tihvary of trhe Cheolojical Seminary 
 
 PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 
 
 •«^l> 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Rufus H. LeFevre 
 
 .S.F7&5 
 
Zi}t Cljilb anb tfje Cfjurcf) 
 
APR 21 m^ 
 
 By ./ 
 Bishop H. H. Fout, D.D. 
 
 With Introduction by 
 
 Rev. W. O. Fries, D.D. 
 
 Dayton, Ohio 
 
 THE OTTERBEIN PRESS 
 
 1913 
 
TO THE DEAR MEMORY OF 
 
 MY MOTHER 
 
 WHOSE LIFE OF GENTLENESS 
 
 AND 
 
 SELF-SACRIFICING SERVICE 
 
 HAS LAID ON ME A DEBT OF GRATITUDE 
 
 THAT CAN NEVER BE REPAID 
 
 I DEDICATE 
 
 THIS LITTLE VOLUME 
 
 %o 
 
THIS little volume is the out- 
 growth of two addresses — one 
 delivered before the Council of Evan- 
 gelical Denominations at Toronto, 
 Ontario, January 24, 1912; the other 
 before the General Conference of the 
 United Brethren Church at Decatur, 
 Illinois, May 10, 1913. In response 
 to repeated requests the work of pre- 
 paring these chapters was undertaken. 
 The task has been one of genuine 
 pleasure. The purpose of the book is to 
 emphasize the child's rights in the 
 Father's family as set forth in the nine 
 great utterances of the Master con- 
 cerning childhood. These constitute 
 the magna charta of the religious rights 
 and privileges of the child. To exalt 
 the child is to return to Christ, and to 
 safeguard its unfolding life is to renew 
 his teaching and endeavor. 
 
 — The Author 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Dedication 5 
 
 Introduction 11 
 
 I 
 
 The Gospel of Childhood 17 
 
 II 
 The Church in the Home 61 
 
 III 
 The Sunday School and Public Worship. . . 91 
 
Introduction 
 
 IF Tertullian was right when he said, "Keligion 
 is Batural to man," then we must recognize 
 the religious principle as existing in the child, 
 and begin to train him as a religious being even 
 before he has matured sufficiently to declare his 
 acceptance of Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. 
 That 'Taeaven lies about its in our infancy" is true, 
 because every one is bom into this world with a re- 
 ligious nature. 
 
 The religious element in a child begins to mani- 
 fest itself early, and the stages of development are 
 quite noticeable. Nanny Lee Eraser, an experienced 
 and successful teacher of children, says : "A child in 
 the Beginners' Department learns that God is his 
 Father; a child in the Primary Department begins 
 to learn that he is God's child, and the relationship 
 is strengthened ; but a boy or girl in the Junior De- 
 partment begins to understand what it is to have an 
 Elder Brother, and to go one step further in under- 
 standing that there must be definite decision for the 
 Elder Brother." 
 
 Many persons are unwilling to accord to children 
 credit for what they really do appreciate and under- 
 stand of the gospel. Says one who has made care- 
 ful observations along this line, "Experience proves 
 that no truths are so readily understood, and no 
 
 11 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 facts so easily grasped as those that make up the 
 content of the gospel. We may ask. Why is this? 
 It is so because of the affinity between those truths 
 and the simple, trustful spirit that is natural to 
 childhood. 
 
 The worth of the child to the church and to the 
 kingdom of God is worthy of consideration. When a 
 child of ordinary capacity, and destitute of prop- 
 erty is converted to God and admitted to church 
 membership, he frequently becomes worth more to 
 the cavise of Christ than many wealthy persons who 
 are converted in the evening, or even at the noon- 
 tide of life. 
 
 The attendance of children upon the general serv- 
 ices of the church is a matter of great importance, 
 and merits all the attention it is now receiving from 
 thoughtful and experienced leaders in Sunday-school 
 and church work. Various methods for securing 
 their attendance have been suggested, and some have 
 been sviccessfully tried out, such as the keeping of a 
 record and giving rewards for attendance, the com- 
 bined service, and the Junior Congregation, or sec- 
 ond service designed especially for children. Why 
 should not the children, who constitute fifty per cent, 
 of the church's field and force, be entitled to one 
 service of public worship every Sunday, and to at 
 least fifty per cent, of the pastor's time? Tlie re- 
 sponsibility for children attending the preaching 
 service does not rest upon any one individual. Par- 
 ents, church officers, the Sunday-school superintend- 
 ent and teachers must all heartily co-operate in 
 
 12 
 
Introduction 
 
 whatever plan may he adopted, and also set an exam- 
 ple in cliurch-going. The Sunday school must ac- 
 cept it as a part of its mission and work to train 
 the child to church attendance; and only when this 
 is accomplished will the full fruitage of effort be 
 realized. 
 
 The purpose of this book is an admirable one — to 
 emphasize the relation of the child to the kingdom 
 of Christ as taught in the Word of God, and to set 
 forth the proper attitude of the church toward the 
 child in view of this relation. That there is some 
 need of further enlightenment on the child's relig- 
 ious nature and moral standing before God, and a 
 quickening of the conscience of some parents and 
 teachers touching their obligations to the little ones, 
 cannot be questioned. It is to this end that Bishop 
 Font, out of his heart-convictions and experience in 
 religious work, aspires to make a helpful contribu- 
 tion to those who are charged with the duty of in- 
 structing and training the young. The purpose is 
 concrete rather than dogmatic, and appeals more di- 
 rectly and strongly to the guardian of youth than 
 to the theologian. The views exiiressed concerning 
 the status of children in God's kingdom are thor- 
 oughly scriptural, and in accord with the general 
 belief of the church. 
 
 The mission of this splendid book is to every 
 home. The truths taught are exceedingly practical, 
 and are set forth in clear and forcible language. It 
 is a valuable contribution to the study of a vital 
 teaching of Christianity. Its careful reading will 
 
 13 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 provoke deeper thoughtfulness and stimulate to 
 greater effort in a realm of parental and Christian 
 duty that means much to the individual and to the 
 establishment of Christ's kingdom in the earth. 
 
 W. O. Fries. 
 
 14 
 
Srije (iogpel of Cfiilbijoob 
 
I. 
 
 The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 THE Christian religion is unique in the 
 emphasis it places upon childhood. 
 Other religions ignore or forget the 
 child. Mohammed seems to know nothing 
 about children. Ancient literature, except 
 the Old Testament, is quite barren of allu- 
 sions to children. In the Bible is found the 
 only appreciation. In mythology the gods 
 are not born as children; they come upon 
 the stage full grown. Evidently childhood, 
 under the Greek and Roman civilizations, 
 was dishonored or ignored or largely subor- 
 dinated ; but to-day the child looms up large 
 and splendid on the horizon of the world's 
 attention. 
 
 The rise of interest in child life is modern. 
 There is not a child in all Shakespeare, in 
 Victor Hugo, in George Eliot, in all the 
 first-class writers of the past century, ex- 
 cept the last quarter of the century. Within 
 this period, more than a thousand volumes 
 have been written on child life, child psy- 
 
 17 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 chology, and child nurture. This is indeed 
 an age of the child. It is the age of the kin- 
 dergarten; it is the age of juvenile courts; 
 it is the age of newsboy's homes and houses 
 of reform; it is the age of legal protection 
 for childhood; it is the age when child life 
 is being more scientifically studied than 
 ever before in all the history of the w^orld; 
 it is an age of increasing demand tihat 
 courses of study in religious education 
 should be based on sound pedagogical prin- 
 ciples, meeting the need of the child at each 
 stage of development. Christianity is re- 
 sponsible for this change. 
 
 Jesus Christ is the first great teacher, 
 who, by word and example, was the friend 
 and champion of childhood. In contrast 
 with the attitude of all the other great mas- 
 ters of men, especially outside the Jewish 
 commonwealth, he loved, honored, and re- 
 spected cliildhood. He located the child at 
 the very center of Christian influence. In 
 answer to the question of the disciples, 
 "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 
 Jesus "called to him a little child, and set 
 
 18 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 him in the midst of them." It was an object 
 lesson more impressive than any words 
 that might have been spoken, setting forth 
 the present and potential value of the child, 
 and the greatness of the child spirit. In 
 that vision of peace when the lion and the 
 lamb shall lie down together, under the be- 
 neficent reign of love, the prophet adds, "A 
 little child shall lead them." 
 
 God has put the child at the center, and 
 we must not attempt to change the divine 
 order. The world's work organizes about 
 the child. For him the husbandman plows 
 and sows and reaps; for him the builder 
 builds; and for him the miner delves. A 
 child's hand, in fact, is upon the lever of 
 every engine; steam is his obedient slave, 
 and electricity is his wonder-working ge- 
 nie. For, when you follow the circles of 
 human activity, however wide may be their 
 reach, you will find that, slowly but inevi- 
 tably, they draw in about our common cen- 
 ter, and at that center is the child. 
 
 The spirit of patriotism centers in the 
 child. The patriot thinks not merely of his 
 
 19 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 coimtry's present interests, bnt of its future 
 prosperity and glory. He dreams of his 
 children, and of his children's children, 
 down all the coming generations. A pa- 
 triotism like this should be fostered for the 
 kingdom of God. God called Abraham his 
 friend; but he was looking beyond Abra- 
 ham to his children, through whom the di- 
 vine ideals were to be realized. It is this 
 which gives sublimity to the promises of 
 God to Abraham. They reveal the sweep of 
 the divine wisdom over the future. 
 
 The future of the home, church, and state 
 is wrapped up in the child. In the light 
 of the amazing possibilities of childhood, 
 the picture of "the child in the midst," will 
 be studied with increasing appreciation. It 
 is worthy to be immortalized in highest art 
 as heaven's estimate of child-life and its 
 place in the kingdom of God. The disciples 
 were dreaming of worldly honors. They 
 were thinking of the kingdom of heaven in 
 terms of the kingdoms of the earth. The 
 child becomes the teacher, and they must 
 learn the lesson that true greatness con- 
 20 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 sists in character rather than high position, 
 that the spirit of the child, who thinks not 
 of outward honor, is the condition of great- 
 ness in the Ivingdom of God. 
 
 It is easj to imagine the expression of 
 combined affection and concern on the face 
 of Jesns as he with his disciples looked upon 
 that little child in the center of the circle. 
 Some artist has painted a picture of Sir 
 Walter Scott, with his little pet Marjorie 
 wrapped up in his big south country plaid, 
 and his arms tightly about her; on Marjo- 
 rie's face is the expression of perfect trust 
 and joy, and on the bending face of Sir 
 Walter Scott, as he looked upon the little 
 child, is the light of tender affection. That 
 is a hint of how Jesus must have looked 
 when he took the little child in his arms, and 
 then set him in the midst of the disciples. 
 
 With the attention of the disciples fixed 
 on "the child in the midst," Jesus would 
 have them think with him how that all his 
 ideals and hopes for the future of humanity 
 are bound up in the children. The child of 
 to-day is the potency of to-morrow. Says 
 
 21 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 Amory Bradford, "The inexhaustible Christ, 
 the one who years afterward would be so 
 full of God that divinity would be exhaled 
 from hira, as perfume from the flowers, or as 
 light from the dawn, was hidden in that 
 child in Bethlehem." The Babe of Bethle- 
 hem is a prophecy of the possibilities of 
 every child. Every mother may sing above 
 her cradled babe, "You may be a Christ or 
 a Shakespeare, little child, a savior or a son 
 to a lost world." 
 
 As the cliild is, so the coming age will be. 
 Shall it help to bring in the glories seen by 
 the prophet and seer, or shall the old world 
 move onward unto night? Tremendous is 
 the responsibility which rests upon those 
 who are entrusted with child life. When 
 the church has fully recognized the extent, 
 value, and power of her high calling she will 
 turn to the religious training of her youth 
 with a common consent that here she must 
 take lier stand. Three times in a century 
 God recreates the world through childhood. 
 With each new generation he impanels a 
 new jury to try the case of truth against 
 
 22 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 error, and holiness against sin. If there 
 AA^ere no deaths or no births, we might well 
 despair of the world ; but the kingdom and 
 the King are forever born anew in the life 
 of the little child. 
 
 With the child as his text, Jesus made 
 nine brief statements concerning childlike- 
 ness, and the relation of children to himself 
 and to his kingdom. These cover the whole 
 ground, and furnish so full a revelation of 
 God's will as to leave no room for doubt or 
 misconception. 
 
 I. 
 
 The first of Christ's utterances to be con- 
 sidered has reference to admission into the 
 kingdom, and really involves the whole 
 question of membership in it, ''Except ye 
 turn and become as little children, ye shall 
 in no loise enter into the kingdom of heav- 
 en/' ( Matt. 18 : 3 ; Mark 10 : 15 ; Luke 18 : 
 17. ) This was severe on the disciples, com- 
 pletely inverting their notion; rather than 
 the children become like them, they must be- 
 come like the children. The conclusion is 
 
 23 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 simply this: As cliildlikeness is a state nec- 
 essary to entrance into the kingdom, child- 
 hood is the surest and best time for that en- 
 trance. If Christ says that adults are to be- 
 come as little children, why should we insist 
 that little children are to become like adults 
 before they shall be recognized as having a 
 place in the kingdom? Moreover, it is here 
 definitelj^ stated that the little child repre- 
 sents the kingdom of heaven, and that the 
 adult sinner must be converted and become 
 as a little child if he shall enter the kingdom 
 of heaven. 
 
 The deep impression made by this inci- 
 dent on the disciples appears in the fact that 
 it is related by all the synoptists. The les- 
 son revolutionized their conception of great- 
 ness, and set forth not only the way into the 
 kingdom, but also the characteristic spirit 
 of the new dispensation. 
 
 11. 
 
 In his second statement, the Master as- 
 serts that whoever, having entered the king- 
 dom, would become great in it, must con- 
 24 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 tinue childlike. ''Whoever, therefore, shall 
 humble himself as this little child, the same 
 is the greatest in the kingdom, of heaven/^ 
 (Matt. 18:4.) The Master here impresses 
 the lesson that the law of entrance, and the 
 law of growth in the kingdom ai'e identical. 
 The very qualities, which fit a child for re- 
 ceiving the kingdom, prepare a man for 
 progress in it. 
 
 The phrase, "humble himself," is very ex- 
 pressive, suggesting the thought of volun- 
 tary self-mastery, and self-subjection. The 
 error of the disciples lay not in their desire 
 to be great in the kingdom of heaven, but in 
 their ideal of greatness. Aspiration is not 
 the same as ambition; it is better, for it 
 looks Godward, while ambition looks man- 
 ward. Jesus did not rebuke the desire to 
 be great, but told how to direct it. 
 
 Humility, which here represents child- 
 likeness, not only leads to greatness, but is 
 greatness. Humility, reverence, docility, 
 frankness, faith, the unsuspecting and for- 
 giving disposition, are the childlike quali- 
 ties, and they are alike the qualities of even 
 
 25 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 the greatest men. When MacMahon re- 
 turned victorious from the battle of Ma- 
 genta, all Paris came out to welcome him. 
 IMany were the honors heaped upon the 
 brave bronzed soldier. As he was passing 
 in triumph through the streets and boule- 
 vards, a little child ran out toward him with 
 a bunch of flowers in her hand. He stooped 
 down and lifted her up before him, and she 
 stood there, her arms twining about his 
 neck, as he rode on. This simple exhibition 
 of gentleness toward a little child pleased 
 the people more, and seemed a more beauti- 
 ful act in their eyes for the moment, than 
 all the memory of his heroic deeds on the 
 battlefield. Men are greatest and best, not 
 when they are wrestling with the world, not 
 when they are putting forth the startling 
 qualities of power, not when they are play- 
 ing the hero in great contests, but when they 
 are exhibiting most of the spirit of a little 
 child. 
 
 III. 
 After announcing that the way to great' 
 ness in the kingdom of heaven was by child- 
 
 26 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 like humility, Jesus passes from this charac- 
 teristic of the child to the child himself, and 
 asijs/^And tohoso shall receive one such lit- 
 tle child in my name receiveth me." (Matt. 
 18:5; Mark 9:37; Luke 9:48.) Nothing 
 could be more intensely personal or more 
 finely dramatic. The children are recog- 
 nized as the special envoys of the King of 
 kings. Some one has well said, "There is 
 enough in this statement, even if it stood 
 alone, to furnish the grounds for the most 
 elaborate and painstaking system of shep- 
 herding the most obscure and neglected 
 children on earth." To receive the child is 
 to receive Christ, and to receive Christ is to 
 receive God. The child is the miniature of 
 the divine ; as a drop of dew can mirror the 
 sun, so the child life reflects the divine life. 
 The child is the miracle of Eden repeated, a 
 new creation fresh from the hand of God. 
 
