Newspaper Page Text
ESTABLISHED 121.
TheChristian'lndex
Published Every Thursday, Cor. Ivy Street
and Edgewood Avenue.
j. c. McMichael. (Estatb.i
Organ of the Baptist Ih nomination in
Georgia.
Subscription Prick:
One copy, one year l-.-W
One copy, six months LOO
Obituaries.—One hundred words free of
oharge. For each extra word, one cent per
word, cash with copy.
To Corrkspon PKNTS.— Ho not use abrevl
■tlons; be extra careful in writing proper
names; write with Ink. on one side of paper.
Do not write copy Intended for the editor
and business Items on same sheet. Leave
of! personalities, condense.
Business.—Write all names, and post
offices distinctly. In ordering a change give
the old us well as the new address. The date
of label indicates the time your subscription
expires. If you do not wish It continued, or
der it stopped a week before. We consider
each subscriber permanent until he orders
his paper discontinued. When you order it
•topped pay up to date.
Remittances by registered letter, money
order, postal note.
Important Notice
Brother J. C. McMichael gave
the best years of his life to build
ing up the Index, and in collat
eral lines of work for the church
and humanity. In the prime of
his life, the Master ca’led him up
higher just when he was about
to reap some financial reward for
his labors on the paper. He left
a widow and four bright sons.
Over the home in which they live,
there hangs a debt. Will not
every reader who is indebted to
the Index remit the amount due
at once by money order or other
wise? Please do this. It will
be a timely act.
For the Index
Cairo and Egypt
Your correspondent has had
the privilege of spending about
one week in Egypt, most of
which was spent in Cairo.
We arrived in this country at
Port Said, which is at the north
end of the Suez canal. This is a
beautiful little city and is con
stantly becoming more and more
important. While it isinthe East
yet it is largely European in its
appearance. The canal is a
great thoroughfare and many
vessels pass through it annually
and brings an immense revenue
into the treasury of those who
own it. A vessel with 3,0(>0 tons
is charged $6,000 for passing
through, and vessels of 6,000
and 8,000 tons are required to
pay SB,OOO. At first this would
seem to be an awful toll, but
when we consider the fact tl at
this canal saves more than 5,000
miles sailing these prie s will
not appear to be exoi bitant. The
cars from Port Said to Cair go
by Ismailga, a flourishing town
on the cana. about (io miles from
the coast. At this latter place
you take lunch and then proceed
to Cairo, which is the capital of
Egypt. After leaving Ismailga,
you see some desert, just enough
to let you know what a desert is.
But you soon notice a canal along
which there is a stretch of con
tinuous green. This is a canal
that runs from the Nile to Port
Said. So by the use of its wa
ters portions of the desert are
not only made to bloom, but,
Port Said is supplied with sweet
water from the river. The R. R.
’ runs through the land of Goshen,
which is one of the n ost fertile
and desirable sections of the
count ry that could be found in
any land. But the chief thing
that interests you there is, that
this section was the country giv
en to Jacob and his sons when
they went down into Egypt. You
feel that you are on historic
ground, but your attention here
is not called to any ruins of cities
which were built by the children
of Israel in those da} s. That
they built much there can be no
doubt, but the touch of time has
j emt ved all traces of their work,
and perhaps several feet of rich
soil covers all that remains of
foundations which they laid.
An illustration of this may be
found in Heliopolis, for all the
visible remains that mark the
site of that great city, is an abo
lish of real granite, much of
which is now buried in the
ground.
Cairo is situated on the out
skirts of Goshen, in a beautiful
plain on the east of the Nile. It
is a beautiful city, much of it
being not only modern, but Euro
pean in its architecture and pop
ulation. Os course the city has
its oriential parts and here you
will find the most excellent ba
zaars and most beautiful hand
work to be found in the world.
A tour through these bazaars is
a scene never to be forgotten,
for both people and things are
strikingly ini eresting.
