eG i ' i a eel i i A | eh si Mt WL i i iE Le ol | 7 Hi ny i cm ed Poo i | ' Hh = tine Sunda 0 hood | a Hi ae al HAA | i i ] i. | o a 2 | i) a i) i | u ‘ Hl i / a i | i " i | / o i i i | i - | a a i ie 7 - a cae | i i lh a | f ANA i Hil Hi HN A | ae i i A ii | | i ra a S a) ca il i i i a ! | | | ut |) a | i | La iG i‘ TATA i a i i Hi AUTH Mt iy wef z= THE PASTOR’S PLACE OF PRIVILEGE AND POWER IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL redo fp Ae r = 7 i aie =e at sr nee eae 3 THE PASTOR'S PLACE OF PRIVILEGE AND POWER IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL BY E. A. FOX eneral Secretary Kentucky Siaiag School Association ay NASHVILLE, TENN., DALLAS, TEX. PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE M. E. CHURCH, "30UTH SMITH & LAMAR, AGENTS 1907 BY SmitH & LAMAR hh ee CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE PASTORAL LEADERSHIP IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL...... 13 CHAPTER II. IAS(QUESTION OF RELATIONS 0. 6. cceccccsecceccecs 28 - CHAPTER III. BEN, PUMPORTAND! REPORT: oec\istye cee vale cca ctinwacas 36 CHAPTER IV. Wuat Some LEADING PASTORS SAY........ee0ee: 43 CHAPTER V. TuHeE Pastor’s PREPARATION FOR LEADERSHIP...... 50 CHAPTER VI. ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP........... 67 CHAPTER VII. AGENCIES THROUGH WHICH THE Pastor May Ex- BRUISES FINS. LEADERSHIM, is « Soide"s se rnt ack 9- oe we 81 CHAPTER VIII. THe Pastor AND His SUPERINTENDENT..........% 106 314986 8 The Pastor in the Sunday School. CHAPTER IX. ae ee THE PASTOR AND THE PARENTS........-sseeceree 122 CHAPTER X. THE PAsToR AND THE LAMBS OF THE FOLD........ 129 CHAPTER XI. THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 2e.aeccas ss vices sale ete teks oe 138 CHAPTER XII. GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL...........eeeeeeees 159 CHAPTER XIII. Stupies IN Human NAaTurRE BY DEPARTMENTS.... 180 PREFACE. It may seem presumptuous for a layman to undertake to write a book for pastors. The pal- liation lies in three directions. 1. The theological seminaries up to this time have done little or nothing toward educating their students for Sunday school work, and most Sunday school books deal sparingly with the subject. The need, therefore, for such a book seems great. 2. I have made a special study of Sunday school work for more than eight years, and a special study of that work as it relates to the pastor for five years. 3. Our Pastors’ Sunday School Institute, which has met for five successive years in Louis- ville, has given me opportunity to get the views of the leading pastors and laymen of America on the subject, and it is chiefly for this reason that I had the courage to undertake so impor- tant a work. While the thoughts and the lan- guage in which they are expressed are my own, (9) 314986 10 The Pastor's Place of Privilege unless otherwise stated, these thoughts are to a large extent the combined wisdom of the princi- pal speakers and writers on the subject. If there is such a thing as a compilation of ideas, it is to be found in this book. I have gone on the assumption that the pas- tor is a man of both ideas and action, and that what he will most appreciate is not methods but principles and suggestions. Only those sub- jects are discussed that lie at the basis of all success, such as grading, principles of Sunday school management, principles of teaching, and a brief study in the elements of child study. These, for the most part, are too difficult for the average superintendent or teacher and underlie all methods. The only use made of methods is to illustrate a point, to show what is being done, or to point out the pastor’s relation and oppor- tunity. This, however, has afforded an oppor- tunity to bring into the book practically every 4 modern method of note. It has also given the Ci detias to \indicate where ‘further information canbe secured if desired. In all our Pastors’ Sunday School Institutes ~ And Power in the Sunday School. Il we have sought to dignify and magnify the work of the pastor in the eyes of all Sunday school workers, and to bring him into that place of priv- ilege and power that will enable him to lead the Sunday school to a success in its work that is im- possible without his leadership. The object of this book is the same. A few quotations and a few expressions by the author may seem a little harsh and critical in cold type; but those who know the author personally know that there is always a smile in his heart for the pas- tor, and that he always lays the blame for any shortcomings of the pastor in this re- gard on “us laymen” rather than on the pastor. There is no class of men on earth that he has a higher regard or greater love for than our pas- tors; and if this book should prove a help and an inspiration to one of the humblest of them all, he will be abundantly satisfied. Thanks are due the Sunday School Times, The World Evangel, and The Pilgrim Teacher for permission to use a few extracts from arti- cles which originally occurred in their columns. Tue AuTHor. CHAPTER I. PASTORAL LEADERSHIP IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. ORIGIN AND CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE IDEA, One of the strange things in connection with our Sunday school work is that we have been so long in coming to the natural and inevitable conclusion that the pastor is, and of right ought to be, the leader in the Sunday school. While this idea has been advocated here and there by occasional speakers and writers, it re- mained for the Kentucky Sunday School Asso- ciation to give it definite form and direction through the Pastors’ Sunday School Institute, which was inaugurated in the city of Louisville, December, 1902, and which has held annual ses- sions ever since, There had been Pastors’ In- stitutes, Sunday School Institutes, Pastors’ Con- ferences, etc., in connection with conventions, but upon investigation it was found that this was the first Pastors’ Sunday School Institute (13) 14 The Pastor's Place of Privilege ever held in the world, and in the opinion of our leaders it marked an epoch in the history of Sunday schools. For four days, under the lead- ership of Dr. A. F. Schauffler, Mr. Marion Law- rance, and Dr. B. W. Spilman, the problems and the work of the Sunday school and the pastor’s relation to them were discussed. A full account of this first Institute may be secured from the Sunday School Times for seven cents. Perhaps the real work of this now historic Institute cannot be better summarized than in this series of brief statements prepared by the writer and unanimously agreed upon at its close: First, recognizing that the Sunday school is the open door of opportunity, that childhood is the battle ground of the kingdom, and that when we save a child we save a soul plus a life of service, we call upon pastors everywhere to use their utmost endeavor to increase the efficien- cy of their Sunday schools, so that the children may be won for Christ and trained in a life of service for him. Secondly, as quickly as possible our theolog- ical seminaries should plan to give instruction * And Power in the Sunday School. 15 to their students: (1) in systematic Bible study suitable for Sunday school teachers; (2) in the fundamental elements of pedagogy and child study; (3) in the latest approved methods of Sunday school work. Thirdly, as a rule the pastor should not super- intend his own Sunday school, nor teach a class regularly, but he should be the superintendent of his superintendent and the teacher of his teachers. Fourthly, the pastor is the leader in the Sun- day school as much as in any other service of the Church, and as such he is primarily respon- sible for its success or failure. He should, there- fore, seek to prepare himself for successful lead- ership therein by attending Sunday school insti- tutes and conventions, reading the best books and periodicals on the subject, and by such other means as present themselves from time to time. Fifthly, the Sunday school is not the place for children only, but for all. Our motto should be: “All the Church in the Sunday school and all the Sunday school in the Church all the time.” Sixthly, teaching is the most important serv- 16 The Pastor's Place of: Privilege ice of the Sunday school; therefore the pastor should be prepared to train his teachers in the training class and in the teachers’ meeting. THE MEANING OF PASTORAL LEADERSHIP. Pastoral leadership in the Sunday school is comparatively a new idea, and, like all new ideas, it has been misunderstood by some. Some seem to have gotten the idea that the purpose is to put the whole work of the Sunday school on the pastor and make mere figureheads of the super- intendent and teachers. Naturally this has been resented by busy pastors and interested super- intendents and teachers. Jt may be plainly stated that the idea ts not that the pastor should do the work of either the superintendent or the teach- ers, or that he should interfere with their work in any way, but rather that by wise direction of their efforts he should do a larger work through them than either he or they can possibly do by working alone; and furthermore, that while, ex officio, he is the head of the Sunday school, and while his leadership should therefore be oficial, but not officious, he should lead by right of the And Power in the Sunday School. 17 sovereignty of competency rather than by right of position. FACTORS IN SECURING PASTORAL LEADERSHIP. In all new movements there must be a period of preparation and seed-sowing. In the prepara- tion for pastoral leadership there are at least four important factors : t. The Pastors Themselves——The pastors themselves must be convinced that it is their duty to lead, and so thoroughly convinced that they will prepare themselves for leadership. Many are already convinced of this fact, but many more are not, so a campaign of education along this line must be inaugurated. The pas- tor is the only man in the Church who is pre- sumed to have had training for the work of the Church. He has a mind trained to think, and trained to think especially along the lines of Church development. Why has he turned this important subject of the religious training of the young almost entirely over to the untrained and too frequently irreligious laymen? Why have we laymen permitted him to do so? ° < 18 The Pastor's Place of Privilege 2. The Theological Seminary.—The seminary is the place where pastors are trained, if not made. For some unaccountable reason our sem- inaries until recently have almost entirely ig- nored the Sunday school work in their curricula. They seem to have gone on the assumption that their students could get all necessary training by working in the Sunday schools in the imme- diate vicinity of the seminary. But the trouble has been that these Sunday schools, for the most part, are running along the same old lines that they have been running along for a quarter of a century, and there is little of inspiration or infor- mation in them. Another trouble is that the student goes from the seminary into the pas- torate with no adequate idea of the importance of the work, no idea (or perhaps a wrong one) of his relation to it, and no information as to the best ideas in Sunday school work. 3. Our Great Denominational Weeklies.— These are the molders of public sentiment, as well as the media of expression for it. It is safe to say that, with the exception of a brief exposition of the International Lessons, our great denomina- And Power in the Sunday School. 19 tional weeklies are not giving one-tenth of one per cent of their space to the discussion of the Sunday school and its work. If our editors and contributors think so little of the Sunday school as to thus neglect it, is it any wonder our pas- tors and people are not responding as many of us think they should? Where is there a more powerful agency to advance the interests of the Sunday school work than these great papers? Perhaps we Sunday school workers have been more to blame than any one else. Let us pro- ceed to remedy this as quickly as possible. 4. Public Opinion.—Public opinion is a great power in the Church as well as in the State. We have not created a demand for trained pastors, Sunday school curricula in our seminaries, nor space in our papers; therefore they have not come. Many a pastor is ready and willing to lead out in new lines in Sunday school work, but the superintendent and others regard it as an intrusion and block the way. We often hear our minister criticised for poor sermons, for the few pastoral visits he makes, for dry prayer meetings, and for a score of other things; but seldom, if 20 The Pastor's Place of Privilege ever, for the failure of a Sunday school. Why? Because public opinion has not been aroused to demand it, or even to tolerate his “interference” with the Sunday school. When a pastor is to be called, the first ques- tion is, “Is he a good preacher?” and the next is, “Ts he a good pastor?” After that comes a va- riety of questions. The daughters want to know if he is married; the mothers want to know the size of his family; some will ask if he wears up-to-date clothes; some will wonder if his wife does her own sewing or whether she “hires” it done; and so on and on they go asking every conceivable question, except this one, “Is he a good Sunday school man?’ Now don’t you think this ought to be the third question, to say the least? This is but another evidence that we are asleep and need to be awakened all along the line to the importance of the Sunday school, and especially to the importance of having a live Sunday school man and an efficient Sunday school leader in the person of our pastor. When public opinion is sufficiently aroused to demand this, we shall get it. And Power in the Sunday School. 21 These are four vital factors in Sunday school progress. Those who see the need for better things in Sunday school work must lead the way. We must ask a hearing in the columns of these papers, and I am sure it will not be denied us. When we get a hearing, then we must proceed to mold public sentiment in favor of pastoral leadership. We must demand trained pastors, and make the demand so strong that the sem- inaries will heed our cry and give us trained and enthusiastic Sunday school pastors; and when we get them, the brightest day in the his- tory of the Sunday school will have dawned. IN WHAT PASTORAL LEADERSHIP CONSISTS. Pastoral leadership in the Sunday school con- sists : 1. In preparation for leadership. In his prep- aration he must master every detail of the mod- ern Sunday school, know its inspiring history and its splendid record of souls saved, instructed, and trained for the Master’s service, and, above all, he should study the question until there comes into his heart an abiding and an overpowering 22 The Pastor’s Place of Privilege conviction of its importance in the economy of God’s plans for the salvation of the world. He should not only know but should realize in all its fullness and power that the children of to- day will be the Church of to-morrow, and that childhood is indeed the real battle ground of the kingdom and the hope of the Church. 2. In the training of officers and teachers through whom he is to do his work. In order to carry out his plans he must have skilled as well as consecrated workmen, and experience has shown that the only way to get them is to train them. The Training Class, the Teachers’ Meet- ing, and the Officers’ and Teachers’ Library are the three great means for training in the hands of every pastor. If, in addition to the technical training thus obtained, he will induce them to attend conventions, institutes, local unions, sum- mer schools, etc., he will soon find that he has not only competent but enthusiastic workers. Since the pastor is responsible for the success of the Sunday school, since the success of the Sunday school depends upon the competency of the offi- cers and teachers, and since competent officers And Power in the Sunday School. 23 and teachers can be secured only by training them, the conclusion cannot be escaped that the pastor is primarily responsible for this training. 3. In popularizing the Sunday school in the community and in magnifying it in the eyes of the officials and membership of the Church. In his pastoral visits and in his pulpit he should use every opportunity to popularize and build up the Sunday school. Once a year, at least, the work of the Sunday school should be brought in review before the entire congregation. The oc- casion should be made of so much importance as to insure the attendance of practically the whole Church. It should take the place of the most popular service hour, whether it be the elev- en-o’clock service or the evening service. The work that the school is doing, is trying to do, should be presented in a bright, attractive way. Let there be no fussing or fault-finding. The pas- tor should make a strong, earnest, and loving plea for the school. The children should have a prom- inent part in the exercises. Those who are worthy of it should be promoted with honors and a public recognition of their work. An honor 24 The Pastor's Place of Privilege roll should be exhibited, giving the names of those who have been faithful in any line. The officers and teachers should be installed in a brief but impressive service. The parents should be urged to attend the Sunday school; and if they cannot, or will not, at least insist on their join- ing the Home Department. If, in addition to this, regular quarterly re- ports of each pupil were sent to the parents, and also an annual report of the entire school (mimeographed in the smaller schools and printed in the larger schools), the parents would perhaps show more interest in the Sun- day school work. One reason they show so little interest is that they know so little about it; another is that so little is made of the Sunday school before the congregation that it is mini- mized in the eyes of the whole Church and com- munity. If the Sunday school would do some- thing worth while and then let the people and parents know it, the pastor taking the lead in it all, the Sunday school would soon command the attention in the community it so richly deserves. 4. In the introduction into the school of the And Power in the Sunday School. 25 latest approved methods. He should secure a thoroughly up-to-date building, well equipped in all its appointments; he should see that the school is thoroughly graded, having thorough departmental and class organization, a Home Department, a Cradle Roll, and a Training De- partment; he should provide a complete system of records, a systematic plan of visitation, and all other things necessary for effective work. 5. In the cultivation of those qualities of mind and heart that characterize successful leadership. But it is possible that a pastor may do all this and yet fail of that enthusiastic following that will insure success. He should ever be tactful, cour- teous, reasonable, frank, firm, kind, good-hu- mored, resourceful, and determined. He should inspire confidence in his leadership by leading successfully. A few failures will make his work- ers distrust him, and they will thereafter under- take anything he suggests (if at all) with half- heartedness and a fear that it will fail. On the other hand, a few victories where defeat seems imminent will inspire confidence and courage, and shortly his workers will follow him wher- 26 The Pastor's Place of Privilege ever he chooses to lead, confident of victory in the end. One of the strongest elements of leadership is the ability to arouse in others a desire for achievement and to put courage into their hearts that will not brook defeat. But this presupposes on the part of the leader a thorough knowledge in every detail of the work undertaken and an overpowering love for it. Pastoral leadership in the Sunday school demands both of these qual- ities in the pastor. A pastor’s presence should be as a live wire in the Sunday school, the teachers’ meeting, and every organization in the Church. He should galvanize into life and renewed activity every interest in the Church. His very presence should be an inspiration, his every word a call to vic- tory. The word “failure” should be cut out of his vocabulary and “success” written in his face and voice. Men will follow such a man to vic- tory or defeat and count it a privilege. 6. In creating an esprit de corps and engender- ing a holy enthusiasm for the work among par-— ents, officers, teachers, and pupils. As the school And Power in the Sunday School. 24 advances from victory to victory an esprit de corps will be established, an enthusiasm will be engendered, a confidence produced, such that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. But in if all let it be remembered that the superintendent and teachers should keenly feel and appreciate their responsibility, that their work should be magnified in their own eyes and in the eyes of the school, and that at all times they should feel the liberty, independence, and freedom that come only through competent and sympathetic leader- ship and a consciousness of complete preparation for the service demanded of them. CHAPTER IL. A QUESTION OF RELATIONS. The relation of the Sunday school to the Church has been discussed until it is threadbare, but the duty of the pastor and the Church to the Sunday school depends upon this relation. Re- lations are just as important in the life of the Church as in the life of the family. Our relation to anything always determines our attitude to- ward it and our duty to it. If we do not think logically, we do not act consistently. THE RELATION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TO THE CHURCH. The Sunday school has been called the nursery of the Church, the cradle of the Church, the open door to the Church, the auxiliary of the Church, each of which contains elements of truth, but none of which expresses the whole truth. The Sunday school is the teaching service and the training department of the Church. In other (28) The Pastor in the Sunday School. 2y words, the Sunday school is not something apart from the Church, or even a part of the Church. It is the Church engaged in the teaching and study of God’s Word in such a way as to win souls for Christ, build them up in Christ, and then train them for a life of service for Christ. If this be true, then it is plainly the duty of the Church to meet every condition necessary to its success, and it is the duty of the pastor to see that it does so. The Sunday school has been called by some thoughtless phrase-maker the children’s Church. A more mischievous phrase could not be coined. It does not contain a single element of truth. Every time a person uses it, except to condemn it, he does both the Church and the Sunday school a positive harm. Another mischievous state- ment is sometimes made by overzealous Sunday school workers—that if children cannot attend both the preaching service and the Sunday school they had better attend the Sunday school; and occasionally a preacher will make the statement that if children cannot attend both the preaching service and the Sunday school they had better 30 The Pastor's Place of Privilege give up the Sunday school, and sometimes will add the unwarranted statement that the Sunday school is man-made anyhow, whereas the Church is divine. All such statements injure both the teaching service and the preaching service, and show a feeling in the heart of those who make them that will preclude the highest Christian service in either. It is not a question of which, but of both, as they bear such a vital relation to each other that under present conditions one can scarcely exist without the other. Each is a serv- ice of the Church, and as such should receive the most careful consideration of the pastor and his Church officers. THE RELATION OF TEACHING TO PREACHING. The relation of teaching and preaching is just as close and vital as that of the Church and Sun- day school. Teaching is the foundation on which to rear the superstructure of preaching. Any student of the Bible or of human nature can plainly see this. Through all the dreary -cen- turies, from Abraham to Christ, God was di- rectly, or through his chosen servants, teaching a And Power in the Sunday School. 