atlantic Union Oteaner " Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields ; for they are white already to harvest " VOL. X � SOUTH LANCASTER, MASS., MAY 2, 1911 � EXTRA No. 3 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY—NO. 6 Securing and Holding an Audience A. G. DANIELLS HOUSE-TO-HOUSE VISITING I CANNOT present anything stronger in the way of helping a minister to hold his audience than the matter of meeting them face to face in their homes. It is as natural as anything can be that the minister who meets his audience in their homes, and has a heart-to-heart talk with them, is the one who will hold that audience while he goes on with his work. But he cannot do that by proxy. The man who puts forth the greatest endeavor and activity, and knows where his audienCe live, and runs in and has a word and a season of prayer with them, as soon as he is well enough acquainted to do it, is the man who will get a hold upon his audience, and keep them together. Such an impor- tant element of success in a minister's work, should not be neglected. The people everywhere are hungering and thirsting fOr the Living Water, arid the minister who goes about visiting and praying with them, will have a great power for good. The young men and Bible workers may help, but the minister himself must get on to the ground. His coming into contact with the people, will give him material for his sermons. GOOD PREACHING Good preaching is a minister's best advertising medium. Next to house- to-house work in importance, is the preaching of the gospel with the power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven—preaching with that earnestness and seriousness that will take hold of the hearts of the people. When a preacher gets up to preach, he is under bonds to God to exert himself. A man should exert himself all through his ministry to rise above a sluggish manner—to speak to the people so forcibly that he will make them feel he is a messenger from God. He must summon all his energies and all his attention. His inherited tendencies that are not given for public exhibition must be overcome. I do not advocate the making of ges- tures in a stiff, formal way ; but I do believe that a minister needs to sum- mon his energies, put his wisdom into it, and then come before the people and deliver his message in the best way he possibly can, and do the best work for God that it is possible for him to do. The minister should strive to im- prove. A man who can learn the al- phabet, can learn to read ; and if he can learn to read, he can learn the use of the English language; and there is no limit. He ought to do better evening after evening. The fact is, many of us do not keep on improving. We are very anxious about making a good start. We want the first two or three sermons to be good, and so we make great prepara- tion perhaps for a year. But when we find that we are able to deliver a list of sermons well, our great effort ceases ; and after two or three years, we find that we are not any stronger in public effort than we were at the end of the first year. LENGTH OF THE SERMON BE brief. If a minister will study as he should, and make the effort that he should, he will be able to crowd into a forty-five minute sermon all that the people can get ho'd of to ap- propriate. If a minister will limit the length of his sermon to forty-five minutes, I believe he will have better success. It will be better for the audience, and they will get a better idea of what he is trying to teach. These truths are new to the people, and we must avoid wearying them. IMPORTANCE OF EARNEST PRAYER We can win great victories on our knees with God in our tent efforts. Never give up in defeat, but press the battle with God until the victory is won. I believe that many a tent effort has closed in humiliating defeat that might have closed in glorious triumph, if the men had taken them- selves to the woods, and there prayed most earnestly with God to move the hearts of those people. If God sends us out to warn souls, it is evident that he wants us to save some of them. If people attend our meetings eight or ten weeks, and listen to us, why can not they be prevailed upon to obey ? I believe it is the Spirit of God that causes people to go to our humble tent meetings night after night, and week after week ; and, if it is, it must be that that same spirit will lead peo- ple to decide for the truth. LEADING PEOPLE TO DECIDE TO OBEY THE TRUTH, AND BINDING OFF THE EFFORT Anybody can lead people to decide ; but they must be led to decide to obey God. It makes no difference whether we have five or five hundred, we want every one of them to decide for the truth. � How can w e get that de- cision ? We do not expect that every- body that hears us will obey. There are things working in the hearts and lives of people which prevent that ; but we must expect God to give us a reasonable amount of fruit for our labor. The first item, and one of the chief elements in this, is the earnestness of 154 � A FLANTic °Moo' CILKANEW the preacher and the workers. What will lead people to obey, .so far as we are concerned ? Of course, we know it is the Spirit that leads them to obey, but what is our part in this ? Our part is to be tremendously in earnest about this work, and to feel it deeply in our hearts ; to preach Gcd's truth as though we believed it with all our