> FEB 27 1909 *i BV 660 ,M67 1908 Mott, John Raleigh, 1865- 1955. The future leadership of th church THE FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH BOOKS BY JOHN R. MOTT STRATEGIC POINTS IN THE WORLD'S CONQUEST. THE EVANGELIZATION OF THE WORLD IN THIS GENERATION. THE STUDENTS OF NORTH AMERICA UNITED. THE PASTOR AND MODERN MISSIONS. THE FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH By JOHN R. MOTT, M.A. GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE WORLD'S STUDENT CHRISTIAN FEDERATION * MAR 1 19( A NEW YORK STUDENT DEPARTMENT YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION 1908 Copyright, 1908, by STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT PREFACE This book is addressed to the leaders of the Church, both ministers and laymen, and to all others who are deeply interested in the prog- ress of Christianity. It is largely the result of investigations carried on during the past six years in all parts of the world. These studies were undertaken at the suggestion of several ministers who had been impressed by the successful efforts of the Student Volunteer Movement in enlisting strong men as volun- teers for the foreign mission fields and who were burdened with a sense of solicitude be- cause of the dearth of able candidates for the home ministry. The sources of information consulted and the methods employed in the investigation may be briefly indicated. Conferences have been held with companies of the foremost ministers, theological professors, editors of religious Vi PREFACE periodicals, and officers of denominational so- cieties in different parts of North America, Europe, Australasia, and South Africa, as well as on all the principal foreign mission fields. Correspondence har, been conducted with hun- dreds of the ministers of the various Christian bodies. Discussions have been carried on at many conventions of theological students; also, in universities of different countries, with young men intending to become ministers. Even more suggestive have been the free and frank discussions with selected groups of young men planning to devote their lives to teaching, law, medicine, literature, engineer- ing, and other lay pursuits. The thousands of interviews held, during a period of twenty years' work in colleges, with young men who have come to talk over their life-work plans have been made tributary to this investigation. With the aid of special helpers there have been examined the proceedings of the ecclesias- tical gatherings, the year-books and the peri- odicals of all the leading denominations of the United States and Canada, as well as the reports of societies dealing with questions bearing on candidates for the ministry, cov- PREFACE vu ering a period of one, and in some cases, two or three generations. Similar but less ex- tensive investigations have been made in some foreign countries. Time has been spent in libraries which possess the most complete book and pamphlet literature on the subject of the discovering, enlisting, and training of candidates for the ministry. Comparatively little of the material accumu- lated is used in the book. Some may question why more of the statistical data has not been employed; but the further I proceeded in the examination of statistics, the stronger became the impression that in many cases generaliza- tions drawn from such material would be mis- leading or, at any rate, confusing, and would raise more questions than they would answer. This is due to marked differences in various sections of the same country, in the character of various types of colleges, in the terminology and practices of various denominations, and in the conditions which characterize different periods in rapidly changing countries like the United States and Canada. While the minute study of the evidence obtained in such an in- vestigation has been of distinct help both in viii PREFACE creating and in correcting impressions, it has seemed best not to present at this time many- statistical statements, because the reader, with- out the opportunity of going over the detailed data, might easily be led to wrong conclusions. A further reason for this course is the desire to fix attention not so much on the numerical aspect of the question under discussion as on that of the character or quality of the men needed for the ministry at this time, for while the question of quantity has a practical bear- ing on that of quality, it is not essential to the present inquiry. The larger part of the material here used was first presented in lectures given during the past winter and spring at Toronto under the auspices of the five theological colleges — Knox, McMaster, Trinity, Victoria, and Wycliffe; at Berkeley, California, under the auspices of the theological seminaries of the Pacific Coast ; and at Nashville, Tennessee, under the aus- pices of the Theological Department of Van- derbilt University. These lectures have been completely revised and enlarged by the use of many new facts and additional consid- erations. PREFACE IX I find it difficult, in fact impossible, to ex- press adequately my sense of obligation and gratitude to the many ministers, professors, editors, and leading laymen who by giving valuable information as well as discerning criticism and generous encouragement have facilitated the work of preparation. John R. Mott New York, November, 1908 # CONTENTS 1 PAGE THE PROBLEM 3 II THE URGENCY \^ III THE OBSTACLES 57 IV THE FAVORING INFLUENCES . . . 105 V THE PROPAGANDA I4I THE PROBLEM THE PROBLEM To secure able men for the Christian ministry is an object of transcendent, urgent, and world- wide concern. It involves the life, the growth, the extension of the Church — the future of Christianity itself. The Church is a divine institution, founded by Christ and the Apostles. It has done more to purify, enrich, and strengthen mankind than have all other movements. It is still the most pow- erful and beneficent agency for promoting the cause of morality and religion. It has ever been and yet is not only an ameliorating force that makes life tolerable, but an inspiring force that makes life progressive. Take the Christian Church out of society and it collapses. The Church furnishes the springs of life and power for all other beneficent institutions and move- ments. It is the root ; they are the branches. Its 3 4 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH work is the most enduring; it deals with the in- destructible part of man.^ It is evident that no society of men can hold together and can realize great objects without thoroughly qualified leaders. The Church of Christ is no exception. Wherever the Church has proved inadequate it has been due to inadequate leadership. If the Church is to grow, so as to meet the growing needs of the age, it must have able men in its ministry. Without such leader- ship there is danger that it will ultimately be reduced to a negligible force. The failure to raise up a competent ministry would be a far greater failure than not to win converts to the Christian faith, because the enlarging of the Kingdom ever waits for leaders of power. What problem of the Church is there to-day which cannot best be solved by enlisting for this call- ing more men of the highest qualifications? What calamity, next to the withdrawal of Christ's presence, should be more dreaded than to have young men of genius and of large equip- ment withhold themselves from responding to the call of the Christian ministry? And yet this is the calamity which is impending. > J. B. Lightfoot, "The Christian Ministry," p. 2. THE PROBLEM 5 The statistics of ministerial candidates afford ground for grave concern. In the student year 1894-5 there were in attendance at fifty-eight leading graduate theological schools in the United States 4,004 students, whereas twelve years later there were but 3,304 students, or a falling off of eighteen per cent.^ During this period the com- municant membership of the twenty-six largest Protestant denominations increased from 13,351,- 856 to 16,791,948, being an increase of twenty- five per cent. During the same period the white population of the country increased approxi- mately twenty per cent. Between twenty and thirty other statistical studies, made in individual denominations or groups of denominations, re- veal in every case either actual decline in the number of candidates or an increase not com- mensurate with the growth in population. In all my conversations and correspondence with lead- ers of the various American churches I have learned of no denomination in which there is not a demand for more men of ability for the min- istry in all sections of the country. * Statistics gathered by the Commission on the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, Professor E. D. Burton, Secretary. 6 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH This problem is one confronting the Church in all parts of the world. In Canada the situation is not as serious as in the United States. Never- theless, correspondence with more than two hun- dred ministers in all parts of the Dominion, and conferences with theological professors, editors, and clergymen has made plain that this is already a very real problem in every communion, and one that is likely to become more and more acute and threatening with the rapid increase in population and the growing absorption of the Canadian people in the material development of the country. While in Great Britain in 1905, I had a series of conferences on this subject with companies of Christian leaders. The Archbishop of Canter- bury called together a group of men in the Church of England deeply interested in the mat- ter, and afforded an opportunity to discuss it with them. The President of the Council of Free Churches brought together for the same purpose a number of leaders in the Free Churches in London. Both at Oxford and at Cambridge conferences were held with Anglican professors and tutors, and with Free Church professors and ministers. Likewise, in Edinburgh and Glas- THE PROBLEM 7 gow there were gatherings of theological pro- fessors and ministers of the different churches. A similar group came together at Cardiff in Wales. The evidence brought out in this series of discussions revealed the fact that, though the dearth of well-qualified candidates is greater in England than in Scotland and Wales, there was practical agreement among the Christian leaders of all three nationalities that more of the keen- est and most gifted young men are needed for the work of the ministry. In 1907 the Archbishop of Canterbury ap- pointed a committee to examine into the supply and training of candidates for Holy Orders in the Church of England. According to the report of this committee there has been during the twenty- two years since 1886 a steady decline in the number of candidates ordained in the Prov- inces of Canterbury and York, from 814 in 1886 to 587 in 1907, aggregating a total falling off in twenty-two years of 3,124. The committee fur- ther call attention to the fact that, if the growth in population be taken into consideration, the total shortage for this period stands at 5,324. They also point out that the number of deacons ordained to every 100,000 of the population of 8 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH England and Wales was, in 1881, ^.^j', but in 1901, only 1.7.^ On the Continent, with the exception of Hol- land and parts of Scandinavia where I was told by the leaders with whom I consulted that no difficulty was experienced in securing an ade- quate number of well-qualified men, the supply of satisfactory candidates for the ministry by no means equals the demand. In Germany there has been for some time a steady falling off in the number of theological students. In 1881 there were attending the Protestant theological faculty of the German universities nine young men to every one hundred thousand of the population of the country. Twenty-five years later, that is in 1906, there were but five to every one hun- dred thousand. The following table ^ shows the marked decline in the number of Protestant theological students in the German universities: 1890-1 1906-7 Protestant theological students 4,190 2,208 Catholic theological students 1,232 1,708 Law students 6,670 12,146 Medical students 8,381 7,098 Philosophical students 7,886 1 7,219 1 Total number of students 28,359 4o,379 1 " The Supply and Training of Candidates for Holy Orders," (June, 1908), p. 9. 2"Kirchliches Jahrbuch auf der Jahr 1907," von J. Schneider, p. 337. THE PROBLEM 9 During my visits to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa within the past six years, I made it a point to investigate this question, and discovered that in each one of these countries one of the greatest needs was that of having more of the ablest young men devote their lives to the service of the Church. Everywhere the fact was deplored that the colonial churches had been unable to recruit a ministry of their own, and that they were so largely dependent on the unsatisfactory plan of looking to the churches in the mother country for ministers. The only exception is the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, which for many years has had a remarkable record. In no part of the world, in fact, not even in Scotland, have I found a church which in recent years has succeeded in attracting to the ministry so many of the finest type of its young men. In conferences of missionaries and native Christian leaders conducted during the past six years in foreign mission fields of Asia, Africa, and Latin America there was universal testimony that the most difficult and important problem in the evangelization of the world is that of secur- ing an able native Christian ministry. lo FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Therefore, let it be reiterated that the question of securing a sufficient number of well-qualified recruits for the ranks of the Christian ministry- is of world-wide interest and concern. While in almost every land and church there is a demand for larger numbers of ministerial candidates, even more imperative is the appeal for men of strength to consecrate themselves to this calling. Even in the comparatively few de- nominations where there are apparently enough ministers, it is conceded that there is need of more ministers of large caliber and possessing gifts of leadership. As the progress of the Chris- tian religion is of the most fundamental and vital interest, it must not be committed to the charge of incompetent hands. The work of the min- istry is so comprehensive that it requires strong men to carry it on. As the Rev. Ozora S. Davis, of New Britain, Connecticut, expressed the point : " I do not conceive my work as that of a pro- fessional teacher, preacher, visitor, organizer, comforter, priest, reformer, or even prophet. It is something of all of these; but is something more than the sum of all these." Such a work calls for all-round, symmetrical, thoroughly furnished men. THE PROBLEM II The distinctive emphasis is placed, therefore, on the need of men of ability rather than upon the need for greater numbers. What is meant by men of ability? Men of personal force or strength of personality. Men of sound physical constitution who have the requisite common sense and self-control to care for the body, thus insur- ing its best working efficiency. Men of mental power and proper habits of study, determined not to stagnate intellectually. They should have the ability to appreciate and the will to employ the best methods of study ; this is more important than the most coveted university degrees. They should be men possessing the ability to express sympathy and friendship. They should have a genuine reHgious experience. Ministers who do not know Christ at first hand, who do not have a clear and vital faith, cannot speak with that tone of authority which should characterize the pulpit. They must have a message and the con- sciousness of a mission. They should be able to give effective expression to their passion for Christ and for men. They should be men of intense moral enthusiasm. Men with hearts aflame with the passion of the Cross and ready to stake everything on their cause will succeed. 12 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH The modern ministry requires men of heroic spirit like Knox, by whose grave it could be said, " Here lies one who never feared the face of man." ^ They should also be able to organize, lead, and inspire others to work. The growing lay forces of the churches need to be marshaled and guided. Above all, ministers should be great in character — men whose lives are modeled upon the life of Christ and are yielded unreservedly to His sway. " The only profession which consists in being something," said President Woodrow Wilson with fine insight, " is the ministry of our Lord and Saviour — and it does not consist of anything else. It is manifested in other things, but it does not consist of anything else." ^ This point is more important now than ever be- fore, because the world is losing respect for the ministerial office, though not for the man who ministers. The age has produced a new viewpoint. The minister is respected not be- cause he is a minister, but because he is a man who answers to the test required of the repre- sentative of the Christ. "If our religion is to > James Stalker, "John Knox: His Ideas and Ideals," p. 94. ' From an address at a Conference of students of Eastern colleges, held at Hartford Theological Seminary in April, 1906. THE PROBLEM 13 be great and to do great things, it must be in the care of great souls, — souls great in illumina- tion and in intense and pure desire." ^ * George A. Gordon, "The Claims of the Ministry upon Strong Men," in "The Ministry as a Profession" (addresses delivered before the Divinity Club of the Harvard Divinity School), p. 6. THE URGENCY II THE URGENCY " I WANT to live," said Phillips Brooks, shortly before his death, and gave as his reason that the next twenty years would offer greater op- portunities for the Christian minister than any other like period in history.^ As one contem- plates even the regular functions of this calling, one must be convinced that in vital importance there is no work comparable to the Christian ministry: to preach Christ; to lead men to be- come disciples of Christ as their Divine Saviour and Lord; to build them up in Christian faith and Christian character; to minister to them in the deepest experiences as well as in the ordi- nary needs of life; to enlist, train, and energize Christian workers; to organize and administer the varied activities of the Church. But to ap- preciate fully the scope and possibilities of the 1 " The Congregationalist;* Vol. LXXVIII, p. 246. 17 l8 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH ministry, one must keep in mind some special considerations emphasizing the reasons why more young men of abiHty should enter this calling. The stronger the man the greater the obligation to heed the claims of this high call- ing in the Church, because weak men or even men of average ability cannot meet the require- ments of able leadership. For men who are really capable there are more great openings in this service of the Christian Church than in any other department of our modern world. If the Church is to meet successfully the momentous problems which press upon it now with great in- sistence, there must be an increase in the num- ber of competent men forthcoming for the Christian ministry. Men of talent and consecration are needed to guide the religious thinking of the people and to help meet their intellectual difficulties con- cerning religious subjects. It is a time of the- ological readjustment and restatement. It is a period of uncertainty and unrest with reference to religious truth. The critical spirit is assert- ing itself with great vigor and is calling in question fundamental doctrines and even ac- cepted rules of conduct. Many Christians who THE URGENCY 19 do little or no real thinking for themselves on such matters need to be enhghtened and con- firmed in regard to vital points of faith. This must be done with wisdom, or more questions may be raised than answered. Others within the churches, including some of the most intel- ligent and thoughtful, are perplexed and trou- bled by serious doubts and questionings. They need competent and sympathetic guidance in thinking, reading, and investigating, and above all in the spheres of personal experience and service — the great solvents of so many doubts. He that doeth shall know. Neither ignorant and blatant infidelity nor more or less ably reasoned skepticism and ag- nosticism can be ignored by the ministry, but must be understood and met with scholarly thoroughness and fairness and always in the Christian spirit.^ Such an alliance as one finds on the continent of Europe between the social- ist propaganda and current unbelief must be averted in North America, or the consequences will be most serious to the nation as well as to the Church. The widespread religious indifiPer- »D. S. Caims, in "Preparation for the Christian Ministry in View of Present-day Conditions," pp. 9, 10. 20 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH ence which is more largely due to uncertainty about Christian truth among Christians them- selves than is generally realized, must be dealt with at the sources. Large service can be ren- dered by all who help to restate the old facts and unchanged truths in terms that will make them vivid and vital to others ; and who assist in the work of theological restatement which is a requirement of every age. It should be added that such restatement is needed and demanded at no other time so much as in an age dom- inated by the scientific spirit. It requires men of constructive ability to grapple successfully with such conditions, to think clearly through the problems and to guide the Church safely past the rocks and rapids. " A time when people in an unprecedented de- gree are thinking, can be guided by those only who can think straight and can report their thought with power." ^ Men who ignore or minimize the existence and gravity of the intel- lectual unrest in the realm of religious thought, and who are not ready to do the hard, con- structive, and courageous work necessary to » Francis G. Peabody, "The Call to Theology," The Har- vard Theological Review, Vol. I, p. 4. THE URGENCY 21 meet the need, are not qualified to be guides and leaders. It is encouraging to note that never before have men longed more for confident spir- itual guidance and religious leadership; but only those can actually guide and lead who them- selves know what men are questioning and suf- fering, who understand the point of view of those whom they would help, and who can speak to them in the language of their day.^ While it is essential now as always that men in the ministry should be men of integrity of char- acter, of real spirituality, and of practical work- ing efficiency, there is imperative need that in addition to these qualities they shall be men of intellectual authority and leadership.^ In the United States and Canada, where we are so bent on being practical and are so prone to magnify external agencies and great activity, there is spe- cial need of men of very thorough intellectual equipment. We need more men in positions of leadership in the Church who can show that a full intellectual equipment is not inconsistent » P. T. Forsyth, "Positive Preaching and the Modem Mind," p. 179. » J. R. Illingworth, "The Church and Human Thought in the Present Day," in "Pan-Anglican Papers" (being problems for consideration at the Pan-Anglican Congress in 1908). 22 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH with deep Christian experience and with fervor in promulgating positive Christian truth. Thoroughly furnished men are required in the ministry to develop the teaching and training side of the work of the Church.^ The teaching function of the ministry must be emphasized, for it constitutes in some respects the most endur- ing and satisfying work that the minister does. But even more should the fact be emphasized that each church is an institution of learning and a training school. If large and lasting re- sults are to be secured, attention must be con- centrated more than ever upon the religious instruction of the youth. Modern psychology is emphasizing the first importance of bringing the influence of the Church to bear during the age of adolescence. The discussions of the Religious Education Association have made plain that the Church should devote more attention to her duty as teacher, both of the youth and of those of mature years. The minister has the responsibility of super- vising the reHgious education of the entire par- ish. He may guide the home in its plans of moral and religious culture. He may inspire » J. B. Lightfoot, "The Christian Ministry," p. 22. THE URGENCY 23 parents with higher ideals in child-training. He may make the Sunday school a real school, con- ducted with such modern methods and such thorough spirit as not to suffer in comparison with the best secular institutions of learning. This is all the more necessary because of the absence of religious instruction in our common secular schools. He may organize and stimulate home and foreign mission study classes, and clubs for the consideration of various other problems and opportunities of his church. He may conduct normal classes for the training of teachers and leaders of different classes, clubs, and activities. He may increase greatly the faith- building and character-building effectiveness of his preaching by making it conform more fully to the principles of modern psychology and ap- proved pedagogy. The pulpit that teaches has always commanded respect, and in this age, when education and the work of the teacher are more exalted than ever, it cannot fail to hold its place secure. This applies particularly to expository preaching which should be given greater prom- inence in the modern pulpit. This intensive work, this building work, this highly multiply- ing work of teaching and training, if it is to 24 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH be sound, that is, if it is to be in accordance with the settled principles of psychology and pedagogy, both as carried on by the minister himself and as promoted by others through him, requires that he be a man of capacity and that he himself be thoroughly equipped for the task. Strong men are needed in the ministry to- day to lay secure Christian foundations for the new states and provinces in the great West. This undertaking calls loudly and imperatively for Christian leadership. It is one of our most pressing tasks. New American states and Can- adian provinces have been formed within half a generation and are still plastic. Others are actually being created. The opening in the United States of nearly, if not quite, a score of reservations, beginning in 1906 and still in proc- ess, offers millions of acres of good land for settlement. Improved means of agriculture are making available for profitable cultivation im- mense tracts between the Missouri and the Rockies, as well as in the older sections of the country.^ The redemption of waste places by ^ The reports by S, A. Knapp on "Farmer's Cooperative Demonstration Work," as carried on by the United States Department of Agriculture and by the General Education THE URGENCY 25 new and extensive schemes of irrigation is creating out of the very wilderness the equiva- lent of entire states. President Frank K. Sanders has shown in his document, " The Newest West," that the situa- tion caused by these new conditions is extremely urgent. He insists that in less than half a gen- eration the stamp will have been given to the character of the civilization of this important part of the country. The influence of Chris- tianity should be brought to bear upon these new, and especially upon these newest, terri- tories before they become set or crystallized. What ideals shall dominate them — those of ma- teriaHsm, greed, pleasure-seeking worldliness, and irreverence, or those of righteousness, un- selfishness, and godly fear? The answer con- cerns not only these states and provinces, some of which at no distant date will exceed in popu- lation and productive power entire European nations, but the whole United States and Can- ada, of which they form organic parts. On grounds of patriotism it is a matter of pro- found concern to the citizens of these nations Board, suggest the vast undeveloped agricultural possibilities of the country. 26 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH whether the religion of Jesus Christ shall actu- ally determine the character of their civilization, practices, and life. Christians should be stimu- lated by the zeal and activity of the Mormons in their efforts to extend their influence in the new territories and states. The minister as a Christian preacher and teacher can do more than anyone else to in- fluence their civilization and life. The work of Christian foundation laying is difficult and de- mands the wisest men. None are too good for this work of constructive statesmanship. May a sufficient number of young men be forthcom- ing to accomplish the task! The efforts put forth during the next two decades will be vastly more productive than those during the subse- quent two generations if we neglect to improve the immediate opportunity. One realizes the great importance of this work as he recalls the influence exerted by the Puritan ministers, in- cluding scores of graduates of Oxford and Cam- bridge, at the formative stage of New England.