The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-03-04
o1SUNDAY TH0UGHTSDo
AON%
MORALSS0 MANNERS
#OH%
BY A CLERGYMAN.


merits and will reward perpetual prayer
and care. If it is to be what 1t is capable
of being, certain points must be watched
and guarded. The Sunday-school is the
nursery of the church, but it is not the
church-any more than a child Is an
adult Do not, therefore, make it churchy.
The more formal and elaborate sarvice of
the sanctuary is suitable for men and
women; but milk is for babies. A long
prayer, a sermon and classical hymns will
bore the children, and bored children
make poor scholars.
There should be, too, in any properly
conducted Sunday-school, endless variety
in the exercises. Young people find a
charm in novelty. Take advantage of this.
One of the most successful superintend-
ents in the country emphasizes this point:
"a Sunday-school cannot be run as a
machine. It will not do to sing, then
pray, then read the lesson, then give out
notices and then make talk. Keep the
scholars in expectancy. Change the or
der every Sunday. Let the school read
the lesson at one time, have a class recite
it the next time, call upon
a scholar to give it later,
and sing now in chorus and
now in solo-diversify always. The schol-
ars will not have come expecting an en-
tertainment, but they will be delighted to
get one. And they will keep coming"
Eportsmen love 10 shoot on the wing.
There is no other method so sure with
young folks as this OF shooting on the
bging.
I All this is possible without interfering
with reverence and obedience and prompt
ness and thoroughness of preparation
cardinal, but sufficiently recognized rules.
Keep ali that is good in present methods,
but add and subtract here and there ac-
scoIding to the exigencies of the hour and
as thought or experience may dictate. A
model Sundsy-school is worth all it costs
in study, time and money.
The crying necessity of the hour in
church life is cooperation. This is to be
reached only through organization. Some
pastors attempt the impossible task of do
sing everything. A wise pastor will do
nothing that he can get others to do-will
save himself for superintendent and for
labor he must perform or leave undone.
Not that the minister should decline
His chief duty Is moral initiative. His
main success is found in training Chris
tians. Christians are disciplined by ex-
ercising their gifts. Moreover, the work
laid upon a church is too large for any one
man, but would be easy for all. Oh, anx-
ious pastor, organize. Divide and
sub-divide, make every member of the
church responsible for something. Put
this one here and that one there. Have it
understood when converts come into the
communion that they come not only to be
saved, but 10 be sayiOurs. Do as the bees
do--sting the drones out of the hive.
Create an atmosphere of Outreaching eff
Tort. Make doing the test of being. Why
not inOCulate the church with the beauti-
ful contagiOn OF apostleship?
Christians are preached to and preached
at al pGUsedH. They are saturated With
preaching. Like wet sponge, they need
70 be squeezed and made to give out
As with the widows cruise, they
viii take in as fast as they
give ont. In the wilderness the
mama had to be gathered fresh every
day; and so the gospel is TO be used as fast
Is it is dispensed. Standing water stag
mates. Stagnant Christians are as fatal to
health as stagnant water They are MAS
physical. Activity is the condition of
health in the ecclesiastical as in the ma
terisl body.
All this it is the function of the pastor
70 inculcate and TO illustrate Survey the
community. Who are the successful pas
tors? What kind of ministers are in de-
mand? Always and everywhere those
men who are generals in reigion-the
men OF practical and executive force. A
good organizer will do better work than a
good preacher and do it longer.
Turning to the other side Of the prob
lem we find that the Pensioners who
help their pastor are invariably those who
are steadfast. These are the stand-by's.
Spasmodic Christians are only a grade
above hsbitual idlers in the vineyard.
When Mr.. Moody is in town they are all
attention. When an attempt is made Ia
reach non-church goers through a service
In hail or theatre they fill the house and
crowd out the persons sought. When the
excitement dies out they, too, subside.
Others there are, the chronic despair OF
ministers, whose favorite text is "Stand
still and see the salvation of God" They
think, complains a sad religious writer
that their whole duty is done if they at
tend divine service occasionally on Sun
day morning and appear at communion
seasons. They do not teach in Sunday
school; seldom if ever are their voices
heard in prayer meeting; they DO moth
ing-and do it well. On Sunday evenings
they leave their pastors to preach to
strangers or 10 empty pews while they
'walk about Zion" and carry itching
ears from church to church as the
fancy SEXES them. This is the class
from which are graduated the fault-finders.
For it Is an axiom-the workers never
grumble and the grumblers never work
These people need to be converted over
again, and even then it would task
omnipotence to make them stay con-
verified.
Oh, for more Philemons to refresh the
hearts Of Christian pastOrsl
According to the late census Philadel-
phia has 6l6 Sunday-schools, 1881 off.
GERS and teachers, and 900 scholars
More than one-ffth of the total popula
ton 10 identified with the Sunday-school
We are afraid this proportion would not
hold IN indianapolis.
The Lutheran Obssruer gives the follow.
ing summary OF Lutherans in the world