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10 (944) TEE I
HOME MISSIONS IN THE CITY.
The politicians all seek the city vote. Hie
large city usually dominates each state. Its
compactness, the ease with which it can be
handled by shrewd men, the great opportunity
which it gives for the spoils of office and other
material advantages, make its control the object
of special desire. The trader, the capitalist, the
transporter, sets equal store by it. To each of
them it is invaluable. It is the centre of active
operations, the great throbbing heart of commerce
and business life. Even in the highest
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Not only in technological, scientific, and professional
branches, bnt in the sociological, literary
and disciplinary studies, education is rapidly
surrendering the cloistered life and centering
itself in the large communities, no longer retreating
to the quiet of the country or rural villages
far from "the madding crowd." All these
influences, conjoined to the general use of modern
inventions for doing the work of men, a
single machine taking the place sometimes of
scores of hands or employees, have drawn the
people more and more to the large city, depleting
the rural districts, consolidating the smaller
farms, obliterating the cross roads shop, store
and office, depleting the country schools and
churches.
Should not the Church follow this tide of life
and with intense earnestness and wisdom seek to
adjust herself to the changed conditions and to
care for the vast material which needs her attention?
And should she not do this all the more
because the new situation is absorbing and so far
as the rural districts are concerned almost devastating?
Shall she allow these multitudes,
many of whom have come from religious homes,
to drift into the indifference and worldliness
which the city produces and fosters? Should she
not stand with open arms to receive them as
they come rather than wait until they are established
in the new homes and new habits and
already next to lost to her ? Should she not plant
her little stations at every possible strategic
point, ready to meet, not to follow, the incoming
tide and to take care of it as it comes?
Our attention has been directed to this subject
by reading of the policy of two sister
churches occupying precisely the same territory
with our own church. The Methodist
Church, South, and Baptist Church in the
South have for decades been the churches of
the small rural districts and the small towns.
They are both now projecting themselves with
power in the larger communities. In New Orleans,
for instance, the Methodist Board is aiding
in the maintenance of nearly all of its established
churches and is supplying money in thousands
to build or to help to build other houses of worship
and plant new missions. The Home Board
of the Baptist Church is helping six churches
in Nashville, five in Knoxville, five in Chattanooga,
five in Memphis, and three in Jackson,
besides thirty others of the larger towns or county
seats of Tennessee, and it is appealing for the
funds to help all told as many as two hundred!
The 180,000 white Baptists of that State have
their eyes upon these strategic points and are
seeking to meet the changed conditions. In
Louisiana the 65,000 white Baptists are largely
in the central and northern parts of the state.
In New Orleans all their work in the past has
given them only about one thousand or eleven
hundred members. Yet their Home Board in
aiding or almost wholly sustaining five out of
their six churches, erecting very handsome
houses of worship for them at fine points
and in growing and attractive districts.
While these sister churches are thus addressing
themselves to the new problem, our own
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE Si
church, as liberal as it is, and growing rapidly
in the cities, is doing practically nothing as a
body for a similar work and is leaving it altogether
to the local churches to extend themselves
by their contributions and colonizing. What
the others are doing in this way and with the
additional impulse and help of great denomination-wide
sympathy and effort, we are leaving
to each immediate location by itself.
The city field is worth holding, and occupying
in advance just now. It will develop into our
most active and best paying constituency. If it
is neglected by us or left to others, the responsibility
for its indifference or lack of evangelization
or for its eventual loss will be ours. There
is not a single large city in the South in which
our church would not find it a most profitable
investment to expend not less than ten thousand
dollars a year in simple, aggressive, city home
mission work.
A BEAUTIFUL PERSISTENCY.
A careful comparison of the stories of our
Lord's visits to Nazareth will show that the three
records, from the synoptic gospels, do not refer
to one and the same visit, but that one of them
occurred shortly after the ministry of Jesus began.
Luke's account is not so much of a visit
as of the return, when Jesus came back to his
home after the baptism, the short, early ministry
in Judea, the social visit to Cana and the marvellous
healing of the nobleman's son at Capernaum,
a miracle wrought at a distance.