You will not be here long until
you will decide that among the
native element something is sad
ly wanting. It is the gospel of
Jesus Christ they need, for while
many of them seem to be relig
ious, yet it is the religion of Mo
hamet they have. This is a fear-
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX.
I SUBSCRIPTION, Pm YiAW.---.t2.00. |
\ . I TO MINISTERS, 1.00. J
ful and i'Tided system as is
shown in Gie moral condition of
the people. Among the natives
he re, no such thing as society,
as we have it, is known. Yen
never see men and women asso
ciate together, and the former
gather round the caffe and spend
large portions of the night. Po
lygamy is not only tolerated but
largely practiced. A man is al
lowed to have as many wives as
he can buy. Women are regard
ed as property ano sell from $125
up to a much higher price, the
maiden always bringing more
than the widow, or divorced wo
man. When the women come
on the street they are closely
vailed and it might be certain
death to one if she should be
teen by her husband to speak to
another man. The woman here
is a slave and does any amount
of hard work, while the husband
will while his time away on the
streets. There are three kinds
of burden bearers [here in the
East. The one is the won an and
the others are tie donkey and
camel, the last perhaps, being
the most highly regarded of the
thn e. This is Moslemism and
there is no possible chance to
Change it as long as this present
government exists. All the mis
sionaries in Christendom could
do nothing with this people un
til the sword conies and pulls
down this awfnl government that
was established by the sword.
“ How long, oh, Lord, how
long?”
But things are better here in
Cairo than in any other other
Eastern city which we have
visited. If you will know the
reason go with me on a 20 min
utes walk to thecitadel, and look
at the great English cannon that
points constantly down toward
the city, and you are in posses
sion of the secret. It is said that
life is as sacred and safe here, as
in any city in Europe. These
English cannons are great regu
lators. On Friday, the Moslem
Sunday, we witnessed the dance
of the howlirg Dervishes It
was the most nonsensical mes
mery one could listen to, and the
actions of the worshippers ap
peared to be very foolish. They
would sway their bodies back and
forth with much violence, and if
they had not been trail ed to such
exertion, would have fallendown
in exhaustion. No Christian man
could witness this foolish ritual
without having his sympathies
greatly enlisted, and earnestly
praying to the Lord to send his
spirit to free them from this
slavery and sin
They have some sacred spots
here. Near Heliopolis which is
only an hour ai d a half from
Caii o—is a spring, and near it a
sycamore tree We are told by
our guide, that Mary washed the
Savior's shirt in this spring and
wrung it out by the roots of this
very tree. Therefore the tree
can never die and that green fruit
pulled from its branches will not
decay. He affirms that this is
the identical tree, and there can
be no mistake about it. The
truth isthetree is quite old hav
ing been planted 225 years ago.
In the Coplic church, in old Cairo
is a grotto, in which it is said,
Mary stayed three months with
the child Jesus.
Os course we visited this cave
and looked into this honored
cave. But one of the chief ob
jects of interest here is the pyra
mids, which are on the highest
side of the Nile 5 or 6miles away.
There are several pyramids here,
but only two worthy of any men
tion. The one is Cheops and the
other Che ph ren, the forcer be
ing much the larger >of the two.
You have heard and read much
of this pyramid, but it may be
doubted as to whether you have
a right conception of its magni
tude. It is square and each side
750 long. Its sides slope at
an angle of about 51 degrees, and
the apex is 450 feet from the
base. It is no light matter to as
cend it, as the blocks of stone to
climb are about three feet thick.
But you will never get up with
out three or four Arab attend
ants and perhaps more. Two
will have you by your hands, one
will be pushing, another will be
along with a bottle of water for
you, and then another cne or
two to help in case of emergency,
and before you get far up all of
them will be clamoring for oak
shish. When you start down
they will tie a rope around you
to keep you from falling. Then
when you get down you will be
fiercely beset on every hand, un
til you will lose all patience and
be sorry you ever heard of a
pyramid. We often hear the
pyramids alluded to as if there
were something very mysterious
about them. Such is not the
case, for they were erected by
their -builders for tombs for
themselves The rocks with
which these were built, were
brought, doubtless, from the
Makallaim mountains which lie
just east of Cairo. At some fu-
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. DECEMBER 12, 1805.
ture time I may speak of the
Sphinx and its tempi- .
