Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-05-09

successfully they did ii. Let US never
allow the pew to again be shackled and
fits lips sealed with the silence of
death. What we need more and more
in the beginning of this twentieth CEN
fury is not a better educated ministry,
but one which will start forth a speak
ing and testifying pew. The simple
fact is some of our churches are being
preached TO death. We need not more
classical sermons, but more and more
the good OLD fashioned testimony meet
ings of the Methodist church. We
need men and women who in the sim
pie, homely language of the street can
tell what God has done for their souls
We need our prayer meetings 10 be
truly peoples meetings" in which
all take part, a place where the old
folks will testify, and the middle aged
people will testify, and where the
young people will testify.
Another great cause for the multiply
ing power of MethOdism is the class
system" This 'class system" so called,
dates its historic birth to the 10Th day
of February, 1142. Like the life of
the Wandering Jew, may 1t never
have death! May this system live on
and on until at last earthly time shall
cease and the struggles against sin
shall be swallowed up in the eternal
conquests of heaven!
This was how the famous "class sys-
| tenn of Methodism was born: John
| Wesley and his brother Charles were
visiting their society in the city of
| Bristol. A large financial Indebtedness
| hung as an incubus over that society's
| place of worship. While the members
| of that society were discussing with
| the leaders how they should lift the
| debt Captain Foy arose and pro-
| posed that each member should be
| taxed one penny week until the debt
was paid. But that is not fair some
one protestingly said. Here are some
people who are so poor they cannot af-
ford to give even a penny" Then"
said Captain Foy, put eleven of the
poorest with me, and If they can give
anything l will call upon them weekly
and collect the same, and if they give
nothing | will give for them as we'll as
| for myself, and each of you can call
| on eleven of your neighbors weekly,
receive what they give and make up
| what is wanting" No sooner had Cap
| tain Foy spoken than in flash a di-
| vine inspiration came to John Wesley.
Yes, yes" said the great leader to
himself; that is just what Methodism
| needs-a system of caring for it's own,
| system by which it's members shall
not be herded together as wild animals
are herded together, but a system
| which will single men out and place
| them in circles of tens, and over these
| circles shall be placed a separate lead
| er who will have charge Of each class"
| These leaders in turn were to meet and
| report to their pastors. Their pastors
| in turn today meet and report to their
| presiding elders. Each man by the
| "class system" of Methodism is re-
| sponsible to some individual person of
| the church.
| The "C1ass System"
| We see the Ealue of individual re-
sponsibility in the temporal world. Why
should we not see the same results
from the ''class system" of Methodism?
Your boy is about sixteen years of age.
Where are you going to send the lad to
college? We'll" you say, Il would
like in many ways to send him to one
| of our great universities, but the
trouble is l am afraid. There the boy
will only be lost among q crowd Of hun
dreds Of other students, and no one
will be individually responsible for the
lad. l think l shall send him to one of
our smaller colleges, where he will
come in close contact with his teachers.
and these teachers will be able to keep
their eye upon him." You send your
boy to a small college to secure the in
dividual touch of a professor upon the
boy. "Think not" said President Har-
per only a short time ago, that the
University Of Chicago is in any sense q
rival of the small college. There is not
| a professor upon our faculty who
would be SO foolish as to advocate the
idea that young boys of sixteen should
be turned loose in this great sinful civ
with no one to be individually respon-
sible for them. Chicago university is
distinctively a postgraduate institution
the sons and daughters of those nar-
ents living in town, and not for those
whose homes are in the far distance !"
Now, the 'clGss system" of Metho-
dism has a double purpose-frst. it
makes the Methodist convert a mem
Der of a great gospel university in
which there are hundreds of thousands
and millions of members and it gives
to that convert the enthusiasm which
truly comes from great numbers. and.
secondly, it separates the Methodist
| convert from the masses 1t places
him in gospel family for which some
one is responsible. 1t gives to him a
separate gospel garden in which to
/ labor. 1t says: "Old convert. you look
after that young man and that young
woman. Visit them in their homes.
See that they have the right kind Of
companionship. When they are absent