31 nation in order that the preaching of later days might be effective in winning the world to Christ. True, there was some preaching in those days, but the dominant idea in all God’s plans was . teaching. It would perhaps be difficult to make a clear distinction between teaching and preaching. It is doubtful if Christ ever preached a sermon in the modern sense of that term. We usually speak of the “Sermon on the Mount,” but Mat- thew says that he opened his mouth and “taught” them, and it is plain that the one distinctive pur- pose in this discourse is instruction. At least nine-tenths of Christ’s recorded discourses are more in the nature of teaching than preaching. I do not infer from this that Christ meant to teach by his example that teaching is more im- portant than preaching; but I do believe that he intended us to see that preaching, to be the most effective, must be preceded by teaching. So far as the records show, Peter’s one sermon at Pen- tecost won four or five times as many converts as Christ won in the three and a half years of his ministry ; and it was evidently owing largely 32 The Pastor's Place of Privilege to Christ’s patient, persistent teaching that this was made possible. It has always been true, is true to-day, and al- ways will be true, that people must be taught concerning Christ before they can be won to ~ Christ. This is one reason why so many con- verts in the past have either backslidden or proved of so little worth to the Church. They - were imperfectly taught. Teaching prepares the soil for the seed of the gospel and opens the way for a rich harvest of souls. It does seem that, if for no other reason than that his preaching might be effective, the pastor would be willing to pre- pare himself for leadership in the Sunday school. The most unsatisfactory congregation in all the world to preach to is a non-Bible-reading congre- gation. The Church that has poor teaching will always have poor preaching, even though it have a good preacher. DUTIES OF THE PASTOR GROWING OUT OF THESE RELATIONS. If the Sunday school is the teaching service of the Church, if it is necessary to make the preach- And Power in the Sunday School. 33 ing service more effective, then we are certainly warranted in the conclusion that the pastor of the Church is also pastor of the Sunday school, and therefore its leader. If, as statistics show, approximately eighty-five per cent of our con- verts, ninety-five per cent of our preachers, sev- enty-five per cent of our Churches, and ninety per cent of our efficient Church workers come through the Sunday school; if seventy-five per cent of all converts to-day are under twenty-one years of age; if the children gather there in larger numbers than in any other service of the Church—then surely the Sunday school is worthy of the pastor’s best efforts. Peter was the first preacher under the new dispensation. In those love-compelling questions recorded in St. John xxi. Christ exhorted him twice to feed his lambs to where he exhorted him once to feed his sheep; but somehow Peter seems not to have learned the lesson, neither have many of his successors to this day. Any pastor will admit without any argument, and too frequently without any thought, that the children are the hope of the Church; and yet, 3 fae BS |) ee 34 The Pastor's Place of Privilege notwithstanding the fact that so much of every- thing of value in his Church has come from the Sunday school, as shown above, under his lead- ership and guidance the Church goes right on giving most of its time, effort, and money to the adults. Here is a fact that should give us pause: A large majority of the children, even of our Church members to-day, never hear the Word of God, never hear a prayer, never join in songs of praise except in the Sunday school. Family worship is largely a thing of the past. The children are not attending the preaching service. Then if they do not hear these things in the Sunday school, where do they hear them? This certainly places a great responsibility on the Sunday school, and therefore ndicates to us the real opportunity of the Church in the Sunday school. Are we realizing it and doing anything to meet the responsibility and use the opportuni- ty? In building our Churches, are we giving due regard to the demands of the Sunday school? In making out our annual budget of expenses, do we not rather plan to get all we can out of the Sunday school rather than to put what we can Ala And Power in the Sunday School. 35 into it? In fact, does the Church as a Church give any consideration to the Sunday school? Does the Church ask for a report of the work and needs of the Sunday school and then con- sider them in a business-like, sympathetic way? Rather, isn’t the Sunday school allowed to shift for itself? If the children are the hope of the Church, if the children are reached. in larger numbers by the Sunday school than by any other organization of the Church, if the pastor is the head of the Church, then the pastor’s duty to the Sunday school is plain. CHAPTER III. AN IMPORTANT REPORT. At the Pastors’ Sunday School Institute, held in Louisville in February, 1906, a committee, with Dr. E. Y. Mullins as chairman, was ap- pointed to summarize the teachings of the Insti- tute in concise and convenient form. Dr. Mul- lins himself has given special attention to the work of the Sunday school, and he had associ- ated with him on this committee Dr. Gross Alex- ander and Dr. S. S. Waltz, all three of whom are men of intellectual power and men who have given special thought to the subject. This ought, therefore, to be an exceedingly important docu- ment and ought to carry a great deal of weight with it. PastorAL LEADERSHIP OF SuNDAy ScHoot Forces. The pastor is the leader of the Sunday school forces of his Church. This is true, although he is neither su- perintendent nor teacher. His leadership here grows (36) And Power in the Sunday School. 37 out of his office as pastor. The Sunday school is a de- partment of Church work. He is thus officially Sunday school leader. But mere official leadership fails when unaided by moral and spiritual force backed by intelli- gence. Skill in training others to lead is the highest attainment of the pastoral leader. Rarely by self-asser- tion, frequently by self-effacement, will the pastor do his best work in the Sunday school. He does not absorb the work or function of the superintendent or teacher; he supplements both on the pastoral side. Indeed, he will jealously guard and protect them in their rights when necessary. The principle of pastoral leadership is the fundamental principle of the kingdom of God. The kingdom comes through human personalities. A Sun- day school is a group of personalities, the leader and the led. The school is related to a larger group, the Church. Pastoral leadership is necessary in the school because the part must be properly related to the whole. Tue Pastor’s RELATION TO THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. The pastor must sustain either of four relations to the Sunday school : t. He may be unsympathetic observer, with little or no interest in it, rarely, if ever, present at its meetings. To such a pastor leadership is impossible in the school. 2. He may be sympathetic inspector, sometimes pres- ent, giving his approval, even observing its activities with interest, yet remaining apart from its inner life and 38 The Pastors Place of Privilege struggles. Here also he lacks the identification with the school necessary to leadership. 3. He may enact the rdle of would-be helper but bungling hinderer. The lack of knowledge of Sunday school procedure, of tact and courtesy, of insight and sympathy, brings this result, and of course destroys the possibility of leadership. 4. He may be inspiring guide and leader, leading by right of his superior ability rather than by right of his position. This is the ideal. His CoNnTACT WITH THE SCHOOL. To this end the pastor must maintain at least three points of contact with the school: 1. There must be physical contact. He must attend the sessions of the school and meetings of officers and teachers. The telephone system of absent generalship is impossible here. The school which his eyes see and his hands handle is the school which he understands and can lead. 2. His contact must be intellectual, He must study his school and thoroughly familiarize himself with the latest approved methods by systematic reading and at- tendance upon lectures, institutes, conventions, and con- ferences, and by personal contact with other leaders. Here again the capacity for taking pains is the secret of success. Sunday school machinery is like that of a watch, made up of delicate and high and fine adjust- And Power in the Sunday School. 39 ments. Its delicacy of adjustment and the ease with which it can be thrown out are due to the fact that it calls for the highest and finest qualities of human char- acter in its personnel and working force. To preserve the harmony and working efficiency of this splendid spiritual organism is worth any man’s careful intellectual effort. 3. There should be moral and spiritual contact. The school is for instruction, evangelism, and Christian nur- ture in the first place, and only secondary for other things. To hold a school to its educational and spiritual ends is one of the highest functions of the pastoral leader. To this end real teaching of the Word should be done, teaching that will win the pupils to Christ and manifest itself in Christian character and Christian liv- ing. His Work FoR THE SCHOOL. t. As a rule it is best for the pastor not to teach a class at the regular session of the school or attempt to superintend the school. 2. It is also probable that his most effective work in the school will be in reénforcing the teaching and popu- larizing the school. 3. He can do much to create a Sunday school con- science and an atmosphere in which passion for good teaching will flourish by frequent mention of the school from his pulpit, by special services in its behalf, and by 40 The Pastor's Place of Privilege special work for it in his pastoral visits, thus linking the home to the school in such a way that its influence will be helpful rather than hurtful to the school. 4. The pastor can best eliminate friction, create con- fidence in the superintendent and teacher on the part of the parents, and magnify the school in the estimation of the congregation by announcements from the pulpit, special sermons and special services in the interest of the school. 5. He can, if a true leader, hold up the highest ideals of Sunday school teaching and work in a way to inspire and not depress, making of them not weights but wings for the discouraged or unambitious teacher. 6. He can circulate books on the Sunday school and study to make the Sunday school library a power in advancing the highest Sunday school methods and ideals. 7. Perhaps his most effective personal service to the school can be best rendered through the training class and the teachers’ meeting. Through the former he can give both the teachers and the prospective teachers a general preparation for the important work of teaching, and through the latter he can give them special help on each lesson. The pastor can either lead these two services in per- son or secure a competent leader for each, as without trained and skilled workmen he can never fully accom- plish his purposes or realize his ideals. And Power in the Sunday School. 41 CREATING AN IDEAL. This ideal of pastoral leadership needs to be created or revived in our schools and Churches. Some pastors are timid and some superintendents resentful, the atti- tude on both sides being due to misunderstanding of the real meaning of pastoral leadership. The fact is that the true attitude is seen only where pastor and super- intendent each hold the other as indispensable to his own success. Our religious press can do much to create the ideal of pastoral leadership. The space now given to the matter is far too scanty. Our local and State and national associations, conferences, and other denomina- tional -gatherings should allow a much larger place on the programmes for this important matter. Tue SEMINARY’s Duty. The theological seminary is a prime factor in pre- paring pastors for leadership in the Sunday school. A seminary course is as significant for what it trains a man from as what it trains him fo, Interest in Sun- day school effort is often atrophied through neglect in theological training. Christian pedagogy and method need to be recognized in fitting men for the ministry. The science of pedagogy with its adaptation to the Sun- day school realm is an unknown department of learning to thousands of seminary graduates. In short, we may say in conclusion that until the Sunday school is taken 42 The Pastor's Place of Privilege. seriously and at its real worth by the pastor himself, by the denominational paper, by the religious convention, by the theological seminary—until its strategic impor- tance as a force in God’s kingdom is recognized—we cannot hope to accomplish the highest results. No agency standing ready to the hand of the wise and skill- ful pastor, apart from the Church itself, can compare in value and importance with the Sunday school. CHAPTER IV. Wuat Some LEADING Pastors Say. As this is a work intended primarily for pas- tors, the opinions of those pastors who have given special attention to the Sunday school no doubt will be appreciated. The following quo- tations are carefully collected and are gleaned from a wide field: A Few Brier Quorations. In the majority of Churches the pastor has got to be the one to teach the teachers how to teach.—Dr. Schauf- fler. The pastor is the chief officer of the Sunday school in the same way that the President of the United States is commander in chief of the army.—Dr. Foster. No minister is faithful to the responsibilities and ob- ligations of his office as a pastor who neglects any part of his work. The chief functions of the pastoral office in the Sunday school are supervision and instruction — Dr. Cunnyngham. (43) 44 The Pastor's Place of Privilege It will be conceded by thoughtful readers that there is no adequate appreciation of the Sunday school on the part of many pastors. The Sunday school must more and more prove a factor of power in the pastor’s way. It would be wise if every pastor would make it a rule never to let a year pass without reading at least one good book on preaching and one on missions and one on the Sunday school.—Dr, Mullins, The Sunday school of the pastor’s Church is his Sun- day school in the same sense that the pulpit of his church is his pulpit. This being so, it follows that if a pastor is what he ought to be—or what he needs be—in knowl- edge, in ability, in spirit, and in purpose his school will be what it ought to be in plan, in scope, in organization, and in methods of work. It will be all this before he is through with it, even if it isn’t all this when he takes hold of it—Dr. Trumbull. You can have a school without the Church better than you can have a Church without the school, because we shall part with the grave at less cost than the cradle. The responsibility of the pastor for the Sunday school isn’t optional; it is obligatory. Every department of work and worship has been committed to the minister; this amongst the rest. I think there is nothing more foolish in the minister than to quarrel with his ma- terials. The despondent tone is fatal to success. Make And Power in the Sunday School. 45 the officers and teachers hopeful by your confident air.— Pattison, The pastor who knows books and not men, who under- stands inspiring truth but not human nature, is like a man in the desert throwing precious water at a collec- tion of bottles that are securely sealed. He may enjoy his own activity, but the bottles are as empty at the end of the performance as they were at the beginning. The Sunday school is simply an organization to extend the personal power of the pastor; its superintendent is his representative; its teachers are his assistants. Your first duty and mine is to understand and aid those who most need our aid—that is, the weakest and most help- less members of our flock. If we do not know how to do this, we must learn how. The pastor who doesn’t know the door that opens into a child’s heart and the path that leads into a child’s life is shut out of the most blessed opportunity of his ministry—Bishop Potter. One point strongly emphasized in these answers [to questions sent out] is the confessedly inadequate prep- aration of the clergy for this department of their work. It is quite impossible that we of the clergy might re- sent this if it were a criticism from the outside; but when it comes from within our own ranks, it cannot be idly dismissed. Granted the excellence of our the- ological training, and the presumably intelligent purpose of our theological schools, there can be no question 46 The Pastor's Place of Privilege that the clergy are not as thoroughly educated for their professional duties as the lawyer and physician for theirs. Their training is inadequate in scope, important lines of future work are wholly ignored, and some of the most crucial questions that await the young pastor are not foreseen and considered. Looking below the surface of the average pastoral life, nothing is more striking than the sense of utter helplessness which char- acterizes the relation of that pastorate to childhood and youth —Rev, Pascal Harrower. Some SEARCHING TRUTHS From Dr. Hatcuer’s Book, “THe PASTOR AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.” It ought to be a sleep-destroying experience for any preacher to find that his sermons do not interest chil- dren. . The Lord will work no wonders to make honest men believe blindly in pastors who have no energy, no prog- ress, no courage, and no power of initiative. But when once we can organize and stimulate the youthful forces of the Church there is life—fresh, ag- gressive, courageous life—and it will carry forward the Church in every holy direction and enterprise. With this spirit in the Church there will be no tempestuous revivals, no unhallowed devices for forcing results, and no overstraining methods for working up shallow suc- cesses. It is no pessimistic deliverance when I declare that And Power in the Sunday School. 47 many of our ministers, valuable in other respects, are lost in their Sunday schools. They are aliens in their own houses; they are destitute of fitness for service; it is one of the most important phases in Christian evangeli- _ zation. This isn’t universally true; it may not be gen- erally true; but I am sure that the average pastor cuts an insignificant figure in the Sunday school, and that his withdrawal or death would prove a slight apprecia- ble loss to the school, A plea heard often, and by some with entirely too much sympathy, is that the participation in the exercises of the Sunday school makes too severe a draught upon the nervous vitality of the minister. As a fact, the strain is far greater upon the officer or teacher than it needs be on the minister. We know, too, that nervous vigor is just as necessary to effective listening as it is to effective speaking. The plea that would excuse the minister from the school would as effectually excuse the officer and teacher from the sermon. No apology is offered for beginning this course of lectures with the proposition that a minister who cannot thoroughly identify himself with his Sunday school ought not to be a pastor. Unfitness for service in this cardinal branch of Christian activity amounts to a dis- ability. To be useless in that department of Church work which has to do with the study of the Scriptures and with the salvation of the young is to offer an over- whelming argument against one’s worthiness of a pas- 48 The Pastor's Place of Privilege toral charge. If this statement is justified, then it must at once be a question of transcendent importance as to what a minister is to be and what he is to do in the Sunday school. Let not the pastor go like a scourged vassal to the Sunday school, going chiefly to silence criticism or merely because his absence may be used against him. If he be in such a mood as that, there will be one thing worse than his absence, and that will be his presence. It ought to be his very nature to be there. He ought to be borne to the holy place by a swell of holy solici- tude concerning those who are to study and teach the Word of God. He ought to go because he has not strength to stay away, because his soul is already there, and because his children will need him in studying the messages of love and salvation which have been brought to them from their Father. But, friends, think not my tongue evil. I would not speak ill of my fellow-pastors, that choice brotherhood of undershepherds; but I tell you out of my heart that I have not yet seen one of these men treading the white level of table-lands in the mountains of the Lord. They climbed well, passed many in their heroic climb, looked beautiful in the upper lights; but not one topped the mountain. Its heights are still untracked—no feet have “pressed it yet except those of the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. I almost quiver with the masterful hope that if I could enter the lists again I would touch the And Power in the Sunday School. 49 radiant crown of the mount of the faithful. But no; it is not for me. They give no second trials. But, young man, yonder is the mountain, yonder the winding track, yonder the climbers; go in, go in with flying feet and in the name of the Lord, and you may be the first to see the sun set from the mountain top. WHERE THE PAsToR SHOULD Expenp His ENeErcy. If a pastor will expend energy of instruction and in- spiration upon the teachers of his school, we can almost excuse him from other responsibilities in the institu- tion. He may make these officers of the school sub- pastors in the Church. He may train and, in so many Church ministries, employ them. In fact, his value to the school is to be measured by his work in behalf of and through his Sunday school teachers.—Bishop John ‘H. Vincent, in “The Modern Sunday School.” Is Turs Your EXPERIENCE AS A SUNDAY SCHOOL PASTOR? As a pastor, I found myself pitifully inadequate to meet the requirements of Sunday school work. It had been my privilege but a few years ago to study in a representative theological seminary, where I covered ” 66, the- full course of “catechetics,” “pastoral theology,” etc., yet the training of this representative institution did not “train” relative to the principles, problems, needs, 4 50 The Pastor's Place of Privilege and growing demands of this foundation work of the Church, the Bible school. In parish work, therefore, I found myself in the growing years unequipped and face to face with the awful alternative that the Sunday school must be improved or suffer the loss—as the Church at large, for the most part, has suffered for years—of scores of youth—Rev. George Whitefield Mead, in “Modern Methods in Sunday School.” WHat THE Pastor Oucut To KNow ABOUT THE Sunpay SCHOOL. On every point in the Sunday school the pastor ought to be a master. So far as the school is a piece of ma- chinery, he ought to know every wheel, pulley, and band. So far as the school is a business body, he ought to know its outer and inner life, its organization, its methods, and its financial management. So far as the school is an institution, he cought to know its history, its strength, its purposes and equipment. So far as it is an association, he ought to know its members, its spirit, its resources, and its dangers. So far as it is a school, he ought to know its teaching force, its ever- recurring wants, and its sources of supply. In a word, the pastor ought to know more about the school than any one else or all others put together—Dr. William E. Hatcher, in “The Pastor and the Sunday School.” And Power in the Sunday School. 51 Tue PAsToR AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. I do not wish to express a word of criticism about preachers; but if I should be called upon to state what I believe to be the one great, overpowering need of the Sunday school work, it would be that the preachers who have the Church work in their hands, who can mold the Church work to any plan that scems to them to be wise, should give the Sunday school as conspicuous and sympathetic a place in their lives and in their prayers and in their thoughts as they do the preaching service in which they themselves take the conspicuous part, and make themselves as conspicuous in the teach- ing agency as they have in the preaching service. I have the most unbounded faith in the results of the Sunday school work when it has back of it the sym-, pathetic, prayerful preacher —Coffin, Tue PaAstor’s PLACE IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. The pastor’s place is on the inside. Instead of de- claring that it is his imperative duty to be there, I feel constrained to say that it will be his pleasure and his habit to be there. His absence is out of all propriety, a blow at the school, a reflection upon biblical study, and a bad example for everybody. It is a waste of an opportunity, the cruel sacrifice of a privilege, and a signal proof that he does not know his own business. The presence of the pastor will be an unanswerable 52 The Pastor's Place of Privilege argument in favor of others coming. I count it not a small thing that the pastor’s appearance in the Sunday school shall be just exactly right. It must not be a race with him to get there; he must not come in a sweat or a fret. Let his face be as fresh as the light of a spring morning, glinted with spiritual joy, and so mellowed and beautified by love that all eyes shall kindle as they look upon him.