The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-05-12


  in highest terms of the local preachers. 1 of the class preachers of the pupils and Sunday school teachers He stated that English Methodism was very loyal to it's system, and yet not bigoted. He spoke I of the envy expressed by members of other churches over some of the practices l of the Methodist church. especially the l itinerant system, and said that if they gave that up In England, he believed l some of the other churches would appro- priate 1t. He said there was not the l slightest disposition in England to give 1 It up. although there were some who l would like to sec an addition made to the three-year limit.
 Class Meeting.
 "They also tell us they like our Metho- dist class meeting" said the speaker. q heard pr. R. N Vail perhaps the finest theologian of Congregationalism in Eng land say: Your Methodist class meeting is the finest realization of the idea of the communion of saints that the church has known since the days Of the apostles . The speaker declared that they were still singing In England the typical hymns of Alcoholism. Methodist doctrine is be- ing preached from the pulpits of all churches-Methodist evangelism is in all churches. T now want to say q little about it doctrinally Someone says How do you stand as to your doctrinee l will i say we are unreservedly and solidly evan gelical.s Mr. Young said that the English Methodist church was particularly free from doetrinal controversies: that the church was too busy in the quest of souls to take up its time in such matters. We have no time for idle theological specn- lation; evangelism is the buttress of our orthodoxy We are true to the old con l .f .i..af af I.a gires The Bible still holds it's place among us. Ne believe in the Bible as the word of God"
 The speaker declared that the attitude of many English Christians towards the Bible resembled the attitude of a judge towards the prisoner in the box. Such, he was glad to say. is not the attitude of the Methodsts, who rather take the view that the Bible is the final court of appeal. The Trinity.
 We believe in the doctrine of. the Trim ity. We believe 1t Is essential to Christian theology. Lot the doctrine of the Trinity go and the Divine Christ departs; let that go and the gross falls to the earth; let that go and the work of the Holy 1 Spirit departs also. Surrender that doc- l trine. and you destroy the very founda- i ton of the Christian faith and Metho- dism says No l heard of a church in
 
 way, where they passed resolution that henceforth the divinity of Christ should be an open question. That can never be an open question with Us. There is no place for Unitarianism with us. We be- lieve the special message we have to pro claim Is Justification by faith; not pro- cess of reasoning. but a divine communl- cation to the world, and last but not least, we believe as one of our doctrines the great doctrine of Christian perfec- tion. We are not careful how if Is ex pressed. but we are careful that all our people shall press towards it.
 Regarding Organic Union.
 The speaker then proceeded to discuss l organic Met.hodisn, stating that it was thought by many that the danger today is danger from somewhat inordinate or ganization danger that the preacher is not given leisure enough in his study; is not given time to contemplate and read his Bible in the quiet of his home; that there is danger in the ministry becoming petted by having too many earthly duties to perform.
 We are watching that the speaker stated, "and each year as our conference comes around, some of us enter more or less mild protest against the building of organization, for while organization Is legitimate and the product of life. it may be that organization will crush life. am glad to tell you, however, that organized MethodIsm in England today Is most en- couraging. Reference has been made Of our foreign missionary work"
 Mir Young then spoke of the work being done by the foreign missionary so- | cety The twentieth century fund made | enormous demands upon the resources or l their people. but they felt that nothing l should take precedent over the work 1 done by foreign missions. He spoke of 1t.- f,, Tp1i in la that the baptisms and declarations of faith in the year 1905 have been at least double what they were the previous year all over the mission field, He next spoke of the home missionary department stat ing that It was never stronger than 1t is today.
 Large Halls.
 "We are building in our great cities large halls into which we are gathering the multitudes,' he continued "All of these halls are crowded on Saturday evening. No single one of them seats less than 2500 people. We are getting Into those halls men and women who would not go into an ordinary church. and we are saying that if they will not go into our churches, and will go into these big halls, then in the name of the Lord, let them have the halls. and all over our English cities we are planting these halls. They are all thronged to the door, and in the case of every one of them, con- versions take place Sabbath after Sab bath. The time of the little mission room is therefore past in England. We are not orly building these great halls, but we are doing an equally splendid work in establishing what I believe you call down town churches for evangelstic purposes. We are taking care to select for this pur- pose, not a dull man, or an uncultured man. but we are putting into our down town churches In the poorest districts some of our most cultured men. We say the best is not too good for the common people. and these common people are re- spending right Loyalty to the endeavors we are making in their behalf
 Village Methodism.
 MT. Young then spoke of the evangelis- tic work being done in the villages; he states that the people in the villages were leaving in large numbers for the cities and towns and 1t Is important that the village churches shall reach them for Christ and as they drift np into the great cities they shall be evangelized and Methodized. He stated that the village Methodism of England today Is full of. hope and full of cheer. He stated that the home missionary department was v"