 To receive children in Christ's name, 
 means to care for them as Christ would have 
 them cared for. And the first thing is to 
 recognize that they belong to the kingdom. 
 The second thing is to keep them in the 
 
 27 
 
The^Child and the Church 
 
 kingdom. This is primarily the responsi- 
 bility of the church. Even as the problem 
 of citizenship is to keep every child true to 
 its own land, rather than to naturalize the 
 native born, so it is the work of the church 
 to keep the child true to its sweet and fresh 
 allegiance to the kingdom of the Father. 
 Every child born into the world belongs to 
 Christ at the beginning. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The fourth utterance of our Lord begins 
 with a word of caution used in pointing to 
 danger. "Take heed that ye despise not one 
 of these little ones." (Matt. 18:10.) The 
 mildest meaning of the word "despise" is, 
 to undervalue ; the harshest is, to pour con- 
 tempt upon. The fault of the disciples then, 
 is the fault of the church now — that of un- 
 dervaluing children and child life. The 
 making of a, wrong estimate results in all 
 manner of wrong going. The provision the 
 church makes for the care and development 
 of her diildren marks accurately the value 
 in which the child is held. Until recently 
 there was little room in our churches for 
 
 28 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 the children. Church architecture luade no 
 provision for them. In the children's de- 
 partments of our public libraries there are 
 training-schools for children, and neither a 
 librarian nor an architect would dream of 
 constructing a new building without mak- 
 ing provision for the children. There are 
 tombs, but no cradles in Westminster Abbey. 
 If a church is to be a mausoleum, you may 
 leave the cradles out, not otherwise. This 
 no-room difficulty confronted the parents of 
 our children's best Friend. 
 
 Instead of an attitude of indifference, 
 Christ would have his church give the child 
 the largest place in its thought and care. 
 This should apply not only to the religious 
 education of the child, but to the plan of 
 church buildings, their equipment, and or- 
 der of services. The story is told of Fran- 
 cis Xavier that on a certain occasion, when 
 worn out with his many labors, he flung him- 
 self down to rest, and said to his servant : "I 
 must sleep ; if I do not I shall die. Whoever 
 comes do not awake me; tell them I am 
 asleep." The servant watching the door of 
 
 29 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 the missionary's tent soon saw the pale face 
 of Xavier, and heard him say: "I made a 
 mistake. If a little child comes, awaken 
 me." 
 
 Of all places where the church ought never 
 to sleep, but be awake to her duty, it is in 
 her relationship to the child. Gladstone, 
 England's greatest premier and statesman, 
 once made the statement : "The relationship 
 of the church to the youth of Great Britain 
 is a matter of greater importance than all 
 the combined problems of the British Em- 
 pire." Ex-President Roosevelt likewise 
 said : "If you are going to do anything per- 
 manent for the average man, you must 
 begin before he is a man. The chance of 
 success lies in working with the boy and not 
 with the man." No greater and more vital 
 truth has ever been announced from two 
 continents by two of the world's greatest 
 master-men than the identical truth in their 
 respective statements. The problem of the 
 child is by far the most important problem 
 with which the cliurch and state have to 
 deal; because the child is the citizen and 
 Christian of to-morrow. 
 
 30 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 Tlie child, therefore, is not an object to be 
 despised, but honored and respected. To 
 the church of to-day our Lord is saying: 
 "Take heed that ye do not undervalue the 
 children." Many churches need to learn this 
 lesson. Some pastors and evangelists take 
 great pride in giving their converts the dis- 
 tinction of being "heads of families," or 
 "mostly adults." It is a great work, indeed, 
 to lead a man of mature years to Christ, and 
 it may be because of the difficulty and rare- 
 ness of the occurrence that some men take 
 pride in thus characterizing their converts. 
 The truth is, however, that but one infer- 
 ence can be put upon such a report — the 
 pastor thinks lightly of the value of chil- 
 dren, and would consider the reception into 
 the membership of his church of children 
 a thing of insignificant importance. 
 
 How pathetically often does the eye light 
 on this paragraph in a religious paper: "A 
 gracious ingathering; one hundred acces- 
 sions, mostly adults." How seldom, if ever, 
 does the eye light on such a paragraph as 
 this, "A gracious ingathering; one hundred 
 
 31 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 accessions, mostly little children." Why 
 not? "As a pastor," says Bishop William 
 A. Qimyle, "I definitely believe that the most 
 fruitful work a people can do is to give heed 
 to the children, to brinj^ them into the 
 church, to tutor them in the church, to put 
 their childish feet on the highway to the 
 heavenly mountain; and in heaven they will 
 rise up and call him blesse<l." 
 
 The note of triumph belongs to the an- 
 nouncement, if it should ever appear, "One 
 hundred accessions, all of them children 
 and youth" ; all of them consecrating the 
 freshness and vigor of their best years to 
 Christ; all of them giving not the fag-end 
 of worn out lives to Christ, but the strength 
 and beauty of their youth, as well as the ma- 
 turity of their manhood and womanhood, 
 and the ripe mellowness of their old age. 
 The sere and the yellow leaf is not so val- 
 uable a gift as the bud and the blossom, the 
 flower and the fruit. 
 
 V. 
 
 In the fifth statement a guard of start- 
 ling penalty is thrown about childhood. '^But 
 
 32 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 whoso shall caiise one of these little ones 
 that believe on me to stumble, it is profit- 
 able for him that a great millstone should 
 be hanged about his nech, and that he should, 
 be sunk in the depth of the sea.'' ( Matt. 18 : 
 C. ) The manner of death alluded to appears 
 to have been unknown to the Jews ; but Plu- 
 tarcli mentions this punishment as being 
 common in Greece and Eome. It was re- 
 garded as the most swift and terrible pun- 
 ishment for crime. 
 
 How great must be the sin of obstructing 
 the child's way to the kingdom of heaven! 
 The Greek verb translated "offend" in the 
 Old Version and "cause to stumble" in the 
 American Revision, originally meant "the 
 stick in a trap on which the bait is placed, 
 and which springs up and shuts the trap at 
 the touch of any animal." Hence, Jesus did 
 not mean simply to "vex" or "wound the 
 feelings" of the child, — this of itself is a mat- 
 ter well worthy of regard by every Chris- 
 tian, — -but, rather, "tempting or leading 
 him into evil," by neglect, by bad example, 
 by all that tends to repress the enthusiasm 
 
 33 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 of chiklliood for Christ, or by whatever 
 tempts them into the snares of Satan, bad 
 habits, vice, and drink. The word means to 
 mislead, to injure in any serious respect, 
 and especially in their relations as believ- 
 ers on Christ. At all cost, children must be 
 encouraged in their religions inclinations; 
 they must be aided and not hindered on 
 their way to Christ. 
 
 The neglected child is the millstone 
 about the neck of modern society. It is the 
 weight upon the wheels that impedes the 
 progress of our Lord's kingdom in the earth. 
 Is it any wonder that the Master uttered so 
 fearful condemnation on the obstruction- 
 ists? The great task is to keep the road 
 clear. Stumbling means lost time and im- 
 paired efficiency. It must be clear to all that 
 our Lord's purpose in these utterances is to 
 help the church to see that the sure and 
 speedy method of Christianizing the world 
 is to capture life at its fountainhead, and 
 direct it unobstructed along proper and le- 
 gitimate channels. 
 
 It is the first duty of the church to protect 
 her heritage of youth, and to champion ev- 
 
 34 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 ery interest of the child. The age is calling 
 for the conservation of the child in the realm 
 of tlie physical life. The church should en- 
 courage every philanthropic organization 
 that has for its purpose the physical better- 
 ment of the child. The "cry of the chil- 
 dren," because of poverty, work, cruelty, 
 homelessness, disease, ought to be heard by 
 the Christian church with a sympathetic 
 heart, with a hand ready to help the fresh- 
 air work, the play-ground work, the social- 
 settlement work, the orphan's home, the So- 
 ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Chil- 
 dren, and the lawmaker who seeks to make 
 laws for happier childhood. With a knowl- 
 edge of the Divine resources, and how to 
 bring them to bear upon her tasks, the 
 church ought to pray for the child in his 
 physical need, saying "Amen" to that beau- 
 tiful petition of Professor Kauschenbusch : 
 "O thou Great Father of the weak, lay thy 
 hand tenderly on all the little children, and 
 on each, and bless them. Be good to all chil- 
 dren who long in vain for human love, or 
 for flowers and water and the sweet breath 
 
 35 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 of nature, and bless with a seven-fold bless- 
 ing the young lives whose slender shoulders 
 are already bowed beneath the yoke of toil, 
 and whose glad growth is being stunted for- 
 ever. Grant to all employers of labor stout 
 hearts to refuse enrichment at such a price. 
 Grant to all the citizens and officers of the 
 state which now permit this wrong the grace 
 of holy anger. Help us to realize that every 
 child of our nation is in very truth our 
 child, a member of our great family. By the 
 holy child that nestled in Mary's bosom, by 
 the memory of our own childhood, its joys 
 and sorrows, by the sacred possibilities that 
 slumber in every child, we beseech thee to 
 keep us from killing the sweetness of young 
 life by the greed of gain." 
 
 The conservation of the child in the realm 
 of his religious life is an age-compelling 
 need. The church must protect the child 
 from the foes that seek to destroy his pure 
 life. 
 
 Queen Victoria bad visited one of the 
 great provincial cities of England to per- 
 form an important public function. A large 
 
 36 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 clioir composed of three or four thousand 
 bo3's and g:irls had been organized to sing a 
 song of welcome. The next morning, when 
 the Queen got back to the palace, she at once 
 sent a message to the mayor of the city 
 which she had visited. It had no reference 
 to the civic formalities, but came straight 
 from the great mother heart of Victoria. 
 This was the message, "The Queen wishes 
 to know, Did the children all get home 
 safely?" Are the children safe? No more 
 important or momentous question can be 
 asked. 
 
 The period of adolescence is the time of all 
 times in the life of the developing human 
 being, when he is most susceptible to relig- 
 ious impressions, and responds most read- 
 ily to the appeal of Christ. He is just com- 
 ing to a sense of his own individuality. He 
 feels within him the awakening of strange 
 powers and of vague deep longings. He 
 yearns after the ideal, and Christ, presented 
 to him in the right way, iDrecisely meets and 
 satisfies his inward longings. It is an op- 
 portunity which, if allowed to pass unim- 
 proved, never returns. 
 37 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 Carefully collected statistics show that 
 about seven-eighths of all the people iu the 
 world, who profess to be Christians, entered 
 upon the Christian life, or made the Cliris- 
 tian profession under the age of seventeen. 
 Professor Starbuck found the average age 
 of conversion of fifty-one men to be fifteen 
 and seven-tenths years, and of eighty-six 
 women, thirteen and eiglit-tenths years. Ac- 
 cording to Doctor Luther Gulick, reports 
 from five hundred and twelve officers of the 
 Young Men's Christian Association in the 
 United States and British jirovinces show 
 that the average age when they were first 
 deeply affected by religious influence was 
 thirteen and seven-tenths. In his book en- 
 titled "The Spiritual Life," Professor 
 George Adam Coe presents a chart in which 
 he shows that decisions for Christ may be 
 expected in large numbers between the ages 
 of eleven and seventeen. Above that age the 
 number rapidly decreased, until those who 
 begin tlie Christian life beyond the age of 
 thirty, represent an almost insignificant 
 fraction. "This chart," says Doctor John 
 
 38 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 T, McFarland, "is one of the most important 
 things that within fifty years has been 
 thrown down on the table of the church for 
 its study." It clearly outlines the zone of 
 greatest productiveness in the spiritual life 
 of man. 
 
 The church must be prompt in her minis- 
 try to the child. A policy of neglect is un- 
 pardonable and tremendously expensive. 
 Dr. J. Douglas Adams well says : "Better a 
 wire fence at the edge of a precipice, than 
 a magnificent hospital at tlie bottom of it." 
 Let us be at the wire-fence building, and 
 never rest until it is done. Let us not wait 
 until with sad faces and broken hearts we 
 have to play the part of nurses, to minister 
 to the bruised bodies and souls of those 
 who were once our boys and girls. 
 
 When the problem of properly dealing 
 with young life during its early stages of 
 development shall have been solved, the 
 church will enter upon her brightest era 
 since the day of Pentecost. The position of 
 supreme strategic importance in the holy 
 war will then have been won. 
 39 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 lu tlie statement of the Master we are 
 now eonsideriuij:, child faith is recognized — 
 "Whoso shall cause one of these little ones 
 that helicvc on me to stumble." These nine 
 utterances apply primarily to the little 
 child who was the text and object lesson in 
 the discourse. There was a tradition in the 
 early church that this child was Ignatius, 
 af terAvard saint and martyr. 
 
 Childhood is preeminently the period of 
 faith; not a faith to be discounted, as is 
 often done by reason of the fact that it is 
 child faith, but a faith the truest, the sim- 
 plest, and the most effectual ever known to 
 any period of man's life. After we have 
 gone through with our long drawn out theo- 
 ries of the doctrines, when we come back to 
 faith, we come back to where we were as 
 children. The great doctrine of the atone- 
 ment must be taken by simple faith. It is 
 at this point iliat the child has a tremendous 
 spiritual advantage over the man. The man 
 looks for theories, the child hears a message, 
 the man argues, the child enquires. lie takes 
 the story for precisely what it is — good news 
 
 40 
 
The Gospel of CMldhood 
 
 about God. So we must receive the kingdom 
 of heaven as a little child. 
 
 When we hear our children offering their 
 prayers at night, there is often with us a 
 longing that they may keep their faith as 
 fresh and dewy when the years bring them 
 to the strength and glory of young manhood 
 and womanhood, even when the shadows 
 lengthen and they approach the sunset gates 
 where the evening of time and morning of 
 eternity strangely and beautifully meet. 
 There is more than this longing; there is 
 often the confidence that God will pay par- 
 ticular heed to the prayer of the little ones. 
 An old school reader gives the lesson of 
 child faith well : The passengers on the ship 
 were affrighted; the captain gave up hope, 
 and drunk with fear staggered down the 
 stairway. 
 
 "But his little daughter whispered. 
 As she took her father's hand, 
 Is not God upon the ocean, 
 Just the same as on the land?" 
 Awhile ago, a little daughter of eight 
 summers, when a terrific storm was raging, 
 4X 
 
Tlw Child and the Church 
 
 nestled into her motlier's arms, and placing 
 her bands about ber neck, said: "Mamma, 
 don't be afraid, God will not let ns get bnrt 
 if we have been good. He loves ns and will 
 take care of us ; because be says he will." 
 
 In a southern hospital, a little girl was 
 about to undergo a critical operation. When 
 she mounted the table to be etherized, the 
 doctor said : "Mary, before we can make you 
 well we must put you to sleep." "Oh, then, 
 if you are going to put me to sleep," she re- 
 plied sweetly, "I must say my prayer first." 
 And getting down on her knees and folding 
 her hands, she repeated the prayer taught 
 her by her mother : 
 
 "Now I lay me down to sleep, 
 I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 
 If I should die before I wake, 
 I pray the Lord my soul to take. 
 And this I ask for Jesus' sake. Amen." 
 There were some moist eyes, for deep 
 chords were touched, and the surgeon said 
 afterwards, "I prayed that night for the first 
 time in thirty years." 
 
 It is upon the intruder of the sacred 
 heavenly precincts of childhood faith to 
 
 42 
 
The Oospel of Childhood 
 
 destroy or misguide it, that the swift and 
 terrible punishment is attached — "It were 
 better for him that a millstone were hanged 
 abont his neck, and tliat he should be sunk in 
 the depth of the sea." No more striking 
 presentation of the inestimable value of 
 child faith, and the importance of its pres- 
 ervation could be given than that of our 
 Lord throwing this guard of startling pen- 
 alty around it. 
 
 VI. 
 
 When the disciples, through blindness, 
 were objecting to Jesus receiving little chil- 
 dren, he said, '^Suffer the little children to 
 come unto me/' ( Matt. 19 : 14 ; Luke 18 : 5 ; 
 Mark 10 : 14. ) The term means, permit, al- 
 low them to come. The imiiulse is within 
 them, and within the hearts of truly pious 
 parents, and the demand of Jesus is that it 
 shall not be obstructed. Of some Jesus said, 
 "Compel them to come," but of the children 
 he said, "Suffer them to come." It was as 
 if he had said, "Simply open the way; they 
 will come if they are permitted to come." 
 
