The record-union., 1897-05-20
PIONEERS OF METHODIST. ,
Interesting Lecture by the Eloquent
Dr.. Steele.
The Real Heroes of the World Are
Those Who Fight Its
Battles.

Inc SENenIn-SlIetl t. AIiulNif "s~S
fairly well filled last evening when ReV.
Sam Steele, Secretary of the EpWorth
League, delivered his lecture on Inc
Pioneers of Methodism." The lecture
was given under the auspices OF the
Epworth League.
DR.. Steele is an eloquent speaker,
and held his auditors by the spell OF
his magnetism until the end. lie salu
he had heard much of California, ana
had expected to see wonderful thlhgs'
and he had not been disappointed.
The world had had its great men, the
speaker said, men whose names hao
been handed down to posterity as great
statesmen and great soldiers, pul meas
ured by the depth of thought, ana lhe
most good accomplished, John wesley
was a greater man than the luke ol
Wellington, and the little chapel III
London had done more for the ehllShV-
enment of the world, as a mohuiilehl
of civilization, than the field OF water
loo It had been truthfully Sald thdI
the meeting at which Wesley had peeh
converted marked an epoch IN history
He had been an acting part, ana the
problems with which ne had been calea
on to grapple affected the interests u
the whole civilized world
The story of Methodism, the speaker
said. surpassed fiction and romance,
and the pioneers of the church III
America were the real heroes OF lhe
age They were not great men as lhe
word great is understood-they were
not heralded by blare of trumpetS anu
waving of banners. 1ney were UNI
blinded by what men call glory, anu
looking below the surface, II VIII pe
seen that the real heroes OF the Woflo
are those who fight its moral battles
Their intrepidity and dauntless energy
beat back the evils and pefpetualeo
the good.
The pioneers of Methodism, DR.. Steele
said. were from humble walks IN he,
and this fact forged one of the strong
est links in the chain of their apostollc
inheritance The Kingdom OF COO IS
not heralded by pomp and vanity, anu
Jesus himself was born in manSer-
The first preachers of the gospel were
obscure and unlearned men. The Holy
Ghost had turned from priest ana
scholar to the husbandman ana the
artisan But they were intelligent, ana
learned in their ways. The Roman Efn-
peror, Julian the ApOstate, was acute
enough to see that the real danger 10
the PAGAN religion lay in the intelll-
gence of the Christians, and he there
fore attempted to shut them out from
the higher education
But the Christians had moral ideas,
and theirs was progressive thought. II
was not Charles Y. with the diadem OF
the world on his brow who changed
the world. but Luther in his chancel'
who translated a copy of the B1ble Tor
the common people.
Methodisn7 had ever been progressive.
It was founded in a university II IS
true. the speaker said. that John Nes-
ley was a scholar, and it was true that
the Methodist Church had ever pointed
with pride to its scholars, and that II
had always been abreast of all other
religious denominations, but its found
ers were men from among the common
people.
The Methodist Church, the lecturer
said was strictly church Of the peo-
ple. 1t taught the same doctrine TO
the rich and the poor. the high and the
low. the master and the slave. 1t was
better a thousandfold to proclaim the
gospel from the housetop, as did wesley,
and reach the people, than from maSnlfl-
cent churches and shut them out. II
was hetter to do as did the pioneers OF
the church and travel from house to
house than to leave the work intended
TO be done to the Salvation Army or to
the Roman Catholic Church
The pioneers of the Methodist Church,
the speaker said, We're wonderful evan
gelists. They went among the people
and turned things upside down. They
We're persistent in their efforts, ana tnelf
cry was, Immediate and unconditional
surrender to God" In order to reach
the dwellers of the wilderness, the pio-
neers of the church in America We're
Obliged TO nearly forswear home. They
were genuine itinerants of the church
evangelists in the true sense of the word
The lecturer drew a strong picture OF
Francis Asbury, who made Methodlsm
a power in America He had the grasp
of Pitt. the swift executive ability OF
Napoleon. and Wesley saw at once that
he of all men was the proper leader Tor
the church in the new world.
The mighty evangelistic work done by
Jesse Leigh. Freedom Gallison ana
William McKendray was touched upon
by the speaker. He told how they mad
plunged through the Southern sWamps,
swan swollen rivers, risked their lives
among the savage tribes, crossed the
mighty river, the Mississippi, and sig
nailed to the great mountains the COM
ing of the word of God with the first
son of man.
The pioneers of the church in Amer
lea. the speaker said, were also the
pioneers of education. They We're the
precursors of colleges. They them
selves We're scholars. Among them
We're great orators, great writers, great
constitutional lawyers and great think
ers. They planted colleges as they ad-
vanced and the march of Methodism in
America has been synonymous with the
march of education. Not only this had
been done by the march of the church,
but way down South in Dixie 1t had
planted the first college in the world for
the education of women. As long as
Christian education remains the safe
guard of the world. the speaker said. so