hearts. The second item of importance is personal work ; meeting the people where they are. Go out and visit with the men ; get hold of certain business men in the town who are coming to the tent, or whose families are coming. Do not hinder them in their work, but run in for a chat with them. It will help them to be friend- ly, and they will encourage their fam- ilies to go to the meetings, even though they themselves may not take their stand for the truth. If we will preach the truth with all our souls, those men will see that we are in earnest ; and they like to see earnest preachers. They would rather hear a man preach the message with ear- nestness, than to give them any kind of a moral essay. � Earnestness will make up for many things that we do not have in our work. We may not have a finely carpeted church, a grand pipe organ, and all that ; but it is what people get from a sermon that makes the place desirable to them. So in bringing people to a decision, a man must first be earnest, do per- sonal work, and pray. In order to bind off his work well, he must do thorough work, preaching the whole truth. There is no use in our going around the corners, and bringing out only the pleasant things. We must preach God's truth as it is, using wis- dom in the order of our subjects. When people take their stand after that has been done, we do not find them wavering a little later on, when another preacher comes around and preaches something that they have not heard from the first preacher. The one who preaches the message first should be so thorough, and give the message so full, that the next one will not have anything new. He may have something in advance, but he ought not to have anything new. When the people begin to take their stand, we should put forth special personal efforts for them. We should visit them, pray with them, and hold on to them for dear life, and success will crown our efforts. � C. H. E. THE HOLY SPIRIT; VARIOUS TEXTS --NO 6 (1) MATT. 12 : 36, 37. � " Every idle word that man shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." The importance of right words is emphasized in the Scriptures. � " And grieve not the Holy Spirit. . � . Let all bitterness . . . and evil speaking, be put away from you." Eph. 4 : 30, 31. How is the Spirit grieved ?—By evil speak- ing. " Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient." Eph. 5 : 4. " Not con- venient," not befitting. Let us put far away from us all lightness. It is condemned decidedly by the Word of God, and will stand directly in the way of the baptism of the Spirit. (2) Heb. 1 : 9. " Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity." It is not only necessary to love right- eousness and to practice it, but to hate sin. We are not to refrain from iniquity and at the same time wish we might indulge in it; but we must positively abhor it. � " If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out. . . . If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off." Matt. 5: 29, 30. � Sin destroys. If a hand is afflicted with the gangrene, it may be necessary to remove it in order to save the body. In the fifth chapter of Matthew the Saviour deals with violations of the law of God, not confined to open acts ; but which are as surely condemned as the deeds of a Jesse James or the common mur- derer. (3) 1 Tim. 3 : 9. � " Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure con- science." It is a great blessing to have a pure conscience. But there is another sort. " But even their mind and conscience is defiled." Titus 1 : 15. � The " defiled " conscience shows plainly that there is something not surrendered, something covered, some- thing not right. There is also the " seared" conscience. � 1 Tim. 4 : 2. In such cases there is little feeling ; there is no trouble over sin ; there is little or no praying for the Spirit. " Lest any of y o u be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Heb. 3 : 13. In this condition those who are farthest from God are the least anxious over sin. The Spirit can not possibly accomplish its pur- pose in the presence of wrong. (4) Eph. 4 : 1-3. " Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit." The holy Spirit brings unity. It does not mean that others are brought into unity with me, but that all are brought into unity with God." All differences, all alienations will be put away by the indwelling Spirit of the Lord. That does not mean that we will all have the same ideas about everything, but it does mean that no differences of opinion will be made the occasion for disunion. (5) John 3: 3-10. " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus was a man of prominence, but he had never had a change of heart. The Spirit is the direct agent in conversion. Some translations of verse nine read, " The Spirit breathes where he will, and thou hearest his voice." In excuse for sin, some say, " I was not born that way." We should not talk that way ; we are all born wrong. It is in the province of the Spirit to take out of our lives, completely, bad temper, impatience, all unkindness i n the home and everywhere. Do we not want these things to come out and God to come in ? Do we not believe in the kind of religion that fixes up things that have been wrong in the ATLANTIC UNION GLEANER � 155 home and church ? There is little use to talk to others about sin, When we _ourselves