—Dr. William E, Hatcher, in “The Pastor and the Sunday School.” THE Pastor’s REWARD AS LEADER OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. The natural leader of the Sunday school is the pastor. Every great forward movement in the world’s progress has found its center and impulse in a human life in which some truth has become incarnate—dominant. The saved man is the completest commendation and vindi- cation of the Saviour of men. Such live the life, speak the language, do the work, share the experiences of their times with an unselfishness, joy, and power un- known to the world. They are samples of the “new man in Christ Jesus.” The motive, spirit, power, and reward attract by the sharpness of contrast with the world. It is an attraction unique, abiding, and power- ful. It lays hold of the innermost soul of the pastor, sending him to each new day and task with the growing assurance of personal redemption—a soul breaking forth into music: “I’ve been redeemed, been washed in the And Power in the Sunday School. 53 blood of the Lamb.” This is the first condition of the pastor’s power. Without it all other gettings are com- paratively small. This brings to him a peace whose girdings are power; a hope which glorifies the face, enriches the language, and generates that humble king- liness born of abiding devotion to God and man.—Dr, S. H. Greene, in “The Twentieth Century Sunday School.” Tue Pastor’s WorK IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. The pastor is or should be the spiritual leader in every department of the work of his Church. I do not mean the executive officer of every department, but the moving, guiding, inspiring spirit in all. I do not think he should be the superintendent of the school or a teacher in the school, but its pastor. Indeed, that “evangelism” described as “preventive,” “paternal,” and “educative” describes the pastor’s sphere of work in his Sunday school. And he will make this work ef- ficient through his personal contact with the school as a whole, by classes, and as individuals. But his largest work will be done through multiplying himself in the ideals, the purposes, the standards of its teachers and officers. Let him do it as he will—only let him do it. As the commanding general influences the morals and efficiency of his soldiers through the influence upon his staff and military cabinet, as a great merchant prince reaches his business through his agents, so will a wise Pi Pe wt ats’ Ace ol ee “eS Sane ee > + 54 The Pastor's Place of Privilege pastor touch most vitally the life of his school through his officers and teachers. But he must do it—From an Address by the Rev. W. C. Merritt, Quoted by Dr. A. H. McKinney in “The Pastor and Teacher-Training.” A DEMAND For SuNpAY ScHoo. TRAINED PASTORS. As in mining, manufacturing, farming, and other like affairs, just so in Sunday school work: it is required of an overseer that he be an expert in the business. Every pastor ought to qualify himself for this work by careful study of its theory and close observation of its processes and results precisely as he does in the matter of pulpit discourse. But how few seem to think so! And how many fail of more abundant results in their ministry for this very reason! There is no use in dis- guising the fact that complaints, not loud but deep and widespread, are being brought by earnest Sunday school workers against pastors who do not think it worth while to prepare themselves for hearty, practical, co- operative efforts in this sphere. Sunday school pastors are needed—hbadly needed—and it is the immediate duty of every minister of the gospel to qualify himself for effective service in this relation. Hearty recognition and a warm welcome await every master workman in this delightful field. Here, oftener than elsewhere, he will be cheered by the harvest song of joy. That astute observer, Bishop McTveire, said recently, in addressing a conference of Methodist preachers: “I find the best And Power in the Sunday School. 55 pastors on the best terms with the Sunday schools. I find a man very injurious to them who visits them once a year, and then, by his own influence to destroy peace and create a great deal of disquietude.” There was a broad hint for some brother.—Rev. J. A. Lyons, in “The _ Sunday School and Its Methods.” Dr. Potts oN TEACHER-TRAINING—THE PASTORS Must WAKE UP. That training is needed, all competent to judge must admit. That the Church must encourage training of teachers is a plain duty and a high responsibility. . For many reasons the pastor should train his own teachers. The pastor is responsible for the spiritual wel- fare of the children and young people. No helpers in the great work of saving the young people are so avail- able to the pastor as the Sunday school teachers. To * secure the best results along spiritual lines, the pastor and the Sunday school teachers must be in harmonious coéperation. . . . In the work of training the teach- ers a true pastor will come into such sympathetic touch that he and his teachers will so interblend in their in- fluence on the children and young people that they shall jointly have the joy of winning them for Christ and the Church. . . . One thing is certain—that pastors must wake up, or a cleavage may come between the Church and Sunday school which shall bode no good for the Church, and certainly not for the pastor. The 56 The Pastor's Place of Privilege most fruitful field to cultivate for Christ is the Sunday school, and no department of Church work should have more of the pastor’s attention than the Sunday school. In THE HaNps oF THE PASTORS. It is right and proper to hold the pastors responsible for much of the life and work of the Church. If they are to be credited with the successes, they must be debited with the failures. No one doubts that the Church is largely made or marred, so far as human agency goes, by the ministry. What is true of the Church in general is true of the Sunday school work in particular.” The Church that is blessed with a “Sun- day school pastor” is generally blessed with a Sunday school that is very much alive. The Church that has the misfortune to have a pastor who is indifferent to the claims of the Sunday school is usually on about three legs in this department of its work. Now and then a school flourishes in spite of the pastor’s ignorance or indifference. Then, to make a long story short, the point of all this is that the Sunday school work of the Church is in the hands of the pastor. We have a right to look to the pastors of our Church to lead in our Sunday school work. The men of all men who should have an expert knowledge of this work are the pastors. Does not the improvement of the Sunday school work of the Church begin in the improvement of the pastors of the Church?—Rev. John A. McKamy, And Power in the Sunday School. 57 Tue PASTOR AND THE SCHOOL. But one thing is needful, and that is that the pastor should believe in the school. If he believes in it, he will think about it; and where his mind is, there will his heart be also. And where his heart is will be in- dicated, first of all, by the books on his shelves. And as reading makes thé full man, and as out of the abun- dance of the heart the mouth speaketh, he will refer not once or twice but many times in the pulpit and out of the pulpit to the work which the school is doing and to the workers who are laboring there, and thus the entire Church will be kept informed concerning the most important of all the departments of its work. His speech will betray him. A man radiates not what he has not but what he has, and no man can be enthusiastic over the study of the Bible without radiating the fire into the minds and hearts of those who come within the circle of his influence. A minister who does not see and feel the importance of the systematic study of the Scriptures by both young and old, both in the home and in the Church, is a minister who needs to be born again. Having eyes, he sees not; and, however learned, he is foolish, for upon the extent and depth of Bible study by his people depends the preparedness of the soil in which he sows his sermonic seed. What can a preacher do with a congregation of men and women ignorant of the Scriptures? What will such persons 58 The Pastor's Place of Privilege. care for biblical preaching if they do not understand the allusions and the references, the illustrations and quota- tions, and if they are not sensitive to the overtones and undertones of prophet and apostle with which the best sermons are always filled? If the minister wishes to be a preacher of power, then let him in season and out of season carry on the work of persuading men to be- come students of the Word. In other words, let him believe with all his mind and heart and soul that the continuous study of the Bible by question and answer is of sovereign and enduring importance, and by his be- lief he will do more to assist the school than by any specific course of action which can be mentioned.—Rev. Charles E. Jefferson, D.D., in Pilgrim Teacher. CHAPTER V. Tue’ PAstor’s PREPARATION FOR LEADERSHIP. The testimony of pastors in the previous chap- ter seems to indicate that many pastors are not prepared for intelligent leadership in the Sunday school; and since inefficient leadership is worse than no leadership, it is incumbent on the pastor to prepare himseli for it before he undertakes it. For years it has been a tacitly admitted fact that the children are the hope of the Church, and a well-understood fact that the Sunday school is the greatest, if not the only, agency: of the Church for winning and holding them ; but notwithstand- ing this our theological seminaries have gone on from year to year turning out candidates for the ministry with no preparation for leadership in the modern Sunday school movement. The re- sult is that when a minister has taken up the work of a pastorate he has found himself wholly unfitted for intelligent work, much less leader- ship, in the Sunday school. (59) 60 The Pastors Place of Privilege Now that the question is being pressed so closely on his attention, he is either shirking his duty, going at it blindly, or seeking to prepare himself for it. It need hardly assume the dignity of a prophecy to declare that only the latter course will prove the successful one. Happily this is soon to be a thing of the past, as some of our leading seminaries are establishing chairs of Sunday School Pedagogy and others are sure to do so at an early date. But in the meantime what of the pastors who have not re- ceived this training? There is but one course open to them if they are to keep abreast with the times, and that is to make special’ preparation for it. | There aré’severah means by which they can do this: 1. The World of Books.——The pastor who is 4 /gnaduate ofa theological seminary has been ‘trained (in the use of books and the art of study. Naturally he will turn to the world of books on the subject; but, not being familiar with the numerous books on the vari- ous phases of the subject, no doubt he will ap- preciate suggestions. I think there is no doubt And Power in the Sunday School. 61 that the first Sunday school book he should read is “The Pastor and the Sunday School,” by Dr. Hatcher. This will help him to crystallize his ideas and get a clear and accurate conception of his duty to- the Sunday school and his great opportunity in it. If he still has any linger- ing doubts as to his duty of preparation for lead- ership when he takes up this book, they will be sure to be removed by the time he is through with it. This is an inspiring book that will arouse in any pastor a desire to make his Sunday school a success. His next line of reading should evi- dently be along the line of history. H. Clay Trumbull’s “Yale Lectures on the Synday School” will give him clear and accurate infor- mation as to the origin and development of the Sunday school idea and the important part it has played in the development of the Church from the earliest times to the present. Perhaps his next book should be one on Sunday school management—one bringing into clear view the whole work of the Sunday school, with sug- gestions for accomplishing the work. For the pastor of a country or village school, the best 62 The Pastor's Place of Privilege books to begin with will be Axtell’s “The Or- ganized Sunday School” and Rice’s “A Manual of Sunday School Methods,” and perhaps a book by the author, now in press, “The Country and Village Sunday School.” For the city pastor the best will be Mead’s “Modern Methods in Sunday School Work” and Lawrance’s “How to Conduct a Sunday School.” Of course he will have to be familiar with the art of teach- ing if he is to lead his teachers into wider fields of usefulness. Trumbull’s “Teaching and Teachers” is a delightful and exhaustive book on this subject. He will find it necessary also to read a few books on child study. Du- Bois’ “The Point of Contact in Teaching,” Har- rison’s “A Study of Child Nature,” Koon’s “The Child’s Religious Life,’ and Forbush’s “The Boy Problem” will give him a pretty clear in- sight into this important subject. Two other books that will be found exceedingly helpful, as they give the essential principles of teaching based on a careful study of the child mind, are Gregory’s “Seven Laws of Teaching” and Brum- baugh’s “The Making of a Teacher.” Then sure- And Power in the Sunday School. 63 ly he should read Hamill’s “Teacher-Training.” These books will give him a pretty thorough grasp of the subject and enable him to choose his own books for further investigation. 2. The Training Class Everywhere training classes are being established for Sunday school workers. The pastor will find this one of the most helpful means of preparation. If he would organize a class and teach it, he would thus be enabled to train his workers and himself at the same time. By the time he and his class have -completed even an elementary course he will find that he has a pretty firm and comprehensive grasp of the subject. Then if he will take a class through an advanced course, stand the ex- aminations, and get an international diploma, he will be about as well equipped, no doubt, as the first few graduates of seminaries that have es- tablished chairs of Religious Pedagogy. To plead lack of time for a work like this is to beg the question, if not to shirk a plain duty. It will require time and labor; but if busy laymen are willing to undertake a work like this, surely the pastor ought to set an example and lead the way. 64 The Pastor’s Place of Privilege 3. Correspondence Courses—Many colleges and seminaries now have correspondence courses in Sunday school work and religious pedagogy, and no doubt they will greatly multiply in the near future. It needs no argument to prove that such a course, if properly conducted, will be the next best thing to taking a seminary course. No doubt many pastors, who live near enough, will take advantage of the opportunity offered where a chair of Sunday Schoo! Pedagogy has been es- tablished in a seminary. 4. Visiting Other Sunday Schools—Al the above suggestions will familiarize one with the theory of Sunday school work, and theory must always precede practice, but to come in contact with a concrete working out of these theories will be an opportunity that any pastor should grasp with eagerness. A day in Mr. Wanamaker’s, Law- rance’s, or Pepper’s Sunday school, to one who is anxious to see a model Sunday school in ac- tual operation, will be a revelation and a delight beyond the power of words to portray. In near- ly every city and in many towns and villages, and even in country places, there are schools that And Power in the Sunday School. 65 have made a marked success of one or more methods or phases of the work, and the pastor will get a fund of special information by visit- ing them that he can get in no other way. When he undertakes to introduce these things into his own school, he will find that to have seen a thing will be many times more convincing to his officers and teachers than merely to have read about it. If the pastor will visit successful schools when- ever and wherever the opportunity presents, and induce his officers and teachers to do the same thing, he will find it a constant source of improve- ment to himself and his workers, and therefore to his school. 5. Conventions, Institutes, Summer Schools, Etc.—The next best thing to seeing a method in actual operation is to hear an explanation of it by one who has made a success of it. This op- portunity is presented at all such gatherings as we are now considering. It isa matter of history that almost without exception every Sunday school worker who has made more than a local reputation got his ‘first awakening to better things at a Sunday school convention and has 5 66 The Pastor's Place of Privilege. been a constant attendant at conventions there- after. It is here that one not only gets new ideas but gets his own ideas clarified, classified, and enlarged. There is no other opportunity for the pastor and his workers to improve themselves equal to a live convention, for the time, effort, and expense put into it. Since they are such a source of helpfulness, it stands to reason that he should not only attend them but help in every way possible to promote them. The pastor who will follow these suggestions and others which will come to him while he is following these will find, in a few years, not only that he is thoroughly prepared for intelligent leadership, but that there is a positive delight in it. CHAPTER VI. ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP. I. The Selection and Disposition of Workers. —Nowhere does the ability of a leader show to greater advantage than in the selection and dis- position of his followers. To do this successfully he must be a good judge of human nature and know each of his appointees personally and in- timately. Every Church is full of fine, unde- veloped material, and happy is the pastor who is able to fit each person to his work. The work in nearly every Church is done by a few, and the reason the many lie idle is that no one has shown them what to do or how to do it. Every member of every Church ought to be a worker both for his own good and the good of the Church ; and it would be so if every pastor were an adept in the line of selecting workers, adapt- ing them to their work, and directing and en- couraging them in their work. Recently the papers reported that one of the (67) 68 The Pastor's Place of Privilege finest singers on the American stage was for- merly a street-car conductor, and a manager of a theatrical troupe discovered his fine voice by the musical tones in which he called out the streets. Why did not some pastor discover him and win him and his voice to the Lord? There are embryo musicians, artists, superintendents, teachers, secretaries, missionaries, personal work- ers, etc., in every Sunday school, and it should be the pastor’s chief concern to discover them and put them to work—each in his appointed sphere. There are some already at work who are making . a failure because they are in the wrong place. They do not know themselves what they can do best, and need guidance and counsel. There is no work the pastor can do for the Sunday school that will count for more than to find work for every member of the school and to put him to doing that to which he is best adapted. 2. The Ability to Inspire-—Our Churches need inspiring leaders. There are scores of competent young people who need only to be organized, inspired, and set to work. One of the most im- portant elements of leadership is the ability to in- ib And Power in the Sunday School. 69 spire others to do and dare. No one can do this who is not wrapped up in the cause he espouses. No half-hearted effort will ever enlist others. Let those who would lead learn that the first and indispensable requisite is love for the cause and an undying interest in its success. One may not be able to do a thing himself, and yet may be able to inspire others to do it. The pastor who has learned to touch the secret springs of action and set the whole machinery of a life agoing is far on the road to success as a leader. The pastor has it in his power to turn the tremendous streams of the vigorous young life of his Church into channels of usefulness. If the Lord should raise up some stirring Sunday school pastors who could point out as strongly to saints the duty of service as the ordinary pas- tor points out to sinners the need of salvation, there would not be such a dearth of Sunday school teachers. That any one should hope to get to heaven by simply being good without doing good is neither Calvinistic nor Arminian, so far as my information goes. 70 The Pastor's Place of Privilege Then we need another kind of Sunday school pastor: one who can show us not only the duty of service, but one who can show us the duty of preparation for service, so that we may not rush in where angels fear to tread. A soldier may enlist at the very first call to duty, but he is not expected to fight (ex- cept in an emergency) till he has been trained and disciplined. Should we expect any less of a good soldier of the cross? How can we expect the highest success when by all the canons of thought we neglect the very conditions of suc- cess? We need to be stirred and convicted on these points before we can be instructed. Hence the need of Sunday school pastors who have the ability to inspire. 3. Ability to Enlist the Hearty Support of All His Workers.—The subtle power we call per- sonal influence has no finer opportunity to show itself than in the dealing of a superior officer with those under him. However great his au- thority (even though it extend to life or death), unless he is able to enlist the hearty support of his followers, no leader can achieve the highest And Power in the Sunday School. 71 success. This is preéminently so in all Church work where all service is voluntary. The first concern of a pastor should be to unify his forces and cement them in a hearty support of all his plans. To do this, he must deal frankly and fair- ly with all, giving each due credit for all merito- rious service. He leads best who appears not to lead; therefore the pastor should be willing to be the power behind the throne, directing, urging, restraining with an unseen hand. His work should show itself in the increased zeal and effi- ciency of his officers and teachers. We are prone to underestimate the power of en- couragement. In fact, it is simply impossible for one to do his best without encouragement. The man whose father and mother, brothers and sis- ters, wife and children, friends and neighbors be- lieve in him and are always ready to find excuses for his failure and give applause for his success, cannot well fail in any undertaking. It is re- markable sometimes what good a little encourage- ment will accomplish. The war dance, the war song, and the war whoop of the savage, which take the form of oratory and martial music 72 The Pastor's Place of Privilege among civilized nations, are solely for the pur- pose of encouragement. Mr. Moody tells of a fireman who started up a ladder to a third-story window to rescue a little girl from a burning building. When he had gone halfway up, the heat became so intense that he faltered and seemed ready to give up. Just then some said, “Cheer him!” Immediately the air was rent with wild and enthusiastic cheering, and on he went till the child was rescued. A smile, a kind word, a warm hand grasp, a sweet-spoken “good morning” cheers many a fainting heart and turns imminent defeat into eminent success. Try it, pastors; not once or twice, but make a habit of it. It will be a benediction to yourself and a blessing to others. Most of our Sunday school officers and teachers feel the responsibility of their posi- tion, and a kindly word from a beloved pastor will cheer them on their way and put a song of joy into their hearts. At the same time he is so winning their love that they will be glad to follow him. The ability to enlist the hearty sup- port of one’s followers is so much of a personal matter that it is difficult to lay down any rules And Power in the Sunday School. 