^ The itinerant preachers of early Methodism pro- foundly influenced the civilization of the fron- tier settlements. Bishop Asbury and other > John Fiske, "The Beginnings of New England," p. no. THE URGENCY 27 traveling ministers of his day inculcated respect for law and held up high ideals of Christian citizenship in the new states which they visited. What does not Ohio owe to the fact that in its plastic period men like Lyman Beecher, Charles G. Finney, and James Hoge identified them- selves with its life. Think of the influence wielded by the band of eleven Yale men who in 1829 went out to plant Christian civilization in northern and central Illinois; and of the impress of the Andover Band of nine men on the commonwealth of Iowa in its early history. Recall, also, the wonderful work accomplished by Marcus- Whitman in the Pacific Northwest, by Bishop Whipple in Minnesota, and by James Robertson, Alexander Grant, and George Mc- Dougall in the Canadian West. Nor should we overlook the service rendered the nation by those devoted men, chiefly ministers, who built up the Christian colleges of the Eastern, West- ern, and Southern states without which no suf- ficient ministry could have been provided for these sections. It will require in the ministry more young men possessing the qualities of true leadership, if the Church is to do her part in assimilating the in- 28 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH creasing immigration. There are in the United States to-day nearly thirty millions of people who are either foreigners or of foreign parent- age. The immigration to both the United States and Canada is increasing, and with more ra- pidity during the past decade than at any time in the history of these two countries. More have come to the United States in the past seven years than in the first seventy years of the life of the Republic. Many more people were added to Canada during the past two years than were to be found in all Upper and Lower Can- ada at the end of the fifty years following the French and Indian War. Canada added last year nearly enough immigrants to make a new Toronto ; and the United States has been adding enough every two years to make a new Chicago. Although during the past year there has been a marked check in immigration into the United States, the causes of the arrest are transient, while those of the previous influx are constant. In Canada while the Anglo-Saxon element still largely predominates in the immigration, the streams from other parts of Europe have begun to set in, and it may be safely predicted that they will constantly increase. Already over fifty THE URGENCY 29 nationalities and countries are represented in this immigration. That of the United States is vastly more varied and representative, being drawn as it is from all of the primary racial groups of the world. In 1882, Western Europe furnished eighty-seven per cent of America's immigration ; in 1902, only twenty-two per cent. In contrast, notice that in 1882, Southeastern Europe and Asiatic Turkey furnished only thirteen per cent of the immigration, but in 1902, seventy-eight per cent. In other words, the sources of our immigration, which were once chiefly Protestant, have become predominantly Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, and Jewish.^ This new immigra- tion is obviously composed of classes not easily as- similated. In far too many cases these people come to us unprepared to absorb readily our national and religious ideas or to sympathize with our characteristic traditions and ideals. Different sections of this immigration are massing together in our large cities, and in some cases in rural districts, thus constituting, as it were, states within the state, having languages, customs, and ideals differing from those of the surrounding > John R. Commons, " Races and Immigrants in America," p. 217. 30 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH population and preparing the way for future race misunderstandings and antagonisms. This great and ever-growing foreign popula- tion constitutes not only a problem and a peril, but also an inspiring opportunity and challenge. Scores of years of experience have demonstrated again and again on this continent the practicabil- ity of assimilating and transforming great masses of alien peoples into good citizens. But we have not realized as we should, that pure Christianity can do vastly more to accomplish this desired end than legislation or education apart from Chris- tianity. There is no power like that of the Lord Jesus Christ to break down race prejudice and to bind peoples into real unity.^ Moreover, Christianity alone can teach and preserve real freedom and democracy. It is imperative that the Church should plan for reaching these peo- ples on a far larger scale. The Christian forces must be united and must bring their combined influence to bear upon this problem as never be- fore. It is a well-known fact that these alien peoples are most susceptible to the influences of * The unifpng power of the Christian religion is empha- sized by W. M. Ramsay in the striking chapter, "The States- manship of Paul," in "Pauline and Other Studies." THE URGENCY 31 Christianity when they first arrive in the country, while their hearts are still tender with the mem- ories of home, and before they have formed new associations.^ Those who have looked deeply into the matter know that the work of assimilating these peo- ples, not only politically, but also morally and religiously, requires the leadership of men of the highest order of talent and of the widest range of sympathy. To understand the antecedents of these people and their present point of view, to be able to appreciate and overcome their preju- dices, to adapt the work and message of the Church so as actually to win them, is difficult indeed. It demands large men to discover and utilize the strong points of these foreigners as well as to bring our best to bear helpfully upon them. In seeking to bring them into sympathy with our Washington and Lincoln we must also endeavor to know their Kosciuszko, Garibaldi, and Mazzini.2 * This is well illustrated by Edward A. Steiner, " On the Trail of the Immigrant." 2 Ozora S, Davis, "The New New England," in TJie Con- gregationalist. Vol. XCIII, p. 350 £f. See also John L. Sewall, <' The Advance of the New Neighborliness," Vol. XCIII, pp. 580, 581. 32 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH One of the most difficult and essential tasks before the Church is that of enlisting and train- ing for our foreign-speaking peoples workers from among their own numbers, and experi- ence on the foreign mission fields shows that to accomplish this requires men of leadership. The winning of the newcomers will not be ac- complished until the local churches recognize their responsibility, and put forth efforts to meet the new conditions of their immediate environ- ment; and the local churches will not recognize and discharge their responsibility unless they have as their pastors men of vision, consecration, and efficiency. We must frankly admit that the supply of young men of power now being added to the ministry is not sufficient to make pos- sible the transformation of these heterogeneous masses and their fusion into a real Christian unity with ourselves. In some way we must multiply the number of men with the caliber, spirit, and achieving ability of Dr. Henry A. Schauffler who accomplished such a valuable pioneer work among the great Bohemian popu- lation of Cleveland. If Christianity is to guide and inspire the cit- ies of North America, more of the ablest young THE URGENCY 33 men must devote themselves to the leadership of the Church. In the year 1800 less than four per cent of the people of the United States lived in cities; by the year 1900 the proportion had in- creased to thirty-three per cent. One hundred and sixty cities now contain over one fourth of the entire population of the country. In Canada the population of the one city of Toronto has, during the past sixty years, increased over one thousand per cent. The disproportionate growth of the cities con- tinues at a startling pace. The wider application of the power of steam and electricity, and the higher evolution of machinery for farm, road, and factory, will, contrary to the impression of some, result in the further building up of the cities at the expense of the country districts. While in the rural districts the changed condi- tions, due to better roads, rapid transit, tele- phones, free mail delivery, improved agricultural methods, and other causes may result in detain- ing larger numbers in the country, yet the causes of the increase of urban population are perma- nent, so that probably within less than a genera- tion, so far as the United States is concerned, the cities will gain the power of the majority. 34 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH America's largest city already has 49.9 per cent of the population of the Empire State. If the rate of increase, which characterized the decade from 1890 to 1900 continues, by 1940 we shall have over 20,000,000 more people in the cities than outside of the cities. This is startling and may well arrest the attention of thoughtful lead- ers of the Christian Church. It acquires special significance when we remember that jthe cities are not only centers of population, wealth, in- telligence, and influence, but also of discontent, struggle, lawlessness, sin, and moral havoc. Think of the prominence of the saloon, brothel, and gambling den, of the dirt and overcrowding, of the masses sunken under the weight of desti- tution and misery, of the prevalence of injustice, rapacity, and civic corruption. To add to the seriousness of the situation, it should be pointed out that in the United States the great cities are only from one half to one fourth as well supplied with churches as is the country as a whole. What is more alarming still, when their entire population is taken into consid- eration, as it should be, the Church is growing relatively weaker in the ever-enlarging cities. Too many churches to-day follow their support- THE URGENCY 35 ing constituencies to the most favored sections of the cities or to the suburbs rather than hold their ground and continue to serve a people even more in need of their ministrations. As a result, the cities are underchurched in some areas and overchurched in others. With growing coopera- tion each church will have its distinctive field. The cities are strategic positions. No cause can carry the nation until it has carried these centers of population. This was strikingly illustrated in the early days of Christianity.^ Therefore, if Christianity is actually to become the motive power of the United States and Canada, it must be strong in the cities. Here, if anywhere, are presented heroic tasks for the strongest natures. We want men of large mold and conquering spirit who will come to close grapple with our North American cities, as did Chalmers and Guthrie with the great cities of Scotland in their time; as others like William Ross of Cowcaddens in Glasgow, and James Hood Wilson of Fountainbridge and of the Barclay in Edinburgh have done in our •Adolf Hamack, "The Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries," II, p. 456. See also W. M. Ramsay^ "St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen." 36 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH own day ; like Hugh Price Hughes and other Wesleyan leaders in London and in the cities of the Midlands ; and like the present Bishop of London, when at Oxford House, and ever since in his intense activity in his metropolitan diocese. Only men who are ready to consecrate them- selves to a life of siege work should give them- selves to the ministry of Christ in the troubled heart of the twentieth-century city. Of almost equal importance and urgency is the call for more of our most competent young men to carry forward the work of the Church in the villages, small towns, and rural districts. We must never forget the familiar fact that the outlying country and the villages feed the life of the cities. When we consider how many great statesmen and men eminent in the dif?*er- ent professions have come from the country where they received their first and most lasting religious impressions, we can better appreciate how vitally the work of the country minister afifects the life of the nation. In New England, indeed, the life of the nation began in the coun- try churches. There was recently published a pamphlet called " Maine's Hall of Fame," con- taining a list of nearly 450 names of people of THE URGENCY 37 the State of Maine who have become prominent in our national life. Of these the great ma- jority, including the most distinguished, came from the small towns and rural districts. A few years ago statistics gathered in the city of Bos- ton revealed the fact that about eighty per cent of the pastors and Christian workers in the churches of the four leading denominations of the city were born and reared in the country. The cities cannot be relied upon to furnish the Christian leaders of the future. The work of the Church in the country districts must be carried on with efficiency and power in order to insure the raising up of sufficient Christian forces to cultivate the city fields. Thus far the country and the small towns have been the springs of all that is freshest, most vigorous, and best in city life. But there is imminent danger that the further depletion of the popula- tion of the rural districts and the weakening in them of the position of the Church may cut off this source of energy and vitality. This is par- ticularly true in the older states and provinces. President Woolsey of Yale once said: "We must save the country town or we are lost as a nation." Moreover, it must be emphasized that, 38 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH while it is necessary to reach the rural sections because of their vital relation to the cities, it is also important to influence these rural dis- tricts for the sake of vast numbers of people who will continue to live in them.^ It must not be forgotten that many isolated towns and rural communities are in as bad con- dition morally as the average population of large cities. There are indeed country slums. Life being more stagnant settles on its lees. The effects of the larger and more varied interests and the swifter current of city life are wanting. In some respects the conditions of country life have improved. Parts of the country districts are less isolated than formerly and the people live under more nearly urban conditions, owing to better roads, the development of the trolley lines, the rural delivery, the v/ide circulation of metropolitan dailies and magazines, the tele- phone, the mail order system, the cooperative stores, and the union of school districts. On the other hand, these new conditions have linked the rural districts to the centers of contagion and contamination in the cities as never before. > Kenyon L. Butterfield, " Chapters in Rural Progress,'* pp. 170, 171. THE URGENCY 39 There has come to be a great change in the character of the rural communities, due to the moving away of the older population and to their replacement in many cases by a decidedly less desirable class, not in the sense that they are infe- rior in native ability and possibilities of large development, but in the sense that they are not at present actuated by the higher ideals and spirit which characterized the original population. It is a serious fact that the work of the Church has not, as a rule, been readapted to meet the changed conditions. There is nothing which the country town so much needs as the Church to evangelize, to hold up high ethical ideals, to promote the social and civic betterment of the community, and to stand for the supremacy of the spiritual life. There is need and opportunity for de- veloping certain forms of institutional church work in small towns. These communities need such work fully as much as do the cities. To promote the union of churches, so necessary if such plans are to be realized, demands the leadership of the best young men.^ The fa- » Wilbert L. Anderson, "The Country Town," p. 264 ff.; George Frederick Wells, "What Our Country Churches Need" (a discussion based upon a study of the country church problem made by the author under the auspices of the Car- 40 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH cilities for organizing a rural population are now so numerous and valuable that men of leadership and organizing genius are needed in every county of our states, so that the moral power of the rural population may be exerted as a whole, especially in moral crises. Recent political movements have surprised old-time politicians. " The telephone beat us," said one of them the other day. But it was not the tele- phone merely; it was the wise use of it. Contrary to the popular idea, many of the best qualified men are needed and required for the most destitute country fields. As one ponders the matter, the conviction deepens that the prob- lems to be solved by the minister in the village or town call for not one whit less ability than those confronting the city minister.^ This work will require to an unusual degree the spirit of heroism, self-effacement, friendliness, patience, and vision. It needs men capable of doing original work in rural sociology. It calls for negie Institution), Methodist Review, Vol. LXXXIX, p. 540; George Frederick Wells, "An Answer to the New England Country Church Question," The Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol. LXIV, p. 314; Kenyon L. Butterfield, " Chapters in Rural Progress," PP- 36, 37, 179- 1 Kenyon L. Butterfield, " Chapters in Rural Progress," p. 38 THE URGENCY 41 men who are profoundly impressed with the strategy of this method of approach to the prob- lems of our time. No personality can deeply impress more than a certain number of people and that number is not so great as is often sup- posed. The man who is willing to enter and willing to stay in some apparently obscure and isolated field and who preserves his own habits of growth and his highest ideals will do an in- tensive work as vital and dynamic as that ac- complished in the midst of the totally different conditions which obtain in the modern city. One need only recall the streams of influence which have gone forth to the cities and into the life of the nation from certain humble rural parishes led by men of real greatness, to reahze the force of this contention. Some of the greatest men in the Christian Church, not sec- ond to those who have occupied conspicuous metropolitan churches, if judged by the true test of results, have been country ministers little known and unheralded. Jonathan Edwards ex- erted a world-wide influence from a small parish. Charles Kingsley spent his whole life at Evers- ley, a " little patch of moorland," as he himself characterized it, in Southern England, a parish 42 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH with but seven or eight hundred people, not one of whom, when he began his ministry, could read or write. Never before has the Church had such need in the ministry of men able to deal wisely with social questions. While to awaken the individual con- science and to bring the individual soul into vital relationship to Christ is and ever will be the chief business of the Church, nevertheless, the social aspects of the programme of Christianity consti- tute one of the distinctive calls of our generation to young men to enter the ministry. The work of Christianity is to establish the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ is Lord and, therefore, must reign. He has authority to rule social practices.^ He must dominate His followers and all society in all relationships ; domestic, commercial, indus- trial, educational, civic, national, and religious. The Gospel must vitalize and control every part of human life. Surely, therefore, the social ques- tions are a matter of concern to a Church that bears His name. Is not the Church concerned about intemperance and lust and dishonesty, about commercial and industrial oppression and « James H. F. Peile, "The Reproach of the Gospel" (Bamp- ton Lectures for the year 1907), p. 107 fif. THE URGENCY 43 injustice, about questions of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, about unlawful gains and unlawful expenditures, about the ostentation and luxury of the rich and the grinding of the poor, about the spirit of class prejudice and mob violence, about the crushing out of the lives of women and children, about the bitter struggle of poverty and allied misery and pauperism? To say that the Church should not interest itself in matters like these is to forget both the ex- ample and the teachings of its Founder. As a recent writer has eloquently insisted, the Church " should be swiftest to awaken . . . , bravest to speak . . . , and strongest to rally the moral forces of the community." ^ Not only are social questions an imperative concern of the Church, but it is essential to the Church that it should give itself whole-heartedly to their solution. If it is to have real power with the people, it must give expression to their deepest convictions and highest aspirations in the realm of practical and aggressive righteous- ness. If it holds back in the present social crisis, it will not command the following of many * Walter Rauschenbusch, " Christianity and the Social Crisis," p. 287. 44 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH keen minds and unselfish spirits. To reach and hold the laboring men the Church must show a more practical, effective, and sympathetic in- terest in the problems which press upon them. The members of the labor and socialistic move- ments are largely outside the Church. A friend, in speaking with a prominent labor leader the other day, asked him his opinion of the Church. " The Church," he replied, " we used to hate it. We no longer hate it, we despise it." For- tunately this attitude is not so typical of labor- ing men on this side of the Atlantic as it has unfortunately become on the European Con- tinent. Their present attitude here might more generally be described as one of indifference. They let the Church alone because it seems to have nothing to do with their life and burdens. There is, however, grave danger of their pass- ing from indifference to hostility. The Christian minister is in a position to do more than anyone else to break down class spirit between the rich and poor. He is, or may be, the strongest bond of union between them. Both confide in him, if he is what he should be. But he must understand and sympathize with both, and labor for both. There is need of con- THE URGENCY 43 secrated leaders who can separate themselves from the special interests of classes, and who can judge and mediate in a disinterested way. Surely the Christian minister is in a unique position to render this vital service. Moreover, these social problems present to the Church a great opportunity. If she loses herself in help- ing to solve them, she will find herself in added growth and power and vitality. This is the day above all others when the Church needs to be heard on social questions. In no part of Christendom are the voice and ex- ample of the Church more needed just now than in North America. It is being imperatively summoned to discharge more fully its social re- sponsibility. It is summoned by the Will of God as revealed in Christ. It is summoned by its experience at those periods in its history when it has come nearest the people and won their hearts and allegiance. It is summoned by the demand of the modern age for industrial freedom and justice, civic righteousness, and political purity. It is summoned by the deep undertone of the masses subjected to selfish- ness, injustice, oppression, and cruelties. It is summoned by the anger of strong men, the 46 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH despair of women, and the sobs of the children. If the Christian Church with its present mem- bership and influence would accept heartily the simple teachings of Jesus Christ about its so- cial responsibility and put them into practice, our society would soon be filled with ideas and sentiments which would make it impossible for social wrongs to endure. If the Church is to rise to its great responsi- bility it must have qualified leaders. It must have men of insight and sagacity capable of studying and understanding social conditions. They must be men who can discover and deal with the causes of misery and wrong as well as with the misery and wrong themselves. " It is no use, and will be no use, merely trying to save the wounded; we must stop the battle." ^ They must be men of balance who, in preaching a social Gospel, will continue to press even more earnestly a personal Gospel, knowing that with- out this it will cease to be a triumphant social Gospel. Only in bringing to bear upon the hearts of individual men the superhuman power of Christ and thus transforming and energizing >R. J. Campbell, "Christianity and the Social Order,'' p. i66. THE URGENCY 47 them is there hope of effecting any thorough- going and permanent changes in their social condition and relationships. Ministers must avoid becoming so busy with the affairs of the communities in which they live that they fail to be fountains of real spiritual refreshment to their people. Otherwise they defeat the reali- zation of the largest and best results of social service. If the spiritual life of men be properly maintained, that life will then be manifested in countless practical ways involved in the social mission of the Church. The leaders of the Church must be men of untiring patience in sowing seed. They must be men of prophetic spirit and heroism — able to stir and, if neces- sary, create the social conscience of the Church. They must be men of reality who will not only talk and write, but above all will lead the Church in sacrificial service, the true medium of the power of Christ for the regeneration of society. We need men who will face the so- cial and civic wrongs of our day as did Chrysos- tom in Constantinople, Savonarola in Florence, Knox in Scotland, Calvin in Geneva, Wesley in England in his time, and Maurice and Kingsley at a later day. 48 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH More young men possessing exceptional strength and resources must devote themselves to the Christian ministry if the nation is to be- come and remain truly great. What makes a nation truly great ? Not its geographical extent, not the number of its inhabitants, not the num- ber of its millionaires nor the aggregate amount of its wealth, not the strength of its army and navy, not even the knoMrledge or intelligence of its people. The character and spirit of its people alone make a nation really great. History shows convincingly that character cannot be made symmetrical and strong, and the spirit of a people preserved in freedom and vigor, without the superhuman help of the Christian religion. Therefore, this calls for a great expansion and strengthening of the Church of North America and of its activities. This in turn requires a succession of young men for the ministry pos- sessing adequate equipment and the gift of pro- phetic leadership; that is, young men who have a vision of what a nation must become if the people are to advance along the paths of right- eousness, and who have also the strength of conviction and purpose and the eloquence of sin- cerity to lead the people along these paths. THE URGENCY 49 The nation can be saved and conserved only by Christian character. Follow far enough any one of the grave problems now before the coun- try and you will come to the one point — the need of better men. Only as a nation is steadied, guided, and inspired by Christian principles will it fulfill its destiny; otherwise it will pass the way of other nations which have perished from the earth. " He who will not be ruled by the rudder Shall be ruled by the rock." The greatest peril of the nation is secularism. Only ideals, enterprises, and enthusiasms great enough and spiritual enough to lift men out of and above our vast material and selfish interests can save us. On grounds of highest patriotism, therefore, more of the choicest spirits among the young men of the nation are called upon to con- secrate themselves to the ministry of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Men of statesmanlike qualities are required in the Christian ministry to-day in numbers greater than ever before, to direct the irresistible move- ments of cooperation, federation, and union which are gathering momentum among Chris- tians all over the world. The mere statement of 50 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH the proposition carries conviction with it. One of the most highly significant tendencies is in the direction of a more real and practical unity among Christians. It is manifesting itself in all parts of the world. It has reached different stages in different lands, and the forms in which it is expressing itself are varied, interesting, and instructive. It is a movement which cannot be withstood; being essentially in line with the prayer of our Lord, it is irresistible. To guide it into right channels and forms, calls for the highest type of constructive statesmanship. It should appeal to the strongest minds, the largest hearts, and the spirits with widest vision. The need of developing on the North Ameri- can continent a strong base to supply and main- tain the force needed in the non-Christian world, constitutes in itself a sufficient call for more young men of vision and capacity for achieve- ment to enter the Christian ministry. The very purpose and magnitude of the foreign missionary enterprise support this claim. What are the aim and scope of the foreign missionary enterprise? To make Jesus Christ known, loved, and obeyed among the multitudinous inhabitants of the non- Christian world. In other words it means bring- THE URGENCY 5 1 ing home to the Family of God the entire non- Christian world for whom Christ died, and to whom He has commanded us to go. It is the world-wide establishment of His Kingdom. A great responsibility for accomplishing this under- taking rests upon the Christians of Great Britain, of the United States, and of Canada, if we may judge by the availability and offering of lives, money, and directive energy. Owing to the greater and ever-increasing resources of the United States and Canada, the share of the North American Church in this undertaking must be greatly enlarged. The present is a time of unprecedented oppor- tunity and crisis throughout the non-Christian world. This is the first generation in which it could be said that the whole world is known and accessible. The forces of Christianity are widely distributed and occupy most of the com- manding positions. Native churches have been developed and have acquired a power of initia- tive and leadership which makes possible a great advance. Administrative machinery and supporting movements among the men, the women, and the youth of the Church have been developed on the home field to an extent ade- S2 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH quate to the successful prosecution of a vastly greater campaign. A body of over 18,000 mis- sionaries has, in a great measure, mastered the conditions involved in a world-wide extension of Christ's Kingdom and has acquired a fund of experience which makes plain the lines along which the war of peaceful conquest must be waged.