The times., 1901-03-12
PASSING OF THE REVIVAL
Churches Adopting New Methods
Of Securing Members.
Even the Ncthodists Res"rting to
Latter-Dny Propaganda - Pastoral
Rather Than Pulpit work - More
Recornition Granted to the LnitH.


Accessions to the churches this year
will he large. Returns are at hand from
almost all principal bodies and from
| every part Of the country. II is note
worthy fact i'm the religious world that
Methodists. who SO long led in revivals.
lead also in the new method of propa-
ganda 1t is true that for many years
Rrot herhoods of St Andrew and Andrew
I and Philip have. in a small way follow
| ed the man-to-man method. but it re-
maiued for Bishop Thobum and his
/ Methodist Forward Movement to inaug
! uraIe it in a large way. The Bishop did
| not attack the old method. but he did
put his energies on the new. The time
seems to have been ripe FOR the change,
and the result is that Mcthodism is see
ing its largest year for long time. Ac
ccssions i'm 100 selected Presiding Elders
districts In the Middle West have Of late
reached 5000 week. IN Brooklyn the
accessions have been i20l While recent
figures sent ont from the Western head
quarters were little over-colored it is
true that Methodist growth under the
new plan, is To see a record-breaking
year
What is true of Mcthodism is also true
Of all religious bodies. In the New York
Episcopal diocese. the leadership of
Bishop Potter is resulting in larger con
frmation classes than for many years.
Areformed church i'm Newark has taken in
nincty-four members recently. "A Presby-
terian church i'm Manhattan l4o. and
Congregational church in Brooklyn
| eighty six. Iu the district of Manhattan
above SiNteth Street ana west Of Central
Park. attendance upon religious services
is larger than for years past. All churches
there are prosperous. Manhattan Congre-
"a ational Church. the Rev. DR. II. i. Slim
son. has succeeded where almost every
body expected it to fail. About 100000
has been raised. and as soon as the new
church can he built Congregationalism
viii have IN New York, not one principal
place Of worship, the Broadway Taber-
nacle. but two.
The Twentieth Century Campaign. with
| William Philips Hall at its head issued
its recent address too late in the season
to have the best effect, and it comes at
"A time when religious bodies are work
ing. not together as it contemplates. but
separately. a second feature Of the new
century is the emphasis laid upon denom-
inationalism. The old sectarian bitterness
has in part passed away, but denomina-
tional loyalty is stronger this year than
il has been The CongregatiOnaiists. who
have preached comfy and interdomina-
tionaIism for the last decade, are sue
ceeding as they have not in the past, by
laying emphasis upon Congregationalism
as something better than other religious
'.isms" and therefore. better worthy of
( support and extension. The Episcopalians,
/ Prcsbyterians. Baptists, Lutherans, and
MeJhudists iu the country are working
under their own names and banners
John Wesley, the founder Of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church, and Francis AS
bury. its first Bishop of America, set Il
fashion of making religions conversions,
which. having been followed with more
or less consistency throughout the cen
tury. gives promise of disappearing en-
tirely in the changes which are so strong
| " at work at the turn Of the century,
! leveling the differences between one sect
/ and another The Methodist Church has
. / aiWaVS stood for the evangelical method.
the labors of which We're eNemplitied by
! Bishop AsbuFys indefatigable travels in
/ the American colonies in lHl and later
IL has been the idea of the Methodist
minister, even up to the present time, 10
! carry on the ordinary work Of his church
in parallel with more or less meetings OF
] the reViValistic sort. Today one learns
that the Methodist Church Is doing less
to stir up religious fervor by emotional
outbreaks. The pastor of "a well-to-do
congregation in Washington admits that
he has this year for the urst time carried
on the work Of his church without the
customary revivalistic and evangelical
accomplishments
II Indicates a deep-seated change in the
attitude of the denomination that a
Methodist minister should feel compelled
to dc clare that y9l out of every IoVo per
sons who attend his services are regular
[ members of the church. 1t was the
original intention Of MethOdism TO min
lister TO the poor by making religious wor-
ship and conservation so simple and at
| tractiVe that those who were aWed by
/ the splendor of other denominations or
made cynical by the conservatism of some
might be free to experiment with religion
unemba rrassed. The poor who made up
the Methodist denomination a century
| ago have given place 10 other generations
Of greater wealth. The liberal education
Of today has tended TO break down the
deuOminatioual antagOuism To question
able forms of amusement notably dane
. / ing and card playing. Church maiate-
nance has become a vast and serious
( business enterprise no less than the run
ming OF great hotel or the publication
Of a ueWspapeT-the one along spiritual,
the other along material lines.
In the matter Of church music. de
clared a clergyman Of this city. in Illus
tratton Of this point there is a hard tight
! all the time 10 secure the best. In this
the Episcopal Church takes the lead, but
we are all following. The pastor Of to-
day counts among his duties an arduous
and continual campaign Of solicitation
| among those whom he hopes 10 make
= members of his flock The old-time method
1 Of increasing the church membership by
n
/ lonable churches at least.
! So far has this evolution proceeded. in
1 ! deed. that people have seriously enQuired
1 | whether a break was not imminent be-
L tween the Old-time MethOdists and the
1 | new. u is not correct TO suppose that
| | eyangeIistic methods have been wholly
1 ! relegated to the Salvation Army. The
l | various branch churches of the Metro
| pOlitau Temple, New York, Offering con-
/ / CeTts and reyivalistic meetings OF every
/ ! stripe. are conspicuous examples. But a
/ / consultation with the Methodist clergy
4 | does not convince one that they antici-
( / pate any disruption They admit that
/ the change has taken place. but they de-
/ | clare that the change has been in the
| not in the attitude Of the religious teach
4 erS, ana that the mission Of the Mctho-
1 ! dist body includes so much more than
! the eNaugcliStic idea that il is absurd TO
| shake heads and be solemn.
. | The rational view is well illustrated by
| | the spirit IN which the oucOmiug Cos
l pei campaign is propaRated. Many be-
II leyc that the CampaIgn-because il is
Il called "A campaign-has in mind revival
II | methods pushed to the limit But the
| appeal which was recently issued by the
Il ! committee IN charge contains no intima-
| tion Of sentimental methods. 1t IS a re-
quest that they look the field over and
decide whether they are not moved to
some calm-miudrd, sincere efforts to
make the generation see piety in a new
i | light.
4 ! Revival meetings have declined because
4 people Will no longer come TO them. The
Il | professional evangelist has done "a great
| deal OF harm. declares one clergyman Of
this city. Saws another: The people who
attend revival meetings are FOUNDERS .
! who 90 10 an revival meetings. to be
,frffl