 43 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 The presence of Jesus must have been dis- 
 tinctly attractive and impressive. Children 
 responded at once to his winsomeness. Tliis 
 is the highest test. Fresh from the hand 
 of God, they are drawn to the pure and 
 good; they are repelled by selfishness and 
 badness; they draw out the best; they are 
 drawn only b}' the true and beautiful and 
 good. This is an infallible test. This told 
 most of the winsomeness of Jesus. Tlie lit- 
 tle child, being a reflection of the divine 
 nature, is at home with Jesus, and readily 
 responds to his call, and reaches out his lit- 
 tle arms to receive his embrace. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The seventh statement of our Lord lias an 
 official force and flavor, and may be re- 
 garded as primarily a command to the 
 church, '' Fori) id them not." That the church 
 is, in a large measure, violating this com- 
 mand, greatly to its own loss, and greatly .' i 
 the injury of the children, scarcely needs 
 to be argued. 
 
 "By .a policy of neglect, by the almost ex- 
 clusive expenditure of its energies upon 
 44 
 
The Gospel of CMldhood 
 
 efforts at adnlt conversion and culture, by 
 omitting from the architecture of its houses 
 of worship, and in its sermons all considera- 
 tion of a place for tlie children, by a failure 
 to provide any well-adapted system of in- 
 struction, until very recent years, and only 
 partially so now, and above all by a, failure 
 to use the family, in accord with the divine 
 intent, for the training of children in the 
 nurture of a spiritual life, the church is, 
 like the disciples in the incident, forbidding 
 the children to come to Jesus ; and the Christ 
 of to-day, like the Christ in that incident, is 
 rebuking his remiss and short-sighted fol- 
 lowers for such an attitude." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The eighth statement of our Lord comes 
 directly to the heart of the subject, ''^For of 
 such is tlie Jdngdom of heaven/^ Thus, when 
 the great teacher speaks definitely of the re- 
 lation of the children to the kingdom of God, 
 he uses the genitive of possession and says 
 "of such." Doctor Henr^^ Van Dyke says, 
 "It is as if Jesus had said, 'The kingdom of 
 heaven belongs to such.' " It is the chil- 
 
 45 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 dren's inheritance, their possession, their 
 kingdom. 
 
 Infant baptism does not represent a cure, 
 nor does it represent a prophecy, it rather 
 represents a fact, a very blessed fact; all 
 children are members of the kingdom of 
 God, and, therefore, are graciously entitled 
 to baptism and all the rights and privileges 
 of the church. Jesus, the supreme theolo- 
 gian "who understood to its bitter roots the 
 nature of man's original sin, and its effects 
 on human nature in the generations which 
 followed, stood in the midst of the centu- 
 ries and, stooping down, lifted up a little 
 child and held him up before the eyes of all 
 the centuries that should follow after, and 
 declared, *0f such is the kingdom of heaven.' 
 Back of the authority of this divine Teacher 
 we cannot go, and should not care to go." 
 
 Standing in the presence of the child, be- 
 fore the warping of a selfish sinful atmos- 
 phere has hurt him, we feel the glow of an- 
 other world, and the touch of baby fingers 
 calls forth all that is tenderest and purest 
 and noblest in human nature. Who can look 
 
 46 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 into tlie clear, innocent eyes of the little 
 child and not feel the truth of that line of 
 Wordsworth, "Heaven lies around us in our 
 infancy," and the truth of the immortal 
 words of a greater than Wordsworth, "Of 
 such is the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 There is no place for the little child on 
 earth but the kingdom of God; there is no 
 place for the child when he leaves this 
 world but heaven. There are no heathen 
 children in the world. They may become 
 heathen, but there is no heathen child any- 
 where in the world. "If Christ should come 
 once again among men and walk our 
 streets," says Dr. J. T. McFarland, "he 
 would take into his arms a child of our fair- 
 faced Anglo-Saxon race and declare of him, 
 'Of such is the kingdom of heaven' ; and if 
 he walked yonder in Tokyo, he would take 
 into his arms, in like manner, the brown- 
 faced child of Japan, or in Peking, the yel- 
 low-faced child of China, in Lucknow the 
 dark-hued child of India, or in darkest Af- 
 rica some child of ebony skin, and of each 
 alike he would declare, 'Of such is the king- 
 dom of heaven.' " 
 
 47 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 One-third of the human race is saved with- 
 out any effort on the part of the church. The 
 countless chihlren in heathen and pap^an 
 lands are Clirist's redeemed ones, and from 
 the laps of the mothers in all these lands, in 
 all the centuries, the little ones have been 
 going up to heaven. Jesus claims them all 
 — "of such is the kingdom of heaven," Some 
 mathematician has calculated that since the 
 creation of man one hundred and twenty- 
 five thousand millions of people have died; 
 of this number more than forty thousand 
 millions were taken away in childhood. The 
 picture gives new charm and attractiveness 
 to the heavenly city. • With the addition of 
 every little child, heaven has been made 
 fairer and sweeter. 
 
 We do not deny that there are evil tend- 
 encies inherited by the child, but they are 
 tendencies which have not become evil. 
 There are no unchristian children in our 
 churches, in our homes, in our land. They 
 may become unchristian, but no one of them 
 now is such. It is the task and obligation 
 of the church to preserve them and keep 
 
 48 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 them as Christian, claiming them for Christ 
 and his kingdom. This does not assume to 
 exclude the essential work of the Holy Spirit 
 and divine grace in the process. As in the 
 development of the flowers the work of the 
 gardener is supplemented by the rain, dew, 
 and sunshine, who will dare to say that when 
 the church's part is faithfully performed in 
 the religious development of the child, at 
 the proper times, God will not press a thou- 
 sand kisses of renewal upon the little heart 
 and life. 
 
 It is a fearful tiling to deal with young 
 life in an unnatural way. Efforts to fasten 
 on children the moods and experiences that 
 belong to hardened adults is a great and aw- 
 ful mistake. The evangelistic method that 
 is best for the hardened sinner, is the worst 
 possible for a little child. The child must be 
 treated spiritually as a child, and not as a 
 grown up. Such normal methods of evan- 
 gelism must be pursued as shall hold the 
 child in the church, bringing him through 
 such methods into a rich personal conscious- 
 ness of Christ as his Savior, and then train- 
 
 49 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 ing him in that Christlikeness of life and 
 service that will send him out, like his Lord, 
 to scatter a divine contagion on mankind. 
 
 On the flyleaf of his excellent book enti- 
 tled, "The Crisis of the Christ," Doctor 
 G. Campbell Morgan has the following beau- 
 tiful dedicatory words, "To my father and 
 mother, who, forty years ago, gave me to 
 Christ, and who, never doubting the accept- 
 ance by him of their child, did from infancy 
 and through youth train me as his; from 
 whom I received my first knowledge of him, 
 so that when tlie necessity came for my per- 
 sonal choosing, so did I recognize the claims 
 of his love, that, without revulsion, and 
 hardly knowing when, I yielded to Mm my 
 allegiance and my love, devoting spirit, soul, 
 and body to his sweet will and glad service." 
 
 This dedication clearly and beautifully 
 sets forth the philosophy of the ideal Chris- 
 tian nurture and discipleship. When the 
 children are taught from infancy that, hav- 
 ing been redeemed by the sacrifice of the 
 cross, they belong to the kingdom of God 
 and to the Lord Jesus Christ, witli the dawn 
 
 50 
 
The Gospel of Gliildliood 
 
 and increase of intelligence, they will come 
 to see that it is their obligation and privi- 
 lege to recognize his claims to their trust, 
 love, and obedience, and to become partak- 
 ers in him of the priceless blessings of dis- 
 cipleship. Just when the personal choice of 
 Christ as Savior and Lord takes place, nei- 
 ther parents or children may be able to tell. 
 Normal religious training will not permit a 
 day, in the development of a life, when the 
 individual does not know that he is in the 
 kingdom of God, and a member of his 
 church. 
 
 In the light of that sublime utterance of 
 the Great Teacher, "Of such is the kingdom 
 of heaven," it is monstrous heresy, a crime 
 against childhood, and a source of incalcu- 
 lable loss to the church to regard the little 
 child as corrupt and depraved, and that chil- 
 dren should be expected to serve the devil 
 awhile before they begin to serve the Lord ; 
 that they should be expected to pass through 
 an experience of spiritual indifference and 
 ignorance, and undergo a more or less vio- 
 lent process of conversion before becoming 
 51 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 happy, loyal disciples of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 This heresy, which, stran,c;e to say, has its 
 advocates, is au offense ai>ainst childhood 
 akin to that named in the fifth statement of 
 his discourse, where Christ holds up sin 
 against childhood as a capital crime in Iiis 
 government. God never looks us more di- 
 rectly in the face than when he looks at us 
 through the eyes of a little child, and we 
 never sin more directl}^ against God's holi- 
 ness than when we sin against the child. 
 
 The doctrine is utterly out of harmony 
 with the teachings of the JMaster concerning 
 the religious status of the child, and the re- 
 lation of the church to the children. It re- 
 fuses to co-operate with God in working out 
 his great purposes in the future of the hu- 
 man race, for through the children the di- 
 vine ideals are to be realized. The child 
 holds the future, and the only way to save 
 the future is to save the child. We cannot 
 save the child by conceding him to the ene- 
 my in his youthliood, and then attempt by 
 special methods to win him back to God in 
 his manhood, 
 
 52 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 Our methods of approach to the child's 
 heart and mind must be in harmony with the 
 well-established laws and principles that 
 govern the child's growth. Religions devel- 
 opment must be made not a matter of mir- 
 acle and magic, but a part of the child's nor- 
 mal development. One of the fine sayings 
 of Bishop Edwin H. Hughes is, "The 
 Church of Christ will be wise when it takes 
 every representative of the generation at 
 the rating which our Lord gives him, con- 
 firms his native faith, tells him that now he 
 must in his childish ways do the will of the 
 blessed Master, and leads him on and up un- 
 til the impulsive outgoings of the young 
 heart are changed into deliberate convic- 
 tions and fixed purposes to belong to Christ 
 forever and ever." 
 
 The United States marine service has two 
 methods of saving life: the life-saving crew 
 and the lighthouse. The former waits for 
 the wreck, and then rushes out to rescue the 
 perishing and care for the dying ; the latter 
 stands on some promontory reaching out 
 into the sea, and throws its beams far out 
 53 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 upon the open sea to enable the ship to steer- 
 safely into the harbor. This method is to 
 avoid the wreck. Let us continue even more 
 vigorously evangelistic work among the 
 adults who have missed the better way, and 
 have been wrecked by sin; but, at the same 
 time, let us put added and tremendous em- 
 phasis upon the lighthouse method of sav- 
 ing the world. 
 
 Revivals of religion have marked great 
 epochs in the history of the church. The 
 results are not surprising when we remem- 
 ber that the power which moves in every 
 true revival is the power of the Holy Spirit ; 
 that the instrument is the Word of God 
 made alive and imperative by the Spirit's 
 touch; and that the channel or agency of 
 this power is the church of Christ. Charac- 
 ters which have been wrecked by sin are 
 renewed and recast; homes tliat have been 
 desolated become houses of prayer and 
 praise; the life of the church is deepened, 
 its sympathies broadened, and its faith 
 strengthened. But in productiveness the • 
 revival is by no means equal to the more 
 54 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 normal and quieter operations of the law of 
 growth as manifested in the development of 
 the kingdom from within. "It is probable," 
 says Bishop James Atkins, "that the great- 
 est revival period shall come only when the 
 membership of the church shall consist pre- 
 dominantly of a generation reared from in- 
 fancy in the nurture of the Lord. Then tlie 
 Word of God, which is the instrument of the 
 Spirit for such ends, will be in the heart, un- 
 derstood in that strange, deep way which be- 
 comes possible only by an assimilation in 
 the life of a believer. Such a church will al- 
 so have a power of witnessing which will be 
 rationally irresistible, and it will, therefore, 
 serve better as a channel through which the 
 Spirit may reach the unsaved." 
 
 The church cannot afford to forget that 
 her supreme mission is to give light and to 
 save life. But the hope of the kingdom lies 
 in those whom Dr. J. W. Dawson has felici- 
 tously named, "The sons of the tabernacle" ; 
 those who never depart from their allegiance 
 to the Highest. It is a real achievement to 
 recover the derelict and bring them to har- 
 
 55 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 bor and anchorage. It is a greater achieve- 
 ment to bring the life just launched without 
 spot or blemish of personal evil and place it 
 at the King's service. 
 
 Whenever the church becomes wise enough 
 to work with God, she will adjust herself to 
 the children with a program of religious 
 training that will keep them within the fold, 
 and insure their growth to a manhood un- 
 marred and unweakened by those hard con- 
 ditions which are universally present in ir- 
 religious adults. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The last and ninth statement of Jesus con- 
 cerning children in this connection is a reve- 
 lation of thrilling interest, ^'hi heaven their 
 angels do always behold the face of my 
 Father.'' ( Matt. 18 : 10. ) This is a charm- 
 ing, a climacteric picture of heaven's esti- 
 mate of the value of childhood. 
 
 Children are under the care of the highest 
 order of angels, of those that stand contin- 
 ually in the presence of the Father, and have 
 
 most direct and immediate access to him. If 
 66 
 
The Gospel of Childhood 
 
 Christ so cares for the children, if the high- 
 est angels guard them with loving care, then 
 the church should give its most loving at- 
 tention, its best gifts, its most earnest en- 
 deavor in their behalf. 
 
 Jesus to-day, standing before all parents 
 and before the whole church, stretching out 
 his hands over the children of the whole 
 world, is saying, "It is not the will of your 
 Father which is in heaven, that one of these 
 little ones should perish"; and he is charg- 
 ing parents and the whole church -with the 
 great responsibility in seeing to it that 
 through no neglect in care and instruction 
 any one of them should perish. The primary 
 and most pressing obligation of the church 
 is to the children. When the church of 
 Christ assumes this relation and attitude to- 
 wards the child and adapts her method to 
 the need and possibility of the kingdom of 
 childhood, she will sweep into the coming 
 years with the swing of a conquering army. 
 
 The church is here in the world to do 
 what Jesus would do. By teaching and ex- 
 ample he commissions his church to en- 
 57 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 throne childhood, to respect it, to love it, to 
 help it, to preserve it, and keep it in the at- 
 mosphere of Rudyard Kipling's beautiful 
 prayer : 
 
 Father in heaven, who lovest all, 
 Oh, help thy children when they call, 
 That they may build from age to age 
 An undefiled heritage. 
 
 Teach us to rule ourselves, alway 
 Controlled and cleanly, night and day. 
 That we may bring, if need arise. 
 No maimed or worthless sacrifice. 
 
 Teach us to look in all our ends 
 On thee for judge, and not our friends. 
 That we with thee may walk uu cowed 
 By fear or favor of the crowd. 
 
 Teach us the strength that cannot seek 
 By deed or thought to hurt the weak ; 
 That under thee we may possess 
 Man's strength to comfort man's dis- 
 tress. 
 
 Teach us delight in simple things. 
 And mirth that has no bitter springs. 
 Forgiveness free of evil done 
 And love to all men 'neath the sun 
 
 58 
 
®t)e CJ)urcf) in tfje i|ome 
 
II. 
 
 The Church in the Home 
 
 IN writing of a certain family in the city 
 of Corinth, the apostle makes reference 
 to "the church which was in their 
 house." The object, doubtless, was to de- 
 scribe a home where religion is taught, and 
 piety cultivated. The church was origin- 
 ally a domestic institution. In all the cen- 
 turies the family has been the chief seat and 
 principal bulwark of true religion. 
 
 The family is the greatest of the world's 
 institutions. As the seed is greater than 
 the plant, the fountain than the stream, so 
 the family is greater than the church or the 
 state. It is the organic unit of society, and 
 from it must flow the weal or woe of the 
 race. The character of the homes of a na- 
 tion will determine its future. The home 
 life is the lining of the world's life. If it is 
 kept pure and wholesome, all life will be 
 made purer and the world better. 
 
 61 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 Other influences in the larger circles of 
 society may alter the outward appearance 
 of men and women, or determine their paths 
 for later years, or even their destiny for eter- 
 nity ; yet it is in the family that the nature 
 and bent is given the child, which distin- 
 guislies the man or woman from other men 
 or women, and plays the most important 
 part in shaping the character of manhood 
 or womanhood. Under any system of so- 
 ciety, socialistic or individualistic, the fam- 
 ily holds the future in its bosom. The proph- 
 ecy of the seer, the vision of the poet, and 
 the dream of the humanist will be realized. 
 
 as the family with each passing century be- 
 comes what it ought to be and can be. 
 
 Homes are the real schools in which men 
 and w^omen are trained, and fathers and 
 mothers are the real teachers in life. We 
 refer with pride to our Sunday schools, 
 academies, colleges, and churches; but the 
 home, after all, is the greatest traiuing- 
 scliool in the land. The unit of all Jewish 
 and Christian legislation as enacted in the 
 Old and New Testaments, Avas the home. If 
 
 62 
 
TliG Church in the Home 
 
 "the groves were God's first temples, par- 
 ents were his first priests." In the begin- 
 ning God placed the first responsibility for 
 the right training and religious instruction 
 of tlie race upon the parents, and the intro- 
 duction of the school, whether it be the state 
 school or the church school, has never abro- 
 gated that responsibility. 
 