^ The peoples and races of practically every part of the non-Christian world are show- ing themselves more responsive to the Christian appeal than at any time in the history of the Christian religion. Social, educational, and re- ligious movements of continental sweep, are in progress, and furnish conditions which, if im- proved, will facilitate the realization of the aims of the Christian propaganda. The talk about crises has certainly been overdone, but beyond shadow of doubt the present is the time of times for pressing the advantage which the forces of Christianity now have on virtually every conti- nent of the globe. Why does the Church falter on the threshold of such an unparalleled opportunity ? Because it lacks the vision of the need and opportunity, and ' Statistical Table in The Missionary Review of the World. New Series. Vol. XXI, p. 62. THE URGENCY 5$ consequently lacks the realization of an obligation such as would issue in prayer and sacrifice on the part of North American Christians. This in turn is only tantamount to saying that there are not a sufficient number of leaders of the ag- gressive forces of Christianity on this continent who themselves are inspired by a vision of the world evangelized and who are, therefore, so ordering their lives and so proclaiming the truth which stirs their own souls that the mem- bers of the churches both see and seize the opportunity. The , greatest problem of foreign missions is not on the foreign field, but on the home field and, doubtless, the most critical aspect of it is that of providing adequate leader- ship. To secure the men, money, and prayer needed, and that before it is too late, we must have a ministry filled with the missionary spirit. The Church is ready to be led. The minister must lead. But he must be a large man — one who thinks in world terms, one who in his own soul and practice is obedient to the world-wide vision, and one who has the courage to lead his people in what is, for the first time, literally a world-wide campaign. We must have great leadership for great movements. THE OBSTACLES Ill THE OBSTACLES The secular and materialistic spirit of the age is a powerful cause in diverting young men from entering the ministry. All ages have been ma- terialistic, but at no time in the past and in no part of the world have the allurements of ma- terial progress and success been so potent with young men as they are to-day in North America. We have an immense continent to develop, with immeasurable latent resources. The prodigious eflfort involved in such development has insensi- bly led to a concentration of thought and effort on the seen and temporal. Slowly, in multitudes of families and communities, the spiritual inter- ests have been pushed into the background. A secular atmosphere has been gradually generated. The unparalleled prosperity of the United States and Canada, with the attendant opportunities for acquiring wealth, has dazzled the youth of this 57 S8 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH generation. Material success is the charmed word of our present-day vocabulary. It affects strongly even the boys. Visible material prog- ress impresses youth. No live boy can fail to be interested and affected by the whir of industry. Young men are even more powerfully influ- enced by our material civilization. They find not only the daiHes, but also most of the secular week- lies and the monthly magazines, and even re- ligious periodicals, given up to exploiting the material achievements of the day and to mag- nifying the men of great wealth. They observe the enormous power wielded by captains of in- dustry and their control of the weal or woe of thousands. In the schools and colleges they con- stantly see the growing prominence and popular- ity of the courses of study which look toward the development of material resources. Even in Christian homes the topic of most absorbing in- terest in conversation is money and the things that money can buy. Young men come to feel that success means the accumulation of prop- erty or the gaining of great worldly power and prominence rather than self-denying service for God and man. This cause does not operate only through its direct influence upon the boys. It THE OBSTACLES 59 makes itself felt, not so openly but no less po- tently, through its influence upon the girls. The thoughts of young men concerning life and pur- poses in life are strongly, silently, incessantly af- fected by the ideals and unformulated wishes of the girls with whom they associate. If the girls thought more of the ministry, the boys would think more of it too. Parental ambition looks to worldly prefer- ment. " Many nominally Christian households are pervaded by a worldly tone and an atmos- phere of unconscious mammon-worship. It dis- solves the moral energy and weakens the ideal impulse of religion in our best boys and young men. For this, it seems to me, is the main cause of the failures of the Church as a social organization for the service of God and human- ity, to beget and nurture enough strong young men for her leadership." ^ Dr. Rainsford, at a conference in New York, told of a member of his church who, in speaking of the possibility of her son entering the ministry, said, " Charlie is not clever. What do you suppose he could earn as a minister?" Dr. Rainsford repHed, * Letter from Professor Henry van Dyke in the Archives of the World's Student Christian Federation. <5o FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH " He would be lucky if he ever received $5,000." *' Why," said she, *' his father is getting $50,000." Exit Charlie from the prospective ministry. How can homes in which money-getting and pleasure- seeking are the chief ideals produce a supply of men who will be ready to embrace a profession which involves self-denial and simplicity of life? Ministers have always come chiefly from the country, but country boys now are in closer touch with the cities and their alluring oppor- tunities for acquiring wealth, and therefore an increasing number of them are being drawn into money-making pursuits. This secular spirit of the age has invaded the Church itself. The results are seen in the far too prevalent and growing worldliness, pleasure-seeking, self-in- dulgence, and mammon-worship which charac- terize so many professed Christians. It is just as true to say that there is a secular temper in the religion of our day as that a religious temper is permeating all things secular. Such are not the atmosphere and spirit which produce a suf- ficient number of the right kind of candidates for the ministry.^ Still, it should be insisted that the J A. T. Mahan, "The Apparent Decadence of the Church's Influence," The Churchman, Vol. LXXXVII, p. 345. THE OBSTACLES 6l pervasiveness, dominating power, and seriousness of this deterrent influence constitute a challenge to many of the best men to devote themselves to this calling since the ministry furnishes the van- tage ground from which the secular spirit can most effectively be resisted and overcome. The attractions and possibilities of the so-called secular pursuits, coupled with the fact that so many young men believe that in such callings they can do more good and work with fewer re- strictions as laymen than they could in the ministry, militate especially against more young men entering the Christian ministry. The pro- portion of increase in the number of young men entering these pursuits has been far greater than of those choosing the ministry. During thirty- six years (1870- 1906), the number of divinity students in the United States increased but 137 per cent, whereas the number of medical stu- dents increased 302 per cent, the number of law students 848 per cent, and the number entering commercial and industrial pursuits increased at an enormously greater rate than the number entering the professions of medicine and law.^ » "Report of the Commissioner of Education for the Year Ending June 30, 1906," I, p. 595. 62 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH The avenues of life opening before educated men are much more numerous than formerly. In England, instead of the old narrow choice, " The Army, the Navy, the Church, and the Bar," outside which it was scarcely thought pos- sible to find a respectable career, a young man may now enter any one of a score of callings. So in North America, there were but three learned professions — ^the ministry, law, and medi- cine — but now there are many: for example, journalism, teaching, architecture, civil engi- neering, mechanical engineering, electrical en- gineering, mining engineering, naval engineering, chemistry, dentistry, forestry, scientific agricul- ture, and many others in the realm of applied sci- ence. In new countries, in particular, the open- ings for young men of talent have been greatly multiplied. In these days it is not accurate to speak of such callings as secular, because our generation more than any which has preceded it has seen a breaking down of the lines separating the secular and religious. Men now speak of all useful call- ings as sacred. The ministry itself, by its con- stant and faithful teaching about the place of Christ as Lord, has done most to obliterate the THE OBSTACLES 63 distinction between secular and sacred callings. This change, as Dr. R. W. Dale so well empha- sized, is due to " the earnestness with which many of us have insisted for the last thirty or forty years on the sacredness of industry, com- merce, literature, art, and the liberal professions. There has been a vehement protest against any sharp contrast between the religious and the secular life. To the Christian man . . . there are no sacred places . . . times . . . persons. Christ is Lord of all the provinces of human life, and in all of them His servants may faith- fully do His will." 1 Thus it is that many young men to-day hon- estly believe that they can serve God and man in other callings better than in the ministry. Some, for example, think that the layman who makes money and gives it to Christian enterprises can do more to advance Christ's Kingdom than the pastor of a single church, no matter how eloquent and efficient he may be. They overlook the fact that some ministers have turned hundreds of thousands of dollars into Christian channels, whereas in business they probably would not have made and given more than a small proportion of * ** The Epistle of James and Other Discourses," pp. 282, 283. 64 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH what they have thus influenced. Others think that some caUings, such as teaching, afford larger opportunity to impress character as well as to advance the bounds of human knowl- edge than does the ministry. The multiplica- tion and development of higher educational in- stitutions have called for a large number of specialists in the higher ranges of the teaching profession ; consequently, many young men who in the past would naturally by reason of their intellectual tastes have gone into the minis- try, have been drawn into the profession of teaching.^ We are not considering here the large num- ber of young men who have entered these call- ings with selfish motives, but the number, also large, who have done so with the sincere motive and desire to be in a position to render service to their fellow-men. When it is pointed out that there is not an adequate increase in the number of young men entering the ministry, it should be emphasized that this does not mean that the vol- ume of unselfish service is decreasing and that * W. J. Tucker, "The Religious Motive in Education as Illustrated in the History of American Colleges," in "Volume of Proceedings of the Second International Congregational Council" (1899), p. 219. THE OBSTACLES 6$ the number and proportion of young men who want to serve are not increasing, for that is cer- tainly not the case. The spirit of sacrifice and service for the good of mankind is stronger and more widely prevalent than ever before. This is the most encouraging fact of our generation. Though the number of clergymen is not increas- ing as we should like to see it, it is a fact which ought to inspire with hope all who are interested in the progress of religion that the spirit, tone, and efficiency of the laity are being so greatly ele- vated. No greater service has been rendered by the ministry in recent years than that of facili- tating the development of this spirit among lay- men. But there is no great truth which may not be perverted or pressed too far. The warning needs to be sounded out, that unless there be an adequate increase in the number of able young men entering the ministry to devote their en- tire time and their large powers to promoting the highest standards among the Christians of our day, the Church will soon cease — certainly within a generation — to have strong laymen dominated by this conception of Christlike ser- vice. Strong men are required to influence strong men. 66 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Other opportunities for Christian service as a life-work have attracted some young men who might have devoted themselves to the Christian ministry. During the past twenty years, since the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions was organized, about 2,500 young men, who were volunteers, besides many young women, have gone to foreign fields under the missionary societies of the United States and Canada. Several hundreds of students who were not volunteers have also been sent by these boards. The total number of new male mis- sionaries who have gone out within this period has probably not exceeded 4,000. If we were to eliminate those who have devoted themselves to medical, educational, and industrial missions, it would leave about 3,000 young men who have entered the form of mission service correspond- ing to the Christian ministry at home. These 3,000 should be counted as having entered the ministry, though, of course, they have not aug- mented the supply of pastors in North America. But even had they stayed at home and entered the ministry here, their number is so small compared with the 140,000 men in the Prot- estant ministry of the United States and Canada THE OBSTACLES 67 that it would not have supplied the great need.^ It should be emphasized, moreover, that the propaganda which resulted in the going forth of these 3,000 to foreign lands has resulted in sending an even greater number into the min- istry at home, who, in all probability, would not otherwise have devoted themselves to this call- ing. In the first place, many hundreds of vol- unteers, who have been prevented by sufficient reasons from carrying out their original pur- pose, have entered the home ministry, and it is interesting to note that a very large proportion of them have gone into the most destitute fields of North America. In the second place, large numbers of young men in the colleges, who could not volunteer, have been led as a result of being summoned to face the missionary ap- peal, to consecrate themselves to the Christian ministry at home. A considerable number of young men wish to devote themselves to the service of mankind, but do not feel drawn to the Christian ministry. They have been touched by the moral and spir- »H. K. Carroll, "Statistics of the Churches of the United States" (for 1907). The Christian Advocate, Vol. LXXXIII, p. 138. "The Statesman's Year-Book" (1908), p. 284. 68 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH itual meaning of life, and desire to spend their lives in practical helpfulness. They are, as a rule, men of talent, and are found in the full stream of the intellectual life of the universi- ties. These men see that it is no longer neces- sary to enter the ministry in order to express their moral and spiritual enthusiasm. They find various other altruistic professions which appeal to them. Some become secretaries or managers of charitable or other philanthropic organizations and institutions. Others devote their lives to social settlements, neighborhood work, boys' and other clubs. Still others become secretaries of mission- ary societies and other benevolent societies of the churches. But, in the aggregate, the number en- tering these forms of service is not very large. Some have feared that the secretaryship of the Young Men's Christian Association has absorbed too many men of capacity who might otherwise have entered the ministry. As a matter of fact, only 800 college men entered the Association work during the decade, 1897 to 1906, and of these less than 300 have continued in Association work.* Of the 500 who did not ' Statistics furnished by John Glover, the head of the Secretarial Bureau of the International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations. THE OBSTACLES 69 continue, a large proportion of those really quali- fied entered missionary service or the Christian ministry. Of the 300 who have continued in Association work, but a small proportion are rec- ognized as possessing special qualifications for the ministry. These 300 have been drawn from between twenty and thirty denominations of the United States and Canada. Only a superficial ob- server would say that "^he Association has drawn into permanent service, in any considerable num- ber, young men who would probably have entered the ministry. Indeed, the requirements of the Association secretaryship are for the most part such that it draws men who would be apt other- wise to enter business careers. The influence of the Young Men's Christian Association, instead of keeping qualified young men from entering the ministry, has become one of the principal factors in leading them to de- vote themselves to this calling. While this is es- pecially noticeable in the student Associations, the city Associations also send many of their mem- bers into the ministry. For example, during the past twenty-one years the general secretary of the Association in Houston, Texas, influenced thirty young men in his Bible class to become 70 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH ministers. Recent developments in the boys' work and the county work, not to mention other phases, give promise that the general Associa- tion movement will become increasingly useful in enlisting candidates for the ministry. Attention should not be diverted from the main issue. Our controversy should not be with these other forms of Christian and altruistic service which, as has been shown, in comparison with the number who have entered the ministry, have attracted but a small number of men, all of whom are greatly strengthening the hands of the Church; but it should be with those other and so-called secular careers, which are absorbing too large a share of the brilliant young men of our generation. Many young men are automatically diverted from entering the ministry as a result of having followed courses of study which do not naturally prepare them for meeting the present require- ments of most of the theological seminaries. The developments of modern science, with the de- mand for men specially trained in scientific stud- ies, have led to a comparatively recent division of school courses into classical and modern. The latter have become increasingly prominent. THE OBSTACLES 71 Large numbers of the brightest boys go into the science courses. But the modern or science courses do not prepare young men for the regu- lar theological curriculum. Omission of clas- sical studies makes it difficult for young men, who later have the ministry brought to their attention, to give it favorable consideration owing to the fact that they will be required to retrace their steps in order to study Greek and, it may be, other subjects also. The science courses, owing to the elimination of the group of philosophical studies, tend to keep young men from the point of view which is most favorable to their being impressed by the call to the ministry. The logical result of the division of college courses into classical, scien- tific, and other groups is that boys in the pre- paratory schools must not only choose their course of college studies, but in doing this must determine their careers in a greater measure than many people have realized. Most parents do not consider where the studies begun by their boys at eleven or twelve years of age will logically and practically lead. Most schoolmasters do not con- cern themselves with this question. More should be done to guide both parents and boys at the 72 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH time when the courses of study are being chosen in the schools.^ The theological seminaries should do more to adjust their curricula to meet the needs of young men who go to them direct from the science courses.^ They should make more favor- able provision for admitting such men, as some of them have recently begun to do. While a young man looking toward the ministry is at a marked disadvantage if he has not had the proper start in the study of Greek and philos- ophy, there are great advantages in his having had thorough preparation in science. The at- titude of mind acquired in the study of science is an invaluable asset to the Christian minister. The habits of accuracy, reserve in statement, and freedom from exaggeration which should be the result of careful scientific studies, are of first im- portance to the preacher. Besides this, ministers should understand the scientific spirit which char- acterizes so many of the best minds of this age. * This subject is helpfully treated by Professor F. W. Kelsey, of the University of Michigan in a paper soon to appear in a printed symposium on the value of humanistic studies as a preparation for the study of theology. 2 See W. R. Harper, "The Trend in Higher Education/' Chapter XIV. See also C. W. Eliot, " Educational Reform," Chapter IV. THE OBSTACLES 73 Some young men hold aloof from entering the ministry because they are not yet clear in their own personal faith. Many young men, at the age of college life, are more or less unsettled in re- ligious matters. The period of intellectual diffi- culties concerning the Christian faith and that of the choice of a life-work often coincide. It is not strange, therefore, that some of these men, in the midst of the intellectual struggle for their faith, decide against the ministry. Conversation with men of this class discovers in their minds a gen- eral sense of insecurity. Their views are unset- tled as to the nature and authority of the Bible. One finds not only questioning as to the nature of Old Testament revelation, but a serious re- crudescence of skepticism about the New Testa- ment. This sense of uncertainty about the char- acter and scope of Divine revelation is deepened in the minds of these young men by their obser- vation of ministers who themselves are unset- tled, and who give public expression to their doubts. In the midst of restatements of religious truth, resulting from the teachings of evolution, as well as from literary criticism and philosophical stud- ies, some students have been thrown into con- 74 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH fusion. The battle which continues to be waged around the Person of Christ has also resulted in seriously perplexing many an earnest soul as to the corner-stone doctrine of the Christian faith, the Deity of Jesus Christ. Moreover, the atmos- phere in which not a few young men find them- selves is unfavorable to the definite acceptance of Divine Revelation and dogmatic creed. Young men doubt whether they can accept traditional theological views and subscribe to certain creedal statements without sacrificing their intellectual honesty. They may believe much, but they question whether they believe enough to become teachers, propagators, and custodians of the Christian religion. Without doubt there are a number of young men who are real Christians, but who, because of this unrest and lack of certi- tude, think they must wait for clearer light be- fore they can go forth to preach. They feel that they must first think out and define their own position, at least on all essentials. This cause does not deter as many young men from entering the ministry as do some other difficulties, but it does concern certain men of more than average caliber and conscientiousness. These intellectual difficulties do not keep strong THE OBSTACLES 75 men from entering the ministry to-day as much as they did twenty or thirty years ago. This opinion is shared by many on both sides of the Atlantic. Such difficulties operate less now than formerly because many Christian leaders, regard- ing as transitional the state in which these men find themselves, have come to feel that a wise tolerance as to formal statements of belief at this period best facilitates the leading of such young men into settled convictions regarding essential religious truth. They concede that a certain lati- tude in such matters may be permitted. They recognize that toward young men in doubt, the right attitude is that their views are not final. If their views were final, they might not serve usefully in the ministry. Leaders of the Church consider that faith is a living thing, that it must grow, and, therefore, that it cannot be expected that young men just entering the ministry will believe in a complete way all that older men have come to believe through years of experience and reflection. The fundamentals are few and belief in them alone should be demanded. Instead of the present intellectual freedom and activity and its resulting unrest being permitted to prevent men from entering the ministry. 