G. H. ('ARTER.
For the 1 ndhx.
From China.
The events of the last fifteen
months have disclosed a startling
need of the gospel in this old
empire of China. The incapaci
ty, the weakness, the ignorance,
the cowardice, the selfishness,
the corruption of the ruling
classes went hand in hand with
the misconception, suspicion and
villainous slanders of t he people
all during the war with Japan.
These have been succeeded since
the war by deeds against the
missionaries that have made
China notorious in all the world.
With regard to the riots and
the Ku Cheng massacre it is im
portant to bear in mind that they
were not directed against mis
sionary work, but against all
foreigners. There is a very large
number of Chinese who would
feel that they had earned the
everlasting blessing of their an
cestors if they could see the last
European packing his trunks
and taking his leave of the Ce
lestial Empire. One of their most
highly educated men said only a
few days ago, “What a pity we
ever opened China to commerce
with other nations. All our woe
begins from that date.” The
truth is this foreign commerce,
while bringing many blessings
has convinced a superciliously
proud nation of their • hopeless
inferiority in science, in art, in
religion and has raised their bar
barous instincts. Pride dies
hard. It is to be hoped that they
will grow becomingly meek like
the caged bird which after try
ing its wings on the wires in
vain at last submits gracefully
to its imprisonment. The gifts
of God are without repentance.
He has given his children wisdom
and the heathen rage.
We here in North China are a
long way from the seismic cen
tre. The waves of shock were
distinctly felt here, but no harm
was done. We are as undisturb
ed now as ever. We felt the
war more, but the riots less than
our brethren in oilier parts.
1 have recently made a trip to
our Pingtu station to attend mis
sion meeting. The work there
is going on very nicely. Pastor
Sears has frequent baptisms at
Saling. I know of no missionary
who has more thoroughly the
hearts of his people than Sears
has. The medical woik mder
Dr. Randle is making great
strides forward. He and Mrs.
Randle were simply busy from
morning till night, so much so
that it was almost impossible for
them to get time to attend the
mission meeting. Men, women
and children with every kind of
disease were constantly throng
ing the yard where the doctor
received them. So much relief
of suffering reminded me of him
“who went about doing good.”
I pray God to send us another
medical man. We need a man
here at Hwanghien very much.
It seems to us that it would be
good mission economy. Looking
after the health of the other mis
sionaries is of great importance.
The influence of that kind of
work is very marked and very
good. Again as a member of the
great family of man I should like
to bless this region by giving
them a knowledge of that science
that reduces so much suffering
of the raco. Then let us look to
the Lord of the harvest to send
us a man of this kind. Dr. Ran
dle is not only a physician, but
is a preacher also. The day we
were in Pingtu he organized a
church in the city, the older
church at Saling being eight
miles away.
We have had much blessing in
our Hwanghien work this year.
Bro. Stephens will organize a
church six miles away next Sun
day. The work there has been
very encouraging this year. We
have had at this station sixteen
baptisms this year and two now
awaiting the ordinance.
The visits of the Index are en
joyed more and more. Please
receive congratulations from the
far off land of China on your very
marked improvement of the pa
per. Yours in the work,
C. W. Pruitt.
Hwanghien. P. O. Chefoo.
Oct. 25, 1895.
We are m receipt of a letter
from Bro. A. J. Julian, of Wool
ley’s Ford, Ga., telling us of the
destruction of Liberty church
house by fire. This loss will fall
very heavy upon the brethren
from the fact that they have just
finished paying out a good round
sum of money for repairs. Bro.