 Those who view with some alarm the lapse 
 of authority in the church to-day, as com- 
 pared with former years, may not be sur- 
 prised when students of social science, and 
 observers of modern social customs, tell 
 them that there is an equal lapse of parental 
 authority in the family ; and we may not be 
 wrong in assuming that the condition of the 
 church is perhaps due to this condition in 
 the family. Another fact, and of no less im- 
 portance, is that whereas in former years 
 we witnessed frequent conversions in the 
 family as a result of parental solicitude for 
 the spiritual development of the child, to- 
 day such phenomena are rare indeed. 
 
 Since home is the place where children are 
 to grow into physical vigor and health, and 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 to be tiaiued in all that shall make them 
 true and noble men and women, it should be 
 the first and greatest concern of i^arents to 
 know what influences will best fashion such 
 character. 
 
 The form of the structure to become the 
 dwelling-place of the family should not be 
 disregarded in view of its influences upon 
 the family life, because it enters as a fac- 
 tor into the life and character of the chil- 
 dren. Its appearance, roominess, decora- 
 tion, and location will all have much to do 
 witli the health, disposition, and morals of 
 the family. If the family can afford but two 
 rooms to call their home, they should put 
 into them just as much educating power as 
 possible. Children are fond of pictures, and 
 pictures in a house, if they be pure and good, 
 have a wondrous influence in refining their 
 lives. In these days of cheap art, when 
 prints and engravings can be purchased at 
 such small cost, there is scarcely any one 
 who may not have on the walls of liis home 
 some bright bits of beauty, which will prove 
 an inspiration to his children. A home 
 64 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 clean, tasteful, y/lietlier large or small, with 
 simple adornments and pleasant surround- 
 ings, is an influence of incalculable value 
 in tlie education of children. 
 
 Greater and more important than tlie 
 dwelling and its adornments are the unseen, 
 3'et potent forces of the family life, which, 
 after all, constitute the real home. The ideal 
 home is the one Avith "the church in thv^ 
 house." Tliere is the atmosphere of the 
 true family spirit where love reigns su- 
 preme, and worship is maintained. These 
 two principles when established make home, 
 though it be a tent or a cottage, and provide 
 conditions for the growth of character into 
 Christ-like beauty. 
 
 In our homes we are growing immortal 
 lives; they must, therefore, be made true 
 spiritual conservatories. Children are of 
 more worth than all the flowers. It is said 
 that Joseph and Mar}^ marveled at the 
 things which were spoken of the child Jesus 
 when they carried him into the temple. 
 There was here the mystery of a life just 
 begun, whose unfolding should be for the 
 
 65 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 help and glory of mankind. As the beauti- 
 ful mother rocked the precious babe in her 
 arms, as she sang snatches of the sweet song 
 of Israel, as she watched him sleeping, there 
 must have come day by day the sense of how 
 great and how wonderful was the duty 
 which God had given her. When a mother 
 carries to its little cot her sleeping child, 
 and before leaving it smooths back the hair 
 from its forehead, and puts her kiss upon its 
 lips, and breathes over it a mother's prayer, 
 let her remember that a dignity surrounds 
 the work of caring for that child that angels 
 do not possess. 
 
 The little child must be trained to be a 
 worshiper of God. This can be done most 
 successfully by first teaching him that Gofl 
 is worthy of worship. It is well to begin 
 with the tliought that tlie child is to return 
 to God some gift for all the gifts which God 
 has given to him. Teach him that there is 
 one way in which God may receive a gift — 
 the gift of human adoration and praise for 
 the Father's love. 
 
 66 
 
The Church in the He ,ie 
 
 Sometimes children have false notions of 
 God. This is not natural, but the result of 
 false teaching. They are made to think of 
 him as a policeman, who is constantly 
 watching around the corner to catch them if 
 they have done wrong. It is the duty of par- 
 ents to remove all false ideas of God from 
 the child's mind, and to teach him that God 
 is a loving Father. When old Hector, clad 
 in armor, went to say good-by to his child, 
 the child was afraid and ran away from 
 him. Hector knew the cause and casting 
 aside his armor, stretched out his arms, 
 and the child, smiling, came running and 
 ])Ounded to his bosom. Children love birds, 
 flowers, trees, rivers, fields, and hills. Let 
 them know that God is the giver of all these 
 Ijeautiful things which they enjoy. Mrs. 
 Browning has described in the following 
 verses the thoughts of God that should be 
 found in the heart of the child : 
 
 "They say that God lives very high ; 
 But if you look above the pines 
 You cannot see our God; and why? 
 
 67 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 "And if joii dig down in the mines 
 
 You never see him in the gold, 
 
 Though from him all that's glory shines. 
 
 "God is so good, he "wears a fold 
 
 Of heaven and earth across his face — 
 
 Like secrets kept, for love, untold. 
 
 "But still I feel that his embrace 
 
 Slides down by thrills, through all things 
 
 made, 
 Through sight and sound of every place. 
 
 "As if my tender mother laid 
 
 On my shut lips her kisses' pressure, 
 
 Ilalf-waking me at night, and said, 
 
 'Who kissed you through the dark, dear 
 
 guesser?' " 
 
 Life's highest refinements cannot come 
 with any education, however elaborate, un- 
 less there i& this first lesson in the reverence 
 toAvard God, and unless the child is a wor- 
 shiper, practicing the presence of God. Al- 
 most daily we come in contact with some 
 simple life, shorn of many advantages, that 
 lias the grace and attractiveness of perfect 
 
 68 
 
The CJiurch in the Home 
 
 poise, confident before all, yet modest be- 
 fore the humblest, never saying or doing 
 what is jarring or out of harmony, but al- 
 ways the light of all v/ho pass by. A mys- 
 tery, you say? No, it is a life that has 
 learned the primary lesson of all cultivation 
 — the reverence for God learned in worship. 
 Moreover, in the worship of God the child 
 learns the lesson of love, it is the summit of 
 life. "The perfection of love is not reached 
 till the love goes beyond the love for imper- 
 fect creatures and becomes love for God. 
 Love for God may be expressed chiefly, and 
 perfectly in worship. It is the gift wJiich 
 love can bring, in its unique way, to God. 
 If you wish to be assured that when you are 
 old and querulous your child will show you 
 the patience and reverence which are due 
 you ; if you wish to be sure that he is to have 
 in him the essential spirit of loving kind- 
 ness for all about him, both high and low, 
 tlien you must teach him the love w^hich cul- 
 minates in the love given to God in wor- 
 ship." 
 
 69 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 The home is the most ancient of the 
 ^yo^ld's institutions, and religion has always 
 constituted its real heart. When there were 
 only two beings on the earth, and no organ- 
 ized church, prayer and praise were heard. 
 Milton represents Adam and Eve as address- 
 ing their morning thoughts in concert to 
 God: 
 
 "Soon as they came to open siglit 
 
 Of dayspring and the sun, .... 
 
 Lowly they bowed adoring, and began 
 
 Their orisons, each morning duly paid 
 
 In various styles." 
 
 When the whole church of God was in 
 the ark of the flood, familj^ worship was the 
 only devotion. The custom was clearly es- 
 tablished in the days of Abraham. Isaac's 
 altar at Beersheba and Jacob's altar at 
 Bethel were family monuments. Moses 
 gave definite instruction concerning wor- 
 ship in the home. Christ was often found in 
 praj^er with his family, the apostles. 
 
 If religion is maintained in the home 
 there must be family worship, where all as- 
 semble to listen devoutly to God's word and 
 
 70 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 bow reverently in supijlication at God's feet. 
 The family altar should be established and 
 dedicated before any other consideration, 
 because it is the most powerful agency in 
 making the home sacred, and endearing it 
 forever in the hearts of those who, in after 
 years, may look back to the days of child- 
 hood spent in an atmosphere permeated 
 with its precious incense. 
 
 The influence of godly example, the mem- 
 ories of tlie home altar, the abiding power of 
 holy teachings and the grace of God descend- 
 ing perpetually upon the young life in an- 
 swer to believing prayer, give it such an in- 
 spiration and impulse toward all that is no- 
 ble and heavenly that it goes out to scatter 
 the divine contagion, and to be a blessing to 
 others. When Mrs. Lincoln was nearing the 
 end of her earth life, she sang a stanza of a 
 favorite hymn, then pronounced a mother's 
 blessing upon her son, and committed the 
 family to God's care and keeping. Then fol- 
 lowed a few moments of silence. The father 
 was sitting with bowed head at the bedside. 
 The son had risen from his knees, turned 
 
 71 
 
The child and the Church 
 
 liis face to llie wall, and was sobbing as if 
 his lioart would break. Presently the father 
 said, "Mother, Abraham will never be able 
 to sing as good as you can." "No, may be 
 not," she replied, "but he may cause others 
 to sing. All his life we have named his 
 name in our family prayers, and I have tried 
 to be such a mother to him that when he goes 
 out from home he may be ready for whatever 
 mission God may have for him, and by his 
 work make others sing." 
 
 Authors liave alwaj^s done their best work 
 in the hours when the mood has been retro- 
 spective, and the memories of home and 
 childhood have stood forth in soft clear 
 light, and father and mother and their 
 sweet influences have lent warmth and rich- 
 ness to the reason and imagination. In seek- 
 ing out the most popular poems of Burns, 
 we pass by all those in which the poet ex- 
 poses hj^pocrisy, or laughs at human frailty, 
 or smites man's sin. His highest flights of 
 genius were in those hours when he sang of 
 home and love and friendship. Asked to name 
 the greatest works of Dickens, Victor Hugo, 
 
 72 
 
The Church in the Some 
 
 Tennyson, Lowell, Browning and Longfel- 
 iovr — those that men count immortal — it is 
 ahvays safe to answer, "They are those that 
 are revelatory, and tell the story of the joys 
 and sorrows, and liopes and loves of child- 
 hood's home." Take the Christian home out 
 of literature and music, and it would be 
 like taking warmth out of the sunbeam, 
 sweetness out of the rose, ripeness from the 
 peach, the soul from the body, and God from 
 the sky. 
 
 There is nothing in all literature more 
 impressively beautiful than the picture 
 Burns presents of the "Cotter's Saturday 
 Night." We crown him the supreme master 
 of sweet song in those hours when he goes 
 Iiomeward with the cotter on a Saturday 
 niglit, and draws nigh to some sweet cot- 
 tage, nestling under green leaves in some 
 lovely valley, sees the greensward in front, 
 the bonnie brier bush looming hard beside 
 tlie door, the wealth of ivy creeping o'er the 
 v/indows ; sees the inner walls white washed 
 to look like driven snow; the Bible lying 
 open on the stand, the mother sitting by the 
 
 73 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 lieartli, and kneels again with these humble 
 folk to commit the days and the years to the 
 mercy of the all-forgiving, all-guiding, all- 
 loving God. 
 
 A worthy appreciation of the home would 
 give it imperial rank among the agencies 
 that contribute to the true progress of civi- 
 lization. Its supremacy appears in the fact 
 tliat it sustains divine relations toward so- 
 ciety and civilization. Blackstone's Horn- 
 book of English Law defines the parent as 
 in lo dei — "in place of God." When the phi- 
 losophers affirm that every sage and seer and 
 statesman has had a great mother or father, 
 they affirm that the home is the foundation 
 of power and the mainspring of progress. 
 When Wordsworth said, "My parents made 
 vows for me," he meant that there was in his 
 nature a certain secret and mysterious pre- 
 disposition toward the loA'e of nature and 
 poetr^^ that had in thein the zeal and sanc- 
 tion of the divine call. Luther had his love 
 of liberty, Richter his love of writing, and 
 Goetlie liis taste for literature, as a mother's 
 gift; Augustine, Otterbein, and the Wesleys 
 
 74 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 were swept forward upon their great career 
 as ministers by tlie tides that flowed down 
 from their mothers' lives. Many of the men 
 who have led, and will continue to lead the 
 Avorld, as the pillar of cloud in the olden 
 time led the hosts of God through the des- 
 ert, were called to the ministry before their 
 eyes opened to the light of day, and were 
 consecrated and trained at the family altar. 
 If the depleted ranks in the Christian minis- 
 try are to be filled, it will be when religion 
 is re-established in the home, when family 
 altars are built or rebuilt, and a flame from 
 heaven rekindles their quenched fires. The 
 prophets of God have no more urgent duty,^ 
 in these days, than to summon parents to 
 this great and important service. 
 
 Family worship should be observed at 
 least once a day, in the presence of the en- 
 tire family. "Every day will I bless thee." 
 ( Psalm 145 : 2. ) Two services daily would 
 be preferable. "It is a good thing . . . 
 to show forth thy loving kindness in the 
 morning, and thy faithfulness every night." 
 ( Psalm 9:1, 2. ) The primitive Christians 
 
 75 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 began and closed the day with prayer. Na- 
 ture would seem to direct us to these sea- 
 sons. Each day is a, little life, which should 
 be opened and closed with prayer. 
 
 Family worship, as a rule, should be con- 
 ducted by the father as patriarch of the 
 home. Some times rotation, according to 
 age and gifts of members of the family, is 
 found to be profitable. The service should 
 be made pleasant and attractiye, so that it 
 will be anticipated with eagerness on the 
 part of each member of the family. It should 
 be enlivened by jjleasing variety. Instead 
 of being stately and formal, it should be 
 made simple and familiar. 
 
 The Scripture lesson should be carefully 
 selected — a parable, a simple narrative to 
 the extent of ten or twelve verses, or a Psalm 
 may be read. Some families find it profit- 
 able to read the selection assigned for tlie 
 day in the Home Readings in the Sunday- 
 school lesson helps. For variety, tlie lesson 
 may be read by the leader, or by verses in 
 turn, or it may be read responsively. An 
 occasional explanatory remark, an incident 
 76 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 that illustrates the thought vill brighten 
 the worship and enhance its interest for 
 children. 
 
 Singing should form part of the service. 
 Some one suggests that it will be found prof- 
 itable on Sabbath evenings to hold a little 
 family service of song, reading a verse or 
 two of Scripture, and then singing a song 
 appropriate to the sentiments of the serv- 
 ices of the day. When Christ had instructed 
 his family, the twelve apostles, lie sang a 
 h^'mn with them. There is no argument for 
 sacred music in the church that does not 
 apply with equal force to the family. 
 
 If there is a musical instrument in tlie 
 home, its use will add much to the interest 
 of worship. After the reading of the Scrip- 
 ture lesson, and before the prayer, let the 
 mother, or one of the children play the in- 
 strument, and all unite in singing a sacred 
 song. The children will especially be inter- 
 ested in this part of the service, and its im- 
 pressions Yviil abide with them througli life 
 as a tender memory. Of music in the home 
 Alaric A. Watts beautifully writes: 
 
 77 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 M3'sterions keeper of the key 
 That opens the gates of memory, 
 Oft in thy wildest, simplest strain 
 We live o'er years of bliss again ! 
 
 The sun-bright hopes of early youth, 
 Love, in its first deep hour of truth — 
 And dreams of life's delightful morn 
 Are on thy seraph-pinions borne ! 
 
 To the enthusiast's heart thy tone 
 Breathes of the lost and lovel}^ one. 
 And calls back moments, brief as dear. 
 When last 'twas wafted on his ear. 
 
 The gloom of sadness thou canst suit 
 The chords of thy delicious lute ; 
 For every heart thou hast a tone, 
 Canst make its pulses all tliine own ! 
 
 The prayer should be brief, free from all 
 stereotyped phrases and couched in simple 
 language that all can understand. It should 
 express real need in a few words earnestly 
 and truthfully presented. Outside interests 
 should not be omitted entirely, but it should 
 be a prayer chiefly for the little group that 
 
 78 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 kneels about the altar, sometimes taking up 
 the members by name, and carrying to the 
 Lord the particular needs of each. It is 
 often v,'ell to close the prayer with the entire 
 family uniting in the Lord's Prayer. 
 
 The influence and blessing of the family 
 altar is beyond estimate. Bowing in prayer 
 together in the morning strengthens all the 
 household for life's duties. The children 
 go out under sheltering wings, having been 
 committed to the Father's loving care. These 
 are perilous days in which we are living. 
 Every home needs the refuge of religion. It 
 affords home security and happiness, re- 
 moves family friction, and causes all the 
 complicated wheels of the home machinery 
 to move on noiselessly and smoothly. It 
 causes the members to reciprocate each oth- 
 er's affections, hushes the voices of recrimi- 
 nation, and exerts a softening and harmo- 
 nizing influence over the heart. There is no 
 lovelier sight than a family at prayer. So 
 sacred should this duty be that no press of 
 labor, no interference of circumstances 
 should ever cause it to be unperformed. To 
 
 79 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 begin the day without family worship, may 
 be to the household something like leaving 
 open tlie gates of a besieged city, with those 
 within open to the attacks of the enemy. 
 