are so little under the guidance of the Spirit as to be unable to hold our tempers or tongues. The baptism of the Spirit cannot come till the yoke• of sin has been broken. Entire surrender to God will alone meet the conditions laid down in the Scriptures. � L. T. N. THE QUESTION BOX* 18. HAS a minister or an elder any right to demand that each member of the church shall sell a certain num- ber of books, or make certain offer- ings ? No minister or elder has a right to demand it ; but he has the right to recommend it, and to urge it in the proper way. We might turn the question around, and say, Has a church member a right to positively refuse to do his share in the distribu- tion of literature, and making up offerings ? He has no more right to refuse to do this, than the minister has to press the matter. We are as- sociated together as a body of people to accomplish great things for God. We can get at this in a cooperative way. We need funds ; we must have some systematic way of getting them. We must try to place before all our people their responsibility in this. In view of this, we adopted what we call the ten-cent-a-week plan, to get every church member to give for mis- sions a sum equal to ten cents a week throughout the year. No minister that I know of demands that of any member ; but I believe that when the General Conference, in counsel, after careful consideration, adopts a plan for the whole denomination, then it is the duty of the General Conference ministers, union conference officers and ministers, and the local confer- ence officers, to do all they can to get every member in the denomination to pay that certain sum. But of Conducted by Elder A. G. Danielts. Reported by Elder 0. Montgomery. course, it must be done in a kindly way ; and if people refuse to do it, we must not get angry with them, or show in any way that we are dis- pleased ; but do the best we can to get them to give their quota and to do their share in the distribution of literature. 19. What constitutes the confes- sion of sin ? We have a good statement of that in 2 Cor. 7 : 8-11. Here is the con viction that constitutes true repent- ance ; and true repentance will lead a man to make all things right. 20. Can we hope to be forgiven of God by an acknowledgment of sin in a general way ? We cannot generalize. When we have done wrong, acknowledge it, and make it as specific as the wrong has been. 21. Is it right for a licentiate to use a clerical order on the railroads ? I understand it is, and that it is so understood by the railway companies. It may be that different railway com- panies have different regulations. If a company has the ruling that a li- censed or unordained minister is not entitled to the benefits of the reduc- tion, he should not take the benefits of such reduction. We must be gov- erned entirely by the regulations of the company. 22. After a delegated conference has granted a worker his credentials or license, on what grounds has the conference committee the power to set them aside between the sessions of said conference ? Can it be done from the standpoint of a lack of funds in the treasury, educational qualifica- tions, etc.? That raises the question, What is the authority of the conference com- mittee between the sessions of the conference ? As applied to the mat- ter of credentials and licenses, the es- tablished usage among us is as fol- lows : First, we must recognize the fact that the, same authority that grants credentials and licenses, has the right to withhold or recall them whenever it sees fit to do so. How- ever, there should always be good reasons in both cases.. A conference should have as good reasons for granting credentials or ordaining a worker as it has for nullifying that or- dination. � The following are recog- nized to be proper reasons for with- drawing credentials or licenses :— First, heresy, or apostasy. A min- ister who has received credentials when he was in good and regular standing, and in full harmony with the body, may apostatize, and reject what he believed and taught when the credentials were granted. In that case, a conference committee certainly has the right to withdraw his creden- tials; for it has the power to do the things that need to be done, and would be done if the conference were in session. Second, immorality. If a man falls, and we have open sin to deal with, there is just ground for recalling his credentials. Third, incompetency. If a man proves himself altogether incompe- tent, and goes on year after year without accomplishing anything; the conference committee has a right, and it is a duty, to withold his creden- tials. In such cases, however, it is better to let the conference deal with the matter. The educational qualifications come under incompetency, and should be placed in the hands of the confer- ence. When there is a lack of funds in the treasury, and it is necessary to re- trench, there should be very careful advisement and counsel on the part of the committee and the laborers, to secure agreement and cooperation in the matter, if possible. � It might work great hardship to a man, after he had secured his papers, and had started in his work for the year, for a conference committee, arbitrarily, and without consultation with him, to ask him to retire on account of lack of 156 � ATLANTIC UNION GLEANER funds. In such a case, a conference committee would have no right to re- call credentials or licenses. 