v JAN I 9 .,29 OGICAL St'^ r 1550 .M65 m-cp F . Harvey . 3 ' . o i-1 ass in action ie men’s ciasb ^7 0 m Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/mensclassinactio00mors_0 / THE MEN’S CLASS IN ACTION F. HARVEY MORSE I THE MEN’S CLASS IN ACTION BY V F. HARVEY MORSE SUPERINTENDENT, MAPLEWOOD BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL, ST. LOUIS, AND ADULT DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT, ST. LOUIS COUNTY SUNDAY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATED WITH FORMS AND CHARTS GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK. DOUBLEDAY, DORAN & COMPANY, INC. 1928 COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY THE MEN’S CLASS IN ACTION. II PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO MY WIFE IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF HER SYMPATHETIC COOPERATION THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED PREFACE This volume was planned with one definite pur¬ pose in mind—to furnish “first-aid” to all officers of the organized Men’s Bible Class. In most of the books on Adult work now before Church School workers, the place of the Teacher is magnified—and rightly so. Unfortunately, while the work of the teacher has been given emphasis, that of the other class officers has not been given the attention to which it is properly entitled. Nine of the fifteen chapters of this volume are devoted to the work of officers other than the Teacher—men upon whom the responsibility for the continued existence of the class depends. The author believes that every class office is important— otherwise it has no justification for being. He be¬ lieves that only as the work of all the officers is em¬ phasized, will Christian Churches develop that lay leadership through which the kingdoms of this world will be transformed into the Kingdom of God. No attempt has been made in this volume to treat exhaustively the subject of Adult Bible Class Peda¬ gogy—the Teacher of the Men’s Class is referred to the splendid treatments contained in the books • • Vll viii Preface suggested in the Bibliography. For the sake of completeness, the work of the Teacher is sum¬ marized in two chapters and two additional chap¬ ters are devoted to the subject of the class study course. Even in these chapters the writer’s pur¬ pose has been to supplement rather than to duplicate the work of previous writers—to add certain back¬ ground material essential to teaching success. If this book stimulates a greater interest in the work of the Organized Bible Class among men—if it gives the officers a clearer vision of the mighty possibilities of the Men’s Class movement—if it motivates them to such action as will truly vitalize the class—then it will have abundantly justified its existence. The writer acknowledges his indebtedness to the writers of the works listed in the Bibliographies; to Dr. H. E. Tralle, a pioneer of higher ideals in Adult Class Work; to Chester J. Prince, St. Louis Lay Adult Specialist, for valuable suggestions incorpo¬ rated; to Howard G. Colwell, for ten years teacher of the Third Baptist Agoga Class, St. Louis, who most nearly fulfills the writer’s ideals for the Men’s Class Teacher; and to those classes that have so kindly furnished forms, advertising, etc., for pur¬ pose of illustration. F. Harvey Morse. Maplewood, Missouri. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Organizing to Serve . . . . 15 II Equipment.33 III The Class Teacher.41 IV The Teacher and the Class ... 54 V Principles of Study Course Selection 69 VI Building the Study Course ... 79 VII Executive Leadership in the Class . 100 VIII The Class's Spiritual Service . .116 IX Bringing in the Men .... 130 X Holding Them.146 XI Class Records.156 XII Class Finances.169 XIII Developing the Social Instincts . 181 XIV What the Librarian Does . . . 199 XV Advertising the Class .... 209 Appendices a addresses you need to know . . 237 B CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS . . 238 C A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE . . 245 ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE 1 CLASS INVITATION. 2 VICE-PRESIDENT’S PROSPECT CARD . 3 CALL REPORT FOR VISITOR .... 4 member’s INDIVIDUAL WEEKLY REPORT 5 SIX-POINT CLASS RECORD CARD 6 SECRETARY’S PERMANENT ATTENDANCE RECORD 7 ENROLLMENT CARD. 8 ILLUSTRATING A SIMPLE SYSTEM OF CLASS ACCOUNTS. 9 treasurer’s INDIVIDUAL COLLECTION RECORD 10 SUGGESTION CARD FOR ENTERTAINER 11 FRONT PAGE OF A CLASS BULLETIN 12 FRONT COVER OF AN EIGHT-PAGE CLASS PAPER 13 AN INSIDE PAGE FROM AN EIGHT-PAGE CLASS PAPER . 14 ADVERTISING HANGER FOR USE IN STORES AND OTHER PLACES WHERE MEN CONGRE¬ GATE . 15 REPRINT OF A SPECIAL ADDRESS USED FOR AD¬ VERTISING THE CLASS — ONE WAY FOR A CLASS TO GIVE “SAMPLES” .... 16 COVER OF AN ADVERTISING BOOKLET PAGE 143 144 153 158 159 160 l62 177 178 189 215 217 221 226 227 228 XI xii Illustrations FIGURE 17 “tickler”—FIRST OF A SERIES OF DIRECT MAIL PIECES. 18 SECOND PIECE OF A MAILING SERIES 19 THIRD PIECE OF A CLASS CAMPAIGN 20 FINAL PIECE OF A MAIL CAMPAIGN PAGE 230 231 233 234 THE MEN’S CLASS IN ACTION THE MEN’S CLASS IN ACTION Chapter One ORGANIZING TO SERVE i: MEN IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL B ROADLY speaking, men in the Sunday School may be divided into three classes—each class demanding distinctive treatment. Young Men First there are the younger men—those whose ages range from eighteen to twenty-five—the period of latter adolescence. “From various studies it seems clear that there is a time of special religious interest at twenty. Less than one-sixth of the conversions studied took place after twenty. One-half of these, again, were before twenty-five. The chances are a thousand to one against conversion after thirty /’ 1 The impor- 1 Weigle, “The Pupil,” Chapter VI. 15 16 The Mens Class in Action tance of reaching the men of these ages with vital, appealing teaching surely must be apparent to all Christian workers. The ideals of this period, and the characteristic instincts which show themselves at this time, call for distinct types of management, teachings and activities, if the young men are to be held in the School. The religion of this period is a concrete religion —one that has its natural outpouring in religious activity. Unless he be exceptional, narrow theories, tiresome discussions of controversial points and ob¬ scure passages of scripture have no interest for the young man. For him there must be practical teach¬ ings of Christian living—teachings that apply to the problems confronting him daily. How is my religion going to help me in my daily work? What bearing has it on my recreations? What relation to the choice of companions and friends? Does it play a part in the selection of a life partner and the building of a Christian home? Has religion a place in the modern industrial, social and political order? These are the questions that he asks and by which he tests his religion. In winning and holding the young man, the Sun¬ day School must be guided by the psychological characteristics of the period. It must see the flowering social-sex instincts; it must use the natu¬ ral groupings taking place among its young men; 17 Organizing to Serve it must take advantage of the natural interest in organizations, by giving him the right sort of or¬ ganization in the Sunday Schools; it must recog¬ nize the developing traits of leadership and direct them into fields of service. Early Maturity In the second place there are the men of early maturity—those from twenty-six to thirty-five. In this group are found a large number of young mar¬ ried men, who because of greater home responsi¬ bilities are unable to carry on the elaborate activities of the younger men. On the whole the men are more settled—their viewpoints are more mature— responsibility has stabilized life and character. The practical application of Christianity to modern prob¬ lems appeals strongly to these men, who in many cases are just on the threshold of business success. For best results, men between these ages should be grouped in a class by themselves. Later Maturity Third, come the men of full maturity—those thirty-six and over. This group includes those men who have already achieved a certain amount of business and social success. During these later years social Christianity still has its appeal, but there is also a growth of interest among many, in Bible 18 The Mens Class in Action doctrines and the more abstract discussions of Biblical theology. The small school should, if possible, have adult classes graded by these three divisions at least. If only two classes may be had, better unite the ages from twenty-five and up, giving the men from eighteen to twenty-five a separate organization. Of course in larger schools it is possible to sub-divide the several groups on a basis of education, occupa¬ tion, and religious interest—and it’s very desirable that this be done. II: APPEALING TO MEN THROUGH ORGANIZATION As the boy enters the period of latter adolescence, he becomes conscious that organization exists every¬ where—in the home, in the high school and college, in the social order, in business, in the great political parties, in the fraternal orders and in religion. He feels within himself the surge of a dynamic that assures him that he, too, is capable of doing great things. He wants to have some part in the work of the Church and Sunday School—not be merely a passive on-looker. As he develops in business he will respect more and more the church which adopts business methods in its work. If the church and school will but recognize this potential force, har¬ ness it early and keep it harnessed by means Organizing to Serve 19 of class organization the problem of getting and holding men will cease to be a problem. Organiza¬ tion, while not a panacea for all ills, is a substan¬ tial foundation upon which may be built a sound structure that will be of inestimable value to the School, the Church, the community and the King¬ dom. Characteristics of Organization 1 An organization usually has a small beginning . Christ started Christianity that way. The fact that only a few men are interested in an organized Bible Class should deter no one from starting such a class. No class need remain small for long. An organization needs care and nurture in the beginning. So does the men’s Bible Class. The manner of cultivating the young, delicate religious plant will be outlined in later chapters. The element of time must be considered—large organizations are not built in a day. Patience is an essential in building the men’s Bible Class—on the part of the teacher in planning how best to appeal to the members, and on the part of members who look for rapid growth. Organizations go from the simple to the complex, as they strive to accommodate themselves to their 1 For the basis of this statement regarding organization, and the one on page 74, “Balancing the Course,” the author is indebted to Mr. C. J. Prince, Adult Specialist, St. Louis. 20 The Mens Class in Action environment. As the class grows in health and strength by meeting local conditions its organization is necessarily expanded. The value of the organization to the individual lies in the spirit of interdependence developed. Paul shows the value of this characteristic in his wonderful discourse on the relation of the parts of the body (I Cor. 12) ; Christ emphasizes it in His picture of the vine and its branches (John 15 : 1-8). Cooperation among members induces smoothness of action; if it is lacking an organization soon ceases to function. The common fate of organization is death, yet through death the living plant is reproduced to flower more beautifully. The test of the organized Bible Class is that it is dying weekly, as its members go out into the larger work of the church and community. But through death comes new life. The Value of Class Organization Successful business is built upon a basis of proper organization; so, too, is the successful Bible Class. Organization is conducive to class growth—the his¬ tory of classes in all sections is proof of this state¬ ment. The invitation of a teacher may secure members for the class, but systematic efforts of the members themselves secure maximum results. Men can usually reach other men when all efforts of 21 Organizing to Serve teacher and Pastor have failed. Organized co¬ operative recruiting methods are much more effec¬ tive than haphazard individual endeavor. The properly organized class must grow! The organized class is a permanent class. The class that is held together by the personality of a teacher or by some force outside of the class itself, will very likely cease to exist if the attracting forces are removed. The organized class has taken upon its own shoulders the responsibility for its continued existence. Time and again classes losing their teachers have either secured new teachers or fur¬ nished them from the ranks of the class itself— striking evidence that the class organization is more than a meaningless form and that the class is ac¬ tually training for broader service. The organized class develops, through its efforts to attain an end, class loyalty and a class spirit which serves as an incentive to greater activity. The organized class provides work for every member, and yet the work is so evenly distributed that there is no burden upon any individual. At the same time the men’s interest is being held be¬ cause they have a definite responsibility in connec¬ tion with the class work. The organized class pro¬ vides a definite aim toward which all the members may work. It gathers the scattered, latent forces ex¬ isting in its membership and molds them into a com- 22 The Mens Class in Action munity force for good. Unity of purpose and effort results in a spiritual and social cohesion that would be otherwise impossible. Through the organized class the social needs of the men of the school, church and community may be met. Opportunity for social expression is fur¬ nished through the medium of social evenings, group meetings, athletics and the like. The men’s class is not usually organized spe¬ cifically as a teacher training class, yet the training received does serve the men as a foundation when entering upon the larger work of the Church and the school. In many churches practically all the Sun¬ day School officers, and a large number of Church officers, are graduates of the men’s classes. Ill: FORM OF ORGANIZATION 1 'Departmental or Committee Plan f Standing committees usually stand and that’s all. Experience has demonstrated beyond question the superiority of the Departmental Plan of class or¬ ganization, by which the responsibility for the work of a department is placed in the hands of an individual. Dr. P. E. Burroughs states succinctly the distinct practical advantages of this form: 1 1 P. E. Burroughs, “The Present Day Sunday School,” page 178. Organizing to Serve 23 “i. This plan has the advantage of simplicity. There is a single line of assignment instead of a double line. This is especially advantageous in small classes. “2. It has the advantage of definiteness. In all cases one individual is held responsible for assigned duties. “3. It is flexible. If the class is large, and its work intricate and varied, the number of officers may be increased and each officer may utilize other members as needed.” Organization Outline The work of the class is divided into departments, each under the direction of an officer. The follow¬ ing scheme of organization is one used by many classes with excellent results—all phases of class work are thoroughly covered. 1 The teacher has charge of the teaching; The president is the executive head of the class and its spiritual leader; The vice president is the class recruiting officer —he secures the new members; The secretary keeps the class records and at¬ tends to business correspondence; 1 This scheme of organization was originated by Dr. H. E. Tralle, Sunday School Specialist. The first class of this type was organized in 1905 at Third Baptist Church, St. Louis, and is still active. 24 The Mens Class in Action The treasurer handles the class finances; The visitor looks after the absentees—keeps the members coming; The entertainer ministers to the social needs of the class; The librarian encourages the art of good read¬ ing; The reporter is the class publicity man. These officers constitute the class executive board. The individual duties of the several officers are dis¬ cussed fully in subsequent chapters. It is not at all essential that the class work be divided exactly as above indicated, nor that the same names be used for the officers. Some classes, for example, desig¬ nate a first, second and third Vice President to care for the work of enlargement, fellowship, and the religious activities, respectively. If a class is starting with but few members, fewer officers will be needed to care for its work. One class of busy men organized with a Teacher, a President in charge of executive and social work, a Vice President in charge of membership and a Sec¬ retary-Treasurer who also handled the publicity. Naturally, as the class grows, officers will be added until a full corps are at work. The point to be kept in mind at all times is to have one responsible head of every department of work in which the class is engaged. Organizing to Serve 25 Assistants The departmental plan of organization assures the development of executive ability. No departmental head is ever expected to actually do all the work of his department. He is rather the planner-in-chief. Emphasis is placed on the importance of giving every man work to do—and holding him responsible for it. The department heads therefore appoint, from the men not elected to office, assistants to handle specific phases of the departmental activities. These assistants, being held responsible for the exe¬ cution of definite work, receive valuable experience which develops their abilities and trains them to become class officers later. Give a man a real job to challenge his ability and the class has a strong hold on that man. Maintaining Age Limits All men’s classes, regardless of name or plan of organization, should adhere to the age limits set out at the beginning of this chapter. The class should be gaining and losing all the time—gaining young men from promotions within the school and by re¬ cruiting from the community—losing the older men to positions of service in the school and church, and by promotions into the older classes. It is only when every effort is made to maintain proper age limits that best work can be done. 26 The Mens Class in Action Frequently it happens that proper effort is not made to build from the bottom with young blood, as the members grow old. The result is that the class itself grows old—possibly half of the members may be older than the top age limit. In such cases it is exceedingly difficult to try to build from the bottom. The younger men have not the interest that they would have were all the members their own ages—the older men find that it is virtually impossible for them to bring in the younger. Drastic measures will then be necessary to instill new life into the organization. Two such cases have recently come to this writer’s attention. In one case the class numbered nearly three hundred members and had an average attend¬ ance of about one hundred and twenty-five. Of this membership, possibly one hundred were older than thirty years, while the youngest members were eighteen. Under the leadership of a tactful Sunday School Superintendent the older men withdrew from the class and organized the Business Men’s Class. The two classes were then able to build much more successfully than if they had continued to work in the same class. The other class had a membership of thirty, of which only three or four were under twenty-five years of age. There was in the same school a Senior class composed of eighteen year old boys. 27 Organizing to Serve In this case the younger men were promoted to the older class. The older members of the class then withdrew and organized an Alumni Class, thus con¬ tinuing for them the sentiment connected with a previous ten years’ existence. It is a mistake to try to promote an entire younger class into a class where the majority of the mem¬ bers are considerably older than those promoted. The younger members will lose interest and finally the class and school will lose the young men. Pro¬ motions should be regular from the younger class into the older—each year at the regular promotion day. Then the class membership will always be congenial. Relation to the Sunday School The men’s class, as are all other classes, is an integral part of the School. The class should, if possible, meet with the school or the department of which it is a part, for either the opening or closing worship period—and it is usually always possible. The opening period will almost always be found more convenient for the class. When the class does not meet with the school it is very easy for the members to forget that it is part of a larger organization. That feeling shows itself by the attitude of members toward matters of interest to the whole school. For instance, in 28 The Mens Class in Action one such class there were a number of members who could not understand why any of the Sunday morn¬ ing offerings should go to the school. This class was already keeping the collections of alternate Sun¬ days, through a special arrangement by which the class purchased its own supplies. Such an arrange¬ ment is never a good one. It always tends to make the class feel independent of the parent body. On the other hand the School has its obligation to the class. The Church and School should recog¬ nize that the men’s class, because of its maturity, is entitled to greater liberty of action than the younger classes. The class should be allowed a longer time for its lesson, which means that the members should not be expected to attend the clos¬ ing worship, if they attend the opening services. The class teacher should not be selected without con¬ sulting the desires of the class; and the study course should be one built by class representatives in con¬ junction with the School’s educational committee. The School should also be careful not to “bleed” the class of its growing members. In most schools it is the custom of the Superintendent in search of teachers, to go to the adult classes for both substi¬ tutes and regular workers. If the matter is not watched it is easy to take away so many of the lead¬ ing workers as to cripple the class work of several years. The greatest danger is in smaller classes— Organizing to Serve 29 the school must not reduce the class working force below the limit of safety. Organized Class Aims The purpose of the class should be to develop the all-round Christian man, through Bible study and the vitalizing of Bible teaching in the lives of the members. Its ultimate purpose is to win men to Christ, and to help them live the Christ life. While social plans are essential to successful class work, the men’s class is not a social club. It is not an athletic club, although athletics are spon¬ sored. The class is primarily a Bible class and this pur¬ pose should not be eclipsed by less important affairs. How often do we find classes that are willing to spend a hundred dollars to place baseball teams in the field, but cannot raise ten dollars for missions? Such classes, it is to be feared, have failed to grasp the responsibility given them. IV: HOW TO ORGANIZE Organize Existing Classes This is the simplest way of forming a class or¬ ganization. The benefits of organization should be explained to the class members, literature dis¬ tributed and an enthusiasm for organization created. 30 The Men’s Class in Action It is well to seek the cooperation of the Pastor and the Sunday School Superintendent. This method gives a nucleus on which a strong class can be built. Organizing a New Class First, interest some few men who can see the need of an organized Bible Class and build around these key men. Aim to interest others than personal friends—men from all walks of life. Distribute literature freely to those whom you are trying to interest. Advertise the purpose of the proposed class. Set a date for organization, and a date, per¬ haps a month later, at which the privilege of be¬ coming a charter member will cease. It is a good plan to have a reception for the young men of the community, a week or so before the date set for organization. At the time of organizing, full de¬ tails should again be given to those attending. The plan of work, and the place of the officers should be thoroughly explained. Then a temporary organi¬ zation may be formed, a temporary set of necessary officers elected, and a constitutional committee ap¬ pointed to draft a Constitution and By-Laws suited to the particular needs of the class. Permanent or¬ ganization may be perfected after the report of the Constitutional committee. The work of the class as a Bible Class should start at once. Every or¬ ganized class should register with its denomina- Organizing to Serve 31 tional Sunday School Board and receive such help as may be offered—application blanks are furnished by the boards. Remember that numbers at the start do not matter if the aim is to grow. v: CONCLUSION No matter how fine the machine and its fittings, nothing will be accomplished if there is no gas in the tank, and no one behind the wheel. No men’s class will run on the momentum of the first meet¬ ings—there must be fuel—continued enthusiasm, cooperation and a prayer spirit. One man can’t make a class, but a capable leader will get the best out of all the members. The class does not have to be a large class to succeed. Given gas and a chauffeur, the Ford will often do the work better than a Packard and at less expenditure of energy. No plan of organization will work itself, but this departmental plan when worked brings results and makes the class a force for Christianity in the community. BIBLIOGRAPHY Strickland, “The Class Officers and Their Work”: (Free Leaflet from Sunday School Board—Southern Baptist Convention). Adult B. C. Organization —Leaflet International S. S. Council. 32 The Mens Class in Action Wood, “Adult Class Study,” Chapter I. Strickland & McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class.” First Division, Chapters I, II, III, IV, V. Second Division, Chapters I, II, III, IV. Barclay, “Adult Worker and His Work,” Chapters I, II, III, XX. Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class in the Sunday School,” Chapters V, VI, XII. Blick, “The Adult Department,” Chapters I, II, III, IV, V, XII, XIII. Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Chapters I, II, III, IV. Pearce, “The O. A. B. C.” Chapters I, II, III, IV, V. Cope, “The Efficient Layman.” Bomberger, “The Why and How of the O. A. B. C.” Richardson, “The Religious Education of Adoles¬ cents,” Chapter XI. Chapter Two EQUIPMENT i: CLASS ROOM G OOD equipment is needed if the men’s class is to do its best work. A class room is the first and by far the most essential requisite. A class cannot have the most effective teaching nor free discussions if forced to conduct its sessions in a main assembly room with a number of other classes. The progressive class is not satisfied until it has secured the degree of privacy necessary for class efficiency. A men’s class can almost always find ways of securing at least partial separation from the rest of the school. One class of men resorted to screens as the best available means to secure separation—and they were quite effective in at least keeping the eyes from wan¬ dering to all parts of the room, and did shut out some noise. In another case two men’s classes met in one room with screen division walls. Another class found that the section of the room behind the piano was suitable for class purposes. Frequently classes secure the use of a room in a residence, or office near the church building. Classes have been 33 34 The Mens Class in Action known to erect tents for their use during the more pleasant weather. Some of the larger men’s classes have even erected separate buildings for their organizations, which had outgrown the quarters allotted to them in the Sunday School building. It is usually always possible to find some way of im¬ proving undesirable class room conditions. When a class room has been secured, it should be kept free from unnecessary interruptions. A certain class had a room so located that any one wishing to go to the Junior Department had to pass through the class room and down an uncarpeted stairway located in it. Often several boys at a time would find it necessary (?) to take that path at intervals during the course of the Sunday lesson. The same room also contained a water cooler for use of the whole school. Needless to say that the teacher was annoyed and the teaching of but little effect. Such conditions should not be tolerated for a moment. A frank talk with the Superintendent will usually result in improvement of conditions. II : CLASS ROOM FURNISHINGS A class room containing nothing more than enough chairs for the members is much better than no class room. However, the meetings will be more enjoyable and interest will be greater if some effort Equipment 35 is put forth to make the room comfortable and home-like. The first addition to the class room furnishings should be a rug or carpet. The appearance of a room will be entirely changed by the addition of even a moderately priced rug. Not only that, but the added quiet will contribute greatly toward a worshipful atmosphere. Good pictures should be used as liberally as the finances of the class will allow. Reproductions of the best art of the world is now available at low cost. A few framed Perry Pictures, Copley or Medici prints 1 add wonderfully to the attractiveness of the class room. Photographs taken by class members on outings and group pictures of the class have an added interest because of the personal associations. A small table should be provided for the use of the presiding officer or teacher. The Secretary needs a desk and the necessary card index trays, to enable him to keep complete permanent records. Ill! TEACHING EQUIPMENT The first item under this head is of course a num¬ ber of American Standard Revised Bibles. There 1 For catalogue write Perry Picture Co., Malden, Mass.; Curtis & Cameron, Boston. 36 The Mens Class in Action should be enough for all those attending, as the men of to-day seldom carry their own Bibles. The dis¬ tinctive class appearance will be maintained if the class emblem is stamped on the cover. Every Teacher longs for a good blackboard, one on which he can write . Not only is it a valuable teaching accessory, but it may be made useful for posting notices, reports, etc. The importance of the geographical background of Biblical history has long been recognized by lead¬ ing Sunday School workers. The class should have a set of good maps for use in supplementing the lessons. As a minimum the following are sug¬ gested, in the order named: 1. Palestine—New Testament 2. Palestine—Old Testament 3. Paul’s Missionary Journeys 4. Old Testament Bible Lands 5. Denominational Missionary Map 6. Inter-denominational World Missionary Map. Special missionary maps may also be purchased for a few cents and used in connection with mis¬ sion studies of individual fields. Stereopticon—Stereoscope Any class will find the purchase of a stereopticon to be a splendid investment. Such an instrument is invaluable for use in connection with study courses Equipment 37 —missions, church history, Biblical geography, so¬ cial service, etc. It may be used for special day programs at Christmas, Thanksgiving, patriotic days—given for the entire school or church. It is a means of bringing the work of the class before the church and community by public, illustrated lectures. A class and its church and school will miss many opportunities for service if such an in¬ strument is not available. A stereoscope may also be made a valuable aid to those in charge of the social affairs of the class. Slides for use with the various types of lessons are easily secured. Most public schools have col¬ lections which can be borrowed; the State Univer¬ sities usually have extensive collections which may be had by simply paying transportation charges. Many public libraries have collections for the use of their patrons. The denominational mission boards have slides illustrating all the fields in which they work, which are rented at a nominal charge of one or two dollars. Slides may also be rented from commercial bureaus of which may be mentioned the following: Keystone View Co., Meadville, Pa. Erker Brothers, St. Louis. Standard Slide Corporation, New York City. Victor Animatograph Co., Davenport, Iowa. It is easily possible for class members to prepare 38 The Men’s Class in Action many slides themselves, using members’ camera pic¬ tures, cartoons, sketches, etc., as a basis. If the funds are sufficient, certain slides may be purchased and used by the class and church. Duplicating Machine Uses galore for a duplicating machine, such as the Mimeograph or Hectograph, will be found in class work—producing special forms for class records, circular letters in building attendance, invitations to class socials, lesson outlines and most important, a class paper. The school and church of which the class is part will also find abundant use for such a device. By the purchase of such a machine the class will not only increase its possibilities of work among men, but will be performing a real service to its church and school. IV : SOCIAL EQUIPMENT The amount of social equipment secured will, of course, depend upon the financial ability of the class. A social room is in some cases desirable—a place where the men may gather in the evenings to read, to write, to play checkers or chess, to sing, or just to chat. Such a room is especially appreciated by men who live in boarding houses or in the congested districts, by traveling men, and by young men who Equipment 39 like to get out with their chums. If no separate room can be secured for social purposes it is usually possible to use the class room as both a study room and a social hall. All that is necessary is to remove some of the chairs and to provide a table, literature, games, etc. A' gymnasium is desirable, but can usually be best established in connection with the whole school. The class might well start a movement among the churches for the establishment of a community gymnasium for use of all the men of the neighbor¬ hood. The class should have a good piano in its room. Too often the sole music available for the men’s class is a worn-out organ which had better be put into the school historical museum. Much pleasure may be derived from a talking machine which need not be an expensive model. All this may seem to be an elaborate plan of equipment. Many classes will be able to have just a few of the items mentioned at the start. There is no reason though for always remaining satisfied with the minimum. Every class should always plan to better equip itself for doing better work. Money spent for good equipment is an investment that will repay itself many times in the lives that have been strengthened through the activities of the class. 40 The Mens Class in Action BIBLIOGRAPHY Strickland & McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” First Division, Chapter VII. Moninger, “How to Build Up an A. B. C.,” Chapter XI. Chapter Three THE CLASS TEACHER I! IMPORTANCE OF A RIGHT SELECTION T HE function of the Men’s Bible Class is to teach men that they may live lives that will be in harmony with the life principles of Jesus Christ It is therefore essential that a wise choice be made in the selection of the Class Teacher. For best results the Teacher of the men’s class should be a man. Particularly is this true in classes of the younger men, those from eighteen to twenty- five. Only a man can lead men of this age in the discussion of their vital life problems. Of course there is no valid objection to having a short course of study conducted by a woman who is a specialist in some field of Christian activity. The Pastor of the church is not often the best man to select as the class Teacher. He comes be¬ fore the church with two sermons each Sunday— another appearance before the men might prove monotonous. Furthermore, the Pastor should be left free for service in other departments of the school where he may be needed. Usually the best Teacher for the men’s class is a 41 42 The Mens Class in Action prominent layman—a business man, merchant or teacher. One of the largest classes in the country is taught by an official of a large wholesale grocery house; another class is taught by a prominent pub¬ lic school educator; still others by managers of large firms, advertising men, lawyers and engineers. Such men because of their Christian business in¬ fluence are better able to reach and hold other men. ii : the teacher’s personality There are two prerequisites to successful teaching —personality and training. If the Teacher also has natural teaching ability so much the better, but good teaching does not depend upon natural ability. Neither is training in the mechanics of teaching a guarantee of teaching success. The resultful Teacher is the one who by the sheer force of his per¬ sonality brings his training into action and appeals irresistibly to those whom he teaches. The power and ability to become friendly with one’s fellows and to be liked by them; the ability to influence and to lead; the manner in which one carries himself among others; all these are included in the word “personality.” The Teacher must be a man of highest personal character. He must make a vital appeal not only by his verbal teaching, but also by his example of The Class Teacher 43 Christian living. He must be earnest and sincere. Nothing causes a teacher to lose popularity more rapidly than the slightest exhibition of insincerity. “Do as I do,” should be his motto—not “Do as I say.” The Teacher who makes good in the men’s class must be bubbling over with enthusiasm. Drowsy teaching will not make live, active Christians. If the Teacher cannot develop enthusiasm on a certain course of lessons, he had better secure a special teacher for that particular series, or even drop it altogether rather than to chill the enthusiasm of the members. If the Teacher is truly enthusiastic, his spirit will be caught by the class members; and in¬ teresting lessons are certain to result. The Teacher should be a friend to every member of the class. The personal touch loses none of its charm when applied to adults. The successful Teacher will see that he knows each member. He will chat with all that he can before and after class sessions; he will learn the names of the members; he will call at their homes as far as time will per¬ mit; he will call up members and ask their advice or their opinions; he will be tactful and considerate toward them. Such a Teacher will find his influence with the class members growing stronger week by week. On the Teacher rests the responsibility of bringing 44 The Mens Class in Action men upon whom the duties of a godly life have rested but lightly, to a knowledge of the meaning of true Christianity. It is his problem to show that religion is a vital every-day element and not merely a Sunday recreation or dissipation. He will be called upon to show how the teachings of Jesus can be applied to our every-day life. As he may often be asked to explain or defend the principles upon which his denomination has been founded, it fol¬ lows that the Teacher should be a member of the church of which his class is a part. He must know for what his denomination stands and why. The class Teacher must be at once a real man and a real Christian. A neat personal appearance is absolutely essential to the Teacher if the respect of his students is to be maintained. Fine clothing is not necessary, but the clothing that the Teacher does possess should be scrupulously clean; his trousers should be pressed and his shoes polished. It might seem unnecessary to bring this matter to the attention of teachers, yet this writer has seen teachers who have been just so negligent of their personal appearance—and who have failed. Detracting mannerisms should be carefully guarded against. A certain Teacher had a habit of concluding almost every statement with the ques¬ tion, “Is it not?” This became so noticeable that The Class Teacher 45 the members took to counting the number of “is it nots” during the course of the lesson. The same Teacher, although teaching in a room 12 x 12 feet, where he could be easily seen and heard by every one, formed the habit of walking back and forth across the front of the room during the entire les¬ son period. Naturally the attention of the class is attracted to mannerisms such as these, rather than to the matter in the lesson. Finally, don’t apologize if you would maintain teaching prestige. Teachers often preface the les¬ son with such a remark as, “I am very sorry, but I was so busy last week that I had no time to pre¬ pare a lesson, but we’ll try to get along as well as possible.” Will the class expect anything inspiring following such an introduction? With the proper general training a Teacher will ofttimes be able to give a very presentable lesson even though circum¬ stances prevented thorough preparation. Many otherwise good lessons have been spoiled by apolo¬ getic preludes. 111 : the teache.r’s training The thinking Teacher will quickly realize that special training is necessary to effectively teach classes of men composed possibly of college students and graduates, successful business men, and men with only a limited amount of education or train- 46 The Mens Class in Action ing. The Teacher must know how to appeal to the intellectual element as well as how to bring truths to the level of the other members. The Teacher can give to his pupils only that which he has made his own through experience and training. Training in the Bible Since the Bible is the basis of the class teaching, it follows that the Teacher must have Bible train¬ ing. He should have a knowledge of the entire Bible in its broad outlines. He should know the message of the different books of the Bible and how they came to be written. He will be familiar with the lives of the great Biblical characters, especially the life of the Master Teacher. He must under¬ stand the great fundamental doctrines which the Bible teaches—God, man, sin, salvation, faith, morality, Christ, etc. His mind, too, should be able to grasp the missionary and social message of this Book of Books. Familiarity with the contents of the Bible is not enough for the well-trained Teacher. Certain re¬ lated subjects are necessary for purpose of sup¬ plementing and illustrating the Biblical material. Every Teacher should know how our Bible has come down to us. Such information will help him settle many troublesome questions. Church history is exceedingly valuable. Knowing this subject, the The Class Teacher 47 Teacher is equipped to correct many wrong concep¬ tions about the rise of denominations, about the extension of the Kingdom, about the many so-called “new religions.” Having this knowledge, he can present a victorious Christianity in a new light. Biblical geography is valuable in the presentation of many Bible lessons. The literature of a people can only be understood through a knowledge of its history and customs. These in turn depend largely upon the location and surface features of the coun¬ try. If the Teacher knows the geography of Pales¬ tine and its neighboring Bible lands he will find a new interest in teaching the old Bible stories. Very closely related to this subject is the study of Oriental manners and customs. The progressive Teacher will not be satisfied with his Bible training until he has studied the results of Christianity in the world. He will want to know about the development of Christian missions—he will want definite information about the place of his denomination in world evangelization. He will want to see how Christianity is proving its teach¬ ings through modern philanthropy and social service. These subjects are truly Bible subjects— and such as carry a striking appeal to the men of to-day. Knowing how to use the Bible is the most im¬ portant part of Bible training. The Teacher must 48 The Mens Class in Action be able to find the things he wants in the Bible when he wants them. He should be thoroughly familiar with the use of the Bible dictionary, the con¬ cordance, the commentary, the subject-index and the cross references. The Science of Teaching Next in importance to Bible training is training in the principles of religious education. It is im¬ perative that the Teacher understand the character¬ istics of the men whom he is teaching. He should know the laws of habit formation, the laws of memory training, the place of the imagination in life, and how to secure and hold attention. In short, he should have had a good course in ele¬ mentary educational psychology of the adult period. Fortunately among the Adult Specialization Units of the New Standard Teacher Training Course there is a volume on this subject. This should be followed by training in pedagogy. The Teacher should be familiar with the methods of teaching and the relative value of the different methods. He must realize that the student is a part of the teaching process. He should perfect himself in the use of questions so as to be able to encourage discussion. The ability to make simple blackboard illustrations will be of considerable help in teaching. The Class Teacher 49 The Teacher's Library The importance of the teacher’s working library cannot be overestimated. The foresighted Teacher will gradually build for himself such a library of the best books on the subjects of Bible study, psy¬ chology and pedagogy, class organization and class methods for Seniors and Adults. The addition of just one book every three months will result in greatly added teaching efficiency. At the start he should plan to have at least a good one-volume Bible dictionary, such as Hastings’; a one-volume commentary—Dummelow’s, for instance; a work on psychology such as James’ “Talks to Teachers on Psychology,” or Pyle’s “Principles of Educa¬ tional Psychology”; and a book on adult methods, one of the best being Strickland and McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class.” The following is sug¬ gestive of what the Teacher should plan ultimately to include in his library: 1. The Bible—American Standard Revision. 2. Harmony of the Gospels—Stevens & Burton. 3. Bible Dictionary—Hastings, 1 volume. 4. The One-Volume Bible Commentary—Dum- melow. 5. Comprehensive Concordance—Walker. 6. Building the Bible Class—Strickland & Mc¬ Glothlin. (These six books are virtually indispensable) 50 The Men’s Class in Action 7. The Adult Worker and His Work—Barclay. 8. The Ideal Adult Class—Wells. 9. Adult Class Study—Wood. 10. Training in Christian Service—Cope; and the other Adult specialization texts of the New Standard Teacher Training Course. 11. Outlines of Educational Psychology—Pyle; or Talks to Teachers on Psychology—James. 12. A Social Theory of Religious Education—Coe. 13. How to Teach Religion—Betts. 14. The Religion of a Mature Mind—Coe. 15. Teaching of Bible Classes—See. 16. Historical Geography of Bible Lands—Kent. 17. Short History of the Christian Church—Mon- crief. 18. The Missionary Enterprise—Bliss. 19. The Religions of the World—Barton. 20. The Bible in the Making—Smythe. 21. Ancestry of the English Bible—Price. 22. The Monuments and the Old Testament— Price. 23. The Story of the New Testament—Goodspeed. 24. The Heart of the Old Testament—Sampey. 25. The Blackboard in the Sunday School—Bailey. 26. Social Task of Christianity—Batten. 27. Social Teachings of Jesus—Rauschenbusch. 28. Challenge of the City—Strong; or, Challenge of the Country—Fiske. 29. A good history of the church in which the teacher is working. 30. A good book on the principles of the church to which the teacher belongs. The Class Teacher 51 How to Become a Trained Teacher Make up your mind that you want to be trained —then that you will be trained. Education is one of the things most easily obtained to-day —if you really want it. No Teacher of a class of men should be satisfied with less than the complete New Standard Teacher Training Course as a minimum. Training classes in the local school or in community schools furnish the Teacher who is ambitious to improve in God’s work, a wonderful opportunity to secure this train¬ ing. Correspondence study makes training possible for those who cannot attend training classes. Prac¬ tically every denominational board now offers the complete New Standard Course by correspondence. Some—for example, the Northern Baptists through their Correspondence Study Department—offer more advanced courses in Psychology, Pedagogy, Bible, Church History, etc., by the same plan. The small charge for text books is usually the only cost attached to such courses. The University of Chi¬ cago, through the Atnerican Institute of Sacred Literature, offers some unexcelled courses in Bible study at a cost of only one dollar including the text book. More advanced courses in both Bible and general religious education are offered through the University’s regular Extension Division. 52 The Mens Class in Action Sunday School conventions and institutes offer such splendid opportunities for securing additional training. The successful Teacher must be always studying. He should be a Bible student. By obser¬ vation he can often learn as much from his pupils as from the lesson. Private reading and study will result in a marked improvement in a teacher’s ability to present lesson truths. The public library should prove a never drying fountain head of in¬ formation. Workers’ magazines furnish much valuable material—the Teacher will subscribe to at least one so as to keep abreast with modern meth¬ ods of class work. “The Sunday School Worker” (Judson Press), and “The Church School” (Ch. Schl. Press), are the best magazines of methods and inspiration now published, in this writer’s opinion. The lesson helps furnished by the school to its teachers contain much to help the Teacher. Most of the publishing houses now issue special helps for men’s classes and for the teachers of them. If the Teacher is to be successful in teaching men, he must fit himself by broad preparation. If he uses only the helps furnished by the school in the preparation of his lesson, he is doomed to failure. Men want to know too many things that the lesson writers may not have mentioned. The price of success in Bible teaching is the same as in other fields of endeavor—hard work. Yet after all there The Class Teacher 53 is a joy that comes only from the sense of having accomplished the difficult task—this joy is in store for the Teacher who makes the sacrifice of time, of pleasure, and of self to become thoroughly equipped. BIBLIOGRAPHY Strickland & McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” Second Division, Chapter V. Barclay, “The Adult Worker and His Work,” Chap¬ ter IV. Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class,” Chapter I. Blick, “The Adult Department,” Chapters IX, X. Betts, “How to Teach Religion.” Trumbull, “Teaching and Teachers.” Brumbaugh, “Making the Teacher.” McElfresh, “The Training of Sunday School Officers and Teachers,” Chapters XIII, XV. New Standard Teacher Training Course —Adult Specialization Units. Chapter Four THE TEACHER AND THE CLASS i: THE LESSON PLAN I F the lesson is to make an impression upon the men of the class, it must be well planned. Not only should the scope of the individual lessons be familiar to the Teacher before he attempts to teach, but the general outline of the entire course should be firmly fixed in his mind before he teaches the first lesson. It is desirable that the Teacher prepare his outline for the entire course, so that he will be placed in the most favorable position to handle dis¬ cussion and to avoid those questions which antici¬ pate later lessons. If the Teacher does not know what material is included in later portions of the course many embarrassing situations are likely to occur. This actual occurrence may be cited as an example of how a course should not be planned. The series of lessons was on the Book of Daniel with the emphasis placed on the life and character of Daniel himself. The Teacher in charge of the class gave 54 The Teacher and the Class 55 several very good lectures on the first several chap¬ ters of the book, and announced that since the course was so interesting, one week would be spent on each chapter of the book. When the apocalyptic portions of the book were reached the course was suddenly cut short with the explanation that all the visions taught about the same lesson. This Teacher had not even gone to the trouble of balancing in his own mind the relative teaching values of the several portions of Daniel, nor had he secured the perspec¬ tive which a reading of the entire book would have given him. Each lesson should be planned completely—noth¬ ing should be left to chance. The Teacher should determine the aim of the individual lesson, and its relation to the aim of the whole course. The aim should be written down for use when necessary; it should be kept in mind throughout the teaching period. Then there will be less difficulty in keep¬ ing the class discussion on the subject. Class discussions themselves should be thor¬ oughly planned—questions for the opening period should be written down and the final summing up of the material outlined. In planning lessons in which class members have part, it is easily seen that the Teacher must know his men. In small classes he will find it compara¬ tively easy to know all about all the members. In 56 The Men’s Class in Action larger classes much information will be secured in¬ directly. The Teacher will find it convenient to list all such information on individual cards which he keeps for reference. Data about a man’s education, occupation, likes and dislikes, hobbies, willingness to serve in class work and a record of how he has already served is invaluable to the teacher who really desires to enlist the men in service. The Teacher should prepare written outlines of all lessons taught. These serve to establish the sequen¬ tial relation of the various points—to make certain that no important matter is omitted—to keep the Teacher to the subject and within the time limit. It will be helpful to class members if the Teacher puts a condensed copy of his outline on the blackboard, or better still to have typewritten outlines for dis¬ tribution. A number of classes regularly publish the lesson outlines in the class bulletin. Not only do such lesson synopses aid in giving a more con¬ nected impression of the lesson, but they also help those who keep lesson notes. The aim of all Bible teaching is in the end evan¬ gelistic. The class exists to win unsaved men to Christ and to help those who have found Christ live thoroughly Christian lives. The evangelistic aim must be kept before the class, the members, and the teacher. All courses must be planned in rela¬ tion to it. The Teacher and the Class 57 II: METHODS OF TEACHING Lecture Method This is probably the most used and the least effec¬ tive method of teaching men. No provision is made for expressional activities on the part of the pupil, nor is there much opportunity to test his ap¬ preciation of the teaching. The lecture method is the only practical method in classes of unusually large membership. A Teacher can handle more men at a time by lectures than in any other way. We must provide some lec¬ ture classes for those who will not study, but will listen to a weekly lecture by a good speaker. It follows that an exceptionally strong Teacher is needed to hold the attention by this method of teaching. Class discussion at the close of the lecture is often a means of relieving the monotony of pure lectures. Because the lecture method has been used with men’s classes is no reason why it should be con¬ tinued. There are many men who can and will give time to real study. To some the lecture method means simply another sermon; such men either will not join a lecture class, or will not attend preach¬ ing services later. The two services should sup¬ plement rather than supplant one another. For real teaching efficiency it would be infinitely better 58 The Mens Class in Action for some of our enormously large classes to break up into smaller study groups of from twenty-five to forty members, each group following courses of study selected to meet the needs of the group. It would still be possible in the inspirational worship periods and socials to preserve the spirit and en¬ thusiasm of numbers. The Topical Method The Teacher assigns to selected members topics to be investigated and reported on, one or two weeks later in class session. The Teacher’s part in this case is to gather the thoughts that have been pre¬ sented and to give a resume of the main points of the lesson. When this method is used, it is difficult to prevent one member from taking too much time. Many men are inexperienced in planning talks; they don’t know how to select just the vital parts and to discard the less important. Hence the assignments should be definite, and a time limit should be set for presentation. The topical method may be used with almost every course. It is particularly suitable in connection with courses in social service, mis¬ sions, church history, comparative religion, but is suitable for supplementing all lessons. If the lesson is about the Temple, an architect member will be able to throw considerable light on the subject from his standpoint. One interested in The Teacher and the Class 59 geography can give the geographical background of all lessons. A class studying “The Challenge of the City,^ as a text, assigned topics for investiga¬ tion as follows: “liquor problem,” “the tenement evil,” “child labor,” “industrial conditions,” “the juvenile court,” all of its own city. One class studying comparative religions, used such topics as the “Temples of India, Japan, etc.,” “Prayer Wheels,” and others similar. A live Teacher will be able to find more topics on the subject studied than can be used. The Study Lesson In this type of lesson the Teacher and pupils study the lesson together, using Bible Dictionaries, Com¬ mentaries and reference books in class. It is suited to classes for whom the material is a little too ad¬ vanced to be studied to advantage alone. It is a good method through which to train a class how to study and how to use the Bible. Most classes would get much good from one or two real study courses each year. Lesson preparation and a lesson plan are more important in a course such as this than in any other. Question and Answer Method Unless the class is actually studying, this method is not suited to adults. Questions will of course 60 The Mens Class in Action be used in connection with the discussion method of teaching, and in reviews. For this purpose a knowledge of how to question is essential—other¬ wise the questioning is of no value. As a rule ques¬ tions should be not simply memory drill questions, but should stimulate thought. They should not suggest the answer, nor should they be so involved as to leave an obscure meaning. The Teacher should write out in advance the questions which he intends to use. Discussion Method This is productive of excellent results, and with it all members may have a part in the lesson. Subjects should be announced in advance so that the members may have time to think them over. Interest will be greater if questions are given to sev¬ eral men during the week, for purpose of opening the discussion. Often the Teacher may outline the subject briefly at the beginning of the lesson, and then by skillful questioning, develop the discussion. Careful preparation is needed in this method. Many topics dealing with the application of Chris¬ tian principles to modern life may be developed in class, as most men do some thinking along those lines. Other subjects will call for some advance preparation on the part of the members. In all dis¬ cussions care must be taken not to accept personal The Teacher and the Class 61 opinions as moral laws. Let the final answer to all questions come from the Word of God. Debates Most study courses will permit of a debate some¬ where in the course. A class studying the “Lure of Africa” devoted one entire meeting to a debate, “Resolved, that civilization has been a net gain for Africa and the Africans,” covering the matter of a whole chapter in that way. Debates represent one of the best methods of class expression. They should not be too long. If properly managed and prepared they stimulate interest and healthy en¬ thusiasm. Use of the Anecdote Properly used, the anecdote is a great help in presenting a lesson truth. So are fables, parables, comparisons and other illustrations. The Teacher should plan to introduce a number of such illustra¬ tions into each lesson—they brighten the session materially. It is advisable for the Teacher to keep either a scrap book or a card index file with anec¬ dotes and other illustrations readily accessible, filed so that one may be found to illustrate any subject. The Teacher should be on the look-out in his read¬ ing, in his conversation, in his travels, in current events and in nature, for good illustrations. 62 The Men’s Class in Action An anecdote should never be told for its own sake. The Teacher is conducting a Bible Class, with the aim of inculcating lasting Biblical knowledge, not a minstrel show with the aim of causing laugh¬ ter. If an anecdote which impresses a desired truth results in incidental smiles, well and good—if there is laughter without a definite, desirable impression, the anecdote is out of place. The writer recalls attending a class at which the Sermon on the Mount was the lesson. The class in reading the Scripture came to the portion where it reads, “. . . .and whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” Here the Teacher stopped and told the class this story: “A friend asked Mark Twain to go on a walk with him. ‘How far is it?’ asked Twain. ‘A mile,’ answered the friend. ‘Yes, I will go for the Bible tells me to/ answered Twain, ‘and whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him, twain.’ ” The at¬ tention of the class was of course taken from the Scripture and directed to the questionable, out-of¬ place anecdote. All anecdotes and illustrations should be included in the teaching plan. Use of Lantern and Stereoscope Both of these instruments are great aids in pre¬ senting lessons, especially those on missions, his¬ tory, social service and geography. Interest is The Teacher and the Class 63 added to the course, and the scenes talked of are made more vivid. Where neither are available, charts made by the members and photographs mounted on screens are helpful. Special Speakers Very often a class develops a mania for special speakers. Great effort is made to stir up enthusiasm for the outside speaker, and but little effort is put forth between times in behalf of the regular, and probably harder working Teacher. Frequently these speakers are introduced in the midst of a course, breaking the connection between the lessons. Special inspirational speakers should be used as a means, not an end. It is often possible to secure a specialist on a subject which the class is studying. If so, the class should by all means invite him to discuss some lesson of the course. On special days such as Rally Day an inspirational speaker is de¬ sirable. Some classes plan special short summer courses with different speakers of note for each Sunday—a splendid way of stimulating attendance during the vacation period. Ill: CLASS EXPRESSION Education is not simply a “pouring in” process. There must be a certain amount of pouring out on 64 The Mens Class in Action the part of the student. In other words, oppor¬ tunity for expression must be given. In the men's classes expression largely takes the form of lesson discussion. Every member should be encouraged to take some part in the discussion. Much can be learned from listening to the views of the other members. The topical method of conducting a lesson gives abundant opportunity for expression on the part of the class members. In presenting assigned topics they not only give information, but learn much themselves. The Teacher who lectures always learns more than his hearers, because of the preparation which he gives to his subject. By the use of the topical method, every member is in effect a Teacher. Any class using this method consistently will find its members increasing in Biblical knowledge and in class interest. To the more timid members should be assigned the reading of the Scripture les¬ son and other simple tasks, until the timidity wears off. The Bible should be read at every class meet¬ ing even though the course is so-called “extra- Biblical.” The class might read some one complete book or a group of short books during such courses. The better way of reading the Scripture, espe¬ cially in smaller classes is each member alternately reading a certain portion, not necessarily one verse, The Teacher and the Class 65 but rather a whole section or paragraph giving a complete thought, following American Revised Ver¬ sion divisions. Responsive reading usually sounds rather weak in small classes and should not be en¬ couraged. The members should also be urged to form the habit of home daily Bible reading. Another method of expression is by means of note books. Many men get the most good from the lesson in this way. The outline of the lesson, the leading thoughts, and any special points of interest should be noted. In every class there should be some members who would be willing to keep note books. In such courses as “The Social Teachings of Jesus,” a very good plan is to provide all members with cheap Testaments, and to ask them to under¬ score all passages from which a social teaching may be gotten. If underscored in red and the teaching noted in the margin, a very graphic index of Jesus’ teachings about money, the family, divorce, etc., will be the result. More nearly complete notes may be kept if an interleaved Testament is used. In the Teacher’s plan of the lesson, provision should be made for expression as far as possible on the part of every member. Various methods may be planned for the same course, some elaborate for those having some time at their disposal, and 66 The Mens Class in Action some designed for the busy members of the class. One class in studying the ‘‘Life of Christ” gave an option of five methods of work and asked every member to choose one of them: 1. Write your own “Life of Christ.” Write one chapter in your note book each week, until the course is completed. The chapters need be no longer than three hundred words. 2. Learn an outline of His life, so as to be able to give in a connected way the chief events in each period. 3. Read the Life of Christ as written in the four Gospels; the use of a harmony is recommended. 4. Read the short, selected Scripture lessons each week. 5. Attend class throughout the course. With such a program no one is asked to do more than he is able; provision is made for the man who has no time for study, and also for the one who has plenty of time. Using this same study, mem¬ bers of another class made their own harmonies by pasting the Scripture from two cheap Testaments in parallel columns in a blank note book. Such harmonies can also be made of the Life of Paul, by pasting the Pauline Epistles in their proper his¬ torical sequence between events in the book of Acts; of the Old Testament Prophetical Literature, plac¬ ing it correctly in relation to events given in the The Teacher and the Class 67 books of Kings and Chronicles. So, too, an his¬ torical New Testament may be made by placing the books in the accepted order of writing. Special Talks Some classes have used certain interest-creating talks by members for just five minutes every Sun¬ day morning. One class had, for a number of weeks, a series of “Current Topic Talks” by dif¬ ferent men each week. The speaker chose some topic of current interest and gave a brief talk, bringing out the lesson he saw in it. A series of “Shop Talks” also held attention and served to make the members better acquainted. In this case the speaker gave a brief outline of his business. A' series of “Hobby Talks” can also be used in the same manner. Not all the suggestions given here are applicable to all classes. The Teacher must study his class and use the methods best adapted to it. Hard work and persistent effort always result in increased interest on the part of the class members. BIBLIOGRAPHY New Standard Teacher Training Course —Adult Specialization Units. Barclay, “The Adult Worker and His Work,” Chap¬ ters VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII. XIII. 68 The Men s Class in Action Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Chapters V, VII. Richardson, “The Religious Education of Adoles¬ cents,” Chapter XI. (For Teachers of Young Men.) Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class,” Chapters II, IV. Hudson, “The ‘How’ Book.” Betts, “How to Teach Religion.” Betts, “The Recitation.” Gregory, “The Seven Laws of Teaching.” Coe, “A Social Theory of Religious Education.” Coe, “The Spiritual Life.” Coe, “The Religion of a Mature Mind.” King, “Personal and Ideal Elements in Education.” Horne, “Psychological Principles of Education.” James, “Talks to Teachers on Psychology.” Fitch, “The Art of Securing Attention.” Hughes, “How to Secure and Retain Attention.” Branom, “The Project Method in Education.” Pyle, “Outlines of Educational Psychology.” Wood, “Adult Class Study,” Chapter I. Horne, “Leadership of Bible Study Groups.” Munsterberg, “Psychology and the Teacher.” Starbuck, “The Psychology of Religion.” Chapter Five PRINCIPLES OF STUDY COURSE SELECTION I : THE NEED OF ELECTIVE COURSES N O hard and fast rule of grading can be laid down for adult classes. When the young man reaches the age of eighteen, he has certain life interests that influence his conduct very strongly. He is very likely, unless going on to college, ready to make his decision regarding a life occupation— he should be considering this at any rate. If al¬ ready settled in a line of work, he is interested in the application of religious teachings to that work; social interests crowd upon him; he has problems of dress, of amusements, of friends, etc. The mind is developing and the reasoning instincts are grow¬ ing; now the young man will not accept dogmatic statements—he insists that his reason be satisfied. To meet the varied needs of the men in the Sunday School, the privilege of election of study courses should be granted to the adult classes. In selecting study courses the class should not forget that it is organized primarily for the study 69 70 The Mens Class in Action of the Bible and the application of its teachings to the lives of its members. The Adult Bible Class can hardly study socialism, sociology, history or literature, except as it studies these subjects in con¬ nection with the Biblical solution of members’ prob¬ lems—to help illuminate the Scriptures, as it were. While all class study should keep to the Bible, that does not mean that the Bible will be studied for its own sake. Dr. Samuel Zane Batten strikes a key¬ note when he says, “A Bible Class that begins and ends its work with a study of the Scriptures is wasting its time and is not honoring the King.” 1 It is only as the teachings of the marvelous Book of Books are applied to the lives of men and women that its potentiality becomes a living, pulsating force for righteousness. It is this force which the men’s class must seek to develop. II: DETERMINING FACTORS Class Membership No two classes will require nor want the same courses of study. The ages of the members will determine to some extent the courses to be studied; the individual needs and interests of the members will add its influence toward the formation of a study course. Most men will give but little time to 1 “Training for Citizenship in the Kingdom of God.”—Batten. 71 Study Course Selection lesson preparation; consequently the courses should be to the point and intensely practical, so that all attendants will find the sessions helpful, thought provoking and action stimulating. The Class Teacher The study course will be determined in part by the Teacher. If he is untrained (he need not remain so) he will be unable to teach many courses that a trained Teacher would. No Teacher without a knowledge of social organization or social ideals should attempt to teach such a book as Matthews’ “Social Teachings of Jesus.” Neither should a Teacher who knows nothing of the facts of general secular history try to teach a course in Church His¬ tory. The study course will vary from simple to complex as the Teacher advances in knowledge, and as the class members progress in their ability to grasp the subject matter. Class Aim The course will also be determined by the class aim. A class may organize for the study of mis¬ sions—the bulk of the courses will then be mis¬ sionary in their appeal; it may organize to study the social message of the Bible, in which case most of the courses will emphasize that aim; again its aim may be to make better parents and better chil- 72 The Mens Class in Action dren—it will then study one or more strong Child Study Courses annually. In one of the large St. Louis Sunday Schools, there is a class composed of salesmen and advertising men, organized to study the relation of Biblical teachings to their work— this aim naturally determines the course followed. There is no reason why in every Sunday School there should not be a number of special groups fol¬ lowing courses along the lines of their several spe¬ cial interests. If the class is large enough there may be several groups within the class, either meet¬ ing at the regular study period or during a special week period. Some of the larger classes have con¬ ducted supplementary week-day classes with good effect. Balance As a general thing the size of the class and the teachers available will make it difficult to conduct many separate classes at one time. In order to best meet the needs of the entire class constituency, the need of a balanced course is made evident—even if one’s interest does lie largely in one direction it is not advisable to confine his study simply to the one subject. Just as one will not thrive on choco¬ late pie alone, but needs a balanced diet to nourish every part of the physical man, so all parts of the 73 Study Course Selection mental and spiritual man need development. The course of study should then include the elements needed to bring about the complete spiritual growth of the class membership. How a balanced course is built will be shown later. Ill: WHO SHOULD SELECT THE COURSE? This depends on conditions. If the school has a committee on education, the course selected by the class should be submitted to it or to the Superin¬ tendent of Education. Usually if the Teacher is competent, the course is selected by him and sub¬ mitted to the class for approval. The wisdom of this is easily seen; the Teacher is more likely to know the needs of the members than any one else. In some cases he forms the course in connection with a class committee appointed for the purpose. In other cases, a list of courses, grouped according to kind, is submitted, from which the members select their preferences. From this selection the Teacher selects the course, trying to suit the greatest number. The selected courses should always be submitted for approval to the head of the school, who is dele¬ gated with the duty of properly correlating the school curriculum. This may be the Superinten- 74 The Mens Class in Action dent or the Director of Religious Education. The class may well take him into its confidence during the entire process of determining the subjects that are to be included in its year’s study. IV : BALANCING THE COURSE A' balanced curriculum will include five kinds of courses: Bible Outline Course —in which some one book or some portion of the Bible is studied so as to get a bird’s-eye view, as it were—a connected outline of its structure and purpose. The study of the Old Testament period in fifteen weeks is such a course; Intensive Bible Study Course —in which some portion of the Bible is studied intensively, so as to get all the details. The Epistle of James in nine weeks is a good example; Christian Life Course —the use of the Bible teachings in actual life, e.g., “Christianity and Amusements” and “A Young Man’s Problems.” Here belong also doctrinal and devotional courses; Church History Courses —such as “How We Got Our Bible,” “History of Religion,” or “History of the Christian Church”; Modern Christian Work —which includes courses on missions and social service. Study Course Selection 75 v: THE CURRICULUM UNIT The course of study should be outlined for an entire year. That is the only way to actually main¬ tain balance. It takes real foresight and initiative to prepare courses. It takes the same qualities to maintain them. A positive way to lose interest in a course is to enter into it only half prepared. The illustration of the Teacher and the Book of Daniel in Chapter IV is an instance of how not to do it. Another Teacher decided that a certain course had ceased to interest the class, and asked, “Well, what shall we study next?” The following Sunday he attempted to start a new course that had been selected by one of the members—this course also failed to hold interest after several weeks. VI: LENGTH OF COURSES Among the younger men there is a tendency to grow restless—they want variety. This means shorter courses. As a usual thing, a course should not last longer than three months—two months is better, and most six-week courses are always suc¬ cessful. There are exceptions of course—one young man’s class studied “The Story of the New Testa¬ ment” for seventeen weeks, but that course was 76 The Mens Class in Action virtually a new course each week, as an entirely dif¬ ferent book was discussed at each session. VII: VARIATION OF APPROACH In selecting courses it should be borne in mind that the same subject matter may usually be treated in several ways. Take the life of Christ for in¬ stance. One class has studied an outline of the Life according to the synoptic Gospels, the course lasting only nine weeks. From it the class obtained a picture of the connected Life, more vivid than any they had received before. At another time a course on the teachings of Christ’s parables as re¬ corded by Luke was taken. A course on “The So¬ cial Teachings of Jesus” proved very interesting. Courses could also be given on The Miracles of Jesus, The Ethical Teachings of Jesus, a Devotional Study of the Life of Christ, the study of the pic¬ tures of Christ given by each of the four gospels, each taken separately, a study of “How Jesus Met Life Problems,” and “How Jesus Met Men.” The possibilities are really inexhaustible. VIII : THE MEMBERS TEACHING The class may occasionally desire to vary its les¬ son program by including a course, conducted not 77 Study Course Selection by the Teacher, but by the members—a course planned by the Teacher, but of such a nature that a member could readily lead the discussion. A Mis¬ sion course might easily be planned with this end in view. The “Challenge of the City,” or “The Challenge of the Country,” might be handled in that way, with the application made to the com¬ munity in which the class is situated. Such a course would be a splendid one to have during the summer vacation period while the regular Teacher is away. In a course on Hebrew Laws, given by one men’s class, a lawyer member was able to lead the class with even more enthusiasm, and better results than the Teacher himself—knowing more about modern law than the Teacher, he could better show how the Old Testament laws were the basis of the laws of to-day. The Teacher who is always looking for best results will not overlook such opportunities to utilize the class members. Some classes as mentioned in Chapter IV pro¬ vide courses for a limited period, in which a dif¬ ferent visiting speaker discusses one phase of the subject each week. Such courses as A Young Man’s Problems, A Young Man’s Religion, and many Social Service courses can be conducted in that way. Those in charge should be careful to have the entire program fully planned, so that due 78 The Men’s Class in Action announcement of the complete course may be made at the very beginning. Such announcement, printed on cards or in papers, with the dates, names of the topics and the speakers who are to discuss them, should make an excellent advertisement to bring in new members. These special features should be used judiciously. Only the largest classes could possibly keep up such a pace of special features for protracted periods. The most desirable enthusiasm is that which is per¬ manent—the enthusiasm of consistent, consecutive effort by the class as it stands back of the regular teacher. A religious “jag” has little permanent value. BIBLIOGRAPHY Wood, “Adult Class Study,” Part I. Strickland & McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” Second Division, Chapter VII. Barclay, “The Adult Worker and His Work,” Chap¬ ter V. Blick, “The Adult Department,” Chapter VI. Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Chapter VI. Pease, “An Outline of a Bible School Curriculum,” Chapters IX, X, XI. Batten, “Social Studies for Adult Classes”; “Train¬ ing for Citizenship in the Kingdom of God.” (Leaflets from Social Service Department, American Baptist Pub¬ lication Society.) Chapter Six BUILDING THE STUDY COURSE I: AVAILABLE STUDY COURSES International Uniform Lessons M ANY classes use these lessons to good advantage, suiting them to their needs. Some of the new International courses are well adapted to use in men’s classes. As a whole they are too fragmentary; then, too, they omit entirely many portions of the Bible and subjects of great interest and value to men. Most classes need les¬ sons designed particularly for their own mem¬ bership. Getting away from the International Uniform Lessons does not mean that the class is getting away from Bible study. There are many available Bible Study Courses more suited to the men’s class than the uniform lessons. International Graded Series Some splendid courses are included, and excel¬ lent helps are issued by all the denominational pub¬ lishing houses. Even fourth year Intermediate courses can be and have been successfully adapted 79 80 The Mens Class in Action for use in adult classes. The senior courses are splendid for all men’s classes, and include surveys of the Old and New Testament, historically de¬ veloped; a very complete social service course; studies in Christian Service; the study of the Books of James and Ruth, Old Testament lit¬ erary masterpieces; a study of twelve Biblical biographies with the emphasis on the Social devel¬ opment of Biblical history. It would be well for every teacher to have the prospecti of these courses furnished free by the publishing houses. The International Sunday School Council has prepared outlines of several graded courses for Adult Classes, some of which have been published by the Westminster Press of Philadelphia. A com¬ plete set of outlines, from which any capable teacher may easily formulate a course, may be secured from the Council. Outlines are available on Amos, one quarter; Christianity in Action, four one- quarter courses; Hints on Child Training, three months; the Liquor Evil, three months; Deuteron¬ omy, three months; Galatians, three months. University of Chicago Courses The University publishes in the Constructive Series some very good courses for young men and adults; included are courses on The Gospel of Mark, First Samuel, Life of Christ, Hebrew Prophets, Building the Study Course 81 History of the Christian Church, Social Duties from a Christian Point of View, etc. Under the direction of the American Institution of Sacred Literature, are published some of the finest available inductive courses on the Bible, all developed his¬ torically and with the aid of no book other than the Bible itself. Courses are available on the Old and New Testament, The Psalms, The Wisdom Literature, The Priestly Literature, The Old Testa¬ ment Prophets, The Book of Revelation, The Life of Christ, The Gospel of John, The Life and Teach¬ ings of Paul, The Social and Ethical Teachings of Jesus, and others. The teacher should secure com¬ plete lists of titles of both these series from the Uni¬ versity of Chicago Press. Scribner’s Courses Two worthwhile series of courses are published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. The Uni¬ form Graded Series of lessons is to the writer’s mind far superior to the International Uniform Les¬ sons for giving a connected account of the events of the Bible. These courses include Old Testament History, Apostolic Church History, Life of Christ, and several courses of Old and New Testament biographies. Each course covers one year’s work. The Completely Graded Series contains some splendid material, not to be found in courses of 82 The Mens Class in Action other publishers. There is an entire year’s course on missions, which may be divided into shorter three-month courses; Comparative Religions, Mis¬ sions in the Eastern World, Missions in the Western World, and the Business of Missions. A' very good course on Church History is provided, and another on The Modern Church. Lists of the complete courses will be furnished free by the publishers. Fleming Revell Press The series of ten courses by Dr. Sell is suitable for all men’s classes—Studies in the Life of Christ; Studies in the Four Gospels; Studies in the Life of Paul; Early Church History; Studies in the Life of the Christian; Bible Study by Books; Bible Study by Periods; Bible Study by Doctrines; Bible Study in Vital Questions; Supplementary Bible Study. Revell also publish a series of twelve Bible Biogra¬ phies, as well as many separate texts, suitable for class study. Classes interested in Church History and Missions will find some of the most valuable material in the Revell Catalog. Abingdon Press The Catalogue of the publishing board of the M. E. Church shows some splendid texts on prac¬ tical Christian living and on the modern “fad” re¬ ligions. Building the Study Course 83 Association Press The Y. M. C. A. courses, of which there are many, appeal strongly to men. Courses are pre¬ pared for beginners in Bible Study as well as for those who can assimilate the meat of the Scripture. Many of the courses provide for daily readings of the Bible. There are included some very fine studies of sections of the Bible, but the Y. M. C. A. courses emphasize Christian Life and the Devo¬ tional element. To list the better courses would be to reprint the Association Press Catalog. Judson Press Aside from the regular graded lesson material, the publishing house of the Northern Baptists issues much other literature that is suitable for use as study courses. A series of three courses by Dr. Philip Nordell, on the Old Testament History, Apostolic Age, and Life of Christ is worthy of con¬ sideration. The series of church history handbooks by Dr. Vedder are good for either four short courses or one long course on Church History. Four ex¬ cellent three month Old Testament Courses—Old Testament History, Old Testament Wisdom, Old Testament Character Crises, and Old Testament Evangelism—have just been published. 84 The Mens Class in Action Sunday School Board The Board of the Southern Baptist Convention publishes a large number of valuable works suitable for class study. The Convention Series of Com¬ mentaries might well form the basis of pure Bible study. Volumes have already been issued covering the Pastoral Epistles, Romans, Philippians, Ephe¬ sians, Mark, Acts and Hebrews. In the fourth year Senior Graded series, the Sunday School Board offers worthwhile three-month courses on John, Ezekiel, Romans and Psalms. Pilgrim Press The outline Bible-Class Courses of the Pilgrim Press give subject headings and all necessary Scrip¬ ture references, as well as an extensive bibliogra¬ phy. The Teacher using these outlines is in a posi¬ tion to present some intensely interesting courses. The Pilgrim list covers such subjects as The Life of Christ according to the Synoptic Gospels; the Wis¬ dom Literature of the Old Testament; Hebrew Laws; Apocalyptic Literature; Life of Paul; Let¬ ters of Paul; Book of Acts; Joshua and Judges; Book of First Samuel; History of Missions; His¬ tory of the Christian Church; History of Bible Versions; Biblical Geography; Old Testament Apocrypha; a Study of the City. These outlines Building the Study Course 85 may be secured for five cents each. Address Pil¬ grim Press, Boston. Westminster Press The many texts available from this publisher make it easy for the Teacher to select suitable courses. Excellent books suitable for the study of church history, missions and Christian Character building may be secured. Friends' Series The Society of Friends of Philadelphia publish in their Graded Series some worthy courses. A thirty-six lesson course on the Social Teachings of Jesus can be had; seven lessons of these are on the Sermon on the Mount. The Prophet’s series in¬ cludes studies on Amos, seven weeks; Hosea, four weeks; Isaiah, eleven weeks; Jeremiah, seven weeks; Micah, three weeks. In the Hebrew Litera¬ ture course is a course on the Epistle to the He¬ brews, nine weeks. Mission Study All the best mission study books may be secured through the regular Sunday School supply houses. The most popular series is that published by the Missionary Education Movement of New York, al¬ though many worthwhile texts are also published by 86 The Mens Class in Action Revell, Macmillan and Scribner. The Teacher should secure the catalog of the Missionary Edu¬ cation Department of his own denominational board, which usually lists Mission study books of the Home and Foreign Boards as well as the litera¬ ture of other denominations. Individually Planned Courses If the Teacher has the ability, he may plan his own course. One Teacher planned a course on “How We Got Our Bible,” by selecting material from six or eight texts, all of which were incom¬ plete in themselves, and was in that way able to present a complete course covering the entire sub¬ ject. A' course on strictly denominational mission¬ ary work was in like manner prepared from litera¬ ture furnished by the Mission Boards and files of the denominational missionary magazines. An¬ other Teacher planned wonderfully helpful courses on “How to Use Your Bible,” “A Young Man’s Problems,” and “A Young Man’s Religion.” Courses in Social Service may be planned to cover conditions existing in the city in which the class is located. Courses on Biblical books, for which no special texts have as yet been published, may be developed and outlined by using Commentaries and Bible Dictionaries. The Teacher will find it to his advantage to have Building the Study Course 87 the catalogs of all publishers of religious literature on hand, so that he may know what material is available. Many texts are on the shelves of the Public Library; often the Library of a State Sun¬ day School Association will be at the disposal of the Teacher. He should make it a point to examine personally as many courses as possible. He will then be in position to choose that which is best for his class, and that which he is best fitted to teach. II : CLASSIFICATION OF SUGGESTED COURSES The following classification of courses for the men’s class is not a complete list of all courses available. It is intended to give the class inex¬ perienced in selecting balanced courses a guide by which it may work. Enough courses are suggested, however, to enable any class to select such material as is needed for its individual needs. The figures given after many of the course topics indicate the number of weeks a course will ordinarily require. All courses are sufficiently flexible to permit minor adjustments in length. Publishers are indicated by prefixes as follows: A—Abingdon Press; B—Sun¬ day School Board of the Southern Baptist Conven¬ tion; C—University of Chicago Press; F—Society of Friends; G—International Graded Series; J— Judson Press; P—Pilgrim Press; R—Fleming H. 88 The Men’s Class in Action Revell Co.; S—Charles Scribner’s Sons; W—West¬ minster Press; Y—Association Press. /. Bible Outline Courses (A) The Men of the Gospels—Hough. (B) Studies in the New Testament—Robertson 12. (B) Heart of the Old Testament—Sampey 14. (B) Churches of the New Testament—McDaniel 11. (C) Story of the New Testament—Goodspeed 20. (C) Origin and Teaching of the New Testament Books—Burton & Merrifield 9 to 36. (C) Life of Paul—Robinson 12. (C) Origin and Religious Teaching of the Old Testament Books—Chamberlin 9 to 36. (G) Old Testament Times (Senior Graded) 39 or 52. (G) New Testament Times (Senior Graded) 39 or 52. (J) Old Testament History—Airplane View 13. (J) Old Testament History—Nordell 52. (R) Life of Christ—Sell 8. (R) Life of Paul—Sell 9. (R) Bible Study by Books—Sell 52. (R) Bible Study by Periods—Sell 24. (R) Studies in the Four Gospels—Sell 8. (S) Preparations for Christianity—Nordell 52. (W) Teachings of the Lord Jesus—Bean. (Y) Book of Isaiah—Robinson 15. II. Intensive Bible Courses (A) Studies in the Parables of Jesus—Luccock. (A) Students’ History of the Hebrews—Knott. Building the Study Course 89 (B) Gospel of John (Senior Graded) 13. (B) Romans (Senior Graded) 13. (B) Ezekiel (Senior Graded) 13. (B) Psalms (Senior Graded) 13. (C) Mark—Burton. (C) First Samuel—Willet 26-52. (C) Life of Christ—Burton & Mathews or Bur¬ gess 39. (C) The Hebrew Prophets—Chamberlin 36. (C) Christianity in the Apostolic Age—Gilbert. (C) The Revelation—Case 4 to 16. (C) Gospel of John—Goodspeed 9 to 18. (C) Work of the Old Testament Sages—Harper 9 to 36. (C) Paul—a Pioneer in Christian Living and Christian Service—Goodspeed 9 to 36. (C) How to Interpret Old Testament Prophecy— Mathews 9 to 36. (Doran)—Parables of Our Lord—Dods. (Doran)—The Ten Commandments—Coffin. (F) Amos (Graded Series) 7. (F) Hosea (Graded Series) 4. (F) Isaiah (Graded Series) 11. (F) Jeremiah (Graded Series) 7. (F) Micah (Graded Series) 3. (F) Hebrews (Graded Series) 9. (G) Book of James (Senior Graded) 9. (G) Book of Ruth (Senior Graded) 3. (J) Old Testament Wisdom 13. (J) Life of Christ—Nordell 40. (J) Apostolic Age—Nordell 30. (J) The Message of the Lord’s Prayer—Duncan. (P) Joshua and Judges 20. (P) Hebrew Laws 6 to 20. (P) The Apocalyptic Literature 19. (Includes 9 weeks on Daniel.) 90 The Mens Class in Action (P) Old Testament Apocrypha 12. (P) Life of Paul 19. (P) Epistles of Paul 18. (P) The Acts 24. (The above Pilgrim Press Courses are included in the Outline Study Courses.) (R) Syllabus of Old Testament History—Price. (R) Studies in the Sermon on the Mount— McAfee. (R) The Man Paul—Speer. (R) The Parables of the Old Testament— Macartney. (R) Bible Heroes—a series of volumes by Dr. F. B. Meyer, dealing with Abraham, Da¬ vid, Elijah, Jacob, Jeremiah, Joseph, Joshua, Moses, Samuel, Zechariah, Paul and John the Baptist. (S) History of the Hebrews—Sanders. (S) The Making of a Nation—Jenks & Kent. (S) Testing a Nation's Ideals—Jenks & Kent. (The two courses above deal with the history of Israel.) (S) Life of Christ (Uniform Series) 52. (S) Apostolic Leaders (Uniform Series) 52. (S) Patriarchs, Kings & Prophets (Uniform Series) 52. (W) Many Sided David—Howard (Adult Elec¬ tive Series) 13. (W) Many Sided Paul—Green (Adult Elective Series) 13. (W) Ten Commandments for To-day—Dale. (W) A Study of the Lord’s Prayer—Richards. (W) The Message of Amos—Robinson & Mc¬ Afee (Adults Elective Series) 13. (W) The Message of Deuteronomy—Luccock (Adults Elective Series) 13. Building the Study Course 91 (W) The Message of Galatians—Luccock (Adults Elective Series) 13. (Y) Message of the Twelve Prophets—Murray 28. (Y) New Studies in Acts—Bosworth 19. III. Christian Life Courses (Includes Doctrinal) (A) Fundamentals of the Christian Religion— Halfyard. (A) Program of the Christian Religion—Shack- ford. (A) Religion and Life—Hull. (A) The Man of Power—Hough 12. (A) Christianity and World Democracy—Heber 13 - (A) A Man’s Religion—McDowell. (A) The Liquor Problem—Richardson. (A) Studies in Recent Adventism—Sheldon. (A) Christian Science—So-Called—Sheldon. (A) A Four-Fold Test of Mormonism—Sheldon. (A) Theosophy and New Thought—Sheldon. (A) The Mystery Religions of the New Testa¬ ment—Sheldon. (B) Training in Bible Study—Dawes 10. (C) Religious Education in the Family—Cope. (C) Christian Faith for Men of To-day—Cook. (C) What Is Christianity?—Cross. (C) The Realities of the Christian Religion— Smith-Soares 9-36. (C) Paul—a Pioneer in Christian Living and Christian Service—Goodspeed 9-36, (J) Old Testament Character Crises—13. (J) Old Testament Evangelism 13. (J) The Church a Field of Service—Rust. (J) The Young Christian and His Bible—Geist- weit 10-25. 92 The Mens Class in Action (J) Christianity in a New World—Burton. (J) The Young Christian and His Work— Grenell. (J) A Young Man’s Difficulties with His Bible— Faunce. (J) Principles of Christian Service—Cope io. (R) Christian Ethics—Davidson. (R) Studies in the Life of a Christian—Sell 14. (R) Studies in Vital Questions—Sell 16. (R) Bible Study by Doctrines—Sell 24. (R) Religion of a Mature Mind—Coe. (R) How to Study the English Bible—Cudle- stone. (S) The Modern Church—Nordell (Senior Graded). (W) Christian According to Paul—Faris (Adult Elective Series). (W) Paul’s Message for To-day—Miller. (W) A Christian’s Habits—Speer. (W) A Young Man’s Questions—Speer. (W) Money, the Acid Test—McConaughy. (W) The Christian Home (Adult Elective Se¬ ries) 13. (W) Elements of Personal Christianity—Luc- cock (Adult Elective Series) 13. (W) Characteristics of the Christian Life (Adult Elective Series) 13. (W) The Christian in Social Relationships (Adult Elective Series) 13. (W) Fundamentals for Daily Living (Adult Elective Series) 13. (W) Fundamentals of Christian Experience (Adult Elective Series) 13. (Y) Christ in Every-Day Life—Bosworth. (Y) Christian Basis of World Democracy—La- Tourette 12. Building the Study Course 93 (Y) Christianity and Amusements—Edwards io. (Y) How God Calls Men—Harris. (Y) How Jesus Met Life Questions—Elliot. (Y) International Aspects of Christianity— Davis. (Y) Marks of a World Christian—Fleming. (Y) Meaning of Faith—Fosdick 13. (Y) Meaning of Prayer—Fosdick 10. (Y) Meaning of Service—Fosdick 12. (Y) Manhood of the Master—Fosdick 10. (Y) Meeting the Master—Davis. (Y) Psalms of the Social Life—McAfee. IV. Church History (C) Christianity and Its Bible—Waring. (C) Great Men of the Christian Church— Walker. (C) How the Bible Grew—Lewis. (J) Church History by Periods—Vedder. (J) History of the English Bible—Pattison. (P) History of Bible Versions—Wood 15. (P) Church History 15. (P) The Church in the Reformation 7. (P) History of Missions 4. (Pilgrim Press Outline Study Courses.) (R) History of the Christian Church—Moncrief. (R) The Missionary Enterprise—Bliss. (R) Studies in Early Church History—Sell. (R) Landmarks in Church History—Carver. (R) Early Church History—Bartlett. (S) Landmarks in Church History—Rowe 52. (W) Church History in Brief—Moffat. (W) Growth of the Christian Church—Nichols. (W) Sketches of Church History—Wharey. (W) How We Got Our Bible—Smythe. 94 The Men’s Class in Action Note: —Every class should study the history of its own denomination and the principles for which its church stands. Suitable texts are available at the denominational boards. V. Social Service and Missions (B) Country Church in the South—Masters 8. (B) Making America Christian—Masters 6. (B) All the World in All the World—Carver 12. (C) Social Duties from the Christian Point of View—Henderson. (C) Message of Jesus to Our Modern Life— Mathews 9 to 36. (C) Message of the Prophets to the 20th Cen¬ tury—Willet 9 to 36. (C) Religions of the World—Barton 20. (G) The Bible and Social Living (4th Year Senior) 52. May be used as the following short courses if desired: 1. The Family 6. 2. The Community 6. 3. The State 6. 4. The Church 6. 5. The Industrial Order 13. 6. Bible Spokesmen for the Kingdom of God 13. (J) Social Principles of Jesus—Rauschenbusch. (J) Social Ideals of the Lord’s Prayer—Stack- house. (J) Christ and the Nations—Batten 13. (J) Christianity in a New World—Burton. (J) By-paths to Forgotten Folks—Hayne. (J) Redemption of the City—Sears. (J) The Social Gospel—Mathews. (J) Stewardship and Missions—Cook. Building the Study Course 95 (J) 2,000 years of Missions Before Carey— Barnes. (P) Problems of the 20th Century City—Burr 25- (P) A Study of the City—Hall 14. (Pilgrim Press Outline Study Courses.) (R) Missionary Enterprise—Bliss. (R) Missions in the Plan of the Ages—Carver. (R) Modern Missionary Challenge—Jones. (R) Appeal of Medical Missions—Moorshead. (R) Nineteen Centuries of Missions—Scudder. (R) Missionary Principles and Practices—Speer. (R) Christianity and Other Faiths—Tisdall. (R) Social Task of Christianity—Batten. (S) The Conquering Christ—Boone 52. May be used as four short courses: 1. Comparative Religion 13. 2. Eastern Missions 13. 3. Western Missions 13. 4. The Business of Missions 13. (W) Money, the Acid Test—McConaughy. (Y) Faiths of Mankind—Soper 12. All the denominational boards publish text-books and other literature pertaining to their own fields. So, too, the Missionary Education Movement of North America, and the Women’s Council publish annually texts covering specific home and foreign fields. The following are some typical publications: Challenge of the City—Strong 8. Challenge of the Country—Fiske. Immigrant Forces—Shriver. Aliens or Americans—Grose 8. 96 The Mens Class in Action The Bible and Missions—Montgomery 6. The Church and the Community—Diffendoerfer 6. Christian Americanization—Brooks 6. The Why and How of Foreign Missions— Brown 6. The Kingdom and the Nations—North 6. The Lure of Africa—Patton 6. The Uplift of China—Smith 8. India Awakening—Eddy 8. Building with India—Fleming 6. The Trend of the Races (Negro)—Haynes. Ill : EXAMPLES OF COURSES THAT HAVE BEEN USED The courses outlined below have actually been used by organized Men’s Bible Classes. It is not likely that any one of these courses will suit other classes just as they stand, but they do show how balanced courses have been planned. The figures following the course subjects indicate the number of weeks in the course. The number of weeks do not always total 52—the weeks not indicated were used for Christmas, Easter and Rally Day Pro¬ grams or were alloted to special outside speakers. Heart of the Old Testament—12 (Bible Outline). Mexico To-day—6 (Missions). Pastoral Epistles—7 (Intensive Bible Study). Challenge of St. Louis—11 (Social Service). How We Got Our Bible—9 (Church History). (The Influenza epidemic caused the cessation of class sessions for five weeks.) Building the Study Course 97 Life of Christ—9 (Bible Outline). Epistle of James—9 (Intensive) Lure of Africa—8 (Missions). Bible Spokesmen for the Kingdom of God—12 (Social Service). Wisdom Literature 11 (B. O. and Intensive). International Peace—13 (Christian Life). Life of Paul—11 (Bible Outline). Immigration—8 (Missions). Re-Statement of Baptist Principles—10 (Chris¬ tian Life). Social Teachings of Jesus—10 (Social Service). How to Use Your Bible—13 (Christian Life). Challenge of St. Louis—13 (Social Service). Bible Biographies—13 (Intensive). Story of the New Testament—13 (Bible Outline). The Meaning of Service—13 (Christian Life). Gospel of John—13 (Intensive). Amos—13 (Intensive and Christian Life). Survey of Western Missions—13 (Missions and Social Service). History of Religion—12 (Church History and Missions. Hebrew Law—6 (Intensive). The Family—7 (Christian Life and Social Serv¬ ice). The Church and the Community—6 (Social Service). The Bible and Money—6 (Christian Life). Romans—13 (Intensive). 98 The Mens Class in Action Hosea—8 (Intensive). Life of Christ—13 (Bible Outline). David—13 (Intensive). Redemption of the City—8 (Social Service). What It Means to be a Christian—8 (Christian Life). Christian Americanization—6 (Social Service). Story of the New Testament—17 (Bible Outline). Survey of Baptist Missions—9 (Missions). What it Means to be a Christian—11 (Christian Life). Psalms—7 (Intensive). Life of Christ—13 (Bible Outline). Baptist Principles—8 (Christian Life). Immigration—13 (Missions). A Young Man’s Problems—13 (Christian Life). The Bible and Money—4 (Intensive). It will be seen that in no case has it happened that all the five groups of subjects mentioned in the previous chapter, have been included in one year’s course. While there should be considerable pure Bible study in each year’s series, yet it does not fol¬ low that there must be an outline course each year —the class may find it advisable to skip a year, de¬ voting the time to more intensive study. So, too, it is hardly likely that there will be a Church His¬ tory course each year. If the course is one like Proverbs, or James, both intensely practical books, the class may not need another Christian Life course Building the Study Course 99 during that season. Each class must decide what it is that it needs most, and then plan the course accordingly. Class study is always made for the class—not the class for the study. The suggestions given in this chapter should enable the Teacher or Lesson Course Committee to plan suitable, balanced courses to give the members the spiritual food they need. BIBLIOGRAPHY Wood, “Adult Class Study,” Part II. Chapter Seven EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP IN THE CLASS I: QUALIFICATIONS OF A CLASS PRESIDENT Character N EXT to the Teacher, the President is the most important officer of the class. He is the spokesman for the class at all times and by him the class is judged. The President should first of all and above all be a Christian Man. He should be a member of the church in which he is working. He should be an every day Christian. He should be a man of sin¬ cere Christian convictions, a lover of the Bible and known for his prayer life. No man without these qualifications can hope to be a successful President of a class of men in the Sunday School, no matter how much executive ability he may have. There comes to the writer’s mind the recollection of a young men’s Bible Class whose President indulged in the most vulgar thinking and in the vilest lan¬ guage while outside of the class room. Is it sur¬ prising that there was brought upon the class and upon its church only ridicule and contempt? 