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A GREAT CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT
HILE it may be the purpose of Al
mighty God to lead the different
branches of His church in the
earth into an organic union—and
we will proclaim no prophesy re
garding His will in this —it cer
tainly seems as if it is His desire
that there shall be in the future a
more thorough Christian fellow-
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ship than ever in ages past, since there de
veloped the slightest divisions in the ranks of
the Church militant.
In every emergency God has supplied just
what His people needed. Reformers were
raised up to promote great reformations and
to lead believers into freedom when oppression
of conscience existed. True religious reforma
tions have always been world-wide movements,
and their effects have been lasting.
Without dwelling further on the past history
of the church, let us turn our attentions to
the present time —not to prophesy as to the
future or to distort in a fanatical manner ‘‘the
signs of the times,” as some are wont to do —
but to consider the advantages the church mili
tant is living under.
The greatest movement of modern times is
the Men and Religion Forward Movement.
Conceived in a little room, where “two or three
were gathered together,” born in prayer, it
has blossomed forth to bless, to edify and, it
would seem, to unify the Christian Church, es
pecially as regarding great world-movements,
such as missions, social service, evangelism,
community extension, Bible study and boys’
work.
A Grand Fellowship Meeting.
The city auditorium of Chattanooga, Tenn.,
was Sunday night the scene of the greatest
meeting of its kind ever held in this city. As
a grand climax to Home Mission Week, during
which time prayer services, both denomination
al and interdenominational, were held, Chris
tians of all creeds —that is, evangelical Chris
tians who are willing to join hands with their
brethren and throw aside selfishness in carry
ing on the work of God in the world —gathered
in the auditorium in one great, big, fervent,
zealous union rally.
Side by side stood and sat Episcopalians,
Presbyterians,-Methodists, Baptists, Christians
and other evangelical Christians, taking part
together in this union meeting. Music was
furnished by a large chorus choir, in which
singers of all sects blended their voices in
praise and thanksgiving. Short talks were
made by ministers representing practically
every “denomination” in Chattanooga but “de
iiominationalism” was a thing forgotten; for
it was for the purpose of talking missions, of
discussing Christ’s great commission, “Go ye
into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature,” that these Christian men and
women assembled themselves. Whether a par
ticipant was a Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist
or Episcopalian, did not matter. The question
was, whether he believed in spreading the gos
pel and believed in it to such an extent that he
was willing to do his part in Christianizing
the world.
This meeting was but a demonstration of the
.spirit of Christian unity that exists in Chatta
nooga, and that 'has existed for a long time.
One of the writer’s first recollections of Chat
tanooga is, that of a union watch-night service
held at the First Baptist Church, in which pas
tors and laymen of all denominations joined.
And this spirit of unity was intensified last
Spring when a corps of Men and Religion For
ward Movement workers visited this city, and
the churches were turned over to them for the
The Golden Age for December 5, 1912.
The Chattanooga Inter-Church Federation
teaching of social service, missions, community
extension, etc.
Organized the Federation.
As soon as “the smoke of battle,” so to
speak, had cleared away, steps were taken to
ward the organization of the Chattanooga In
ter-church Federation. For a long time there
had been a sort of union of the pastors of all
churches, who met together each Monday
morning in the Central Y. M. C. A. building,
and there discussed various phases of church
work but the Inter-church Federation affords
the layman a chance to take part, and a vital
part at that.
In this connection, let me say that there is
a talk by some laymen, each Sunday night at
St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church, where
the Rev. Loaring Clark, D. D., a strong, zeal
ous Englishman, is the rector. He was in at
tendance each day upon some one of the serv
ices during the Men and Religion Forward
Movement campaign here. One morning at
the First Christian Church, when no one was
present to play the organ, Dr. Clark volun
teered and made the old instrument peal forth
with an intense sweetness, as the Christian men
present joined in singing the old hymns of
the church. Although Dr. Clark was one of the
first to agitate the Federation, yet the plans
really took definite shape one day when Mr.
Patten, whose generosity is his chief character
istic, took a group of churchmen out for a
delightful boat ride on the scenic Tennessee
river. As the boat passed along the base of old
Lookout Mountain, and on down through the
beautiful gorge beyond, these men of God,
close to nature and interrupted not by the
noise of the city and call of commercialism,
prayed, sang and planned. The future of the
Federation was discussed and not many days
later the organization took place.