23. Is it best for all our Eastern conferences, that have a limited amount of means, and a large popu- lation, to cooperate in the plans of the General Conference, and share a por- tion of their tithe with our foreign missions ? Should not all this be used within their own borders ? I believe it is well for our weaker conferences to share in this, for the reason that it will be a help to the stronger conferences to see that all our conferences are bearing a reason- able share of this burden ; and ulti- mately we will be able to secure more money for those weaker conferences. 24. Are there any good reasons why we, as ministers and Bible work- ers, should keep a daily record of our labor and expenses, upon the la- borer's monthly report blank ? Is it not just as well to give totals for the month, instead of itemizing ? I think that every laborer should be perfectly willing to keep a daily record of his doings. He is called to go out, away from the conference of- ficers, and away from their observa- tion ; he is entrusted by them to go ; and they cheerfully send on remit- tances to him wherever he may be. Personally, I would rather make a re- cord of my doings each day, send it in, and let the men in charge of the work know what I am doing. 25. Is there not coming into our conferences an over-cautious spirit, which is rendering it very difficult to effect needed changes among our workers ? How may this condition be remedied ? I understand this question to mean that conferences are becoming over- cautious in the matter of exchanging laborers. There is danger of be- coming over-cautious, and wanting such perfection that we will not give people an opportunity. Young men must have time to grow into efficient workers ; but a man of fifty ought to have plenty of commendations, and, like Paul, these should be the work that he has done and the churches he has raised up. That will recom- mend a man anywhere ; and, while there is quite a spirit of caution, yet when it is learned that a man has ac- complished something in the field where he is working, there is a de- sire all around to get hold of that man, and requests come from all di- rections to secure him. It is also well for a minister to exchange fields of labor now and then. It is especi- ally good for a young preacher not to be kept under the same environment too long. They should welcome in- vitations that come to them from one conference to another. 26. Should a young minister be con- sidered to be guilty of self-esteem just because he feels that he should be ordained ? Our young men should strive with all their might to do efficient work, but they should be very modest in the matter of suggesting their own ordination. � I believe that a young man who has a strong feeling that he should be ordained, is possessed of too much self-esteem for ordination. 27. Should the matter of whether or not he will be ordained, be made a sign or a test by a young minister as to whether or not he should ac- cept a call to another field ? I do not think that it should. � It should not enter into the question at all. A man ought to go with no thought of honor. If he goes on that ground, he surely will not be a suc- cess. He must go because the cause of God needs him there, and because it is his duty to respond. He should labor to the best of his ability whether he is ever ordained or not. 28. Do you think a minister living in a respectable neighborhood, should chop wood on Sunday? He may do great harm in doing that. He should exercise great care so as not to hurt the conscience of people around him. If he lives in a neighborhood with a number of peo- ple around him, he should not make it a point to chop wood on Sunday. Not because it is wrong to work on Sunday; not because he has not the personal right to do it; but because of the influence it might have upon others, and because of the fact that it might create such prejudice as to cut him off from working with and for those people. Paul said : " Where- fore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my broth- er to offend. " 1 Cor. 8 : 13. 29. Ought we not have a series of tracts or leaflets for free distribu- tion, furnished by the publishers at actual cost of printing ? I think we should prepare that kind of literature, and have it furnished to our workers, so that they can circu- late large quantities of it. I do not know how we can give this message to the teeming millions without it. 30. What is the best way to work among the Free Thinkers ? The best way is to preach the gos- pel of Jesus Christ. I do not be- lieve we will gain much by arguing and philosophizing about the exis- tence of God, and the " mistakes of Moses " and the Bible. If anything will reach them, it is the gospel of Christ. 