as it may deem advisable. The present ratio is one clerical member for every forty-eight members of each Annual Conference, and an equal number of lay members. The latest General Conference (1906) was composed of two hundred and ninety-two members. The President of the General Conference is one of the bishops or, if all the bishops should be absent or disabled, a member of the body elected by ballot. The bishops are not members of the General Conference oth- erwise than as Presidents of the body when in session. THE CONFERENCES OF METHODISM. J5J The General Conference is the only legis- lative assembly of the Church, and its busi- ness is largely transacted through estab- lished committees, very much as in other leg- islative bodies. The standing committees are fourteen in number, and are as follows: Episcopacy, Revisals, Boundaries, Itinerancy, Missions, Sunday Schools, Epworth League, Education, Temperance, Finance, Church Extension, Publishing Interests, Colportage, Appeals. The General Conference, being a delegated body, representative of the whole Church, has power to do whatever it deems best for the interests of the Church within the limits pre- scribed in the Six Restrictive Rules. It has power also to alter any of these rules except the first, which relates to the making of any change in our Articles of Religion. The method prescribed for altering any of the other five is given in a proviso to the Sixth Rule. It provides that the proposed change shall pass the General Conference by a two- thirds majority, and then be ratified by three-fourths of the members of the sever- al Annual Conferences present and voting. Such proposals of change may originate with the Annual Conferences. In that event the 152 OUB POLITY. order is reversed, and a three-fourths vote in the Annual Conferences must be followed by a two-thirds vote of the General Confer- ence. The General Conference meets once in four years in the month of April or May, and at such place as it may select. In the interim of the General Conferences the work prescribed by it is carried forward under the direction of the following GENERAL BOARDS. (1) The Book Committee, which has full supervision of all our publishing interests. and to which all connectional officers are amenable for their official conduct till the meeting of the General Conference. This committee is composed of thirteen members, six clerical and seven lay, elected by the Gen-, eral Conference, on nomination of a special committee appointed by the bishops. It elects its own chairman and secretary quadren- nially. (2) The Board of Missions, which consists of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and seventeen managers, elected by the General Conference quadrennially. The bishops and the Secretary of the Board of THE CONFERENCES OF METHODISM. Church Extension are ex officio members of the Board. The Board of Managers has full charge of all foreign missionary affairs, such as the raising of funds and their application, the selection of candidates for the work, and the supervision of all the interests of the Church in foreign fields. This Board has also an Assistant Secretary, elected by the Board quadrennially. (3) The Sunday School Board. ^This Board consists of six members, five elected quad- rennially by the General Conference, and the Sunday School Editor, who is elected quad- rennially by the General Conference, and who is ex officio chairman of the Board. To this Board belongs the general management of all Sunday school interests throughout the Church. (4) The Ep worth League Board, consisting of thirteen members, six clerical and six lay and one of the bishops, who is ex officio Presi- dent of the Board. Besides the President and General Secretary, who is elected quadren- nially by the General Conference, the other officers are three Vice Presidents and a Treas- urer, who are elected quadrennially by the Board. 154 OUR POLITY. (5) The Board of Education, which is com- posed of fifteen members, elected by the General Conference on nomination of the Committee on Education. The Board elects its own President, Vice President, and Re- cording Secretary, who also acts as Treasurer. The Corresponding Secretary, known as the Secretary of Education, is elected by the General Conference. It is the duty of this Board to supervise all the educational interests of the Church, as provided for in Chapter XII. of the Disci- pline. (6) The Board of Church Extension, which consists of a President, Vice President, Cor- responding Secretary, and Treasurer, and thirteen members, elected quadrennially by the General Conference, and continuing in office until their successors are elected and accept. The bishops and Secretary of Board of Missions are ex officio members of the Board. For a full statement of the work com- mitted to this Board see Discipline, 11386- 399. All these Boards meet once a year, usually in the month of May, and in the city of Nash- ville, except the Board of Church Extension, which meets in Louisville, Ky. XII. THE ITINERANCY. THE Methodist itinerancy is the most per- fectly organized obedience the world has yet seen to the great commission: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to 9 very creature." The two commands of the commission are to go and to preach. A Church which was the chief exponent of that phase of Arminian theology which teach- es that all men are free to be saved, and that nothing stands in the way thereto except their own agency, could not logically stop short of claiming the world for its parish. To visit that parish with the gospel was the great economic problem with which it undertook to deal in the production of an itinerant plan for the preaching of the gospel. Every one entering our traveling connec- tion solemnly pledges himself to go any- where to preach the gospel, whither the ap- pointing power may send him. This does not mean simply anywhere within that Annual Conference with which he connects his for- (155) 156 OUB POLITY. tunes, but anywhere within the range of a reasonable demand for his services. This leads me to remark that the Metho- dist itinerancy is as general as the episcopa- cy. Every preacher who unites with any Conference thereby joins the traveling connec- tion that is, joins the ministry of Southern Methodism to go whithersoever the bishop may see such need of his services as justifies his appointment. This is the economic fact upon which the transfer power of the bishop is based. Otherwise the transfer power would become nothing more than a power of per- suasion, and as a matter of authority amount to nothing. It is proper to say here that our bishops usually, perhaps unexceptionally, con- fer with a preacher to be transferred from his own to another Conference, so as, in a good measure, to secure his assent before he is appointed. The bishops, nevertheless, have the power to transfer a preacher to any field within our boundaries without his consent, and even against his will in the case. It is due to be said here that, inasmuch as our itinerancy is as general as our episcopacy, and as our Church confers upon the bishops the right to transfer preachers without any final right on the part of the preachers to refuse, such preachers, when THE ITINERANCY. transferred, have the same right to considera- tion and fellowship as those who have been members of the receiving Conference from the beginning. As a matter of fact, the transfer has to forego many things which are peculiarly dear to a Methodist preacher in order to serve the Church by obeying the or- der of Providence and the appointing power to the extent of leaving his own Conference to take work in another. But the life work of nearly all our preach- ers is within the bounds of the Annual Con- ference with which they first connect them- selves. Within those bounds every man is appointed to his work each year by the bish- op who presides. The bishop alone is the responsible appointing power. This does not mean that no others exert an influence. The bishop receives much advice, a large amount of which he is no doubt wise in disregard- ing. But so vast a movement as the itin- erancy does not leave so vital a matter to haphazard. The bishops are furnished with the best system possible for obtaining coun- sel of the most seasoned kind in regard to both the preachers to be appointed and the fields to be served. For the full vindi- cation of this position it is necessary that we 158 OUB POLITY. glance at the order of work within the Con- ference. Each Annual Conference contains quite a large territory, sometimes a whole state, sometimes a half state, and so on, according to the population to be served, etc. The lar- gest Conferences have from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pastoral charges, em- bracing from sixty to one hundred thou- sand Church members. Each Conference is divided into a number of presiding elders' dis- tricts, from ten to twelve, according to the number of charges in the Conference. These districts usually contain from twelve to twen- ty pastoral charges. The presiding elder, appointed annually by the bishop, has charge of the district, and his duties in general are to preach on four occasions in each pastoral charge, to preside over the Quarterly and District Conferences, counsel with the preach- ers for their own improvement and for the benefit of the Church, and to see that all the interests of the Church are looked after. This office is one of very great importance, and when duly magnified stands second only to that of a bishop. It involves heavy labors^ large responsibilities, and vast opportunities. This leads us back to the question of the THE ITINERANCY. 