NO. 14. A SYMPOSIUM ON EVANGELISTIC WORK By Rev. I. H. Russell, D. (Paper read at the Presbyti ID.. Synodical Evangelist Workers’ Conference) I have been given the sub ject, “Symposium on Evange- j listic Work,” which means giv- j ing my views as gained through experience. I have been lahoring in this field for more than twelve years, and am glad to say that the 'ork has Ken pleasant and profitable. More than four teen hundred persons have given their hearts to God. A large number of these are to-; day conscientious and faithful workers in the church of Jesus Christ; more than a score are numbered among the leading i physicians; a large number of; women and girls have become! trained nurses; while a still; larger group have become heads of homes, and are training! their childern in ways God would have them go. I have been severely criti-s cised as to the method of con-i ducting revivals. These criti cisms have come from the peo-i pie, and often from my breth-l ren, the preachers. When Christ had a message for the 'people He always used an ap-f praach . and procedure thati Would best suit His congrega-, tion. The occupation of His lisej feners determined His method. His parables began thus; “The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into tr Carl country, who railed his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.” 'Then shall the kingdom of j heaven be likened onto ten vir-i gins which took their lamps; and went forth to meet the; bridegroom.” “So is the kingdom of heav-; en, as if a man should cast seed into the ground.” “A certain man went down; from Jerusalem to Jericho, andi fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment,! and wounded him, and depart ed, leaving him half dead.” Contact is the best means of finding out people’s capacities, their needs, their likes and: their dislikes. The evangelistic work has enriched my experi ence along these lines. The Lord has given me a burning message, and I am anxious to deliver it1 in a wayi that the most of the geopfc) will be able to receive and ac cept this message. We came to God through the analytical process, because we were trained to reason about things and accepted Christ be cause we knew it wasjrfe and right. A large number of peo ple can not reason the matter out because they are not •trained. In these situations, methods are to be used which) the people understand. It is very strange to know the reasons that are given for having revivals. (1) it is our time to nave a revival. (2) The church comes to the conclusion that it needs money, and holds evangelistic services to get a lajfge crowd together, to get money to pay debts. (3) People are tired of the ministers, and have evangelis tic services to change their minds. (4) The churches go on from j .year to year without an in crease, other churches. are hav ing additions, and they come to the conclusion that they must have an increase, because others are taking all the young people. As far afield as the above reasons are, yet much good is accomplished. The lifting pow er of the evangelistic services would be more effective and far-reaching if the people were prepared for a revival. In the great buildings the el evators have a good deal of lift ing power. Great cranes work daily at unloading steamships,; railway cars, and other great i carriers The Christian church needs uplifting power today.,' We often produce much but it cannot be moved. We produce the values of our lives on such low levels that we are unable to lift them to levels of real service to others. Religion is dynamic and it3 energy is exerted upward. The accomplishments of the church i and of us can help the people' to go forward, but only God! can lead them upward. The! height, to which the people and the ehurch go upward, depends upon the lifting power which j comes from God. A story is told of a little boy; who one day saw another little raggted boy without a coat. The former boy took off his coat,! and gave it to the boy without: a coat. It was a cold, rainy day. Some days after this, as a re sult of being without a coat, he became sick. He grew worse and worse, and just before he died he lifted himself in the bed and said to those around him,' I see Jesus He has come for me: and he has on the coat I gave the poor little boy, and l am go ing home with him. My dear brethren, have you the lifting power, and have: you given anything to those in need of physical and spiritual help that Jesus will bring with Him when He comes? It seems to me that the story of the Good Samaritan will il lustrate the work of the True Evangelist. The * road leading from Jerusalem to Jericho among the hills and great rocks. Travelers could be easily attacked by robbers and thieves. This road is still open today as it was in the days of the Saviour when He made this illustration to that learned law yer. Thieves are attacking the Bible, they are attacking the church, and are offsetting the efforts of Christian workers. A general survey, and close observation of the many