31. A minister coming into a church on the Sabbath, only once in a long time, should he take up the reading that is prepared, or give them a ser- mon for which they seem so hungry ? The attitude of the General Con- ference has been this: Our second Sabbath readings are prepared for the purpose of communicating to our brethren and sisters the encouraging word we get from missionaries in the foreign fields. � We have never, in any way, taken action to the effect that these readings must be given in every case, and under all circum- stances, on a certain day. We be- lieve the church officers should con- scientiously see that these readings ATLANTIC UNION GLEANER � 157 are given when it is consistent, and when there is nothing else of greater importance on that day. But if the president of the conference, or some other minister, comes to the church on that day, with something definite that he wishes to present to the church, it is proper to set the read- ings aside, and attend to the business he is there for. In such a case, he may advise the brethren to take up the reading at the prayer meeting, or the next Sabbath, if there is no min- ister there. 32. Under what circumstances should ministers collect tithe ? When it becomes necessary for a minister to accept tithe or donations, what should he do with it ? A minister should not collect tithe or donations, except under very spe- cial circumstances. � For instance, when a minister visits an isolated fam- ily, where the members are not in touch with the church or conference treasurer. Or, it may be that on his visits among the regular churches, he may meet individuals, who, for some reason, refuse to pay their tithe to the church treasurer. Under such circumstances, a minister has the right to accept it. He should, how- ever, give his personal receipt to the person who gives him the tithe or donation, and then turn the money over to the proper treasurer, with the request that he send a receipt to the individual. 33. A church officer instructed peo- ple to pay tithe on their income, after paying living expenses, rent, etc. Ac- cording to Genesis 28 : 22, should we pay tithe on our increase, or should we pay grocery bills, rent, etc., and then pay tithe on what is left ? It is perfectly plain that the tithe is a tithe of that which God gives us, and not on what we have left after taking care of ourselves. � For in- stance, if a minister receives fifteen dollars a week salary, his tithe should be one-tenth of the full amount, or $1.50. 34. Is there a possibility of min- isters becoming a burden to poor people, whose hospitality they share while holding meetings ? I think there is, and I believe our ministers should watch that very carefully. I believe that first of all, we should encourage hospitality in families, in churches, and in confer- ences; but on the other hand, as a minister goes about from church to church, he should be very careful not to place a burden upon people that are not able to bear it. And there is a way to do that without giving of- fense, or breaking down the idea of hospitality. I would not suggest that a minister " settle up " when he is ready to go, but by a little observa- tion he will discover certain little things that are needed in the family— shoes for the children, or perhaps their church-school bill, etc., and he can slip the amount into their hands as a present. 35. What would you say about the names of other denominations being mentioned by a preacher during his sermon ? I think we should use great care, and be very courteous, always, in mentioning the names of other de- nominations ; and as a rule, avoid it. 36. What are the duties of a city pastor ? The duties of a city pastor depend very largely upon conditions. In a church having a very large member- ship a pastor's duties would be quite different than in a smaller church. But in general, the first duty of a city pastor would be to work in behalf of the church of which he is pastor, in- structing the members, building the church up in the truth and making it strong, leading it in missionary en- deavor, so it will become a strong fac- tor in the city for the dissemination of the truth. He should also carry on a strong, aggressive series of tent meetings in the city where he is lo- cated. On the whole, he should be a live wire in the city, ever active, and having fruit to present to the confer- ence each year as the result of his work. 37. Should young ministers just starting out, give too much advice to old, experienced ministers as to how the work should be carried on ? I think they should be very modest in advising their superiors. If they see what they believe to be a better way, they should go to work with their whole heart, and demonstrate it, and let the older ministers take a lesson from observation. 38. Should conference workers re- tain for personal use the profits from the sale of books when given a per- centage from the tract society ? I think they should ; and let that profit help them to meet the loss they sustain in giving away literature, as they find themselves almost forced to do. 39. Should the subject of health reform and dress reform always be taught to those accepting the truth ? Is it a part of the message ? True health reform and true dress reform are parts of the message, and should be taught, in the proper way, of course, as we give the message. Health reform should not be pre- sented as a matter of prohibition, but rather from the standpoint of the benefits derived from it, longer life, etc. People will then take hold of these principles because they see something good and inviting in them. In the matter of dress reform, the leaving off of ornaments, etc., we should study to present it in a man- ner that will be attractive. We can show the people what it is to adorn the mind with the knowledge of God, through his word ; what it is to devote our lives to the service of God, and the money