159 appointing power and the usual method of its exercise. All the presiding elders of an An- nual Conference compose a council which has come to be called the bishop's cabinet. Usual- ly the presiding bishop calls the presiding elders to meet him daily, and they together go carefully over the charges, examining into the work of the preachers, and making a ten- tative appointment of each to a place. There are frequent revisions of these appointments before they are ready for announcement at the close of the Conference. Not only does the bishop have the full benefit of the counsel of these chosen advisers^ but any preacher or layman has access to the presiding elders and the bishop to show any view he may hold in regard to men and places. But after all, the responsibility for every appointment is with the bishop, who, if he should choose, has power to change all the appointments agreed upon by the presiding elders, including the places of the presiding elders themselves. It has been said by some that this order places too much power in the hands of the bishops. This might be true under certain conceivable conditions. But so long as wise men do not put themselves to great trouble to do foolish things, or good men to do bad 1GO OUB POLITY. things, in either case without reward and in full view of persuasive penalties, there is no danger of the misuse of this peculiarly sacred power. As to our -preachers, we hold strongly that God calls those whom he would have to pro- claim his message, and that such a call implies a call to thoroughly prepare for the best use of the holy office. When one is inwardly persuaded of his call to the ministry, he is, if on examination found worthy, recommended by the Quarterly Con- ference of the charge to which he belongs for license to preach. This recommendation is now to the District Conference. Formerly that is, from the time of our organization till 1894 the licensing of preachers was by the Quarterly Conference. The District Confer- ence receiving the recommendation examines into the gifts, graces, and usefulness of the candidate; and, finding him worthy, grants a license for one year, which must thereafter be annually renewed until the local preacher thus made is ordained a deacon. This ordination comes in due course, by vote of the An- nual Conference, in four years, provided the local preacher has done satisfactory work and is recommended by the District Confer- THE ITINERANCY. JgJ ence for this order. If the local preacher thus made desires to join the traveling connection, he procures a recommendation from the Dis- trict Conference to the Annual Conference for admission on trial. At the session of the An- nual Conference he is examined by two com- mittees touching his gifts, attainments, and suitableness for this work. If found worthy, and if he be needed, he is admitted on trial by a majority vote of the Annual Conference. He is not then a member of the Conference, but is a local preacher on trial to become a member. If at the expiration of two years he has proven his fitness for the work, and passed satisfactory examinations ep the course of study for the two years, he is by order of the Conference ordained a deacon and admit- ted into membership in the Conference. If he continue for two years more to demon- strate his fitness for the work, and pass the re- quired examinations on the course of study for the third and fourth years, he is ordained an elder. When once admitted into membership in the traveling connection, there are five ways of going out: To withdraw; to die; to be ex- pelled for immorality, as provided for in the Discipline; to ask for and receive a location; 11 162 OUR POLITY. and to be located by vote of the Conference for inefficiency or unacceptability. When lo- cation occurs, either by request or by the un- solicited vote of the Conference, the one thus located remains a local preacher. It should here be noted that the work of a local preacher is chiefly to preach within the charge to which he belongs, under the direc- tion of the preacher in charge, and to assist in all manner of religious work as opportunity may offer. The local preacher pursues some other vocation for a livelihood, and usually receives nothing for his services as a preach- er. The local preacher has been, through most of our history, a great power in the Church. With the multiplication of reg- ular pastors, and a decrease in the size of pastoral charges, by which most of our peo- ple are furnished with frequent opportuni- ties for hearing the word, there has come a decline in our local ministry which is to be much regretted. There is still room for the constant employment of thousands of such godly and devoted men, and the seer who can suggest a plan by which the local ministry can be restored to its pristine pow- er and spiritual glory will confer a lasting Benefit upon foe Church. The English M>th- THE ITINEBANCY. 163 odists, amidst their crowded conditions, are making great use of it. Within the Annual Conference, and apart from those who are in the active work, there are supernumerary and superannuated preachers. "A supernumerary preacher is one who is so disabled by affliction as to be unable to preach constantly, but who is willing to do any work in the ministry which the bishop may direct and he may be able to perform." "A super- annuated preacher is one who is worn out in the itinerant service. " Superannuated preach- ers are supported in whole or in part, usually in part, and a very small part at best, out of the superannuates' fund a fund raised chiefly by collections throughout the Annual Confer- ence for that purpose. The highest place in our ministry is that of bishop, or General Superintendent. Our bish- ops are elected by the General Conference, which, as we have seen, is a delegated body composed of an equal number of traveling preachers and laymen. Bishops are in every way amenable to the body which makes them. The life and official administration of each is passed under review once in four years. This is done in what is known as the Committee on Episcopacy. Any preacher or layman in the 164 OUR POLITY. connection may come, by letter or in per on, before this committee with any complaint he may wish to make. It thus happens that our bishops' lives are lived in the open like those of all our preachers. No class is held to a stricter accountability; and yet there is in that Committee, as elsewhere, a profound reverence for the office and for those who are called to fill it. This is largely due to the unimpeachable integrity and purity of those who have been occupants of that place. We have never had a case of trouble with a bishop on moral grounds, and none of a serious nature on grounds of adminis- tration. The College of Bishops meets once a year, in the month of May, to consider all the inter- ests of the Church committed to them. There is an annual assignment made of each bishop to the work of the ensuing year. This is done through a committee of bishops appointed for that purpose by the College. There is no class of preachers among us to which is assigned so long and varied a list of duties as to our bishops. Their responsibili- ties are of the largest, and their fields of labor practically boundless. This will be readily seen by reading, in Chapter III. , Section 2, of THE ITINERANCY. 165 the Discipline, what the Church provides that its bishops shall do. The bishops, being general superintendents, are supported by the general Church out of funds collected for the purpose within each Annual Conference. Bishops who have be- come superannuated, and the widows and chil- dren of deceased bishops, are sustained in the same way. Both the salaries and allowances are fixed by recommendation of the Commit- tee on Episcopacy. XIII. OUR WE may say, without any disparagement of other forms of Church government, that there is one element in Methodism which sur- passes anything hitherto known in Church organization. That feature may be called the genius of it rather than a mere element. We refer to its connectionalism. We call it the genius of Methodism because it pervades with its spirit every part of the system from the reception of a preacher on trial to the bishopric or general superintendence, and is in all the work of the Church from the exten- sion of church - building within the home field to the giving of the gospel to every creature. By connectionalism we mean that summation of conditions by which the whole Church is present in a good sense wherever any part of it exists that is, each part is in vital relation to all the others. The most in- experienced preacher in the humblest field is there in effect by the appointment or will of the whole Church. The Church brings this appointment about by the simplest and most rational method possible. It is through the (166) OUR CONNECTIOXALISM. 167 bishop, who has a wholly general relation, and who is as truly subject to appointment by his peers as the pastors are to appointment by him. He has his work assigned him once a year, and each time his field is as liable to be within China or Brazil as in Tennessee. But this general superintendence, which is thus free from local prejudices, is not a haphazard matter. The bishop does his work after counsel from the presiding elders, whose busi- ness it is to know in as far as possible both the man and the field. The bishops themselves are elected to this work by the whole Church in a delegated assembly, which is composed of traveling preachers and laymen in equal numbers, and the bishops are constantly ame-. nable to this body for the way in which they exercise this appointing power as well as all oth- er functions which belong to the office. It is in this way that the whole Church makes the appointment of any preacher, whether he be the pastor of the remotest mission, with its peculiar hardships, or the episcopacy, with its fullness of care and responsibility. This principle finds most impressive illustration when an Annual Conference meets in its last session to receive the appointments. In the whole body not a man knows certainly what 108 OUR POLITY. his field of labor will be until the pronounce- ment falls from the lips of the bishop, the man through whom the Church appoints him. These men are not less ardent in their at- tachments because of the fact that their sys- tem makes them cosmopolitan in their sym- pathies and habits of thought. No men have stronger individuality or more definite pref- erences than Methodist preachers. They go, nevertheless, whithersoever they are sent with a good cheer which is utterly inexplicable to those who do not understand the workings of our system. There is no truer exhibition of moral sublimity in all the organizations of men than an Annual Conference receiving the appointments. There is not to be found elsewhere in hu- man history such a combination of self -sur- render and pure democracy as is found in the Methodist itinerancy and its loyal acceptance by the Church. The self -surrender element is found in the Catholic Church, especially in its Jesuitism, but the democracy is not there. With the Romanists everything proceeds from a so-called infallible pope; with the Metho- dists everything, including its ministry throughout, is of the Church. The self- surrender of the Methodist preacher, while OUR CONNECTIONALISM. 100 in a broad and high sense ausolute, is yet un- der guard of a democratic order so thorough and complete as to take out of it all elements of mere chance and as far as possible all dan- gers from mere personal prejudice. In other words, his surrender is not to any man or committee of men, but to the whole Church for the good of the whole. Not only so, but the surrender of the right, on the part of the preacher, to choose his field of work is an- swered back to by the surrender, on the part of the congregation, of its right to choose a pastor. And yet there is no lack of intelli- gent counsel both ways. A practical outcome of this order is that probably no Church is bet- ter satisfied with its pastors, and no preachers more unselfishly devoted to their people. As it is in the ministry, so it is in the work of the Church. The Church itself in. general council determines what work shall be under- taken of a general order, and by a rational method determines what part of the work shall be done by each part of the Church, and thus stands back of the individual pastor, as he proceeds to his task, and furnishes the pledge of its assembled wisdom to each con- gregation as it goes forward with the achieve- ment of its part of the whole. It will be 170 OUR POLITY. easily seen that this plan greatly reenforces the individual invention of the pastor, and, when the pastor is wholly lacking in inven- tion, provides for a safe and harmonious schedule of Church work. In the connectional order of Methodism the Boards of Management are truly General Boards. Each Annual Conference has its own Boards, but in addition to superintending lo- cal or Conference interests these Boards have a connectional side. They execute within the Annual Conferences the plans of the General Boards. The General Boards are created by th<* General Conference every four years, and in all the interests committed to them they stand for the General Conference in the in- terims of its meetings. In this way the will of the general Church or General Confer- ence is made to run on without lack of authority or resources as surely and as suc- cessfully as if each interest were under the immediate direction of the General Confer- ence itself. As a result of this arrange- ment, whatever these Boards undertake, within the limitations put upon them, be- comes a matter for the whole Church, in the doing of which the honor of the Church is involved, and in which the loyalty of every OUR CONNECTIONALISM. 