The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1880-06-09
sl.s aipsrsilg ailn
MoRGANTOWly, M, VA
HUMAN ELEMENTS OF Sue
CESS IN METHODISM.
BY =. MARSH.

Methodisnl is al success. As an insti-
tuition considered from merely 4 worldly
point of view it IS a success. AS an edu7
eational organization -ass A financial IN.
stitation, It Is prcseninently successful.
I'll its government and discipline ii its
measures for general reform IN its or-
ganization for the Intellectual, moral and
religious training of the young fl IFS
work as a missionary body, in the edu-
cation, civilization and enlightenment Of
tile people. II #is not surpassed BY any
other Organization in America
Compared with other churches IN the
rapidity Of its increase in membership. ]
III tile number Of its buildings; ii the
number and rate of intellectual advance
rnent Of its ministers aslwell AZ its gen
eral Intellectual and financial groWths it is
without a peer.
A little more than a century ago Meth.
odism i'll this country could have been
counted 5by the hundred now it Is
enumerated by the million. A little more
thanone hundred years ago, its ministers
we're less than a soores now in the Meth
odist Episcopal Church alone they num-
Bat, travelling and local, twenty. FIVE
thousand.
Three score years ago the Methodists
hadnot single College or educational
institution il the land to-day their Col
leges are found in almost every State,
and their senliharies and academies il
hundreds Of our cities and Towns. Three
score years since, they had few churches
and fewer parsonages, now they have
sittings for six millions, and are erecting
two new churches for every day in the
year. j.
" What, aside from the immediate and
direct influence and power Of the Holy
Spirit, have Been the causes Of thistun-
precedented growth2 What are the hui
man irstrufnentaIities which God has en-
psoyed to bring about these great results7
What means or netllods has this church
employed by which it has 50 much out
stripped itsssister churches.
We think, in the first place, it's be
causesits ministers, especially our fathers
and the earlier heroes have been ii every
respect men. iii fatuest They were men
Of great faith thoroughly reahin the Or
aclesHof God and with a clear, positive
and deep religious. experience. They had
that earnestness, and power which comes
from asstrong, unwayering conviction Of
the truth ofthe gospel. They had felt its
power, and they believed its promises
feared its threatenings and loved its
teachings They preached a real, living,
saving gospel 70 sinful, lost, dying men.
To them they preached not .ccarelessiy,
nor lstlessly, not posticallysblgt earnest
" and powerfully, the simple and heart
felt words Of the gospel Of truth.
They have ever been, also,sA--and part
" in consequence Of their earnsstness
aggressive and, fearless in their work Like
John Knox they '3never feared the face
Of man.. They stopped not for food g}or
flame, fear Or favor, friend OF foe. By
their bold, aggressive labor they prepared
the way for establishing churches and
Sunday schools in every frontier village
and hamlet They carried the war right
over into the enemys country, storned
the strongest forts, and entered the very
camp of their adversaries. They boldly
preached the severest truth Is rough and
wicked men onlour widest frontiers, and
! proclaimed Al full and free salvation to
outlaws and highwaymen. Thus they
won the respect, if not the admiration, of
their bitterest opponents.
Not only have they been earnest and
selfssacrifeing men. Leaving their homes,
friends, often their families, and taking
only their Bible. hymn-book and saddle
bags they gave their time and energies to
the hardest toll and toughest life. They
lived on meager, almost starving salaries,
preached sometimes every day il the
week and.often slept at night ii barns
and haymows, Of encamped I'M the woods
All this they did not for fame 81 wealth.,
but To rescue the souls Of perishing
brethren Another element Of their sue
Cess Is the practical character Of their
preaching. They read no carefully pre-
pared moral essays; delivered no fashion