73 governing it. Perhaps the best way for the pastor to do it is to lay out definite plans of work, lead his officers skillfully and sympathetic- ally into the doing of it, and thus show himsetf a leader worthy of their most hearty support. 4. Courageous Thinking.—One of the greatest needs in our Sunday school to-day is courageous thinkers who will manfully grapple the problems of the Sunday school as they do the problems in their business. Many of our superintendents and teachers are men and women who fearlessly meet the difficulties of life, overcome them, and stand out before the world as successful men and women. Many of our pastors are strong and vigorous and successful leaders in other depart- ments of Church work; but when it comes to the Sunday school, these same men and women will sit down in despair because the parents are indifferent, because the pupils are not interested, because the young men are slipping away, and because of a score of other things; and at the same time they have never given an hour’s real thought and planning as to how these difficulties might be overcome. 74 The Pastor's Place of Privilege You need better teachers; how much thought and planning have you done to try to get them? What have you really done to solve this, the most important of all your prob- lems? You have lost hours of sleep planning other Church work; how much have you lost over your Sunday school? That sermon of yours—you have thought over it till your whole being throbs with the sense of its importance. How many such hours have you given to the Sunday school? You have spent hours and days of anxious thought over that new building, over your missionary collection, over your finances; how many such hours have you spent over the equipment and financial support of your Sunday school? You spend sleepless nights planning and praying for a successful revival, that sinners may be won from the error of their ways; how many stich nights have you spent planning to get the boys and girls who are running the streets into your Sunday school and to hold them there after you get them? Friends, in God’s name, don’t we need to wake up? I doubt if there is a single child in God’s universe, whatever his And Power in the Sunday School. 75 heredity or environment, but can be won for Christ and a life of service for him if we will but begin in time, use our opportunities, and think and pray. The great open door of oppor- tunity for the Church is the childhood of the Church, and yet our best thoughts—in fact, near- ly all our thoughts—are given to other things. It should not be so, and it will not be so when once we pause to think. 5. Effective Thinking.—The thinking man will not waste his time in the consideration of ephem- eral devices and methods, to the neglect of the consideration of principles that underlie methods. It may be laid down as a rule that a man worth while, attempting a thing worth while, will create his own methods, smash all the rules of his trade, if necessary, and succeed in the face of apparent impossibilities. In fact, the teaching of history is that men who have succeeded be- yond their fellows have done this very thing. In literature, in science, in art, in diplomacy, in war, the men who stand to-day as masters cre- ated methods of their own which were, in most cases, in direct opposition to established rules and 76 - The Pastor's Place of Privilege methods. Every successful man is an iconoclast. Rules and methods are too often millstones around the neck of a man that cause him to sink because he hasn’t the courage to cast them off. Such a man is a “methodist” fallen from the high estate of grace—the grace of original- ity. Now methods are all right and “metho- dists’—that is, those who use methods—are all right; but when the method becomes the master of the man, then the “methodist” is all wrong, though the method may be all right. Weare just about to go method-mad in Sunday school work, and the flag of warning needs to be raised. The paramount question with many to- day is not so much What have you done? as How did you do it? The inspiration of a deed should be the fact of its doing, not the how of it. The fact that a thing has been done should lead one to say, “If he can do it, I can do it,” rather than put him to wondering, guessing, or inquiring how it was done. The man who thinks will first inform him- self of all that successful workers are doing, adapt or adopt their methods if they fit his And Power in the Sunday School. "7 work; otherwise he will seek the principles un- derlying the methods and work out his own methods. The man who thinks knows that revo- lutions are not wrought in a day. He knows that things that are enduring are of slow growth; that there must always be a period of preparation for the introduction of a new movement or a new method; that before any advance can be made in any Sunday school new hopes and new aspira- tions must be created, new visions must open up new fields for effort, new resolves must be made, and a new atmosphere must be created; that you might as well expect good seed to grow in stony ground, or bread to bake in a cold oven, as to expect a new method to succeed in a school when all are indifferent, careless, and lifeless. The man who thinks is able to trace an effect back through intervening events to its original source and attack a difficulty at its fountain head. He is able to discover the relation of truths to each other and so combine them as to produce desired results. 6. Keeping Tab on His Workers.—The leader in any cause must know what his subordinates 78 The Pastor's Place of Privilege are doing if he wishes to supervise their work intelligently. It is therefore essential that the pastor see to it not only that the Sunday school keep records, but that it keep them in such form that he or any one else in a little while can see the actual conditions of the school. Regular quarterly and annual reports should be made, tabulated, and filed. In this way only can he get the knowledge of the conditions of the school that will enable him to plan intelligently and wise- ly for its progress. Perhaps there should be regular weekly or quarterly reports that should be made directly to him, in addition to the re- ports made to the school. . As to what records a Sunday school should keep, how keep them, and how use them, it is so largely a matter of taste that it would be difficult to give suggestions, even of a general nature. All the publishing houses have forms that are helpful and suggestive. Many books on the Sunday school work discuss this sub- ject. Each Sunday school should have a good secretary who should look carefully after the Sunday school’s records and reports and see that And Power in the Sunday School. 79 they are kept in such shape that he can furnish the pastor or the superintendent, on a moment's notice, any information they desire regarding the Sunday school. 7. Visions and Ideals—Much stress is placed on the practical, and rightly so, but the man of practical ideas only is an imitator and a plodder. Of all men in the world, the pastor needs most to be practical; but if he is to be a leader in the highest, best sense of the word, he must be a man of visions and ideals also. The practical first exists as an ideal. “Ah!” says Robert Browning, “but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what is heaven for?” “Better, im- measurably better, to live on the small are of an infinite circle than compass the whole area of a three-foot circumference. Better be the least in the kingdom of heaven, with an outlook as wide as eternity, than to be a king among men, with a horizon bounded by the cradle and grave.” Thoughts precede and determine action. No man is better than his best thoughts or greater than his highest ideals. Our progress is deter- mined by our outlook. The pastor who studies 80 The Pastor's Place of Privilege. the Sunday school subject till his soul is astir will find visions rise before him of larger and better things because his increased knowledge gives him a broader outlook. The more he studies the Sunday school, and the more he works in it and for it, the broader will become his outlook, the greater will be his visions and ideals, till finally he will become a leader whom all delight to follow. 8. A Few Others.—There are many elements of success so universal in their application that they apply with equal force to all lines of effort. Only a few will be mentioned: (1) Attention to Details. These may often be intrusted to sub- ordinates, but the chief should see that they are not neglected. (2) A Sense of Values. Not all things are of equal value in the working out of a general plan. Many mistakes are made by the paying of tithes of anise and cumin and neglect- ing the weightier things of the law. Here is where common sense and good judgment come into play. (3) Enthusiasm, earnestness, persist- ence, and such like of course are essential to the highest success in any work, and need only be mentioned. CHAPTER VII. AGENCIES THROUGH WHICH THE Pastor May EXERCISE His LEADERSHIP. The pastor, as a leader, will need to do very little of the actual work of the Sunday school. It is better for him and better for his workers that he should not. The ideal leader or super- visor is one who not only knows the work of every one of his subordinates, but who can do it better than the subordinate himself. How- ever, this is not absolutely essential, and the pas- tor will do well to use every agency at his com- mand to advance the work of the Sunday school, and through these and into these put his best efforts in behalf of the Sunday school. 1. His Official Board.—The officers of the Church who manage its business and direct its work are the ones who should have a care for the best interests of the Sunday school, but alas! alack! they are frequently the ones who know 6 (81) 82 The Pastor's Place of Privilege the least about it and consequently have thé least interest in it. Surely the pastor has an oppor- tunity here that he should eagerly grasp. In the first place, he should not rest satisfied till every one of his officials, with every member of his family, is an active member of the Sunday school, either in actual attendance or enrolled in the Home Department or the Cradle Roll. If they haven’t enough interest to belong, they haven’t enough interest (to say nothing of their wis- dom) to direct. The superintendent should evidently be a member of the official board, and should make a regular report to the board of the condition, progress, and needs of the Sunday school, and the pastor should see that he does it. Then the board should carefully consider the needs of the school and withhold nothing es- sential to its best interests. The equipment of most schools is wholly inadequate to the best work. They are poorly seated, lighted, and heated. Surely it was the suggestion of the prince of darkness himself that formerly led many Churches to put their Sunday schools in And Power in the Sunday School. 83 dark, damp, forbidding basements. It is a debasement of the Sunday school to put it in the basement of the church; even flowers will not grow there, much less children. Not all of our city schools, and very few of those in the country, have even so much as a blackboard. Many of them are poorly supplied with the necessary literature, song books, and record books. They have no libraries for either the pupils or the teachers. They have none of the splendid equipment in the way of maps, charts, models, printed forms, report blanks, certificates and diplomas, and rewards that are now considered absolutely essential to the best work in the Sunday school. The school is not even permitted to use its own funds for these purposes, but it is drained by ap- peal after appeal for the financial interests of the Church. Perhaps it is best that the contri- butions of the Sunday school should go to some benevolence of the Church, but surely the Church should furnish a liberal support to the school in return for, and in appreciation of, its unselfish work, The pastor holds the key to the situation, 84 The Pastor's Place of Privilege and if he appreciates his opportunity will not rest satisfied until every one of his officials is in- tensely interested in the Sunday school and will- ing to do anything that he and his officers and teachers ask, even if they “cannot afford it.” There are some things we can afford to have because we cannot afford to do without them. That Church that is spending $3,000 on its paid choir and $300 on its Sunday school may find it can afford to do without some things that it may afford to have some other things. 2. The Officers and Teachers of the Sunday School.—These are his under officials and his assistants in the work. As a rule what the pas- tor wants to put into the Sunday school he should put in through the superintendent, and what the superintendent puts into it should be through his teachers. Rarely, if ever, should’ a pastor undertake to introduce anything into the Sun- day school except in this way. He will thus honor and dignify their work and show his ap- preciation of it. He will also avoid friction and perhaps open opposition and rebellion in this way. There is no sadder nor more demoraliz- And Power in the Sunday School. 85 ing scene than an irritating disagreement of pastor and superintendent, or superintendent and teachers, before the school, and no tactful pastor will ever permit it, much less precipitate it. If there must be a disagreement, let it be in private or at the business session of the teachers’ meet- ing. But while there will often be different opinions held by the pastor and his co-workers, if he is tactful and courteous there need never be an unpleasant disagreement, much less open rupture. This will never happen if the pas- tor will remember that he is a leader and not a driver. Even if he had the power to run it over his officers and teachers and force them to adopt some of his pet schemes, he hasn’t the power to compel them to undertake it with the heartiness that is necessary to make it a success. It were better for him to patiently wait than to sow his seed in thorny or stony ground. 3. His Public Services—Nowhere has the pas- tor a greater opportunity to show his apprecia- tion of the Sunday school, and thus win the hearty and loyal support of his officers and teachers, than in his public services. In his 86 The Pasior’s Place of Privilege public announcements he can frequently refer to the Sunday school and speak of the splendid work it is doing. In his sermons, whenever the subject of religious instruction, Bible study, or the rearing of children comes up, he can put in a plea for the Sunday school. In his public prayer he can thank God for the Sunday school and the noble band of workers who are so unselfishly giving their lives at a great personal sacrifice to the religious instruction of the children in the Sunday school. If he really has the interest of the Sunday school at heart, and will occasionally in his public prayer before the whole congregation take his Sunday school and its workers to the throne of God and earnestly and tenderly plead for a blessing, he will find that when he comes to request new or additional work of his officers and teachers they will hear and follow him gladly. The whole secret of pastoral lead- ership in the Sunday school may be summed up in the two words “interest” and “compe- tency.” If he has a downright, heartfelt interest in the Sunday school that shows itself on every And Power in the Sunday School. 87 proper occasion and in every conceivable way, and is competent to lead his school into better things, he need have little fear of opposition from his officers and teachers. His public utterances will do much to show whether or not he has these two desirable and indispensable qualities, 4. The Teachers’ Meeting.—It is here that his greatest opportunity lies for inspiring, instruct- ing, and guiding his officers and teachers, How any pastor can afford to neglect an opportunity like this is marvelous. If his Sunday school has none, he should not rest satisfied till one is organized, whether his Church be in the city, the village, or the country. The one and only reason why most teachers’ meetings fail is lack. of competent leadership; and until the pastor feels that he is competent to lead it, or secure some one else who is, he would better not under- take it. But how can we conceive of a pastor who is not competent or willing to make himself competent for a work like this? If he under- takes it before he is competent, he is almost sure to fail. If he undertakes to preach a sermonette on the lesson, moralize about it, or teach it, in 88 The Pastor's Place of Privilege a verse-about-what-do-you-think-of-that fashion, he is sure to kill it. He must be so familiar with the lesson that he can analyze it, amplify it, unify it, “splainify” it, classify it, glorify it—make the very shekinah of heaven shine forth in its teach- ings. If the pastor, by his example, his words, and his deeds, will lay upon the hearts of his officers and teachers their duty, their responsi- bility, their opportunity, and their privilege in the Sunday school work, and thus create in them a desire for effective service, he will find that they will eagerly grasp every opportunity for improvement. Then if he will start a teachers’ meeting and make it a service of real helpfulness to his teachers, he will find no trouble in securing their attendance. A pastor recently took charge of a large, wealthy, and influential Church in the Blue- grass section of Kentucky, where other things than the grass are blue to the earnest pas- tor. He found the Sunday school practically nil, He greatly desired to improve it. He called his officers and teachers together for a confer- ence. He found them utterly indifferent. When And Power in the Sunday School. 89 he proposed a teachers’ meeting, they laughed de- risively and said: “Why, Brother A, you can’t have a teachers’ meeting in the B Church in P. It has been tried and has failed so often that it has become chestnutty.” But Brother A made up his mind then and there that the teachers of the B Sunday school in P needed a teachers’ meeting above everything else, and that he must * have it—and he got it. This is the way he did it: He let no opportunity pass to show his own idea of the importance of the Sunday school and his unflagging zeal and interest in it. As op- portunity presented he pressed upon the teachers the importance of the careful preparation of each lesson in so important and glorious a work as teaching God’s Word to the children. When the time was ripe, one Wednesday evening at the close of prayer meeting, after a warm and ten- der talk on the privilege of service, he said: “I see five of my Sunday school teachers here to- night. I have a message for them, and I am going to ask them to meet me in my study for just ten minutes.”” When alone, he said: “Teach- ers, we have a very important lesson for next go The Pastor's Place of Privilege Sunday, and in studying it I have jotted down a few thoughts that I think will be helpful to you.” So in a bright, interesting, and helpful way he went over the lesson, closing with a tell- ing illustration on the central truth of the lesson. Exactly at the close of the ten minutes he closed with an earnest prayer, and he and his teachers went home, each with a new light and a new hope, perhaps a new desire. The next Wednes- - day night, like Abou Ben Adhem’s angel, they came again and brought three others with them. But Brother A closed the prayer meeting with- out a word about an after meeting with his teach- ers. They immediately rushed up to him and said: “Brother A, aren’t you going to have that teachers’ meeting to-night?” “What teachers’ meeting?” he asked in apparent surprise. “Why, didn’t you organize a teachers’ meeting last Wednesday night? We so understood it, and we found it so exceedingly helpful that we are all here and have brought three others,” they said. “I am sorry to disappoint you, my dear teachers,” was his reply, “but you positively assured me sometime ago that it was impossible And Power in the Sunday School. gt to have a teachers’ meeting here; and while I have been able to accomplish some difficult things, I have never yet been able to accomplish impossibilities.” “We are so sorry,” they cried. “We got so much help from the short talk you gave us last week that we hoped you would con- tinue it. Can’t you arrange to give us a talk like that every Wednesday evening?’ “Why, certainly,” he said. “Nothing will delight me more if you will all be here.” They promised and were all there, and that is the way Brother A got his teachers’ meeting in the B Sunday school in P, in the midst of the bluest Bluegrass region in Kentucky. This is a true story in every detail. Him that hath ears to hear, let him hear. If the pastor finds it impossible for a while to have a weekly teachers’ meeting, he should at least have a monthly business meeting for the transaction of the business of the Sunday school and the consideration of its needs and interests. And it may be that he can throw so much life and interest into this monthly meeting as to develop it into a regular teachers’ meeting. . §. The Training Class——Nowhere is there a 92 The Pastor's Place of Privilege greater opportunity for the pastor to put the best that is in him into his Sunday school in a per- manent form than the training class of pros- pective officers and teachers for the Sunday school. If his present corps of workers did not receive training before entering upon their work, then they should be organized into a training class to meet sometime during the week. It is a good idea to combine this class with the teach- ers’ meeting if an afternoon or evening can be given exclusively to it. But the most effective and permanent work will be with prospective workers who recite at the Sunday school hour, laying aside for the time being the regular les- sons. There are several advantages in this. (1) He will have no trouble in finding a time for it, which is one of the most difficult problems con- nected with the training of workers already in the service. (2) Taking them before they be- gin to teach, they have not fallen into many er- rots which they will have to unlearn and they have not gotten into ruts out of which they will have to be taken. This is a decided gain that can be fully appreciated only by those who have And Power in the Sunday School. 93 had experience in trying to teach such persons. (3) He will have them at that teachable age when they can learn readily and retain perma- nently what they learn. The teacher who has had experience will find, when he learns a better way and _ honestly strives to use it, that his old experiences are constantly insinuating themselves into his work, coloring his ideas, and upsetting his plans. The teacher who has been taught how to teach before he begins to teach will start right and go right, with none of these hin- dering causes, because he knows no other way. He will be trained in advance to know just what difficulties he is likely to meet and how to overcome them, or, better still, how to forestall them. He will thus be spared humiliating de- feat and paralyzing discouragement, both of which always weaken a person’s power of use- fulness. Surely this is an opportunity that the pastor will not neglect. He should teach this class himself until he has found or trained some one to do it for him, and he should make it a permanent class in his school. 94 The Pastor's Place of Privilege There is no one thing or dozen things that will so surely solve all the problems of the Sunday school as training each worker for his. duties before he is put to work. The pastor can do no greater service for his school than to organize and maintain such a class. Into its members he can put every idea of progress with the as- surance that it will help generations yet unborn. Such proportions has this subject assumed that there is an International Educational Commit- tee planning and supervising the work of Training Classes, and the International Sunday School Association that created this commit- tee also has an International Training Secre- tary in the field. Several training courses have been passed upon by this committee and recom- mended as meeting the standard set up by them. When any one of these courses is completed and a satisfactory examination passed, an Interna- tional Certificate or Diploma is awarded. Of course the pastor will want to become acquainted with all these courses, and especially the official course of his own denomination. The Interna- tional Sunday School Association, through its oe And Power in the Sunday School. 