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FIFTY-FOURTH YEAR.
ORGAN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE.
NUMBER 9
RALEIGH, N. G, THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1908.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: WHY?
By N. H. D. Wilson.
There is no book which has such a sale as the
Bible. It is a conservative calculation that the
daily sale of the Word of God reaches 40,000
volumes. Published in 492 versions, it is now
found in every land. God speed the day when it
shall be the guide of every pilgrim, the light of
every home, the comfort of every sorrowing
heart!
But is it studied? By many; yes. By most,
not at all, or so desultorily as to have but little
opportunity to confer blessing. Therefore it may
not be amiss to enforce through the Advocate
pome great reasons why we should "Search the
Scriptures." The word "search" is the figure of
the miner who digs deep in the bowels of the
earth, brings forth the ore, crushes and washes
or burns it to separate the hidden gold. Why
should each one not simply read, but "Search the
Scriptures." In this article I shall not empha
size the duty but rather point out the privilege.
(1) Awaking China, desirous of learning the
secret of Western civilization, has required every
candidate for a degree and, therefore, for an of-
a nee liur uuiy mw uiiate iiuiu umi.c; uv diuj
The Bible. What the heathen nation demands of
- -1 its ruling class, America's rulers, ourselves,
should demand of ourselves, and more, a thor
ough knowledge of that Book which lies at the
very foundation of the law, government, society
and life of our own and of our mother nation.
(2) A literary reason. Every authority on
style I have read, places first in the list of those
books which have created the best English style
and which, when studied, will contribute most
to the formation in the individual writer, of a
pure, elegant, forceful perspicious style the
Bible. The great English and American orators,
have ever been students of its language, this
"well of English undefiled."
(3) But far higher, though short of the high
est, a moral reason. The great infidel gave in
structions that his daughter be taught the Bible.
A speaker in a convention of agnostics, urges the
study of the Bible as "the greatest classic of con
duct, the legacy of a people with a sublime pas
sion for righteousness." With no fuller faith,
nor higher idea than ethical culture, every wise
man will "Search the Scriptures" as the most
inspiring teacher of moral truth and the ever
springing fountain of moral life.
(4 j But the next step brings us from the twi
light of dawn into the sunlight of noon: it is
our Father's Word of Life to us. How precious
to me are the few fragments of letters in that
si range angular writing wherewith my own
sainted father used to address his name-sake.
How gladly would I gather for study the wealth
of love and wisdom which foolish youth thought
lessly destroyed! But this Book is my Father's
letter of love and wisdom to me his child. Can
I neglect it?
(5) But surpassing wealth, "it testifies of me,"
saith Christ. Who would not travel far to study
'lie masterpiece of painting or sculpture where
in is best interpreted the beauty of woman or
the strength of man? Herein is the portrait of
the life of One who is the fairest among ten
thousand and altogether lovely, and in whom are
blended past separation or distinction, the purity
of God. and the tenderness of man. Masterpiece
of the eternal matchless Master! Yet the he
holding of Raphael's Madonna conveys not beauty,
nor may the marble of Praxiteles give strength,
but he who by searching the Scriptures gazes on
the Son is changed from glory to glory, reflecting
His beauty and being filled with His strength.
(6) Finally, lest the reader be exhausted, the
subject is well nigh exhaustless, "in them ye
think ye have eternal life." Whence came the
iear star of hope which cheered your darkest
hour?. Why do we "hope to meet our Pilot face
to face when we have crossed the bar?" Is this
assurance born of philosophy? A few of earth's
great ones have argued for our hope, but trem
bled as they hoped. Of heathen religions? Where
they borrow from the Word, they weaken by
foolish admixture of impossibilities. Where they
know not the Word, they are hopelessly ignorant.
From poetry? It but sings what it hath here
learned. Nay, if there is any "Summer Land,"
any "Land o' the Leal," any "Home of the Soul,"
any "My Father's House of Many Mansions," we
know it only through the Word of this Book, and
we may reach it only as this Book is a lamp unto
our feet and a light unto our path.
For these reasons, reader, as thou lovest thy
soul, or thy mind, I charge thee, 'Search the
Scriptures."
RURAL EVANGELIZATION.
By Jtev. R. M. Archibald, Birmingham, Ala., in Go
Forward.
j To speak of mere rural evangelization in th
; sense of preaching the Gospel, making converts,
I and getting them Into the church is not enough.
Emotional preaching has often aroused the peo
ple for a time and brought large numbers into
the church; but the work has not always been
abiding. The day in which we could be content,
with the holding of revivals and filling the church
with members has passed; we must train our
: membership for service in the church rather than
merely convert and initiate them. This paper will,
; therefore, deal with the matter of developing
rather than that of technically evangelizing the
rural section.