76 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH it should be used as a ground of appeal for strong men to devote themselves to this calling in order that they may be in the best position to help a multitude of people in real need. The man who has fought and won his own battle with doubt, is able to render assistance sympathetically and effectively to others sorely perplexed and troubled with their unanswered religious ques- tions. It should also be borne in mind that the Church is more in harmony with unfettered modern scholarship than is commonly believed. Christian preachers and teachers are availing themselves more than ever of the assured results of scientific investigation to state religious truth in new and effective forms. The Church wel- comes all the light that science and reverent criti- cism can throw upon the problems of religious life and faith. Some men are deterred from entering the ministry because they fear they will not have liberty of expression. The prevalent scientific spirit fosters the desire for intellectual freedom. These men think that in the ministry this free- dom is impossible; that they cannot speak out frankly the truth as they see it; and, therefore, that they cannot, with intellectual sincerity, con- THE OBSTACLES 77 form to what they understand their church re- quires. Some of the keenest among their num- ber conscientiously believe that the churches have dogmatic standards for membership and ordination which are untrue to the teaching, em- phasis, and spirit of Christ. They are con- fronted by the spectacle of trials for heresy, of the exiling of men from the confidence and com- panionship of their fellow ministers, of the persecution of certain ministers as a result of the misunderstanding of their position by the people whom they unselfishly serve — all this and much more, not because of any lapse in char- acter, not because of any lack of efficiency and ability in discharging the regular functions of the ministry, not because of any failure in the spirit of service, but because of not expressing their religious convictions in terms which their own ecclesiastical bodies have formulated and regard as essential. In some cases these results are due to the minister standing for truth, in other cases to his standing for error. But be the causes what they may, young men noticing the facts, perhaps superficially, shrink from en- tering a calling in which they fear that if they are honest with themselves and with others they 78 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH may be subjected to persecution, and, therefore, hold back from thus placing themselves within ecclesiastical trammels. Apart entirely from lack of freedom of ex- pression regarding questions of belief, some fear that the minister may not be allowed to proclaim his honest convictions about the ap- plication of the principles and spirit of Christ to the personal, social, industrial, civic, and na- tional problems of our time. They see, for example, some ministers who are apparently tied hand and foot by fear of offending rich members of their congregations if they teach what they know to be the truth; they see others equally trammeled by their desire to say noth- ing which might alienate from the Church the laboring classes. They observe that many min- isters are failing to sound out the prophetic and heroic note in the face of grave social injustice, civic corruption, and political wrongs, and they infer that in the ministry it is impossible for a man to be true to his own best self and to give voice to the deepest convictions of his soul. But it needs to be indicated to strong young men, facing the question of their life-work, that hampered though the pulpit may appear to be, THE OBSTACLES 79 the ministry is the most nearly free of all the professions. One need think only of the limita- tions by which the average journalist, or pro- fessor of political economy, or Congressman finds himself circumscribed in respect to the matter of freedom of expression. Moreover, quite apart from realms in which limitations are experi- enced, the minister has vast and practically boundless fields of doctrinal and ethical truth, both of vital and permanent value, concerning which he may express himself with perfect free- dom. The high conception which some young men entertain of the moral requirements of the min- istry holds them back from devoting themselves to this calling. They have such an exalted ideal of the spiritual character of the true minister and such a sense of their own unworthiness that they shrink from entering the ministry. They feel incompetent because they conscientiously beheve that this profession calls for a higher order of manhood than they possess. Young men have a strong sense of reality. They be- lieve that the minister should practice what he preaches, and yet they recognize that he must hold up the highest ideals and exhort people to 8o FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH conform to nothing less than the standards of Christ. Is it strange that they look upon re- ligion as easier to face if they do not have to preach about it weekly, or that they should con- clude that it will be easier to be honest outside the pulpit than in it? The Archbishop of Can- terbury, in an address at the Annual Conference of the Diocese of Canterbury in the year 1907, thus called attention to this deterrent influence: " Some men, who would in the old days have been ordained readily enough, shrink now — and it is to their credit — from facing the higher standard of earnestness which is rightly looked for." 1 On the other hand, their knowledge of the inconsistencies and shortcomings of some men whom they know in the ministry, and of some ministerial candidates with whom they have as- sociated in college, leads young men not to wish to expose themselves to the possibility of mak- ing similar lapses. The very publicity of the failure of ministers makes such young men the more fearful. Moreover, men of the right sort are often doubtful about satisfying the expecta- tions of modern congregations which are so ^ The Guardian^ No. 3210. (June 12, 1907.) THE OBSTACLES 8i keenly critical. They vividly recall much com- mon table talk and the social gossip reflecting scornfully on the ministry, and the all too fre- quent unfavorable comment of the secular press and current fiction. Examples of ministers unjustly pilloried by modern society, even by members of churches, have exerted their un- conscious but real influence. In connection, however, with this deterrent it should be borne in mind that in these days when the social aspects of Christianity are being emphasized as never before, there are coming to be no less exacting moral demands made on Christian lay- men than those now made on Christian min- isters. The very essence of the New Testa- ment is the holding up of one standard for all Christians. The superior sanctity of the min- ister is a later Roman Catholic and mediaeval idea. Furthermore, we should remind young men that, notwithstanding all that has been stated, the true and able minister of Christ has the respect and support of the best people both in and outside the Church in almost every com- munity. The misconception that the ministry does not offer adequate scope for the strongest men ex- S2 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH plains why some young men do not devote them- selves to this calling. That there is such a mis- conception no one questions who has had any considerable touch with young men. How can we account for it? The impression that some theological schools do not maintain so high in- tellectual standards, and do not have so exacting requirements as do the medical and law schools with which a young man is familiar, explains it in some cases. These young men regard with disfavor the practice of granting to theological students finan- cial help and other facilities that are not also granted to students preparing for other useful callings. They know cases among their fellow students of men receiving such aid who did not need it, and of others who, because of their man- ner of life, did not deserve it. They have seen some men of no special promise encouraged by plans of pecuniary assistance to enter the minis- try — men who probably would never have suc- ceeded in entering this calling through their own self-denial, aggressiveness, and persistence. They have been influenced by such current maga- zine comment as the following : " Can self-reli- ance be produced where there is no reliance upon THE OBSTACLES 83 self? Can independence be developed when a man is taught first of all to lean upon others? Can moral muscle be developed or the spiritual vertebrae be stiffened by the ' aid ' which saves from stress and strain? ... To ask these ques- tions is to answer them." ^ They are impressed by the conviction thus expressed by Phillips Brooks : '* I am convinced that the ministry can never have its true dignity or power till it is cut aloof from mendicancy, — till young men whose hearts are set on preaching make their way to the pulpit by the same energy and through the same difficulties which meet count- less young men on their way to business and the bar." 2 It may as well be admitted in dealing with young men who have been influenced by this dif- ficulty, that there are cases in which the aid granted to students for the ministry did no good — in fact, did harm. At the same time it should be shown that many students need to be aided, but that the aid they receive must be the aid that truly helps. Self-denial and strenuous effort are »E. T. Tomlinson, "Coddling Theological Students," in The World's Work, Vol. X, p. 6154. ' "Lectures on Preaching," p. 36. 84 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH necessary to develop power, and the assistance granted should not be sufficient to prevent their receiving this development. There should be no assistance granted beyond actual need. When the financial cooperation is not in the form of a loan to be repaid in due time, the aid given should so far as possible be conditioned upon service rendered, or upon attainment in scholar- ship. If the United States may fitly train men at West Point and Annapolis free of cost in order that the Army and Navy may be provided with capable officers, it has been argued that the Church may also provide for the training of its ministers without the imputation of unfavorable results. But, in this case, the Church should ex- ercise equal thoroughness in the selection of its candidates, and should expose them to rigid tests. Moreover, just as the Government requires that graduates of the Military Academy shall de- vote four years to the service of the nation,^ should not the Church require that those whom it educates devote a period of years to service in destitute fields or in whatever places, in the judgment of the leaders of the Church, their ' "The Military Laws of the United States" (1908), par. 1484. THE OBSTACLES 8$ work is most needed? If the theological student is made to realize that he is received on the same footing as other students, and that his isolation is not a professional isolation based on privilege, he will gain in self-respect and also commend his calling more fully to other students. The absence of men from certain churches, and the thought that these churches have to deal mostly with women and children, have helped to cause, in some minds, the misconception that the ministry does not present sufficient opportu- nity to exercise the talents of strong men. Again, the young man notices that some city churches are made up of people of wealth, culture, and refinement, and decides that work with such people would be too easy and along too soft lines. Or, his special acquaintance with churches may be in the small towns and villages where there are probably too many churches to leave sufficient room for utilizing all the powers of a strong man in the ministry. Without doubt, the object lesson of the pettiness and competi- tion of some small parishes is not likely to im- press an ambitious young man with the scope and possibilities of the ministry. The dullness, lack 86 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH of variety, parochial outlook, and sectarian spirit which characterize the ministry in many a com- munity do not appeal to the aggressive young man as offering vent for his spirit of Christian enterprise. Then, it is necessary to bear in mind the prevalent ambition of young men " to do things," as they express it. To build a bridge, to or- ganize a corporation, to frame a law, to dis- cover some new way to relieve physical suf- fering — all these seem to be achievements, but the work of the ministry does not seem to them in any real sense the achieving of tangible and important results. So, owing to these and other considerations, some young men receive the im- pression that the ministry is lacking in real spir- itual and moral adventure. The very existence of conditions making possible such a misconcep- tion constitutes a challenge for more of the strongest young men to enter this calling in or- der to change or master the conditions. The inadequate financial provision made for so many ministers is another reason why young men do not enter the ministry. While the cost of preparation for the ministry, the cost of living, and the special demands on the minister's purse THE OBSTACLES 87 are much larger than formerly, his salary has not, as a rule, been proportionately increased. In many places the salary has decreased. It has also less purchasing power than it had a few years ago. The same is true in England, where the whole standard of comfort has increased while clerical incomes have decreased. Some Christian denominations are doing better by their ministers in this respect than others ; for example, the United Free Church of Scotland, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, and the Canadian Presbyterian Church. At the same time, I know of no Christian communion or denomination which makes ade- quate provision for its ministers. In far too many cases the treatment is nothing less than scandalous. As some one has pointed out, *' starvings " would be a better name than " liv- ings," in mentioning the provision made in these times for many ministers in different com- munions, Thomas Guthrie tells of an honest weaver who claimed that the Church never had better ministers than in the days when they wan- dered in sheepskins and goatskins and lived in the dens and caves of the earth. Guthrie replied, in his address as Moderator, that it would be 88 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH time to treat the question seriously " when our people are prepared to walk Princes Street with Dr. Candlish and me in . . . the fashion of goatskins with the horns on ! " ^ Bishop Ames was approached by a committee in search of a minister. He asked them to indicate the salary. On their naming a small sum, he told an incident about meeting a drunken soldier who, during the war, had been decorated for bravery. He asked the soldier : *' How can you be intoxicated after such heroic conduct ? " The soldier replied, " You can't expect all the cardinal virtues on thirteen dollars a month." Thousands of minis- ters receive stipends which amount to less than the wages of day laborers. The commission ap- pointed by President Roosevelt to settle the strike of the anthracite coal miners reported these aver- age annual earnings of certain classes of labor- ers in Pennsylvania: stablemen, $689.52; pump- men, $685.72; carpenters, $603.90; blacksmiths, $557.43.^ In contrast, there are literally thou- sands of ministers in the United States who re- ceive smaller salaries than these, even including house rent. The average minister and his wife 1 "Autobiography of Thomas Guthrie," II, p. 256. * Bulletin of the Department of Labor, No. 46 (May, 1903), p. 607. THE OBSTACLES 89 are uncomplaining, but their poverty involves many a pathetic experience, and now and then a real tragedy. Protestant Christians prefer mar- ried clergy, and yet insist in too many cases on their being paid as though they were celibates and anchorites. As a writer recently said in one of our religious periodicals, a minister of to-day in many a case m.ust choose debt, celibacy, or a rich wife. Two or three generations ago, especially in frontier communities, it seemed impossible to pay the minister a fixed and adequate salary. It be- came the custom, therefore, to make up the ad- mittedly inadequate salary by gifts of produce and clothing, and by special prices granted by merchants. This practice still continues, and many parishes, no longer under the necessity, fol- low methods which make the pastor almost a mendicant and lower him in the eyes of himself and others. Too often, also, congregations are delinquent in paying salaries. Passing the ques- tion as to whether it is honest for a corporation not to keep its contracts and pay its debts, in what position does this leave the minister? If he presses for the payment of his salary he may be accused of being mercenary. If he allows the 90 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH congregation to continue to default, he is en- couraging lax moral ideals and so losing in- fluence. The minister who is obliged to accept gifts from the congregation, and lower prices than others receive from merchants, grocers, butchers, and marketwomen, may come to be regarded by members of his congregation as an object of charity instead of a spiritual adviser and leader. The financial demands on the minister are greater in proportion to income than upon any other member of the community. He is expected to maintain a high level of respectability in his household, in his personal appearance, and in practices involving expenditure. He cannot live as do some of his parishioners. He and his fam- ily are more in the public eye than are most of them. He and his wife must come well dressed into homes ; otherwise he will not wield influence in some of the most important families. He has many appeals for hospitality and charity, and, as a rule, is the first person solicited by benevolent enterprises and destitute individuals. He is in a position to know, as no one else, cases of real and deserving need. He must keep fresh and up to date for the sake of his work and influence. This THE OBSTACLES 91 requires money for books, periodicals, reviews, attendance upon conferences, and occasional jour- neys. He may be pious without these things, but he will not hold his position as leader, nor command the confidence of the thinking men of his congregation. As an educated man, he right- ly regards the education of his children as an absolute necessity. He must also make provision for old age. How can the minister on the aver- age salary meet as he should these demands, the reasonableness of which must be admitted by all who have a true conception of the work and position of the Christian minister. Some young men recognize these facts and con- siderations, but what makes this cause a much greater hindrance is the fact that many parents recognize the situation, and have been so much influenced by it that they discourage their sons from considering the Christian ministry as a life- work. Moreover, a much larger number of min- isters than is realized feel this matter so keenly as a result of their intimate knowledge of the facts that, while they may not discourage young men from considering the ministry as a life-work, they are not enthusiastically and aggressively seeking to direct them into this calling. 92 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH There are offsetting considerations. Most can- didates for the ministry still come from the homes of the poor or of those of moderate means, and can more readily adjust themselves to the con- ditions described. There are other callings, also, which offer small remuneration. Men begin in law and medicine, as a rule, with even less than they do in the ministry. Teachers are in many cases even less adequately paid than ministers. Colleges have scores of applications from doc- tors of philosophy for positions which command salaries of not more than $600. It is a hard struggle for the great mass of the human race, in most departments of effort, to make financial ends meet. The true minister will preach the Gospel whether the Church supports him or not. Nothing will stop him save failing health. One cannot forget the spectacle of 500 ministers of the Free Church of Scotland at the time of the Disruption disestablishing and disendowing them- selves — laying on the altar of conscience a rev- enue of over $500,000 a year — a moral attitude characterized by a British Premier as " majestic." Many of them lived for years on one third of their former incomes, dwelling in humble cot- tages and subsisting on the plainest fare. They THE OBSTACLES 93 gladly denied themselves ordinary comforts until the necessary church buildings and other facili- ties could be restored. They did this because a great principle was involved. It has ever been the glory of the Christian ministry that no cost has been counted too great when sacrifice was necessary. But nothing makes it necessary that the leaders of the Church, handicapped and burdened for want of needed means, should carry forward a work of unselfish service on behalf of men who are able to pro- vide them an adequate support. No man worth his salt would hesitate to become a minister be- cause the emoluments were small, if they could not be larger; but to become a minister under existing conditions is, in far too many cases, to become the servant of inconsiderateness and self- ishness. If really necessary, many a minister and his wife would be glad to lay aside pretense and do home missionary work on a proper basis, liv- ing as do settlement workers, in poor districts among destitute people. Men are not less heroic than of old; but they have knowledge and dis- cernment, and they see that it is not poverty, but carelessness and selfishness that dictate the finan- cial provision for many ministers to-day. They see 94 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH also that the evils of sectarianism, especially the unreasonable and wasteful division of the Chris- tian forces in so many communities, account in no small measure for the existence of the problem, and fear that if they enter the ministry in the midst of such conditions they will but accentu- ate the difficulty. Nothing is clearer than that the different Christian communions should deal thoroughly with the problem of insuring ade- quate salaries for their ministers, and that the various Christian bodies unitedly should agree on a poHcy which will do away with the unneces- sary multiplication and unwise distribution of churches. Few young men are held back from entering the ministry by the talk about the dead line — that is, the assertion that after a certain age, say fifty, the minister is no longer wanted in the bet- ter class of appointments and parishes. As a rule, even ambitious young men do not look so far ahead. When they do, they imagine that they will be exceptions, because no young man ex- pects to fail. When they do think into the mat- ter at all closely, they discover that most men do not reach a dead line, and that in cases where there has been apparently as early an age limit THE OBSTACLES 95 as that mentioned, there have been physical, men- tal, or moral causes which could have been avert- ed. In other words, men forced themselves to the dead line by lack of thorough preparation for the ministry or by subsequent lack of application and discipline. They suffered atrophy. They went to seed. The same causes would retire them, destroy their efficiency, or prevent their promotion in other professions. A dead line exists in the business world to-day more surely than in the ministry. One hears of many promi- nent business houses which do not wish to take on men over forty years of age. When one re- calls the growing influence and strength of grasp manifested by men like Dr. Alexander Whyte, of Edinburgh, Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, of Brook- lyn, Archbishop Nicolai, of Japan, Dr. Alexander Maclaren, of Manchester, and the late Bishop Andrews of New York, he clearly recognizes that there is nothing inherent in the Christian ministry which militates against a life-long career of growth, power, and usefulness. The principal reason why young men of the highest qualifications are not entering the min- istry in larger numbers is the lack of definite, earnest, prayerful efforts to influence them to 90 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH devote themselves to this calling.^ While the pronouncedly Christian home has been in the past the chief factor in influencing young men to give themselves to the Christian ministry, the number of homes in which parents set before their sons any other ideals than material gain or worldly fame is diminishing. Parents are less eager than formerly to have their sons enter the ministry. This is notably true in the case of well-to-do families. In the old days, they not infrequently set apart the firstborn son or, at any rate, one of the boys for this calling. To- day many parents hope their neighbors' sons will become ministers, but not their own. Even ministers and their wives, in an increasing num- ber of cases, are not encouraging their sons to consider this calling. Far too frequently they positively discourage such serious consideration. How few ministers are putting forth continu- ous and intense efforts to recruit the ranks of the ministry. How seldom one hears a sermon ad- dressed either to young men, appealing to them to consider the claims of the ministry, or to parents to dedicate their sons to the ministry * W. W. Moore in Inaugural Address as President of Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia, May 9, 1905. THE OBSTACLES 97 and to encourage their going into that vocation. How few ministers have lists of likely candidates for the ministry whom they are cultivating with that degree of earnestness which characterizes the work one regards as most important. Is it not strange that there is so little litera- ture defining and presenting the call to the ministry in terms of the present age and oppor- tunity? What other subject of such tran- scendent importance has been so neglected? It is alarming, but true, that there are still col- leges in America in which the idea of the min- istry as a life-work is not so much as suggested to a young man from the beginning to the end of his course. Many a Christian college could be named in which not even one professor is giving time regularly to personal work with young men regarding their life-work and their relation to Christ. Even the Christian Student Movement, which has a unique opportunity and a commensurate responsibility, has fallen far short of doing its duty. This failure is all the more noticeable in vieW of its obvious ability to do much to meet the need, as demonstrated by its remarkably successful recruiting work for foreign missions. 98 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH If asked to state, in the order of their power or influence, the causes which deter able young men from entering the ministry, I would in- dicate that the last, namely, the lack of proper effort to lead men into the ministry, is the prin- cipal cause. Next to that should be placed the secular or utilitarian spirit of the age. Third in order of potency is the attraction of the so- called secular pursuits together with the oppor- tunities for service offered the Christian layman in such pursuits. Next in order of impor- tance is probably the fact, to which attention has been called, that the preparatory studies of boys are automatically diverting them from the ministry. After stating this much, it is diffi- cult to assign an order to the other factors with any degree of satisfaction. The leaders of the Christian Church, both clerical and lay, should face these difficulties squarely and courageously, with the determina- tion to overcome or counteract them. There is nothing to be gained by ignoring their existence, by underrating their number and gravity, or by failing to grapple with them. In view of the fact that the Church is a divine institution and must, therefore, have able leaders, there are. THE OBSTACLES 99 beyond question, ways to overcome and counter- act all the difficulties which stand in the way of securing such leaders. The adverse factors and influences in the way of getting able young men to devote themselves to the Christian ministry are not without their advantages. The very difficulties in the situation have been and will continue to be our safeguard. They help to sift out undesirable men; they need not deter the ablest. It is well to keep out of the ministry men of weak purpose and those who do not recognize the rights and resources of Jesus Christ.