95 Training Secretary, has gotten out a leaflet on this subject that every pastor will want to read. 6. The Home Department and the Cradle Roll. —These are agencies by means of which the pastor through his Sunday school can reach the home. The visitors of these two great depart- ments of Sunday school work are so many sub- pastors to aid the pastor in his work. The Boys’ Messenger Service, in connection with the Home Department, will not only prove a help to him but will prove the salvation of many boys. These are two agencies that are intended to encourage home training, home Bible study, and home re- ligion, and at the same time connect the home and the Church in a vital and enduring relation. Surely the wide-awake, up-to-date pastor will need no argument to convince him of the im- portance of a work like this. Pages might easily be written and pages of testimonials given show- ing the results of this blessed work. If by chance any pastor is not sufficiently familiar with the details of the Home Department to organize and maintain it successfully, he can find all he wants to know in a bright, breezy little pamphlet on the 96 The Pastor's Place of Privilege subject by Mr. C. D. Meigs, “The Home Depart- - ment Blue Book.” Price, five cents; value, five dollars. “The Home Department of To-Day,” by Mrs. Stebbins, is an inspiring book just from the press. 7. The Sunday School Session—The Sunday school session furnishes the pastor his only op- portunity to observe and test the work he is do- ing through his officers and teachers. He should carefully observe the work of the superintendent and other officers, commend anything he finds worthy of it, and encourage officers, teachers, and pupils by his cheery presence and words of appreciation. During the teaching of the lesson he should observe the manner of his teachers, the order, attention, and interest of the pupils, and the general air that pervades the room. He should pass from class to class in a quiet, unob- trusive way and listen to its work. This, at first, may disturb both the teacher and the pupils, but they will soon become accustomed to it and will welcome his coming. Sometime during the year he should teach, at least once, every class in the school, sometimes in the absence, some- And Power in the Sunday School. 94 times in the presence of the teacher. Whatever of merit or of demerit he discovers in this way in the management or the teaching of the school should be used by him in the teachers’ meeting and in private conversation to encourage his workers in the good and cause them to abandon the bad. The superintendent should set apart a few minutes to be used by the pastor each Sun- day as he sees fit, but he may frequently find that the best way to use it will be to give it to some one else. Here is a good rule for the pas- tor or superintendent, or any one else who talks to a Sunday school: Be sure you have something to say, know how to say it, and stop when you have said it. 8. Plans of Systematic Visitation.—With the exception of the Home Department, all the other agencies mentioned refer more especially to the improvement of the Sunday school. The wide- awake pastor will want not only the best Sunday school possible, but the largest Sunday school possible as well. The fact that it is a good school will attract many to it, but not a tithe of those who might come. Many devices may be hit upon 7 98 The Pastor's Place of Privilege to build up the Sunday school, but the only one of permanent value is a systematic plan of visi- tation to hold those already enrolled and to con- tinually enroll others. Nothing can take the place of a personal visit to reclaim an old pupil or secure a new one. Of course the teacher should be the first one to look after an absent pupil; but often teachers are careless or lacking in tact and persistence in this matter, and their efforts should be supplemented by carefully planned committee work, so thorough in its plans that no one can escape its meshes. Many schools have been known to double and even quadruple their enrollment and attendance by a campaign somewhat as follows: A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN TO DOUBLE, TRIPLE, OR QuADRUPLE YOUR SUNDAY SCHOOL. The following plan of campaign has been suf- ficiently tested to warrant the claim mentioned in the caption. It consists of three steps, each of which must be fully understood and carefully thought out and planned before anything else is attempted. And Power in the Sunday School. 99 1. A House-to-House Canvass, in Which All Sunday Schools Unite-——The purpose of this first visitation is only to secure information; and yet, if properly done, it may greatly increase the attendance of the Sunday schools partici- pating ; besides, it will arouse unprecedented in- terest among all classes in the territory can- vassed. Briefly the plan is as follows: Let a committee be appointed from all the Sunday schools in the territory to be canvassed. This committee should divide the territory into dis- tricts of such size that each can be visited in a day, or better in a half day by two visitors going together. Next the committee should ask for the appointment of a sufficient number of visitors by the Sunday schools to visit the whole territory in one day, going two and two, the two being of different denominations. Before the day of visitation see that the can- vass is thoroughly advertised and explained through the local papers and at all Church serv- ices, and that the homes in the territory to be visited are requested to receive the visitors kindly and answer the questions courteously. 1 ee ee rs OE a 100 The Pastor's Place of Privilege See also that the visitors are thoroughly in- structed in their duties before starting. The visitors take with them a card containing ques- tions which will secure just such information as is needed by the Sunday schools to do intelli- gent and effective work. After the canvass the cards are to be assorted, and all belonging to each denomination, or hav- ing a preference for it, are to be given to that particular denomination; also a list of those having no preference. If the other Sunday schools cannot be induced to unite in such a canvass, then each must do it alone; but it can be done more quickly, more cheaply, and more effectively by all uniting in this first general canvass. Experience has shown that in this work, unless the pastors take a leading part, failure is almost sure to follow. 2. Start a Home Department and Cradle Roll. —This will give you a plan by which you can as- sociate every member of every family of your Church with the Sunday school. The Home Department requires a superintendent and a suf- ficient number of visitors to visit the homes of And Power in the Sunday School. 101 the members once a quarter. The required literature consists of a quarterly for each mem- ber and the necessary supplies for keeping the records. Each member of the department agrees to study the current Sunday school lessons at least a half hour each week and make a quarterly report to the visitor. The “Home Department Blue Book,” by C. D. Meigs, tells all about the Home Department—its origin, purpose, and plans; how to organize and run it successfully ; what literature and what officers are needed, and what their duties are. In short, it contains every- thing one needs to know to make a complete success of the Home Department; and it is told in such a bright, breezy, and inspiring way that it will interest you and help you to be made will- ing to want a Home Department and want it bad. The Cradle Roll is merely a roll of the children too young to attend Sunday school, and is usually looked after by the superintendent or teacher of the Primary Department. It is very easily and simply managed. An application card, a birth- day card, an enrollment card, and a roll of some kind are the only literature needed. The little 102 The Pastor's Place of Privilege ones on the roll should be remembered in the prayer and visited on their birthday and when sick. The mothers should be invited to visit the school with their babes, either on some special day, known as Cradle Roll Day, or at such time as suits their convenience. In this way, and in other ways that will suggest themselves, the hearts of the mothers may be so bound to the school that the little ones will be sure to enter _as soon as they are old enough. You can get the necessary literature for the Home Department and the Cradle Roll from your own denomina- tional publishing house or from your State Sec- retary, and I might add here that anything men- tioned in these pages may be secured in the same way. 3. Adopt the Plans of a Red and Blue Contest and Revisit All Whose Names Were Secured on the First Canvass.—This is a plan that must be carefully guarded, but marvelous results have fol- lowed wherever it has been tried. Choose for captains cool-headed and staid men and women rather than older boys and girls, and let the captains see that everything is done with the ut- And Power in the Sunday School. 103 most fairness. Let it be understood that if any differences should arise they are to be referred to the pastor and the superintendent, whose de- cision is final and must be accepted cheerfully. See that the pupils use no unworthy motives in soliciting new members and that they do not proselyte. Avoid the boom idea as much as pos- sible. Use every possible means to make your school attractive, so as to be able to hold those you get. Let the contest extend over a period of at least three months. Let the total attendance for the period, rather than the number of pupils secured, decide the contest. See for at least one year that absentees are followed up with a per- sistency that knows no such thing as fail, and you will find this one of the finest methods to build up your school ever devised. The following rules, recently adopted by one of the schools of Louisville, cover the subject pretty well: RULES FOR GUIDANCE OF WORKERS. 1. The school shall be divided into two sections, each headed by a captain. 2. Captains shall be nominated by the superintendent and approved by the school. 104 The Pastor's Place of Privilege 3. The captains shall choose alternately members for their respective sides, and each side shall be designated by a color. 4. The prime object shall be to secure pupils whose residence and other conditions indicate that they may become regular members of the school. 5. Persons brought in shall be expected to attend the school for at least four Sundays. 6. As the school is divided into three departments, Cradle, Home, and Main Body, individuals shall be solicited for all departments, and a person added to any department shall be credited to the side securing him. 7. Persons attending other Sunday schools should not be solicited. 8. Scholars who formerly attended our school, but have been absent for six months or longer, shall be re- garded as new members. g. Individuals brought in shall first be presented to the captain of the members securing them, and the cap- tain shall turn them over to the superintendent, who shall assign them to classes. 10. This contest shall begin October 1 and continue for three months, being terminated with a reception to new scholars, to be participated in by all members of the school. The obverse side contained blank spaces for names and addresses of new pupils secured, also a statement of what department they were to join, and whether secured by a red or a blue. 4. Now divide your territory into districts of And Power in the Sunday School. 105 convenient size, put a permanent outlook com- mittee with a vigilant chairman over each new district, and hold them responsible for the enroll- ment of every available scholar in their district. This will give permanency to your plan. 5. Do everything in your power to hold a pupil when you once get him. CHAPTER VIII. THE PAstoR AND His SUPERINTENDENT. The superintendent is the pastor’s chief assist- ant. Whatever the form of Church government, the pastor should have the privilege of nominating the superintendent. 1. Their Relation to and Treatment of Each Other.—Many comparisons have been used to illustrate the relation of the pastor to his super- intendent. Perhaps the best is this: The pastor is the commander in chief of all the Church forces, and therefore of those engaged in the Sunday school work, and the superintendent is his chief lieutenant. The pastor is therefore respon- sible to the Church for the work of the superin- tendent, who in turn is responsible to the pastor. Since they are, therefore, both responsible for the success of the Sunday school, they should have a large voice in the selection of the other officers and teachers. The pastor should select his super- (106) The Pastor in the Sunday School. 107 intendent with great care, and then give him as free a hand as is consistent with efficient super- vision. As the pastor nominates or appoints the superintendent, he should, therefore, have a per- sonal interest in his success and should encour- age him in every way possible. They should be the closest of friends, and each should feel free to approach the other at any time and in the frankest way express themselves one to the other. The question of “who is who” should never arise, and there should never be a suspicion that one is attempting to usurp or trample upon the rights of the other. Whenever one begins to stand up for his own rights, he is sure to trample upon the rights of the other. Let each stand up for the other’s rights rather than his own. Nei- ther should ever say or do anything that will re- flect on the other, especially in the presence of any member of the school. If there is a difference of opinion, let each, in so far as he can, defer to the wishes of the other. Let them never under any circumstances, either alone or in the pres- ence of the teachers, get into an argument. An 108 The Pastor's Place of Privilege argument is nothing but a war of words; and although one may silence the other’s guns, and even carry his point, he has not carried his antago- nist, which is far more important than to carry his point. There should always be the freest expression of opinion; and if their opinions do not agree, let it stop at that for the time being, each acknowledging that the other may be right. If either should thoughtlessly, or in a moment of irritation, say anything discourteous to the other, let him apologize at once. Let them have an understanding with each other that whenever a misunderstanding or a serious disagreement arises there is to be a prayer meeting of “they” two and no more. If they will deal thus frankly, openly, and considerately with each other, there need be nothing but the warmest of friendship existing between them. 2. Selecting a Superintendent.—There is no duty devolving upon the pastor that he should approach with more careful thought and prayer- ful spirit than that of selecting the superintend- ent of his Sunday school. There are many ° things that characterize a good superintendent, but And Power in the Sunday School. tog many times it may be best to cast them all to the winds and hunt for a man—a true-hearted, man- ly man, who loves everybody and whom every- body can love—a man who will appreciate his op- portunity and strive to make the most of it; a man who is willing to learn, is companionable and lovable and willing to give the necessary time to the work to make it a success. Such a man may be soon developed into a superintend- ent that will far surpass in efficiency his brilliant or influential brother with all the ready-made qualifications at hand. A man who is too well qualified before he begins may depend upon his qualifications rather than upon his work. Above all, do not choose a man simply because he is good or influential or wealthy or a pillar of the Church. He may become the pillow, if not the shroud, of your Sunday school. It takes a live man to have a live Sunday school; and if he does not make a live Sunday school, he will not have many live boys and girls in it. There is no use to put a dead saint after live sinners. Do not allow anything to enter into your considerations when you come to select a superintendent except Vacekst 5) 110 The Pastor's Place of Privilege the good of the school and the glory of God. Is that a superfluous remark? 3. Developing a Superintendent.—As sug- gested above, if you select a too eminently qual- ified man for superintendent, there may be no room for development—that is, in his own esti- mation; and you know that it is a law of growth that when development ceases decay soon begins to set in. Now if a man is eminently qualified because of previous service, there need be no apprehension along this line; but if he is just naturally well qualified, have a care. There is certainly no more delightful experience for a pastor than to see strong, stalwart men growing up around him into active, efficient Church work- ers. When you have gotten the right man, then strive in every possible way to develop him. Remember that growth and development come by self-exercise, so do not do his work or his think- ing or his praying for him. See that he does it himself. Pray for him, speak words of encour- agement and appreciation to him and about him. Let him know and let the school know that you appreciate him. Whenever in your reading you And Power in the Sunday School. 111 come across an article or a book that will help him, give it to him and ask him to read it. Send him to Sunday school conventions and see that his way is paid. Whatever I am in the Sun- day school work I owe to a beloved pastor of mine, Rev. E. B. Ramsey (God bless him!), who, when I was a careless, indifferent superintend- ent, had interest enough in me and in his Sunday school, of which I was superintendent, to raise funds and send me to an International Sunday School Convention. There I got a vision of the work that filled my soul with joy, and which has grown broader and brighter and more glo- rious as the days go by. I shall never cease to be grateful for that privilege for which alone my pastor was responsible. There is much said about being so true a friend as to tell another of his faults, but I find very few friends like that. I think there is another and a better way. Instead of telling your superintendent of his faults, tell him of his virtues; and when you see a weakness in _ his work, show him a better way and lead him kindly, lovingly, and tactfully therein. There a _— 5 a 112 The Pastor's Place of Privilege are not many of us who like to be told of our faults, even by a friend, and there are not many friends who like to do it or can do it in such a way as not to leave a scar. We often in this way plant the seeds of discouragement and chill the heart’s warm glow. But most of us are willing to be led by the loving hand of a trusted friend, and remember that the pastor is a leader and not the foreman of an alteration department. There are many ways that will sug- gest themselves to the tactful pastor by which he can develop his workers, and I know of no more telling way than this. There is no other way by which we can so surely and effectually perpetuate the good that is in us comparable to that of putting it into the lives of those about us. “It is better to make a life than a living;” and blessed is that pastor who raises up around him a corps of helpful, willing workers who look to him for guidance and love him as a trusted friend. 4. Sizing Up a Superintendent.—The pastor is the supervisor of the Sunday school, as he is of all the work of the Church. He will need to And Power in the Sunday School. 113 watch carefully the work of his superintendent to see wherein he is strong and wherein he is weak. The efficiency of a superintendent can better be determined by what he does just be- fore the opening of the school and just after the close than by what he does on the platform. If there is nothing doing at those times, you can gen- erally put it down that there is not much doing at any other time, although there may appear to be if you pay attention only to the superintend- ent. Another good time to “size up” the super- intendent is during the recitation period. If he doesn’t realize his opportunity here, he is not likely to do it elsewhere. Most superintendents try to make the best show in the opening and closing exercises, and ‘especially if there is a visitor around whom they desire to impress fa- vorably. But if the pastor knows how to take the measure of a superintendent, he knows that there is no better time for it than the three pe- riods mentioned above—just before the opening, just after the close and during the recitation. To size up a superintendent, watch the expres- sion on his face when you approach him, ob- § 114 The Pastor's Place of Privilege serve his manner when a teacher comes to him for help, watch him as he moves in and out among the children, visit him in his study, if he has one, and take note of all you see and don’t see, follow him to the teachers’ meeting and see if he is helpful there, have a heart-to-heart talk with him about his work at some quiet time and place when he least surmises your purpose. If you know a good superintendent when you see him, and if you are a good judge of human nature, you will know more about a superintendent by these means in a day than you could find out in a year by observing him merely as he conducts the general exercises of the school. 5. Winning a Hostile Superintendent.—Not- withstanding all his care and his loving regard for the interests of the work and the workers, occasionally hostility will spring up between the pastor and the superintendent. Frequently it may be of only short duration; and if the pastor will ignore the cause and go right on treating him with kindly consideration, all will be well. But if it continues, then it is the pastor’s duty, since he is the superior officer, to ask for an The Pastor's Place of Privilege 115 interview or a conference on the subject. When alone, he should frankly say to the superintend- ent that he is willing to do anything he can to remove the cause of the difficulty; and perhaps before it goes any farther they would better kneel in prayer and ask God to remove any bitterness or unbrotherly feeling that may exist between them. Then let them talk over frankly the diffi- culty and come to an agreement as to their fu- ture treatment of each other. It were better for the pastor to yield much and take upon him- self a blame that may really rest upon the super- - intendent (provided, of course, there is no prin- ciple involved) rather than end the interview with the superintendent still intrenched against him. You know the Scriptures plainly tell us how to heap coals of fire upon the heads of our enemies, and it would be well for the pastor to do it in that way. They say that in Moody’s home town, at Northfield, there was a wicked old blacksmith who conceived a great dislike for Moody, and who accused him of being a hypocrite. He never let an opportunity pass to annoy Mr, ot i ka 116 The Pastor's Place of Privilege Moody, and Mr. Moody never let an opportuni- ty pass to do him a kindness; but notwithstand- ing this the blacksmith kept up his hostility for years. One day his wife fell ill and was seriously ill for months. Whenever the doctor passed, Mr. Moody always inquired about his neighbor’s wife. One day the doctor told him that he had ordered her sent to another climate, as that was the only possible way of saving her life. Immediately Mr. Moody went into the house and wrote a letter something like this: “My Dear Brother, I learn from the doctor that your wife must be sent at once to another climate. As times are hard and money may be a little scarce, I take pleasure in inclosing my check for $25. It may help you in a time of need.” He closed with an earnest prayer that God would bless him and restore his wife to him in a short while in perfect health. The dart went home at last, and the hardened old blacksmith read the letter to his wife and with tears in his eyes exclaimed: “I believe Mr. Moody could make the devil love him.” A persistent course of kind- ness will usually melt the hardest heart and re- And Power in the Sunday School. 