 The church of to-day may well lament an 
 evident decline of family worship and relig- 
 ious education in the home. The place of 
 the home in religious education is central 
 and fundamental. If religion dies out of 
 the family it cannot elsewhere be main- 
 tained, A society in which there is no relig- 
 ious family will never be made religious by 
 Sunday schools, revival meetings, conven- 
 tions, and churches. A meeting-house relig- 
 ion is a very poor substitute for dwelling- 
 house religion. Says Doctor Littlelield: 
 "The great task before us now is to make the 
 family what Jesus made it, the symbol of 
 the kingdom of God, and the basis for in- 
 struction upon the character of God and the 
 nature of the religious life. Supremely, the 
 family must give expression to the religious 
 life through positive acts of devotion and 
 through church attendance. Family worship 
 and Bible reading must be re-established," 
 80 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 The tendency of our busy age to ignore or 
 sliift parental responsibility for children's 
 moral and religions education is perilous. 
 No business interest can be of such imx^or- 
 tance as to justify a man's evasion of the sa- 
 cred duties which he owes to his family. 
 What will it profit a father if he gain the 
 whole world and lose his own cliildren? 
 
 Bays Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman: "I was 
 standing in Tiffany's great store in New 
 Yorlv;, and I heard a salesman say to a lady 
 who had asked him about some pearls, 'Mad- 
 am, this pearl is worth seventeen thousand 
 dollars.' I was interested at once and said, 
 'Will you kindly let me see the pearl that is 
 wortlL seventeen thousand dollars?' The 
 salesman put it on a piece of black cloth, and . 
 I studied it carefully. I said, 'I suppose Tif- 
 fany's stock is very valuable.' And, as I 
 looked around that beautiful store, I im- 
 agined them bringing all their stock up to 
 my house and saying, 'We want you to take 
 care of this to-niglit.' What do you think I 
 ^^hould do? I sliould go as quickly as possi- 
 ble to the telephone and call up the chief of 
 
 81 
 
Tlic Child and the Church 
 
 police and say: 'I have all Tiffany's stock in 
 my house, and it is too great a responsibility. 
 Will yon send some of your most trusted of- 
 ficers to help me?' You would do the same 
 wouldn't you? But I have a little boy in 
 my home, and for him I ain responsible. I 
 have had him for nine years, and some of 
 you may have just such another little boy. 
 Turning to this old Book I read this word : 
 'What shall it profit a man if he gain the 
 whole world and lose his own soul? or, wbat 
 shall he give in exchange for his soul?' It 
 is as if he had all the diamonds and rubies 
 and pearls in the world, and held them in 
 one hand, and just put a little boy in the 
 other, and the boy would be worth more than 
 all the jewels. If you would tremble be- 
 cause you had seventeen million dollars' 
 worth of jewels in your house one night, how 
 can 3^ou go up to your Father and the lad 
 be not with you?" 
 
 Family worship should be supplemented 
 by the incorporation of an intelligent edu- 
 cational purpose in its program. In some 
 way there must be a real strengthening of 
 
 82 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 the sense of family responsibility for the 
 religious education of the child. It is for 
 the church to strengthen the home at this 
 point by inspiring and training parents to 
 take up the work they have neglected, and by 
 giving them definite, systematic help in main- 
 taining family worship, and in the religious 
 training of their children. A simple man- 
 ual, outlining these duties, would be of great 
 value to every home. This should be sup- 
 plemented with a few books such as: "A 
 Study of Child Nature," by Elizabeth Har- 
 rison ; "Beckonings From Little Hands," by 
 Patterson DuBois; "Hints on Child Train- 
 ing," by H. Clay Trumbull; "The Girl In 
 Her Teens," by Margaret Slattery; "The 
 Boy Problem," by William Byron Forbush ; 
 and "Secrets of Happy Home Life," by J. R. 
 Miller. A number of others might be men- 
 tioned equally as good, and none of them 
 expensive. 
 
 The purpose of the home is to make possi- 
 ble a normal religious experience by provid- 
 ing tlie fitting and favorable environment. 
 In the fulfillment of the divine command, 
 83 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 "Ye must be born again," the parent is a co- 
 worker with God. The new birth of the 
 cliild, whether immediate or gradual as the 
 budding flower, is but the beginning, and 
 needs for further development the inspira- 
 tion and guidance of helpful surroundings. 
 Physical growth and mental culture are de- 
 pendent in a large degree upon environment, 
 and the spiritual life is none the less so. The 
 message of the church to the_ home is that 
 human life need never become a ruin and a 
 desolation. 
 
 If parents give time and study to the con- 
 struction of conservatories for the growing 
 of flow^ers which fade in a day, they should 
 willingly pay any price for the creation of 
 a home atmosphere that will make it a true 
 conservatory for the growing of souls that 
 live forever. 
 
 The church in the home is a blessing in 
 prosperity and an angel of solace in the day 
 of adversity. "Tiie equipage and livery and 
 plate may vanish ; the valued paintings and 
 gorgeous furniture may fly under the ham- 
 mer; fortunes may be scattered, and the 
 
 84 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 VQvy mansion be forsaken, yet in a cottage 
 or a garret, within bare, cold walls shunned 
 by the parasites of other days, the Christian 
 family may rejoice that the daily worship of 
 God still remains, and, though with tearful 
 eyes, they can still from the bottom of their 
 hearts give thanks." 
 
 Sorrow will inevitably come to every 
 home. We cannot build a mansion so costly 
 that death cannot enter and lay his hand 
 upon the most precious jewel. At such a 
 time the splendors of architecture, the beau- 
 ties of art, the luxuries of costly furnishings 
 or adornments cannot soothe the aching 
 heart or answer the soul's longings. Re- 
 ligion furnishes solid comfort. Standing 
 by the open grave, and listening to the im- 
 mortal words, "I am the resurrection and 
 the life; he that believeth in me, though he 
 were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever 
 liveth and believeth in me shall never die," 
 the birds that had hushed their songs in the 
 darkness of the valley tune again their 
 voices, and the flowers that had closed their 
 petals open again in beauty, and we go away 
 
 85 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 in the liope that soon we shall meet our 
 loved one in the home of "many mansions." 
 
 The influence of "the church in the home" 
 is great, silent, irresistible, and permanent. 
 Like the calm, deep stream, it moves on in 
 silent, but overwhelming power. The earth 
 is not sufficiently wide, nor the heavens suf- 
 ficiently high to allow a child to drift from 
 the influence and memory of such a home. It 
 is the choicest emblem of heaven. 
 
 Overtaken by misfortune, poverty, and 
 sickness, John Howard Payne went stagger- 
 ing down tlie streets of Paris toward the gar- 
 ret where he slept. Darkness had fallen. 
 The sleet drove against his face, and the cold 
 pierced his thin cloak. Suddenly a door 
 opened, and the light streamed forth upon 
 the street, the glow and warmth perfuming 
 all the air. Into the arms of the man who 
 stood upon the threshold, happy children 
 leaped, while the beaming mother stretched 
 forth her babe. In a moment the door closed, 
 the light faded into darkness, and the youth 
 stood again in the sleet and cold, little 
 dreaming that what he was learning in suf- 
 
 86 
 
The Church in the Home 
 
 fering lie was to teacli in song. Finding 
 his way to the garret where he slept, his 
 shivering form bends over the table, his 
 head resting upon his arms, while his lonely 
 heart goes bounding across the seas, and 
 memory is busy gathering up the scenes of 
 childhood's home. Then weeping, he sobs 
 once and again, "There is no place like 
 home." 
 
 The old homestead rises before his vision, 
 he crosses once again its threshold, sees fa- 
 miliar forms, hears familiar voices. Pres- 
 ently, the picture changes, and his home of 
 a while ago, embalmed with sweetest memo- 
 ries is transferred to the future, and the vis- 
 ion of meeting in heaven those whom he had 
 loved and lost ravished his soul. Then light- 
 ing a candle, and brushing away the tears, 
 with leaping heart and shining face, he saw 
 the "vision splendid," and sang of home and 
 hopes and heaven. 
 
 87 
 
public OTorgfjip 
 
Ill 
 
 The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 PRACTICAL recognition of the rela- 
 tive place of the Sunday school and 
 public worship in the process of re- 
 ligious education, is classed as one of the 
 most urgent needs in church work. 
 
 It ought to be the natural thing for par- 
 ents to be with their children in Sunday 
 school, and children with their parents in 
 the public worship. Unfortunately, such is 
 not the case. It is estimated that a majority 
 of the adult attendance upon public wor- 
 ship are not in the Sunday school, and that 
 eighty per cent, of the Sunday school chil- 
 dren are not in the public services of the 
 church. This abnormal condition is the 
 cause of many f>roblems now upon us. A 
 distinguished New York pastor in discussing 
 the situation says: "In our modern society 
 children of professing Christians seldom go 
 to church during their best habit-forming 
 
 91 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 years, wbile, conversely, Christian parents 
 frequently neglect the Sunday school during 
 their best service-giving years. In this man- 
 ner parents and children of Christian homes 
 are serving God along separated parallel 
 lines, which, as we know, never meet. The 
 Sunday-school line is the shorter line, but it 
 has no regular terminus at the church door." 
 Concern in the matter centers chiefly in 
 the absence of children from public worship. 
 In one of a series of articles recently ap- 
 pearing in the British Weekly entitled, "A 
 League of Worshiping Children," the writer 
 goes on to sliow the decrease of membership 
 in some of the great churclies of England, 
 and offers as a solution the bringing of the 
 children into tlie church, and training them 
 to become worshipers in the church. He 
 gives figures to show that the attendance of 
 children at the hours of worship is lamen- 
 tably small. No question before the Federal 
 Council of Churches commanded more ser- 
 ious attention than the religious training of 
 children, and that great body of leaders 
 passed a resolution urging parents to com- 
 
 92 
 
The Sunday School and Puhlic Worship 
 
 pel their children to attend public worship. 
 It is not uncommon in these days for 
 church councils to pass resolutions deplor- 
 ing a growing tendency upon the part of the 
 Sunday school to drift away from the pub- 
 lic services of the church, and, further, to ac- 
 knowledge that these conditions present the 
 most urgent, and at the same time one of 
 the most difficult problems the church has 
 to deal with just now. 
 
 While it is no doubt true that some of 
 these claims are greatly exaggerated, it nev- 
 ertheless must be admitted that the matter 
 does present an urgent and difficult prob- 
 lem. The reasons assigned for the absence 
 of children at public worshij) are various. 
 Some say that parents are indifferent. Oth- 
 ers insist that the blame attaches to the pas- 
 tors, because they do not interest the chil- 
 dren. Still others believe that it is due to 
 having the Sunday school and the church 
 service in immediate succession as to time. 
 While another class attributes it to the fail- 
 ure of officers and teachers in the Sunday 
 school to impress upon the children the priv- 
 93 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 ilege and duty of attending public worship, 
 and to malce them feel that they are wanted 
 and expected in the church service. 
 
 With the rise of modern pedagogy and the 
 study of child nature, the child has moved 
 up into the first place in the thought of our 
 age. Emerson quotes an old gentleman as 
 saying that all his life had been spent in a 
 most unlucky time of transitions — "When 
 lie was a boy the greatest respect was paid 
 to old age, and now that he was old the 
 greatest respect was paid to children." In 
 our churches, this respect paid to children 
 lias been particularly focused upon the Sun- 
 day school, which explains why, in the popu- 
 lar mind, the Sunday school is the child's 
 church, and public worship is held for 
 adults. And why "Sunday-school children" 
 rather than "churcli children" represents 
 the ideal with which the age contents itself. 
 
 The disparagement of emphasis is marked. 
 Organization for promoting the Sunday 
 scJjool is almost at the point of perfection — 
 denominational, township, county, state, 
 provincial, international, world. Special 
 
 94 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 literature is published in great abundance 
 for its improvement; but there are as yet 
 few, if any organizations specifically for the 
 promotion of the church service, and there 
 are no publications devoted specially to this 
 object. For this disparagement, however, 
 the Sunday school is not responsible. 
 
 What can be done to change these condi- 
 tions and to strengthen the link that con- 
 nects the Sunday school with public wor- 
 ship? This is a question familiar to every 
 pastor, officer, and church worker. The an- 
 swer to the question depends upon the an- 
 swer of another lying back of it, namely. Is 
 it desirable that children should attend pub- 
 lic worship? Considering this question, let 
 us stop to inquire concerning the distinct 
 function or place of the Sunday school and 
 the public worship in the religious educa- 
 tion of the child, and in the development 
 of Christian character. 
 
 The church as here implied is a local or- 
 ganized body of believers in Jesus Christ 
 whose purpose is the promotion of the 
 kingdom or reign of Christ. The Sunday 
 95 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 school is one of the organized agencies of 
 the church through, or by means of which 
 the church seeks to realize its purpose. It 
 is, therefore, not an institution in and by 
 itself. 
 
 By "public worship" ai'e meant the pub- 
 lic devotional meetings of the church which 
 are carried on especially as occasions of wor- 
 ship, with the conviction that worship is es- 
 sential to the proper development of the 
 Christian life. Prominent in these services 
 are prayer, instruction through the reading 
 and preaching of the Word, the administra- 
 tion of the ordinances and sacraments, with 
 the purpose of winning people to Christ, pro- 
 moting loyalty to him and to the church, and 
 activity in personal service. 
 
 The Sunday-school service is the assembly 
 of this particular agency of the church, es- 
 pecially for the work of personal instruction 
 in the Word of God. While it is devotional 
 in character, its method and end is analyt- 
 ical and educational, while that of the 
 church services is spiritual and devotional. 
 In other words, the Sunday school is prima- 
 
 96 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 rily for instruction with an element of wor- 
 ship. The public service is primarily for 
 worship with elements of instruction. 
 
 From these considerations it is clear that 
 our love and responsibility for children are 
 not met by making the Sunday school a 
 substitute for the church. Important as is 
 the Bible school, it was never intended to 
 be a church nor a substitute for a church, 
 and cannot take the place of the church in 
 the child's religious life. The chief need of 
 children is not instruction, but impressions 
 that inspire right impulses. 
 
 In some instances, children axe excused 
 from attending public worship on the 
 grounds that they cannot understand the 
 sermon — the service is too lengthy, and, 
 therefore, distasteful, and against the in- 
 clinations of the children. If required to 
 attend, they are likely to acquire an aver- 
 sion to the church. It would seem quite pos- 
 sible for the church to meet and overcome 
 logical objections; but no sane parent or 
 teacher would apply such logic to the gen- 
 eral training of the young. Should the child 
 97 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 not be required to conform to any rule of 
 conduct or regimen of instruction which 
 would not be in accordance with his imma- 
 ture judgment, taste, or disposition? 
 
 The theory that children acquire an aver- 
 sion to the church by being required to at- 
 tend public worship is not in harmony with 
 the facts of experience. Those who were 
 reared under such requirements do not in 
 mature years think of it as having worked a 
 hardship, but, rather, as the years of life ac- 
 cumulate, the memory of those days becomes 
 more beautiful and delightful, supplemented 
 by an increasing sense of gratitude to par- 
 ents for such discipline. Moreover, it is not 
 a matter of observation that children, who 
 are trained up b}^ their parents to go to 
 church, are the people who, when they come 
 to mature years, constitute the absentee 
 class from church attendance and services. 
 
 Furthermore, it is unfair to children and 
 youth in these days of unparalleled educa- 
 tional advantages to say that their inability 
 to comprehend the sermon is sufficient 
 ground for not attending public worship. 
 98 
 
The Sunday ScJiool and Piihlic Worship 
 
 Such is not always the case. The mother of 
 Abraham Lincoln is reported to have said to 
 a friend, "I get most out of a sermon not by 
 trying to follow the minister, but by having 
 Abe go over it and explain it when we return 
 home." The boy was at that time about ten 
 years of age. 
 
 In the house of God, as a rule, the first 
 and deepest religious impressions are made. 
 It is the place of visions and vows — the very 
 gate of heaven. While only twenty per cent, 
 of our Sunda^'-school pupils attend public 
 worship, it is estimated that eighty-seven 
 per cent, of all additions to the church come 
 from the twenty per cent, who do attend. 
 