that is placed in our hands, to the salvation of lost souls, instead of buying adornments for the body. We should work along practical lines, illustrating the evils of one side, and the blessings of the other. When presented in this way, the people I58 � ATLANTIC UNION (LEANER usually become interested, and are willing to accept these principles along with the rest. 40. In our house-to-house visiting should we disregard the common prin- ciples of propriety usually insisted upon by the world ? To what extent should a man visit alone in homes ? A minister should be very wise and careful about calling upon ladies in their homes alone. It is much better if he can be accompanied by his wife, as that will disarm all suspicion, or anything that tends to gossip. Where this is impossible, it would be a good plan to arrange for some of the neigh- bors to meet together, and then go and make a pastoral visit. 41. Can printed covenants be se- cured ? Would you advise that a printed covenant be presented for the people to sign, as a means for secur- ing a decision to obey ? I do not know that the printed cov- enants are used now to any extent, neither do I think they are necessary, although I do not believe they will do any harm. It should be left with each worker to get people into the truth in the way that may seem best to him. 42. Is it consistent for ministers to trade or traffic in various articles of merchandise ? And how can they be dealt with, and thus save the cause and themselves ? A minister should give himself wholly to the work of the ministry. He should be paid a salary sufficient for his living, so that he would not be obliged to engage in trade or traffic of any kind ; and then he should devote his whole energy to the interests of the work in which he is engaged. 43. Is a man a good Adventist who persists in the use of pork as food ? I should not think an individual understood this message and -this movement as he ought to understand it, if he persists in the use of pork ; for the Scriptures plainly show how the Lord withheld swine's flesh from the children of Israel, while they were allowed to partake of the flesh of lambs, fish, and other things for food. He should be led to see that the Scriptures forbid the use of pork as food, and that he must get the victory over his body. 44. Will you please explain the difference between the missionary li- cense and the ministerial license ? Does one grant privileges which the other does not ? If not, why make a distinction ? The missionary license is granted to persons who go out to engage in missionary work, to both ladies and gentlemen who go out as canvassers, periodical, and Bible workers, but who are not looking to, nor engaged in what we term "the ministry." When a minister is sent to a foreign field, if he be a married man, his wife is given a missionary license, for the reason that she goes with him to do missionary work of every kind pos- sible. The ministerial license is given to an individual aiming at the minis- try, and who is sent . out to engage in public speaking ; but it does not give authority more than to exercise his gift, and give evidence of his calling to the work. 45. In securing a lot, and in ad- vertising, s h a 11 we advertise as Seventh-day Adventists ? This will depend upon conditions. In some places it would be an advan- tage to advertise as Seventh-day Ad- ventists. When we become favorably known in a place, it is an advantage; but in a new place, where the name would be a hindrance to the work, I do not think it is necessary to ad- vertise as Seventh-day Adventists. 46. In advertising, does a beginner have the right to put " evangelist " in front of his name ? Should not the subject attract rather than the name of the speaker ? A beginner should be cautious about putting the name " evangelist " to his name. While vhe may be, in a sense, an evangelist, yet the people have a different idea of the term. The word " evangelist " usually sug- gests to people such men as Chapman, Moody, etc., and this use of the term might lead to disappointment. Mod- esty is one of the fruits of the Spirit. It comes from the gospel, and it makes a man humble, modest, and careful. 47. Is it considered too much form- alism in our church, to ask God's blessing upon the offering taken for his work ? Should there not be uni- formity in all churches ? I think that when a congregation has been waited upon for the offering, it is a very proper thing to offer, in a few words, gratitude to God for giving us something to give to him, and for giving us hearts willing to give ; and ask him to bless the offering that it may be used to his glory. 48. Do we, as a denomination, teach kneeling in prayer? As a rule, we do ; though, of course, it is not essential in order to offer ac- ceptable prayer, nor to receive an answer to prayer. There might be conditions when it would be better to stand. 