^ There is much wisdom in the counsel given by some Church leaders to young men not to enter the ministry if they can help it; that is, not unless they have such an irresistible impulse or drawing in that direction that no difficulties can stop them. These difficulties exercise, discipline, and strengthen men. Ob- stacles have always been God's challenge to faith and character. In this ease-seeking age there is little danger of giving young men too much to overcome. * Report of Committee on Supply and Training of Clergy in "Conference of Bishops of the Anglican Commission" (held at Lambeth Palace, 1908), p. 82. lOO FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Our gravest difficulties bring about desirable reforms and force us to discover new and better paths along which to proceed. In Japan, for example, the development and assertion of the very intense national spirit among the Japanese, which was at first deplored by some of the Chris- tian leaders and which was a cause of difficulty to them, proved to be God's means of promot- ing higher Christian federation and unity, which in turn have greatly strengthened the position of Christianity in that country. Difficulties in- volve conflicts and make possible triumphs, and this appeals to strong men. There are perils, unsupplied needs, baffling difficulties, but this means that there are engrossing conflicts, in- exhaustible resources, and inspiring victories. When our difficulties and problems are suffi- ciently grave they drive us to God and make possible a larger manifestation of superhuman wisdom and power. It is well for us to be reminded again and again by the force of cir- cumstances that the securing of laborers is pre- eminently a work requiring divine cooperation. Were this problem not too hard for assemblies, conferences, and councils; for committees, com- missions, and deputations ; for ministers, profess- THE OBSTACLES lOI ors, and secretaries; for parents and for sons; the Church would not depend so largely upon God and, therefore, would not have so many God-sent men. Our very difficulties thus make it more likely that God's call will reach men and furnish a succession of Christian ministers pos- sessing the peculiar power which comes from being God-sent and God-sustained. So, even if our difficulties were tenfold greater, we should have no reason for pessimism or retreat. They would constitute all the louder summons to young men of power to give heed to the call of Christ, and to the leaders of the Church to exercise their powers and to employ their prayers to discover and follow His way to over- come and counteract the difficulties. THE FAVORING INFLUENCES IV THE FAVORING INFLUENCES One of the most potent indirect influences leading men into the ministry is the object les- son of ministers who by their lives, by their constant sense of vocation, and by the broad and inspiring view they take of their work, com- mend the ministry to young men of discernment and sympathy. Such men actually incarnate the ministry and make it intelligible and attractive. It is this personal interpretation which enlarges the conception of young men as to what this calling is and ought to be. Wherever Maltbie Babcock went, he attracted young men to the calling which he represented. The father of Dr. F. B. Meyer took him every Sunday morning a considerable distance from his home to Bloomsbury Chapel that he might come under the influence of the powerful preaching and ex- ample of Dr. Brock. Dr. Meyer has said that 105 io6 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH if his father had attended a less inspiring place of worship, he doubts whether he would ever have entered the ministry. The minister should magnify his calling. He should do this, not by boasting about it, but by actually believing so deeply in its greatness, its sacredness, and its supremacy that his belief becomes contagious. Ministers have been heard to complain before their children or before other young people of some of the hardships and disadvantages of the ministry. Or they have allowed, without protest, belittling comment to be made about Christian truth, the Christian Church, or Christian men. Charles Kingsley would permit no parochial gossip at his table. There is too much of it in these days, and its influence, especially on the young, is always un- favorable. Because of the public nature of his work, the minister's own obvious conception of his calling has a much greater influence than would otherwise be the case. One reason why the number of strong men offering themselves for foreign mission service is ever increasing, is because missionaries almost invariably give the impression that theirs is the most important and heroic of all callings and that they glory THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 107 and rejoice in it. What missionary ever seems to be pessimistic? Professor Austin Phelps thus speaks of the impression made upon him by his father : " He honestly believed that the pastoral office has no superior. ... To be a preacher of the Gospel was a loftier honor than to be a prince of the blood-royal. So per- vasive was this conviction in the atmosphere of his household, that I distinctly remember my re- solve, before I was four years old, that I would become a minister; not so much because the ministry was my father's guild as because he had taught me nothing above that to which ambition could aspire." ^ We do not have among ministers enough of the feeling of the glory of this work which Phillips Brooks emphasized in his Yale lectures on preaching.2 He himself always gave the im- pression that he felt the glory of his calling. Dr. Charles E. Jefferson was studying law in Boston, but when he heard Brooks preach he decided to devote himself to the Christian min- istry. Professor Henry S. Nash bears testimony that the largest number of students attended the »"My Portfolio," p. 4. * "Lectures on Preaching," p. 4. io8 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Theological School at Cambridge when Brooks was at the height of his power. He was in close touch with the students both in the schools and colleges, and the streams which he started toward the theological seminary continued to flow even after his death. What is it about a minister which makes his example and spirit contagious in the sense of inclining young men toward the ministry as a life-work? First and foremost, it is his reality. " He and his sermons are one " they were wont to say of John Tauler.^ This genuineness in- variably impresses young men. It is vain for ministers to make direct and public appeals to young men to enter the ministry, if their daily life and influence do not attract to their calling. They are also appealed to by self-forgetting de- votion to meet the needs of men. A minister who loses himself in unselfish desire to serve his fellows stimulates in young men the spirit of service. Aggressive courage always appeals to strong personalities. The minister who is absolutely fearless in exposing sham, denoun- cing wrong, and fighting sin will attract the best young men. By his open-mindedness and ^ R. A. Vaughan, "Hours with the Mystics," I, p. 193. THE FAVORING INFLUENCES lOQ breadth the minister will commend his calling to the more thoughtful. Dr. Alexander Whyte of Edinburgh said recently that one of the ablest ministers of Scotland stated that what led him to enter the ministry was the variety and range of the interests, both intellectual and spiritual, of his minister, and his sympathy with all that was best in his time. Genuine spirituality has ever exerted a deep influence on men. If the fire of Christ's love burns within the soul it will kindle like passion in others. An intensely spiritual ministry produces an abundant min- istry. One of the best tests of the strength of this silent, mighty, indirect influence is the ef- fect of the example and spirit of the minister on his own sons. Two of Spurgeon's sons en- tered the ministry. A few years ago, one half of the students of Mansfield College, Oxford, were sons of ministers. The maintenance of a genuinely Christian atmosphere and spirit in the colleges and univer- sities exerts an indirect influence favorable to the formation and fostering of the purpose to devote one's life to the ministry. The activi- ties of the Christian Student Movement and the positive efforts of Christian teachers and no FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH professors will later be emphasized as strong direct influences; here, however, attention is called to the indirect influence of a pronouncedly Christian atmosphere pervading institutions of higher learning. This is desirable and neces- sary in order to preserve and strengthen the purpose to enter the ministry formed by young men in homes and churches before going away to college, and also to afford conditions favor- able to formation of a like purpose by other Christian students who may not have fully faced the question before entering college. An atmosphere of indifference and unbelief is not conducive to a spirit of consecration to the sacred ministry. College life is the pe- riod in which many young men revise, re- adjust, and restate their religious position. During this critical time they need wise guid- ance and a sympathetic environment. More- over, with the growth in intellectual life which the college brings there should be correspond- ing growth in the religious life ; and if this is to be attained, the student must be exposed to the agencies of religious influence, to strong Chris- tian personalities and to a genuinely spiritual atmosphere. THE FAVORING INFLUENCES m The denominational colleges of the country have yielded by far the largest number and proportion of candidates for the ministry. Dis- tinctively denominational and state institutions alone are considered in this section, reference being omitted to that important group of Chris- tian colleges and universities which are not under denominational control. One investigation made a few years ago revealed the fact that in the eleven leading theological seminaries of the United States, representing six denominations, ninety-six students came from state institutions and 1,077 from denominational colleges. An- other very recent investigation showed that of 1,821 college graduates in leading theological seminaries, 114 came from state institutions and 1,707 from denominational colleges. The presi- dent of Davidson College has indicated that two years ago in ten typical state universities only four young men out of every thousand male stu- dents were looking toward entering the ministry; whereas, in eight eastern Presbyterian col- leges eighty-three out of every thousand were ex- pecting to be ministers, and in fourteen Presby- terian colleges west of the Mississippi River, 196 out of every thousand were expecting to enter 112 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH this calling. Other studies showing similar pro- portions might be added. Making due allowance for the larger propor- tion of Christian young men in denominational colleges, and for the fact that more young men already thinking of entering the ministry go to denominational colleges than to state institutions, it remains true that the proportion of students in denominational colleges deciding to enter the ministry is greater than in state institutions. This has always been the case. Some of these denominational colleges have a wonderful record. During the first century of its history more than one third of the over 1,500 graduates of Middle- bury College, Vermont, became ministers. Of 1,087 graduates in arts of Victoria University, Toronto, up to the present year 370, or one third, had entered the ministry in Canada and the United States. Hanover College in the Ohio Valley had, prior to the year 1895, sent into the ministry 300 of its 800 graduates. Over one half of the graduates of Park College, Missouri, have devoted themselves to the ministry. Sixty- three per cent of the alumni of Hope College, Michigan, have become ministers. And in Da- vidson College, North CaroHna, last year (1907) THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 113 seventy-five out of a total of 308 men students were planning to devote themselves to the min- isterial work of the Church. These are by no means isolated cases. The Church must not permit the colleges, from which she has so largely drawn her ministry, to drift into inferiority. The Christian aim and character of these colleges must be preserved. The arguments in favor of the Christian college set forth years ago with masterly force by Presi- dent Porter of Yale are still valid.^ The edu- cational standards of these colleges must be kept as high as those of any other institutions. Their professors, therefore, must rank in scholarship and ability with those of state universities. To this end denominational colleges must be much more generously supported. It would be better to have fewer denominational colleges and have them adequately maintained, than to have so many that some of them must be indifferently led and supported. It would be better also not to let the denominational colleges become so large as to make it impossible for the professors to promote through personal relations the relig- ious life of students, which is so essential if » "Fifteen Years in the Chapel of Yale College," p. 382. 114 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH these colleges are to be real schools of the prophets. The denominational college which is dominated by Christian aims, and pervaded by a strong Christian spirit, preserving an atmos- phere of true liberty, free from a narrow and sectarian spirit, and maintaining a staff of in- structors who rank with those of other institu- tions, has a place which is not only secure, but of growing importance. Such colleges will al- ways be a principal source of supply for the Christian ministry. The state and other undenominational colleges and universities, while they have not been yield- ing so large numbers of young men for the min- istry as the denominational colleges, give prom- ise of becoming increasingly fruitful. Generally speaking, these are the largest, most representa- tive, best equipped, and strongest universities of the country. They will continue to grow in size, power, and influence. Some of them have already more Christian students than have all the denominational colleges of their respective states. Some of them are pervaded by a Christian spirit as helpful and healthful as that which character- izes many of the denominational colleges. That their atmosphere is not generally unfavorable to THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 115 the development of a religious life which is ethi- cal, altruistic, and aggressive is seen in the fact that some of the strongest Christian Associations are to-day to be found in these large undenomi- national universities. That they may increas- ingly be made recruiting grounds for the Chris- tian ministry is evident from the fact that the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Mis- sions has had some of its largest and ablest ac- cessions from the state universities. The same is true of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion secretaryship. Owing to the size of these institutions, they naturally contain many Chris- tian young men of large ability. Those in such institutions who do decide to enter the ministry will, because of their association with young men of all social classes, of all callings, of all Chris- tian denominations, as well as with those having no religious affiliation, bring to their life-work a comprehensive touch with life and a range of sympathy which will augment their influence. The leaders of the Christian denominations should be profoundly interested in the develop- ment of the religious life of the undenomina- tional institutions, particularly the state uni- versities. It is often the case, as has been im- \ Ii6 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH plied, that the state university has in it more Christian students of a given denomination than there are in the colleges of that denomination in the same state. While the Christian churches should maintain in full strength and at all costs a sufficient number of denominational colleges, they must not overlook their duty to their own young men in the state institutions. There are different ways in which the Church can co- operate in developing and fostering a strong Christian life in the undenominational universi- ties. A study of this problem, extending over the entire continent for a period of twenty years, has convinced me that the two methods which are by far the most practical and most fruitful, as well as the most economical, are the facilitating in every way of the work of the Student Christian Association Movement; and the strengthening of the regular churches in the university community. If the leading denomi- nations would take hold of this matter on a national scale and provide ways and means for locating and generously maintaining min- isters of recognized ability, in connection with the regular community churches, at all of these leading university seats, to reach and influence THE FAVORING INFLUENCES I17 the strongest students, it would prove to be one of the most statesmanlike and helpful policies ever carried out by the Christian Church. Enlisting young men in Christian, philan- thropic, and social betterment work has always proved to be a potent indirect means of in- fluencing them to devote their lives to Christian service. The Chaplain of Balliol College, Ox- \ ford, told me that in his opinion the most powerful force attracting men into the ministry in recent years had been the experience of work in the slums, gained either in school missions or in university settlements. While the present Bishop of London vvas head of Oxford House in the East End of London, many an Oxford man was influenced in this way to take Holy Orders. The sight of the deep need of slum life, the practical character and success of the work accomplished, and the high ideal of min- isterial life displayed by the men in it, con- stituted the most potent persuasion to young men to devote their lives to Christian service. Who can measure the eflfectiveness in recruit- ing the permanent Christian ministry of Can- ada, of the Christian work of Canadian students during their vacations in the West, both in con- Il8 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH firming those who had already decided to enter the ministry and in attracting their fellow- students to this calling. The activities and spirit of churches like the Spring Street Presby- terian Church and the Church of the Sea and Land in New York City, and many others in different American cities, have turned not a few college men into the ministry by giving them a taste of the possibilities of unselfish service for people in real need. The great volume of altruistic service which is being carried on by thousands of undergraduates in the form of Sunday schools and evangelistic meetings in neighboring country districts and in the form of settlements, boys' clubs, and special missions in cities and towns, has often afforded the conditions necessary to enable men to hear the call of Christ to a life of service. The grow- ing sympathy shown by the Church toward so- cial work of all kinds is sure to result in more young men offering themselves for the ministry. Let everything possible be done, therefore, to enlist young men of real ability in the various practical forms of Christian work and Christian social service. This will give them a vivid knowledge and a moving sense of the deepest THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 1 19 needs of men. It will afford them present day evidences of the reality, power, and authority of Christianity, and clear up many of their gravest intellectual difficulties and doubts. It will im- press them with the fact that the Christian Church is indispensable in the solution of the social problems. This in turn will convince them of the need of able leadership for the forces of righteousness. The necessary experi- ence for testing their own qualifications will here be afforded them. In many cases there will be generated a passion for helpfulness which will result in some of them hearing and re- sponding to the call to give their lives to Chris- tian service. " Rabbi " John Duncan of Edin- burgh, when a man said to him that he wanted to get nearer Christ, replied, '* Yonder He is, seeking the lost. Go there and you will find Him." All through the history of the Christian Church genuine religious revivals or spiritual awakenings have influenced young men to de- vote their lives to the Christian ministry.^ By » David H. D. Wilkinson, "The Church's Ministry; Voca- tion and Recruiting," in "Pan-Anglican Papers" (being problems for consideration at the Pan-Anglican Congress in 1908). I20 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH religious revival or spiritual awakening is meant not only such a work of the Spirit of God as promotes a more abounding spiritual life among men who are true disciples of Christ, but also and especially such a work as influences other men to accept and confess Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. A state of spiritual life which manifests itself in a constant Christward movement should be the normal condition of the life of any Christian community. This was true of the early Christians in those days when there were added to th/sir number " day by day those that were being saved." No abnormal, unscriptural experience is meant, but simply that which has characterized the best life of Christian communities of all lands and of all ages since the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is far removed from those so- called revivals which are characterized by ex- citement and outbreaks of fanaticism traceable to indiscreet leaders, unwise methods, and hu- man energy. The real spiritual awakening has its justification in the practice and teachings of Christ and the early Christian Church. Re- vivals in the sense defined, are Scriptural, rational, essential, and practicable. Such awak- THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 1 21 enings have been an outstanding fact in all the history of the Christian religion. An important indirect result has always been to influence young men to dedicate their lives to the Chris- tian ministry and other forms of Christian work. In the pathway of the wonderful revivals ac- companying Whitefield's preaching there was an unbroken line of men entering the ministry. Many of these were very strong characters. At one time, in the vicinity of Boston, there were as many as twenty ministers who owned him as their spiritual father. Similar results followed the revivals associated with Finney's name. Even the reading of his revival lectures influenced many to become ministers. After one of his meetings in Great Britain, three different minis- ters came forward to introduce themselves to him, stating that they had thus been led to enter the ministry. At a conference on the ministry, in Glasgow, Professor George Adam Smith called attention to the fact that the first great revival under the leadership of Moody in the early sev- enties brought many strong men into the min- istry. It was this mighty spiritual movement which made Henry Drummond an evangelist and turned thousands of laymen into the service of 122 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Christ. The Glengarry Revival in the early six- ties, celebrated in Ralph Connor's " The Man from Glengarry," gave Canada a large number of ministers. College revivals have been particularly fruit- ful in recruiting the ranks of the ministry. In the period 1813 to 1837, inclusive, there were at Yale thirteen marked revivals, each of which turned promising young men into the ministry.^ It has been estimated that the subsequent work of the students influenced in one of these awak- enings under the preaching of President Timothy Dwight resulted in the professed conversion of over 50,000 people. A revival at Yale in the early thirties carried Horace Bushnell out of his doubts and into the ministry. It is an inter- esting fact that the influence of the revival at Williams College in 1806 afforded the conditions which made possible the Haystack Prayer Meet- ing and the modern North American missionary movement.^ Of thirteen students converted at that time, nine entered the ministry or became missionaries, among their number being Gordon Hall. Finney conducted evangelistic meetings in » W. S. Tyler, "Prayer for Colleges," p. 132. 2T. C. Richards, "Samuel J. MiUs," p. 29. THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 1 23 one institution in Rochester in connection with which a large number of young men were con- verted, of whom over forty later became min- isters. Among the most notable student revi- vals in America was the one in Princeton in 1876. About one hundred undergraduates were led into the Christian life at that time, and of their number several became ministers. This awakening had much to do with the cre- ation of the Christian Student Movement of North America which in turn has influenced thousands of young men to become ministers and missionaries. Multitudes of other illustrations could be given. It is important to add that in the history of American colleges there has never been a period characterized by mightier spiritual awakenings, both in Christian and state institu- tions, than the past decade. The same may be said of certain other countries both in the Occi- dent and in the Orient, These movements of the Divine Spirit have been preparing the way for a larger offering of lives to the work of Christ in the world. Two classes of young men are influenced by revivals to enter the ministry. Some of the converts are thus influenced. Professor Graham 124 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Taylor made an investigation which showed that eighty-five of the 354 men who entered the Chi- cago Theological Seminary in the decade ending in 1904 formed their purpose to become minis- ters at the time of their conversion. Other stu- dents are led to become ministers as a result of participating in the work of the revival or by observing its effects. What is the philosophy underlying the fact that genuine revivals of religion influence men to devote their lives to the ministry as well as to other forms of Christian service? A re- vival or spiritual awakening, from the nature of the case, arrests the attention and fixes it on the greatest concerns of religion. It pro- motes that seriousness of mind which is essen- tial to the apprehension of spiritual truth and to the preparation of the heart to respond to spiritual truth. It makes very vivid and com- manding the great facts of the Christian faith, such as the awful power and consequences of sin, the love of God, the possibilities of the hu- man soul, the power of Christ, and the responsi- bility of men. The actual, superhuman working of Christ, doing for men what they could not do for themselves in converting, emancipating, trans- THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 1 25 forming, and energizing their lives, affords fresh, present-day evidences of Christianity and makes the Christian faith a great reahty. All doubt that the presence of God in human life may become a fact of experience is swept aside. One begins to have a realizing sense that it is vitally and urgently necessary that men dedicate themselves to Christ as their personal Saviour. Moreover, the lives of all who enter sympathetically into the experiences of the revival are purified. Their sense of moral responsibility is quickened and deepened. They forget themselves and are drawn out in unselfish thought and intense effort to help others in the deepest things of life, and thus come to know as a personal experience the joy of service in intimate association with Christ. Religion comes to be regarded as the most momentous matter. Men learn at such times to see life in true perspective. They are in a position to estimate values rightly. Prin- cipal Rainy, of Edinburgh, not long before his death told me that the spiritual quickening he received at the time of the great Disruption turned him from his plan of being a physician and made him a minister. He added : " It woke me up. Religion became great in my eyes.'' It 126 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH is not strange, when viewed psychologically as well as in the light of actual experience of men, that a process like this results in influencing men of power and unselfish ambition to yield them- selves to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Every- thing which can be done to promote genuine spir- itual awakenings in our colleges and in all our communities will bear indirectly yet very power- fully on the solution of the problem of securing qualified leaders for the Christian forces. The most efficient human factor in influencing young men to enter the ministry has been and in some countries still is the Christian home. At a recent conference of over 300 students from various theological seminaries, more than one half assigned favorable home influences as the cause which led them to devote themselves to the ministry. In many a conference in North America, Europe, and other parts of the world, investigation revealed that as large or an even larger proportion had been primarily influenced by the same cause. A very large majority of young men entering the ministry arrive at their decision before the age of eighteen. Herbert Kelly, Director of the Society of the Sacred Mission, has pointed out that every year after THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 127 boyhood it becomes more difficult to impress upon young men the claims of this calling.^ The presumption, therefore, is that the home influence is the predominating factor in their decision. Unconsciously, in most cases, the child fulfils the desire of the parent's heart. In the preparation of this book the biogra- phies of 128 ministers, including those who would be regarded as the one hundred lead- ing ministers of the past 500 years, were ex- amined. This study showed that all but nine of the 128 came from homes which were pro- nouncedly favorable to the decision to devote one's life to the Christian ministry. Of 400 of the most successful and influential ministers of the United States and Canada answering the inquiry as to the causes leading them into the ministry, over four fifths assigned the influence of Christian parents and of Christian home life as the chief factor determining their decision. Bishop McQuaid, of Rochester, calls attention to the fact that the Roman Catholic priesthood is recruited from pious Christian homes. ^ The > See chapter "On the Age of Recruiting," in "England and the Church," p. 182. 