114 move all feelings of hostility or enmity. But if, after a pastor has done all that is possible, the superintendent refuses to relent (and especially if he allows it to interfere with the work of the school), then some more heroic method should be resorted to. A superintendent of this kind, or one who for this or other causes steadily and persistently refuses to put into operation plans and methods which the pastor and a majority of his officers and teachers deem absolutely es- sential to the best interest of the school, or if, forced to adopt them by pressure of pastor and teachers, he goes about it in such a way as to insure the defeat of the purposes of pastor and teachers, then surely it is time for a resignation or removal. The interests of the school should at all times be paramount to the interests of any individual in it, and it is evidently the pas- tor’s duty to see that this principle prevails in the conduct of the Sunday school. 6. Removing an Incompetent Superintendent. —If the pastor is unfortunate enough to have to deal with an incompetent superintendent, his first concern should be to discover whether it springs 118 The Pastor’s Place of Privilege from lack of ability or lack of interest and energy. If the latter, then the best way to remove him is to make a good superintendent out of him— that is, develop him into a good superintendent as suggested above. If he refuses to be devel- oped, or if he hasn’t the making of a good su- perintendent in him, then go to him frankly, tell him so, and ask for his resignation. If done in the right spirit and in the right way, this can often be done without hurting his feelings, especially if he is a reasonable man. It isn’t a pleasant thing to do or an easy thing to do, but sometimes it is a necessary thing to do. It may need a great deal of grace and grit to do it; but if it ought to be done, it must be done, and the pastor is the proper one to do it. If he is an old man and has been superintend- ent for years, it will be still harder to do. The most difficult thing that many Sunday schools have to deal with is an old, inefficient superintend- ent, a good man, a pillar of the Church, who has been in for ten, twenty, or thirty years. It will not do to hurt his feelings by asking him to resign, or even by accepting his resignation should he And Power in the Sunday School. 119 resign of his own accord. So there you are! You’ve just got to wait till he dies. Sad, isn’t it? Of course long service is no bar to continued serv- ice, provided one has kept up with the times and is keeping his work up to a high standard. We frequently lay much stress on the value of expe- rience, but experience is a hindrance rather than a help if it has confirmed one in his errors and deepened the ruts beyond the possibility of his ever getting out, and too frequently this is the result of long service. There are many young superintendents who are just as inefficient as they will ever be if they stay forever, for they have already reached the bottom, but they are usually more tractable and more easily gotten rid of than an old superintendent. We have superintendents who have seen deacons and pas- tors come and go until they imagine they own the whole thing and all the appurtenances there- of, and that no one has any rights except to do as they say, especially the new pastor, and more especially if he happens to be a young man. On the other hand, we have superin- tendents who have been in for years, who are the 120 The Pastor's Place of Privilege finest examples to be found of what a superin- tendent ought to be—for instance, Mr. Law- rance, Mr. Pepper, and Mr. Wanamaker, each of whom has been superintendent of his school for more than a quarter of a century. But these men are progressive and up-to-date, and are set- ting a pace for younger men. Their schools have each doubled, trebled, and quadrupled un- der their administration. The signs of progress are written all over their schools and are visible everywhere. It would be a calamity to lose such men as these. So I am not contending for young superintendents or against old superintendents, but against the mossbacks of all ages. The Sunday school of to-day has no use for a superintendent, be he young or old, who is not going to do something besides open and close and harangue the school. He must have time, find it, or make it, to prepare himself for his work by taking a training course, by reading books and current literature, and by attending institutes, conventions, and special schools of instruction. If he can’t or won’t do that, he isn’t fit for a superintendent, though he be a saint in heart And Power in the Sunday School. 121 and life, combined with a Rockefeller in wealth and a Washington in reputation. The superin- tendent has more to do with the success of a Sunday school than is generally supposed, and it is time we were beginning to let him know it. He is the main channel through which the pas- tor’s influence and helpfulness must reach the school; and if it be a dammed channel, he can either block the work of the pastor or cause an overflow of ill feeling and contention that will swamp the school. To remove him will often make matters worse, but the pastor should cer- tainly do so whenever the first opportunity offers. CHAPTER IX. Tue PASTOR AND THE PARENTS. 1. An Inexplicable Problem.—There are many derelictions of duty for which a reasonable ex- cuse can be framed; but why the parents should be the greatest stumbling-block in the pathway of their own children, as is almost universally so in the Sunday school, seems entirely without palliation or excuse. It is charged that the Sun- day school is largely usurping the function of the home in the religious training of the young. If so, then the home and not the Sunday school is to blame, and the marked indifference of the parents to the Sunday school plainly indicates that if the Sunday school did not give the reli- gious training it would not be given at all. The indifference of the parents in this matter is so un- reasonable and their position regarding the Sun- day school so untenable that it seems it would be easy to arouse them from their indifference. (122) The Pastor in the Sunday School. 123 2. Laying It on the Parents’ Hearts.—lf, therefore, the pastor would lay the matter loy- ingly, yet forcefully, on the parents’ hearts, they could soon be brought to realize their plain duty to the Sunday school. Perhaps many of the parents have not had the important work that the Sunday school is doing in the religious train- ing of the young brought forcefully to their at- tention. They know in a general way that the Sunday school is doing a good work, but they need to be told specifically and urged to give not only their influence but their presence to the Sunday school. The pastor has many op- portunities for bringing the work of the Sunday school to the attention of the parents in a force- ful and telling way. Most Christian parents love their children and desire to use every agen- cy to help them rear their children for God. They need, first of all, to know the facts regard- ing the work the Sunday school is doing, and then they need to know the powerful influence of their own example in holding pupils in the Sunday school or drawing them out of it. 3. A Parable.—I recently saw this remarka- 124 The Pastor's Place of Privilege ble occurrence: I was visiting a large and inter- esting Sunday school. While the exercises were in progress I saw a man and a woman come to the door and hold a hurried consultation. The man then came down one aisle, laid his hand on the shoulder of a boy about fourteen or fif- teen years of age, and in a tone all could hear said: “Son, come out of here; this is no place for a boy of your age. You will soon be a man, and the Sunday school is no place for men.” The woman went down another aisle, laid her hand on the shoulder of a girl about twelve or thirteen years of age, and said practically the same thing. As they went out leading their children, I said to the superintendent: “Who are those people, and what do they mean by their strange conduct in leading their children out of the Sunday school?” “O!” he said with a sigh, “they are prominent members of our Church, and such as that is a common occurrence.” The in- terpretation is this: While parents are not liter- ally doing this, they are actually doing it by their own example. There comes a time in the life of every boy And Power in the Sunday School. 125 when his one ambition is to be a man. It is then that he looks about to see what men are doing, and strives in every way to imitate them. If father and other men are not in Sunday school, then they say by their actions, more potent than words, that the Sunday school is no place for men, and of course he goes out—perhaps never to return. The same is true of a girl. If the pastor in some way can get the parents to real- ize that by staying away from the Sunday school they are leading their children from its blessed influence, surely they would give it more seri- ous consideration, and many of them would thus be induced to go. 4. Membership First of All—There is little use to discuss the question, “How Parents May Help the Sunday School,” so long as they can go and do not go. Of course they may talk about it, read about it, pray for it, encourage it, etc.; but of what avail are the help and prayers of those who haven’t enough interest to try to help answer their own prayers? There are many parents, especially mothers, who cannot go to the Sunday school, but they can do the next best 126 The Pastor’s Place of Privilege thing—join the Home Department. Until they are willing to do that, they cannot be depended upon to do much of anything else to help the school. An earnest and persistent effort should be made to induce the parents to join the school, for the double reason that they need the school and the school needs them, and no trivial ex- cuses for not attending should be accepted. 5. The Adult Department.—Perhaps one rea- son the parents and older members of the Church are not attending the Sunday school is that no adequate provision is made for them when they do attend. We have gone on the assumption that the Sunday school is for children only, and have planned our work accordingly. It is there- fore peculiarly gratifying to see the marked suc- cess of the new movement for the adult depart- ment that is already sweeping the adult mem- bership of the Church into the Sunday school in large numbers. The literature on the subject is so abundant that pastors will have little trouble in organizing their schools along the lines that are proving so successful wherever tried. This topic is further discussed under the chapter on And Power in the Sunday School. 127 “Grading the Sunday School” and the chapter following. 6. How the Parents Can Help.—While the Sunday school should not be for children only, it evidently should be for children primarily; and while the parents and all the older mem- bers of the Church should attend for their own good, their chief concern should be to help and encourage the children. The very fact that the parents are there will give the children an exalted idea of the Sunday school and will do much to encourage the officers and teachers as well. it will also aid in the teaching and discipline. It will give the pastor, superintendent, and teach- ers an opportunity to confer often with them and to suggest ways in which they can help the children at home. It will give the parents an opportunity to observe the conduct of their chil- dren, get acquainted with the teachers of their children, and thus enable them to cooperate heartily and intelligently with the school in man- aging and teaching their children. They can encourage their children to attend regularly and punctually, to prepare their lessons at home, and 128 The Pastor’s Place of Privilege. to give attention to the teaching in the class. Above all, they can enter into a holy alliance with the pastor, the superintendent, and the teachers in winning their children to Christ and bringing them into the Church. Surely no par- ent would be willing to have a teacher more in- terested in the salvation of his child than he himself is, and his regular attendance at the Sunday school will give him an opportunity to work hand in hand with the teacher in winning the child to Christ and in laying the foundation of a Christian character on the eternal truths of God’s Word. A few experiences like this will bind the parent to the Sunday school with bonds of interest and affection that can never be broken. The pastor, as he comes in contact with the parents of his Church, both publicly and pri- vately, has abundant opportunity to enlist their attendance and cooperation. LP TOLD * ee Re CHAPTER X. Tue PAsToR AND THE LAMBS OF THE Fo p. In the light of all that is said in preceding chapters, I feel sure that the reader will welcome suggestions from other pastors regarding the work for and with children. tr. Not Fully Appreciated—Here are three brief quotations which indicate that this matter has not been duly appreciated: I am sure that the Church of Jesus Christ is sadly neglecting the children. It is true that we have our Sunday schools and other organizations for the train- ing of children in the knowledge of the Word of God, but there is not that definite work for their conversion that there should be—Dr. R. A. Torrey. As one who loves the Church, believes in it and its ultimate triumph, as one who appreciates the magnitude of its work and the difficulties in the way of doing it, I yet am impelled to say that our Protestant Churches have been, and to a large extent are, criminally negligent of adequate Christian training of their children—Dr. Mead, in “Modern Methods in Sunday School.” 9 (129) 130 The Pastor's Place of Privilege The Sunday school must more and more prove a factor of power in the pastor’s work. The writer lays claim to no superior wisdom or insight in Sunday school problems. Still less does he set himself up as a critic of his brethren. But it will be conceded by thoughtful readers that there is not an adequate appreciation of the Sunday school on the part of many pastors. There is not a conventional recognition of it as a legitimate part of the machinery of the kingdom, a useful instrument of spiritual power. What is needed is that this instru- ment should be understood and thoroughly utilized, that a keen edge should be put upon it, and that in the hands of trained workmen it should cut the material for the Lord’s house—Dr. E. Y. Mullins, in Introduction to “The Pastor and the Sunday School.” 2. Its Importance.—Dr. Torrey also says: “No other form of Christian effort brings such imme- diate, such large, and such lasting results as work for the conversion of children. It has many advantages over other forms of work. First of all, children are more easily led to Christ than adults. In the second place, they are more likely to stay converted than those appar- ently converted at a later period of life. They also make better Christians, as they do not have so much to unlearn as those who have grown And Power in the Sunday School. 131 old in sin. They have more years of service before them. A man converted at sixty is a soul saved plus ten years of service; a child saved at ten is a soul saved plus sixty years of service.” Dr. Mead says: “It may be said of the Sunday school that it affords a larger opportuni- ty for enlisting and training Christian workers than is opened by any other department of Church work.” 3. Preaching to Children.—Preaching to chil- dren or talking to children is a difficult but important art. Dr. Broadus says: “If a man says, ‘I cannot preach to children’—says it proudly, as thinking himself too intellectual or too erudite, too grand a piece of artillery to be used in shooting sparrows, or says it with a sort of obstinate humility—then this at least may be replied: ‘If you will learn how to preach to children, you will thereby become a better preacher to grown folks.’ Whatever may be a man’s turn of mind, taste, methods, or audience, he will be more efficient from having sometimes preached to children. Preachers are often obliged to resist current tendencies, the fashion 132 The Pastor's Place of Privilege of the day; but here is an idea of our age which they are entirely at liberty to fall in with—special Church effort for the children.” This may seem a little harsh, but I am sure it is not so intended. Dr. Horace Bushnell has this to say on the sub- ject: “Is it not our privilege and duty, as preach- ers of Christ, to do more preaching to children? I think of nothing in my own ministry with so much regret and so little respect as I do of my omissions just here. We get occupied with great and high subjects that require a handling too heavy and deep for children, and become so fooled in our estimate of what we do that we call it coming down when we undertake to preach to children, whereas it is coming up, rather, out of the subterranean hells, darkness, intricacies, dungeon-like profundities of grown-up sin, to speak to the bright daylight creatures of trust and sweet affinities and easy convictions. And to speak to these fitly, so as not to thrust in Jesus on them as by force, but have him win his own way, by his childhood, waiting for his cross, tenderly, purely, and without art—O how fine, how very precious, the soul equipment it will require And Power in the Sunday School. 133 of us! I think I see it now clearly: We do not preach well to adults because we do not preach (or learn how to preach) to children. God's world contains grown-up people and children together; our world contains grown-up people only; and preaching only to these, who are scarcely more than half the total number, it is much as if we were to set our ministry to a preaching only to bachelors. We dry up in this manner, and our thought wizens in a certain pomp of pretense that is hollow and not gospel. The very certain fact is that our schools of the- ology will never make qualified preachers till they discover the existence of children.” Dr. R. A. Torrey has recently written’a series of articles on this subject, “How to Conduct a Children’s Meeting,” in the World Evangel. The following is a brief summary: (1) Give special attention to the children as they arrive. Workers of two classes should be provided: ushers to seat the children, and personal workers to sit with them and deal with them at the close of the services. (2) Great care should be bestowed upon the singing. 134 The Pastor's Place of Privilege Children love to sing and are easily impressed by sing- ing. (3) Prayer is very important in the children’s meet- ing. The prayer should be of such a character that the children can understand just exactly what is meant. Oftentimes there should be prayers in which the chil- dren are taught to follow the leader sentence by sentence as he prays. (4) There should be a gospel sermon which the chil- dren can understand. The sermon may contain some of the profoundest truths of the gospel, but these truths should be ex- pressed in words of which children know the meaning. The sermon should be short, as children soon tire. The sermon should be simple. There should be no long or involved sentences. There should be no com- plicated figures of speech. The sermon should be full of illustrations, but they should be carefully chosen. There should be a great deal of action on the part of the speaker. He should not only illustrate by his words, but by his actions as well. Children love action, and we must be animated. If I have any gift of simplicity and clearness in speech, I owe it largely to speaking so much to chil- dren. These two books will be found helpful: “Three And Power in the Sunday School. 135 Years with the Children,” Amos R. Wells; “‘Chil- dren’s Meetings and How to Conduct Them,” Lucy J. Rider, Nellie M. Carmen. 4. Securing the Conversion of Children.— At just what age we should seek the conversion of a child is still a disputed question, but it seems certain that most pastors of all denominations who have given the matter serious thought are coming to the conclusion that it should be done much earlier than was formerly thought. Those who have studied the subject scientifically tell us that the first great period of spiritual awak- ening comes at about twelve years of age, the sec- ond about sixteen, and the third about twenty years of age. They tell us also that about sev- enty-five per cent of all conversions to-day are under twenty-one years of age. These opinions are certainly worthy of consideration, but they are certainly not conclusive. Many children are converted under twelve and at ages other than the ones mentioned above. “The Child for Christ,” by Dr. A. H. McKinney, is a sane, sensi- ble, and helpful book on the subject ; “The Spirit- ual Life of the Sunday School,” by Dr. Chapman, 136 The Pastor's Place of Privilege is full of fine suggestions; “The Conversion of Children,” by Dr. Hammond, the child evangel- ist, is perhaps a little radical, but it has some fine suggestions in it; “Individual Work for In- dividuals,” by Dr. Trumbull, is a work on the general subject of soul-winning, but has much valuable help for the worker in the Sunday school. 5. Training the Children.—Perhaps the weak- est point in our Sunday school work to-day is that we have so little for the child to do. Unfor- tunately little has been written on the subject. The Boys’ Messenger Service is an organiza- tion that has proven a boon to the Church in this regard. It is an organization for boys from twelve to fifteen years of age. It has proven a benediction to many. For the older classes some form of class organization will prove effec- tual in this line. 6. Securing the Presence of Children at the Preaching Service.—There is no doubt that this is one of the most vital questions to-day con- nected with Church work. The child ought to be trained early in life to attend the preaching And Power in the Sunday School. 137 service of the Church. There is something in its quiet solemnity, its dignified form, and in the appeal of the minister that of necessity is want- ing in the Sunday school and that strongly ap- peals to the child. The superintendent and teachers can do something by going themselves, by inviting the children each Sunday to attend, and by keeping a record of church attendance. The parents can do much if they will, but they seem to have very little interest in the matter. Perhaps the final solution will be for the pastor to so ingratiate himself into the affections of the children that they will want to be where he is, and for him to so arrange his sermon each Sun- day that there will be something in it for the children, both to do and to enjoy. I thoroughly believe that this can be done. CHAPTER XI. THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. THE PASTOR A STUDENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVE- MENTS. The pastor, as a leader, must be a student of Sunday school movements. It is only by know- ing the conditions in the past that the present can be clearly understood and the future logic- ally planned for. The history of the Sunday school is an inspiring one to a student who will not only get the facts, but who will seek an in- terpretation of them. No movement of modern times has a more inspiring history than the Sunday school. Born amid the squalor and filth of an old England town, it has braved the opposition of the clergy, the indifference of the laity, and the sneers of the wiseacres, and to-day numbers in its ranks the largest standing army in the world. It was born (138) The Pastor in the Sunday School. 139 outside of the Church, nourished to young and vigorous manhood outside of the Church, and yet it is to-day the very life of the Church. It is only in recent years that the denomina- tions, as denominations, have given it any spe- cial consideration, and yet it has been a large factor in creating denominational loyalty. It is the mother of the public school system and the penny postage system, two of the greatest educational agencies of modern times. It has given to the secular schools some of their best ideas of management and teaching. It has gone into the home and laid hands on the father, mother, and baby and literally dragged them into the service of the Church. It has created a literature that is the marvel of the age, both as to quality and to quantity. It has united the Christian world in a way that was formerly thought to be impossible. It has made the Bible the largest-selling book in the world, and has put it into more hearts and homes than any other agency. Ought we not thank God for the Sun- day school ? A brief outline, such as follows, can give one 140 The Pastor's Place of Privilege only a basis for further investigation. If a deep- er insight into the origin, development, and genius of the Sunday school movement is de- sired, Trumbull’s “Yale Lectures on the Sun- day School” and Brown’s “Sunday School Move- ments in America” are recommended. PERIODS OF SUNDAY SCHOOL PROGRESS. The division of the Sunday school movement into periods is necessarily arbitrary, but it is helpful in getting a comprehensive and at the same time a unified grasp of the subject. Looked at in its broader aspect, the following periods are clearly discernible: I, The Period of Germination. For many centuries there was no Sunday school as we know it to-day, but the germ of the idea is discernible in the early history of the Jewish nation. 