171 charge to the will of the general Church comes into play. There are certain things which stand related to this connectional organization very much as in geometry a corollary is related to a the- orem and its processes of demonstration. Logically considered, they are "obvious con- sequences," whether they have as yet mate- rialized into a part of our polity, as some of them have, or stand forth only in the form of a logical demand that the Church shall use them. One of these corollaries is the transfer power, which is born of the relation of our general superintendency to our general itiner- ancy as set forth in the discussion of "Our Itinerancy." Two other conclusions which connectional- ism was bound to reach, and did reach long ago, were a connectional organ and a connec- tional publishing interest. How well these have worked, we have all seen long ago. Some years ago, when the Publishing House became involved to a point of practical insol- vency, the connectional spirit was appealed to, and a process was begun which resulted quickly in its recuperation, and brought it in a short while to foundations which are among 172 OUR POLITY. the securest in modern commerce. The same thing was illustrated in the payment in one year of a missionary debt of more than one hundred and thirty thousand dollars without diminishing the regular collections for that interest. This magnificent result was largely due to the fact that when the Secretary, Dr. Morrison, went forth on his mission he was as much at home and in authority in San Francisco as he was in Nashville, where the offices of the Boards are located. Again the rallying of the connectional spirit, and the use of the connectional opportunity, saved the cause. But there are two other conclusions which are inevitable from the connectional order of Methodism, which are just beginning to be realized as a part of the polity of the Church. One of these is a connectional system of edu- cation. The present Board of Education has taken steps which unquestionably tend in that direction, and some progress has been made toward practical results. Indeed, the act of the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University and of the General Conference in making that institution the university of the whole Church gives promise of a thoroughly re- lated and compacted system which will en- OUR CONNECTIOXALISM. 17.) able us to lead the van, not by the sacrifice of other great schools, but by an order which will help them all, and which will reach down and clasp hands with the public school system so as to conserve rather than in any sense surrender the Methodist element in them. But perhaps the finest conclusion, and one which we are barely entering upon, is the creation of a connectional fund for our super- annuated preachers. The doing of this is an easy thing under a proper plan and with the right time limits. This is a matter in which we can much better afford to go slowly than not to go at all. The lifetime of a Church is a long stretch. So long as our itinerancy continues, the worn-out preacher without re- sources is to be a stupendous fact in our Church life. The General Conference of 1902 determined upon the raising of five million dollars for this purpose. The sources chiefly relied upon under that order are pop- ular collections and bequests. Other sources will probably be put under contribution later. There are at least two others which might be used with great profit to the fund. The first of these is a certain per cent of the pop- ular collection in every charge. The stiinu- 174 OUB POLITY. lating effect of such a movement would make the remaining per cent a larger amount than that which is now raised for the same pur- pose, and would result in the bringing of this great claim clearly before our people. The second is a fixed percentage of the clear- ings of the Publishing House. After all, nothing of an economic kind would have a better effect in guarding our ministry against the danger of the contin- uance of inefficient men in the traveling con- nection. Such a fund would bring a better service and a greater dignity to the Church, and a larger sense of security to the faithful men who are toiling on amidst galling limita- tions to serve their generation by the will of God. It is easy to see that the Methodist polity, when operated according to its design, is an organization of tremendous force and un- equaled flexibility. The system is capable of a vast impact, one which is scarcely re- sistible within the domain of the Church's work. But from the fact that our polity is a perfect concatenation of parts that is, a chain of essential links it follows that a want of strength or adjustment at any point affects the efficiency of the whole order. It OUR CONNECTIONALISM. 175 implies, therefore, an extraordinary respon- sibility for all those who have any vital con- nection with the operation of the system. From what has been said concerning the relation of parts in our system, it is not diffi- cult to see that we are at the farthest remove from the congregational system. The two orders are as unlike as possible. They will not mix. Whether the congregational order could be improved by the organic adoption of certain features of our polity is a curious question on which we do not desire to enter; but that any tendency toward congregational- ism, or even broader forms of localizing, works detriment to our interests there can scarcely be any question. It is a question whether or not there is such a tendency in some sections among us. We have occasion- ally seen symptoms which look in this direc- tion, but nothing which indicates a serious change of thought, only a loss of sympathy. It is well, however, for every pastor and teacher to keep careful and statesmanlike guard over the loyalty of the people to connectional order and interests. SECTION FOUR. MISSIONS. BY REV. EDMUND F. COOK, Secretary Educational Department Board of Missions, Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 12 (1T7) XIV. THE BIBLE A MISSIONARY BOOK. The doctrine of missions does not rest upon any particular passage or passages in the Bi- ble, but upon the fundamental conception of the whole Book. The Bible in every essential element is missionary. It reveals a universal God and Father, a world-wide redemptive scheme, and a Saviour whose love and power encompasseth all nations of the earth. The whole Bible, then, is the basis of our mission- ary obligation. MISSIONS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. If we but think of God's universal claims as we come to the study of the Old Testament, we shall find a missionary sweep in revelation which will carry us infinitely beyond the an- cient tribal conception of God and lift us in- finitely above the pharisaism of the Jews. God has been careful to reveal universal claims and a scheme of world- wide redemp- tion. His missionary plan for the world runs through the whole of the Old Testament. (170) 180 MISSIONS. 1. There is deep missionary significance in God's promise to Abraham. "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. xii. 1-3.) 2. There is deep missionary significance in God's commands. It is Jehovah's purpose to maintain world- wide supremacy and to lead all nations back to himself. So in the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. xx. 3), he banishes all other gods and all other re- ligions. The modern argument, therefore, that Christianity is for America, Buddhism for China, and Hindooism for India is as ab- surd and presumptuous as the Jews' assump- tion that Jehovah is the God of the Hebrews only. 3. There is deep missionary significance in the utterance of the prophets. THE BIBLE A MISSIONARY BOOK. J8| Tsaiah, the great statesman and reformer of Judah, had a world-wide vision. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be estab- lished in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." (Isa. ii. 2.) He saw the unlimited scope of God's purpose in Israel viz., the promulgation of the gos- pel to the ends of the earth. "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. ... He shall not fail nor be discour- aged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law." (Isa. xlii. 1-4.) The great prophet sees also every living soul as a subject of redeeming grace and voices God's all-inclusive invitation. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. . . . Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and na- tions that knew not thee shall run unto thee be- cause of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee." (Isa. Iv. 1-5.) 132 MISSIONS. Jeremiah, prophesying at a time of great disturbance within the nation, was not con- cerned wholly with the fate of his own people. "O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord." (Jer. xvi. 19-21.) Ezekiel, a Jewish prophet in the time of the Babylonian captivity, was solicitous not only for the Jew, but also for the nations round about. "Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. . . . Then the heathen that are left round abon you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it" (Ezek. xxxvi. 33-36.) "And I will set my glory among the heathen, THE BIBLE A MISSIONARY BOOK. Jg3 and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them." (Ezek. xxxix. 21.) So also Amos, Zechariah, Jonah, and others have their missionary message. 4. Tlwrc is a deep missionary tone in the sonc/s of DarifJ. "Nothing is more striking in the Psalms than the unquestioning and natural direct- ness with which they embrace the heathen, the nations, as equally included with Israel in the purpose and the kingdom of God." (Dean Church.) "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (Ps. ii. 8.) "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the na- tions shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations." (Ps. xxii. 27, 28.) "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Ps. xxiv. 1.) "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." (Ps. Ixxii. 8.) 