fields I have visited have revealed the following: That we are not needing better preachers, not greater sermons, finer choirs, nor larger congregations; but we are needing the spirit of the Good Samaritan, a faith in our work, and a faith in our-t selves. I have also found as I getj over the fields that the lifting power and the spirit of the Good Samaritan are exemplified in the lives and work of the preachers. They are putting forth the. maximum of effort, and often receive only the minimum encouragement and compensation. ! o" j In every age men have sought to make the most of themselves. It is interesting to know how different men have tried to do this. Hermits have withdrawn themselves from act tive life- and have stood on stumps with hands clinched in prayer until their nails grew into the flesh of. their hands, in their effort to seek salvation, rjreat poets, statesmen and prophets have given the world sublime messages in their ef-j fort to do what they believed to be best Investigators in li brary and laboratory have re vealed new truths. In this day of busy, complex; life it is a relief to find a type 3f man who possesses tWe lift ing power, who has imbibed the spirit of the Good Samari4 tan, who lives in touch with the, surging stream of life, and who has a heart which beats iri sympathy with all humanity. As I go from field to field, I find the above qualities mani fested in the brethren in a full measure. The reel intent of the Chris tian workers and the purpose of the evangelistic efforts be summarized in the follow poem: “Let me live in a house by side of the road, Where the races of men go The men who are good and men who are bad, As good and as bad as I. T would not sit in the seo: seat, Or hurl the cynic’s ban; Let me live in my house 1 side of the road And be a friend to man. “I see from my house by side of the road, By the side of the highway i life, The men who press with ardor of hope, The men who are faint the strife. But I turn not away from tl smiles nor their tears-~ Both parts of an infinite pi Let me live in my house by side of the road And be a friend to man. “I know there are brooks dened meadows ahead. And mountains of wearfsc height; ... m That the road passes ? ah through the long afternooj And stretches away .to . night. But still I rejoice when t te travelers rejoice, And weep with the strange that moan, Nor live in my ” house fey side of the road Like a man who dwells alohe| “Let me live in my house the side of the road Where the races of men go They are good, they are tey are weak, they are stre fee, foohsh—so am I. J TWen why should I sit in scorner’s seat, Qr hurl the cynic’s ban? Lot me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man.” TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. One year and seven months' after Rev. 0. M. McAdams be gan serving the Trinity Pres byterian church, of St. Peters burg, Fla-, the congregation dedicated its first house of worship. In the same time a manse of six rooms was built on the chapel grounds. Both houses were clear of debt before the chapel was dedicated. The following account of the dedication appeared in both “The Times” and “Evening In dependent,” papers of this city, Monday, March 26, 1930: Colored Church Dedicated Sun day “About fifty members of the First Presbyterian, Euclid Presbyterian and West Central Presbyterian churches attended the dedication services at the Trinity Presbyterian colored church yesterday afternoon at 3 o’clock. Rev. 0. M. McAdams, D. D., formerly of Greenville, S. C-, is pastor of the church, which has been holding services at the Jordan academy for the past two years, and yesterday the congregation met to dedi cate their first church build ing. “The Rev. Dr. James A- Mc Clure, pastor of the First Pres byterian church, preached the dedication sermon, speaking on “The Marks of the True Church.” Dr. McClure has been influential in the backing of the work of the Trinity Presbyteri an church and has guaranteed financial aid to support a pas tor. The Rev. Mr. T- I. Deane, pastor of the Euclid Presbyte rian church, and the Rev. Dr.} E. R. Barnard, West Central Presbyterian church, spoke at the dedication services. A col lection of over $40 was taken yesterday afternoon.” (Continued on page 4) m taught to fear' gd-.shun persons of color; unlnese are baited; Jews are persecuted—ell as a matter of course. Some people explain such an attitude as an inborn trait. Modern psychology, how ever, shows that this is not the case. This attitude is acquired. It has not been proved that physical differences themselves create a (distinctive sense of* aversion or of special attraction.; It has been established that if instinct plays any part in the: development of race feeling ft is less prominent in child life! than in adolescence and young adulthood. i it is clear, however, that whether the child is born with natural aversions or not “even before he starts going to school; be is certain to have his mi» j canalised into habitual accept ance of the