Julian says: “Our people are too
poor to rebuild without aid.”
Bro. Julian is very anxious to re
build at once and will give as lib
erally as he is able. Here is an
excellent chance to do good. Rev.
George f Barnwell is the pastor.
Send help to A. J. Julian, Wool
ley’s Ford, Ga.
For the Indkx-
Movements in Brazil.
AMNISTIA is a word much in
vogue in the Latin Republics,
and of late has been greatly in
use, especially so inßrazil. Since
the establishment of the Repub
lie more than once or twice have
the political wrong-does claimed
the benefits of this sublime act
of clemency and pardon on the
part of those in power, but, as
all good things, there has been
a great deal of abuse.
To forgive, to pardon is sweet!
But who should be forgiven and
pardoned but the man who has
repented of his error and folly!
Here it is the contrary. Men
possessing war-ships, powder,
guns, etc., etc., combine against
the government, destroy quiet
people’s property, do mischief
of all kind and are at last con
quered and put down. What
should be done to such a lot? Do
you not think that a good pun
ishment would have done them
good? Well, the Brazilian gov
ernment does not think so. It
gives to them a full Amnistia—
a full pardon.
No all the revaltonos are return
ing, ready to do more mischisf
than before!
* * *
Politics. —Since the congress
decreed a full pardon to all re
volters, the political horizon
seems to have become clearer
and the hopes of men for the
Brazilian Republic are more san
guine. However, all is not right
yet; all is not sure yet; and if
Prudente de Morals is not care
ful before the end of his term he
may yet have much trouble. Here
are some notes picked from the
papers. Judge for yourself:
“In Maceio, capital of the state
of Alagoas, there were serious
disturbances on the 22nd inst.,
caused by fights between police
men and soldiers. It is stated
that one policeman and one sol
dier was killed and several
wounded.”
“A telegram of the 22nd inst.
from the State of Pasa asserts
that the English have occupied
Brazilian territory on the border
of British Guiana ever since
1882.’
“In the State of Sergipe the
situation has become simply in
tolerable. An Arac&ju telegram
of the 25th says that ,18 persons
had been arrested in'Kavangeiras
(capital) for walking in the street
after Bp. m. Some were beaten
and others were abused by hav
ing cords put on their necks.
In Pernambuco the Governor,
a positivist, tries to carry out
Augusts Comte’s doctrines of
dictatorship and is doing mis
chief to all that oppose him.
In Bahia there are now two
Governors, each proving the
other wrong.
In San Pauls a strong mon
archal party has been formed.
And so on! The Brazilian Re
public is not sure yet!
* * *
Jesuits.—But the Jesuits ar -
not quiet. Never before haw
they been working so hard in
Brazil. They are trying their
utmost to make this Republic
another Ecuador. They are
opening free schools in every
little place; papers within the
last year have quadrupled in
number; bishops are being cre
ated for each State. Here in
Campos we had none; but as the
cause of Jesus has been moving
forward, they have sent the
bishop here. Monks and Nuns
are filling the streets of every
little place, and the cause or
Christ is finding more underhand
opposition than ever before.
The greatest enemy Brazil has
to-day is the Jesuit. They are
plodding and working and toil
ing, and if the Lord will not in
terfere soon, terrible results may
be expected.
Pray for Brazil!
* * «
Our Lord’s Kingdom. ln
spite of this, the cause of Jesus
is gaining ground daily in this
land. There is progress all along
the line. Not to speak of any
other field, on this one alone 105
candidateshave been buried with
Christ by baptism since January
1895.
In J une two new churches were
organized and on the 15th inst.
I hope (D. V.) to organize anoth
er church in a place called Santa
Barbara, a three hours’ ride from
Campos.
We are going forward, Praise
the Lord.
* * *
Our Church. Besides buy
ing the lot, the Lord has enabled
us to buy also eight dozen new
chairs. Now we are working ar
ranging money to build. Area
der of your excellent paper, Mr.
