Warren sheaf., 1919-07-09
CONGREGATIONAL LEADER
PRAISES THE CENTENARY
By Charles E. Jefferson.
Pastor Broadway Tabernacle, New

III. 10.
Pastor Broadway Tabernacle, New
York
+ The successful drive of the Metho-
dists of the United States for one hun
dred and forty million dollars for work
at home and abroad is the most stupen-
'dous achievement of any branch of the
Christian Church in modern history.
1t is insevery way wonderful. No mat
ter from what standpoint it is survey
ed, it dazzles the imagination and
thrills the heart. The length and the
breadth and the height Of the work are
equal. # runs far into the future: It
is as wide as the world, and it goes
down deep into the SOUL - !,
1t was money-raising scheme but
it was more than that; it was a vast
program of spiritual culture. 1t aimed
not simply at dollars, but at the build
ing up of the life of the soul. All
ecclesiastical workers. will be able for
years to study this enterprise with
profit.
On the side of organization, it was a
marvel. The machinery which it Great
ed was we'll nigh perfect. Without this
elaborate and efficient apparatus the
mighty work could not have been? ac-
complished. The patience and pains ex-
pended in mapping the field were i'm
mense, and the way in which every
branch of the work was analyzed and
presented in detail was piece Of con-
summate wisdom. The thoroughness
of the study and the comprehensiveness
of the plan of the picturesque way in
which the plan was presented in pub
lication and by picture and by speech
were in themselves engines of power
sufficient to open the minds and the
hearts and the purses of millions.
The mobilization of the man-power
of the church was superb. Sixty thou
sand laymen were converted into min
ute men and set to talking for Christ
and His Church. That was another
bold stroke of genius
The outcome is what it is partly be-
cause the organization and planning
were so careful and complete, the in
struction and publicity were so inces-
SAINT and full, the cooperation of min
| listers and laymen so hearty and uni
versal: but the root cause of the vic
tory is the stupendous faith out Of
which the colossal movement proceed
! ed No one with feeble faith could
ever have conceived so daring and
hazardous an enterprise. Men who
walk by sight could never have com
mitted themselves to dream so peril
GUS and apparently quixotic. Only men
of great heart and broad mind gifted
with a power of thinking in world
terms could have faced undaunted the
mountainous obstacles.
Many conditions conspired to make
the drive seem inopportune and eve''
hopeless The people were drained al
ready by innumerabla drives made nee
'essary by the war, and h!%h taxes and
the high cost of living made it seem
impossible for the Nethodists to should
er burden so heavy. But Mathodism
has leaders of tremendous faith. They
faced all the difficulties without finch
ing They refused to admit to their
vocabulary the word impossible. Fired
,by confidence equal to that of the an
cient prophets and apostles, they have
gone magniicently over the top. We
and the other communions, extend
HEARTY congratulations, and beholdlns
this fresh victory. of faith, we thank
God and take: courage. .--:s..,.+ rev.,s