184 MISSIONS. MISSIONS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Jesus Christ is the supreme representative of the mission- ary conception of the New Testament. Only on the hypothesis of the offer of salvation to all men and of Christ's purpose that the gospel should be preached to all the world can the words and acts of Jesus be understood. (Bishop Bashford.) A World Saviour Proclaimed. "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (Luke ii. 10, 11.) God's World-Wide Love and Purpose in the Gift of a Saviour. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only- begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John iii. 16.) The Saviour's Conception of His World-Wide Mission. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke xix. 10.) "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the .world." (John xii. 47.) The Master's Missionary Purpose. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all THK mni.K A MISSIONARY BOOK. Jg5 nations; and then shall the end come." (Matt, xxlv. 14.) The, Master's Missionary Teaching. The Pharisees believed that God was the God of the Jews and excluded all other na- tions from the kingdom. Against this selfish and exclusive view the Master directed much of his teaching. In the opening words of the pattern prayer Jesus teaches the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Who would dare pray, "Our Father," and then limit the kinship of God to a single tribe or nation. Dr. O. E. Brown declares : "He who says 'Our Father' is either a missionary or a hypocrite." To pray in sincerity "Our Father" is to feel the passion of brotherhood that runs through the whole of the missionary movement. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" can never be offered as a prayer by one who would exclude from Christ's king- dom a single nation or tribe on earth. "Every parable Jesus spoke, every principle he enunciated is of universal application. How can one interpret the parables of the lost piece of money, or of the lost sheep over 186 MISSIONS. which the shepherd rejoices more than over the ninety and nine who went riot astray, and yet limit the teaching of Jesus to the Jews alone? Such a limitation is a contradiction of these parables. The parable of the great supper teaches the call of nations in the high ways and the hedges as well as of individuals. The parable of the prodigal son is spoken es- pecially to warn the Jews that the Gentiles may yet return to God and find a welcome home." (Bishop Bashford.) The Master died rather than give up his missionary purpose. The Jews would have gladly made him king and set him upon a temporal throne as the antagonist of Rome. They pleaded with him to that end. But his was a spiritual kingdom, planned for the race and destined to include all nations. The Master's Post-Resurrection Command. "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matt, xxviii. 18-20.) THE BIBLE A MISSIONARY BOOK. IgJ The Missionary Programme of the Apostolic Church. "Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things." (Luke xxiv. 45-48.) "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts i. 8.) The Missionary Lesson for Peter. Peter was primarily the apostle to the Jews, Imt under his first great sermon men from ev- ery nation heard and were saved. (Acts xi.) Even this remarkable fact did not fully win him from Jewish narrowness ; so God gave him a special lesson, in the sheet let down from heaven, to teach him that all nations were included in his kingdom. (Read Acts x. 9-48.) Paul the Great Missionary to the Gentiles. God's missionary plan for Paul was well defined in the mind of the Master, but it was 188 MISSIONS. given to Paul step by step. To Ananias the whole scheme was outlined as follows: "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will show him how great things he must suf- fer for my name's sake." (Acts ix. 15, 16.) Paul's Missionary Call. "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood." (Gal. i. 15, 16.) Paul's Missionary Conviction. "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all." (Eph. iv. 5, 6.) "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Bar- barians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gos- pel to you that are at Rome also." (Rom. i. 14, 15.) Paul's missionary activity is a vindication of God's purpose of world conquest. His epistles are strong in defense of this policy, and he ever opposes vigorously the narrow- ness of the Pharisees of his times. THE BIBLE A MISSIONARY BOOK. IgQ John's Message. John the beloved gives us a crowning mes- sage of unsurpassed missionary significance. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." (Rev. xiv. G.) "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Rev. xxii. 17.) XV. THE MODERN MISSIONARY AWAKEN- THE LARGER MOVEMENT. The theme of missions is not new. We have seen in the preceding chapter that missions has a large place in the scheme of the Old Testament, and that the central theme of the New Testament is "Salvation through Christ" for all the world. The first two centuries of the Christian Church were marked by decided missionary activity. The movement began on the return of the disciples from the Mount of Transfig- uration and continued, though with lessened activity toward the last, until the beginning of the fourth century. During the mediaeval period of Church his- tory, however, missionary activity practically ceased. It was a time of theological discus- sion and the rule of dogma. Mr. Blisswell says: "Under such conditions it was scarcely surprising that active mission work, at least (190) THE MOUEKX MISSIONARY AWAKENING. 191 in the East, should cease. The Church was too busy assimilating the barbarians at home to pay much attention to the barbarians be- yond." Only in the vision and personal effort of a few men was the missionary spirit manifested in this period. The spirit was not shared by the age, and the effort was purely persona). The world is richer, however, and the history of the Church ennobled by the missionary record of a few missionary spirits produced by that unmissionary day. The list begins with Ulfilas and ends with Raymond Lull a noble company living in the spirit of Christ, but out of touch with their times. The reawakening of the Church to mission- ary activity was begun by William Carey in 1792. As a result of his awakening what is called the modern missionary movement was inaugurated. Carey was a humble cobbler by trade, but became so interested in the study of heathen nations and world conditions that he gave himself to extended research. It was a vision of human need growing out of these studies that awoke in his heart a sense of personal responsibility and a new sense of the Church's obligation to give the gospel to the J92 MISSIONS. lost and ruined world. In that great sermon from the theme, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God," Carey started missionary fires which, in less than one hundred years, enkindled a new flame of missionary zeal in every great denomination on the globe and started a flaming evangel that has already encircled the earth. Carey left behind him in England the first mission- ary society organized for the propagation of the gospel among the heathen and set sail for India in the early summer of 1793. Carey's call to advance was taken up in England by Howers and Venn, on the Conti- nent by Yanderkemp and Janicke, in Ameri- ca by Mills and Judson. In a few years the movement swept through every Christian land, and organization for work among the heathen rapidly took shape. The Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen was organized in May, 1792; the London Missionary Society (nonsectarian), in 1795; the Church Mission- ary Society, in April, 1799; the Wesleyan Mis- sionary Society, in 1814 ; the Glasgow and Ed- inburgh Societies, about the same time. To us special interest attaches to the move- THE MODERN* MISSIONARY AWAKENING. 193 merit in America. The sailing of Carey and the formation of the London Missionary So- ciety aroused great interest in America, and in 1706 the New York Missionary Society was founded, chiefly by the Presbyterians, al- though the Baptists and Reformed Dutch were represented. In 1797 the Northern Mis- sionary Society was formed for the same work. The greatest impulse given to mission- ary interest in America, however, came from Samuel J. Mills and his friends at Williams College in their Haystack Prayer Meeting, held in August, 1806. Here, while in conver- sation and prayer, there came to these five young men a new vision of the world's need and a new sense of the gospel's power to meet this need. In meeting the objection offered by one of the company, "It is impossible to evangelize the heathen," young Mills sounded the slogan of world conquest when he said: "We can do it if we will." A direct result of the missionary interest and enthusiasm of these young men and their offer to preach the gospel to the heathen w*as the formation of the American P>oard of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the organization of which was effected in 1S10. At the time the five 13 194 MISSIONS. students of Williams College met for prayer and the study of missions there were but seven mission boards or societies in the world. To- day every important denomination in Europe and America is organized for the work of evangelizing the heathen nations, and the movement of missions is represented by nearly four hundred boards and societies. Following the establishment of the Ameri- can Board of Commissioners the American Baptist Board was organized in 1814, fol- lowed by the Methodist Missionary Society in 1819. From the beginning the new era in missions has been characterized by the organ- ization of denominational mission boards for the collection and application of funds in heathen lands, and in most cases by wisdom and success in administration. Woman's Work. A striking feature of the modern mission- ary movement is the strength and thorough- ness of the women's organization for mission- ary work at home and abroad. About 1861 a movement began for the organization of the women of the Church into missionary so- cieties. Gradually all the denominations THE MODERN MISSIONARY AWAKENING. 