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The Christian Workers’ Conference
Thousands of Christian Workers Gather From the United States and Other Lands to Study God's Word
and Listen to the Foremost Christian Leaders of America and England
NCE more the Northfield Conference,
founded by the late D. L. Moody, is in
session; and again thousands of visitors
have gathered from all parts of the
United States and Canada to spend sev
enteen days studying God’s Word and
listening to the foremost Christian lead
ers of America and England. North
field itself was never more beautiful
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and every part of it seems hallowed by memories of
its founder. The moment one leaves the train and
reaches East Northfield he begins to be permeated
by the quiet spirit of peacefulness which seems to
be in the atmosphere of the place. As usual the
grounds are dotted with tents in which five hun
dred people are accommodated, in addition to the
thousands that are stopping at the hotels, the sem
inary dormitories and other places of entertain
ment.
Among the leaders taking a prominent part in
the conference are the Rev. J. Stuart Holden, vicar
of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, London; Charles
M. Alexander; Dr. A. T. Pierson, of Brooklyn; Dr.
R. A. Torrey; Dr. Len G. Broughton, of Atlanta,
Ga.; Dr. John A. Hutton, of Glasgow, Scotland;
Dr. W. E. Watkinson, of England; Dr. C. A. R.
Janvier, of Philadelphia; Melville E. Trotter, of
Grand Rapids, Mich., and Rev. W. S. Jacoby.
The conference, as usual, is under the direction of
Mr. W. R. Moody. One of the chief features of
the conference is the discussion of work for lay
men, and especially of methods of work in lay
men's organizations. As in former years, personal
work is one of the key-notes of the gathering.
Hundreds of delegates have come to the confer
ence with a longing to win souls, but not knowing
exactly how to go about it, hence a class for per
sonal workers has been started under the direction
of Rev. W. S. Jacoby, who has been associated with
Dr. R. A. Torrey in revival work for the past two
years.
The conference was opened by Dr. A. T. Pierson,
who delivered a stirring address on the Practice of
the Presence of God. His text was Ps. 16:8: “I
have set Jehovah continually before me.” He told
how the great leaders of the Christian church have
obtained their power by taking time to commune
with God. Dr. Pierson cited the late George Muel
ler as an illustration of one who continually prac
ticed the Presence of God. He said:
“This presence of God brings power in prayer.
The psalm is in itself a prayer. The first lesson
of the Lord on prayer was, ‘Enter into thy closet’
(Matt. 6:6). We are to shut out everything else
and shut God in. This sense of aloneness with
God is necessary before we can feel the power of
God in our prayers. George Mueller, with 2,000 or
phans in his care, and no money behind him, would
pray: ‘God, thou art the Father of these helpless
little ones, they are not mine. Do not disgrace the
throne of Thy glory and let them perish. ’ He felt
the presence of God so much that he could put
the burden on God altogether. This principle
brings power. Electricians have discovered the
electric field. When the magnet is in this field,
it can lift cannon balls and build iron bars into
forms. 'While the current is on these stay where
they are put. Just so we can get in the field of
God’s power and have His might work through our
weakness. Mueller would do nothing—even to eat
ing or opening a letter —until he had prayed and
found out whether he was in the field of God’s pow
er, and if he was not, he would wait. Nothing
gives such power as the feeling that one is doing
God's work, not his own, and that God Himself
is behind it. It brings a persuasion of an endless
life. This Psalm rises up like a mountain peak and
its top is here where the writer realizes the life be
yond. Roland Hill used to say:
The Golden Age for August IS, 1908,
By George T. B. Dab is
“ ‘But this I find, that we two are so joined
That He’ll not be in Glory and leave me here be
hind. ’
“He who has the practice of the presence of
God cannot perish. Seventy years ago Queen Vic
toria was crowned, beginning her reign by practic
ing the presence of God, and no other woman ever
reigned so long or so well. With God’s help we can
likewise live our best life.”
Last Sunday was a notable day. The meetings
were larger than usual, and were enlivened by the
presence of Mr. Alexander, who had reached North
field, accompanied by his wife, from England on
Saturday evening. He had not been conducting
the song service ten minutes before he had won the
hearts of the people as in former years. Dr.
Broughton was the speaker of the day, at both
morning and evening services, and his messages
were full of power. Dr. Broughton is pastor of the
Baptist Tabernacle of Atlanta, Ga., and probably
has the largest regular audience of any minister in
America. The usual attendance at his Sunday
evening services is 3,500. He has recently erected
a hospital in connection with his church, and is now
planning to build an auditorium to seat five thous
and people at a cost of $200,000. Dr. Broughton s
sermon at the conference on Sunday morning was
on “Full Surrender.” His text was Romans 8:2:
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin and death.’
In speaking of how to get victory over sin, Dr.