100 Executive Leadership in the Class 101 Executive Ability If necessary to choose between a Christian man without executive ability and a non-Christian with executive ability, the choice should unquestionably fall upon the former. The ability to lead and to direct is, however, essential to class growth. There are many good Christian young men who make excellent workers if wisely directed, but who have not the ability to lead. These men, unless they make strenuous efforts to develop the qualities of leadership, will not do good work as class execu¬ tives. The President must be able to put every member of the class to work; he must be ever alert to see that every officer is filling his job to the best of his ability; he must have good common-sense judgment to meet the many situations that arise from week to week in the class; he must have exec¬ utive ability so as to plan future work for the class, and to see that it is carried to a satisfactory con¬ clusion. Personality Personality, too, should be considered in select¬ ing the presiding officer of the class. By person¬ ality we mean that which distinguishes or differ¬ entiates one—that indefinable something in a man which causes him to be liked or disliked. Person¬ ality is largely dependent upon the so-called little 102 The Mens Class in Action things of life. The class leader, for instance, should be a leader, not a boss. Members ordinar¬ ily resent being bossed, but will usually respond willingly to the right sort of leadership. To secure response the President must first establish a will¬ ingness on his own part to serve. Trying to talk service into the other fellow without action to back it, is a certain means of killing the embryonic germ. The class President must exhibit a warmth of friendship toward each and every member; he must be no less interested in the class members than the Teacher, for he is a spiritual leader as well as an executive. The physical bearing of the President must also be watched. His clothes must be kept spotless and neat or he will lose the respect of the members. He should maintain an erect, alert busi¬ ness-like attitude before the class, not lounging on tables or other furniture. A drowsy appearance on the part of the presiding officer is not likely to stir the class to wakeful activity. Enthusiasm, energy and initiative are the basic elements of good leadership. Coupled closely to them is self-reliance. These qualities may not all be present in every presiding officer. If all of these elements are found in any class President, for¬ tunate is the class possessing him. Every class leader should strive to develop these qualities, for Executive Leadership in the Class 103 they can be developed by persistence in doing the things expected of him. Knowledge of the Work The class President should have in addition to the aforementioned qualifications, a knowledge of the aims of the men's class, its needs, the methods of work and the materials with which the work is done. He should read all available litera¬ ture on the work of the organized Bible Class, mis¬ sions, social service, and the like. It would be ad¬ visable for the President to visit other organized classes occasionally and observe the methods used by them. If, because of the needs of the class, the President cannot make these visits himself, he should delegate some of his assistants to do this work. Care should be taken to see that only one or two members are away from the class on any one Sunday, so that the attendance is not seriously af¬ fected. The President should also keep in touch with the work of the other departments of the Sun¬ day School and the Church. He should be familiar with the ideas and ideals being worked out, so as to be in a position to lead the class in hearty coopera¬ tion with all general plans. Knowledge of Membership Finally, the President should know the class mem¬ bers. He should study each individual man in the 104 The Men’s Class in Action class. He should know their likes and dislikes, their abilities and limitations. He should be able to suggest men as assistants to the several officers at any time. The President should aim to see that every man is at work as an assistant to some officer. It is well in the larger classes to keep a card or note¬ book record of the members, their abilities and will¬ ingness to serve. II. THE SUNDAY SESSION The class President has charge of the Sunday morning sessions. This is not a part of the Teacher’s duty. In too many cases the Teacher, who often happens to be the Pastor, opens the class session, asks for the reports, makes announcements, discusses class business and teaches the lesson. Yes, this has actually been known to happen! This tendency is bad; it makes the class too much of a one man affair. This is also true about the class discussions. While the Teacher and the Pastor should give their views, and should have them re¬ spected, yet the feeling should be encouraged that the work of the class is in charge of the class, and not wholly in charge of the Teacher. Upon the President rests the responsibility of keeping the real purpose of the class, Bible study, from being eclipsed. He must strive to avoid the Executive Leadership in the Class 105 waste of time entailed by frequent long discus¬ sions on business matters. The Teacher’s Time Should Be Carefully Guarded. The class ses¬ sion should be started on time, if only two are pres¬ ent. The announcements should be brief and to the point. All secular business should be kept out and transacted at the regular business meetings. The Sunday session should be of a devotional spirit. The class should have a well worked out program to be followed. No President should ever stand before the class without a definitely planned order for the day’s exercises. This order of service may be adapted to any needs of the class; no set program can be given that will suit all classes. If the class meets with the Adult Department, the opening worship program will be taken care of there. If not, the class must formulate its own worship service. This will include singable songs that men like, including a class song, devotional prayers for the class work and for sick members; and possibly a brief devotional message brought by some member. Announcements should be made at the beginning of the session, so that the Teacher’s message is the final impression on the minds of those present. The whole worship program should be planned to lead the men into an atmosphere to receive the lesson of the day. 106 The Mens Class in Action A Typical Class Program 9:15 President on hand for preliminary consulta¬ tion with other officers. Vice-President at assembly-room door to welcome strangers. Visitor on hand to welcome members. (Assistants in class-room to welcome any who may come there direct.) Librarian distributes Bibles, song books, lesson outlines, in class-room. Teacher, Treasurer, Reporter, Entertainer, arrange charts, announcements on black¬ board, etc. 9130 Opening worship with Senior or Adult Department. 9:45 Class retires to class-room. Secretary at door to pass out attendance slips and collection envelopes. President calls class to order. Prayer by a member. Reports of Vice-President and Visitor (brief). Welcoming new members and assigning- prospects. Report of Secretary and Treasurer (brief). 10:00 Class Song. 10:05 Current Topic Talk—by a member—or special devotional feature. Executive Leadership in the Class 107 10:10 Lesson Period. 10:45 Closing Song and Prayer. 10:50 Adjourn to Preaching Service. Many Presidents are failures in the matter of introducing special speakers. These introductions should be brief, pointed and snappy. The Presi¬ dent should not go into detail regarding the history of the speaker. All such details should be taken care of in the preliminary advertising. A brief statement of who and what the man is and what he is to talk about, supplemented by a bright, pointed anecdote will usually suffice. After all, the class wants to hear the speaker, not the chairman’s long- winded introduction. Under no circumstances in¬ troduce a speaker by reading a lengthy history of his life from notes, as many chairman have been known to do. Ill: BUSINESS SESSIONS Regular business meetings are essential to class success. Monthly meetings are desirable, but some classes find bi-monthly and quarterly meetings entirely satisfactory. One thriving class of busy men has semi-annual meetings. Provide for as frequent meetings as the members can attend—but let them be regular. All class business should be transacted at the business meetings, leaving the 108 The Men’s Class in Action Sunday service for the study of God’s word. The business meeting should be planned just as carefully as any Sunday session. The by-laws should provide an order of business to facilitate the handling of class business. The following is sug¬ gested, but may be altered to suit conditions in the class. 1. Call to order. 2. Prayer. 3. Reading of minutes of previous meeting. 4. Reports of officers and special committees. 5. Unfinished business. 6. New business. 7. Elections. 8. Adjournment. 9. Social hour. As in the case with the Sunday meetings, the bus¬ iness meeting should be called to order promptly. When the habit of punctuality is once established, waste time is eliminated and difficulty regarding attendance reduced to a minimum. Foolishness should not be a part of the business session. Mem¬ bers sometimes feel that the business session should be made part of the scheme of entertainment. This should not be. By all means have a portion of the evening set aside for fellowship and social features, but let it be understood that business meetings are for business. Many men do not attend business Executive Leadership in the Class 109 meetings for the reason that so much time is wasted during the business period, that the social features are brought to a close rather late. They do not feel that they can afford so much time. As soon as our organized classes realize this, the attendance at business meetings will increase. IV : EXECUTIVE MEETINGS Of equal importance with the regular business meetings, are the meetings of the executive board. The President should make the officers his advisors and helpers in all important matters. While each officer should be given freedom in the conduct of his office, there are class problems and plans that demand the attention of all the officers rather than some of them. Such matters as a class-day service, class banquet, reunion or the like, need the cooper¬ ative planning of the whole board. The carrying out of the plans as formulated by the board can then be left to the individual officers. These details of larger plans can be worked out better and more expeditiously in an officers’ meeting than in a gen¬ eral business meeting. The officers will of course submit a completed outline of their work to the class for approval. The meetings of the officers should be held regularly, once a month if possible, just be¬ fore the regular class meeting. 110 The Mens Class in Action v: FUNDAMENTALS OF PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE If he is not familiar with parliamentary proced¬ ure, the new President should take steps at once to learn its rudiments. All business of the class should be conducted in accord with recognized principles of parliamentary law, the only expeditious way of handling class affairs. The following brief out¬ line of parliamentary practice, based on King’s “Practical Parliamentary Guide,” includes those es¬ sentials that will enable a President to conduct a meeting of the Men’s Bible Class. No elaborate system is needed as in state legislatures and the Houses of Congress, yet the basis in both cases is the same. These suggestions are sufficient for all ordinary purposes. Before any business can be transacted a quorum must be present. The number that shall constitute a quorum should be fixed by the by-laws—at least 25 per cent of the class membership should be re¬ quired. Without this provision, a very few mem¬ bers might very easily manipulate the whole organi¬ zation. In order to obtain the floor to present a propo¬ sition or to speak on a question it is necessary for the speaker to arise and address the chairman by his official title; the chair will recognize the claim¬ ant for the floor by name or by nod. This recog- Executive Eeadership in the Class 111 nition is required before any one is entitled to present a question or take part in debate. To place a proposition before the class for con¬ sideration it is only necessary after being recog¬ nized to say, “Mr. President, I move that.,” stating in simple words the action that is desired. No discussion should be permitted before a motion has been made. Every principal motion must be seconded by another member of the class, or it can¬ not go before the assembly, this rule being based on the theory that it is unwise to waste the time of the assembly on a proposition favored by only one mem¬ ber. No principal motion may be made while an¬ other motion is before the house, but all principal motions are subject to certain motions of higher rank. The time of class business meetings should be fixed by the by-laws. If for any reason the class fixes the time from meeting to meeting, a motion to set this time takes rank over any other motion that may be before the house. This motion re¬ quires no quorum, cannot be debated, cannot be used to change the time of a meeting already set, and is in order even if a motion to adjourn has been placed, but the vote not announced by the chair. As soon as a motion has been made and before any debate has taken place, a member may move the 112 The Mens Class in Action question of consideration. No second is required, but a two-thirds negative vote is necessary to stop consideration of the question. This motion may be reconsidered. A motion to withdraw the question before the house can be made any time before it has been amended or voted upon. This motion cannot be debated, but may be set aside by an objection to consideration. A two-thirds vote is necessary to withdraw a motion. If a question consists of several separate and dis¬ tinct parts, a motion may be made to divide the question. If it carries, each separate part is handled as a principal motion. No debate or amending is permitted on this motion. The class has the right to change any proposal brought before it by amending the original motion. As many as two amendments may be put on one motion. If amendments are voted down, others may be proposed until two have carried. In vot¬ ing, the second amendment is voted on first, then the first and finally the principal question with whatever changes the class may have made. A motion to fix the manner of voting can be used on any question, but can be neither debated nor amended. The previous question is moved in order to stop debate. It requires a two-thirds vote to pass and Executive Leadership in the Class 113 cannot be debated, amended, or applied to more than one question at a time. The previous question does not necessarily force a vote—the principal question may be tabled or referred to a department head or committee. A motion to refer the ques¬ tion may be debated. When it is desired to postpone action upon a question, after discussion has taken place a motion may be made to u lay it on the table,” which may be for a definite time or indefinitely. If tabled in¬ definitely it is virtually killing the proposition, a motion to take from the table being necessary to bring it before the class for discussion. If it is desired to postpone action before discussion, a mo¬ tion to postpone for a definite or indefinite time is required. A member may move for the reconsideration of a question already acted upon by the class. The motion must be proposed by a member of the pre¬ vailing side at the time the question was first con¬ sidered, but cannot be made during the same meeting. In order to permit special action that may be con¬ trary to the class by-laws or constitution, the class may, by a two-thirds vote, move to suspend its rules. This motion cannot be amended or debated. A motion for adjournment may be made against any question before the assembly, but not while a 114 The Mens Class in Action member is on the floor. In case of failure of the motion, it cannot be renewed until progress has been made. This motion may be debated as a prin¬ cipal question only if the time of the next meeting has not been set. A member may at any time rise to a point of personal privilege if he feels that his rights are be¬ ing interfered with, or that an attack is being made on his character, or if he desires to be excused from the meeting for good reason. The chair decides the question of privilege, but if it is a case of con¬ troversy, the assembly must decide the question before business can continue. If, in the judgment of some member, a parlia¬ mentary law or some provision of the class consti¬ tution is being violated he should “rise to a point of order.” The chair decides whether or not the point is well taken, and if it is, calls the offending party to order. In all cases of “points of privilege” and “points of order,” the members involved may appeal from the decision of the chair. In the case of a point of order the appeal must be seconded. The chair then asks, “Shall the decision of the chair stand?” A two-thirds vote should be required to overrule any decision of the chair. When a member desires information about the question being discussed, or about the parliamentary Executive Leadership in the Class 115 procedure governing the question he should “rise to a point of information.’’ This point takes rank above debate. A careful study of these few basic rules of par¬ liamentary practice will show that they are based on common-sense business methods. There are of course many refinements to the practice given above, with which the President should gradually strive to become familiar, but the suggestions given here will enable any class President to conduct meetings in proper order and without waste of time. BIBLIOGRAPHY Strickland-McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” First Division, Chapter V. Strickland, “The Class Officers and Their Work,” pp. 4-11. (Leaflet from Sunday School Board—S. B. C.) Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class,” Chapter X. Barclay, “Adult Worker and His Work,” Chapter XVII. Blick, “The Adult Department,” Chapter XV. Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Chapters VIII, XI, XIII. King, “A Practical Parliamentary Guide.” Robert, J. T., “Primer of Parliamentary Law.” Longan, “Parliamentary Rules Made Easy.” Howe, “Handbook of Parliamentary Usage.” “The O. A. B. C. at Work”; “ioi Things ioi Bible Classes Are Doing” (Leaflets—International Sunday School Council.) Chapter Eight THE CLASS’S SPIRITUAL SERVICE T HE class President is not only the executive, but the spiritual leader as well. In this branch of his work he will, of course, work in close harmony with the Teacher. i: PERSONAL EVANGELISM Requirements Contrary to common belief, personal evangelism is not a mysterious rite, but simply starting at home to fulfill Christ’s last command. A prayer life is essential to successful evangelism; without it all ef¬ forts fail. Tact is another requisite; patience must be used in dealing with prospects. Too much should not be expected at once, but if the evan¬ gelistic work is well handled, results will be sur¬ prising. The President should appoint several assistants to secure information about the members, their likes and dislikes, and their attitudes toward Christian profession. These assistants, with the President, should endeavor to win the confidence of the un¬ saved men of the class. Having done this, it is an easy matter to speak to a man about becoming a 116 The Class’s Spiritual Service 117 Christian. Fear has been the greatest obstacle in the way of greater evangelistic results among men. Contrary to a common belief, men usually welcome the opportunity to speak of their soul’s welfare. The Prayer Circle A Secret Prayer and Personal Workers’ Circle is one of the best evangelistic assets that any class can have. This circle is composed of an in¬ timate group of workers, meeting once a month under the direction of the President in prayer for the unsaved members of the class. The class as a whole knows nothing of the circle. Sometimes it is possible to have two or more prayer circles at one time, none of which know of the existence of the other. The meetings of the prayer circle need not be long. Several minutes immediately follow¬ ing the Sunday morning service will usually suffice. Some circles, however, hold regular meetings in the members’ homes. The circle should pray in¬ dividually for individuals. Evangelistic effort backed by the sincere prayers of the Christian mem¬ bers of the class is bound to result in an awakened spiritual consciousness. Community Efforts The men’s classes should cooperate in every way with all evangelistic efforts in the community. 118 The Mens Class in Action They can be of great assistance in the case of re¬ vival meetings. The President should aim to fit the work of the class into these larger plans. He himself should be a personal assistant to the Pastor, helping him with the evangelistic work among men, distributing tracts to the unsaved, speaking to strangers who visit the church, supplying ushers for regular church and special evangelistic services. In the class he should urge and encourage regular church attendance, and regular attendance at prayer meeting. The thought of Jesus Christ and the serv¬ ice we owe Him should always be uppermost in the mind of the class President. III CLASS DAYS Many classes have annual class days, specially designated by some as '‘Men’s Day,” “Baraca Day,” “Agoga Day,” or something similar. While the general plans are developed by the executive board, they are carried out under the personal supervision of the President. On this special day, which is often the anniversary of the class organization, and frequently a class rally day, extra effort is made to secure a large attendance of men. One strong men’s class has had class days each year since its organization twelve years ago. At first the special feature consisted only of a sermon The Class’s Spiritual Service 119 by the Pastor to the class at the morning preaching hour. A typical day service now includes not only the special sermon by the Pastor at the morning service, but rally services at the class session often with special speakers, and a service Sunday evening conducted entirely by the class. Usually four speakers, all class members, are on the evening pro¬ gram. Some topic is chosen as a Key Topic and each speaker presents in ten minutes one phase of that topic. Subjects selected are usually evangelis¬ tic in their trend, leading to a presentation of Jesus as Saviour at the close. All prayers, Scripture reading and special music are also taken care of by class members. At both the morning and evening services the entire class marches into the auditorium in a body to special seats reserved for them. Usually they sing some stirring song as they come in, adding to the impressiveness of the occasion. A Typical Class-Day Program AGOGA DAY PROGRAM MAPLEWOOD BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL 9:45 a.m. Sunday School Worship Program—in charge of class President. Scripture—(Psalm 46)—Class Mem¬ ber. 120 The Mens Class in Action Morning Thought—“Selah”—Teacher. 10:00 a.m. Lesson of the morning. 11:00 a.m. Annual Agoga Sermon—The Pastor. Subject: “Restlessness of Youth.” 8:oo p.m. Annual Agoga Day Service. Organ Prelude—Prayer and Response —Rockwell Hymn—“I Love to Tell the Story.” Hymn—“Do You Love Him?” vs. I, 3 > 4 - Invocation—Class President. Scripture—Mark 1:14-20; Mk. 10:17- 31; Lk. 9:57-62—A Member. Prayer—A Member. Anthem—“O, Holy Father”— Carrie B. Adams —Choir. Offertory—“Traumerei” — Schumann Announcements. Hymn—“Oh, Worship the King.” Solo—“He Knows the Way”— C. S. Briggs —A Class Member. Talks:—Theme: “Fundamentals of Christian Living.” 1. Church Membership — Class President. 2. Bible Study—Class Member. The Class’s Spiritual Service 12 i 3. Worship—Class Member. 4. Soul Winning—Class Teacher. Hymn—“I Am Thine, O Lord.” Benediction—Pastor. Postlude—“I Waited for the Lord,” from “Hymn of Praise”—Mendels¬ sohn. The following topics have also been used as the basis of class day services: 1. The Manhood of the Master—Fosdick. a. Jesus as a Young Man. b. The Master’s Endurance and Self-Re¬ straint. c. The Master’s Sincerity and Affection. d. The Master’s Loyalty to the Cause. 2. The Young Man and the Church. a. When Shall We Start to Serve the Master ? b. How the Church Aids the Young Man. c. When Get Young Men? d. Our Reasonable Service. 3. “Not to be Ministered unto, but to Minister” —Service. a. Love. b. Sacrifice. c. Training. d. The Call to Service. 