195 were reached by this movement, and all have enlisted the women in one form of organiza- tion or another in the great work of missions. They are to-day a mighty factor in the mak- ing of a missionary Church at home and in furthering the interests of the kingdom through all the departments of Christian work on the mission field. SUPPLEMENTAL AND AUXILIARY AGENTS. During the latter years of this new mission- ary period the providential opening of hea- then lands to the gospel and the consequent widening of the missionary opportunity of the Church brought on demands for a more widespread missionary awakening of the Church at home and for rapid extension of the work abroad. Providential answer to these demands is found not only in the quickened denomina- tional missionary conscience, but in a num- ber of excellent supplemental and auxiliary agents of the Church in the great missionary enterprise. A brief statement as to the his- tory and scope of the chief of these agents is given below. We offer the best authorities on each. 196 MISSIONS. The Student Volunteer Movement. The Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions was called into being in 1886 primarily to raise up among the students of North America a sufficient number of capable missionary candidates to meet the requirements of the various missionary societies or boards. To help these candidates or student volunteers in the preparation for their life work has been recognized from the beginning as falling within the purpose of the Movement. An- other object is to develop among students who are to remain in Christian lands either as pastors or as laymen a sense of responsibility to sustain and reenforce the foreign missionary enterprise by intel- ligent sympathy, by the giving of money, by prayer, and by aggressive effort on behalf of the world's evangelization. The field embraces all colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learn- ing in the United States and Canada. (Mott's Report, 1902.) Foreign Department of the Y. M. C. A. In close connection with the organization of the Student Volunteer Movement was the develop- ment of a Foreign Missionary Department in the Y. M. C. A. As the college work of the Association had expanded so that there were organizations in over two hundred and thirty colleges, and as the Conferences at Northfield had quickened the spir- itual life and the sense of fellowship, there arose an interest in and a feeling of responsibility for THE MODERN MISSIONARY AWAKENING. I*)? young men, particularly for the students in mis- sion lands. A long journey by L. D. Wishard through those lands, with a vivid report of the con- ditions and the wonderful opportunities, occasioned the formation of a special department for the pur- pose of organizing similar associations both for stu- dents and other young men. The work was com- menced with characteristic promptness, and in 1889 the first Secretary, David McConaughy, went to India to inaugurate a work second to none in the whole department of missionary activity. (Bliss.) World's Student Federation. Meanwhile other similar movements had been inaugurated. There had come into being, in addi- tion to the American Intercollegiate Y. M. C. A. (1877), the British College Christian Union (1891), the German Christian Students' Alliance (1893), the Scandinavian University Christian Movement (1895), and a Student Christian Move- ment in mission lands. In August, 1895, repre- sentatives of these movements met at the ancient Swedish castle of Vadstena, on the shores of Lake Wettern, for the specific purpose of uniting in a great federation the national intercollegiate move- ments of the world. The result was the World's Student Christian Federation. (Bliss.) The Young People's Missionary Movement. This Movement is interdenominational, under the direction of twenty representatives nominated by 108 MISSIONS. the Home and Foreign Mission Boards of the United States and Canada, and -nineteen laymen chosen from the various Churches. Although it is inter- denominational in organization, it directs all mis- sionary activity through the boards into denomi- national channels. It is a missionary education as- sociation, preparing and publishing mission study text-books and other literature for the Mission Boards. It prepares literature for the missionary education of the Sunday school, syndicated mate- rials for missionary treatment and illustration of the lessons of the International Series susceptible of such treatment, and offers aid in Sunday school conventions and institutes. It trains persons in summer conferences and metropolitan missionary institutes for mission study and other leadership in their Churches. Its purpose is through these agencies to deepen the spiritual life and to increase the missionary activity among the young laymen and the seventeen million members of the young people's societies and Sunday schools. The genius of the Movement consists in that it exists to serve the Mission Boards, for whom and by whom it is directed, preparing only the literature which they use and training leaders for their denominations. (Michener's Report, 1908.) The Laymen's Missionary Movement. In November, 1906, some men were celebrating the centennial of the Haystack Prayer Meeting rn Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York. The zeal of Mills and his companions stirred their THE MODERN MISSIONARY AWAKENING. 19<) hearts, and the Laymen's Missionary Movement was born. The purpose of the Movement is thus expressed by Mr. Capen, President of the Interdenominational Laymen's Missionary Movement: "1. To project a campaign of education among laymen, to be conducted under the direction of the various boards. "2. To devise a comprehensive plan, in conjunc- tion with said Board Secretaries, looking toward the evangelization of the world in this generation. "3. To endeavor to form through the various boards a Centennial Commission of Laymen, fifty or more in number, to visit as early as possible the mission fields and report their findings to the Church at home." (Aim and Scope.) XVI. WORLD-WIDE MISSIONS A BRIEF SURVEY. Since Carey landed in India the great con- tinents of Asia, Africa, and South America and the islands of the sea have been invaded by an army of heroic missionaries who have gone forth proclaiming Christ Saviour and King. At first they faced closed doors and met op- position, persecution, and martyrdom. The missionary call in the early days of the nine- teenth century was a call to heroic sacrifice and service. Heroes indeed were the men and women who responded. The miracles of mod- ern missions attest the quality of their faith and work. The progress to-day of the king- dom of Christ in every land witnesses to the power of our risen Lord and reaffirms the blessedness of suffering with him in behalf of a lost and ruined world. The missionary call of to-day is the call of world-wide oppor- tunity. A brief survey of a few of the great mission (200) WORLD-WIDE MISSIONS A BRIEF SURVEY. 201 fields will suggest the lines upon which the kingdom is advancing in all lands, and will indicate in part the results of the modern mis- sionary movement. China. Total area, 4,277,170 square miles; popula- tion, 400,000,000. The Chinese are a people with a history running back perhaps forty-five centuries, when their institutions, their language, arts, government, and religion had begun to develop on lines from which no departure has ever been made. The leading religions of China are Con- fucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Most of the people practice all three on different oc- casions and for different purposes. Confu- cianism is really a great system of ethics, with many elements of truth. Taoism has become "blank materialism," with uneducated and ig- norant priests, almost universally despised, but regarded as indispensable evils. Bud- dhism owes its strength to the defect of Con- fucianism in not teaching a future existence and retribution. 202 MISSIONS. Protestant missions in China began with liobert Morrison in 1807. Four forms of mis- sion work have become well established: (1) Evangelistic, (2) literary, (3) educational, (4) medical. The object of mission work is thus tersely stated by Bishop Bashford: "It is carried on with the purpose of giving every person in the Chinese Empire a knowledge of the gospel as speedily as possible, of leading men and women to a personal union with Christ, of building them up in Christian char- acter, and of creating as rapidly as possible a self-supporting native Church." Let us add: And of laying the gospel of Christ at the very foundation of China's new life. Dr. A. H. Smith, after thirty years in China, summarizes results as follows: "Christian missions have brought to China a new con- ception of God, a Father loving, caring for, and teaching his children. They have be- stowed upon the Chinese a new idea of man as by creation and by redemption the child of God. They have wrought a wonderful spir- itual transformation not in isolated instances only, but upon a large scale and with lasting effects. The call now is for Spirit-filled, thoroughly equipped leaders. In addition, WORLD-WIDE MISSIONS A BRIEF SURVEY. 203 Christianity as a real leavening force in West- ern civilization has brought about the wonder- ful changes that have taken place and are now taking place in the material life, the ed- ucational system, the government, and the so- cial customs of the Chinese." Statistics, 1901. Ordained missionaries, 830; unordained missionaries, 744; mission- aries' wives, 1,134 ; other missionary women, 1,061; native workers, 9,444; stations, 789; out-stations, 3,920; communicants, 191,985; adherents not communicants, 136,126; con- tributions on field, Mexican money, $311,346; day schools, 2,383; pupils, 50,910; higher in- stitutions, 208 ; students in same, 9,751 ; Sun- day schools, 1,118; Sunday school scholars, 46,010; industrial schools, 11; students, 594; foreign men physicians, 236; foreign women physicians, 104 ; hospitals or dispensaries, 461; patients during one year, 1,125,422. (Authority, Smith.) Japan. Area, 162,000 square miles ; population, 46,- 000,000. The Japanese are a remarkable people, in- tellectual, aesthetic, vivacious, patriotic. Na- 204 MISSIONS. tional weaknesses appear as a natural result of the defects in their religious and social sys- tems. The religions of Japan are Shintoism, Bud- dhism, and Confucianism. Shintoism, or an- cestor worship, contains many degrading su- perstitions which have in a large measure been abolished by the entrance of Western learning. Buddhism is marked by both strong intellectuality and weak ignorance. Scholar- ly Buddhists believe in no Creator, but accept an endless evolution, with unerring causes and effects, and man can escape from the wheel of necessity and the evils of existence only by being absorbed back into the unconscious en- ergy .that pervades all things. The religion of the masses is a superstitious idolatry. There is much corruption among the priesthood, but a strong reform movement has set in. The methods of Christian work are being studied and adopted into Buddhism, and they seek for the secret of Christian earnestness. Confucianism, though not called a religion, has much to do with molding the moral life of the people. Japan was opened to the world by Com- modore Perry July 7, 1853. The missionary WORLD-WIDE MISSIONS A BKIEF SURVEY. 