49. Ought we not to teach the members of our church to bow their heads in prayer upon entrance to their seats, and when the minister kneels in the pulpit to ask God's presence and benediction. The custom of bowing the head when a person takes his seat in church, is practiced in Great Britain and all English countries. It is a beautiful custom, and shows great reverence for God and his place of worship. I would approve of our church members doing so if they felt inclined. To the latter part of the question, I would say, " Yes." When the min- ister enters the pulpit, there should be absolute silence, and the congre- gation should bow their heads, and join with him in breathing a prayer to God for his Holy Spirit to be with his servant. Sometimes there is so much ATLANTIC UNION GLEANER � 159 confusion that the congregation does not notice the minister when he goes into the pulpit. In such a case, he may ask the audience to join with him in silent prayer. THE GOSPEL MINISTRY--No. 7 The Minister and the Church A. G. DANIELLS WHAT should be the minister's aim as he goes from church to church throughout the conference ? What should he accomplish for the highest interests and the greatest benefit of the church ? He ought to have a very definite purpose in view when he visits the churches. First, he should carry a very great burden on his heart to help the church spiritually, and to reach the hearts of the children. Second, he should bear on his heart the gen- eral interests of the cause, and do his very best as he comes in contact with the members, to advance these gen- eral interests that are launched upon the people. I do not believe that a minister should go around to the churches, merely to visit them, and to preach whatever may be of interest to him, and may appeal especially to him, interest them in theological talks, or give them essays. He should go with a definite thing to accomplish, and bend all his energies to the accom- plishment of that task, so that when he has been there and gone, he will leave something of a helpful and per- manent character with the church. I believe that if all our workers would work to this point, and do it success- fully, the amount of time given to our churches would keep them in good touch with the message, keep them in good courage, and would be sufficient to keep them' moving along personally with the work of God. As a rule, 1,610 not think it 'is neces- sary for us to turn to the plan of the popular churches, and settle down over a company, and confine our ef- forts year in and year out to them. With this truth, with this message, we ought to be able to communicate to them an inspiration, courage, and de- termination to take care of themselves, under the great chief Shepherd, while we as under-shepherds move on and gather the sheep and lambs that are scattered over the world. We did that in the early days. The truth has not lost any of its power ; the mes- sage is the same. Why can we not put that sturdiness into the minds of the brethren that will lead them to say, as the companies did in the early days : " Do not spend your time with us; we love you for bringing the truth to us ; we appreciate your presence and your help ; but we want the peo- ple out there to get what you have brought to us. Go to them with the message, and we will lay hold on God and study the truth, and take care of ourselves." LABOR FOR THE SPIRITUAL BENEFIT OF THE CHURCH The first great consideration that ought to be on the mind of the preacher, is to help the brethren and sisters spiritually. Ascertain how they stand ; visit them at their homes ; spend the nights with them as much as possible ; see how they are getting along in family worship, and what their interest is in the truth. Com- municate to them the most stirring and interesting news we have from the foreign fields regarding this work. Convey to them the idea that this message is of God, and that it is sure to triumph ; and leave them feeling glad that they are connected with this message, and with the resolution in their hearts that they will be more faithful in their duties, and more de- voted to God and his cause. This house-to-house work is of in- estimable value to our brethren and sisters. If we spend a week with them, it will help us when the Sab- bath comes, to preach a better ser- mon, and more to the point, than we could if we had not had this personal contact. WHAT SHALL THE MINISTER PREACH ABOUT ? No one can give all the details, but it is important that he have something of a very definite and spiritual char- acter to present, to lead them to greater consecration. There are the children and young people. Many of them are out on farms where they do not have the very best advantages. In many places the little churches do not have much to interest and help them. When the preacher visits them, he should be a God-send to them. And I think that whether we are ofd or young, our hearts ought to go out to the young people. We should not go to a church and preach over their heads, and then go away and leave them uninterested and unconverted. We should help them, and lead them to feel more serious about their future welfare than when we found them. Some men are better adapted to deal with the minds of the youth than are other men, it is true ; but I believe that if God is with the minister, his heart will be so burdened that he can do something that will help them very greatly. This will appeal to the pa- rents, and as they see them with trembling lips confessing the Saviour, it will lead them to be more careful, more patient, and more thoughtful about their own children. As a minister looks into the faces of his brethren and sisters, his heart should go out for their spiritual wel- fare. All this will mean direct work and much prayer while with the churches. It will mean spirituality; and