122 The Mens Class in Action Scripture appropriate to the topic should be se¬ lected for the general reading. The individual speakers may use portions of this Scripture selection on which to base their talks, or they may select other appropriate passages. The President will usually be one of the four speakers, but should pre¬ side at the service in any event. Preparation The preparation for special class services should be careful and thorough. After the assignment of the parts to the speakers, several weeks should be allowed for their preparation. The speakers should then meet to pray over and to discuss the talks in order to bring out the strongest points and prevent overlapping. All the talks should converge to the final talk, which will be in the nature of an invita¬ tion to greater service for Jesus Christ. Influence of Class Day Services Results from class day services are far-reaching. They serve to make the class more widely known; they stimulate enthusiasm and interest; they give members a new vision of Christian service that often ends in a decision for the Christian Ministry. Class Gospel Teams are often an offspring of these serv¬ ices; teams of men that visit pastorless churches and hold religious services, organize Sunday The Class's Spiritual Service 123 Schools and young people’s societies; teams that visit jails, hospitals, poor houses and bring cheer and hope to empty lives; and all told render a priceless service in communities where souls hunger for the Gospel message. Ill: SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE The class that fulfills its ultimate mission is reaching out daily into the church, the community, the world, in an endeavor to serve. These class activities are truly spiritual—their extent is a gauge of the effectiveness of the teaching. The President should be familiar with conditions existing in the community, the state and the nation. He should direct all community service of the class, such as campaigns for better law enforcement, reg¬ ulation of pool rooms, elimination of disorderly houses, efforts to secure better housing, more play¬ grounds, better labor conditions, better treatment of cases of juvenile delinquency, a cleaner, more worthwhile community. A survey of the commu¬ nity will show a field of endeavor beyond concep¬ tion. And it is remarkable what a class can ac¬ complish in the way of molding public opinion and securing remedial legislation if it wills to do it. When all the men’s classes of a community, repre¬ senting the highest type of men, federate to accom- 124 The Mens Class in Action plish definite service there is brought into being a force for righteousness that is simply irresistible. Right now one of the biggest tasks before the Chris¬ tian men of this country is securing enforcement of the prohibition laws upon our statute books—and the men in the nation's organized classes are strong enough to do it. Still other tasks await them when this will have been accomplished. Many classes in the cities are cooperating with the Big Brother Organizations—helping some boy fight against obstacles in his struggle to live a Christian life; guiding him through the temptations that sur¬ round him; and leading him to a manhood of use¬ fulness. Some classes accept the responsibility of conducting Americanization classes for foreigners. Others assist in social centers and mission schools, furnishing teachers, speakers, administrators, musi¬ cians, and directors of boys’ work activities. Very often the boys’ work in the church of which the class is a part, is neglected, and offers a golden opportunity for service to the men’s class. Classes in smaller towns have even greater op¬ portunities for service, for the field is usually in greater need of development. There is greater need for religious service in Sunday Schools, for develop¬ ing trained leadership, for directing boys’ activities, for community improvement, establishing libraries, reading rooms and social centers, than in the cities. The Class’s Spiritual Service 125 The needs are there—will the organized men’s classes just see the needs and then begin work? iv: MISSIONS So, too, with missions. The President should keep in touch with the missionary activities of the Church and Sunday School. It is an excellent plan for the class to contribute to missions, preferably through the regular Church or Sunday School chan¬ nels. Some classes support missionaries, native workers, or even entire mission stations. The mis¬ sion boards have made it possible for classes that can give only ten dollars a year to have part in some specific enterprise by means of the station plan. Shares in mission stations are issued in any sum from ten dollars upward. The shareholding class then feels an individual interest in the particular station chosen. Letters are received periodically from the missionaries at the station, pictures of and literature about the station may be obtained. Such definite missionary work, plus the regular mission study courses will serve to create and develop a permanent, living interest in world-wide evangeli¬ zation. Through class channels missionary and denom¬ inational literature may be distributed to the class, church and community. The men’s class might 126 The Mens Class in Action well provide the church with a literature rack and see that it is supplied with tracts which are supplied by the mission boards. This phase of work belongs more specifically to the work of the Librarian which is to be discussed in a later chapter. V : EXTENSION WORK OF THE CLASS Correspondence Study Many men because of their occupations can only attend class sessions at irregular intervals. Some, like traveling salesmen, may find it difficult to at¬ tend any class for perhaps weeks. Here is a won¬ derful opportunity for the class to conduct a corre¬ spondence study department for such men. Use texts of the Denominational Publication Society, University of Chicago and Y. M. C. A. These may easily be carried by travelers; the assignments are short and interesting; the material is educa¬ tional and inspirational. The President should ap¬ point an assistant to look after the details of this division of his work, to secure reports of work done and offerings. Home Department An assistant to the President should work to en¬ roll all the men of the community, who for any reason cannot attend class, in the Home Department The Class’s Spiritual Service 127 of the school. If there is no such department, there is no reason why a live class should not assume the responsibility for the conduct of a Home Depart¬ ment. The men’s class many often cooperate with a women’s class in such work to good advantage. Teacher Training It is natural that the school should look to the men’s class for teachers and leaders of boys. A leader-training course should be a regular part of the extension work of the class. One class held a fifteen-week course using as texts Rafifety’s “Broth- ering the Boy” and See’s “Teaching of Bible Classes.” The men who took the work (which was given for forty-five minutes before the regular class session) felt less reluctant to attempt the teaching of classes when offered them. From such a small beginning a regular school teacher training class might easily be developed. VI: IN CONCLUSION J It will be seen from the foregoing outline that the work of the class President is of such impor¬ tance that the class must elect its very best man to the office. He has vast opportunities. If he will persevere and give his best he will set an example to the other officers that will be a stimulus to greater 128 The Men’s Class in Action effort on their part, and that will result in a greater class influence in the community and among its young men. No one class will be likely to engage in all the activities enumerated in this chapter. The class under the direction of its President should discover the problems that await solution, and then proceed to solve them. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adult Class Activities (Leaflet—A. B. P. S.). Agar, “Church Oflicers. ,, Agar, “Democracy and the Church.” Strickland-McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” First Division, Chapter VIII. Burroughs, “Winning to Christ.” Strickland, “The Class Officers and Their Work,” pp. 7, 20-23 (Leaflet S. S. B. of S. B. C.). “101 Things 101 Bible Classes Are Doing”; “The O. A. B. C. at Work” (Leaflets—International Sunday School Council). “The Civic Program”; “The Town Program”; “Social Service by Organized Men”; “The Layman and the Kingdom” (Leaflets from Social Service Commission, Northern Baptist Convention). Rust, “The Church as a Field of Service.” Hudson, “The ‘How’ Book.” Hutchins, “Graded Social Service in the Sunday School.” Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class,” Chapters XI, XII, XIII, XIV. Barclay, “The Adult Worker and His Work,” Chapters XIV, XV, XVI. The Class’s Spiritual Service 129 Blick, “The Adult Department,” Chapters XIII, XIV, XV, XVI. Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Chapters VIII, IX, X. Trumbull, “Individual Work for Individuals.” Moniger, “How to Build up an A. B. C.,” Chapter XVIII. Shailer Mathews, “Individual and Social Gospel.” Spurgeon, “The Soul Winner.” Chapter Nine BRINGING IN THE MEN I N the departmental plan of organization, the Vice-President has a very definite and most im¬ portant task to accomplish—building the class membership. Too often this office is considered a sinecure and a good man is lost to service. The Vice-President should aim to make the initials of his office, V.P., mean “Valuable Person/’ and not “'Very Poor” as is so often the case. i: QUALIFICATIONS OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT In general the Vice-President should have the same qualities of leadership as the President. His work should be characterized by a spirit of strong, quiet perseverance, backed by an attractive person¬ ality. He must be convincingly friendly and should make a spirit of genuine welcome and a feeling of cheer fill the class room. II: DUTIES AS THE CLASS RECRUITING OFFICER Sunday Morning Welcome The Vice-President should be the first person present at the Sunday morning class sessions, so VO 131 Bringing in the Men that he may welcome strangers and also give the hand of fellowship to the regular members as they arrive. If the class is a large one, he may use sev¬ eral assistants, stationing one or more at each en¬ trance to the school assembly room and the class room. The first impression made upon a visitor is often the means of winning him for a member. If that impression is unfavorable the man may be lost not only from the class, but also from the serv¬ ice of Christ. This phase of the work should under no condition suffer neglect. Making Men Acquainted With Each Other The Vice-President should seek to make every man present acquainted with every other man. Special attention should be paid to this at the close of the session. At that time an observer will see something like this happen: after the closing prayer, there will be for a moment an appearance of gen¬ eral commotion—men moving around, moving chairs, etc. This apparent chaos will then gradu¬ ally resolve itself into a number of groups drawn together by some common interest. Outside of these groups there will usually be several individu¬ als, who either because of timidity or because they are strangers, will be left by themselves. The Vice- President and his assistants should be on the look¬ out for those men and see that they are directed to 132 The Mens Class in Action one of the groups or are engaged in conversation by assistants during the few social moments that remain before church service. The final impres¬ sion must be equally favorable with the first im¬ pression. To gain members a class must show itself friendly. It is more difficult for all members to know each other in large classes than in smaller ones. One class solved this problem by furnishing each mem¬ ber with a large celluloid button upon which he wrote his name. Between sessions the buttons are filed on boards—easily accessible to the men as they arrive at the class room. At the sessions, men can then call the other members by name —quite a step in itself toward more informal fellowship. “Follow-up” of Visitors Every visitor who attends the class should be “followed” with a view of making a regular at¬ tendant of him. It is the duty of one of the Vice- President’s assistants to secure the name, address, business, etc., of every visitor who attends. If a visitor is permanently located in the community, every effort should be made to make a regular mem¬ ber out of him. During the week following his first visit to the class, a card or letter should be sent to him stating that the class was glad that he met with them on the preceding Sunday and expressing the 133 Bringing in the Men hope that he liked the class well enough to return the following Sunday. The letters should be fol¬ lowed by phone calls and personal calls until the prospect either joins the class or some other class or moves out of town. If the visitor is a transient, the card or letter should be sent him anyway. Some classes mail all visitors a copy of the class bulletin for the two weeks following their visit to the class. Such visitors usually carry the story of the class and its methods back to their homes and their home classes. Ill : RECRUITING METHODS While cards, letters, phone calls, circulars, posters and paid advertisements should be used in recruit¬ ing, the surest method of building class membership is through the personal touch. It is impossible for any Vice-President to make all the calls that will be required, personally. He must have a large corps of assistants to help in the work and the complete cooperation of the entire class membership. The “One-at-a-Time” Plan The best method of building up class attendance known to the writer is the “one-at-a-time” plan, first described by Marshall Hudson. 1 Wishing that 1 Hudson—“The ‘How’ Book” 134 The Mens Class in Action the class had a large membership, does not bring in new members; neither does complaining that the men do not come out. There is just one way to get men into the class—Go and get them. By the “one-at-a-time” plan, it is possible to build up the class membership more quickly than by any other method and yet without overworking any member. By this plan, attendance is more easily maintained —the men who are brought in, come to stay and to work. When using the “one-at-a-time” method, the Vice-President is what an officer should be—the director. At least two-thirds of the class members should be at the disposal of the Vice-President for recruiting. These members are divided into teams of seven men each. The other third of the class is divided in the same way, but is under the direc¬ tion of the Visitor in his work of maintaining the attendance. These two officers work together, al¬ ternating groups, so that all members will work on prospects for part of the time. To each team is assigned each week the name of one man whom it is desired to bring into the class. Each member of the team is assigned one day on which he is to visit his group’s prospect. One man will call on the prospect Monday, another on Tues¬ day, another on Wednesday, and so on through the entire week. Bringing in the Men 135 Note now the probable psychologic effect upon the prospect. On Monday a class representative calls on him at his home or at his place of business and merely introduces himself and extends the in¬ vitation to visit the class. On Tuesday another member will call and extend his invitation. On Wednesday the prospect will probably tell the third man that two others have already been to see him. Let that pass; don’t say “Yes, I know it, and there will be three more here during the week.” By Thursday the unusually hard prospect will be vis¬ ibly impressed and may even remark that the class must be pretty much alive; then again the prospect may become irritated. Don’t show that it has been noticed; and don’t argue; just leave the invitation. By Saturday the prospect may have been impressed sufficiently to say, “I will come out tomorrow if I get up in time.” Don’t be elated; this may be said merely to get rid of the visitor. The final clincher is the Sunday man. On Sunday morning about an hour before time for the class to meet, the sev¬ enth man goes to the prospect’s home and will most likely find him asleep. When awakened he will probably say that he would come if he were dressed. Then just tell him that he has a whole hour and that you are there to bring him to class and will wait for him. Nine times out of ten you will ap¬ pear at class with your man. 136 The Mens Class in Action If with all the efforts of the group you fail to get the man, what then? Give him up? Not much! The next week a second team goes after him, and another the following week if necessary. Marshall Hudson, in “The ‘How’ Book” tells of a man who was visited fifty-six times with no appar¬ ent results , and then came out after the fifty-seventh call. If the class is small that need not deter the Vice- President from using the plan. If only seven men are available change the order of going if necessary to send the group after a man the second week. Let the Monday man go on Wednesday, and so on. In most cases you will have gotten the prospect by the end of the second week or he will have moved out of town. The great beauty of this plan is that it requires no more than fifteen minutes of a busy man's time, one day a week, as the visits are not necessarily lengthy social calls. Having secured your man, assign him at once to a group and let him go after some other man—he will enjoy giving some one else the same medicine which he received. Gradually as the membership increases more groups will be at work and the class will grow correspondingly. Assuming that each group at work secures only one new member a month, out of the possible four, a conservative estimate indeed, that means an in- Bringing in the Men 137 crease of one hundred and seventy per cent in the membership of the class in one year. What class is increasing at that rate under the haphazard, artificial methods of stimulation so frequently used? To the leaders who work in spurts this plan may seem very slow in its results. To such we say, “Just give it a trial for three months and then judge its value. This plan has been successful wherever worked Campaigns Special campaigns for members do create tem¬ porary enthusiasm and have their place in the scheme of class activities. Such flash campaigns should never be allowed to take the place of steady, determined effort on the part of the Vice-President and his assistants. One men’s class with a membership of twenty- five holds an annual reception for all the men of the community—a splendid means of making them acquainted with each other and with the class. A live speaker, some good entertainment and refresh¬ ments are provided; the class officers make talks telling what the work of the class means to them; the Vice-President and his assistants are on hand full force and extend personal invitations to join the class. Such a reception usually puts the class in touch with a number of new prospects. 138 The Mens Class in Action An annual student’s reception is held each autumn by another class, and serves to line up those students from out of town who are attending school and college in the city where the class is located. This reception not only brings a large number of students into the class, but performs a real service in making strangers feel less strange during the first few weeks away from home. Rally Day is a logical time for a membership cam¬ paign. Effort should be made to secure the attend¬ ance of every member past and present, as well as prospects. It is better to permit the regular Teacher to have the Rally Day lesson hour rather than an outside speaker. He needs the inspiration of large numbers after weeks of service with a smaller class. Anniversaries of the Class Organization offer opportunity for special effort to secure the attend¬ ance of all former members of the class. A class reunion of this nature may be genuinely inspira¬ tional. Usually classes hold anniversary celebra¬ tions at intervals of five or ten years. Easter, Mothers’ Day, Thanksgiving and Christ¬ mas also lend themselves very well to special attend¬ ance effort. Contests Frequently the membership campaign takes the form of a contest in which points are allotted on Bringing in the Men 139 a basis of new members, visitors, and punctuality. As a climax the side receiving the most points in an allotted time is usually treated to a supper by the losers. Such a contest will bring in large numbers during the period of the contest, but when the artificial stimulation of the contest ceases to exist—most of the new members (?) begin to drop away. Oh, yes, such members can be held by a continuous plan, such as the “one-at-a-time” method—but why not use this method at the begin¬ ning? The same amount of effort properly applied will secure more permanent results than an “Attend¬ ance Contest/’ which results in a cessation of ac¬ tivity when it is over. The chief weakness of most contests is that they are conducted largely for the sake of the con¬ test. A certain member of a young men’s class thought that a new contest should be started just as soon as one had ended. When it came to real effort to save souls or work for the betterment of the organization, this young man was always some¬ where else. A spirited contest between a successful young men’s class and the young ladies’ class of corre¬ sponding ages, illustrates the usual end of this form of endeavor. Both classes had an attendance of about twenty a Sunday at the beginning of the con¬ test. On the fifth Sunday when the contest ended 140 The Mens Class in Action the ladies had ninety-five and the men seventy-four. Certain visitors were brought by both classes just to count the three points for each. Some hard feel¬ ing was created in the allotment of points. The losing class gave the winners a banquet, the largest to that time held in that particular church, after which attendance in both classes reverted to its former average. There is now offered by the International Sunday School Council, the thoroughly sound Four-Square contest based on a real service program. It is ar¬ ranged for inter-class, inter-city or inter-county competition. Wherever properly conducted, per¬ manent good has resulted. A leaflet of information can be secured from the Council or the State Asso¬ ciation offices. The few permanent workers gained could have been gotten more easily if a business-like system had been used. Sources of Prospects Visitors to the class and church services are al¬ ways possible prospects. The Vice-President should have assistants at both the morning and evening preaching services to meet strangers who may be present. The class may conduct a religious census or cooperate with the community churches in con¬ ducting one. This will be a source of many live Bringing in the Men 141 prospects. The Church Clerk should be consulted, and his roll examined—many prospects will be revealed in this way. The community might well be divided into districts with an assistant to the Vice-President in charge of each one, he to watch for new families that move into the neighborhood. If the men who have just moved into the com¬ munity are seen as soon as they move in, the pos¬ sibilities of securing active workers is greatly enhanced. IV: USING THE NEW MEMBERS Recognition of New Members Many classes have a monthly recognition service for the new members—not a “horse play” initiation, but a dignified service of just a few minutes duration at one Sunday service. Such service need include only a few words of welcome from the President or Vice-President in order to make the new men feel at home and to make them acquainted with the other members of the class, and a brief outline of the pur¬ pose and aims of the class. At this time the class button and other class literature should be given to the new men. Importance of Putting New Members to Work Work is necessary to create and keep up the in- 142 The Mens Class in Action terest in the class. The new man should be made to feel that the class can do him good and that he in turn can be of service to the class and to the Kingdom. New men should be assigned to definite work on recruiting teams and as assistants to class officers, placing them in positions that will be con¬ genial. Many a man has been lost to the Kingdom just because he has been brought into the class and allowed to wither. Any recruiting plan that does not utilize its new members will certainly fail. Importance of Wearing the Button This should be stressed regularly. The denomi¬ national class button, or the International Organized Adult Class Emblem establishes a bond of fellow¬ ship between Christian men who meet as they travel about the city and as they visit in other communi¬ ties. Wearing the button helps to advertise the class as well as the Organized Class Movement. There is the feeling of reality and importance which comes from wearing the button. v: THE VICE-PRESIDENT AS ACTING PRESIDENT The Vice-President should be as familiar with the work of the class as the President himself. He should have a brief conference with the President at least once a week in order to keep in close touch Bringing in the Men 143 with all of the President’s plans. It is of course the duty of the Vice-President to preside over the class sessions whenever the President is absent. It is therefore doubly important that the Vice-Presi¬ dent be a regular attendant. Sometimes the Presi¬ dent may be called away without having time to f — x YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND ulljp (Elfararlpr UmlDprB Uiblp (Haas FOR MEN SERVICES ON SUNDAY MORNINGS AT 9.30 iEahtHmt Ijirights §>nttfcag-§>cluml CORNER CLAYBROOK AND MONROE J.R. Hyde TAKE MADISON AVENUE _ J — ... ■ ■ ... . -- CARS TO CLAYBROOK INVITED BY V ___ J FIGURE I—CLASS INVITATION notify the Vice-President—the latter must be able to step into the breach. In ordinary cases the Vice- President should always be given notice that he will be expected to act. In the event of a prolonged absence of the President, due to sickness, the Vice- President should preside and relieve the President of routine duties without special notice. The im¬ portance of regular conferences with the President can thus easily be seen. With a live Vice-President 144 The Mens Class in Action there is no need for the class work to stop in the case of absence of the President, nor for the burden to be thrown upon the Teacher. In business meetings the Vice-President may often be called upon to preside when the President wishes to speak on a motion. It is not good par- MAPLEWOOD AGOGA BIBLE CLASS V-P Prospedt Card Name of Prospe.dt Address Presented by Remarks Follow-Up Assistant Calls:- Visited Qa»»> “Get Another Man’ Message* Joined Class:- Turn Proiped m to the Viee-Pretideou FIGURE 2—VICE-PRESIDENT S PROSPECT CARD liamentary practice for the chairman to speak for or against a motion from the chair. vi: RECORDS The Vice-President will find carefully kept rec¬ ords of valuable assistance. He should record the names and addresses of all visitors and other pros¬ pects; dates of cards, letters, phone and personal Bringing in the Men 145 calls; records of the results secured by the several teams; and records of all prospects who join the class. Such records will enable him to follow up his prospects effectively and to make comprehensive reports of the work done by his department. If such records are available a new Vice-President will find his path much smoother. The forms herewith (Figures I and 2) are some that have been used by class Vice-Presidents to good advantage. BIBLIOGRAPHY Strickland & McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” pp. 60-61. Hudson, “The ‘How’ Book,” pp. 33-50. Moninger, “How to Build up an A. B. C.,” Chapters IV, VIII. Barclay, “The Adult Worker and His Work,” Chapter XVIII. Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class in the Sunday School,” Chapter VII. “The Four-Square Adult Bible Class Campaign” (Free leaflet—International S. S. Council). Chapter Ten HOLDING THEM i: THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THE WORK T HE men’s class must not only work to in¬ crease its attendance—it must maintain the attendance of those already on the membership rolls. This is usually a harder task than bringing in new members. In its complete sense the purpose of the class must be “to have, and to hold” For this important work the Visitor is responsible. The Visitor must have the same qualifications as the Vice-President, but to an even greater degree. He must be blessed with the gentle persistence of an insurance salesman and a tenacity of purpose that is not thwarted by superficial excuses. He must possess the tact of a diplomat—the Bible class is the place where “feelings” are tenderest—where hurts and insults are inflicted with greatest ease and wounds healed with greatest difficulty. The class will of course select for Visitor a man of magnetic personality—one who can mix with men, and one who will take some time from mere worldly pleas¬ ures to actually go out and mix with them. Jok¬ ingly speaking, the Visitor is the class truant 146 Holding Them 147 officer, but he performs his functions, not with the aid of police authority but by creating a new and deeper love for the class. II: MAINTAINING A HIGH AVERAGE Follow of Absentees A regular follow of all absentees is absolutely necessary if the class attendance is to be maintained at a proper level. An absence should never go un¬ noticed. The Visitor will use various methods of making his follow, using his best judgment as to what method to use on the different individuals. At least a post-card (personally written, not a printed form) should be sent to the absentee during the week following his first absence. This should carry a greeting from the class, regrets at the absence and the hope that nothing serious is wrong, and that he will be out the following Sunday. If the absence continues, a personal letter should be sent the second week. No absence should continue for more than three weeks without a personal call from the Visitor or one of his assistants. Such a call is much to be preferred following the second absence. The telephone will be frequently used, as occasion warrants. Unless it is known that a man can be present only every other Sunday or the like, it should be assumed 148 The Mens Class in Action that absence is due to illness or other serious reason, and a strenuous effort should be made to determine what that reason is. In case of serious illness many classes send flowers, this being left to the discre¬ tion of the Visitor himself. The class must show some concern about the absent member each week that he is absent or very soon that member will show but little concern about the class. Absentees should be kept informed regarding the class work at all times. If the class issues a bul¬ letin, a copy should be mailed to every absent member. This may be done under the Visitor’s own direction or as is suggested in a later chapter, by the Librarian. One Visitor during mission study courses, tied up his work to the teaching, by using post-cards showing views of the mission field being studied. Such cards are supplied by the mission boards at very reasonable prices, and offer oppor¬ tunity for a desirable variation from regular cards. The Visitor’s wits will be greatly taxed in the case of members who have supposed reasons for non-attendance—all delinquents should be urged to state frankly why they do not attend. The Visitor should impress on them the importance, both to themselves and to the class, of a closer affiliation. He should invite criticism and also suggestions showing that only in this way can the class hope to Holding Them 149 improve. In many cases the only excuse for non- attendance that a member can give is that he sleeps late Sunday mornings. An early rising visiting staff can easily remove this cause of absenteeism. To carry on his work with promptness and thoroughness, the Visitor needs a large corps of assistants working under his direction. He will advise the entire class of his plans, using at least one-third in definite visiting service according to the “one-at-a-time” plan outlined in Chapter IX—a plan that works equally well with old members and with prospects. Rally Days Rally and other special days are harvest time for the class Visitor. For such occasions he should enlist the entire class membership to secure a banner attendance. No rally day efforts will however be worth anything if efforts are not continued after the actual rally day has passed. A special drive will bring out many irregular attendants, but con¬ sistent and persistent effort is needed to perma¬ nently maintain a healthy attendance. Stunts One class organized what was known as “The Old Guard,” a group of members who pledged the 150 The Mens Class in Action Guard leader, “The Old Scout,” to be present every Sunday unless sick or absent from the city. In this way a working nucleus was formed that could be depended upon to be present every Sunday. No one was urged to join The Old Guard unless he was will¬ ing to make the pledge and to keep it. This plan stimulated attendance for quite a period. All novelty plans lose their power after being used for some time. When that happens it is better to adopt something new rather than try to revive a dying stunt. Ill: STIMULATING PUNCTUALITY Nothing disturbs a class session more than the entrance of tardy members. The Visitor in coopera¬ tion with the President and Secretary should strive for one hundred per cent punctuality. This is de¬ manded in business—it can be secured in Sunday School classes. From time to time the Visitor will use various “Stunts” to call particular attention to those who are on time. One such officer drew a large clock upon the blackboard, with the opening time in red chalk. An assistant stood at the door and called out the names of the first twenty men who arrived on time, while the man at the board wrote down the names. This was a very effective way of calling Holding Them 151 attention to the punctual men. In the small class it may be desirable to omit the calling of the names. Another plan, suitable for either large or small class, is the Flag Stunt. Each man present on time is given a small flag as he enters the class room. Sometime during the morning the Visitor calls for a waving of the flags, and emphasizes the fact that these men with flags were on time. Psy¬ chologically such plans are of considerable value in stimulating punctuality. IV : MEMBERS WHO MOVE AWAY The class should not lose interest in its members when they move from the community. The Visitor should find out, if possible, the destination of the member and should give him a letter of introduc¬ tion to the corresponding class or to the Pastor of the church of the same denomination in his new home community. It is desirable that he write to the Pastor himself, if known, so that the member may quickly take his place in religious work. It is very easy for one to get out of the habit of Sun¬ day School work when moving to a new com¬ munity. The class’s responsibility in seeing that its members are in active service does not cease until the new organization is notified that a new worker has moved into their neighborhood. 152 The Mens Class in Action V: EMPLOYMENT BUREAU Many men’s classes operate an employment bureau for the benefit of the class members. Such activities are usually placed under the direction of the Visitor, to be handled by one of his assistants. In large classes and classes connected with large churches, a bureau can give excellent results within its church organization. Small classes will usually find it desirable to codperate with other classes and Y. M. C. A. organizations to make it a worthwhile proposition. An employment bureau should be in charge of a live man, who will see that its aims and purposes are kept before all church members, espe¬ cially those who are employers, and before the busi¬ ness men of the community at large. Properly handled the employment bureau may be a very valuable asset to the class in its work of getting new members and holding old ones. Here is one way in which the class may show that it believes in the helpfulness and Christian brotherhood of which it teaches. vi : the visitor’s records Like the other officers of the organized class, the Visitor will keep records so that he and the class may be informed regarding the work of his de- Holding Them 153 CALL REPORT Agoga HibU (Elaas TH I RD BAPTIST CHURCH ST. LOUIS, MO.,.-. .191... IM>1 I *•% Name _ Address New Address —. PhoneNo Object of Call— Last in Class —- Captain ■♦mt i e M wow Date of Call, ————-191. Report. ... •••••«»»*, Signed FIGURE 3—CALL REPORT FOR VISITOR i 154 The Mens Class in Action partment. He will want a card record of the names and addresses of all members. On this card should be provided spaces for recording the absence of a member on any date, and for noting the methods used to follow him. Such a record may be as sim¬ ple or as complicated as the Visitor desires. A standard 3" x 5" ruled card is all that is needed. Write the member’s name, home and business ad¬ dress, and home and business phone at the top. When the member is absent, note that fact with the date, then follow with entries showing the date on which cards were sent, letters mailed, phone calls, personal calls by self or assistant and assistant’s name. Excuses given by the absentee should by all means be noted. A salesman listed on cards all the possible excuses a prospect could give for not buy¬ ing, with the answers to them. When the excuse was given he merely pulled out his card and pre¬ sented the refutation. The Visitor will find this plan novel and result getting. The Visitor should also keep individual card records of the work done by his various assistants, so that he can give encouragement as may be needed. Plain cards may also be used for this pur¬ pose—the assistant’s name at the top, with his as¬ signments and the result of his effort noted below. The Visitor must demand definite written reports Holding Them 155 from each assistant regarding the definite assign¬ ments that have been given him. Figure 3 illustrates an assignment and report blank that has been used successfully. It requires but little imagination to see the value of such records to the Visitor. The value to a new Visitor just taking up the duties is even greater, for he will have noted for his use, the accumulated ex¬ perience of the previous men in the same office. BIBLIOGRAPHY Strickland and McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” pp. 61-62. Barclay, “The Adult Worker and His Work,” Chap¬ ter XVIII. Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Chapter V. Chapter Eleven CLASS RECORDS i: THE CLASS SECRETARY R ECORDS bear the same relation to the Bible Class, as the gauge does to the boiler or the accounting system does to modern business. The class that does not keep accurate records is like a ship without its compass—it goes, but no one knows in what direction, nor at what moment it may hit rock and meet destruction. The class Sec¬ retary is a torch-bearer occupying an enviable posi¬ tion from which he may survey the work of the class, observe its trend and point out by definite facts, before the danger point is reached, where im¬ provement may be made. By the light of his sta¬ tistics he leads the class onward and upward to greater success. The man selected for the office of Secretary should be one who has more or less liking for sec¬ retarial work—not necessarily a bookkeeper, but one who has a love for statistics. The Secretary should see the value of comparative statistics—he should have an analytical mind to see quickly how facts can be used for the best interest of the class. He should be able to compile comprehensive 156 Class Records 157 reports showing class growth. These reports to be of value must be accurate—no omissions due to absence. The Secretary should have a reputation for neatness; the class ought not be ashamed to show its reports to any one at any time. II: RECORDS STATISTICAL The attendance record is the barometer of class progress. The Secretary should let nothing inter¬ fere with the keeping of accurate records of attend¬ ance, at the Sunday sessions, at business meetings and at meetings of the class officers. If he is unable to be present at any class meeting he should satisfy himself that one of his assistants will be there to take care of his work for him. Records are value¬ less if incomplete. No records should be kept merely for record’s sake—record only the information that can be used. The minimum requirements should include number present, the names of those present, number and names of visitors, a record of those present on time. Other information will be secured as the class finds use for it. Securing Attendance Methods of securing the attendance information vary in different classes. In no case should valuable 158 The Men’s Class in Action time of the session be taken to conduct roll call. In small classes the Secretary will probably know all the members and can check off his attendance without bothering any one, names of visitors being secured from the Vice-President after class session. In one small class of about forty members, the class FIGURE 4 —MEMBER’S INDIVIDUAL WEEKLY REPORT issued a weekly bulletin containing a complete mem¬ bership roll on the last page. The Secretary of that particular class simply checked off the names of those present, on this bulletin each Sunday, trans¬ ferring this record to his permanent record, later in the week. A larger class with a membership of two hundred and fifty, uses a printed envelope with spaces for name, address, daily Bible reading and amount of offering, and in the case of visitors, the Class Records 159 home address and church. Each attendant receives and marks his envelope and deposits his offering. The Secretary receives these envelopes just as soon as the Treasurer removes the offering, and secures an accurate count of the day’s attendance. Still other classes use the “six-point” system (published _AGCCA_ALUMNI_ CLASS CARD AHULU DEPARTMENT,GRADE. MONTH Oflt . 19M2 1st SUNDAY 2d SUNDAY 3d SUNDAY «th SUNDAY Stb SUNDAY NAME ■6 c § < 9 g £ a O 8 Xu £ be c T 9 to O 6 £ J Prch. At. | •u c £ < On Time 8 3 £ u c 9 to O 2 Cl, 3 < A 9 Ch •d c £ < [ On Time \ J A £ tc a z 9- to O <9 £ 3 Prch. At. 1 -6 O' £ < On Time | 8 A £ Offering 1 cl £ 3 < A 2 •6 2 2 < 9 a £ c O 8 3 £ be C T at to O £ 3 .Prch. At. | Mo. Avg. Grade C.Borth Teacher, 7 ✓ ✓ v' / 7 F.. Rml th ? to 7 • D.M.Lawrence 7 ✓ 7 7 7 George Dever ✓ 7 7 Y 7 ?j G. Willis if 1 H.T.Kemper ✓ ✓ * G.Sanders 7 7 / u> / * I.. E. Bogy ✓ ✓ / S 7 J.Renderer 7 7 7 • Chaa. Sflnnnr 7 P . H - Fh i Q m i r\ ✓ Totals. 11 l k 8 8 1 Amount of Offering. FORM 30. BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARO. NASHVILLE. TCNN. FIGURE 5—SIX-POINT CLASS RECORD CARD. FURNISHED IN LOOSE-LEAF FORM FOR LARGER CLASSES. by Sunday School Board, Nashville, Tenn.), using a record card which is marked in the same manner as the envelope. This particular card (Figure 4) has space not only for the name and address, but also for marking other important information such as punctuality, offering made, Bible brought, daily Bible reading, and attendance at preaching service. 160 The Mens Class in Action It is easily seen that such a record, faithfully kept is an asset to every officer. Permanent File All records obtained at the class meetings should be transferred to a permanent record. One of the Nan Hon Bus Secretary’s Attendance Card ...J9. it Address Married ness Address and Occupation Telephone JAN. FEB. MCH. APL. MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. * ATTENDANCE—D»y» la Var; Form I 4 & iaiorlrtu B.ptIM PobllwtloB ImI.ij FIGURE 6—SECRETARY’S PERMANENT ATTENDANCE RECORD very best is the card record (Figure 6), published by the American Baptist Publication Society, contain¬ ing space for recording the member’s name, ad¬ dress, phone, business address, whether married or single, whether a Christian, and also space for one year’s attendance. Such a record can always be kept clean of dead timber, all removed members being transferred to an “Old Member File.” Class Records 161 Records of Business Meetings Accurate records should also be kept of the at¬ tendance of class officers at the officers’ meetings, and of all the members at the regular business meet¬ ings. Does the class President know who is regular at the business meetings, and who is always on time? Does he know how often his officers have missed cabinet meetings ? Does the Entertainer know what the average attendance is at business meetings, and who is regular? If he does, it will help him decide on the refreshments, and in mak¬ ing up a program. Records of business meetings indicate very clearly why certain class work is not developing as it should. These facts regarding these two important meetings can be presented to the class and will usually bring about desired im¬ provement. Enrollment Records One of the most important records that the Sec¬ retary will keep is that of information about the class members. While each officer will keep some individual record pertaining to his own department, the Secretary will keep a complete record of all the information that he can secure, recording it on cards or on individual sheets in a loose leaf book. (See Figure 7.) Such a record should contain name, address, business and business address, home 162 The Mens Class in Action and business phone, married or single, living at home or boarding, hobby, activities preferred, and in the case of new members, the church, class and town from which they came. Such information is valuable to all officers. The Teacher can base lesson assignments on the information given, the Enter- ^Maplewood Agoga Bible Class. Name—■--— - Residence-.- Business Address ———— ---— Occupation-- Married, n? Church Member.. Previous Church Connection- Church Preference.—--- Activities Preferred —-—-- Willingness to participate--— Res. Phone.... Date joined Class-- Bus. Phone — 1 — ) »» * Remarks on other Side. FIGURE 7—ENROLLMENT CARD tainer will base his activities on the facts shown by the record, and so with the other officers. The Sec¬ retary should make every effort to keep this record absolutely up-to-date, for every officer will from time to time want this information, particularly that pertaining to addresses and phone numbers. An out-of-date record is really worse than none at all as it results in waste effort and waste postage. Class Records 163 Withdrawal Records No man’s name should ever be stricken from the class roll unless he has moved from town, joined another class or died. The reason for every with¬ drawal should be noted on the member’s enrollment card—it is dangerous to drop men who might be re-enlisted in class work if effort were made. Birthday Records Some classes keep a chronological record of birthdays, and mail cards to each member on his birthday. School Records In many cases some records mentioned are kept by the Secretary of the Sunday School of which the class is part. The class Secretary will cooperate with the school Secretary in every way to avoid duplicate effort. Using the Records Reports, no matter how complete, are of little value if just kept in the Secretary’s record file. Using the statistics is two-thirds of the live Secre¬ tary’s job. The weekly attendance record should be placed upon a blackboard ruled for the purpose, and commented upon briefly by the Secretary. Each member should receive monthly or at least 164 The Men’s Class in Action quarterly a summary report from the Secretary, showing the number of times present or absent, the number of times late, etc., with a suggestion that the record be improved, or a word of commenda¬ tion for a good record. Frequent summaries should be prepared for distribution, publication in the class paper, or posting on the blackboard. The Secretary occupies a strategic position in the depart¬ mental scheme of organization; he can greatly help his class by rendering full cooperation to the other officers. As soon as a new member is voted into the class, the Secretary should have him fill in his enrollment card. A card containing the information desired by the Teacher will be made out and given to him, as will also one for the Treasurer. A copy will also be made for the General Secretary of the School. Each week and as early in the week as possible, the Secretary should see that the Teacher, Presi¬ dent and the Visitor are given the attendance record of the previous week, including the names of all the absentees. These officers can then put forth their best efforts to bring back the absent members. The Teacher, President, and Vice-President should also receive a list of visitors, so that they may fol¬ low them and try to make regular members out of them. If the class publishes a class paper or uses Class Records 165 space in the church bulletin or local papers, the Sec¬ retary will consider that a fertile field for his en¬ deavors. He should see that the Reporter is fur¬ nished with attendance facts for each Sunday, and also comparative statistics for publication. Some classes run a tabulation in their class papers which shows the attendance for the previous Sunday com¬ pared with the same Sunday one year before, the average attendance to date and for the preceding year, the number of “on timers,” visitors, daily Bible readers, signed contributors and amount of offering. One class designates this part of its paper as “The Ticker,” another, “The Class Pendulum.” In one men’s class the Secretary furnishes the Re¬ porter a monthly list of those attending every Sun¬ day during the month. These names are published as an honor roll. A list of the daily Bible readers for the month is also stimulating. Such facts sim¬ ply bristle with interest not only to the members, but to visitors, and others who receive the class publication. The good Secretary will have all this information handy, for use at any time that he may be called upon to furnish it. He will be called upon fre¬ quently by the Sunday School and the Church for class records to be incorporated in complete records which are presented to district and state associa¬ tions; these statistics should be correct. 166 The Men’s Class in Action hi: records historical By “Historical Records” we mean minutes of meetings, records of special occurrences and the like. The Secretary should keep complete though not necessarily voluminous records of every class meet¬ ing. First, of course, will naturally come the regu¬ lar class business meetings. Secretaries sometimes make the mistake of attempting to record almost verbatim all discussions of such meetings. Nothing will tend to make a Secretary discouraged as much as the laborious effort of keeping such a record. The purpose of the class minutes is to record class action. Discussion leading to such action is rarely of sufficient importance to be included in the min¬ utes of a class business meeting. All that is neces¬ sary is a brief record of the motion as stated, with the name of the mover and the seconder if desired, and the action taken by the class. Similarly brief records should be kept of the Sunday morning sessions. In these meetings there will be very few motions to record, but there will be other business worthy of note. Attendance should be recorded and also the weather. Brief mention should always be made of talks by special speakers, and even the regular lesson subject might be given. Officers' meetings differ from business meetings,. Class Records 167 in that there is little formal business, but consider¬ able discussion. The Secretary should record the substance of all discussion taking place, but as cau¬ tioned previously should not attempt to give a lengthy account of every point. The Secretary will virtually be a class historian. His minutes will in many respects check his sta¬ tistical record. The minutes if properly prepared will show just what the class has done at each period of its history. All special events will be mentioned and briefly written up. Copies of the constitution and by-laws, programs of class services of a special nature, and of class entertainments will be pre¬ served, not only as mere history, but so that the past may be a guide for the future. IV: CLASS CORRESPONDENCE While some of the details in connection with the record keeping should be delegated to assistants, the class correspondence will usually be handled by the Secretary himself. Unless the class is so small as to have but a few officers, the Secretary will not send out notices of meetings nor conduct direct-by¬ mail recruiting campaigns. The Visitor, Vice- President, Entertainer and Reporter will carry on most of the correspondence within the class. In case of necessity, the Secretary will, of course, co- 168 The Mens Class in Action operate with all other officers to the extent of his time and ability, but he should not be expected to carry on two officers’ work at one time. Local con¬ ditions may make some changes advisable, but on the whole it will be best for the Secretary to con¬ fine his efforts to records and outside corre¬ spondence. If it can afford it, the class should have station¬ ery printed with the class name, address, motto, emblem and the officers’ names. This might even be furnished to class members for personal corre¬ spondence, as a class advertisement. BIBLIOGRAPHY McIntyre, “The Sunday School Secretary.” Strickland and McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” pp. 48-53- Chapter Twelve CLASS FINANCES i: THE TREASURER The Giving Attitude U PON the class Treasurer rests not only the re¬ sponsibility of collecting money, but also of stimulating a right attitude toward giving. In pro¬ moting the grace of liberality he will appeal not primarily to class loyalty or loyalty to a special cause being fostered, but rather to the man’s sense of duty—his obligation to God, who has given him all that he has. Regular and systematic giving, with the tithe as the minimum for religious purposes, should be the Treasurer’s ideal for each member. Qualifications For the office of Treasurer, the class should select a man largely because of his outstanding business ability. Here, of all places, it is important that business methods be used to bring results. It is only by using tact that the Treasurer will be able to encourage regularity, liberality. He must know how to approach the members who think that they are not earning enough to become regular 169 170 The Men’s Class in Action contributors and how to remind members who are delinquent in paying pledges, without appearing too persistent. The Position of Treasurer is a Christian calling in the strongest sense. Whereas the President will emphasize personal consecration, the Treasurer will emphasize “Purse and All” consecration. It is only consistent that he set the example by contributing regularly, and in so far as he is able, generously. The man who is selected for the office of Treas¬ urer should have an excellent record as a regular attendant. The difference between a Treasurer who is always on hand, and one who is indifferent, is just the difference between a financially sound or¬ ganization and one that always is a little behind in meeting its obligations. In one class with an average attendance between fifteen and twenty, a certain Treasurer collected sixty dollars a year in monthly dues alone. In the following year with a less regular attendant in charge, collections of dues fell to twenty dollars, with no drop in membership. The first Treasurer was on the job every Sunday. The men who were absent the first Sunday, he reached on the second, third or fourth Sunday; the second Treasurer passed collection envelopes to members on the first Sunday of the month only— and missed all those who were absent on that Sun¬ day, but who attended later in the month. Class Finances 171 II: CLASS FUNDS Sunday Offerings The regular Sunday morning offering belongs to the Sunday School and should be used according to the plan of the School. The organized classes are part of the school and subject to its rules and regulations. Adult classes often think of them¬ selves as separate departments rather than only a small unit of a larger organization. The Treasurer and other officers should make every effort to im¬ press this fact upon class members who have a wrong perspective. Many schools authorize the organized classes to buy their own supplies and to retain a portion of the Sunday collections for that purpose. Some classes retain the collections on the odd Sundays of the month, while the school takes the offerings of the even Sundays. Others divide all collections evenly. In other cases the classes simply ask the Sun¬ day School to state what is expected of them dur¬ ing the year and pay that much, retaining all offer¬ ings above that amount. The ideal way is to turn all the Sunday collections into the Sunday School treasury and permit the school to purchase the class supplies, just as they are purchased for all other classes. Whatever arrangements are made, should 172 The Men’s Class in Action be acceptable to the school, not dictated by the class. Class Dues There are always expenses in connection with organized class work, aside from the cost of les¬ son material, entertainments, class social service, flowers, stationery, and the like. Many classes meet such expenses by having monthly dues. No attempt should be made in a Bible class to fix dues, unless they are low enough that even the poor¬ est member will be able to pay them. The method to be preferred is a voluntary pledge to pay a cer¬ tain amount each month until the pledge is canceled. The tactful treasurer will be able to suggest the