Thomas Hyland, Architect, read
ing about our need of a chapel,
has offered to send us the plans
gratuitously and we have al
ready sent to him the items ne
cessary to make his plan. On
the 24th of March, 1896, we ex
pect (D. V.) to celebrate our fifth
anniversary and we are praying
to the Almighty to enable us to
begin building on that day.
Brethren, who will help? Five
thousand dollars are needed!
Who will help the Board to send
it?
* * *
God bless you all. Do not for
get to pray for the Campos Mis
sion and for your missionary.
Solomon L. Ginsburg.
P. S.—l forgot to toll you how
much I appreciate rour “ (lon/h I
Arrown." They give pleasure
and instruction and are very
helpful to missionaries abroad
who can get very little oppor
tunities for reading and study
ing. God bless the editor of the
“Christian Index." S.L.G.
For the Indkx.
The Art of Judging; a Sermon
BY E. V. BALDY.
I believe there is an art in
hearing a discourse. Some peo
ple seem to possess this art in a
remarkable degree, being able to
hear with such interest and at
tention and a memory so accurate
that they can recall and repeat
the substance of the entire dis
course. Others do not seem to
possess this art. They seem not
to be able to discern the sequence
of ideas, or cannot follow a [logi
cal train of thought, or find it
impossible to concentrate their
mind and attention to an entire
sermon. The art of hearing is
a noble art and should be culti
vated by all.
I believe there is also such a
thing as the art of judging a ser
mon. We often hear the phrase,
“ the art of criticism," asapplied
to one’s competency to criticiz
ing a painting, a poem, a musical
composition or other work of art.
Is there not also the art of criti
cism as applied to judging a ser
mon? Indeed I think this is one
of the fine arts, and a somewhat
rare accomplishment . There are
innumerable tyros, but few
artists.
I do not find much in Scripture
about the duty of passing judg
ment on a sermon. I find a great
deal about the duty and respon
sibility of hearing, but not much
about judging a sermon. Ido
not know that we are absolutely
honor bound to express judg
ment on a Sermon. , We find in
the Scriptures such expressions
as “Judge not, lest ye be judged”
and “With what judgmen. ye
judge ye shall be judged.” We
read about God's judgment, i-nd
the Judgment Day, but really
nothing ai all clear about jueg
ing sermons, unless it be in such
passages as, “Prove all things,
hold fast that which is good,”
and others where we are taught
to guard against error and all
false doctrine.
But people will judge. Every
one seems to claim the privilege
and assumes to know the art of
judging. And yet this is an ex
ceedingly solemn matter, and a
person takes upon himself a
serious responsibility when he
assumes to freely criticise a ser
mon. To pass hasty adverse
criticism on your pastor's ser
mon is a solemn responsibility
For just in proportion to your
standing and influence, you rob
impair his usefulness and may
him of his reputation and influ
ence as a preacher in your midst.
Take from the painter his can
vass, he can get another; take
away his paint and his brush,
these may be replaced; but strike
off his ami and he cannot paint.
The preacher's reputation and
influence is the right arm of his
power.
“The purest treasure mortal times af
ford
Is spotless reputation; that away
Men are but gilded foam, or painted
elay."
“Who steals my purse steals trash * * *
* * But he who filches from me my
good name
Rohs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.”
But people will judge. The
preacher is a standing target for
criticism.
Let us lay dowm an axiom.
No person has the moral right uo
pass judgment on a sermon un
less he is sure he is competent to
judge. When then is a person
competent to judge?
1. When he has a right spirit.
When he is fair, impartial,
prayerful, sympathetic and real
ly solicitous for the welfare of
souls. He must have no preju
dice or ill feeling toward the
preacher or the gospel he preach
es.
2. When he has a right stan
dard of excellence.
3. When he has given a faith
ful hearing.
