The Delawarean., 1900-07-07

4 converted, that he Joined the church
was licensed to preach and assigned tt
a charge within a week afterwards
Bishop Simpson, the most eloquent
pulpit orator of the last generation
was a college tutor at IS; and his
great biographer, George R. Crooks
was a preacher of power at IS. l could
name thirty of the leading preachers
of Methodism now living, who were
first known as boy-preachers. Our
most distinguished bishop and writer
to-day is Randolph S. Foster. At the
early age of IA he conducted revival
services in his public school during
recess, when the teacher and several
scholars were converted, and the neigh
bors in all the surrounding country
flocked to hear the boy who at II was
far famed for his eloquence and wis
dom.
Time would fail me to trace the
Sacred Record and enumerate the
many examples of brilliant youthful
leadership in personal combat, intel
lectual acuteness and spiritual power.
We should have to tell of Samuel, the
boy-preacher, and Josiah, the child
king, and Solomon, the beardless sage.
But even to-day in this eight and
pleasure-seeking age" enough ex-
amples of model young men loom up
to show that youth is not Of necessity
a period Of frivolity, but it may be Of
awful seriousness. None more than
they so frequently quote or better un-
derstand in the depth of its meaning.
that beautiful summary of present re-
sponsiblity in Longfellows Psalm Of
Life:
Life is real; life is earnest;
And the grave is not its goal:
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,'
Was not spoken of the soul"
Indeed the poet was in the very
morning of his manhood with the dew
OF youth fresh and sparkling upon him.
when taught by his muse to sing that
solemn awakening to the reality of life.
Young men, if you would give your
heart to God if you would stay back
some evil tide, if you would make the
world better for having lived in it, ifI
you have anything to do for the worlds
uplift, do it now. What you profess
practice! What propose, performl
In one of my fathers lectures 1 once
heard him say: "All the successes of
my young manhood, and indeed of my
whole career I made against the ad-
vices of conservative age. And my ad-
vice to any young man is: Be honest
be sincere, be thoughtful do nothing
for vain glory; but follow your own
convictions, shape your own course,
make your own precedents. Let no
man despise thy youth but be thou an
example of the believers in word. in
conversation, in charity, in spirit. in
faith, in purity. Neglect not the gift
that is in thee Mediate upon these
things; give thyself wholly to them,
that thy profting may appear to all -.
A question of the ages has been how
to reach and keep the young people in
the church. did not live in the ages
but | am living to-day. and have MOTTO
ed some Of the ways which do not win.
some of the plans which do not sue
ceed. I have watched some expedients
which did not expedite. and some solu-
tions that have not solved the problem.
A conception in the minds of many
ministers and managers of means and
methods seems to have been that, to
win The young and keep them. the
church must not require much of them.
The middle-aged must do the paying,
the fathers and mothers the praying
and the young people must do the act
The leaders say: Do not burden the
young; consider their youth Do not
expect sacrifices of them; these will
come later.
Too often in efforts for their con-
version the church is brought down to
them instead of their coming up to the
church.
In our meetings it is the custom to
hold up the hand or rise for prayers,
and if on rare occasions they so far
compliment the church as to come for
ward, some accommodating minister
finding upon inquiry that they feel a
little better makes haste and delays not
to confess for them; and on the day ap-
pointed they join his meeting house
having been converted by the preacher,
and become fully qualified for fair,
festival, oyster supper and social
Christianity in general. The dance,
euchre and the theatre are
the only means of grace they can en-
joy; while the church looks on
troubled, vet cheerfully hoping that
they will outgrow it all and philoso-
phises that young people will be young
people and they must neither be
burdened nor restricted lest they be
alienated from the church altogether.
T rainine thar a rhanoe has como over !