1. Traditions of the Rabbis —H. Clay Trum- bull, in his “Yale Lectures on the Sunday School,” gives about the only information obtainable on the early history of Sunday schools. He says: Pa ey And Power in the Sunday School. 141 “The rabbis tell us (1) that Methuselah was a teacher of the Mishna before the flood; that, after the deluge, Shem and Eber had a house of in- struction where the Halacha was studied; (2) that Abraham was a student of the Torah when he was three years old, and that he was after- wards under the teaching of Melchizedek in mat- ters concerning the priesthood; (3) that young Jacob as a good boy did go to the Bible school, while Esau as a bad boy did not; (4) that Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, came to grief through playing truant from the Bible school while her brothers were in attendance there; (5) that among the pupils of Moses in his great Bible school were his father-in-law, Jethro, and young Joshua, and that the latter was preferred above the sons of Moses, as his successor, because of his greater zeal and fidelity in the Bible school exercises.” 2. Esra’s Sunday School.—The description of what some are pleased to call Ezra’s Sunday school is found in Nehemiah viii. 1-8. His as- sistants, or teachers, are mentioned there. The account says that Ezra read the law and his as- 142 The Pastor's Place of Privilege sistants caused the people to understand the law. It will be noted that the order of service was very similar in some respects to our modern Sunday school. 3. Josephus on Sunday Schools.—Josephus, the great Jewish historian, says that from the days of Moses it was the custom of the Jews to assemble in their synagogues every Sabbath to hear the law and to learn it accurately, and that the young were so well instructed in the law that they knew it better than their own names. Other secular writers of the time confirm Josephus. These schools, according to Mr, Trumbull, were graded, the lessons were carefully chosen, much attention was given to the building, and all—both young and old—attended both the preaching and teach- ing service of the synagogue. These schools were held daily except on the Sabbath, so they were not Sabbath (Sunday) schools after all. 4. Sunday Schools in the Time of Christ.— (1) We know that Christ both taught and preached. Our first view of him in the syna- gogue at twelve years of age is asa teacher. (2) Mr. Trumbull says; “In the days of Jesus of And Power in the Sunday School. 143 Nazareth there was, in the land of his birth and sojourn, a system of Bible schools corresponding quite closely in their general feature with our modern Sunday schools.” (3) All these schools were especially for the young, the Scripture was the text, and the catechetical method was used; but they were really more in the nature of paro- chial schools of our day than of our modern Sun- day school. 5. Later Sunday Schools.—During the first sixteen centuries after Christ some provision for instructing the young in the Bible was gener- ally provided, but little is really known of their methods or plans. (2) Mr. Trumbull, who in- vestigated this subject most thoroughly, pays this high tribute to the teaching of the Word: “From the beginning—in short, all the way down the centuries—the history of the Christian Church shows that just in proportion as the Church Bible school (the Sunday school, as we now call it) has been accorded the place which our Lord assigned to it in the original plan of his Church has substantial progress been made in the extending of the membership and in the up- 144 The Pastor's Place of Privilege building—the “edifying”—of the body of Chris- tian believers in the knowledge of God’s Word and in the practice of its precepts. And just in proportion as the Sunday school agency, or its practical equivalent under some name or form, has been lacking or has been ignored has the Church failed of retaining and continuing the vital power of its membership.” (3) Luther, Calvin, Zwingle, Knox, Wesley, and other re- formers all recognized the power of teaching the Word as a basis of preaching the Word, and made some provision for it. 6. Preparation for the Modern Sunday School. —(1) In all great movements much is done in a quiet, and usually indefinite and unsystematic, way to prepare the way. So it was with the Sunday school. (2) It remained for Robert Raikes, of Gloucester, England, to organize the movement in such a way as to attract general at- tention and give it an impetus that would insure its continuance. It is therefore generally con- ceded that he was the founder of the modern Sunday school, though there were a few scatter- ing Sunday schools before his day. And Power in the Sunday School. 145 II. Period of Extension. The history of the Sunday school movement dates from 1780, when Robert Raikes made such a wonderful success of his work in Gloucester, England. The Sunday school and the methods of Robert Raikes would hardly be tolerated in’ this age of advanced Sunday school work, but he started a movement that has revolutionized the methods of religious instruction throughout the civilized world. Strange as it may seem, Mr. Raikes’ schoot was not only not connected with any Church, but it was fiercely denounced by many of the leading ministers of the day, and it was twen- ty or thirty years before the Churches made it a part of their polity. His school had paid teachers, and held two sessions a day, lasting from ten to twelve in the forenoon and from one till half past five in the afternoon, including attendance upon the regular Church services. The principal instruction in the forenoon was in learning to read, and in the afternoon in learning the catechism. It was especially for the children of the poorer classes, and Mr, Raikes 10 146 The Pastor's Place of Privilege did not send his own children. Such was the crude and unpropitious beginning of the modern Sunday school movement. This new movement inaugurated by Mr. Raikes soon gained such wide repute that his methods were sought after far and wide, and organiza- tions began to spring up to help and to broaden the work. In 1803 the London Sunday School Union was organized for the purpose of promot- ing Sunday schools, especially those having un- paid teachers. Thus the movement spread throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland. The tide of immigration which swept toward American shores in the early centuries of our history brought with it men who were familiar with these new ideas and who were impressed with their importance. Thus the movement took root on the American soil, and it is here to-day that its most luxuriant fruitage appears. In 1824 the American Sunday School Union was started for the purpose of organizing and main- taining Sunday schools in destitute places. From the very nature of their work they organ- ized more union than denominational. schools, And Power in the Sunday School. 147 and are continuing to do so to this day. Not- withstanding the fact that Wesley and others had pressed the importance of Sunday schools, many of the Churches and denominations were slow to take up the work; and thus it came about that the American Sunday School Union, through its missionaries, its tracts, and other literature, was the pioneer in this great movement in Ameri- ca. A little later the Churches of the various de- nominations took up the work and pushed the idea, so justly popular to-day, of the Church Sunday school. III, Period of Organization. These paved the way for a great international movement, interdenominational in character. At an anniversary of the American Sunday School Union, Philadelphia, 1832, it was found that fif- teen States were represented. After some dis- cussion it was decided to call a National Sun- day School Convention to meet in New York in the fall of that same year. A committee was appointed to prepare and send out to Sunday school superintendents and others a series of Pat ie Oe ae yee 148 The Pastor's Place of Privilege questions bearing on different phases of Sunday school work, and report at the fall convention. This committee prepared seventy-eight questions on thirteen subjects. Twenty-five hundred of these were sent out all over the country, and the replies, constituting a quarto volume of 2,400 pages, were submitted to the convention which met in New York in 1832. This was the first National Sunday School Convention. About two hundred and twenty delegates from fifteen States came to this convention. Thus was begun the National Sunday School Movement. The second National Convention was held in Philadelphia the next year, 1833, and then a period of twenty-six years elapsed before the third was held, in Philadelphia, 1859. Owing largely to the Civil War, a period of ten years intervened before the fourth was held, in Newark, N. J., 1869; but since that time the convention has met regularly every three years. This fourth convention was the most remarkable ever held up to that time. Twen- _ty-eight States, besides several foreign coun- tries, were represented, It was estimated that And Power in the Sunday School. 149 from 2,500 to 3,000 persons attended the ses- sions of this convention. Such noted workers as Dr. Eggleston, Dr. Trumbull, Dr. Vincent, and B. F. Jacobs were there. The following brief report will give some idea of this wonderful convention: “The spirit and power of the exer- cises can only be faintly shadowed. The Holy Spirit was present, filling all the place in which the convention sat. Tongues of fire seemed to be given to the speakers. The spirit of brotherly love and union prevailed. Never before had so many Sunday school leaders of the land been brought face to face. Taken as a whole, it was the most memorable Sunday school gathering ever assembled in the United States, if not in the world.” The next convention (in 1872) culminated in one of the most remarkable movements of the century—viz., the adoption of the Uniform Inter- national Lessons. The next, the sixth National Convention, by the admission of delegates from Canada, became and is now know as the first In- ternational Convention. From this time on there has been no national organization, but an 150 The Pastor's Place of Privilege international, which at present includes the whole of North America. The other nations of the world desiring to participate in this movement, the first World’s Sunday School Convention was held in London in 1889, the second in St. Louis in 1893, the third in London in 1898, the fourth in Jerusalem in 1904, at which 1,521 delegates from twenty-five countries, representing fifty- five religions and phases of religion, were rep- resented. The fifth met at Rome May 20-23, 1907. As early as 1856 the States began to organize, till now every State in the Union and most of the Provinces of Canada are organized. Later the counties began to organize, and still later the townships, thus perfecting the greatest organiza- tion the world has ever known, either religious or secular. It is world-wide in its sweep, hav- ing an unbroken chain of organization extending from the townships up through the county, the State, the International, to the World, and num- bering in its constituents between 20,000,000 and 25,000,000 Sunday school workers of all denomi- nations, The United States has taken the lead And Power in the Sunday School. 151 in all this work, and it has made it the greatest Sunday school nation in the world. The United States alone enrolls more in the Sunday school than all the rest of the civilized world combined. IV. Period of Improvement. We shall have to go back to 1872, as what was said regarding the organized work from that time on was merely to follow out the plan of organization up to the present. The adoption of the International Lessons seemed to give new im- petus to the work. The publishing houses began to get out helpful and attractive literature, which was gradually increased until there is perhaps no other agency in the world producing more and better literature than the Sunday school. Better lessons began to call for better methods. A desire for improvement was seen everywhere. The International, State, and County Conven- tions began to discuss more practical subjects. The best brain and heart power in America be- gan to evolve new methods and to solve the prob- lems of the Sunday school. The grading of the school and the training of the workers began to - 152 The Pastor's Place of Privilege be discussed. In 1881 Mr. W. A. Duncan, of Syracuse, N, Y., started the Home Department, which is now used extensively by all denomi- nations. About 1890 systematic house-to-house visitation for new recruits was inaugurated. In 1890 Mr. M. A. Hudson, of Syracuse, N. Y., started a form of class organization known as the “Baraca Class.’’ It has proven a wonderful suc- cess in winning and holding young men. This, with other forms of class organization and class federation, is now in almost universal use, espe- cially among the more aggressive schools. In 1896 Mr. E. F. Westcott, of St. Louis, Mo., started “Decision Day,” an evangelistic move- ment to win the pupils of the Sunday school to Christ. Many souls have been and are being swept into the kingdom through its use. About the same time the Cradle Roll was started. Mr. Meigs says of it: “Here is a Sunday school idea that was hatched with wings and began to fly all over the Sunday school world as soon as it pecked its way out of the shell.” In 1899 Mrs. Flora V. Stebbins, of Fitchburg, Mass., started the Messenger Service of the And Power in the Sunday School. 153 Home Department. Later the Indiana Sunday School Association expanded the idea into a serv- ice for all departments of Church and Sunday school work. Through the Messenger Service boys between the ages of ten and sixteen are bound to the Sunday school and Church in a way that has proven successful beyond all expec- tations. Other methods of minor import were de- vised to meet the many perplexing problems of the Sunday school till to-day there remains scarcely a single one unsolved. V. Period of Training. It is said that an unskilled workman had bet- ter work with dull tools instead of sharp ones. So it began to dawn on the Sunday school that if these splendid methods were to bring the best results they must be in the hands of skilled work- men ; and, after trying many devices to get them or find them, and it was at last decided that there is but one way, and that is to train them. Again, in the early times the idea was pretty general that, since Sunday school teachers were doing the work of the Lord, somehow he would make 154 The Pastor's Place of Privilege that teaching efficient, however inefficient the teacher. But later it began to dawn upon us that God seldom, if ever, does a work for one that he can do for himself; and as the subject was studied more fully, and various plans were devised to secure competent teachers, it was dis- covered that to be successful in so important a work one must receive definite training. Early in our history Dr. Vincent and a few others saw the need of training, but it is only in the last few years that the idea has become general. For several years all that was done along the line of training was done by the Asso- ciation work. The International and the various State Associations are still pushing it vigorous- ly; but recently the leading denominations have taken it up, adopted courses of their own, and are making it a prominent feature of their work. The International Association and many of the State Associations, as well as some of the lead- ing denominations, have Teacher-Training Sec- retaries who are making a specialty of this line of work. There is also at present an Interna- tional Committee on Education that is giving this And Power in the Sunday School. 155 work special attention. They have recommended both an elementary and an advanced course for which International Diplomas are given. The one dominant idea in the minds of all our Sunday school leaders to-day is that of training, and the next few years will no doubt bring rich results from so sane and so necessary a work. ANOTHER DIVISION. Every individual, every Sunday school—and, in fact, the whole Sunday school movement— passes through three clearly marked periods in the advance to better things. I. The Period of Devices.—It might also be called the period of awakening—when officers and teachers first begin to realize that something must be done. It is characterized by a great de- sire for devices, usually superficial and therefore temporary in their effects. The paramount ques- tion is not how, nor why, but what? What can I do to overcome this or that difficulty? In this stage of development much time and thought are given to what are seen later to be trivialities, mere baubles that shine and glitter for a while, 156 The Pastor's Place of Privilege but soon lose their attraction and are discarded. It is really the childhood period of the Sunday school work. 2. The Period of Methods.—In this we are passing from the superficial to the profound, from devices to methods. The question is no longer what, but how? We are now continually on the lookout for new and better ways of doing things. New methods spring into being as if by magic. We are willing to copy any method blindly, thoughtlessly, and of course ineffectual- ly, simply provided some one has made a suc- cess of it, or some Sunday school expert has rec- ommended it. America has been passing through just such a period for the last quarter century— the period of methods. It is the adolescent period of our growth. 3. The Period of Principles, or the Phil- osophic Period.—Now we are not satisfied with mere devices and finely wrought-out methods, but we go deeper and seek for principles. We now realize that every true method is based on underlying principles, and that, while methods change—in fact, must change, to adapt them- And Power in the Sunday School. 157 selves to changing times and conditions—prin- ciples are eternal and change not. Our question now is no longer what, nor how, but why? Why are these things true? Why this failure here? Why that success there? What principles are involved? We thus discover that we are building on a foundation of solid rock, and that our work shall be enduring. The work in America is just in the beginning of this important period, and therefore, to those who realize this, the brightest and most prosperous period in the history of the Sunday school movement seems to be upon us. In our efforts to answer the question “Why?” we go to the profound depths of cause and ef- fect and strike the solid granite of reason and philosophy. We are now entering the period of mature manhood, the period of power, and therefore of real, substantial progress. The lead- ing Sunday schools and Sunday school workers of America are now passing into this period. As all transitional periods in the life of either a school or an individual are critical periods, so is this one, and the Sunday school sorely needs the guidance of clear-sighted pastors, who look be- 158 The Pastor's Place of Privilege. yond the immediate effects and see in the end a glorious consummation of all their plans and work. The foundations of the past that we thor- oughly believed were founded on the solid rock are giving away. The newer and better ideas have only heretofore been tolerated by the mass- es. Now that these better things are getting a firm grip on the leaders, so that they will not be put off with a mere hearing, the great Sunday school world finds itself in the grasp of a giant who is rudely shaking them out of their slum- bers. Many do not understand what it all means, and they are bewildered. Many others are find- ing that it means work, and are deserting. Many others find that it means privilege, and are gird- ing themselves for the contest. There is going to be a great sifting in the next few years. Much chaff will be blown out and our Sunday schools may be found decreasing in number, but it is a decrease on the Gideon plan. After a few years we shall begin again to increase, and then watch for the greatest revival the world has ever seen. Then, indeed, will the Church stand forth as the true bride of Christ. CHAPTER XII. GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. There is no other object connected with Sun- day school work on which there exists such a di- versity of views as that of grading; and only a trained thinker, like the pastor, is able to dis- cover the real requirements of a graded school as he comes in contact with so many conflicting views. Even those who have given much atten- tion to the subject differ greatly in their ideas of working out the details. One may read the ideas of one person, or the methods of one graded school, master them, and think he has a com- plete grasp of the subject. Perchance his at- tention is called to another differing widely, in some respects diametrically, from the first, and he becomes confused. Still others have a differ- ent view, and the more he reads the more he be- comes confused. This confusion of ideas results principally (159) 160 The Pastor's Place of Privilege from two things: First, a misconception of what a graded school really is, many schools intro- ducing splendid ideas in connection with their grading, but which in no sense are a part of, or essential to, the grading; secondly, the confusion of terms, the same word being used by different writers to convey different meanings. It is the purpose of this chapter to try to clear up at least some of these difficulties, to indicate just what are the essentials of grading, to give sugges- tions for grading, to point out some of its ad- vantages, and to suggest plans whereby the best results may be obtained. NOMENCLATURE. Much of the confusion of ideas respecting the graded Sunday school is due to a lack of uni- formity in the use of terms. The following are the most common: The terms grade, department, and class are used interchangeably. A variety of names given to the same depart- ments. No fixed order for the different departments, And Power in the Sunday School. 161 some placing the Intermediate before, others after, the Junior, etc. A failure to make a distinction between classi- fying and grading; the former being only the first step toward the latter. Confusing the names of classes with the names of departments—e. g., Young Married People’s Classes are frequently spoken of as departments. DEFINITION OF TERMS. We get the following definition of terms from the public schools, and I see no reason why they may not apply to Sunday school grading also: Class——A class is one or more pupils reciting the same lesson at the same time to the same teacher. Grade.—A grade is one or more classes doing at the same time the work required in any given scholastic year. Department. grades grouped according to their advancement, We grade the school, classify the pupils, and adapt the teachers; it is therefore wrong to A department is two or more speak of grading the pupils or the teachers. II 162 The Pastor's Place of Privilege SOME FUNDAMENTAL FACTS AND PRINCIPLES, 1. Our plan of grading is borrowed from the public schools. 2. Because of inherent differences in the pub- lic school and the Sunday school, we cannot adopt without modification their entire plan of grading. 3. Some of their plans we can adopt without change, others must be modified to suit the changed conditions, and others must be rejected. 4. Since our plan of grading is borrowed from the public schools, we should adopt every feature of their plan, unless there is some reason why we should not. 5. In arranging any plan of grading, we should have well-defined results in view. Starting with these truths as a basis, let us see first what are the essential features of grad- ing in the public schools: (1) The school is di- vided into departments, the departments into grades, the grades into classes; (2) the depart- ments are Primary, Intermediate, Grammar, and High School, the latter being subdivided accord- ing to the length of time required by the course of study, but the last two years being invariably And Power in the Sunday School. 