There is here only one ques
tion which needs to be further
discussed. That is: What con
stitutes A TRUE AND RIGHT
STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE? For
if a hearer have a right spirit
and give a faithful hearing to
the discourse, he may still be a
very incompetentDjudge of a ser
mon if he has not a right stan-
dard of excellence. And in this
connection it will be found con
venient and helpful to our pur
pose to employ
THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION.
Many things usually consid
ered essent’al to a good sermon,
on closer investigation of the
nature and aim of preaching v ill
be found not to be an essential
element to genuine excellence.
In teaching our idea of the true
standard of excellence we may
eliminate, every element that is
not absolutely essential. How
ever desirable certain qualities
may be, if they be not indispen
sably necessary we will lei them
pass.
1. Orator} not essential. All
must agree that eloquence is a
great gain, and the pulpit orator
should be deeply grateful to God
for any natural gifts in this line.
But, as a matter of fact, great
orators are comparatively rare,
and all pulpits cannot be fur
nished with orators, for the very
simple reason that the supply is
not equal to the demand. While
there is undoubtedly more of elo
quence and oratory to be found
in the ministry than in any of the
learned professions, still only a
few preachers are gifted ora
tors.
2. Scholarship not essential.
The preacher by all means must
be a student. And especially
must he be a diligent student of
God's Word. But it is a fortun
ate thing indeed, that the perish
ing millions of souls do not have
to wait till all preachers are
learned scholars before they can
receive the gospel. Our Lord in
choosing his first preachers did
not call “many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble,” 1 Cor. 1:26; but
many men of ordinary ability
and very limited literary attain
ments have been most efficient
preachers of the Word of God.
3. Elocution not essential. A
good voice, clear enunciation,
and correct emphasis and gest
ures free from awkwardness and
mannerisms are things which
every public speaker, and preach
ers especially, should cultivate.
Still there are very many most
useful preachers who from some
physical defect or else lack of
training and attention to these
things, are wholly wanting in the
arts of elocution.
4. Excitement not essential.
Some people depreciate a sermon
unless it abounds in storm and
tempest of excitement. God's
servant should be deeply in ear
nest, but why should he rave and
rant? One of the most sensible
and complimentry criticisms of
a pastor's sermon was once
made by the colored sexton of
the church: “Boss, I likes your
way of preaching- 1 understands
it all, and I feels it all, but it
don’t hurt my head so. I never
could stan dis here hydrophoby
PREACHING.”
5. Obscurity not essential.
Some people value a sermon for
its obscurity. They say: “So
deep.” “So profound.” “So
grand.” And all because it was
a mass of matter they could not
understand. But of what real
good is such a sermon unless it
be to make the common herd
stand in awe of their preacher
and think him such a tower of
learning and.such a mighty think
er. “ Richard Baxter confesses
that he deliberately preached
over the heads of his people once
a year, for the purpose of keep
ing them humble, and showing
them what their minister could
do every Sunday of the year if
he chose.” Stalker, The Preach
er and hin Modein, p. 251, foot note.
But truth, however grand, is
worth nothing unless compre
hended.
“Sublimity always is simple.
. Both in sermon and song,
And a child can seize on its meaning.”
Longfellow.
6. Pathetic anecdotes not es
sential. Many hearers judge of
a sermon by its power to make
them cry. This may be a great
snare. Illustration and pathos
are powerful aids to the presen
tation of truth, but are also often
employed in the presentation of
gross error. Ingersol is a prince
in the realm of pathos.
7. Preacher's popularity not
essential. Many take it for
granted that the utterances of a
popular man must be of great
merit. But the truth is, many
of the most popular preachers
give forth much that is chaff, if
not worse than chaff, while men
of great convictions and great
aims and great boldness in the
truth make many enemies and
become very unpopular for the
time.
8. Originality not essential.
Originality of thought is very at
tractive, but there is really not
room for much originality of
thought. The gospel is an old,
old story, and if earnestly pre
sented, is ever new and charm
ing. But the gospel may be ob
scured by the preacher’s strain
ing effort to impress the people
VOL. 75--NO.
that he is possessed of rare ori
gir ality of ideas.