The president of the Chattanooga Inter
church Federation is John A. Patten, a well
known member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and a regular attendant upon the gen
eral conferences. He attended the last general
conference, when the Rev. Theodore S. Hen
derson, now resident bishop of Chattanooga,
was elected. Bishop Henderson presided over
the recent session of the Holston M. E. Confer
ence, held in the First Church here.
All this can be traced back to the Men and
Religion Forward Movement campaign, when
the seeds were planted that burst forth into
this beautiful spirit of co-operation on the part
of Chattanooga Christians in carrying on the
great tasks committed by Christ to His church.
Reshaping the Wreckage.
Truly, as the great reformers were raised up
for the peculiar needs of their times, so the
Men and Religion Forward Movement was con
ceived in the mind of God and committed to
the hearts of Christian men that they might go
forth in unity, fighting for right and carrying
the light of the gospel into the dark corners of
the world —not only by means of foreign mis
sions, but also through social service in Ameri
can cities, where spots darker than are found
in darkest Africa exist, and hearts are yearn
ing for light, love and liberty that come only
through a knowledge of the gospel. Even as
the incoming tide brings to the shores of
America wreckage, refuse and a thousand oth
er things, so the tide of foreign population that
is dashed ashore on the arrival of nearly every
incoming vessel brings human beings, many of
whom need to be taken up as wreckage and
reshaped. How shall they be reshaped?
Whose hand is to mould their character? Are
the/ to be fitted for Christian citizenship in
By W. H. RICHARDSON,
enlightened America, or will the “hand of the'
spoiler” gather them up and keep them in
bondage and superstition? These questions
face the Men and Religion Forward Movement.
These questions—questions that are in many
ways the most vital of all ages since the exist
ence of Christianity, especially if America is
to hold her place as the leading Christian na
tion —face the church of God. What is the
church going to do with them? It is going to
solve them, by the help of God, and through
Christian unity, and by no other method.
The Approaching Conference.
The zeal of Chattanooga churchmen is becom
ing known far and wide. The Baptists of this
city recently got busy and landed the first gen
eral conference of the Southern laymen. This
conference is to be held here in February, and
will be the means of drawing to the metropolis
of East Tennessee three or four thousand peo
ple. Special trains will run into this city from
all directions. The conference is being adver
tised throughout the Southern States, at each
state convention. The Rev. E. E. George,
formerly of Mobile, Ala., who was the suc
cessful executive secretary of the Men and Re
ligion Forward Movement campaign, is now
the superintendent of Baptist City Missions,
and it was largely through his efforts that the
conference was secured. Co-operating with him
was a committee composed of leading Baptists,
and they did not rest until they were assured
that Chattanooga had been chosen. Such good
old towns as our near neighbor, Atlanta, along
with Birmingham, Nashville, and others, God
bless all of them, and may they prosper, put
in bids for the conference, but the Chattanooga
brethren did more. They invited the leaders
here, held conferences with them, and went
about the task with a determination that cul
minated in the city’s landing the conference.
One of the moving spirits was Houston R. Har
per, a Baptist, and manager of the Hotel Pat
ten, who is a public-spirited citizen, as well as
a Baptist, and a cracker-jack hotel man. While
Dr. Henderson and others were 'here looking
over the ground, his hotel men took care of
them and demonstrated that Chattanooga’s
hotel facilities are unsurpassed. All over the
South both secular and religious papers are
boosting the Chattanooga conference, and suc
cess is assured.
Last winter the Southern Presbyterians held
their Laymen’s Conference here, and a more
impressive season of services were never be
fore seen in these parts. Great strong men
and women, who could have made a thousand
times more money and fame for themselves in
the homeland in big business establishments,
went forward to the platform and said, “Here
am I send me,” when the call went forth for
volunteers to carry the banner of the cross to
Korea and Africa.
Chattanooga is the official headquarters for
the “Million and a Half Campaign,” to be
waged by the Southern Presbyterians, and the
office here is in charge of J. P. McCallie, son
of the late Dr. Thomas 11. McCallie, one of the
oldest preachers in the Southern Assembly,
and one of the best-loved men Chattanooga has
ever produced.
“Christian Chattanooga” is the slogan!
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“WAITS FOR IT LIKE HIS BREAKFAST.”
Down at Bainbridge, Ga., lives a man whose
judgment and generosity we heartily indorse.
G. W. Shirley, in renewing his subscription,
says: “Here is $1.50 for renewal. I wait for
The Golden Age every week just like I wait
for my breakfast every morning,”
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