There are many country circuits composed of
intelligent, liberal, loyal, and prosperous people
and constituting some of our most desirable pas
toral charges. Our purpose shall be not to con
sider these, but rather those in the less favored
sections, where conditions may be regarded as
problematical.
Two facts urge the necessity of our giving due
attention to this work:
(1) The rural section is a part of the great
world field, the harvest from which our Lord has
sent out His disciples to gather. Our Lord's or
der was: "Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth."
(2) There is a constant influx of people from
y'the country into the cities. Most of the sound
business men and church leaders in our cities and
our preachers everywhere are country-horn. There
are many poor, backward, and ignorant countrj
neighborhoods about which we often speak dis
paragingly; and yet, when we look at many of
our preachers and substantial laymen, we are
forced to say: "This man was born there." Neg
lect the country, and where will our preachers
come from? Stop this stream of pure fresh blood
that constantly flows from the country into the
city, and the city problem will be multiplied
many fold; allow ,that same stream to become
putrid and corrupting, and the conditions result
ing would become well-nigh intolerable.
The most powerful of all forces in rural devel
opment is the pastor. Here he finds his greatest
opportunity. No one can so effectively touch and
influence the people as he. His coming is looked
forward to with much interest, and his words
linger (if he says anything worth remembering)
long after he is gone. He is often quoted as au
thority on any matter about which he speaks. The
i hurry and bustle of the city is lacking, and he
) has plenty of time to do his work well. He can
rpp! all the members of the family in his pastoral
visits; work is often suspended, and he may be
entire master of the situation.
Many churches have mongrel song-books or an
inadequate supply of our own, when, by a judici-
ous effort on the part of the pastor, our hymnal
and Sunday-school song-books could be easily
j supplied. The rural pastor should preach a strong.
virile, stimulating, aggressive gospel instead of
appealing to the emotional, as he is often tempted
In his pastoral work be should not only com-',
fort the saints, but get in touch with the youn
people, and by any and all means encourage them.,'
to lives of useful service. He should be constant
ly on the lookout for bright, promising boys and
girls, put stimulating literature in their hands,
and get them off to college. No one can bettor
feed our church schools than the rural pastor;
and in so doing he not only revolutionizes a lif,
but often an entire family. .
Another means of developing the countr:- work)
is the circulation of suitable books. Every rural
pastor should be a traveling colporteur if he
would make the best of his opportunity. Tao
big dailies and popular magazines are not so com
mon; there is less to distract, more time for read
ing, and usually less to read in the country than
elsewhere.
The developing of leaders is often the most dif ficult
of the pastor's duties; but if the nbove sug
gestions are carried out, it ia not so difficult after,
all. This can better be done by keening the name
man longer on a pastoral charge. The average
preacher should stay from two to four years.
It is useless to say that strong and well-equip
ped men should be sent to the rural charges. T
know of one section that for a number of years
has been served by supplies who were local in
their views, or, for the most part, by young men
on trial and changing every year until Methodism
is all but ready to leave the field. Within eight
years some seven churches have become defunct,
within a radius of twenty miles; and it now looks
as if several others are headed the same way. Let
us by all means send strong men to the rural
charges.
What the rural churches need is the missionary
spirit. Many have been helped and ministered
unto without learning the lesson of ministering
until they have become pauperized and, in some j
cases, dead. No church will die that has the mis-
sionary spirit, nor will one fail of development.
Given a wise, consecrated pastor that uses well
every opportunity afforded him and makes his
charge a center of missionary activity, and practi
cally all problems of rural evangelization will find
their solution.
CHURCH EXTENSION NOTES.
As a rule, a church applies for aid but once in
its history. It is not difficult, therefore, to un
derstand why these applicants expect to receive
the amount granted as soon as the conditions are
met. A vast amount of the correspondence in
this office is occasioned by tho necessity for an
explanation at this point.
We are now approaching the annual meeting,
which will be held at St. Joseph, Mo., May 0th to
10th. As soon as the grants are made, the
churches will begin to demand the money, and
we cannot pay a dollar until the money is re
ceived from the assessment now upon the church.
Will not the pastors see to it that the Churrh
Extension assessment has an equal showing with
other claims, and remit same to their Conference
Board Treasurers or to this office on the earliest
possible date? The official receipt upon which
we receive all Church Extension Funds will an
swer every purpose in nettling, at the session of
your Annual Conference, with the Treasurer of
your Conference Board, your Conference Teller,
your Statistical Secretary, or any one else con
cerned in the matter.
It takes more than a stock of pious phrases
on the tongue to keep the heart from starvation.
He only is a true liberal who i3 more noxious
that others should be free than, hp should fep
without restraint.