205 entered in 1859. Since that time a marvelous transformation has been wrought in the coun- try, and Japan in almost every line of en- deavor is abreast of the most progressive na- tions of the world. The missionary was fierce- ly resisted until 1873; 1873-88 marked a I>eriod of popularity and progress ; 1888-1000, a period of reaction ("a morbid nationalism, constantly transforming itself into the hatred of foreigners, became epidemic") ; 1900-08, a period of unprecedented success in establish- ing Christian influence and popularizing Christian institutions. Evangelistic, educational, medical, philan- thropic, and literary work is conducted by the missionaries. "When we consider that the government of Japan, the laws, the courts, education, and the family are being formed on Christian principles that recognize the worth and dignity of every man, woman, and child, that the worship of sun and moon has virtually ceased, that the grosser forms of idolatry have been abandoned, that the moral teachings of Christ have become a part of the ethical treasures of the people, that the 'friends of Christianity' number far more than its professors, that Christian thought 206 MISSIONS. has affected the old religions to a remarkable extent, we need not hesitate to say that, in spite of the evils of heathenism that remain, no other nation has ever been so rapidly per- meated with Christian knowledge as has Japan." (I)e Forest.) Statistics, 1901. Missionaries, men and women, 883; native workers, men and women, 1,535; stations and out-stations, 1,214; schools, 156; pupils, 12,205; hospitals and dispensaries, 13; publishing houses or print- ing establishments, 5 ; professing Christians, 65,036. (Authority, "The Blue Book.") India. Area, 1,766,597 square miles. Population, 294,361,056. In India we find a conglomerate race, many languages, a people with a peculiar genius for degrading religion. The three dominant religions are Hinduism, with 207,104,026 adherents, Mohammedan- ism, with 62,458,077, and Buddhism, with 9,- 476,759. There are at least six other reli- gious faiths, with adherents numbering from 18,000 to more than 8,000,000. Perhaps no- WORLD-WIDE MISSIONS A BBIEF SURVEY. 207 where on earth is there a more intensely reli- gious people; yet it is equally true that no- where can there be found more degrading su- perstitions or corrupt religious practices than in India. William Carey was the pioneer of Protes- tant missions. He began his labors in India in 1792. The work has advanced in the face of almost insuperable difficulties. Every line of usual missionary effort has been estab- lished, with great emphasis upon Christian ed- ucation. The results have been most gratify- ing. From 1891 to 1901 the increase of Chris- tian population was four times as rapid as that of the whole population. The later pe- riod has been marked by a decided deepening and strengthening of Christian influence in the nation. Statistics, 1907. Missionaries, men and women, 3,850; native workers, men and wom- en, 32,654; stations and out-stations, 8,312; schools, 10,692 ; pupils under instruction, 409,- 339 ; hospitals and dispensaries, 295 ; publish- ing houses or printing establishments, 12; professing Christians, 1,152,847, (Authority, "The Blue Book.") 208 MISSIONS. The Moslem World. The number of Mohammedans is about 225,- 000,00050,000,000 in Africa, 170,000,000 in Asia, and 5,000,000 in Europe. Islam is a religion of degradation. Some of its evil effects are: The idea of a God in- consistent and ignoble, with a corrupt proph- et and leader; low moral standards; divorce- ment of profession and practice; sins of all kinds winked at and condoned, justified by the example of the prophet Mohammed ; wom- an degraded; the home wanting; belief in a hereafter of selfish indulgence; fatalism; stagnation ; and corruption. The Moslem world is the neglected mission field of the world. Kaymond Lull, the first missionary to Moslems, was martyred on June 30, 1.315. There was then a lapse of five cen- turies in the work of Christianity for the fol- lowers of Islam. Henry Martyn, who went to India in 1800, was the first modern mission- ary to Moslems. Up to the present day the story of missions to Moslems is the story of individual consecration and heroic sacrifice, rather than of great mass movements of. the Church. Startling figures are presented showing the WORLD-WIDE MISSIONS A BRIEF SURVEY. 209 vast number of Moslems to whom the gospel has never come. In Africa "the situation is as if the United States, with her eighty-seven million people, had one missionary in Main? and another in Texas, and no gospel in be- tween." In Asia there are forty-five million wholly nnreached, "a challenge to faith and in some cases a rebuke for the neglect of the Church." In India almost all of the work for the vast Mohammedan population is indirect and cas- ual, though there have been some encouraging results. Following are statistics from some of the wholly Moslem lands : Turkey. Missionary societies at work, 15 ; stations and out-stations, 569; missionaries, 404; native workers, 1,545; schools, 700; scholars, 36.618; hospitals, 25; publishing houses, 3; professed Christians, 79,000; com- municants, 21,000. Much of this work is done among the Jews and decadent Oriental Chris tians. Persia. Societies, 4; stations and out-sta- tions, 183; missionaries, 100; native workers, 280; schools, 1S; scholars, 3,834; hospitals and dispensaries, 1(5; printing house, 1; pro- 14 210 MISSIONS. fessed Christians, 5,051 ; communicants, 3,- 000. In Sumatra and Java Christian missions to Moslems have been attended with great suc- cess. Large numbers have been won to Christ, as many as 20,000 in Java alone. (Authority, Zwemer. ) Pagan Africa. Area, 11,500,000 square miles; population, 90,000,000 pagans, 50,000,000 Moslems, 9,000,- 000 nominal Christians, including all white residents. The pagan African is nature's spoiled child. Human life is cheap, infanticide common ; marriage, a virtual slavery for the woman, is entered into early in life; polygamy is the common practice; laziness characterizes the man, and in the simple and savage life woman is the burden bearer. Where there is contact the temptations of a corrupt civilization are legion. Fetichism, the religion of pagan Africa, is a religion of darkness. Superstition, belief in a multitude of evil spirits, malignant gods, the efficacy of every sort of charm, witchcraft, human sacrifice, cannibalism, revolting bru- WORLD-WIDE MISSIONS A BRIEF SURVEY. 211 tality, nauseating licentiousness are its char- acteristics. There are, however, faint gleams of truth; the idea of a supreme God is per- sistent. Christian missions in Africa began with Kobert Moffat in 1817. David Livingstone went to Africa in 1841. His heroic life and work made possible the illumination of the Dark Continent. There are obstacles to be overcome in mission work in Africa. Among them are polygamy, domestic slavery, the ex- istence of six hundred languages and dialects, the climate with its prevalent and virulent malarial fever, unscrupulous and corrupt Eu- ropeans, the unsympathetic policy of the Eu- ropean governments, the liquor traffic, race prejudice, Kornan Catholic opposition. But among the allies of Christianity may be men- tioned the efforts of the governments of Eu- rope toward the suppression of the slave trade, the liquor traffic, pagan brutalities, do- mestic slavery and polygamy, and the scien- tific investigation of the problems of climate and peculiar diseases and the tendency toward greater uniformity of languages and their re- duction to writing. Statistics. Ordained men, 1,172; unor- 212 MISSIONS. dained men, 654 ; missionaries' wives, 787 ; missionary women, 503 ; native workers, 16,- 308 ; stations and out-stations, 6,734 ; com- municants, 281,011; adherents, 613,248; day schools, 3,573 ; pupils, 202,748 ; higher institu- tions, 147; students, 8,501; men and women physicians, 81 ; hospitals or dispensaries, 127 ; patients treated in one year, 225,862. (Au- thority, Naylor.) South America. Area, 7,000,000 square miles. Population, 37,903,809. The people are an ignorant or thoughtless multitude, following blindly in the footsteps of their fathers, who inherited a form of re- ligion without its power. Their religion is Roman Catholicism formal and corrupt. Holiness and the life hid with Christ in God have disappeared, and morality and religion do not often coexist. There is, however, a tendency to freedom of religious belief due to the reaction of a minority against the an- cestral faith. More than twenty North American socie- ties, eight from Great Britain, one from Con- tinental Europe, and other international so- WORLD-WIDE MISSIONS A BBIEF SURVEY. 213 cieties are represented. There are different situations and complications in the various republics. The greatest need in all, however, is the Bible and education. The missionaries are very hopeful as to Protestantism's future in South America. Statistics. Ordained missionaries, 255; laymen, 190; wives, 201; other women, 117; male physicians, 6; native workers, 688; sta- tions, 224 ; out-stations, 271 ; communicants, 30,469; adherents not communicants, 28,764; day schools, 170; pupils, 11,989; higher insti- tutions, 14; students, 868; patients treated, 6,100. (Authority, Beach.) XVI T. MISSIONS OF THE METHODIST EPIS- COPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. The Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was authorized and its members were elected at the General Con- ference of 1840, sending out its first mission- ary in 1848. The Woman's Board of Foreign Missions was authorized by the General Conference of 1878, and very soon thereafter perfected its organization and began work. The General Board has administered funds on the frontier and in destitute regions of the regular work since 1846, and has contributed largely to the progress of our Church in the West. The General Conference of 1906 authorized the Home Department of the General Board in order to better meet the complex problems of the growing city, industrial activity, and immigration. (214) MISSIONS OK THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. 215 The Woman's Home Mission Board was au- thorized by the General Conference of 1886, and has done an excellent work, pioneering in several lines of needed missionary activity. China. Work was opened in Shanghai by Dr. Charles Taylor in September, 1848. He was joined by Dr. J. Jenkins in 1849. These were followed by W. G. E. Cunnyngham in 1852, J. W. Lambuth, D. C. Kelley, and W. Belton in 1854, and Young J. Allen and M. L. Wood in I860. On account of the Civil War in America no more recruits came to the mission until 1875, when A. P. Parker arrived on the field. From that time recruits have contin- ued to come, from one to five or more almost every year. The mission occupies the south- ern end of Kiangsu and the northern end of Chekiang Provinces, one of the most densely populated regions in China. All forms of missionary work are carried on evangelistic, educational, medical, literary, woman's work, etc. Evangelistic. The territory occupied is di- vided into three presiding elders' districts: Shanghai, Soochow, and Huchow. In some of 210 MISSIONS. the established Churches Moore Memorial, in -Shanghai, for instance all the services of the Church are held regularly. Evangelistic services are conducted also in the various chapels in the hospitals, schools, etc., and a successful Bible woman's work is conducted in connection with the representatives of the Woman's Board. The number of accessions to the Church last year was 307. Educational. Great emphasis is laid by our mission on Christian education. It is the aim to have one or more day schools connect- ed with every station and middle schools in all the prefectural cities leading up to the higher institutions viz., Soochow University, established in 1899, ranking as one of the two greatest educational institutions in China ; the Anglo-Chinese College, in Shanghai, for boys and young men, opened in 1881; McLain Training School, at Sungkong, opened in 1899. Eight boarding schools are conducted by the Woman's Board in China: McTyeire School for Girls in Shanghai, the Laura Hay- good Memorial and the Davidson Bible School in Soochow, the Susan B. Wilson and the Hayes-Willdns Bible Schools in Sungkong, MISSIONS OK THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. 