2 John Talbot Smith, "The Training of a Priest." See introductory chapter " Our American Seminaries," p. xxv. 128 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH place of all places, therefore, to bring to bear influence is the home. Let there be thorough subsoiling in the homes and all will be well. Young men will successfully pass through most of the difficulties which present themselves in the universities and elsewhere if they have come from earnest Christian homes where the atmos- phere is favorable to their devoting themselves to such a Christlike work. Most people can think of examples showing the large contribution made to the ministry by Christian homes. William Wilberforce, who did so much for the emancipation of the slaves, gave three of his sons to Holy Orders, one of whom became a bishop. Four sons went out from the home of Bishop Westcott into the service of Christ in India. The eight sons of Dr. Scud- der became missionaries. Of five sons of the Rev. Dr. J. Henry Smith, of Greensboro, North Carolina, three are prominent ministers, one is the president of a leading Southern Presbyte- rian college and preaches very frequently, and the other is a ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church and a university professor, himself also a frequent lecturer on Bible themes. The in- fluence of their home was the most powerful THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 129 factor in their choice of a life-work. During the boyhood of these sons their father always had a colored boy as a servant. The first one of these servants, seeing the children at their books every night, became interested and eager to obtain an education. Dr. Smith arranged for him to go to Lincoln University where he j graduated, and then became a minister among j\ his own people. The colored boy who suc- ceeded him followed precisely the same course and became an earnest preacher to his race. The history of the third colored boy was ex- actly the same. All three of these colored min- isters have been faithful and are a credit to their calling. So, from this minister's home went forth six ministers of the Gospel, three white and three colored. The family of Dr. Andrew Murray of South Africa is also a re- markable illustration. Of the eleven children who grew up, five of the six sons became min- isters and four of the five daughters became ministers' wives. The next generation already has a still more striking record in that ten grandsons have become ministers and thirteen have become missionaries. All but two of these twenty-three grandsons have had the full the- I30 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH ological training. The secret of this unusual contribution to the Christian ministry is the Christian home. In no other country is the home such a potent factor for supplying the ministry as in Scotland. Christian leaders might well study Scotch home life. What are some of the things which have characterized many of these homes that have furnished so many able men for the ministry? In them religion was the chief concern. The parents were genuinely religious. The life was simple. The Sabbath was observed strictly — — some would say too strictly, but by their fruits ye shall know them. Family worship was given a regular and very prominent place both morning and evening. Much attention was paid to Bible instruction and memorizing. The catechism was made a part of the mental fur- nishing of each child. While there may not have been many books in those homes, there were some which were read and pondered and which have exerted a tremendous influence on the character and beliefs of the people; for ex- ample, Boston's " Fourfold State," Baxter's " The Saint's Everlasting Rest," Fisher's " The Marrow of Modern Divinity," Bunyan's " Pil- THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 131 grim's Progress," Doddridge's " The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul," Foxe's '* Book of Martyrs," and Rutherford's *' Trial and Triumph of Faith." Professor Orr stated in one of our conferences that he had found the shepherds in the Border Districts veritable pundits in Biblical and theological knowledge. Those homes all entertained the highest con- ception or ideal of the ministry. No _belittling criticism of ministers was allowed. The tradi- tion was and is strong that at least one son should enter the ministry. This was the deepest wish of the mother's heart. We all remember the moving story, " His Mother's Sermon," in " Beside tHe~SBonnie Briar Bush." Many a mother consecrated her son to the ministry from the time of his birth. The mother or father may not in many a case have expressed their wish to the son, but he knew that the work of the Church was warm in their hearts. The Christian homes of other lands have much to learn and imitate from those of Scotland. It is to be feared that in the intense, hurried, feverish North American life, with the power- ful materialistic influences to which we are ex- posed, home life is being starved and dwarfed 132 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH spiritually and that it falls far short of this ideal. Ministers themselves can do most to bring about the necessary transformation of the home life of the country. Any other treatment of this problem of ministerial supply is dealing with the fringes of the subject. Influence must be brought to bear upon Christian parents. Let there be systematic, untiring pulpit and house- to-house work to raise the standard of home religion by promoting those habits and prac- tices which facilitate the consideration of re- ligious matters and which develop real Christian spirit. Above all there should be pressed upon Christian parents the rights of Jesus Christ and the claims of His Kingdom with reference to their children. That which will lend peculiar intensity and contagious force to all that the minister may say in public and in private on the subject of the Christian ministry will be the fact that he consecrates his own children to the work of Christ as He may call. The sum and substance of all that has been said about the Christian home as a factor in influencing young men to enter the ministry is that certain conditions are essential in order to THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 133 enable young men to hear the call of God, and that these conditions, from the nature of the case, can best be furnished in that divine insti- tution — the home. Balfour has pointed out that there is such a thing as an atmosphere of be- lief.^ It is equally true that there is an atmos- phere in which young men may best arrive at life decisions, and that atmosphere can best be generated in genuinely Christian homes. Incomparably the most potent indirect influ- ence in securing the right young men for the Christian ministry isjrayer^ The sources of the Christian ministry are in the springs high up in the m^ountains. The streams that turn the machinery of the world rise in solitary places. Many a page has been covered in this outline! treatment of the problem of securing an able leadership for the churches. Jesus Christ went to the heart of the subject in a very few words. He was familiar with our problem. He was profoundly impressed with the greatness of the task before Christians and with the paucity of workers. His solution of the problem of mul- tiplying the number of workers was strikingly original and absolutely unique. He summoned 1 "The Foundations of Belief," p. 218. 134 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH US to prayer. " Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into His harvest." ^ He forever silenced skepticism as to the importance and efficacy of this method by His own example as a man of prayer. He clearly taught that there is a necessary connec- tion between our prayers and the providing of the supply of workers of God's own appoint- ment. Here is a deep mystery, but the history of Christianity shows beyond question that it is also a deep reality. Men may have done all the other things which have been emphasized in our discussion, but if they have omitted to pray, the laborers have not been bestowed. It never ceases to move one with wonder and awe that the omnipotent and omniscient God should have conditioned a .matter so vital as the leadership of the forces of "Christ's Kingdom upon His fol- lowers' faithfulness or faithlessness in prayer. We cannot impute the deficiency of workers to neglect on the part of Christ. God would not fail to answer the prayer dictated by Him- self. The failure lies at our own doors. We have failed to obey Christ's clear command and to follow His convincing example as the great » Matthew ix, 38. THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 135 Intercessor. Why have we thus failed? Let us face the matter conscientiously and see. We have been unbelieving. Prayer indicates that we actually believe that Christ meant what He said when He summoned us to pray for la- borers. We have been egotistical. Prayer on our part would have shown that we distrusted our unaided plans, devices, and energies. We have been selfish. As Professor George Adam ' Smith pointed out in an address at Yale, prayer I for others is the hardest kind of work.^ It calls ( t for detachment from self and that is always hard. It calls for intensity. It calls for the expendi- ture of time and that is never easy. We have been busy. But the overwhelming pressure upon His time was one of tfee principal reasons why Christ prayed. We have been ignorant. It seems inconceivable that we would have neg- lected to employ this mighty agency had we been fully informed and convinced of the essen- tial part which it sustains to the securing of the laborers of God's choice. We have been pur- poseless. Some of us may have been con- vinced that prayer is essential for the accom- » "Sunday Evening Talks to Yale Undergraduates" (Henry B. Wright, Editor), p. 47. 136 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH plishment of our great end, but for one reason or another we have neglected to form an ef- fective purpose, that is, a purpose issuing in actual performance. We have been cold and formal. Experience shows that men are not led by arguments and burning appeals to give themselves to prayer. Not until they come to feel a heart interest in the object and are deeply moved with a sense of the need of accomplish- ing it do they give themselves with reality and fervency to prayer on its behalf. Sermons should be preached on prayer for laborers. The best books and pamphlets on the achieving power of prayer should be widely cir- culated and read. Meetings for united prayer should be multipHed. Appeals for prayer for students, for ministers, and for parents should be issued and honored. The churches should be led to observe the Day of Prayer for Students, with that faithfulness which characterized their observance of this day two generations ago. The committee appointed recently by the Arch- bishop of Canterbury to consider the question of the supply and training of candidates for the sacred ministry, after discussing various ways and means which should be employed to meet THE FAVORING INFLUENCES 137 the great need, properly place chief emphasis on intercession : " The question of the due supply of the Church's ministers is one which the Lord has revealed to us as being bound up with ear- nest prayer and intercession. No recommenda- tions of a Committee and no efforts of the Church will avail unless there go with them the Church's sustained and earnest supplication. We would, therefore, as a final recommendation, press for the more constant and widespread use of the special prayer for the supply of Candi- dates, . . . and for the more devout observance of Ember-tides for keeping alive in the hearts of the Church people a due sense of concern and obligation in this matter." ^ Above all, those who keenly realize the impor- tance of this method and agency should give themselves to prayer. Is not this incomparably the most important work? Beyond question, prayer is the mightiest force which any Chris- tian can wield in this world. It is his richest talent. Not without displeasing our Lord and Master can we bury it or leave it unused. It is a talent possessed by all. Christians may and » " The Supply and Training of Candidates for Holy Orders" (June, 1908), p. 31. 138 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH do differ with reference to other abiHties, but in the most vital matter they stand on a level. Only God is competent to select, to clothe, to commission, and to impel the workers for His Kingdom. From first to last this recruit- ing work is a superhuman undertaking. The ground of our hope and confidence in the se- curing of an adequate supply of competent young men for the ministry of Jesus Christ rests chiefly, not upon the favoring indirect influences which have already been considered, and not upon the various agencies to be emphasized in connection with the direct propaganda, but upon that which will give direction and efficiency to them all, that which brings to bear the irresist- ible forces of the Spirit of the Living God. THE PROPAGANDA V THE PROPAGANDA The minister, if he be of a type attractive to strong- men, can do more than anyone else to recruit men for the ministry. At one time, cer- tainly, Christian parents would have been ex- cepted; but in view of the fact that to-day so many Christian parents are not eager to have their sons enter the ministry, it is clear that the minister holds the key to the situation, be- cause he is in a position to do most to change the attitude of parents on this subject. This is the most highly multiplying work of the min- ister. One does not underrate the prophetic, the pastoral, the teaching, and the organizing functions of the ministry; but none of these enables him so to multiply himself as does the recruiting function. Agassiz, when asked what he regarded as his greatest work, re- plied: "Training two men." Samuel Morley 141 142 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH emphasized aptly the same idea: " He who does the work, is not so productively employed as he who multipHes the doers." ^ The minister is under obligation to exercise this recruiting function. He should be working not only for the present Church, but also for the Church which is to be. He is as much un- der obligation to raise up a ministry for the next generation as he is to raise up a church mem- bership for the next generation. There is something wrong if in a long pastorate a min- ister does not have, as a result of his life and work, young men consecrating themselves to the Christian ministry; he may well give him- self to self-examination and to making neces- sary changes in his aims, attitude, and practice. If ministers are in dead earnest on this point there is no doubt that they will influence able young men to dedicate themselves to this greatest of callings. Professor Henry Calder- wood was right when, in speaking at the Sec- ond General Council of the Presbyterian Alli- ance, held in Philadelphia in 1880, he insisted that " There is one key to the supply of stu- » Quoted by James Wells, "The Life of James Hood Wilson," p. 87. THE PROPAGANDA 1 43 dents to the ministry, and that is the ministry itself." ^ What means shall the minister employ in his efforts to secure men for this calling? He should preach sermons and make public appeals to the young men and boys of his congregation on the claims of the ministry. Many ministers have neglected to do this. At a recent con- ference where there were over three hundred theological students, representing about fifty of the theological seminaries of the United States and Canada, when the delegates were asked to indicate whether they had ever heard a sermon on the subject of the claims of the ministry, over one half of the number stated that they had never heard such a sermon. Even if a min- ister does not feel like making a direct appeal to young men to become ministers, he should at least place before them the opportunities and claims of the ministry and urge them to strive to understand and heed what God's will in the matter is for them personally. He should also improve opportunities to speak on the ministry in colleges and schools. Some ministers have » "Report of Proceedings of the Second General Council of the Presbyterian Alliance," p. 666. 144 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH recognized and accepted such opportunities and have accomplished far-reaching resuhs. For example. Dr. Lyman Abbott and Dr. Henry van Dyke have rendered very effective service. Other ministers whose words would come with special power to students, although they accept invitations to go away to preach on other sub- jects and before other audiences, decline invita- tions of this kind. When one recalls the great influence exerted by the four sermons preached at Cambridge University a half a century ago by Bishop Selwyn on " The Work of Christ in the World," one recognizes the great possibili- ties of setting before college men the unique claims of this calling.^ Of equal importance is it that ministers preach sermons adapted to influence parents to dedicate their children to lives of Christian service, to lead them to pray that their children may be set apart by God to such service, and to help them to make the spiritual conditions in their homes favorable to the formation and fostering of this kind of a life purpose. In times of spiritual awakening or of great responsive- » G. H. Curteis, "Bishop Selwyn of New Zealand, and of Lichfield," pp. 146-153. THE PROPAGANDA 145 ness in his church, the minister should call to- gether a group of the most promising young men of his congregation and seriously charge them to give conscientious consideration to the need, opportunities, and claims of the Christian ministry. This was the practice of Bushnell. There come times in the life of a church when more can be done in a few hours than can be done under ordinary conditions in many months. Wise is the minister who learns to discern such times and to press the advantage which they present. The minister should constantly employ with strong young men and boys within the range of his influence the method of personal work with reference to their life plans. At the con- ference of theological students to which refer- ence has been made, among the more than three hundred delegates from the theological sem- inaries of North America it was discovered that one hundred and fifty had been influenced to enter the Christian ministry chiefly by the per- sonal work of ministers. The minister should constantly study the young men and boys of his congregation and community and make at least mental note of those who seem to him to 146 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH be likely candidates for such a work as that of the ministry, and should seek to expose them to influences calculated to make plain to them and to others whether this is God's work for them. He should give time to them personally. At a recent meeting of ministers a pastor of a suburban church of Chicago mentioned that he had a list of nine such men of his congregation whom he was following up. Some of them are away at college. He keeps in touch by letters and when they return home for their vacations he renews his personal intercourse with them. It would be well for the minister to set apart a regular time each week for interviews with young men. Dr. John Clifford, minister at Westbourne Park Church in London, has already had twenty-six young men enter the ministry or foreign missionary service. The secret of his success he considers to be the fact that he has given the time from seven to ten o'clock each Friday evening to interviews with young men. This has brought him into touch with all classes and, as occasion has of- fered, he has suggested the ministry as a pos- sible calling to those who have impressed him as having the fundamental qualifications. THE PROPAGANDA 147 Ministers located in college towns should im- prove the unique opportunity of cultivating the friendship of strong Christian students away from home. Some of the ministers of Edin- burgh and Glasgow have exerted a wide in- fluence in this respect in their relations to young men from the colonies studying in the Scottish universities. Personal work to influence boys and young men to go to college results in directing many of them into Christian service. It is well to remember that the minister him- self should be in the attitude of prayer that he may be divinely guided in discerning provi- dential indications with reference to the fit- ness of young men for the ministry, and also and more especially that God may make plain to the young men themselves His will in the matter. The minister should lay a burden of respon- sibility on teachers of young men's and boys' Bible classes in the Sunday school and in the men's organizations of his church to use their influence in directing the serious attention of their members to the ministerial calling. He should also see that the young people's society or young men's guild or brotherhood of his 148 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH church includes in its policy the presentation of the claims of the ministry. The possibilities of this recruiting work of the minister are boundless. Even in what some regard as unfavorable fields there are large un- developed possibilities. Dr. W. S. Rainsford, during the years he was at St. George's in New York, influenced over a score of young men to devote themselves to the ministry. Dr. James Hood Wilson, while a pastor in Edinburgh, in- fluenced over thirty young men to become for- eign missionaries, not to mention those who en- tered Christian work on the home field. The two churches which he served were nurseries of min- isters and missionaries. These two illustrations refute the assertion which one often hears, that city churches, especially those in the mission dis- tricts, are not hopeful recruiting grounds for the ranks of the ministry. The country church parishes have also, when cultivated, always yielded most gratifying re- sults. In a recent conference, Bishop Ander- son, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, told of one country pastor who in his lifetime had led twenty-seven young men into the ministry. Professor Robert K. Massie, of the theological THE PROPAGANDA 149 seminary near Alexandria, Virginia, told of an- other minister in a small town who, to his knowledge, had sent seventeen men into the ministry. Professor E. A. Mackenzie, of the Presbyterian Theological College in Montreal, writes about a picture he had seen of a coun- try church in Oxford County, Ontario, around the border of which were thirty small photo- graphs of men who had gone out of that coun- try parish into the Christian ministry. The min- ister who served that church all his life was in the habit of constantly looking up young men of parts, and directing their attention to the min- istry. He was literally a recruiting officer of the Church. None of these examples are excep- tional cases so far as opportunity is concerned. The point is that these men saw their oppor- tunity and seized it. " Enlarger of the Em- pire " (Mehrer des Retches) is a title of high- est honor, which the Germans give to only a very few of their greatest warriors and statesmen. The Christian minister should as- pire to no higher distinction than that of winning by a long life of faithful recruiting work the right to the title of Enlarger of the Kingdom. I50 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Efforts made by schoolmasters, college profess- ors, and theological seminary professors should be assigned' as another potent direct cause con- straining young men to enter the ministry. Much more should be done to impress boys during their school days with the importance of the ministry as a life-work. The period of adolescence, say fourteen to eighteen inclusive, is the vision-form- ing period. It is the most favorable time arid, therefore, the most important time for making the deepest impressions of life. Secular influ- ences are not deferring their appeal until this period is passed. They do not lose the advantage suggested by the psychological fact just stated. What subject can be more fittingly brought be- fore boys at this stage, than the importance of the sense of a vocation in life, and above all of the special vocation of working for Christ in the ministry at home or abroad ? It may not be wise to urge them to decide the question of their career so early, but it most certainly is wise to bring before them thus early the most unselfish forms of work in as strong, vivid, and attractive manner as possible. Let the Christian ministry be made as appealing to boys as the callings of ex- plorers, generals, and captains of industry. The THE PROPAGANDA 151 late Bishop Creighton of London, is right in his contention : " I am perfectly certain that the vo- cation of Holy Orders has just as great attrac- tion for boys as any other, but they are allowed to grow up without any adequate sense that they are bound to serve the common welfare at all." ^ As a matter of fact, this period of boyhood is the one in which by far the greater number of ministers have decided the question of their life- work. Various investigations made by different persons and societies in different countries clear- ly establish this as a fact. The Roman Catholic Church, more than other Christian bodies, appre- ciates the great importance of what this involves.^ One of their bishops said to me that they make it their practice to secure their priests from among the ranks of boys. In fact this is a mat- ter of settled policy dating from the Council of Trent. The wise and tactful schoolmaster can do more to influence schoolboys than possibly anyone else. In nearly every school there is at least one master qualified by life and influence with the boys to » The Churchman, Vol. LXXXII, p. 141. 2 J. Delbrel, S.J., ^^ Pour repeupler Nos Seminaires,^' pp. 17, 24, 168. 152 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH render a great service in this direction. The country schoolmasters in Scotland, more than in other lands, have been on the lookout for the *' lad o' pairts " whom they have often helped to send to the university and on into the ministry. The Rev. J. Bell Henderson stated in a confer- ence in Glasgov^ that from among the boys sent yi up to the university by the schoolmaster of one \ quiet parish came three moderators of the Church ■of Scotland. The college professors also have a unique op- portunity to help direct students into the w^ork of the ministry. Although many young men have virtually decided the question of their life-work before going to college, there are still large num- bers who have not done so. Moreover, many of the young men who, before they entered college, may have decided to enter the ministry are likely to abandon their purpose unless it is properly nurtured and strengthened during student days. The college president or professor has unsur- passed influence with young men who are face to face with questions pertaining to their life-work, because in the position of teacher he is regarded as peculiarly impartial; and, from the nature of the case, this is true. One need only let his mind THE PROPAGANDA I53 travel back to his own college days to realize how great is the influence wielded by one's favor- ite professor at that impressionable and respon- sive period. I well remember how Professor Moses Coit Tyler, the distinguished professor of American history, one morning called me into his study after the lecture hour. I supposed he wished to see me in connection with the piece of work I was doing in the historical seminar, but to my surprise he presented me with a copy of The Book of Common Prayer and asked me the one question as to whether I had ever seri- ously considered the possibility of devoting my life to Christian service. That is all that he did and said, but it was one of the most result- ful interviews of my life. Influence was formerly exerted in this direc- tion by college presidents and professors much more largely than at present. It is said that President Stearns, of Amherst, interviewed every freshman about his purpose in life, and sought to be helpful to him at that critical stage. The fact that less is done now than formerly is ex- plained partly by the great growth in the num- ber of students in our colleges and universities, but more fully by the increase in the execu- 154 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH tive and administrative responsibilities of col- lege presidents and by the higher specialization of the work of college professors. There is ground for the fear that the old-fashioned pro- fessor, in the good sense of the term, is disap- pearing. Too many modern professors carry to an extreme the university idea and give one the impression that they are more concerned with developing subjects than developing men. In every college, as Dr. George A. Gordon, of Boston, emphasized in a conference of Church leaders on the subject of securing candidates for the ministry, there should be at least one great teacher who would inspire students to be- come ministers. Although the tendency is in the other direction, it is gratifying to recall splendid exceptions here and there among col- lege presidents and professors. One of the finest examples was the late President Harper of the University of Chicago. Surely no man was more heavily burdened with administrative and financial responsibility or more efficient in the work of his specialty in study; and yet he always found time, or better, always made time for what he told me he regarded as his most important work — that of making himself acces- THE PROPAGANDA 1$$ sible to young men to discuss with them ques- tions pertaining to faith, conduct, and life-work. While he was a professor at Yale and later at Chicago, and also while attending student con- ferences, he influenced many a young man to enter the ministry or the profession of Bible teaching. Some of the best results of the influence of teachers in schools and colleges are seen on the difficult mission fields. The three largest and strongest bands of Japanese students who en- tered the ministry — the Kumamoto Band, the Sapporo Band, and the Yokohama Band — were influenced by the earnest Christian teachers, Captain L. L. Janes, President W. S. Clark, and Dr. S. R. Brown, who gave their time gener- ously to this end. They deemed nothing else so important. Two of these bands, it is inter- esting to note, were started in government or non-Christian schools. At Peking University, in 1908 there were 186 Chinese students who had signed a covenant to devote their lives to Christian work, more especially the Christian ministry. One of the chief causes, if not the chief one, was the fact that some of the Chris- tian teachers set apart much time right through 156 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH the year for interviews with the students about their Hfe-work. Not a Httle of this time was spent in actual prayer with individual students regarding the special difficulties in their path. Professors in theological seminaries obviously have a responsibility not only to train ministers, but also to help in enlisting able young men for the ministry. They are in a position to know, better than most people, the need for men in the ministry, the kind of men wanted, and the requirements for preparation. It is a matter to be deplored that theological professors do not move about among Christian homes and churches as much as they did in former times with a special view to discovering men who apparently might become able ministers, and urging them to consider carefully and prayer- fully God's will for their life-work. One is not unmindful of the criticisms which at times are made with reference to such a course, but the more one reflects upon them, the more super- ficial they are seen to be. The fear that he may be accused of recruiting students for a seminary rather than ministers for the Church, should not deter the sincere professor from doing all in his power to bring vividly before strong young men THE PROPAGANDA 157 and their parents the critical need of supplying an able leadership for the forces of the Church. Theological professors who are especially qualified to influence college students should de- vote more time to visiting colleges and schools with reference to interesting young men in the work of the ministry. Bishop Lawrence, when a professor in the Episcopal Theological School at Cambridge, Massachusetts, spent much time in the rooms of Harvard students with this end in view. Theological professors should throw themselves as much as possible into the general life of the universities near their seminaries, taking an interest in the Student Young Men's Christian Association, in university athletics, and in other phases of student life. It would be well if there were at least one professor on the faculty of each seminary who would be in demand as a college preacher. The valuable work accom- plished in American colleges by Professor Hugh Black, of Union Theological Seminary, is a good illustration of this plan. Experience shows that the indirect approach of coming to the college as a preacher on other subjects is one of the most effective, especially when the professor makes opportunities for young men 158 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH to interview him personally on the question of their life-work. These pastors of pastors, the theological professors, should appeal to the min- isters to do more to help meet the need for men. Let them write and speak to their old students; and let them exhort their present students to exercise earnestly the recruiting function of the ministry. The Christian Student Movement is becom- ing an increasingly efficient direct cause in in- fluencing young men for the ministry. So far as the young men of North American univer- sities and colleges are concerned, what is popu- larly known as the Christian Student Movement is the Student Young Men's Christian Associa- tion of the United States and Canada. It now has branches or Associations in over 700 uni- versities, colleges, and other institutions of higher learning and has a membership of over 57,000 students, professors, and teachers.