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GIVE THE DEACONS AN OPPORTUNITY.
The Southern Presbyterian Church is lend
ing the van in bringing the Scriptural Deacon
into his own. It has clearly seen ami stated
that the Deacon is not an embryonic Elucr,
Ruling or Teaching. His sphere of action is
different and distinct. He was originally ap
pointed by the Apostles "to serve tables/' or
take care of the material necessities of the
Church. This did not imply that lie was to be
a cold-blooded, materialistic kind of man. The
very opposite was needed. It takes more relig
ion to be a good deacon and distribute the alms
and gifts of the Church than to be an elder.
So he was to be a man full of the Holy Spirit
and wisdom.
In this day and time the Church has need
of large sums of money, to carry on its num
berless works. Plans must ba devised and
set in motion to get this money in the right
way from the people, so that it may be a
means of grace to them. The Stewardship Com
mittee of our Church is made almost, if not
altogether, of Elders ? Ruling and Teaching.
They must go outside of their sphere of Scrip
tural activity to gather and dispense the gifts
of the people. We have wondered if this is
just right.
Why not gradually give the Deacons a
chance to plan for and raise this large sum
of money ? It might not do to make the changc
suddenly and at once. Would it not be fine
for the Deacon to have some opportunity along
this line? It would certainly develop him as it
magnified his office. We feel sure, being the
Scriptural way, it must be on the whole the
wisest plan.
As these men must eventually secure the
pledges for this money and see after its col
lection, it would wonderfully strengthen them
to know why and what for this money is raised.
There seems to be no satisfactory way of get
ting at the proper way of apportioning the
amounts. It is largely guess work, and has at
least the offensive stigma of penalizing the
church that raises a large sum by making
that the lwsis of an increase next year.
Would it not be well for the Presbytery at
least, to have the advice of the deacons of
the churches in making the final apportion
ment on the churches themselves?
Now the Synods are asked to meet earlier,
and most of them are doing so. This requires
the fall meeting of Presbytery to follow the
Synod, when the amount is apportioned to
Presbytery, and this laid on the churches for
next March. There is usually no great
amount of work at fall meetings of Presby
tery. Why not invite the deacons to come
and sit as advisory members in such matters?
It will certainly strengthen the pastor to have
a few of his Deacons on hand to hear the dis
cussions and needs and then advise the Pres
bytery as to what his church could do, and
would try to do.
There would be no ground for complaint
when the Presbytery has secured all the ad
vice from the official forces of that church.
It would dignify the deacon's office. It would
certainly enthuse him with more zeal as he
knows what others are doing and what the need
? is. Let us give the Deacon an opportunity
commensurate with his Scriptural position.
We would like to hear from the deacons on
this subject. Tt would help them to study this
r subject carefully, and it would help the whole
Church to have them express their views.
A. A. Little.
Contributed
A LOOK INTO HUNGARY.
Rev. James I. Good, I). D.
Our Presbyterian Deputation of the West
ern Section, that visited Hungary thi3 sum
mer, found the great Hungarian Presbyterian
Church, once a rich and perhaps the best or
ganized Church in Europe, torn to pieces by
the war and greatly impoverished. Today
Hungary proper is only about one-third as
large as Hungary before the war, and its
Church numbers only about half, namely, a
million of adherents. It, however, fortunately
retains its old organization, its General Synod
with the Conventus as its Executive Commit
tee. We attended a meeting of the Conven
tus and were most cordially received. Bui the
work of the Church is hampered by its great
poverty. The value of the crown, then* c.-in,
lias fallen so low that the average pastor gels
only about forty dollars a year for himself,
and family, when the minimum wage
upon which one can live properly is
a hundred dollars. We visited the Uni
versity of Saros-Patek and found that the
salary of a professor of Theology was sixty
dollars a year. At the University of Papa it
is only forty dollars a year, at the University
of Debreczin, about eighty dollars a year. Un
less the minister has relatives or friends to
supplement this salary, his life is one of semi
starvation. Some of them have for the last
three years been building up debts, until the
total is now staggering. We heard of one min
ister whose debts had risen to one hundred
thousand crowns and was well-nigh desperate.
When one remembers that there are constantly
many suicides in Budapest from starvation
and poverty we can see the temptation and
danger such a situation brings.