 Children need the spiritual culture that 
 comes only through the worship of the great 
 congi'egation. The spiritual atmosphere of 
 the sanctuary becomes the breath of life to 
 the soul, not only of adults, but of children 
 as well — a holy medium, a hallowed afflatus, 
 a spiritual ozone, which, though involun- 
 tarily absorbed, vitalizes the higher nature. 
 ''The quiet of the hour," says Bishop Vin- 
 cent, "compels even the small child to 
 
 99 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 quietude. 'This is God's house, I must be 
 quiet. This is God's day, I must be reverent. 
 This is God's book, I must hear it. This is 
 God's minister, I must be attentire.' " Sim- 
 ply to be present in such a place, even though 
 the mind does not fully comprehend the ut- 
 terances from the pulpit, is to be impressed 
 and. benefited by the heavenly influences. 
 
 It is one of the fine sayings of the late 
 Charles Cuthbert Hall : "The church and the 
 children belong together. The church can- 
 not do without the children. The children 
 cannot do without the church." A recent 
 writer recalls that a mother started to with- 
 draw from a service in the City Temple, 
 London, with a prattling child, when the 
 pastor, Dr. Parker, said : "I would not have 
 you leave this service with that child. We 
 need the child in the midst." It is a true 
 note. We need the child to keep the child 
 spirit fresh in us. There is need that our 
 age learn the lesson of reverence, and that 
 the atmosphere of our churches be worship- 
 ful, but when such atmosphere is gained by 
 the absence of the child, it carries with it 
 
 100 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 the prophecy of coming death. "In that holy 
 city that is the ideal and the goal of our en- 
 deavor, one of the attractions given is that 
 tlie ring of the child's voice will be heard in 
 the street. There is a musical quality in 
 such a strain that can come from no other 
 source, and that the music of the eternal 
 sjibere would be minus but for that most 
 necessary note; and in our pursuit of the 
 ideal the loss of the note of childhood mars 
 the whole anthem of worship." 
 
 Over against any so-called psychological 
 reason that might be urged against church 
 attendance upon the part of the child must 
 be placed that greatest and most signifi- 
 cant fact of psychology; namely, that child- 
 hood is the habit-forming period of life. One 
 of the greatest services of the child psychol- 
 ogist is that he is putting tremendous em- 
 phasis upon this fact. It is a serious matter, 
 indeed, for children to outgrow the Sunday 
 school and pass out into the world without 
 any practical knowledge of the church's serv- 
 ices, sermons, and sacraments, and without 
 attendance upon public worship having be- 
 
 101 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 come a fixed habit. The childless church, 
 like the childless home, will perish with a 
 single generation. 
 
 The responsibility of forming the church- 
 going habit rests primarily with the home. 
 Family discipline in these days is espe- 
 cially lax in the matter of church attendance. 
 Many parents do not even ask their children 
 to go to church, and, when they do, they may 
 or may not sit in the family pew. Some 
 group them in a children's church whatever 
 that may mean. The home has very largely 
 ceased to be what it once Avas, the unifying 
 sanctuary. It is the duty of parents to bring 
 their children to the church. Monstrous, 
 indeed, is the idea that religion is optional 
 in life and that children must be trained 
 in the formation of all other habits than re- 
 ligious habits. Parents have been delin- 
 quent in the performance of their first and 
 highest duty to their children until they 
 have brought them to the church, and 
 trained them in forming the church-going 
 habit, and have thus implanted true princi- 
 ples deej) in their hearts, which shall rule 
 
 102 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 the entire future of their lives. It is cruel 
 to rob a child of the means of its highest de- 
 velopment. 
 
 The presentation of the child Jesus in the 
 temple, with its attendant circumstances, in- 
 cluding the reception the little babe re- 
 ceived, presents a picture that is fascinating 
 in its simplicity, and impressive in its sug- 
 gestiveness. No sooner had the mother car- 
 ried her child into the temple than the vener- 
 able Simeon tottered to her side and took 
 the little child into his arms, and blessed 
 God. Forgetting the dignity of the com- 
 pany that had assembled in the temple on 
 that occasion, let us think of the one phase 
 of the beautiful picture that bears directly 
 on our problem, and that points the way to 
 its solution, namely, a family sitting to- 
 gether in God's house, and a childless old 
 r.ian rejoicing to have them there and espe- 
 cially happy because of the presence of the 
 cliild. In other words, the mother knew her 
 responsibility to bring the child to church; 
 and the aged and lonely Simeon gave the 
 child welcome. The picture presents the 
 
 103 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 two important lessons : First, It is the duty 
 of parents to bring their cliildren to the 
 services of the church. Second, It is the 
 duty of the church to welcome the children 
 when they are brought. 
 
 This problem will be solved when the 
 home, Sunday school, and church unite in 
 desire and purpose to have it solved. The 
 Sunday school must make the pupils feel 
 that it really wants them to attend public 
 worship, and the church must show that 
 slie really wants tlie children in her services. 
 And it may be assumed that if the church 
 would show a real interest in the matter, 
 parents, and Sunday school, and Christian 
 Endeavor would also add their voices to 
 hers. 
 
 It is manifestly a mistake on the part of 
 pastors, and church officers to undertake to 
 remedy these conditions by publicly parad- 
 ing them before the school and congregation. 
 It is a sure way to defeat the ends to be ac- 
 complished. A critical, fault-finding spirit 
 upon the part of leaders has never resulted 
 in remedying conditions that were not ideal 
 
 104 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 in a local church. Let the pastor give him- 
 self prayerfully to the study of the problem 
 with a view to finding the way to its solu- 
 tion. And then so revise his program for 
 the work and services of the church as will 
 make it easy and natural for the problem to 
 solve itself. This he must do in the spirit of 
 faith and love, and both the church and Sun- 
 day school will gladly follow in the move- 
 ment. 
 
 What is the outlook? This should be a day 
 of encouragement rather than discourage- 
 ment, because men are no longer satisfied 
 with lamenting conditions, but are setting 
 about with patience and determination to 
 find the remedy. By comparison it might 
 be shown that the present tendency of the 
 Sunday school is not away from the services 
 of the church — there are reasons for believ- 
 ing that the opposite is the case that the 
 former days were not better in this respect 
 than the great days in which we are now 
 living. 
 
 Because so many leave the Sunday school 
 at the church hour may not reveal an actual 
 
 105 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 decrease of interest iu public worship over 
 former times. The percentage of those who 
 left at the close of the school session when 
 the school was small was as great, if not 
 greater tlian it is to-day, though not so 
 noticeable then as now, because the crowd 
 looks bigger. 
 
 Moreover, the organized Adnlt Bible 
 Class movement within seven years has en- 
 listed thousands of adults, not only iu Bible 
 study, but also in tlie services and work of 
 the church. Not for a long time has so 
 much interest been shown in the matter of 
 securing the presence of children at the pub- 
 lic worship as in these opening years of the 
 new century. Records of attendance at pub- 
 lic worship are now being kept by many 
 schools. Tlie organization of go-to-church 
 bands, leagues, and guilds is a movement 
 that is growing in favor and success. All of 
 these movements indicate a rising interest 
 upon the part of the church in the matter 
 of securing the presence of children at pub- 
 lic worship. 
 
 The following from a. questionnaire was 
 recently addressed to a number of pastors, 
 
 106 
 
The Sunday School and Puhlic Worship 
 
 Siinclay-scliool editors, secretaries, superin- 
 tendents and distingiiislied leaders in the 
 organized Sunday-scliool y/ork : "How over- 
 come the seeming tendency on the part of 
 children and young people of the Sunday 
 school to drift away from the services of 
 the church?" From the list of responses the 
 following are attached. They are valuable 
 contributions to the study and solution of 
 the problem : 
 
 Dear Doctor Font: 
 
 Answering jo\w letter, opened to-day: I 
 think there is no trouble whatever in hold- 
 ing the children and young people in the 
 church if the church services are made at- 
 tractive to them. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 John Wanamaker. 
 Sunday ScJiool SupcriutcndGnt, Bethany 
 
 Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 My dear Brother : 
 
 This whole matter was gone over with a 
 great deal of care by us the other day, and 
 it was the frank judgment of all present that 
 
 107 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 it was as difficult a question as the church 
 had to deal with just now. In my own judg- 
 ment, the ideiil plan is for a morning service 
 for worship and an afternoon service for 
 Bible study, in which the people of the 
 church and the classes come together for 
 that purpose. The pastor of the church 
 should have charge of the gathering, and de- 
 vote as much of his time to it as to any other 
 department of the church. 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 John Balcom Shaw. 
 Pastor Second Preshyterian Church, Chi- 
 cago, III. 
 
 Three Oaks, Michigan. 
 Dear Doctor Fout: 
 
 Your letter of the 4th inst. has been re- 
 ceived and read with interest. 
 
 Replying to your question as to the drift 
 of the Sunday school away from the public 
 worship of the church, permit me to say 
 that, in my judgment, it would seem quite 
 possible to overcome such a tendency, by 
 a^lapting the church services to the Sunday 
 school, and by giving the school some place 
 
 108 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 in them. Will not the whole church in the 
 Sunday school bring the whole Sunday 
 school into the church ? 
 
 Eev. D. H. Class, of Pontiac, Michigan, 
 has solved this problem satisfactorily to him- 
 self through a combination service. Oth- 
 ers testify to the success of the plan. I trust 
 your letter will lead to most excellent re- 
 sults in many churches. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 E. K. Warren. 
 Chairman Board of Trustees, International 
 
 Sunday School Association. 
 
 My dear Doctor : 
 
 I do not think that the present tendency 
 of our Sunday-school constituency is away 
 from the church. My experience leads me to 
 believe that the reverse is true. More and 
 more I think our Sunday-school workers are 
 coming to feel the importance of church at- 
 tendance. It is doubtless true that many of 
 the young people, especially of the Junior 
 years, do not attend church. One reason for 
 this, however, is that the church service as 
 
 at present arranged does not take the Junior 
 109 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 age into consideration. The church service 
 of to-day is planned almost entirely for the 
 grown-ups. My conviction is that before we 
 can get more of our scholars into the church 
 service, we must plan that service with these 
 young folks in view. We are not, as a de- 
 nomination, endorsing any combination 
 service. We have not enough information 
 at hand to positively endorse any particu- 
 lar plan. Services of this sort seem to be 
 verj^ successful in some places, but not in 
 others. Wish I might have the privilege of 
 talking these matters over with you. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 David G. Downey. 
 Corresponding Secretary Board of Sunday 
 School Methodist Episcopal Church, Chi- 
 cago, III. 
 
 Dear Doctor Font : 
 
 Replying to your inquiry concerning the 
 Sunday school and the church service, it is 
 my judgment that three parties are responsi- 
 ble for the fact that not more of the members 
 of the school attend the preaching service. 
 I do not suggest any order of priority, but 
 will name one. First, tlie superintendent, 
 
 110 
 
Tlie Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 wlio should always call the attention of the 
 school to the preaching service and kindly 
 insist that all remain for it. This is assum- 
 ing that it follows the Sunday school as it 
 generally does. He should, in the workers' 
 meeting, make it very plain that the teach- 
 ers, all of them, are expected, of course, to 
 attend the preaching service. They are the 
 authority and example of perfect conduct to 
 the pupils. Thep must do it. Second, the pas- 
 tor. He should be in the school all the time 
 as an example to the laity to be there. Then 
 he should request the presence of all the 
 school in the public service. Boys and girls 
 can be employed in the opening service to 
 sing; to sit on the front seat; to note and 
 write down the text and its location; to 
 usher the congregation ; to receive the offer- 
 ing, etc. He should preach down to their 
 understanding. He might diagram his dis- 
 course on a blackboard for them to copy, if 
 he can use chalk. He should be present in 
 the workers' meeting to impress there his 
 desires and plans and give and take counsel. 
 The third party that I name is the parents. 
 Ill 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 It is an urgent duty of parents to train 
 their children in church attendance as a 
 habit of life. To "train" includes three 
 steps. 1. Precept. A raw recruit in mili- 
 tary service is told that he must "stand erect 
 with heels together and on a line ; to throw 
 back the shoulders and to lift the head; to 
 cast the eyes upon the ground sixty paces in 
 front ; and to place the little finger of each 
 hand behind the seam of his pantaloons." 
 That is precept correctly stated; and it is 
 necessary; but the recruit does not under- 
 stand. 2. Example. The drill sergeant 
 now shows by taking the position himself, 
 explaining each part and demonstrating it ; 
 but that is still insufficient. He must next 
 be made to do the thing himself. That is, 
 3. Compulsion. Exactly so in training 
 the "child in the way he should go," and it 
 is the duty of the parents to do it. Deut. 
 G : 6-9. Precept must be supported by ex- 
 ample else "your acts thunder so loud that 
 I cannot hear what you ^ay^^ (Emerson), 
 will be true. In addition, the parent must 
 compel, if necessary, the child's attendance 
 
 112 
 
The Sunday School and Piihlic Worship 
 
 at church. "If my child could attend only- 
 one service of the church," says Bishop Vin- 
 cent, "that must be the preaching service." 
 
 Robert Cowden. 
 
 Secretary Emeritus Sunday School Board 
 
 United Brethren Church, Dayton, Ohio. 
 
 Dear Doctor Font : 
 
 Replying to your letter, permit me to sug- 
 gest a few things that I know have been 
 tried with more or less success, with refer- 
 ence to securing the attendance of Sunday- 
 school scholars upon the regular church 
 services. 
 
 First. Give the pastor a. good, fair oppor- 
 tunity, as often as he thinks it is wise, to 
 speak to the school as a body and as their 
 pastor, so that they will recognize him as the 
 chief leader of all departments of the 
 church. 
 
 Second. We have dismissed our school as 
 a body into the auditorium of the church, 
 making the eleven o'clock preaching hour 
 the closing hour for the school that day, and 
 giving the pupils young and old some impor- 
 tant part in the service, such as selecting 
 
 113 
 
^hc Child and the Church 
 
 and singing a hymn by themselves, or some 
 other definite part of the service, and mak- 
 ing all of it bright and sharp and not too 
 long. This has done well and achieved good 
 results. Later on we excused the little chil- 
 dren of tlie beginners' and primary depart- 
 ments upon attendance at this service be- 
 cause it was almost too long for them. 
 
 Third. In every case the preacher must 
 make special preparations, not only to inter- 
 est, l)ut to instruct the boys and girls who 
 wait upon his ministry. My observation 
 is, tliat where the pastor lias one or two good 
 paragraphs especially applicable to the 
 young, and will not make his discourse too 
 long, he will always get a good hearing from 
 the younger element. 
 
 Fourth. I believe that it is quite possible 
 to take one of the services of the Sabbath 
 day, and make it a combination service for 
 old and young, and this might be alternated 
 between the morning hour and the evening 
 hour. 
 
 Fifth. I do not know any church that has 
 fully worked this matter out to its highest 
 
 114 
 
The Sunday School and Piihlic Worship 
 
 efficiency, but I assure you it is a pressing 
 ueed, and one about which I have thought a 
 great deal. V^e can certainly never expect 
 loyal goers to church in its regular services 
 unless we train the children when j-oung, 
 and it is not at all impossible, because it is 
 being done by quite a good many, and there 
 is no hardship in it to the young. 
 
 Sixth. Every local church should be pro- 
 vided with a manual of service embodying 
 the very best helps, and the most successful 
 of the methods being used, to overcome the 
 tendency of the Sunday school to drift 
 away from the church service. I am glad 
 you are sending out this questionnaire to 
 gather the best information and experience 
 from various sources. I trust you will put 
 the results of your inquiry in permanent 
 form, as a means of helping to solve this im- 
 portant problem. 
 
 Wishing you all blessings in your work, 
 I am, Yours truly, 
 
 J. R. Pepper. 
 Sunday School Superintendent First Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, South, Memphis, 
 Tennessee. 
 
 115 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 My dear Brother: 
 
 Replying to yonr inquiry, IIow overcome 
 the seeming tendency of the Sunday school 
 to drift away from the church service? Let 
 me say in my judgment much depends, 
 
 1. On the attitude and conduct of the of- 
 ficers and teachers of the Sunday school. 
 I^xample and the law of imitation mean 
 much in child life. 
 
 2. Much depends on the nature of the 
 public worship or serA'ice. Children are not 
 interested in sermons preached directly at 
 them. The story form must be used in in- 
 structing them from the pulpit as well as in 
 Sunday school. It is called the indirect 
 method. Let the child do his own moraliz- 
 ing. 
 
 3. Some churches have what is called the 
 Junior Congregation — music, prayer, scrip- 
 ture, sermon — all adapted to child life. I 
 would have the ushers and collectors also of 
 the younger people. 
 
 4. I think another way to counteract 
 the tendency' of which j'ou spetik is to revert 
 to the home. There must be definite teach- 
 
 116 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 ing and acting on the part of parents as to 
 the importance of public worship. 
 
 5. We need to make our public worship 
 quite attractive in dignity and spirit, im- 
 pressing upon the children the fact that God 
 is present. We cannot implant in them a 
 real reverence apart from the public wor- 
 ship of the church. 
 