Broughton said:
“Our problem is, How can we so live, with our
nature still susceptible to sin, that Christ can be
on the throne? The Spirit, when He controls, mor
tifies the deeds of the body and destroys our car
nal part. The Spirit dwells in every Christian,
but He is far from ruling every Christian complete
ly. He brings assurance when He comes into con
trol. Men today doubt their salvation, and those
men never can do much for God, as I once heard
Mr. Moody say from this platform. A revival of
assurance is what the church needs more than any
thing else, to look at Christ and say, ‘1 know whom
I have believed.’ But you cannot say this until
the Spirit has complete control. Then the Spirit
will aid in prayer, for we ‘know not how we should
pray.’ The church is just awakening to the needs
of prayer, and we are having a prayer revival in the
South. I believe this will mean a revival through
out the churches of America. I have been trying
to erect a Christian hospital in Atlanta, and .be
cause of the panic we have had a hard time raising
the money. There came a time when the .pay roll
could not be met, and work must stop. Yet instead
of stopping, we formed a prayer band, each one
praying that every Saturday we would have the
money for the pay roll. And when we opened that
building, which cost over $50,000, the treasurer said
that there had never been a week when there was
not money enough to pay those workmen. It is all
because He got into our prayers.
As usual, the singing of the conference is under
the joint direction of Charles M. Alexander and
George C. Stebbins. Each day at ten o’clock, Mr.
Alexander conducts a service of song and praise,
this is the most popular hour of the conference.
Mr. Alexander is ably assisted by Mr. Robert Hark
ness, his Australian pianist, who has written many
of the most popular hymns winch Mr. Alexander is
now using. He is also assisted by a number of min
isters and prominent rescue mission workers, who
occupy seats on the platform during his hour. He
calls them his “bishops” and frequently calls upon
them to give a few words of stirring testimony and
experience. At one of his morning hours Mr. Al
exander told a thrilling story which he had heard
on the steamer coming over from England, which
made a deep impression on his audience. It is one
of the most remarkable illustrations of the power of
the Gospel in this generation. The substance of
the narrative is as follows:
Mr. Alexander was accompanied to America on
the Baltic by the Rev. Samuel Chadwick, one of the
best known Wesleyan ministers in England. As the
two paced the deck of the steamer, Mr. Chadwick
told Mr. Alexander the story of the conversion and
remarkable work for God of the most wicked man
he had ever known. The man in question was Al
bert Shakesby. His mother was a tramp, his father
a blackguard, and he was born in a coal house, near
a stable. AVhen seven years of age the boy was
sent to a reform school for stealing. He grew up
at the head of a gang of hooligans, and became a
piize-fig’ll ter. He was a Sandow in strength and
won 57 medals—l7 for life saving, and the rest
lor prize-fighting. Four years ago he was perform
ing on the stage at Hull, England, lifting weights,
tumbling men, and things of that sort.
One night, as he went home from the theater, he
passed a chapel where revival meetings were in
progress. He went in to break up the meeting, but
the Spirit of God laid hold of him with such power
that lie went home in an agony of mind. He had
a prize fight on for the next night and the night
following, but went to neither. Instead, on the sec
ond night, he went to the little chapel again and
was gloriously saved. He was so happy that he
ran home, picked up his wife and carried her to
the chapel, and told them to put her through the
way they had him. She, too, was soundly converted
and they began to witness everywhere for God.
Six months later, he was at the town of Beverly,
near Hull, holding meetings. One day he was
watching a fire where a fireman was at the top of
a forty-foot ladder playing the hose into the burn
ing building when suddenly the ladder burned
through at the bottom and the fireman began to fall
forty feet to the ground. Shakesby jumped from
the group and, with an almost superhuman effort,
caught the falling man. They rolled over and the
fireman rose up unhurt, but the shock was so great
that Shakesby’s legs were paralyzed from the hips
downward. The town had a medal for heroism
which they gave him and which had not been given
before for five hundred years. Hundreds of
pounds were spent in trying to effect a cure, but to
no purpose. For months the former prize-fighter
wmeekly bore his affliction, studying the Bible, which
he had never read before his conversion. At length
he was able to go about on crutches, and on oim
occasion was asked to speak at a great open air
meeting, celebrating the centenary of Primitive
Methodism.
Before he spoke, he began to pray and as he
did so, God’s Spirit came down upon the audience
in a wonderful manner. He prayed for twenty-five
minutes, and as be went on agonizing m prayer,
that God would heal him, then and there, his crutch
es fell away and he was healed. He has since
been going up and down England, preaching the
Gospel with wonderful power, and has been the
means of leading ten thousand people to a knowl
edge of Christ.
Mr. Alexander concluded by stating that he had
Mr. Chadwick tell the story at a meeting held
on the steamship, and when he had finished a lady
in the audience came up and said she had been at
the meeting when Shakesby was healed.
This conference gives promise of being one of the
richest in blessing yet held. Although it is still
early in the conference, people all over the grounds
are talking of the wonderful help and inspiration
that they have already received. One lady who has
been here only two or three days has received such
a blessing that she longs to go back home and send
her neighbors here that they, too, may receive new
power for working for the Master.
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