^ It is found in nearly all of the colleges of every Christian denomination. It is also established in all of the principal state and other undenomi- national institutions. It has extended to a large majority of the theological seminaries and theo- » "The Federation in 1907," p. 9. THE PROPAGANDA 1 59 logical colleges of North America. There are only a few isolated societies of Christian stu- dents not yet affiliated. The objects of this movement are: to lead students to become dis- ciples of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour; to lead them to become members of the Church; to build them up in Christian faith and charac- ter; and to help them to place their lives where they will count for most in promoting the King- dom of Christ. The last named object has for many years been interpreted to include helping students to determine the question of their life- work. Such a movement has a great opportunity to help solve the problem of obtaining more young men of talent and consecration for the Christian ministry. It touches, as has been shown, nearly all of the centers of learning on the entire continent. Its membership includes a major- ity of the Christian students of the United States and Canada. It has, generally speaking, the confidence of the professors of the colleges and the leaders of the Church, as a result of its useful work of over twenty-five years in advanc- ing the moral and religious interests of the col- leges. It has developed agencies and methods i6o FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH which enable it to bring ideas and personaHties to bear with effect on all parts of the student field. It possesses certain advantages which are inher- ent in Associations of this kind. For example, its activities are purely voluntary, being the ex- pression of the initiative and independent action of the students. These Associations have many other interests besides that of helping to secure ministerial recruits, and this enables them to draw within their membership large numbers of Christian students not at first interested in the ministry, but who, once within the Associations, can be exposed to the appeal for that form of life service. These Associations also seek to place a burden of responsibility on Christian ministerial candidates to help influence their fel- low students to consider the claims of the min- istry. While students cannot do so much as minis- ters and professors, their added help cannot but be advantageous. Such Associations, being part of the great movement, possess an esprit de corps which is invaluable in any propaganda. The existence of such a movement enables the strong Associations to bring their ideas, experi- ence, and inspiration to bear helpfully upon THE PROPAGANDA l6l Associations which are weak or lacking in in- terest and results. Being interdenominational, the movement is able to do for the Church in state and other undenominational institutions what the Church cannot so well do for itself. What are some of the things being accom- plished by these Associations in the colleges? The claims of the ministry were presented dur- ing the past year under the auspices of these Associations in over two hundred colleges. The Student Movement is thus discovering the min- isters and professors best qualified to make an effective presentation of the claims of the min- istry, and their names are given to Associations inquiring for such help. College preachers, while at the college for their regular engage- ments, are asked by the Associations to cooper- ate. Selected groups of students are brought together so that prominent visiting ministers can speak to them more informally and answer questions on the subject of the ministry. These visitors are often asked to give time for inter- views with individual students who may wish to take counsel with them. In some large uni- versities, both denominational and undenomina- tional, ministerial institutes are held by the 1 62 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Associations. These institutes usually last at least two days. Leading ministers of different communions present various aspects of the work of the ministry and also speak on other subjects germane to the purpose of securing ministerial candidates. Regular home and foreign missionary meet- ings are held in most of the Associations. These serve to acquaint students with the needs and opportunities of the Church at home and abroad and thus help directly to interest men in the work of the ministry. The best available literature on the subject of the Christian min- istry is circulated. In certain institutions min- isterial bands have been organized; for instance, the Jonathan Edwards Club of Yale and the pre- ministerial club at the University of Chicago, and the various bands of ministerial recruits on tlie Pacific Coast. These are composed of stu- dents who have decided to enter the ministry and those who are seriously considering the matter. They serve to strengthen the purpose of those already decided, stimulate conclusive thinking on the part of others, and lead ministerial can- didates to do recruiting work among their fel- low students. The service rendered by these THE PROPAGANDA 163 bands as well as by the Association itself, in con- serving the purpose of students who enter col- lege planning to be ministers but who in many cases without such helpful influences would abandon their life plan, is of the greatest value. The bands are, as a rule, organically related to the Christian Associations. Their success de- pends largely on the strength of their per- sonnel, the ability of their leaders, and the close- ness of their touch with the varied activities of the Association. The indirect influence of the Bible study de- partment of the Christian Associations which has enrolled over 40,000 undergraduate stu- dents in the devotional study of the Scrip- tures, is very marked in leading men to consider Christian work as a life-work. The philan- thropic and social betterment work carried on by the Associations results in interesting large numbers of young men in Christian work at home and abroad. College revivals and spir- itual awakenings accompanying the activities of these Associations are also helpful in the same direction. And besides all this it would be difficult to overstate the mighty reflex effect of the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign 1 64 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Missions in influencing young men who cannot go abroad, to enter the ministry at home. The branches of the Student Movement which are estabHshed in the theological seminaries are naturally exerting a helpful influence. These As- sociations send out to visit the colleges, from time to time, deputations of theological students who are qualified to go with special power and help- fulness to college students. Often they are made up of men who, while undergraduates in the col- leges visited, were influential because of their athletic or other prominence. These deputations hold meetings, but give even more attention to personal interviews with students to whom they may have special access. Seminary students are also asked to correspond with capable students in the colleges and with other young men of abil- ity over whom they have some special influence. One of the leading theological seminaries in the South reports that the majority of their students were influenced to enter the ministry by fellow students in college, or by graduates of the sem- inary. At the conferences of students from As- sociations in theological seminaries, the problem of securing men for the ministry is always dis- cussed and the delegates are urged to cooperate. THE PROPAGANDA 165 The Student IMovement holds conferences which have a very helpful bearing on accomplish- ing the end here in view. At the annual confer- ence of the national and state traveling secre- taries of the IMovement, the matter of enlisting college men for the ministry is always considered. It means much to have the sympathetic and ac- tive cooperation of these workers in the colleges who now number over forty. A helpful confer- ence has been held annually for several years under the joint auspices of the Associations at Yale, Hartford, and Union theological semi- naries, in the interest of winning strong college men for the ministry. These conferences bring together a limited number of the leading Chris- tian college men to devote two or three days to the consideration of different aspects of the work of the ministry. At these gatherings some of the best addresses on the ministry given in re- cent years have been presented. Most important of all student gatherings are the summer and winter training conferences of the Movement. There are now eight of these gatherings each year, attended by over two thou- sand of the foremost Christian men of the col- leges of North America. This number includes, 1 66 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH as a rule, nearly all of the men chosen by their fellow students to lead the voluntary Christian activities of the colleges during the following year. At each of these conferences the ministry is ably presented by at least one prominent min- ister. At the larger conferences, in addition to this public presentation before all the delegates, there is held a ministerial institute, meeting from day to day and attended by men who think of entering the ministry, where under wise leader- ship the call, qualifications, preparation, work, and perils of the ministry are considered. Much personal work is carried on from day to day. Some of the best men from the seminaries or from the ranks of those who have recently entered the ministry go to these conferences, unselfishly to devote themselves to this vitally important work. Among the speakers on the platforms are some of the leading Christian min- isters of the day. The influence of these men as object lessons of the best type of the Chris- tian minister is great indeed. The Christian fel- lowship, the prominence given to the ideas and plans of the Kingdom, and the time for unhur- ried meditation and prayer make the conditions favorable for discovering and obeying God's will. THE PROPAGANDA 167 It may be stated confidently that more young men of college age have been led to enter the ministry as a result of visions seen and obeyed on Round Top at Northfield, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and on the hills about Asheville, North Carolina, than in any other three places in North America. The Student Movement has not been without its influence on the Church as a whole in the ef- fort to secure ministerial recruits. Under its auspices have been held important conferences of leaders of the various Christian communions of the United States and Canada to discuss the reasons why more of the strongest men do not enter the ministry, and the means to be employed in influencing m.ore such men to do so. These discussions have given wise direction to the re- cent plans and activities of the Associations. Correspondence has been conducted with many editors of the religious press which has resulted in a more helpful treatment of the problem in a number of the official periodicals of the churches. In connection with the call for the observance of the Universal Day of Prayer for Students, the Christian ministers of North Amer- ica have been appealed to from year to year to 1 68 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH enlist prayer for laborers and to preach sermons designed to lead young men to consider the claims of this form of service, and to influence parents to consecrate their children to the work of the Lord. Not all of the Student Associations in the col- leges are doing the things which have been men- tioned. As yet only a minority of them can be said to be employing these various means for awakening and developing interest in the Chris- tian ministry, but happily their number is ever increasing. Moreover, no Student Association has done all the things indicated through a long period of years. While some of the methods have been in operation for nearly a generation in a few of the colleges, it has only been within the past decade that the larger part of this pro- gramme has been put into operation in any insti- tution. The sections of the country in which the most practical interest has been developed are the South and the Pacific Coast. The Student Move- ment has been proceeding with conservatism, doubtless with too much conservatism. It has not done all it should have done to meet the great need of the Church for leaders on the home field. It has, through the Student Volun- THE PROPAGANDA 169 teer Movement, rendered an enormous service to the Church on the foreign mission field. This ought it to have done and not to have left the other undone. Lest, however, a misleading im- pression be made with reference to the part of the Student Movement in securing men for the ministry, it should be borne in mind that while, with the exception of Christian professors, it can do more than any other agency in influ- encing men during the years of college life, the decision of the question of one's life-work will continue to be practically determined in most cases before entering college and, therefore, be- fore this Movement can bring its influence to bear. The influence of the Student Movement, therefore, can never be so great as that of the home and that of Christian ministers ; neverthe- less, it can and should render increasing service in upholding the hands of these and all other agencies. The wise use of literature bearing on the min- istry and the work of the Church, is an effective agency to influence men to enter the ministry. In recommending certain books and other publi- cations the following objects have been kept in mind : to impress the best men with the dignity, I70 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH vital importance, and enduring character of the work of the Christian minister ; to lead them to see the need in our day that young men of large caliber devote themselves to the ministry; and to reveal and communicate the spirit of the Christian ministry, thus serving to attract men to this calling. Some of the books best adapted to give earnest men a true and high conception of the Christian ministry are : " Lectures on Preaching," by Phil- lips Brooks ; " Lectures on Preaching," by Bishop Simpson ; and " The Christian Ministry," by Ly- man Abbott. Among the many books which help to give an adequate idea of the wonderful opportunities of the Christian ministry, and especially the need for more of the strongest men in this calling, might be named : *' Christianity and the Social Crisis," by Rauschenbusch ; " The Social Message of the Modern Pulpit," by Brown ; " The Church and the Changing Order," by Mathews ; " Recon- struction in Theology," by King ; " The Gospel for an Age of Doubt," by Van Dyke; "The Challenge of the City," by Strong; "The Ad- ministration of an Institutional Church," by Hodges and Reichert ; " Chapters in Rural Prog- THE PROPAGANDA 171 ress," by Butterfield; ''The Country Town," by Anderson ; and " Aliens or Americans ? " by Grose. Experience shows that the books which are best calculated to reveal and communicate the spirit of the ministry are biographies of great ministers. Among many which might be men- tioned, attention is called to the following biog- raphies which possess merit not only because of their subjects, but also on account of the man- ner in which they are written : " Phillips Brooks," by Allen ; " Charles Kingsley — His Letters and Memories of His Life," edited by Mrs. Kingsley ; " Bishop Selwyn," by Curteis ; " Life and Let- ters of Brooke Foss Westcott," by Arthur West- cott ; " Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Thomas Chalmers," by Hanna ; " Memoir of Norman Macleod," by Donald Macleod ; " Will- iam Ross, of Cowcaddens," by J. M. E. Ross; " The Life of James Hood Wilson," by Wells ; " The Life of George Matheson," by Macmil- lan ; " Newman Hall, an Autobiography " ; " The Life of R. W. Dale," by his son; " Henry Ward Beecher," by Abbott ; " Life and Letters of Hor- ace Bushnell," by Mrs. Cheney ; " Memoirs of Rev. Charles G. Finney," written by himself; 172 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH " The Life of John Wesley/' by Winchester ; and '' The Life of Bishop Matthew Simpson," by Crooks. While very many pamphlets have been writ- ten on the claims of the Christian ministry and different aspects of the work of the minister, unfortunately little of this material can be rec- ommended for wide use. It is to be regretted that we have for the present time no such mas- terly presentation of the claims of the ministry to place in the hands of gifted young men as the booklet by President Francis Wayland, of Brown University, on " The Apostolic Ministry," which rendered such a great service to young men two generations ago.^ One of the most useful small books for young men who are seriously consid- ering the possibility of devoting themselves to the ministry, as well as for those who have already decided the question, is " Preparation for the Christian Ministry," by various authors, a small volume issued by the Student Christian Move- ment of Great Britain and Ireland. Extended investigations show that literature such as is here recommended, if wisely used, often results » The author is attempting to meet this need by editing a series of pamphlets by leaders in the Church. THE PROPAGANDA 1 73 in turning the steps of young men into the min- isterial calHng. A statesmanlike policy with reference to se- curing for the ministry more men of exceptional gifts should be devised and carried out by the various Christian communions through their ecclesiastical councils, societies, and other agen- cies. There is great need of authoritative action on the subject by the different Christian bodies. A recent writer makes an imsatis factory state- ment of the situation when he speaks of " the helpless and pitiful quest for men for the minis- try, and the general attitude of hopelessness with which the whole question is being handled by those whose business it would seem to be to solve the question." Where an actual quest has been made for men it has been far from being " help- less and pitiful." Moreover, one does not dis- cover an attitude of " hopelessness " characteriz- ing those whose business it should be to solve the question, for the sufficient reason that in most churches the whole question is not being handled. The impression made on my mind, as I have investigated what is being done in the different Christian communions, involving a careful exam- ination of the official proceedings of the ecclesi- 174 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH astical bodies of North America for a genera- tion, and in some cases a longer period, is that too often the whole matter has been neglected or the efforts have been conflicting and unre- lated. Many detached efforts are being put forth by some societies, by certain theological seminaries, by a few editors, and by other indi- viduals here and there. There is very great need of concerted action. There is wanted in most Christian denominations a single, well thought out, comprehensive policy or plan cov- ering the whole ground from the human side and into which all subsidiary efforts may be fitted.^ We cannot achieve satisfactory results while we leave the problem to be grappled with by the theological seminaries alone, by the min- isters working by themselves apart from the laymen, by the editors working alone, by the Student Christian Movement by itself, or by in- fluential individuals each working apart from others. All the forces of a given Christian com- munion need to be united on a policy, if certain of the difficulties or misconceptions are to be ' A good example of a comprehensive policy for a church is that for the Roman Catholic Church as outlined by J. Del- brel, S.J., in his recent book, "Pour repeupler Nos Semi- naires." THE PROPAGANDA 175 overcome or neutralized, and if the whole situa- tion is to be adequately treated. Does anyone think that if the best men of a given denomi- nation were to unite on the solution of this prob- lem, their concerted study, efforts, and prayers would be unsuccessful? If so, he is ignorant of church history. Any statesmanlike plan should originate, as a rule, in the official ecclesiastical assembly of a particular Christian communion. This will put behind the policy the united force of the church. What problem should receive more continuous or more able attention at the hands of our assem- blies, conferences, and councils? Some ecclesi- astical bodies have power to make such a plan and to execute it. Even those that have not such authority can at least institute a thorough inves- tigation of conditions and make recommenda- tions to those concerned. Professor Willis G. Craig, of McCormick Theological Seminary, at a conference in Chicago, called attention to the fact that during the past forty years he had known two periods of marked decline in the min- isterial supply of the Presbyterian Church; that each time the General Assembly grappled with the matter thoroughly and appealed to the entire 176 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH minstry to cooperate in meeting the need; and as a result the difficulty in each case yielded to treatment. What are some of the agencies to be em- ployed by different Christian communions to help carry out any policy which may be adopted? There should be special commissions appointed to investigate with scientific thor- oughness conditions and experiences within the denomination and to report their findings and recommendations.^ In studying the official rec- ords of the various denominations, one is im- pressed with the fact that in most cases there is a woeful lack of knowledge of the actual situ- ation and of what has been attempted and done. In a matter of such importance, commissions should not be content with sending out a ques- tionnaire. They should take time and trouble to visit important men and institutions and to hold thorough interviews and conferences. The in- vestigations should cover such ground as: the need for men — present and prospective; the ap- \ parent sources of supply — ^number and quality; \ * The scope and instructions of such a commission are well \ illustrated in "The National Council of the Congregational \ Churches of the United States" (1907), p. 351. THE PROPAGANDA 177 the various obstacles in the way of securing strong men for the ministry and an estimate of their relative importance ; the means employed to discover and enlist young men, and their ef- ficiency; the experience of other Christian bodies, especially of those similarly situated; and the definite ways in which the Church should seek to meet the situation. Reports should be obtained annually from each parish showing the number of young men coming forward for the Christian ministry and for other forms of Christian service. It is deemed desirable to gather reports from all the churches each year covering their financial contributions. Surely this matter warrants like regular and thorough reports. They would serve as a constant reminder and stimulus as well as afiford a basis for useful information. Appeals might be issued from time to time by boards of bishops, moderators of assem- blies and councils, and other prominent church leaders. Let these appeals be addressed to dif- ferent classes as occasion requires; for example, to the ministers of the denomination, to Chris- tian teachers and professors, or to Christian students. Only recently one of the denomina- 178 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH tions in Canada sent an impressive and con- vincing appeal to all the Christian students of that denomination, calling for workers to meet the needs and opportunity in the Canadian West. This helped to discover a number of very useful workers. These appeals should be timely and convincing. They should not be buried away in the midst of long pastoral letters. In any campaign like this, if it is to succeed, the cooperation of the religious press is indis- pensable. The scanning of the files of the principal religious periodicals of the United States, Canada, and Great Britain shows that among those which have been rendering the most sustained and effective help, both in the thoroughness of attention given to the matter editorially and also in the quality of the articles secured from others, are The Standard of Chi- cago, The Congregationalist of Boston, The Churchman of New York, The Presbyterian of Toronto, and The Guardian of London. Educational societies and corresponding or- ganizations in connection with different Chris- tian churches, from the nature of the case, are in a position to accomplish a large service in enlisting ministerial candidates. Some of them THE PROPAGANDA 1 79 have done so and are still doing so. Others do not seem to be as efficient as they were in the early years of their history. Such societies should be very ably led and liberally supported. They should not be regarded as a place for shelving certain ministers, nor as a stepping- stone to other positions. In some denomina- tions the extent and character of the field may warrant the employment by this society of a secretary or special representative to interest young men in the work of the ministry. He will, of course, avail himself of the cooperation of the Christian Student Movement because of the advantages which that agency possesses for rendering service to the Church. At times it may be wise for the denomination to send a w^ell-qualified deputation to visit the colleges, especially those connected with that denomination, to awaken interest in the min- istry among students, professors, and pastors of neighboring churches. The Congregational denomination has carried out this plan at differ- ent times. For reasons which will suggest them- selves, the approach of denominational deputa- tions and representatives to state institutions had best be through the Christian Association i8o FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH and through the pastors of the denomination in the college community. Special legislation by the various ecclesiasti- cal bodies will be required to meet certain diffi- culties which stand in the way of securing an adequate supply