 Yours, as ever, 
 Charles W. Brewbaker. 
 Secretary Sunday School Board, United 
 
 Brethren Church, Dayton, Ohio. 
 
 Dear Doctor Font : 
 
 I hardly know what to say in answer to 
 your question concerning the combining of 
 the Sunday school and church service. I 
 have never had the opportunity of observing 
 its working for any length of time, neither 
 have we had any experience in that line in 
 our school. I believe if the same ingenuity 
 would be used in working up congregations 
 for our regular worship that has been used 
 in Sunday-school work, the conditions would 
 be different. In the combination of the two 
 
 117 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 the element of worship tends to disappear, 
 a weakness which is already appalling in all 
 Protestant churches, and which, in my hum- 
 ble judgment is the real cause of empty 
 pews. I should like to observe the working 
 of the new system for a period of ten years 
 in some church before adopting it. 
 
 We have one of the oldest men's classes in 
 the church. Our average attendance for five 
 years has been sixty-five to seventy. I took a 
 test not long ago and found eighty per cent, 
 of my class to be fairly regular in church at- 
 tendance, and frequently I see half a dozen 
 fellows who were late for class find places 
 in the morning services. In our Sunday- 
 school councils, the teachers are urged to 
 keep the ideal of regular church attendance 
 before the classes. Of course, many are in 
 the Sunday school who are not in the churcli 
 but our congregations are twice as large 
 and more regular than they were in the old 
 daj^s of a moribund Sunday school. 
 Very cordially yours, 
 
 A. B. Statton. 
 Pastor 8t. Paul United Brethren Churchy 
 
 Eagerstown, Md. 
 
 118 
 
The Bunday School and Pnhlic Worship 
 
 Dear Doctor Font: 
 
 Concerning yonr inqniry permit me to say 
 as follows: 
 
 We shall understand our problem better if 
 we approach it from a comparative point of 
 view. Not many years ago, we had more 
 members in the chnrch than in the Sunday 
 school. Attendance at church was larger 
 than the school. To-day conditions are re- 
 versed in many places. The school enroll- 
 ment and attendance is much larger than 
 the church membership. Now, I find that 
 the average attendance at public worsliip on 
 the part of the church membership is equal 
 to, if not above what it was two decades 
 ago, and that there is no real abatement of 
 interest in the regular worship of the 
 church. It is easy for us to be mistaken in 
 our estimates in this day of such marvelous 
 Sunday-school progress. When our school 
 was one-fiftli as large as it is now, the per- 
 centage of those who left at the close of the 
 school session was as great or greater than 
 it is to-day. I speak from personal observa- 
 tion and comparisons in my own school, 
 
 119 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 Moreover, I am willing to stand this ap- 
 parent lack of interest in public worship on 
 the part of the Bible-school people, when I 
 remember that the Bible-school atmosphere 
 and training has transformed the life of the 
 church as well as contributed ninety-eight 
 per cent, to its numerical increase, and the 
 actual working ability and efficiency of the 
 church has been multiplied many fold by 
 the training given in the school. 
 
 We are experimenting on the combined 
 service, not to overcome what to some may 
 seem to be the difficulty of getting the schol- 
 ars into the preaching service — our attend- 
 ance is fine from the school — but as a means 
 of securing the best spiritual results for the 
 greatest number. The preacher cannot be 
 at his best after he has given as he should of 
 himself in the Bible-school session. There 
 is also the danger of surfeit on preaching. 
 One solid sermon a Sunday is enough preach- 
 ing to fire for tremendous activity the soul 
 that has properly learned its Bible-school 
 lesson. (There is really too much preaching 
 now in some of our adult Bible classes.) 
 
 120 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 The difficulty of conducting the com- 
 bined service so as to retain its reverence 
 and dignity can be overcome by tactful man- 
 agement from the i)latform. Practice will 
 develop stateliuess and devotion. The pas- 
 tor conducting the last quarter of an hour 
 will be able to sound a deep spiritual and 
 devotional note. Last Sunday a combined 
 service was held for the administering of the 
 Lord's Supper. Five hundred and fifty com- 
 muned, and the whole service was decorous 
 and deeply impressive. 
 
 Yours, as ever, 
 Charles W. Kecard. 
 Pastor First United Brethren Church, Can- 
 tony Ohio. 
 
 Dear Brother Fout: 
 
 Replying to your inquiry, I do not know 
 that I can be of much service to you, but will 
 do my best. 
 
 It was my privilege to attend a church re- 
 cently where the experiment is being made 
 of making the closing part of the Sunday- 
 school program identical with the church 
 
 121 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 service. This school begins its work at ten- 
 thirty, the lesson period being concluded at 
 ten minutes after eleven. The school then 
 marches back and the pastor takes up the 
 morning service. Practically all the chil- 
 dren are at the preaching service. I did not 
 notice many people coming in, however, for 
 the church alone. It is an interesting exper- 
 iment, however, 
 
 I know another church where the pastor 
 has organized a league among the children. 
 He gives them a gold badge with the letters 
 L. W. C. These letters hold a secret. The 
 badge is to be retained only so long as the 
 members are faithful to the morning wor- 
 ship. I m^j say to you, without violating 
 any confidences, that the letters stand for 
 The League of Worshiping Children. 
 
 Another church is trying the experiment 
 of a combination service once a month, 
 when the entire Sunday school is retained 
 at the church service. The exercises do not 
 overlap, but the one leads right up to the 
 other. 
 
 122 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 Of course, you recognize that all the bur- 
 den of securing attendance at the church 
 services is not on the Sunday school. The 
 preacher, the church officials, and the church 
 ushers have never hurt themselves planning 
 to win a large attendance. I think they 
 ought to bear at least half the responsibil- 
 ity. We might justly say that we give to 
 the morning service as large a proportion of 
 our constituency as the church officials give 
 the Sunday school from theirs. 
 
 Tlie subject is a great one though I 
 think it is greatly exaggerated. I have no 
 question that we are doing better than we 
 ever liave done, though we might do a great 
 deal better. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 I. J. Van Ness. 
 Editor Sunday School PuhUcations South- 
 ern Baptist Church, Nashville, Tenn. 
 
 My dear Doctor : 
 
 I do not know of any congregation that 
 has successfully overcome the tendency of 
 the Sunday school to drift away from the 
 
 123 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 stated cliurcli services. It is, for the present, 
 one of onr unsolved problems. In onr Prot- 
 estant ehiirclies the main feature of the serv- 
 ice is the sermon, and this, as a general rule, 
 is bej'^ond the comprehension of children. 
 One of onr churches in Kansas City, Mis- 
 souri, is endeavoring to overcome the diffi- 
 culty by having the children's service in the 
 Sunday-school room at the same hour as the 
 adult service in the auditorium. This does 
 not strike me, however, as satisfactory. Our 
 children need the spiritual culture that can 
 come only through the worship of the great 
 congregation. If we could have a service 
 for worship and another for preaching, it 
 might enable us to solve this problem, but, 
 for the present, I do not see how this is pos- 
 sible. It seems to me that, under the cir- 
 cumstances, the best we can do is for the 
 pastors to take some pains to adapt their 
 services, and especially their sermons to the 
 young. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 E. B. Chappel. 
 Editor Sunday School Publications Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church, South, Nashville, 
 Tennessee. 
 
 124 
 
The Sunday School and Puhlic Worship 
 
 Dear Doctor Fout : 
 
 Replying to your inquiry concerning the 
 Sunday school and public worship, let me 
 say that not five minutes ago the chairman 
 of our Presbytery's committee on Sunday- 
 school work was in the room consulting with 
 me about an early meeting of the Presby- 
 terian Sunday-scliool superintendents of 
 Philadelphia, at which this very question is 
 to be considered. It is the plan of the com- 
 mittee to have two superintendents tell what 
 they are doing to secure the attendance of 
 the members of the school at the church serv- 
 ices. The several pastors will tell what they 
 are doing to co-operate, each with the super- 
 intendent of his own school. Several pastors 
 who have been signally successful in giving 
 short sermons to children at the morning 
 service will tell of their successes and fail- 
 ures. One pastor will preach a children's 
 sermon to a company of children gathered 
 in the neighborhood. In connection with 
 the services there will be given the result of 
 a canvass now being made of the Presbyter- 
 ian churches of Philadelphia, to see exactly 
 
 125 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 how many children fifteen years old or 
 yonnger are in attendance at the services on 
 the Sabbaths of December. 
 
 You see that we have been studying the 
 same problem here. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 John T. Faris. 
 Editor, Sunday School Puhlications Presby- 
 terian Church, Philadcl phia, Pa. 
 
 Dear Doctor Font : 
 
 Since last summer, I have been following 
 the plan of preaching to the boys and girls 
 of the Sabbath school on the first Sabbath 
 of each month. A boy and girl choir of about 
 twenty takes part in the song service. The 
 sermon is about twenty-two to twenty-four 
 minutes in length. The plan is working well 
 and is bringing results. Some of the 
 youngsters are attending every Sabbath. I 
 make the sermon just as simple as possible, 
 and yet try to have a real sermon, not a kin- 
 dergarten talk. It is a suggestive fact that 
 the older people seem to take to the sermon 
 for cliildren with considerable avidity. If 
 
 126 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 you can do something toward bringing Sun- 
 day school and church into closer organic 
 relations, making them really one, as they 
 ought to be, you will do something abun- 
 dantly worth while. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 W. E. McCulloch. 
 Pastor, First United Preshyteria)i Church, 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Dear Doctor Font : 
 
 I realize the problem of which you speak 
 is one of the great problems of the church 
 and Bible school. 
 
 To keep the pupils for the preaching 
 service after Bible school, the following 
 plans have worked very well : To have the 
 class and teacher sit together in preaching 
 service; the teacher to make a special re- 
 quest each Lord's Day morning that all 
 members of the class remain; the record of 
 attendance at preaching service kept; give 
 the Bible school something to do in the 
 preaching service; make special mention 
 from the pulpit of tlie presence of the classes 
 
 127 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 from tlie Bible school; make the morning 
 preaching service not too long; eliminate 
 many announcements ; eliminate stereotyped 
 opening; join the Bible school and preach- 
 ing service together as nearly as possible. 
 
 Another plan is to contest with some other 
 church or school and see which can have 
 the larger number remain for preaching 
 service. 
 
 Our method of combining the two services 
 proved very successful for the hot weather 
 period. I do not deem it advisable, how- 
 ever, for the rest of the year, under present 
 conditions. 
 
 With every good wish, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 P. H. Welshiraer. 
 Pastor, First Christian Church, Canton, 0. 
 
 Dear Doctor Fout: 
 
 In reply to your inquiry, will say that the 
 problem is giving our people no little con- 
 cern. I do not know of any local church 
 that has succeeded in solving it effectually. 
 
 When I was pastor, at my Sunday school 
 
 128 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 in the morning, I succeeded in getting a 
 large number of scholars to attend the 
 morning service by offering them rewards at 
 the end of the year for regular attendance at 
 church, making forty-five Sundays the limit. 
 This was not given to them as a reward for 
 church going, but as an expression of appre- 
 ciation for doing their duty. Of course, I 
 had to bring the matter of the duty of pub- 
 lic worship very strongly before them. I 
 do not know of any other way to get it than 
 by enlisting the teachers and superintendent 
 to exert their influence upon the scholars to 
 attend public worship, and by the pastor 
 laying it upon the hearts of the children 
 from his own heart. 
 
 Yours cordially, 
 
 Charles S. Albert, 
 Late Editor^ Sunday School Publications, 
 Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Dear Doctor Font : 
 
 Your letter regarding the question of the 
 tendency of the Sunday school to drop away 
 from public worship is received. A number 
 
 129 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 of schools with which I am familiar have 
 their Sunday-school records marked as to 
 whether the pupils have attended at least 
 one church service since the Sundaj'-school 
 session of the week before. This helps 
 somewhat in the direction you indicate. 
 
 Another plan that I find in my own school 
 to be helpful, is to have the pastor given a 
 prominent place in the Sundaj^-school serv- 
 ice, as I count him the first officer in our 
 school. This brings the children and younger 
 people in touch with the pastor, and in this 
 closer relation they follow him into the 
 church service. 
 
 There are several churches that I have 
 heard of, but none that I can quote with au- 
 thority, that are just now trying to combine 
 the main church service and the Sunday 
 school into a two hour session, beginning at 
 ten o'clock and closing at twelve, having a 
 Junior and an adult choir assist in the mu- 
 sic, thus combining the church anthem with 
 the special Sunday-school song. The whole 
 congregation, which includes the Sunday 
 school, is seated in classes, each of them hav- 
 
 130 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 ing a teacher. A short sermon g:ood for 
 adults, and which the children can under- 
 stand, is preached by the pastor, and the va- 
 rious classes are also taught a twenty or 
 thirty minute lesson by the teachers, and the 
 two hours are so conducted that you could 
 not tell in an}- one thirty minutes of the 
 period whether it was church or Sunday 
 school — the fact is, it is both from start to 
 finish. 
 
 In other words, they are injecting, by hav- 
 ing a little more time for it, the teaching 
 function into the main church service and 
 adapting that teaching to the youngest child 
 as well as the oldest and most experienced 
 adult. I believe myself that some day we 
 shall come very largely to this way of doing 
 our work. This may not throw much light 
 upon your question, but these are some of 
 the thoughts that have come to me as I have 
 observed the situation and heard this ques- 
 tion discussed. 
 
 With best wishes, I am, 
 
 Most cordially, 
 
 Hugh Cork. 
 Assistant General Secretary International 
 
 Sunday School Association^ Chicago, III. 
 
 131 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 Dear Doctor Fout: 
 
 Your question, "What can be done to over- 
 come the tendency of the Sunday school to 
 drift away from the church?" depends upon 
 what answers can be given to certain other 
 questions. Those questions are : 
 
 1. Is it advisable that the children should 
 attend the church service? In olden times 
 it was thought to be very necessary that they 
 should attend. In my young days, all the 
 family, practically, were present at the 
 morning service. When the time for the 
 service arrived, it was assumed that all we 
 youngsters would be ready for church. No 
 light excuse was of any avail for not going. 
 Usually no excuse was thought of. Looking 
 back upon those days, it seems delightful — 
 the remembrance of the pews being filled 
 with old and young, down even to those who 
 nestled in the laps of the elders ! I do not 
 remember that attendance at church was 
 ever felt as a hardship by the young. We 
 had come to think of it as inevitable, and, 
 hence, that it must be right. Of course, 
 going to church was not universal; for ev- 
 132 
 
The Sunday School and Puhlic Worship 
 
 erywhere there were families who were not 
 church-goers, and their children were not 
 compelled or urged to go; but, generally,^ 
 people on the Sabbath went to the sanctu- 
 ary, and thought that those who did not go 
 were little better than heathen. 
 
 What was the effect upon the young of 
 regular attendance upon the church? Cer- 
 tainly, at least, it got them into the habit of 
 going. It made them feel uncomfortable if 
 by chance it was omitted; much as if they 
 had failed to "say" a prayer at night. Those 
 who were free to spend Sunday as they chose 
 did not form any such habit. I have yet to 
 learn that any one was attracted toward the 
 church by his disregard of church at- 
 tendance. It may, therefore, be set down 
 in favor of church going by the young that 
 it cultivates a good habit. 
 
 It did more than this, judging from my 
 own early recollections, for now and then 
 the preachers said some things, amid things 
 incomprehensible and uninterestitig to me, 
 which mightily stirred my conscience and 
 roused deep emotion. Pity it was that none 
 
 133 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 knew of their effect! For, boy-like, I kept 
 my feelings to myself, and the older people 
 were so little interested in the affairs of lit- 
 tle ones ! In one of those experiences I came 
 very near going up to the "mourners' bench,'^ 
 and askino- for the privilege of confessing 
 Christ. But my parents were not with me, 
 and I hesitated at doing something of which 
 they might not approve. For weeks after, 
 I felt self -reproached at my failure to obey 
 my conscience. It would have been so easy 
 for me then to have become a Christian — so 
 much harder for me when I did so later; as 
 the Savior said of the little ones, "Of such 
 is the kingdom of heaven." I tell this ex- 
 perience onl}'^ for the purpose of showing 
 how the very young may be influenced by 
 church attendance. 
 
 2. Do the parents ivant the children to 
 attend chureli service? Apparently not. 
 There is not the same authority shown by 
 them in requiring their children to be pres- 
 ent at the church on Sunday. Family disci- 
 pline is lax here as in so many other cases. 
 Parents are relying too much upon the Sun- 
 
 134 
 
The Sunday School and Puhlic Worship 
 
 day school and the Christian Endeavor so- 
 ciety. They think that the two services upon 
 the Sabbath are enough for the little ones. 
 They trust that in those two services they 
 will receive such an impulse in the right di- 
 rection that when they are mature they will 
 graduate from those youthful institutions 
 into the church. Perhaps many of them 
 will; it is to be hoped that they will; but 
 would not this be made more certain if 
 from their infancy up they kept in the 
 church? 
 