prevailing attitudes; of the group within which he: lives.” The child is made to notice outer differences and to accept them as signs of inner differences of value. His very; contacts are regulated for him, if not by precept then by ex ample. Attitudes, unconscious-: ly transmitted, moreover, are considered much more effective than those deliberately taught. “In this matter of race rela tions.” says Bruno Lasker, “it is the gesture of the parent rather than the word of mouth, the smile of derision for mem bers of another race in the adult group rather than the recital of the ‘golden rule' or a profession of cordiality, the adult’s racial pride that comes to the surface in the ^moments of exultation rather than lessons on human brother hood, and above all the obvious! facts of segregation and social division on racial lines that condition the child’s Attitudes. A refusal to admit members of another race to personal con tact makes protestations of ab sence of race feeling ridicu lous.” i “To the controversy over the public school teaching of his tory,” continues this author, “our inquiry contributes one or two pertinent facts: f It is not immaterial whether ut of all in stitutions and agfjqfctes .which influence public opinion. The Negro ig the Discovery and: JJxptedtfwi of America fn the earliest history of na-1 tions Negroes figured most con spicuously. In Africa they dis covered iron and with it devel oped industrial arts, the de mand for products Of which brought rich traders out of the heart of that continent into the Mediterranean world. Centuries before the Teutons or the Lat [ ins established a claim to North America, Africans with excel lent ships made of iron had vis led these shores and pushed their way into the interior. These pioneering Africans brought to America such words as “canoe,” “buckra” and “to bacco;” they influenced the In dian religion through fetishr ism, and they left relics in caves which gave further evidence of their presence on- this conti nent. Later when European explor ers came, Negroes were with* them to play a prominent part. One of these Negroes wrote his name still higher in the hall of fame. This was Estevanico, or Little Stephen, the explorer of the Southewestern part of the United States. The Contribution .of Labor The first important contribu tion of the Negro to the de velopment of America was toil. Labor is as important in eco nomic development as capital. Negroes cleared the forests of the South, drained the swamps, prepared the soil for the pro duction of its staples and dug from the earth nuggets of pro-; clous metals. In that section, too, appeared Negro mechanics! and artisans using the skill which was natural to the Afr% cgn even in his native land* fhese Negro workers shod horses, cast farming imple mepts, made vehicles, buitt boats and built railroads which provided the .South with. a net work of transportation facili ties Inventive Genius Although handicapped by slavery, Negroes underwent sufficient mental development to exhibit r inventive mnius. Negroes experimented with ap pliances which Eli Whitney, finally assembled as the cotton gin. Jaroes EorteOr of Philadel phia, perfected a device for sails; Henry Bla’r, of Maryland, patented two corn harvesters in 1884 and 1886: and. Norbert Rillieux revolu tionized the manufacture of su jfar with his evaporating pan. Exactly how many Negroes have appeared in the field of in vention since the Civil War r^nnot be easily determined. Official records with respect to the race of inventors have not heen kept. In many cases the racial identity has been easily determined, but some inventors have not divulged such infor mation because the value of the invention might thereby be de preciated. Investigation in the United States Patent Office, however, has shown that at least If500 inventions have been made by Negroes. Later Granville T. Woods with hjs up usual electrical applianc es and Elijah McCoy with his lubricating machinery. Some of these inventions have been re markable. Undoubtedly the most Significant was an epoch-mak ing machine for lasting shoes invented by Jan E- Matzeliger, in Ihitck-Ovugna^ In Defence of the Country As a soldier . the Negro has acquitted- himself with honor in all American wars. Negroes served with the colonial forces on land and sea and helped shape the destiny of America. Brave men of African blood followed the British standard during the Seven Years War until Montcalm was vanquished by Wolfe on the Plains of Abra ham, thereby making English institutions possible in Ameri ca. Crispns Atacks fell in the Boston Massacre in and hfe Megaliths of Gambia, and the bronze sculptures of Be nin. African art, however, is not yet appreciated because it, differs so widely from European nrt which is based upon imita tion. African art is based upon sculotural design. It is original mther than imitative. The Af -ican artist is not restricted by Xt he sees. He endeavors to produce what he ima*m«.a«4 fiis imagination is most fertile. (Continued on page 4)