there is nothing that helps the preacher himself more than this re- vival, evangelistic effort. We can do a great many things in a religious cause fairly well without much prayer. We can run an insti- tution, and not pray a great deal; we can look after the administrative' af- fairs of a conference, and keeW`things in a systematic, orderly condition, and hot pray much about it ; we can run a printing-office, bind books, set type 9•0:- 160 � ATLANTIC UNION GLEANER atlantic Union (Gleaner OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ATLANTIC UNION CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS SOUTH LANCASTER, MASS. PUBLISHED WEEKLY Subscription Price Fifty Cents a Year PEARL L. REES � EDITOR Entered at South Lancaster, Mass,, as second-class matter and look after the shipping—a great many things we can do in connection with this cause, and not pray. But when it comes to getting hold of souls —to reaching the hearts of men, women, and children, and seeing them come to God and give their hearts to him—we cannot do that without prayer. What a different thing it is to go into a conference committee meeting to consider administrative af- fairs than it is to go to meeting on the Sabbath, or in a camp-meeting, and lift for souls ! In real, successful soul-winning work, we must get into close, personal touch with the Saviour, where everything of a spiritual char- acter appeals to us, and moves us. If we fail to do this we can do little ef- fectual work. The minister must not go through a formal service with the church and leave them. He must leave them fresh and glad in the Lord. Satan is preying upon them, and doing every thing he can to lead them astray, to make them worldly, and selfish, and to create doubts in their minds. And when the minister of God goes to them, he ought to go with an uplifting message to them—with something that will renew their courage and help them. Then when he goes on his way, they will thank God for the mes- sage of life to them. � C. H. E. (To be concluded) HE that doeth truth cometh to the light." " HE who waits to do a great deal at once, well never do anything." NOTES ON THE INSTITUTE ELDER ALLEN MOON, president of the Lake Union Conference, has been a visitor to Philadelphia during the institute. He came to counsel over various matters connected with his field. We were glad to welcome in our institute Elder E. K. Slade, president of the East Michigan Conference. Some changes are contemplated in the Lake Union, and a number of the brethren of that union have a- vailed themselves of the ministerial institute in Philadelphia to come here for counsel. During the last few days of the institute, the work pressed very hard. Quite a number of committees were holding sessions, which took consid- erable time. Still the usual work of the institute was quite well main- tained and carried through to the close. Elders Daniells, Thompson, and Spicer remained until the close and carried through their respective lines of study. On the evening of April 25 the Review and Herald office at Takoma Park caught on fire, it is thought by defective wiring, and the upper story was entirely burned out. The fire engines threw water upon it for about three hours, and it is stated that the loss by water was quite heavy to the stock below. Just what the damage is can not be ascertained at this writ- ing. More particulars will follow. A few days ago one of the foreign consuls, stationed in one of the cities of New Jersey, wrote Brother Louis Klebahn and enclosed a ticket, desir- ing that he should come to his home and tell him of the truth of the third angel's message. Brother Klebahn responded the evening of April 25. We have not heard the result of their interview. The wife of this consul at- tended some of the meeting in New York City last summer, and thus the truth has been brought to his atten- tion. Elder Morris Lukens, president of the Indiana Conference, has been a visitor at the institute. Elder Lukens has been chosen by the General Con- ference to make Australia his field of labor, and he has fully decided to take up work in that distant land. He is counseling here with the breth- ren preparatory to giving up his work in Indiana, intending later to attend the council in Friedensau, Germany, and then go on to Australia. W. B. WHITE. THE second issue of Liberty for 1911 is just out. It is a very attrac- tive and highly practical number. It is called " The Teacher's Number," being prepared especially for the pub- lic school teachers, associating the school question with that of religious liberty, and giving in a very diplo- matic manner some of the fundamen- tal principles of religious liberty all teachers ought to recognize in their teaching. A copy of this number of Liberty ought to be placed in the possession of every public school teacher in the United States. We commend this issue to our agents. SCRIPTURE DIRECTORY FOR the blues, read Psalms 27. If we see the wicked prosper more than we, read Psalms 37. If people seem unkind to you, read John 15. If one is losing confidence in men, read 1 Corinthians 13. If you are discouraged about your work, read Psalms 128. If tempted to see yourself larger and the world smaller, read Psalms 19. If you can not have your own way in everything, read James 3. If you are all out of sorts, read Hebrews 12.—Selected. " Thy word is truth."