But on the other hand, we found the
Churches in Hungary well attended. We
preached in the Calvin Church to an audiencc
of over two thousand. Indeed, there seems to
be among the people a return-tide toward
church-going. A longing for spiritual things
has taken the place of the longing for mate
rial things, that followed the war. For they
have found out that mere political patriotism
is a poor substitute for the gospel of comfort
and salvation. We assisted them at the or
ganization * of an Evangelistic Society, of
which Bishop Ravacz, of Budapest, is presi
dent. (Their bishops are only superintendents
and not bishops in the Episcopal sense.)
We can not speak highly enough of his great
and blessed influence. He is a rare combina
tion of intellectual ability and deep spiritual
ity. And the young men, who are to be the
secretaries of this Evangelistic Movement all
of them trained in Scotland or America, are
choice religious spirits. This Evangelistic So
ciety will require about $11,000 this first year.
This, with the necessary supplement to the low
salaries of pastors and teachers, which is also
about $11,000, make the total need for this
year $22,000. We found the ministers' widows
in dire need, as their splendid Ministerial Re
lief Society before the war had all gone to
pieces. They are getting from six to nine dol
lars a year, and yet even for this pittance
they are supremely thankful. We had sent
some money of the United Presbyterian
Church to the ministers' widows at Papa.
Their gratefulness to us was one of the most
touching scenes we have ever witnessed, yet
none of them received more than five dollars
What will the Southern Presbyterian Church
do to provide for these needs? While you are
helping other philanthropies, do not forget
these of "your own kith and kin/' We hope
that your Church which has always been so
large-hearted, will open to this appeal.
Unless this Church in Hungary is helped, it
will go down and the power of Protestantism
be gradually lost in Southeastern Europe. One
of tho professors of Theology said to us:
"We try on our poor salary to appear decent.
Our outer clothing we try to keep respectable.
(His coat looked very threadbare and worn.)
Our outer clothing is respectable, but I have
only one shirt and when you look for under
clothing they are not there or perhaps you
find ? rags. And what we miss and most, long
for is the championship of books, especially
those that aid us to teach, for we have not
bocn able to get books since before the we
eight years ago." We heard of two students
in the University of Budapest, brothers, who
had only one suit of clothing between them.
And one wears the suit to his classes one day,
the other wears it the next day. while the. first
stays at home.
Brethren, can our Christian spirit and loy
alty to our Presbyterianism permit such things
to go on? Will you not help and help now
that another winter iu coming on. On the
"Day of Prayer" (October 29) of your Church,
pray mightily for these suffering brethren and
give liberally for them in their need.
MR. WILKINSON'S MIS-READING OP
"THE SECOND COMING" PAMPHLET.
By Rev. C. O'N. Martindale.
In a recent issue of "The Presbyterian
of the South," appeared a three-column ar
ticle by Kev. D. F. Wilkinson purporting to
be a careful survey of, while really but the old
hackneyed replies to, facts and reasons set
forth in my sixteen-page pamphlet on "The
Coming of the Lord Our Hope."
The superficiality and unfairness of said ar
ticle can easily be judged by anybody who
reads the pamphlet (which I will be glad to
send anyone desirous of judging for them
selves).
From the article it clearly appears that the
critic is a non-millennialist : he does not be
lieve in a millennium; that is, the reign of
Christ on earth for a thousand years, though
that is what the Lord Himself asserts in Rev.
10-20, He is coming to establish His Kingdom a
thousand years, thereafter (1 Cor. 15:24-28)
turning over the Kingdom to the Father for
ever.
It appears also that the Second Coming of
Christ figures but little as a moving factor
in His life and teaching and preaching, de
spite the power of it, when rightly empha
sized, as declared through Christ, Paul, John,
Peter, James, and others, of the sacred writ
ers. In4;he body of truth it does have its place,
and it should be kept properly before God's
people and weigh much with them. And one
needs but keep eyes and ears open to learn
how little the average minister or teacher
thinks or presents this theme in studied dis
course. ?
If the brother has added anything to the
non-millenialist's or to the post-millennialist's
positions we fail to see it. He certainly needs
to post himself better as to the pre-millen
nialist's positions, for his caricatures and con
junctions ar^ a bit ludicrous to the informed,
to say the least.
For example: Who would call the term