217 the Virginia and the Memphis Schools in Hu- chow, and a medical school in connection with the Soochow Woman's Hospital. They have, in addition, thirteen day schools, with 390 pupils enrolled. Medical. The Soochow Hospital, built in 1883, and the Soochow Woman's Hospital to- gether treat 30,000 patients a year. Medical work has also been carried on in Huchow. Literary. Dr. Y. J. Allen made many note- worthy contributions to Chinese literature. Some one has said that his books "have hurled the Chinese gods from their pedestals." Oth- ers of our workers have done valuable work of this kind, among them Dr. and Mrs. J. W. Lambuth, Dr. A. P. Parker, Rev. George R. Loehr, Mrs. Alice S. Parker, Prof. N. Gist Gee, and Mrs. R. S. Anderson. Statistics.* Missionaries, 70; native work- ers, 195 ; organized Churches, 27 ; self-support- ing Churches, 8 ; Church members, 2,190 ; Sun- day schools, 53; Sunday school scholars, 2,- 573; Epworth Leagues, 32; Epworth League members, 892; boarding schools, 12; pupils, *Figures include wives of missionaries and work of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 218 MISSIONS. 953 ; day schools, 22 ; pupils, 683 ; hospitals or dispensaries, 2; patients treated, 32,069; to- tal value of mission property, $367,425. (Au- thority, "A Century of Missions in China" and Annual Report of Board of Missions, 1908.) Japan. We began work in Japan in 1886. The progress has been steady. In May, 1907, the Methodist Church of Japan was formed by the union in one body of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South, the Methodist Episcopal, and the Methodist Church of Canada. This united Church begins with more than 11,000 members and 100 Japanese preachers under the leadership of Bishop Y. Honda, who was their own almost unanimous choice for bish op. The educational work and much of the evangelistic field continue under the foster- ing care of our missionaries, who will remain in an advisory and cooperative relation with the leaders of the new Church while their Conference membership is with the home Con- ferences. There is every prospect of widened influence and of a great future before the Methodist Church of Japan, which has been MISSIONS OF THE M. E. CHUBCH, SOUTH. 210 launched under the most auspicious circum- stances. Evangelistic. Our mission is divided into three districts: Kobe, Hiroshima, and Mat- suyama. The results of the evangelistic work show an increase in membership for the past year of 307, and "everywhere the general state of the Church is good. Church activity indi- cates a healthy growth spiritually and finan- cially, and harmony and peace prevail in all the Churches and among the workers." Educational. Kwansei Gakuin was estab- lished at Kobe in 1889. It comprises a Bib- lical Department, which gives full theological training to native preachers, and an Academ- ic and College Department, with a total en- rollment of 228. Palmore Institute, at Kobe, had last year a total enrollment of 500. The Lambuth Memorial Bible School for Christian women workers had 15 students en- rolled, and has done much good work of a missionary character among the people of Kobe. The Hiroshima Girls' School, established in 1889, with its enrollment of over 700 in the Academic Department and 225 in the Kinder- 220 MISSIONS. garten Department,, is doing a magnificent work. Statistics. Missionaries (including their wives), 36; native traveling preachers, 14; lo- cal preachers, 24; members, 1,776 (increase, 203); Sunday schools, 62; scholars, 5,401; Epworth Leagues, 14; members, 379; organ- ized Churches, 22; Churches self-supporting, 3; boarding schools, 3; pupils, 1,278; day schools, 7; pupils, 534; total collections on the field, f 3,927.34; total value of mission property, $103,767.50. (Authority, Annual Report. ) Korea. The mission was opened in 1895 by Bishop Hendrix and Dr. C. F. Reid at the earnest re- quest of the Yun family. Mr. T. H. Yun, an active member of the Church, while occupy- ing important official positions, has now con- sented to devote his entire time to our edu- cational work, and has charge of the school at Songdo. The setting apart of Korea as a sep- arate mission was consummated at the last session of the China Mission Conference, of which it has heretofore been a part. Evangelistic. The mission comprises one MISSIONS OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. 221 presiding elder's district. The evangelistic work is carried on by the native Christians, and u in every section there are villages and hamlets where little groups of inquirers are gathered, earnestly seeking the light." The field is "white unto the harvest/' and "with an adequate number of workers our mission- aries believe that in ten years they can evan- gelize the part of the country allotted to us." Educational. The Anglo-Korean School was opened in 1906 at Songdo, with T. H. Yun as President. The total enrollment for the last term was 118. It is being made a strong force in the general education of the people as well as in the specific instruction of the students. Our mission has also a share in the Union School for boys in Seoul, which is do- ing good work. A Biblical Institute for the training of native preachers and workers has been projected. The Woman's Board has four boarding schools Tallulah Hargrove and the Girls' Boarding School in Songdo, Lucy Cuninggim Boarding School in Wonsan, and the Caro- lina Institute in Seoul with a total enroll- ment of 90. They have also 150 pupils in their five day schools. 222 MISSIONS. Medical. Work is carried on in Wonsan, where are located two dispensaries treating 3,000 or more patients annually, and in Song- do, where between 500 and 1,000 patients are treated through the dispensary located there. Statistics.* Missionaries, 34 ; native work- ers, 48 ; organized Churches, 181 ; self-support- ing Churches, 89; Church members, 1,988; Sunday schools, 33; Sunday school scholars, 1,770; boarding schools, 6; pupils, 346; day schools, 8 ; pupils, 232 ; hospitals or dispensa- ries, 3 ; patients treated, 1,852 ; total value of mission property, f 69,000. (Authority, An- nual Keport, 1908.) Work was begun in Brazil in 1874. The field has been divided into two Conferences of six districts in all. Evangelistic. "Access to the masses of the people with the gospel message is all the time becoming easier, and there is a growing desire upon the part of an increasing number to hear the word of life. The Church in Brazil *Figures include wives of missionaries and work of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. MISSIONS OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. 223 shows a disposition to meet this increasing opportunity. The statistics indicate a healthy condition and encouraging growth." There was a gain in membership during the past year of 307. Educational. Granbery College, at Juiz de Fora, with an enrollment of 291, has a prop- erty valued at $93,000. The college has aca- demic, theological, pharmacy, and dental de- partments. It has gained a reputation for faithful and honest work and wields a great power for good. The Woman's Board conducts the Colegio Americano in Petropolis, Mineiro College in Juiz de Fora, Isabella Hendrix Institute in Bello Horizonte, and other boarding schools in Piracicaba, Ribeirao Preto, and Porto Alegre. The enrollment in their boarding schools is 130, and in the day schools 630. Medical. Considerable work is done in connection with the Central Mission, in Rio de Janeiro. Several hundred patients are treated annually through the dispensary. Statistics.* Missionaries, 55 ; native work- *Figures include wives of missionaries and work of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 224 MISSIONS. ers, 91; organized Churches, 44; self-support- ing Churches, 5 ; Church members, 5,368 ; Sun- day schools, 73; Sunday school scholars, 2,- 884; Epworth Leagues, 43; Epworth League members, 1,830; boarding schools, 7; pupils, 421 ; day schools, 6 ; pupils, 631 ; total value of missionary property, $409,990. (Authori- ty, Annual Eeport, 1908.) Mexico. Our work in Mexico was begun in 1873. The mission comprises three Conferences of seven presiding elders' districts in all. Evan- gelistic, educational, medical, and literary work is carried on. Evangelistic. One of the most encouraging facts about our work in this field is the grow- ing revival spirit. Until recent years revivals were rare. Now they are becoming common. The missionaries report a growing interest in such work. The native preachers are becom- ing imbued more than ever with the revival spirit. There were 410 accessions to our Church in Mexico last year. Educational. Colegio Wesleyano, a train- MISSIONS OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. 225 ing school at San Luis Potosi for native preachers, had 19 students last year. Laurens Institute, at Monterey, had a total enrollment last year of 446, a faculty of 15 teachers, and a property worth about $85,000. "Such an institution must touch in a very vital manner the youth of Mexico and do much toward shaping the destiny of this na- tion." The boarding schools of the Woman's Board are : Laredo Seminary in Laredo, Cole- gio Ingles in Saltillo, boarding school in San Luis Potosi, Mary Keener Institute in the City of Mexico, Institute Colon in Guadala- jara, MacDonell Institute in Durango, and Palmore College in Chihuahua. The total en- rollment in these schools and in their day schools is 2,300. Medical. Hospital Monterey, where nearly 30,000 patients were treated last year, of whom the great majority were charity pa- tients, "is doing a world of good." Literary. Translations of Professor Kod- riguez: Spanish hymn book, Sunday school literature, "The Life of Wesley," "The Chil- dren's Crusade," Sheldon's "System of Chris- tian Doctrine," and others, 15 226 MISSIONS. Statistics.* Missionaries, 56 ; native work- ers, 223; organized Churches, 108; self-sup- porting Churches, 3 ; Church members, 6,815 ; Sunday schools, 136 ; Sunday school scholars, 5,157 ; Epworth Leagues, 37 ; Epworth League members, 1,377; boarding schools, 9; pupils, 1,766; day schools, 10; pupils, 1,060; hos- pital or dispensary, 1; patients treated, 29,- 653; total value of mission property, |508,- 557. (Authority, Annual Keport, 1908.) Cuba. The regular mission was established in Cuba in 1898. Evangelistic. The Conference held in Cuba last January was said to be "the most satis- factory, the most hopeful and harmonious we have yet had in the island." That is saying a good deal ; but it is justified by the improve- ment in the number, quality, and better train- ing of the native ministry, by the evidences that the work is solidifying and assuming organic form, by a more competent Church officiary and more orderly methods in Church *Figures include wives of missionaries and work of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. MISSIONS OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. 