9 Length. Sermons are not
to be judged by their length.
Some praise a sermon because it
is so short. If brevity be the
standard of excellence, the time
may come when five minutes dis
courses will be considered the
test of genius. The truth is,,
many short sermons are very
poor because too long. Long
sermons areoftentimes very poor
indeed, and yet very many of the
greatest sermons have required,
at least an hour for delivery.
The length of a sermon seems to
me to have little to do with its
excellence. While many dis
courses should be limited to thirty
minutes, great themes and spec*
ial occasions oftentimes justify
twice that much time We give
the lawyer plenty of time to
present his cause if he is doing
nothing more than pleading a
case of petty larceny. Let ns
give God’s ambassador time to
present his message.
We may now ask: What is the
true standard of excellence? The
true standard of excellence will
be found in the affirmative ans
wer to five questions:
1. Was it true? Nothing 'ut
the truth can be good in a ser
mon
2. Was it Scriptural? For
everything that is true may not
be Scriptural. A moral lecture
may contain truth and yet not be
a sermon,so of scientific, literary,
social and political addresses.
The sermon must be the treat
ment of a Scriptural theme from
a Scriptural standpoint. The
gospel is the center and sub
stance of every true sermon.
3. Was it easy to hear and
understand? If the preacher’s
plan and structure and delivery
were such as to aid the hearer in
hearing, this is a strong point in
favor of the sermon.
4. Was it timely? Even good
sermons may be untimely, not
being adapted to the occasion.
But most gospel themes are al
ways timely.
5. Was it forcible? Was there
that indescribable something
which made the sermon take hold
of the conscience and the heart?
If so, that must have been spir
itual power, without which no
sermon is complete.
If the hearer may say the ser
mon was true, Scriptural, easy
to hear and understand, was
timely and forcible, then that
was a good sermon.
Bowling Green, Ky.
Scattering Thoughts.
by u. 11. H.
After abandoning the world
and declaring for Christ, the
young Christian has yet another
very critical and no less impor
tant stage to pass. To become
accustomed to his new life, so
much so that 'he may love the
many duties involved in his first
step. Exercise in performing
Christian duties is needed to de
vek p the muscles of faith, love
and charity. As it were, the
young Christian must enter train
ing in order to become a true,
healthy, Christian athlete The
desire to go forward in the per
formance of religious duties- is
very seldom found in the young
believer himseli. It must be gen
erated in him by his fellow CTt s
tians.
The soil is fertile and on>l>y az
sower is needed to produes- a
harvest which would almost in
variably result in a good active
Christian worker. The babe
needs good substantial .nourish
ment to become heilthy and
rosy. Many a poor babe iaidirfst
grows puny and sickly, freq;<umt
ly becoming worthless simply
from a lack of proper stinrafegits
and nourishment which mind be
administered by elder Christianas .
This is a very important pontAnm
every Christian's life and is too
often overlooked. You o kite’s -
Christians —watch the young
brother, assess him duties which)
tend to create interest; call ons
him to pray at the evening
prayer meetings, speak a pleas
ant word of encouragement while
passing on the street, till his life
with charitable duties and the
young Christians of our fair
land will become better models
for their fellows and be a pride
to their churches. Would it
seem reasonable for Christ when,
he found his hundredth sheep to
let it grow weak from hunger and
neglect? He would rather take
pains to nurse it, give it nour
ishment and stimulants. “Go
and do thou likewise ” to the new
born Christian.
Rev. J. J. Bennett, principal
of Hearn School, Cave Springs,.
Ga., has accepted the call to the
pastorate of Rockmart, Taylors
ville, and Raccoon Creek Church
es. His people and congregation
are delighted with his preaching.
He is a very promising yonag
preacher.
S. E. Smith,
Rockmart, Ga.