On his return to Nazareth, he had not yet been
long enough away to prevent a certain familiarity
with him on the people's part, and the
indifference which it produced. So, when his
words, gracious as they were, began to sting them
by their truth, with the usual disregard for a
prophet in his own country, they became angry
and tried to do him bodily harm. He went away,
and fixed his home at Capernaum. But with a
holy persistency he again made special effort to
help his home town. He visited "his own country"
again, nearly two years later, long enough
for something of the old familiarity and indifference
to wear away. He did not give up
effort there because of the treatment he had received
on his first appearing among them in his
messianic work. His patience and effection were
both manifest. IHe was unwilling to leave off
special effvrt in behalf of those with whom he
had grown up. Better results might have been
expected. As Jesus taught the people, they wondered
whence he had such mighty works as were
reported of him and such wisdom. They spoke
of his family, mentioning his mother and brothers
by name, and alluded to these, and his sisters,
and probably Joseph also, as still residents of
Nazareth. But little came of his earnest preaching.
Unbelief was rampant amongst them. Even
his brethren did not believe on him. So he did
not many mighty works there, because of their
unbelief, and sorrowfully turned to others.
The patience with which Christ pursued a good
end is an example to us not to be weary in welldoing.
It is always to be remembered, however,
that it is in well-doing. Persistency in a bad
cause or a selfish end, or for the mere purpose
of saying one secured his object at last, is as
evil as persistency in a good cause is praiseworthy.
Dogged determination, without refer
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euue 10 a proper purpose, is oui tune oener man
the animal, the bull-dog, nature in men. It does
not rise to the height of loyalty. It is only selfishness.
Persistence in principle, and for principle's
sake, is loyalty to truth.
A big body, a large braan, a fat purse, does
not make a man great. A large heart always
does.
1
DUTH [August 14,1912
NOTES IN PASSING.
BY BERT.
"Give thanks at the reTho
Remembrance membrance of his holiness,''
of His Holiness. sings the psalmist in the
ninety-seventh Psalm.
Just to call worthy things to remembrance is
attended with blessings. It is a good thing to
have a good tenant in your house rather than a
bad one; it helps the reputation of your house.
But besides, whereas the bad one destroys
your property, the good one will keep it up and
make it look well as long as he is in it. So with
the mind the memory of good things, so long as
it lasts, keeps evil things at a distance; but even
more, the memory of good things builds up positive
righteousness, whereas the memory of evil
tears down.
Nothing makes a people more
God as a thankful than to have a righteous
Ruler. ruler. Nothing fills them with humiliation
like a ruler who is unjust,
dishonest, dishonorable, and altogether unworthy.
The French .Revolution was the comment
of the people of France upon a succession
of occupants of the throne who were profligate,
debauched, selfish, and godless. The people
were not only suffering from hunger and want
and oppression, but they were humiliated before
the world by their nobility and kings. At
length forbearance ceased to be a virtue and the
common herd whom the nobles despised arose
and cleaned house.
People are proud of a strong ruler. Consider
Jehovah, how he led Israel out of Egypt
in spite of the might of that great eippire, and
how he gave them victory after victory over
great military powers while they themselves were
only a rabble of emancipated slaves without a
military history.
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sider Jehovah. His mercy never shone so conspicuous
as when the people deserved otherwise.
He never deserted them though over and over
they deserted him.
People want good laws righteously administered.
Again consider Jehovah. Are not the Ten
Commandments after centuries of testing today
the most righteous code ever invented. And is it
not the glory of Jehovah that there is no respect
of persons with him. For such a Ruler who
would not unceasingly give thanksf
Even more important than rightGod
as a eous rulers are righteous teachers.
Teacher. Rulers may oppress the body, but
teachers can condemn the soul to ignorance.
They can lead their disciples to believe
that wrong is right, that virtue is unprofitable,
and that the true end of life is self.
Look at any nation of the world and their condition
will be the best commentary upon their
teacher. China is the most brilliant example of
national "stAndnafrism " or woo n?tn
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and there you have the unprogreesivenees of
Confucius before your eyes. India is Mohammed
nationalized, and there you see the ignorance,
bigotry, and degradation of their teacher's doctrines
in full light.
The difference between paganism and Christianity
may be said, in a word, to be the differ
ence between teachers. Are there any more brilliant
names in paganism than Seneca, or Oicero,
or Cato, or Socrates, or Aristotle, or Plato! Are
we not often told that Oonfncins and Marcos
Anrelins and Socrates gave ntterance to sentiments
as high as those found in the Scriptnrest
Bnt note some differences. In addition to the
good things these philosophers said they said
other things. For example Seneca, Cato, and