The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-03-17

l1eu Is oO great l1dJ IL is seen ludL
the religious training of the young
has not been entirely turned over to
the ladies'.
The lecture room had to be
brought into use both yesterday aft
ernOOn and evening. The convention
opened yesterday afternoon, with
President j. Ii. Martin of Minneapo-
lis presiding.
Convention Made Record.
The convention is making rec
ord all along the line. it actually
began on time. At two o'clock, not
a minute earlier or a minute later,
e. o. Sellers mounted the platform,
and started the audience singing
from his special song pamphlet:
THY word is lamp to my feet,
A light to my path Away,
Thy word have | hid in my heart"
The delegates from noon trains
were still crowding about the three
registration tables, but there were
probably $50 people in the seats,
men predominating. They kept COM
ing in, filling and overlooking the
auditorium. Rev. r. Ross Paden of
the local church led in brief devo-
tional service, reading with brief
comments the passages about Moses
asking God to show him His glory,
and how he, Endured as seeing Him
who is invisible" He closed with
brief prayer. Mr.. Sellers then
called for ten people, teachers of
adult Bible classes, to give ten Scrip.
ture verses. The last of these re-
Quired the singing of another verse
of THY word have l hid in my
heart"
The first speaker introduced by
President Martin was Rev. Harold
PattisOD, pastor of the First Bap
fist church, st. Paul. He spoke as
follows:
Keynote of Convention.
THE keynote of this convention
has been put down as Conquest We
be the supreme aim Of the Sunday
school, and of the church. Conquest
for God, in the name of Christ, in
winning the enemy's territory, in ex
tending the kingdom of righteous
ness. We are not agreed, perhaps
as to how this supreme aim is to
be achieved. Better organization. say
some; better lesson helps, say 9th
ers; better teachers. But what is
the supreme method of achieving
this supreme aim? My theme won
heard over and over again, but toe
little needed, is personal works. If
our swords are not long enough, we
must so in with short swords, ge
to close quarters. 1t is an age o.
hustle, which makes the work more
difficult. All the more must we tr.
to do it for Christ, and in His name
The weakest human being cOncen
trating all his powers is able to &C
cOmplish something; the stronges
by dissipating his powers may &C
complish nothing. This is the New
Testament method Of conquest. Jesus
never brought a single soul to Him
self, but His personal interviews are
almost numberless. They were wha
told Oh human lives. The first dis
ciples were won by personal work
They i'm their turn went out to dc
personal work, and it was thus tina
the gospel message spread. Jesu:
and His disciples did not seek hu
mainly. They sought the man, the
individual. For that very reason they
were in q fair way to win humanity
to leaven the world. If we have
not yet won the world, it is probably
because we have turned to Other
methods.
This method is supremacy effec
tive in the world in which we arc
living today. When one of the
Waldenses was converted, according
to the statement of the Papal Syndic
he, in seven days, converted another
and so the heresy spread. The roal
Of the artillery in a battle is more
awe-inspiring. but it is the ping Of
| the sharp shooter, who is the per
sonal worker, which at the end o.
the day has brought down more men
We all want to be big guns, and
SO avoid personal work. The poll
ticians are alive to this method. IN
a hot campaign any man who is
doubtful, has put beside him another
man as personal worker. The cars
are filled with commercial travellers
the personal workers of the business
world.
mo money can be compared will
the joy of personal service. The
world is larger and it is smaller than
it was fifty years ago. Win one
and you win others. Let us speak
out the things which we canpot keel
within our hearts because God has
/ put them there. In the MOraviar
church it is said that every man
! counts for one. When the same is
| true in our Bible class, we shall
know what it is to win this world
! for Christ Remember the answer OF
/ John Paul Jones when, after fight
! ing since early morning, left almost
alone on the deck, he was called or
by the captain of the Scraps to sur
render Surrender, | have not be.