of suitable ministerial candi- dates. Some denominations have developed great aptitude in diagnosis, but do not seem to have made progress in therapeutics. Some have shown skill in the framing and passing of resolutions, but have done nothing in a prac- tical way to change the situation. The situation is deplored from time to time but philosophi- cally accepted and is not grappled with in any thoroughgoing manner. The following are some of the questions which might well receive the attention of ecclesiastical bodies because of their bearing on the problem of securing able ministerial recruits : the scientific study of the large question of demand and supply of minis- terial candidates; the wisest methods of helping ministerial candidates to solve the financial prob- lem involved in their education ; the consideration of the education and training required to equip young men for the ministry to-day; the desir- ability of a closer affiliation between theological THE PROPAGANDA l8l seminaries and universities; methods of pre- venting weak and otherwise undesirable young men from entering the ministry; provision for locating ministers of commanding ability in the neighborhood of state and other large unde- nominational universities; the promotion among young people in our churches of satisfactory in- struction and study on the needs and work of the Church; and the problem of insuring suit- able financial provision for men in the ministry and for those who because of old age or physi- cal disability are obliged to retire from active service. A thoroughly statesmanlike policy at the present time calls for interdenominational ac- tion, especially with reference to promoting the movement of Christian cooperation, federation, and union. There is need in many country dis- tricts of constraining small and feeble churches, representing different denominations, to unite or consolidate into one church in cases where the constituency and resources are not sufficient to maintain properly more than one church. When one investigates the conditions in many communities of one thousand people having in them from three to seven churches, with re- l82 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH sultant rivalry, jealousy, insufficient financial support, lack of able leadership, and small re- sults, one cannot wonder that strong young men do not look with favor on entering the min- istry involving as it does living in the midst of such conditions. As Dean Bosworth of Oberlin says : " A strong man looks for a field and not a hole," or, as Maltbie Babcock expressed it : " They want an arena, not a nest." They do not regard it as worth while to spend their lives on a handful of village sectarians so long as such waste is unnecessary. If it were nec- essary, experience shows that young men are willing to go to the bleak coasts of Labrador to minister to a few families who otherwise would be without any ministration. " Men do not feel called upon," as Dean George Hodges says, " to endure hardship for the sake of a theory of church government." ^ On the other hand, a village with the surrounding country would constitute an adequate and attractive field for any able man if there were but one church in the territory. His position would then be like that of the parish minister of a former time. > Letter in Archives of the World's Student Christian Federation. . THE PROPAGANDA 183 Union of churches should be promoted so far as it can be done without violating enUghtened conscience or weakening personal loyalty to Christ the Lord. In so far as division is due to prejudice, ignorance, or unthinking conserva- tism, it should go, but the supremacy of con- science and the sense of personal responsibility to Christ to maintain and to spread His truth are even more precious than union. There is, however, every reason why Christians united on central verities should cooperate in building up the Kingdom of Christ. There are such marked advantages from uniting or consolidating churches in rural com- munities and in certain suburban communities unable satisfactorily to support more than one church, that the highest Christian statesman- ship calls for the carrying out of such a policy. Such union would make possible parishes the size and resources of which would call forth the full energies of both ministers and members. It would be in the interests of wise economy, both in buildings and in running expenses, and at the same time would rnake possible more at- tractive places of worship and better adapted equipment and facilities. It would also insure i84 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH economy of effort, preventing the waste which results from overlapping and friction and from affording insufficient scope for all workers. It would necessitate and make possible a more able and efficient leadership in preaching, in teaching, and in training — thus resulting in the stronger handling of the possibilities of the church in the community and neighboring ter- ritory. It would present a united front to the forces which oppose. It would illustrate the working and the mastery of Christian motives, graces, and forces. Some argue that the churches need the stimulus which comes from competition among themselves, but surely there is a higher and more potent stimulus — that of vital union in Christ to meet the deepest needs of the people of an entire community. More- over, this argument for competition is contrary to the finest examples of Christian experience. It is certainly dishonoring to supernatural re- ligion. The overmultiplication of churches and the resultant division and weakness have really been a deterrent to the progress of Christian faitfi in many a community.^ » John Watson, "The Cure of Souls" (Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale University, 1896), p. 208 ff. THE PROPAGANDA 185 Actual experience in connection with various federal and union efforts in- communities in Maine and Massachusetts, as well as in other sections, proves convincingly the practicability and the advantages of this policy.^ No one who examines with care the results of these experi- ments during the past fifteen years can escape this conclusion. The question is no longer aca- demic. It needs no prophet to foretell that this movement in the direction of federating, unit- ing, and consolidating Christian forces is bound to increase in volume and momentum. Men may question, criticise, and resist it, but it can no more be held back than the tides of the sea. There are tendencies at work which make these developments inevitable. Christian laymen, in the light of their own business experience, will not much longer be patient with existing con- ditions. The most discerning Christian minis- ters are themselves earnest in their advocacy of a change. Surely a closer and more practi- cal drawing together of the different bands and » Raymond Calkins, "The Imperative Forward Summons," The Home Missionary, Vol. LXXXI, p. 290; " Forward Steps in Church Federation," The Congregationalist, Vol. XCIII, p. 176; "The Interdenominational Commission of Maine" (published by the Commission in Lewiston, Maine, 1906). l86 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH companies of His followers cannot but be pleas- ing to our Lord and Master. The foreign missionary achievements of the Church in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in respect to division of the field, Christian comity, cooperative effort, and union schemes in educa- tion, philanthropy, and evangelization have been such as to afford convincing and inspiring evi- dence in favor of the wide application of the same principles and methods on the home field. How much better and wiser it will be, instead of resisting this triumphant and inevitable move- ment, or by indifference and inaction prolonging the period of waste, inefficiency, and failure, to exercise true statesmanship in aggressive, mas- terly efforts to bring about this desirable coop- eration, federation, and consolidation. When it is known that our different Christian communions are moving in this direction the fact will greatly facilitate the work of attracting men of the high- est qualifications to the Christian ministry. In all the direct efforts put forth to secure men for the Christian ministry, whether by ministers themselves, by teachers and profess- ors, by the Christian Student Movement, by the preparation and use of literature, or by rep- THE PROPAGANDA 187 resentatives of our different Christian com- munions acting in a corporate capacity, there are a few considerations which should be clearly borne in mind and emphasized. Seek to get young men to recognize the need for more men of capacity in the ministry, and the unique and unsurpassed opportunities for service which this calling affords. Granted a sense of the profound need and of the possi- bilities for usefulness in the ministry, and the attitude of the young men of our time toward this Christlike work will be revolutionized. Make plain to young men what constitutes a call to the ministry and how to interpret it. There is possibly no other subject of great im- portance on which there is more confusion of thought. Get a sufficient number of young men of capacity to see and think clearly on this vital point and to be obedient to the truth involved in it, and there will be no lack of qualified men offering themselves for the Chris- tian ministry; for it is inconceivable that God Himself has neglected to do His part in actually calling enough men to accomplish His will — and surely it is His will that the Church of Christ shall be ably led. l88 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH Do not overlook or minimize God's part in the calling of men. There could be no more disastrous mistake than to think and to act as though it were possible for men alone to recruit the ranks of the ministry of Jesus Christ. One grave peril resulting from a comprehensive and aggressive policy of enhsting ministerial candidates, such as has been outlined, is that the impulse to enter the ministry may be made mechanical instead of deeply spiritual; that out- ward human suggestion may too largely replace inward prompting of the Spirit. Only God can eflfectually call men into this service. It is the sovereign work of His Spirit to separate men unto the work whereunto He has called them. Though it is the obvious duty of men to do all and more than has been thus far suggested, the thought should be ever with those who have any part in this effort, that the real merit of what we do lies in the fact that we thus mul- tiply the number of channels through which the Lord of the harvest actually communicates His wishes. His impulses. His calls to the souls of men.* ' As the call to the ministry is treated in one of the series of pamphlets issued by the Christian Association Movement, further treatment of the subject is omitted here. THE PROPAGANDA 189 Appeal to the heroic in young men. It is at this point that so many addresses and appeals on the ministry fail. The appeals which lay hold of strong men are not those which set forth the attractions, compensations, and advan- tages of the ministry. A psychological study of youth would suggest the futility of this basis of appeal as contrasted with that which addresses itself to the heroic. The call to heroism meets with a heroic re- sponse. Make the Gospel hard and you make it triumphant. If it is a choice between self- sacrifice and self-interest, the former will draw the stronger men. In other departments of life it is the appeal to the heroic which enlists strong natures. One recalls that when Stanley wanted a few young men to go with him on his last perilous African tour he appealed for volunteers, and within a few days he had hundreds of eager applicants.^ Lieutenant Shackleton told me that when the expedition of The Discovery was fitted out to attempt to reach the South Pole, an appeal was made for several men to join the company, and virtually the entire Channel Squad- ron volunteered. Trained nurses and physicians > H. M. Stanley, "In Darkest Africa," I, p. 40. I90 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH are constantly exposing themselves to the dan- gers of serious contagion, and we look upon their heroic conduct as a matter of course. Think of the young men who left titles and estates, their homes and callings, their comfort and ease, and went to the shores of the Black Sea to face fam- ine, exposure, pestilence, and cannon before the walls of Sebastopol. We witness the same spec- tacle of heroism in every war. In the Church in other days heroic natures have offered themselves for the hard tasks of life. Has not the Christian Church furnished an unbroken line of martyrs and confessors? Has not every great battlefield of the Church been won at the cost of lives gladly given for Christ's sake ? St. Paul did not shrink from his call, even though it was accompanied with the warning : " I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake." ^ He had this in mind doubtless when he exhorted Tim- othy to endure hardness, that is, to take his share of the sufferings. We see the appeal to the heroic being hon- ored in the Church of to-day. Dean Warren, of the Boston University School of Theology, 1 Acts ix, i6. THE PROPAGANDA 191 was recently speaking of a sermon he heard preached in Milan by a Roman Catholic friar who, in appealing to the mothers in the audi- ence to give their sons to the Christian priest- hood, pictured with great vividness the hard- ships of the ministry rather than its delights. A member of the Reformed Church Mission Board not long since stated that they were able to get more recruits for Arabia, their most dif- ficult field, than for any other mission. Professor J. C. Roper, of the General Theological Semi- nary of New York, speaking at a gathering of Christian leaders, said that in England in his day the ablest men offered themselves for Central Africa, and that, so far as he knew, that difficult field was never undermanned. He added that fourteen of his own classmates were buried there. The Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, during its twenty years' history, has had the largest number of volunteers offer them- selves for the most difficult fields. In fact, the principal secret of the power and success of this Movement lies in the presentation of the hard- ships and trials, the conflicts and sacrifices in- volved in the world's evangelization. Men of heroic mold respond to this challenge. 192 FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH To appeal to the heroic was Christ's way. He never hid His scars to win a disciple. " Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest " ^ ..." Do you know where I am going? I am going to die." He held out no assurance of an easy career or exemption from suffering, sacri- fice, and death. What more wonderful charge was ever given by a leader to his followers than that contained in the tenth chapter of St. Mat- thew? "What he braved he knew — Ease, honor, glory, to the winds he threw: On the cold earth his Master had His bed, Then why should roses lull the servant's head? Shall he desire the favor of the world Whose bitterest malice on his Lord was hurled?" The call to the Christian ministry to-day is a call to the heroic, if it is anything. President Eliot, in addressing the entering class of the Harvard Divinity School a few years ago, char- acterized the ministry as " the most adventurous of the professions." It reminds one of the say- ing of St. Augustine : " There is no work in this hfe more difficult, toilsome, and hazardous," - than the life of a minister. It will require hero- » Matthew viii, 19. 'Migne's ''Patrologia Latina," XXXIII, p. 87. THE PROPAGANDA 193 ism to make Christ known and obeyed in the cities of our continent ; to redeem the towns, vil- lages, and rural districts ; to lay Christian foun- dations in the new states and provinces of our great West; to grapple successfully with the most serious social problems of our day ; and to wage a triumphant warfare throughout the non- Christian world. The call to the ministry is a call to Lucknow and Port Arthur service. It is well that this is so. The highest call that comes to young men, as Mazzini has said, is, ** Come and suffer." There is a vicarious element in strong young men which needs to be called out and exercised. There is a deep truth in the words of Illingworth : " The pleasures .of each genera- tion evaporate in air ; it is their pains that increase the' spiritual momentum of the world." ^ 1 Essay on "Pain" in "Lux Mundi" (First Edition), p. 124. INDEX INDEX Abbott, Dr. Lyman 144 Advantages of consolidating churches in rural com- munities 183 Agassiz , . . . . 141 Age limit in ministry, fear of 94, 95 Altruistic professions appeal to young men ... 67, 68 Altruistic service leading men into the ministry . . . 118 Ames, Bishop 88 Anderson, Bishop, quoted 148 Anderson, Wilbert L, {note) 39 Andover Band in Iowa 27 Andrews, Bishop 95 Appeals for recruits 177 Archbishop of Canterbury — Appoints committee on supply of clergy . . . 136 Quoted 80 Archbishop Nicolai 95 Asbury, Bishop 26 AssembUes, ecclesiastical, should inaugurate poUcy for getting recruits 175 Atmosphere of universities and colleges, influence on the ministry 109-117 Babcock, Maltbie — Attracts men to ministry 105 Quoted 182 Balfour, quoted 133 Beecher, Lyman , 27 Bible study, influence on recruiting for the ministry . 163 197 igS INDEX Biographies of ministers — List of 171 Show influence of Christian home . . . . . 127 Black, Professor Hugh 157 Books on the ministry, see Literature. Boston, percentage of Christian workers in four leading denominations in, coming from the country . 37 Bosworth, Dean, quoted 182 Brock, Dr 105 Brooks, Phillips — Influence of 107 On financial aid to candidates 83 Quoted 17 Brown, Dr. S. R 155 Burton, Professor E. D,, quoted 5 Bushnell, Horace 122 Butterfield Kenyon L. {notes) 38, 40 Cairns, D. S., quoted 19 Calderwood, Professor Henry, quoted 142 Calkins, Raymond, quoted . . . 185 Calvin 47 Campbell, R. J., quoted 46 Canadian Presbyterian Church 87 Candidates for the ministry — Decline in number of, in Canada, 6; in Great Britain, 6; in other parts of the world, 9; on the Continent 8 Emphasis on quality of 11 Statistics regarding 5 Canterbury, Archbishop of, see Archbishop 0} Canterbury. Carroll, H. K. {note) 67 Causes deterring young men from the ministry — Attitude of Church toward 98, 99 Order of importance 98 See Chapter III 57 Chalmers 35 Chaplain of Balliol College, Oxford 117 INDEX 199 Chicago Theological Seminary 124 Choice of studies — Influence of, on supply of ministers . . . . 70, 72 In preparatory schools, affects choice of profession . 7 1 Christian Student Movement, see Young Men's Christian A ssociation. Chrysostom 47 Church- Attitude of laboring men toward 44 Importance of, to society 3 Necessity of leaders for 4 Relation to denominational colleges 113 Relation to state and undenominational colleges . 114 Church of the Sea and Land in New York .... 118 Cities- Ministers needed for 32-36 Rapid growth of 2>3 Strategic positions of 35 Clark, President W. S 155 CUflFord, Dr. John 146 Colleges — Christian colleges' influence on supply of ministers 1 1 1-113 Examples 112 Revivals and the ministry 122, 123 State and undenominational 114-116 Commissioner of Education, quoted 61 Commissions should be appointed to investigate con- ditions 176 Commons, John R., quoted 29 Courage in the ministry 108 Courses of study, modern, influence of 71 Craig, Professor W. G., quoted 175 Creighton, Bishop, quoted 151 Curteis, G. H. (note) 144 Cuyler, Dr. Theodore L , 95 Dale, Dr. R. W., quoted 63 Davidson College, North Carolina, and the ministry . 112 200 INDEX Davis, Rev. Ozora S., quoted 31 Day of Prayer for students 136 Decision for the ministry usually made early . . . 126 Delbrel, J. {note), 151; quoted 174 Denominational colleges 111-113 Difficulties in securing ministerial candidates, ad- vantage of 100, lOI Disruption in Scotland 92 Doubt deterring men from the ministry, see Problems, Religious. Drummond, Henry 121 Duncan, "Rabbi" John 119 Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa .... 87 Dwight, President Timothy 122 Education, relation of minister to religious . . . 22, 23 Educational societies should be enlisted in a propaganda 1 78 Edwards, Jonathan 41 EUot, C. W.— Note • . . 72 Quoted 192 Federation of churches — Examples of 185 Ministers needed to develop 49 Necessary under certain conditions .... 181-185 Financial provision for ministers — Canadian Presbyterian Church 87 Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa ... 87 Inadequate provision hinders some young men . 86-91 United Free Church of Scotland 87 Finney, Charles G 27, 122 Influence on ministry 121 Fiske, John, quoted 26 Foreign missions — Reflex influence of, on home ministry .... 67 Relation of minister to 5^-53 Forsyth, P. T., quoted 21 INDEX 20I Garibaldi 31 Glengarry Revival 122 Glover, John, quoted 68 Gordon, Dr. George A., quoted 13, 154 Grant, Alexander 27 Guthrie, Thomas 35i 87 Hall, Gordon 122 Hanover College and the ministr>' 112 Harnack, Adolf {-note) 35 Harper, W. R. {note) 72 Example of 154 Haystack Prayer Meeting 122 Henderson, Rev. J. Bell, quoted 152 Heroism — Call to 189-193 Required in ministry 12 Hodges, Dean George, quoted 182 Hoge, James 27 Home — Christian, influence of, on the ministry . . . 126-133 Examples of, efifect of 128-130 Ministers may influence 132 Hope College, Michigan, and the ministry . . . . 112 Hughes, Hugh Price 36 Illingworth, J. R., quoted 21, 193 Immigration — Changes in sources of 29 Providing vt^orkers to help immigrants .... 32 Relation of the minister to 27-32 To United States and Canada increasing ... 28 Intellectual freedom demanded by young men . . 76, 77 Janes, Captain L. L 155 Jefferson, Dr. Charles E 107 Jonathan Edwards Club at Yale 162 202 INDEX Kelly, Herbert, quoted 126 Kelsey, Professor F. W. (note) 72 Kingsley, Charles . 41,47,106 Knapp, S. A. (note) 24 Knox, John 47 Heroic spirit of 12 Kosciuszko 31 Kumamoto Band 155 Lambeth Conference, 1908 (note) 99 Lawrence, Bishop 157 Laymen, desire of young men to work as . . . 61-65 Legislation necessary in order to secure candidates . . 180 Liberty of expression, curtailment of, feared . . 76-79 Lightfoot, J. B., quoted 4, 22 Lincoln 31 Literature on ministry — Giving conception of the ministry .... 170-172 On the claims of the ministry scanty .... 97 Use of, in propaganda for the ministry . . . 169-172 London, Bishop of 36,117 McDougall, George 27 McQuaid, Bishop, quoted 127 Mackenzie, Professor E. A,, quoted 149 Maclaren, Dr. Alexander 95 Mahan, A. T. (note) 60 ** Maine's Hall of Fame" 36 Mansfield College, Oxford 109 Massie, Professor Robert K., quoted 148 Materialistic spirit — Influence on young men 57~6i In religion 60 Prosperity of the United States and Canada . . 57 Maurice 47 Mazzini — Quoted 193 Referred to 31 INDEX 203 Meyer, Dr. F. B 105 Middlebury College, Vermont, and the ministry . . 112 Miners, earnings of certain classes of 88 Ministers — Able to recruit the ministry 141-149 Biographies of 171 Misconceptions regarding work of ... . 81-86 Needed to deal with immigration problem . . 27-32 Needed to deal with social problems . . 42-47 Needed to develop character in the nation . . 48-49 Needed to develop rural communities . . . 36-42 Needed to develop a strong base for the missionary propaganda 50-53 Needed to develop teaching and training work . 22-24 Needed to direct movements toward federation 49, 50 Needed to guide the life of the cities . . . 32-36 Needed to guide religious thinking .... 18-22 Needed to lay Christian foundations in West . 24-27 Object lesson of 105 Salaries of, inadequate 89-91 Should magnify calling 106 Should personally interest students .... 145-147 Ministry — Decision for, usually early 126 Regular functions of 17 Missionaries, number of . . 52, 66 Missionary illustrations of federation 186 Missionary spirit in the home ministry 53 Moody, D. L., influence on the ministry 121 Moore, W. W. (note) 96 Moral requirements of ministry keep men from enter- ing 79-81 Morley, Samuel, quoted 141, 142 Murray, Dr. Andrew 129 Nash, Professor Henry S 107 Nation, relation of Church to 48 National Council of the Congregational Churches {note) . 176 204 INDEX New England, influence of Puritan ministers in . . 26 New York, growth of 34 Nicolai, Archbishop 95 Opportunity in the non-Christian world . . . . 51,52 Orr, Professor, quoted 131 Oxford and Cambridge, graduates of, in New England . 26 Parents, attitude of, toward ministry 96 Illustrated 59 Park College, Missouri, and the ministry . . . . 112 Peabody, Francis G., quoted 20 Peile, James H. F. (note) 42 Peking University, ministerial band at 155 Phelps, Professor Austin, quoted 107 Philanthropic work indirectly influencing men for the ministry 117-119 Policy, statesmanlike — Cooperation of press required 178 Educational societies* part in, 178; example of . .176 Interdenominational action 181 Needed 173 Reqmred 173-186 Should originate in ecclesiastical assembly . . . 175 Special legislation sometimes necessary . . . .180 Porter, President, quoted 113 Prayer — Day of 136 Failure in 135 Importance of, should be urged 136, 137 Influence of, in recruiting for the ministry . . 133-138 Preparatory schools, influence of, on supply of ministers. 71 Press, cooperation of 178 Princeton, revival at 123 Problems, religious — Keeping men from the ministry 73-76 Should impel men into the ministry . . . 75, 76 Professions, increase in number of 62 INDEX 20$ Professors — Influence of, in recruiting for the ministry . . 150-158 Responsibilities of, in recruiting for the ministry . 156-158 Propaganda for the ministry — By Student Young Men's Christian Association . 159-169 Lack of 95*98 Should be statesmanlike 173-186 Rainsford, Dr. W. S., quoted 59, 148 Rainy, Principal, quoted 125 Ramsay, W. M. (note) 30> 35 Rauschenbusch, Walter, quoted 43 Recruiting for the ministry- Appeal to heroic in men 189-193 Minister's part in 141-149 Supernatural element in 188 Revivals — College, and the ministry 122, 123 Leading men into the ministry 1 19-126 Philosophy of, influence of 124 Richards, T. C, quoted 122 Robertson, James 27 Rochester, revival in .123 Roper, Professor J. C, quoted 191 Ross, William 35 Rural communities — Changes in character 39 Importance of 36, 37 Men required for 40-42 Moral conditions in 38 St. Augustine quoted 192 Salaries of ministers, see Ministers. Sanders, President Frank K., quoted 25 Sapporo Band 155 Savonarola 47 Schauffler, Dr. Henry A., work in Cleveland ... 32 Schoolmasters, influence of 151 2o6 INDEX Scotland, homes of 130 Secular pursuits attractive to young men , . . 61-65 Selwyn, Bishop 144 Sermons on the claims of the ministry needed . . 143-145 Service — Opportunities other than the ministry attracting young men 66-70 Unselfish, increasing 65 Sewall, John L., quoted 31 Shackleton, Lieutenant, quoted 189 Smith, Dr. J. Henry 128 Smith, Professor George Adam, quoted . . . . 121, 135 Social problems — Ministers must deal with 42 Relation of Church to 42-47 Spring Street Presbyterian Church 118 Spurgeon 109 Stalker, James, quoted 12 Stanley, H. M., quoted 189 State and undenominational colleges, see Colleges. Statistics — Regarding denominational colleges .... 111-113 Regarding increase of divinity and other students (1870-1906) 61 Stearns, President 153 Steiner, Edward A. {note) 31 Student Movement, see Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation. Student Volunteer Movement — As indirect influence 163 As recruiting agency 66 Number of volunteers 66 Relation of, to ministry 66 Undenominational colleges 115 Supernatural element in calling men 188 Tauler, John, referred to 108 Taylor, Professor Graham 123, 124 INDEX 207 Teachers, see Professors. Theological seminaries — Need for adjusting courses of 72 Requirements of entrance into, affect young men 70, 71 Young Men's Christian Association in . . . 164 Theological students — Financial aid for 82-86 Financial aid for, looked on with disfavor ... 82 Theological unrest, relation of minister to . . , 18-20 Tomlinson, E. T., quoted 83 Toronto, growth of 33 Tucker, W. J. {note) 64 Tyler, Professor Moses Coit 153 Tyler, W. S., quoted 122 United Free Church of Scotland 87 Van Dyke, Dr. Henry 144 Van Dyke, Professor Henry, quoted 59 Vaughan, R. A., quoted 108 Victoria University, Toronto, and the ministry . . . 112 Volunteers, Student, see Student Volunteer Movement. Warren, Dean, quoted 190 Washington 31 Watson, John {note) 184 Way land. President Francis 172 Wells, George Frederick {note) 39, 40 Wells, James {-note) 142 Wesley, John 47 West, importance of, at the present time ... 24, 25 Westcott, Bishop 128 West Point Military Academy cited as an example . . 84 Whipple, Bishop 27 Whitfield's influence on the ministry 121 Whitman, Marcus 27 Whyte, Dr. Alexander 95, 109 Wilberforce, William 128 Wilkinson, David H. D. {note) 119 2o8 INDEX Williams, revival at 122 Wilson, Dr. James Hood 148 Wilson, President Woodrow, quoted . . . . . . 12 Woolsey, President, quoted 37 Wrong attitude of society towards ministry diverts young men 80, 81 Yale, revival at 122 Yokohama Band 155 Young Men's Christian Association — And undenominational colleges 115 Conferences under auspices of 165-167 Influence of, on the supply of ministers ... 69 Influence on the Church 158-169 Recruiting for the ministry 158, 159 Secretaryship of 68, 69 Statistics • .... 158 DATE DUE '■ :J-i^ JUii-H--*^ rr"^ k ^^ ■*W r ^"**««WS| ««^«' %«*,^ i CAYLORD PRtNTKO IN U.S.A. '*r.','?,"r.^f.9,1„ .Theoloqical Seminary Libraries 1 1012 01235 4694