 3. Does the Sunday school wish the 
 scholars to attend church service? From 
 the fact that nothing is done about it, the 
 answer is in the negative. Such also seems 
 to be the attitude of the Christian Endeavor 
 Society. If either institution thought the 
 matter of enough importance, they would 
 make strenuous endeavor to secure it. In- 
 asmuch as neither emphasizes its conse- 
 quence, the matter goes by default. Ques- 
 tioned, I think that the workers in both in- 
 stitutions would admit the desirability of 
 church attendance by the young, but actions 
 speak louder than — silence. 
 
 135 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 What, then, is the remedy? First, the 
 church must show that she wants the at- 
 tendance of the children. She has been too 
 indifferent about their staying away her- 
 self. If she should show a real interest in 
 the matter, parents, and Sunday school, and 
 Christian Endeavor would be quick to re- 
 spond. In some churches this desire for the 
 presence of the young is exhibited in the 
 form of a little sermon preached to the 
 children before the regular sermon. I 
 could name some churches where this pre- 
 liminary sermon is quite effective in secur- 
 ing little hearers. Even without this, pres- 
 sure can be brought to bear upon the family 
 through the pastor, church committee, etc. 
 The chief thing to do is to make the fam- 
 ily feel the importance of making th« chil- 
 dren early acquainted with the church. The 
 Sunday school and Christian Endeavor are 
 merely the organized efforts of tlie church, 
 and are not to be compared with the church 
 itself. They are the gateways into the 
 church, and are not to be taken as substi- 
 tutes for it. Some parents are delusively re- 
 garding them as "the children's church." 
 
 136 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 The third thing is to get the Sunday 
 school and the Christian Endeavor to be 
 helpers in inducing the children to attend 
 the church. In some schools and societies 
 this is done by asking for a show of hands 
 of those who have been at the morning serv- 
 ice. In others, by marking the attendance 
 at the service on the class cards, this attend- 
 ance appearing on the blackboard at the end 
 of the quarter. In various ways the superin- 
 tendent of the school can show his gratifica- 
 tion at any signs of increasing interest in 
 church attendance. 
 
 The fact is, we can have the attendance of 
 the children upon the church — if tee want it. 
 If we do not get it, it is because we do not 
 care for it enough. The children are the 
 care of the church. The church should so 
 discharge her responsibility that she should 
 be able to say, "Behold, I and the children 
 whom Jehovah hath given me are for signs 
 and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of 
 hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion." 
 
 M. C. Hazard. 
 Editor Emeritus, Sunday School Publica- 
 tions Congregational Church, Boston, 
 Mass. 
 
 137 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 Dear Doctor Font : 
 
 I have Your favor making inquiry as to 
 how secure the attendance of the Sunday 
 school at the regular services of the church. 
 I am glad to inform you of a plan I worked 
 out about five years ago. We call it "The 
 Combination Plan." I enclose the pam- 
 phlet containing the outline in detail for 
 any use you may desire to make of it. We use 
 the graded lessons and are greatly pleased 
 with them. All the main features of the 
 regular school can be carried out in our 
 coiiibination plan. We are lengthening the 
 Bible study period a little for the reason 
 that the members of the school desire it. 
 Very cordially yours, 
 
 D. Hasler Glass. 
 Pastor First Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 
 Po n tiac, Mich iga n. 
 
 The following is the outline of "The Com- 
 bination Plan/' of which Dr. Glass is the 
 xiuthor : 
 
 1. Organ voluntary. 
 
 2. Hymn. 
 
 138 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 3. Prayer. 
 
 4. Gloria or Doxology. 
 
 5. Scripture Lesson. 
 
 6. Collection and special music by the 
 
 choir. 
 
 7. Notices. 
 
 8. Sermon. 
 
 9. Brief prayer. 
 
 10. Hymn. 
 
 11. Bible study. 
 
 12. Secretary's report. 
 
 13. Hymn. 
 
 14. Benediction. 
 
 "The members of the Sunday school and 
 the members of the congregation assemble 
 at the hour of the preaching service and are 
 seated in the auditorium. The service is 
 divided into three periods of one-half hour 
 each. The first covers the' first seven 
 numbers of the order of service. The sec- 
 ond is occupied by number eight, the ser- 
 mon, and the third is devoted to Bible 
 study, numbers ten to fourteen. At the close 
 of the sermon the pastor announces that the 
 classes will immediately assemble for Bible 
 
 139 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 study after the singing of the hjmn, and 
 reminds the congregation that the service is 
 not ended, bnt that it will be in a half hour. 
 Polite ushers are stationed at the doors to 
 give a personal invitation to strangers, or 
 others who might leave the room, to remain 
 for Bible study. The members of the church 
 are loyal, and most strangers are curious to 
 see the new plan to the end of the service; 
 hence the whole congregation remains for 
 the Sunday school. There is not another 
 opening service ; but all proceed to the study 
 of the lesson at once. There is no complaint 
 if this part of the service lasts a little longer 
 than thirty minutes, and yet it is better to 
 run on schedule time — the people will be 
 more likely to want to come back again. 
 
 "Tlie following are the advantages of the 
 plan: 
 
 "It holds the adults to the Sunday school. 
 More than ninety per cent, of the congrega- 
 tion remain for the Sunday-school lesson 
 study. The importance of this achievement 
 cannot be estimated. It has been almost im- 
 possible to arouse a general interest in Bible 
 
 140 
 
The Sunday School and Piiblic Worship 
 
 study. Many members of our cliurcli never 
 read the Bible; few seriously study it. 
 Our people are destroyed for lack of knowl- 
 edge. Every religious fad seeks its victims 
 among church members, for the reason that 
 they are not familiar with the simplest 
 teachings of the Word. Heresy, unbelief, 
 indifference, and fanaticism are in most 
 cases easily traceable to a lack of biblical 
 knowledge. Happy is that pastor whose en- 
 tire membership is given to the study of the 
 Bible ; and happy is that people which has a 
 fair chance to study it under competent 
 teachers. 
 
 It secures the presence of more than 
 ninety-five per cent, of the Sunday school 
 at the preaching service — an achievement 
 which the church has sought for many years. 
 If it accomplished nothing more than this, 
 it would furnish sufficient reason for every 
 Protestant church to break up the old forms 
 and adjust itself to the easy solution of its 
 greatest problem. 
 
 It solves the problem of holding the boys 
 to the church services and Sunday school. 
 
 141 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 On the occasion of one of the anniversaries 
 as superintendent of his great Sunday 
 school, Mr. Wanamaker said : "If I had my 
 life to live over, I would do different. I 
 would try harder to get the fathers in the 
 Sunday school. Get the fathers and you 
 have the whole family." This has been dem- 
 onstrated to be literally trne in our consoli- 
 dated service. The fathers remain in the 
 Sunday school and the boys follow their ex- 
 ample. Not only are the boys enthusiastic 
 in their praise of the services, but boys who 
 had left the school are coming back and at- 
 tending regularh'. 
 
 "It has increased the interest and attend- 
 ance of our rural population. One of the 
 most serious problems the church meets is 
 that of reaching the farming population. 
 Country life is not less conducive to relig- 
 ion than city life, but it is less convenient 
 in the countrj- to attend church than it is in 
 the city. By personal inquiry I have dis- 
 covered that the chief reason why the farm- 
 ers do not attend church is that they cannot 
 go and take the cliildren witli them on ac- 
 
 142 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 count of the lengthy services. When they 
 do go it is so late when they return home 
 that by the time dinner is over it is time 
 to do the chores, and they have no time for 
 rest or for the cultivation of family life. 
 Under the consolidated plan with its short- 
 ened service, there has been a marked in- 
 crease in the attendance of the rural popula- 
 tion. 
 
 "It improves the preaching. A discrimi- 
 nating minister will almost intuitively 
 adapt his preaching to the character of his 
 audience. Dr. Tyng once said, "If more 
 ministers would preach to the children in 
 their congregations, more people would un- 
 derstand their minister." The presence of 
 the children is an inspiration to the preach- 
 er. He who preaches "in the demonstration 
 of the Spirit and of power," will have no 
 difficulty in preaching to a congregation in 
 which the children are present. The 
 preacher must be brief. He must keep with- 
 in the thirty-minute limit. This will be a 
 genuine hardship for man^^ speakers, but a 
 great boon to their congregations. The 
 
 143 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 dread of a long sermon keeps more people 
 from attending church than ministers are 
 aware of. We hear many preachers ridicule 
 the "cant about short sermons," but we 
 never hear their congregations make light 
 of it. The supreme end of preaching is to 
 "catch men," and not to consume bait. The 
 chief reason why ministers do not increase 
 in power and effectiveness as they grow in 
 knowledge and experience, is that they in- 
 sist upon exhausting their fund of informa- 
 tion on pulpit themes every time they dis- 
 cuss them. 
 
 Following are some of the practical re- 
 sults from the new plan : 
 
 "The morning congregation has increased 
 fifty per cent, and is still growing. The 
 Sunday school has increased nearly three 
 hundred per cent. The enthusiasm has 
 grown correspondingly. The people are 
 most enthusiastic over the plan and many 
 are attracted to the church who have not 
 been in the habit of attending. Only from 
 five to ten per cent, of the congregation 
 
 144 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 leave after the preaching service. Some of 
 these are strangers who "dropped in," and 
 some are persons who could not have come 
 to church but for the short service. 
 
 "One of the most notable features of the 
 plan is the men's Sunday-school class. This 
 class is taught by the pastor, and before the 
 consolidation averaged from four to six, 
 and occasionally as many as eight might re- 
 main for the school hour; but now the act- 
 ual attendance at the men's class is nearly 
 twenty-five per cent, of the entire school. It 
 is a real Sunday-school class, meeting with 
 the school and studying the regular lessons. 
 
 The families come to church together, sit 
 together, and together return home. It 
 maintains the family unit in worship. It 
 does away with the objectionable class of 
 music and gives the children a chance to 
 sing the standard hymns of the church. It 
 brings them under the instruction and di- 
 rect appeal of the pastor — a vital point of 
 contact. Unattended children are as de- 
 corous as those attended by their parents. 
 If a little child should forget and disturb, 
 
 145 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 he is always near an adult who needs but 
 to gently touch his shoulder to bring him to 
 perfect order. The service is as dignified 
 and impressive as the exclusive service is, 
 and very much more attractive." 
 
 Dear Doctor Font : 
 
 I am sending you to-day a copy of my 
 book entitled, "A Junior Congregation." My 
 conviction confirmed by experience is that 
 the Junior Congregation is the answer to 
 your question, for which so many pastors 
 have been listening; because a Junior Con- 
 gregation takes the children directly from 
 the home into the church service. It gradu- 
 ates them from the junior to the senior con- 
 gregation. Thanking you for your interest 
 and help in this great work, I am. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 J. M. Farrar. 
 Pastor First Reformed Church, Brooklyn, 
 New York. 
 
 An interview between Dr. Farrar and the 
 Rev. William Durham, of London, England, 
 concerning the Junior Congregation, ap- 
 
 146 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 peared in the Homiletic Review, from which 
 we copy the following : 
 
 To the question, "How does your plan 
 operate?" Dr. Farrar replied, "An invita- 
 tion extended through the parents, together 
 with a personal solicitation in the home and 
 Sabbath school, will assemble a congrega- 
 tion for organization. This meeting should 
 be held during the week. An entertainment 
 and refreshments appeal to the juniors as 
 they do to the seniors. A roll of members is 
 carefully made, including addresses, ages, 
 and birthdays. A birthday letter from the 
 pastor is a strand in the cord that is not 
 easily broken. To each member is given a 
 package of contribution envelopes. The 
 purpose of the organization is explained, 
 and the children are made to realize that 
 they are as much a part of the church as 
 they are a part of the home. The organiza- 
 tion should be the counterpart of the senior 
 organization. As one object of a Junior 
 Congregation is to train the children in 
 church work, each denomination will nat- 
 147 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 nrally organize along the line of its own 
 polity. 
 
 "We organize somewhat elaborately, for 
 no trouble can be reckoned too great, con- 
 sidering the supreme importance of our ob- 
 jective aim. In their annual meeting, the 
 children hear reports of their work, the 
 amount of their contributions, and the ob- 
 jects for wliich the money has been ex- 
 pended. The contributions are divided by 
 vote, one-half to the home church, the other 
 half to missions. Bibles are presented to 
 those who keep a list of texts and outlines 
 of sermons. In this meeting, also, the chil- 
 dren elect their own officers for the ensuing 
 year. The great result is that the children 
 form the church habit and can be depended 
 on in later years for church worship and 
 work." 
 
 "What, Dr. Farrar, do you feel the key- 
 note of this movement?" 
 
 "I feel that the children should constitute 
 
 an integral portion of the congregation. 
 
 Thus they meet witli the regular assembly, 
 
 and we have all the service of praise and all 
 
 H8 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 the worship before the sermon. In many in- 
 stances the children sit with their parents in 
 the family pew. In the parable of the loaves 
 and fishes, Mark says that Christ told his 
 disciples to seat the multitudes as 'flower- 
 beds.' Buds develop better when sheltered 
 by flowers. Chairs from the Sunday school 
 room are placed in front of the pulpit, and 
 the majority of the children prefer these 
 front seats, close to the pastor. It is the 
 hope that when these small folks become 
 men and women the front seats in the 
 church and prayer-meeting will be occupied. 
 Following the general service of praise and 
 Avorship and just before the sermon is intro- 
 duced, I preach a short sermon to the jun- 
 iors. My plan is to bring the children up 
 to me, rather than to go down to them. For 
 any pastor who has studied children well 
 knows that they do not like to be talked 
 down to in baby-talk, even though they may 
 speak in such fashion themselves. A child 
 appreciates a straight-forward, dignified ad- 
 dress. This has a double result. First, the 
 child is honored, and appreciates the fact 
 that he is honored by the preacher. Sec- 
 
 149 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 ond, (and this is of very great conse- 
 quence,) the seniors are invariably pro- 
 foundly interested." 
 
 "The result of this method pursued dur- 
 ing a series of years is that when the chil- 
 dren become members of the senior congre- 
 gation they are already trained workers, fa- 
 miliar with church methods and laws and 
 are in intelligent sympathy with the objects 
 of their church organization. They have 
 formed the church habit, and can be de- 
 pended upon for church worship and work. 
 It is pleasant to anticipate the influence of 
 a junior congregation so developed upon 
 the next generation of church workers. 
 
 There are not a few who are slow to 
 endorse the combination idea, lest the ele- 
 ment of worship and the dignity, stateli- 
 ness, reverence, and worshipfulness that 
 should attach to the service of God's house 
 be sacrificed. In the judgment of many the 
 ideal plan is for a morning service of wor- 
 ship and an afternoon service for Bible 
 study, in which the people of the churcli and 
 the classes come together for that purpose 
 — the pastor of the church to have charge of 
 
 150 
 
The Sunday School and Public Worship 
 
 the gathering and devote as much of his 
 time to it as to any other department of the 
 church. 
 
 A recent issue of the "British Weekly," 
 mentions an organization in the Trinity 
 Parish of Aberdeen, known as the "Young 
 Peoples Guild," which endeavors to secure 
 the signatures of young people to this 
 pledge: "I now bear witness that I am a 
 lover of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and in 
 order that I may be able worthily to spend 
 my life in love and in remembrance of Him, 
 I also promise that, with the help of the 
 Holy Spirit, I shall try to attend the house 
 of God at least once every Sunday, and to 
 join in the public worship of the Heavenly 
 Father, the one God from whom cometh 
 every good and perfect gift." The guild is 
 reported to have brought great blessing to 
 the church, and also a great blessing to the 
 children and young people. 
 
 While the point of perfection has not been 
 attained, pastors and church workers gen- 
 erally were never so determined as at pres- 
 ent to unitedly lift actual conditions to a 
 
 151 
 
The Child and the Church 
 
 plane more nearly ideal, realizing that all 
 possible completeness of vision and practice 
 is the true educational and religious aim. 
 And out of this confusion of ideas and mul- 
 tiplicity of schemes and experiments will 
 come, in the not far distant future, the per- 
 fected plan — a practical solution to the 
 problem of Sunday school and the church 
 service. 
 
 152 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 nrx ft 1 
 
 'fiQ 
 
 
 
 
 *<e«.«i«»i..M.j.. ,- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CATLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTCOINU t.A 
 
BX9878.5 .F783 
 
 The child and the church 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00044 8359