163 called the Junior and the Senior; (3) there is little or no importance attached to getting from one department to another, except possibly from the Grammar to the High School; (4) a grade includes the work laid down for one year, and all the stress is laid upon the pupil’s doing the work satisfactorily, so that he can be promoted at the end of the year; (5) promotion is based al- most entirely on a certain per cent of the work done; (6) these per cents are determined by the teacher’s class records, by examinations, and other tests. ESSENTIALS OF A GRADED SUNDAY SCHOOL, There seem to be only five requirements for a graded Sunday school: 1. Pupils of about the same age and grade must be grouped into classes of convenient size. 2. The classes must be grouped into depart- ments, each covering three or four years’ work. 3. There must be a standard of work corre- sponding to the course of study in the public school. 4. There must be regular and stated promo- Fo See ee . > 164 The Pastors Place of Privilege tions from grade to grade, or at least from de- partment to department, based on this standard. 5. Each teacher should be put in the depart- ment where he can do his best work, and kept there. This is sometimes called grading the teachers, but is clearly a wrong use of the term. I should unhesitatingly say that a Sunday school that has all these is graded, and that it is not graded should any one of them be lacking. In meeting these requirements each school must work out its own problems, but a fuller discus- sion of each may prove helpful. 1. Classification.—The pupils of every Sunday school should be classified, even if the other re- quirements for grading are not undertaken. In classification, at least five things will come up for consideration: (1) The basis of classifica- tion; (2) the number of classes; (3) the size of classes; (4) by whom it should be done; (5) se- lecting teachers. Age, size, grade in public school, ability, willingness to study, and social relations will all have to be considered in classi- fication. In the public schools the basis is ad- vancement, or what the pupil actually knows; And Power in the Sunday School. 165 but in the Sunday school other things must be considered. It will not be found best to put pu- pils varying too much in size and age in classes to- gether. It will be humiliating to the older and larger pupils, and besides their ability to under- stand is greater than that of the younger pupils, notwithstanding their lack of general informa- tion or book knowledge. A perfect classification requires one thing only for a basis, but it will be found best to take age and grade (advancement) as the basis, modified by size, ability, willingness to study, etc.; and even social distinctions must be observed in a quiet, sensible, unobtrusive way. In a poorly classified school, where many changes are necessary, some opposition may be looked for when a change of classes and teach- ers is announced; and unless it is gone at in a tactful way, serious trouble may ensue. The plans should all be laid and agreed upon by officers and teachers, the classes formed, or rather re-formed, and then the superintendent should notify each pupil where he is to sit, without con- sulting the pupil. After classes are formed in this way, assign the teacher to each—that is, ee ae hee ed ag ae Yt . 166 The Pastor's Place of Privilege form your classes before you assign the teach- er to the class, so the pupils will not know who their teacher is to be until all the classes are formed. This is a little bit of strategy that will help. Some pupils will make thrcats, but a lit- tle firmness and kindness will conquer all diffi- culties. Let the pupils clearly understand that the good of the entire school is always paramount to that of any individual in it. The idea of taking five or six years to grade a school is cowardly, to say the least. The number and size of the classes will be determined by the size of the school, the facil- ities of the building, and the qualifications of the teachers. Where there are class rooms, the classes can be larger than where there are none. A good teacher can teach a larger class than a poor teacher. No teacher should be giv- en more pupils than he can teach well when they are present and look after when they are absent. This classification, together with all grading and promoting, should be done by the superintendent in a small school, and by the superintendent and his committee on And Power in the Sunday School. 167 grading, or the superintendent of grading, in a large school. Of course all new pupils must be properly classified when they enter the school, or the grading will soon go to pieces. In placing the teachers, very great care should be taken to place each one where he can do the best work, and then keep him there. It does not stand to reason that any teacher can teach all grades and ages equally well. In fact, it will be found that every teacher can teach some class or grade better than any other, and this is certainly where he belongs. 2. Departments.—There is, unfortunately, no agreement among Sunday schools on this point. Some have one number and give them certain names; others have a different number and give them altogether different names. Some call the department following the Primary the Junior, others call it the Intermediate. The latter is in line with the use of the term in secular schools, but the International Executive Committee and the Editorial Association recommend the former. Many schools place the Home Department and the Training Department as divisions of the main 168 The Pastors Place of Privilege school, but they seem rather to be coordinate with it. The following arrangement is suggested as the simplest, the latest, and therefore the best: I. Main School. 1. Primary: (1) Beginners—Nonreaders; age, three, four, and five years. (2) Primary Proper, First, Second, and Third Grades; age, six, seven, and eight years. 2. Junior: Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Grades; age, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve years, 3. Intermediate: Eighth, Ninth, Tenth Grades; age, thir- teen, fourteen, and fifteen years. 4. Adult: Age, sixteen and over. The first three or four years of the Adult Department is sometimes called the Senior, but there — is a tendency to drop the use of the term. IT. Cradle Roll. All who are too young to attend the Main School, And Power in the Sunday School. 169 III, Home. All who cannot or will not attend the Main School. IV. Training. All officers and teachers, actual and prospective. Of course the above ages and g-ades for the various departments are only suggestive and should not be too strictly adhered to, as some pu- pils are often a year or two ahead of others of the same age in mental development. The Begin- ners’, Primary, and Junior are now known as Ele- mentary Grades. Where the size of the school and the arrangements of the building will permit, there should be a superintendent over each de- partment, all, of course, being under the control of the general superintendent. Where all the classes recite in the same room, each department should have a certain part of the room assigned to it. Teachers best adapted to a particular grade of work should be permanently assigned to that department. When their pupils are pro- moted to another department, they should take another class, thus remaining while their classes 170 The Pastor's Place of Privilege goon. The number of classes in any department will be determined by the size of the school. In very small schools there may be but one class to each department. When you have classified your pupils and arranged your classes into depart- ments, you are ready to begin the real work and you will need a standard of work to guide you. For mental characteristics and methods adapted to the various departments see next chapter. 3. Standard of Work.—In the public graded school the course of study is the nucleus around which gathers the entire plan. The Sunday school cannot so easily map out a course of study, but it ought to have some standard of work showing clearly the work of each department, if not of each grade, and pupils should be re- quired to do this work as a condition of promo- tion. The standard should not be too high and difficult to reach, nor yet so low as not to require a commendable effort to reach it. There are those who contend that it is impossi- ble to grade the school where all grades are study- ing the same lesson, or even with a different les- son for the beginners and the advanced classes as And Power in the Sunday School. 171 we now have it. It should be remembered that grading must be in both matter and method, and that even a short passage of Scripture taken at random will almost surely contain some matter for every age and grade if it is only presented in the right way. In the public schools the rudi- ments of nearly all the higher branches are now introduced in the Primary Department, such as botany, geology, zodlogy, astronomy, ethics, etc. ; but the matter and method are both chosen with a great deal of care. With the same amount of care we do not need a better selection of Scrip- ture lessons for grading than those chosen by the International Lesson Committee. In fact, most if not all, of our publishing houses are now grading their lesson material by furnish- ing a paper or quarterly for each department. I am not contending that it would not be easier to grade if we had a thoroughly graded lesson system, but that it is not impossible to grade without it. Now what shall constitute this standard of work? The very least that can be required is a certain per cent of the lessons as given in the wee ‘ 172 The Pastor's Place of Privilege quarterly studied by the class. While not neces- sary to grading, some supplemental work for each department will be found very helpful. Some teachers will contend that they cannot find time for it, but they are usually teachers who have never tried it. From three to five minutes once or twice a month by the teacher, with the same amount of time by the superintendent, on the same matter as a Bible drill will accomplish won- ders. Try it and be convinced. In the selection of supplemental work, if it is preferred to grade the school on this rather than on the regular lessons, the field is practically illimitable. No course will, therefore, be given here, but a few general principles suggested. The subject-matter should be: (1) Graded; (2) short; (3) easy; (4) definite. Graded carries with it two ideas: That it should be the very best attainable for the mental and spiritual growth, and that it should be adapted to the age and mental power of the child. It should be short and easy, so that the child and the teacher will not feel that they are undertaking something that is impossible. However, as a rule, we underesti- ‘And Power in the Sunday School. 173 mate the ability of the child to memorize, and most supplemental work is to be memorized. There are numerous instances on record of where chil- dren under eight years of age have committed to memory more than two thousand verses of Scrip- ture in one year. Of course this is too much, but it goes to show how much can be done un- der pressure. It should be definite—that is, it should be capable of an exact answer. It would not do to say that the supplemental work of a certain grade should be to learn something of Moses, the Mosaic Code, the Holy Land, etc. This is too indefinite. The course of study should state exactly what is to be learned of these. It is better, in fact, not to select such ma- terial as this for supplemental work, but let this be taught in connection with the regular lessons. Some schools grade entirely on the supplemental work, but it can just as easily be done on the regular lessons. 4. Promotions——The fourth requirement for a graded Sunday school is regular annual promo- tions. When a pupil has reached the required standard of work (say 60 to 80 per cent of the 174 The Pastor's Place of Privilege work required for his grade), he should be pro- moted. To determine when he has reached this standard, it is necessary that careful and complete records of his work be kept, and that certain tests of his work be made from time to time. The teacher should keep a class record, and in addition to this frequent reviews and quar- terly written examinations for the grades above the primary should be held. Many publishing houses now issue these questions regularly. The standing of each pupil should be kept just as care- fully as it is in the day school, and reports should be sent regularly to parents. There should be a regular annual promo- tion day. On this day public exercises should be held. Those who are to be promoted should in some way be given public recog- nition, and much should be made of the occa- sion. Certificates of promotion should be pub- licly awarded, especially to those who are pro- moted from one department to another. The promotion from grade to grade in a department can be done ina less pretentious way. Those who fail to do the work because of late entrance, ab- And Power in the Sunday School. 175 sence, or lack of study, should be promoted with- out honors or placed in separate classes. Let it be remembered that when a class is promoted the teacher should also be promoted while in a given department, but that the teacher should never be promoted beyond his department. 5. Grading the Teachers.—Perhaps all will not agree that this is essential to grading; but, to say the least, the best results cannot be obtained with- out it. It simply means that each teacher, as heretofore explained, should be placed and kept in the department to which he is best adapted and where he can therefore do his best work. ADVANTAGES, The advantages of grading are numerous and obvious. It puts pupils and teachers where they can do their best work; it puts pupils of like age and advancement together; it puts the manage- ment of the school into the hands of the authori- ties. Too often the school suffers through the whims of pupils, and of teachers too, I am sorry to say. In many schools each teacher and each pupil is a law unto himself, and the superintend- 176 The Pastors Place of Privilege ent is a mere figurehead. Grading does away with this. It asks for work, expects work, re- cords the results, and rewards the faithful. Thus good work is secured from both teachers and pupils. A SUMMARY. The following suggestions are taken from “An Up-to-Date Sunday School,” by the author, and give in brief space the substance of the whole subject: 1. How to Grade a Sunday School.—(1) Real- ize the necessity for it. (2) Determine to do it. (3) Get the cooperation of your officers and teachers. (4) Appoint a committee of the most influential members to help you. (5) Get the name, age, and grade (the readers they use in the public school if the public school is not graded) of every pupil under eighteen. (6) Take your school and begin as though you were just organizing. (7) Organize classes, putting pupils of about the same age and grade together. (8) Appoint teachers for each class after the class is formed, (9) Insist on every pupil and every teacher taking the place assigned him. And Power in the Sunday School. 177 2. Principles and Suggestions—(1) The size of the class should be determined by the ability of the teacher and the facilities of the building. Some teachers will manage and teach a class of twenty better than others will a class of five. If you have class rooms, some teachers can easily teach a class of twenty-five or more; ten will be enough for most teachers. If all recite in the same room, no teacher should be given more than ten or twelve, and usually six or seven will be better. (2) Put boys and girls in the same classes in the Primary Department. (3) Separate them in the Junior and Intermediate Departments. (4) It is immaterial in the Adult Department, but the best results are usually obtained by separating the sexes and by giving each class a teacher of its own sex. (5) As a rule, appoint lady teach- ers for the Primary Department. (6) As a rule, in the Intermediate Department, give the girls women for teachers and the boys men. (7) If any of the pupils will not do the required work, promote them without honors or form special classes for them. (8) New pupils should always be assigned to classes by the superintendent or 12 178 The Pastor's Place of Privilege his cabinet. (9) If you find that you have made mistakes in assigning teachers or pupils, re-as- sign. Some teachers will do excellent work with one class and utterly fail with another. Some can teach boys best; others, girls. Some can do the best work in one department; others, in another. (10) Be firm (not stubborn). Never allow teach- ers or pupils to select their own classes, but defer to their wishes when it can be done with- out interfering with the working of the school. (11) Pupils should be required to do about sev- enty-five per cent of the work and learn the sup- plemental work, if desired, as a condition of pro- motion. (12) This can be ascertained by re- views, examinations, and the teachers’ records. (13) Pupils who fail to do the work of any grade because of late entrance, absence, or lack of study should be permitted to go on with their classes or should be placed in classes of about equal age and advancement, but should not re- ceive promotion cards or certificates of gradua- tion or honorable mention. (14) It will be im- possible to so thoroughly classify your school that the pupils of any given class will be the And Power in the Sunday School. 179 same age and grade (public school), but this should be the ideal. (15) If opportunity pre- sents, familiarize yourself with some good, well- graded public school. The work is not identical, but similar. CHAPTER XIII. StTuDIES IN HuMAN NATURE BY DEPARTMENTS. A knowledge of the child is just as necessary to successful teaching as a knowledge of the lesson, but the subject is so technical that the average teacher will get little out of it unless guided by the pastor. No subject is attracting more atten- tion to-day than this, among both secular and religious teachers. Perhaps as many as a thou- sand books have been written on this subject in the last decade. Many questionnaires have been sent out asking almost every conceivable ques- tion of children of all ages and conditions. Much valuable information is gotten in this way; but much of it is misleading, and consequently the conclusions drawn from it are erroneous. Much that is written is mere theory, and would be of little practical value to the average teacher. Only those things that are considered as settled facts are presented here, and only such of these as bear a vital relation to the teacher’s work. (180) The Pastor in the Sunday School. 181 While life is a continuous stream, yet there are points at which there seems to be such a marked change in its character that it has been divided into periods. The division of a school into departments is not, therefore, wholly arbi- trary or merely for convenience, but is based on important laws governing child nature. For convenience it will, therefore, be just as well to make the divisions as they are made in the graded Sunday school. PERIODS OF GROWTH AS INDICATED BY THE GRADED SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1. The Cradle Roll.—From birth to three years of age. These are not dealt with directly by the teacher. 2. The Primary.—Age three to eight years. (1) Those under six who cannot read are now termed the beginners. They correspond to the kindergarten of the public school. They are at that period of life when the world is a great unknown region, into which they peer with won- dering eyes. The senses are acute and active, and all teaching must be through them. One of 182 The Pasior’s Place of Privilege the most important duties of the teacher is to train the children in correct observation. There can be very little class instruction at this age. While love and sympathy are essential to success- ful work with all children, it is imperative here. (2) This is the period of greatest physical ac- tivity, and the children should be allowed to change position frequently. (3) Children of this age are striving to adjust themselves to their surroundings, and need the sympathetic aid of a teacher in whom the mother instinct is strong. (4) Mentally, children of this age seem to be a bundle of instincts, which develop later into a bundle of habits, and the teacher is to guide and give direction to the development. See sec- tion on “How Instincts Become Habits.” (5) The play instinct is especially strong. If given an opportunity, the child will show its interpreta- tion of its teaching by the application that it makes of it to its play. The best possible time to study the children is at play. Here they are more natural and more free to express themselves than elsewhere. (6) Reasoning and judgment exist only in a rudimentary form. The child And Power in the Sunday School. 183 has learned to trace the connection between acts and their consequences, but no power of drawing conclusions from abstract facts is yet developed. (7) Children at this age are highly imitative, and the teacher, through her personal influence, must develop in the minds of the children those thoughts and feelings that point Godward. She must be what she wishes the children to become. (8) The memory at this age is concrete, and the child can readily recall what he hears or sees, but not what is told him as a mere abstraction. (9) The imagination is strong and verges dangerous- ly near to fancy. The child is frequently unable to distinguish between fact and fancy, and should not be accused of falsehood when he “sees things at night,” or even in the daytime for that mat- ter. Exaggerations are frequent. (10) The emo- tions are fickle, but it is now believed that every strong emotion in a child leaves a deposit of char- acter, either for good or for bad, that will ever re- main. (11) A child’s feelings develop before his intellect. He can learn to love before he can understand. (12) To a great extent, children of this age are egoistic or selfish. They have not 184 The Pastor's Place of Privilege yet learned that “there are others.” It is a great wrong to a child to encourage this disposition. It is only the seed of humanity germinating in the virgin soil of self; and it is the teacher’s duty, through loving deeds to others, to train the grow- ing organism away from self and toward God and humanity. (13) Fear, wonder, curiosity, and delight are emotions that the teacher may appeal to at this age. (14) The teacher’s greatest op- portunity is in the implicit faith of the child in all things. If not deceived, it believes absolutely everything that is told it. (15) Little discern- ment of right and wrong is present, and the child must learn by practice to distinguish them. A child at this age can be taught that almost any- thing is right or wrong. Hence the importance of correct teaching. (16) The child responds readily to rhythm at this age, and hence delights in music, motion songs, marching, ete. (17) Self-government is a thing unknown, and there- fore the personality of the teacher must be su- preme. (18) The vocabulary and experience are exceedingly limited. The teacher should there- fore use the very simplest words and get down And Power in the Sunday School. 185 on the intellectual plane of the child. (19) The children of this age are self-unconscious and sex- unconscious. Hence, boys and girls may be put together in classes, and social distinctions may be ignored here that will demand consideration in the other departments. (20) Do not teach what is wrong, but what is right. Every fault is the lack of some virtue that it has displaced. It is a great mistake to construct a catalogue of wrong words and acts to be avoided by the pupils of this age. Later it may perhaps be done. It not only puts wrong ideas into their heads not there before, but distorts the right ideas there. Posi- tive, not negative, teaching is what the child needs. Sow the virgin soil of heart and mind with seeds of righteousness, and seeds of evil cannot grow. 3. The Junior.—Age nine to twelve. (1) This is the habit-forming period par excellence. The foundation of correct experiences should now be built into correct habits. The teacher should be thoroughly familiar with the evil influences that beset children of this age. This is the age when companionships are formed.