227 affairs, by the steady advance toward self- support evident in all directions, and by the general accessibility of the people to the word of life. The increase in membership for 1908 was 482, a net gain of almost twenty per cent. Educational. Four colleges are conducted with 19 teachers and a total enrollment of 345, and three day schools with an enrollment of 45. The Woman's Board has two boarding schools Colegio Eliza Bowman, in Cienfue- gos, and the Irene Toland School, in Matan- zas with an enrollment of 322. Statistics.* Missionaries, 30 ; native work- ers, 44 ; organized Churches, 37 ; Church mem- bers, 2,847; Sunday schools, 44; Sunday school scholars, 2,847; Epworth Leagues, 17; Epworth League members, 675; boarding schools, 6 ; pupils, 667 ; day schools, 3 ; pupils, 45 ; total value of mission property, $232,223.- 71. Summary. Missionaries, 281 ; native work- ers, 639; organized Churches, 421; self-sup- porting Churches, 108; Church members, 20,- *Figures include wives of missionaries and work of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 228 MISSIONS. 984; Sunday schools, 401; Sunday school scholars, 20,632; Epworth Leagues, 143; Ep- worth League members, 5,153; boarding schools, 43; pupils, 5,431; day schools, 56; pupils, 3,185; hospitals or dispensaries, 6; patients treated, 63,574; total value of mis- sion property, $1,690,963.21. Collections. For foreign missions, $540,- 523.54; for home missions, $268,080; for Church Extension, $133,617; for Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, $226,192.88; for Woman's Home Mission Society, $442,861.- 59. Total, $1,611,275.01. (Authority, Annu- al Keport, 1908.) XVI 1 1. MISSIONS IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. Why should we emphasize mission study in the Sunday school? In systematic and thorough missionary ed- ucation lies the foundation of the future mis- sionary progress and success of the Church. If ever the Church is made ready for her ever- enlarging opportunity to take the world for Christ, a generation must be educated in the gospel and history of missions. Education implies the teacher, the text-book, the pupil, the class hour, etc. These are found in the Sunday school; and as an organized depart- ment of the Church the Sunday school is in shape to do this work without additional ma- chinery or organization. The Sunday school takes the pupil in the formative period, and can through proper instruction train him to missionary faith and obedience. The Sunday school, therefore, has the making of the mis- sionary conscience and character of the Church of the future. (228) 230 MISSIONS. How shall we introduce the theme of mis- sions into the Sunday school? 1. By the selection of a Missionary Com- mittee. The committee should consist of from three to five members, representing the different grades of the school, and should be represent- ed by one of its members on the Missionary Committee of the Church. The pastor and superintendent of the school should be mem- bers ex officio. The missionary superintend- ent or chairman, with the committee, should have general charge of the cultivation of the missionary life of the Sunday school, espe- cially through the use of the missionary poli- cy for the Sunday school provided by our Church, or such parts thereof as may be adapted to the local school. Each member of the committee should have some definite work to do, such as being responsible for one or more of the points of this policy. 2. By the making of a missionary atmos- phere. This can be done (1) by the introduction of missions in the worship of the Sunday school. This is effected by the occasional reading from the Scriptures of a missionary MISSIONS IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 231 lesson, the frequent mention of missions and the missionaries in prayer, and the selection of missionary songs. It is not well to call special attention to the fact 'that they are mis- sionary in sentiment, but just use them as other lessons and as the other songs are used, and the silent, educative influence will surely be felt. (2) By a monthly missionary programme so arranged and rendered as to be interesting and instructive. This programme can be made strong and effective without interfering with the regular lesson period. Materials are abundant, and suggestive programmes can easily be had. Prayer and faithful work on the part of the committee can make this one of the most delightful features of the Sunday school work. A separate missionary pro- gramme for the Primary Department is sug- gested whenever expedient. (3) By the use of pictures, charts, and maps hung on the wall and occasionally re- ferred to, with an application of the lessons they suggest. (4) By the occasional introduction of mis- sionary curios, with brief explanation of their use, etc., or by the reading of a letter from 232i MISSIONS. some missionary in whom the pupils are es- pecially interested, or by reference to a bul- letin board containing fresh missionary facts and news items. 3. By the study of the Bible as a missionary book. Provision for this will be made each year through the missionary interpretation of all the lessons of the International Series, which are clearly susceptible of missionary treat- ment. Besides this, our Church offers in the regular Sunday school literature a distinctly missionary lesson at the end of each quarter as a substitute for the review. Supplemental Bible study in missions can be made very profitable, and may be carried on in various ways that will suggest themselves to the resourceful teacher. 4. By a, supplemental course in missionary biography and history. The Bible furnishes the principles, but it is not enough to teach only what the Bible con- tains on this subject. In a very real sense the Acts of the Apostles must be read in the light of the deeds of modern apostles ; and even our Lord's life and great missionary purpose can be better understood and will have more Itf THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 233 meaning to the child if Jesus is conceived as actually carrying out that purpose in the world to-day; and still more so if there is fur- nished evidence that Jesus, according to his promise, is still present with those who are going among all nations to carry the truth concerning him. The simple, beautiful sto- ries of real men and women who grew up in Sunday school, perhaps, and who are to-day carrying the truth of Christ to the Christless ; their self-sacrifice and loving devotion to the people they are trying to save ; the actual ex- periences of missionaries in dealing with the natives; stories about the native Christians, their peculiarities, their conversion and trans- formation, and their truly Christian fidelity all these things w r ill lend a reality and a vividness to missions that no amount of dis- cussion of the abstract conditions and obliga- tions can produce. Excellent materials for such studies are now available. 5. By a Course of Mission Study for Teach- ers. This is provided for in the Teacher-Train- ing Course. The trained missionary teacher could solve the problem of missionary educa- tion. A more extended study of missions 234 MISSIONS. than is provided for in this course is desirable. What, then, can be done to further help the teachers in this work? Is it practicable for the Sunday school teacher to take a wider course of study in missions? "The teachers already have their hands full with their reg- ular Sunday class work and with their teach- ers' Study Circle Course." That is true; but this circle course is regularly completed in ten months. Why should not the circle then take up a course in mission study? Excellent courses are available through the Education- al Department of the Board of Missions. If there is no Study Circle in the Sunday school, the teacher can have access to the Corre- spondence School of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which offers an excellent course of training in the mission study text- books selected by our Church. 6. By putting missionary books in the Sun- day school library. Every Sunday school ought to have a good missionary library, even though a small one. The children should have the best and most interesting missionary books placed in their hands. "The 1905 Sunday School Missionary Li- MISSIONS IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. brary," selected by Drs. H. M. Hamill and W. R. Lambuth, is especially recommended. It is in two sections, Section A and Section B. The books of the first are adapted to the needs of boys and girls, and the second section is made up of such books as teachers and older scholars will need. Either of these sections is sent postpaid for $5, or both for $10. The missionary section of the Sunday School Li- brary should include missionary magazines and leaflet literature, etc. The Young People's Missionary Movement has recently published a set of ten volumes of splendid stories, strong in missionary interest and influence. These books are so full of thrilling adventure and stirring fact as to catch and hold the youthful reader and at the same time to draw him close to the Master in his loving purpose to save the world. This set and other missionary books should be in every Sunday school library. The price of the set ($5) places it in the reach of all. 7. By asking for a monthly missionary of- fering. In this care must be exercised to give full information as to where the money goes and how it is spent. A share in the support of a 236 MISSIONS. mission station or school, with an occasional report from the missionary in charge, deepens interest and is wonderfully educative in mis- sionary faith and liberality. Because mis- sionary giving belongs indispensably to mis sionary education, and because more Sunday schools probably observe this than any other missionary educational feature, there may be danger of mistaking a means for an end. The purpose of missionary education in the Sun- day school is not to raise money, but the pur- pose in raising money is primarily to serve as one of the educational means in the rear- ing of a missionary Church. 8. By frequent use of missionary history, 'biography, incidents, and news in illustrating Bible lessons. No field of illustration is so rich and none more accessible to the teacher. Faith, love, sacrifice, and heroic obedience find their highest exemplification in the splendid lives and noble service of the missionary. 9. By a plan for the promotion of definite and intelligent intercessory prayer. Leading the pupils into the habit of defi- nite prayer for missionaries and missionary objects will deepen their spiritual life and MISSIONS IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 237 wonderfully quicken the missionary interest. Prayer cards, calendars, and prayer lists may be used with profit. (Materials for use in the plans suggested in this chapter can be secured from the Edu- cational Department, Board of Missions, M. E. Church, South, Nashville, Tenn.) 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