amount to any member who does not know just how much he should pay. The By-Laws of one men’s class provides for monthly dues of twenty- five cents if the member can pay it, but emphasizes the fact that the dues are voluntary. It will be well for the Treasurer to provide a special class envelope for the collection of the dues, this to carry the class name and emblem, name of the member, date and amount due. Sometimes a man may find it inconvenient to pay just at the time that the envelope is given him; he can then put it in his pocket as a reminder for later payment. The tactful Treasurer will not be too insistent about Class Finances 173 class dues. If a month’s dues are unpaid, he may simply note the unpaid total on the following month’s envelope. Such a plan can hardly give even the most indifferent member an idea that money is all the class wants. Advertising Funds Many classes that issue class papers secure ad¬ vertising to cover the cost of publication. It usu¬ ally falls to the Treasurer’s lot to secure the adver¬ tisements and also to collect for them. While the ideal class paper is free from advertising, yet be¬ cause of the expense of publishing, it may be neces¬ sary to accept some ads. Care should be taken to accept only clean copy, and not as in one actual instance, a pool room ad. The Treasurer should try to make the advertising pay for the paper— but the class should try to make the advertising pay the advertiser. Speaking from the standpoint of an advertising man, this sort of advertising hardly ever does pay the advertiser. Payment of Bills All money passing through the class should go through the Treasurer. He should open a class account in a local bank for the deposit of class funds, and for sake of record should make all pay¬ ments by check. Under no circumstances should 174 The Mens Class in Action class funds be deposited in any officer’s personal account—mistakes are too easily made. All bills should be presented to the Treasurer for payment. Only confusion results if individuals are permitted to purchase supplies and pay for them. No indi¬ vidual should ever purchase supplies unless previ¬ ously authorized by the class to do so. It is much better for the Treasurer himself to place all orders, for then checking bills is easy. The Treasurer will include all paid bills in his monthly report to the class. Some classes require all bills to be counter¬ signed by the President before payment, as an extra check. Hi: THE BUDGET SYSTEM If the class is to be run on a business basis busi¬ ness methods must be used. Nowhere has there been less business discernment in religious organiza¬ tions than in the field of finance. Note the num¬ ber of special collections taken in church organiza¬ tions every year—repeated calls upon the member¬ ship for contributions to meet some unforeseen need. The writer has many times seen the ap¬ proach of the baseball season, with its sudden en¬ thusiasm for a class ball team. Then came the inevitable special drive for funds to buy uniforms, pay entrance fee to the Sunday School League, etc. And so with many other class activities. Glass Finances 175 To attain best results the class should survey its probable needs for the year and plan a budget to cover those needs. In forming the budget, the past year’s activities will be a guide as to the possi¬ bilities of the next year. The class should consider whether the money raised during the past year rep¬ resented ioo per cent possibilities—usually it will not have done so. All the usual and some unusual needs should be provided for in the budget. Include the agreed-upon offering to the Sunday School, cost of class lesson material, new equipment, entertain¬ ment at the regular business meetings, the athletic program, general entertainments, lyceum courses, up-keep of the class room, contribution to church building needs, social service, sending flowers to sick members, thanksgiving offerings and missions. After the class has voted to adopt the budget, the Treasurer should urge all members to support it strongly. A special financial Sunday might be planned with a drive to secure sufficient pledges to underwrite the budget. The Treasurer will make personal calls on those members who will not be reached on the special Sunday. In carrying out the plans, appeal in all cases to the higher motives of duty in securing pledges. Printed sets of class envelopes in cartons may be given to the members to facilitate making regular offerings. If such a budget plan is worked, regular giving will be stim- 176 The Men’s Class in Action ulated, there will be no undue hardship placed upon any member, no special calls during the year, and always enough money on hand to meet class needs. In the more progressive churches the class budget is made part of the general Sunday School budget, which in turn becomes part of the budget of the en¬ tire church. Then instead of a member contributing to the church and separately to his class, he makes but one annual pledge, and but one weekly offering. This plan makes it convenient for members, and unifies the church program. Adult class Treasurers will contribute greatly toward church progress by starting movements in their local churches for the adoption of this plan. iv: the treasurer's records As attendance records have been shown to be important, so too are financial records—both for purpose of having information regarding individual •contributors, and for statistical comparison. If the Treasurer has bookkeeping experience, it will be helpful—if not, the few simple principles suited to the Bible Class are easily learned. A simple form for class record keeping (Figure 8) is appended, in which certain general classes of transactions are separated for purpose of an¬ alyzing the receipts and expenditures. Such a form Class Finances 177 Disbursement,5 — hju % 11 tr»\5 5 U.«^4. ScVoot L»fcrA.t*^r<.- &«rv«*c>\cM*C I SoU.» n >5 fret. TcKl I 1 1+ 16 II 13 14 19 H SO Otfer\^ ©■^■ferw^ 'Ttfh- CVm% ‘Tickifj Banjul* loo R W - Offer 8 1 « 1 8 ir 13 16 01 80 12 15 l l ID 00 00 50 oo 1 SS 50 00 1 8V 113 1 )K> 81* 1 TO0 Ul 1 TO 55-00 loo Uo 11 4J +0 10 5o 0 00 V. ] 36 ’7“ SO O H 115 Itf I 1 loo TO FIGURE 8—ILLUSTRATING A SIMPLE SYSTEM OF CLASS ACCOUNTS 178 The Men’s Class in Action may be as elaborate as class activities may warrant. The two sides of the account should be balanced monthly. If the total expenditures plus the money on hand, equals the total receipts, plus money on hand at the beginning of the month, then the Treas¬ urer knows that his accounts are correct. This form makes it easy to make comprehensive reports A h _ Treasurer’s Collection Record Pledge Name Address FIGURE 9—TREASURER’S INDIVIDUAL COLLECTION RECORD— PLEDGE FORM ON REVERSE SIDE of class expenditures. All money passing through the class should be entered on the books even though, as in the case of Sunday offerings, it is turned in to the Sunday School at once. Individual records should be kept of all dues col¬ lected from members and totals by weeks and months. Such records can usually be best handled Class Finances 179 on individual record cards. The card shown (Fig¬ ure 9) is a splendid combination pledge card and record of contributions. As previously stated, all expenditures should be presented to the class at the monthly business meet¬ ing for its approval. At each of these meetings a complete report of the activities of the Treasurer and his assistants should be made, covering all money received, paid, and balance on hand. The Treasurer should also present an annual re¬ port covering all financial activities during the year. This report should be submitted to the Sunday School for its annual report to the church. To protect the Treasurer and to catch any inac¬ curacies that might have crept into the records, the class should appoint annually an auditing committee to check the accounts. v: OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE The live Treasurer will find ample opportunity for further service. Who is better fitted to serve as class representative on the church finance com¬ mittee? Since the Treasurer’s function is also to promote the grace of giving, he will cooperate with the Librarian in distributing literature on steward¬ ship, tithing, etc., which may be secured from the denominational publishing houses, Laymen’s Mis- 180 The Mens Class in Action sionary Movement, Mission Boards, and from the national offices of the Christian Endeavor, Epworth League, Baptist Young People’s Union, etc. He may even assist the Teacher occasionally in con¬ ducting a special study course on “The Bible and Money,” or “Stewardship,” or something similar. He will see that the Reporter is furnished with all statistics of his office for publication in the class or church bulletin. Of course it is not to be expected that the Treas¬ urer will do all these things alone—not if he is a real business man. He, too, will have his corps of assistants, one to help collect dues, one or two to handle advertising, and others as needed. The Treasurer should be comparatively free so that he may plan to make his office a spiritual force second only to that of the Teacher and President. BIBLIOGRAPHY Agar, “Modern Money Methods for the Church.” Chapter Thirteen DEVELOPING THE SOCIAL INSTINCTS i: THE ENTERTAINER AND HIS OPPORTUNITY C LASS social affairs are not to be considered as bribes offered to bring men into the class nor to hold them after they are in—they do both, but only incidentally. The chief values of class social life are five-fold: i. The development of the complete man by min¬ istering to his social needs; 2. Unsuspected traits of character are revealed at social affairs, when men are “off their guard 3. Character is built through the inhibition of individualistic traits—a positive effect of so¬ cial intercourse; 4. Opportunity is offered Christian workers at informal social gatherings to reach men who are antagonistic to the Gospel message when formally taught; 3. A thoroughly enthusiastic spirit of Christian fellowship is created within the class—a spirit that grows only as the men meet informally at various class gatherings and learn to know each other. 181 182 The Mens Class in Action For the nurturing of the social life of the class, the Entertainer is responsible. The class will find it advisable to elect to this office, a man who is a good mixer among men and also a good Christian. Natural ability to entertain, and to plan interesting programs is to be prized, but is not essential if ex¬ ecutive ability is possessed by the man selected to handle this phase of the work. The Entertainer will be sufficiently familiar with games, sports, music and entertainments, to at least exercise gen¬ eral supervision of the social program. He should personally assume detailed direction of only the activities with which he is thoroughly familiar. The ideal Entertainer is a commander-in-chief who outlines and directs the general campaign of class social activities. He has assistants for the several sports in which the class engages, others for music, for refreshments, for entertainment, etc.—all spe¬ cialists in their respective lines. II: SOCIAL AFFAIRS WITHIN THE CLASS Get-together Meetings The regular monthly class business meeting rep¬ resents one of the big opportunities of the Enter¬ tainer—no class should neglect the social features of such meetings. If the business and social fea¬ tures are properly correlated each will serve to Developing the Social Instincts 183 stimulate interest in the meeting. About forty-five minutes should be devoted to business and an equal amount to the social program. An interesting pro¬ gram is the whole secret of a successful social and business meeting. Entertainment at the business meetings should usually be somewhat light. A 1 short, snappy pro¬ gram liberally sprinkled with humorous features is much to be preferred to a long one of a more serious nature. The program of entertainment should be varied from month to month; it may include music by class members—vocal and instrumental—brief humorous sketches, usually written by men of the class, and often about the members; humorous read¬ ings, and debates among the members. Even de¬ bates should be in a light vein. The following sub¬ jects have been used by men’s classes with good success: Resolved: that men should be protected from suf¬ fragettes. Resolved: that this program would have been bet¬ ter without the debate. Resolved: that women are more extravagant than men. An extemporaneous debate offers an occasional happy variation of the program. If serious topics are chosen for debate a time limit of five or six minutes for each speaker should be set. The 184 The Mens Class in Action writer recalls the harrowing experience of listening to one debater speak thirty-five minutes on the sub¬ ject of capital punishment. An attempt to make the monthly Get-together meeting too educational will defeat its ultimate purpose. Men always enjoy light refreshments at class meetings. Some classes even serve suppers before the business session, in many cases prepared by the men themselves. Usually a charge of twenty-five cents a man covers the cost of such suppers, which should of course be paid by the men present. No class treasury can stand the strain of monthly sup¬ pers for the members. The following schedule of refreshments show how one men’s class helped make its business meet¬ ings interesting: January—Charlotte russe and cocoa. February—Chile con carne, crackers; coffee and assorted cakes. March—Grape juice, soda and cakes. April—Strawberry short cake. May—Real man’s cake without sticky icings, and coffee. June—Minced ham and pickle sandwiches, coffee. J uly—W atermelon. August—Cold ham, potato salad and coffee. September—Pimento cheese sandwiches, coffee. October—Sweet cider and doughnuts. November—Pumpkin pie, apples and coffee. December—Annual banquet. Developing the Social Instincts 185 The actual needs of the class should always be considered in planning business and social meetings. Some classes may not need such a meeting every month—the members may be too busy to give the time to attend so frequently. If that is the case, meetings should be held less often and effort made to increase attendance at the meetings that are held. One good meeting a year is much better than one uninteresting poorly attended meeting held each month. Bi-monthly meetings are often a happy compromise. One class of busy married men holds such meetings at the homes of the members and in¬ vites the wives. A certain large class of men has only two meetings a year, one in the winter for the transaction of important business and the laying of plans which are to be carried out by the officers; another in summer, which takes the form of a picnic or entertainment—this latter being purely a social meeting. Still another class of busy men have an annual fishing trip, which is the extent of their week-day meetings. Many classes in the larger cities have periodical noonday luncheons for the transaction of class business. Class Music Nothing contributes more to the success of social affairs of the class or the school and church of which it is a part than good music. It is possible 186 The Men’s Class in Action in almost every class to organize an acceptable vocal quartette, or even a strong glee club. Instrumental organizations are possible even though there are only a limited number of players; a violin, ’cello and piano; two violins, a ’cello and bass; two clar¬ inets, a flute and oboe; cornet, trombone and piano; two cornets, trombone, euphonium and tuba; these are all pleasing combinations which even the smaller classes can organize. Many larger classes have their own orchestras of from seven to thirty-four pieces. Some classes form the nucleus of Sunday School orchestras, while others are instrumental in organizing larger community bands. Neither large numbers, nor high quality music is needed to start —the main thing is to use the available talent— quality will follow. Class musical organizations need not confine their efforts solely to sacred music—a certain amount of more popular music adds interest. Discretion should be used, however, for much of the sensa¬ tional, popular music of the day is entirely unfit for the use of religious groups. Music should stimulate high ideals at all times. The Annual Banquet The annual banquet may be made a big event in the class life. As with all other affairs, ample preparation should be made to assure a success. A Developing the Social Instincts 187 number of classes hold their annual elections at the class banquet. If that be the case, there will be need of but little other program, for the campaign speeches usually furnish all the entertainment that is necessary. In the event that no election is held, a more elaborate program may be worked out, in¬ cluding toasts and responses, special music and a special speaker of note who will bring a worthwhile message. A joint banquet of the men’s class and the women’s class of corresponding grade, has proven successful in some Sunday Schools. Class Picnic The class picnic is usually a mixed picnic, each man bringing his wife or, if unmarried, some woman friend. It may also be a joint picnic between the men’s and women’s classes. The Entertainer must plan a bright, novel program, not too much like the annual Sunday School picnic. Let it be a day of real play. Provide horseshoes, croquet games, a number of soft indoor baseballs, and but little urging will be needed to induce every one to play informally. If the class will seek a picnic ground away from the beaten path, going in a special car or automobiles, interest will be heightened. One class holds such a picnic annually on July Fourth; any other holiday will be suitable. If the picnic is properly planned, class members will look for- 188 The Men’s Class in Action ward impatiently to the next annual return of the date. The Young Men's Reception In some classes there is given annually a recep¬ tion to all the young men of the community. In college communities it may be a reception to all the new students coming to the high school or college. In such an event the Entertainer’s duty is to furnish the program and refreshments, while the Visitor and Vice-President have charge of the attendance. A program of music and entertainment, a welcome by the class officers and an inspirational address showing the value of class affiliation is appropriate for such an event. Refreshments need not be elaborate—sandwiches, coffee and pie always please men. Clubs The Entertainer will determine the likes and hob¬ bies of each member so that he may provide activi¬ ties for every one in the class. Should some of the members desire to play chess or checkers, a club should be organized for the purpose of giving those men a chance to indulge in that pastime. A camera club might interest a number of the members and would certainly be an attraction for the class. Other clubs should be organized for debating, liter- Developing the Social Instincts 189 ary study, or science, if there is a demand for them. A card record like Figure io will enable the En¬ tertainer to secure such information. JXCapleWood Bible nSx JJgoga Class . vSx NAME Kindly check things in which you art especially Mcrctlsd. —Btstatu — Basket B luiliirrs Address by D. M. Crawford delivered to Character Builders’ Class, Madison Heights M. E. Church, Oct. 31,1915 FIGURE 15—REPRINT OF A SPECIAL ADDRESS USED FOR ADVER' TISING THE CLASS—ONE WAY FOR A CLASS TO GIVE “SAMPLES.” 228 The Men’s Class in Action s* 3000000C 3000C My Silent Partner A business man's story of something be has recently discovered in the Bible By the author of '•Finding God in MUIersvillo" Issued by The Character Builder Bible Class for Men Madison Heights M. E. Sunday-School Clay brook and Monroe Avenue Memphis,Tenn. »c xooc ncS FIGURE 16—COVER OF AN ADVERTISING BOOKLET Advertising the Class 229 VI: USING THE NEWSPAPERS The daily or weekly newspapers are a source of publicity that is often overlooked. In small towns, the weekly paper is glad to receive news of the class affairs—often this news is virtually the only real news in the paper. In cities where daily papers are published, space is also available for news items. The space granted will not be as large as in the smaller papers, but if the matter submitted has news value, that is if it may interest the public, it will be printed. A number of papers publish, once or twice a week, a religious column for this class of matter. Such items as elections, special programs, special courses of study on subjects of general in¬ terest, addresses by speakers of renown, and the like, are always acceptable. The Reporter will cooperate with all the other class officers in giving full publicity to the work of the class. He will assist the Vice-President in the advertising of membership campaigns; the Visitor in his Rally Day plans; the Entertainer on special plans, banquets, socials, receptions, etc.; the Teacher in special teaching plans, and the President in his evangelistic work. As long as the matter is news of general interest the newspapers are glad to pub¬ lish it. The Reporter should not fail to use this privilege. In writing up matter for the papers, 230 The Mens Class in Action don’t try “fine” writing. Give the facts as clearly as possible, use a typewriter or write very legibly, and write only on one side of the paper. Address news items to the Religious Editor of larger papers, or the City Editor of smaller papers. News likely to be of interest to other classes FIGURE 17—“TICKLER”—FIRST OF A SERIES OF DIRECT MAIL PIECES. should by all means be sent to the state and other denominational papers; the denominational editors are specially anxious to receive information about new plans successfully worked by a class, or new applications given to old plans. It will often be possible to have the class picture published in the state paper or the class magazines issued by the publishing houses. Advertising the Class 231 VII: GENERAL ADVERTISING Newspapers If the class can afford it, it will be a most excel¬ lent idea to buy a little newspaper space for a regular class advertisement. Such advertising will be of We Want You To Join the NEW of Vinita Park Methodist Sunday School First Session Will be Held Sunday, Nov. 13,1921,9:30 a.m. Complete details of the class will be presented at the Father and Son Banquet at the Church, Friday, Nov. llth (Armistice Day). Of course you will be there. FIGURE 18—SECOND PIECE OF A MAILING SERIES. little value if placed in metropolitan papers unless the class is centrally located and draws from the entire city for its membership or is located in the hotel district. In smaller cities such advertisements, well displayed and pleasingly written will be pro¬ ductive of good results. Well-handled advertising will not in any way detract from the dignity that one naturally expects in connection with a Bible Class. 232 The Mens Class in Action Bulletins A well designed class bulletin board is an excellent advertisement. If well located, at railroad stations, electric car termini, near hotels, near parks where young men go to play ball, etc., many men will be sure to see the class message. If no locations of that sort are available, a board can always be located on the church property, provided it is dignified in its appearance. Copy on the board should be changed at frequent intervals. If a painted board is used, it should be repainted at least every six months. Let the board reflect the class—people will judge the class by it—keep it neat at all times. Direct Mail The live class will conduct regular direct mail campaigns for members. In such cases the Re¬ porter must work closely with the officers in charge, the Vice-President and Visitor. A choice list of prospects will be built up through the Vice-Presi¬ dent’s department. These men will be mailed let¬ ters, cards and circulars at frequent intervals. Study course outlines, printed on cards, make ef¬ fective mail pieces, and are also suitable for placing in stores where men can pick them up. Posters The Reporter may even place cards in barber shops and slides in picture shows. There is no Advertising the Class 233 WE WANT Sunday", Nov. 13,1921, is to be an outstanding day in the history Vinita Park Methodist Sunday School It will register the first session of a cTHen’s Bible Class in our school. We expect to enroll every man gf Protestant belief in the community. You know therefore we are going to get you “eventually", why" not npw?” Be sura to attend the Father and Son Banquet at the Church. Friday; November Uth (Armiatloe Day), 7 o'clock, where full details will be announced Supper SOc; everything else, including a good time, free FIGURE IQ—THIRD PIECE OF A CLASS CAMPAIGN. 234 The Mens Class in Action place where men are that the class should not make an effort to get them. Posters should be placed in prominent stores in the vicinity—if the class has members of artistic talents, they can readily make all the posters the class needs. WE WANT YOU When? Where? Sunday, November 13,1921,9-30 a.m. Vinita Park Methodist Sunday School Why? Who? Opening Session of New Men’s Bible Class. You, and every other man in the community. WE WANT YOU Therefore You Will Not Stay Away sea WE WANT YOU also to attend the Father and Son Banquet, Friday, November 11th (Armistice Day), ** o'clock, if you haven't a soo of your own adopt one for the occasion- Supper 50c. everything else free. FIGURE 20—FINAL PIECE OF A MAIL CAMPAIGN. Note that each piece tells the story differently from the others, but that the repetition of “We Want You” makes the effect cumulative. Printed Matter The Reporter will work closely with the other officers in planning circular matter that they need in their work. He is the man who has charge of everything pertaining to the use of printers’ ink. He will plan and have printed programs, menus, Advertising the Class 235 tickets for entertainments, literature for the Vice- President, Visitor, Teacher, Entertainer or other officers needing special literature. Special forms will usually be planned by the particular officers needing them. It will be seen that the Reporter’s work is of equal importance to that of any other officer. If the Reporter is not awake and permits opportunity for publicity to pass unused, the class attendance will fall off, and the class itself will become just another class in one of the Sunday Schools. On the other hand, he can by judicious advertising, in¬ crease the influence of the class and make it the best known, most talked of institution in the com¬ munity. BIBLIOGRAPHY Publicity Handbook for Southern Baptists —(Free). Reisner —“Church Advertising.” Barclay —“Adult Worker and His Work,” Chapter XIX. Blick —“The Adult Department,” Chapter VII. Pierce —“The Organized Adult Bible Class,” Appendix. Stelzle —“Principles of Successful Church Advertis- mg. Scott —“The Theory of Advertising.” Ross—“The Writing of News.” Elliott —“How to Advertise a Church.” S. Roland Hall —“Writing an Advertisement.” Smith —“Church and Sunday School Publicity.” Appendix A ADDRESSES YOU NEED TO KNOW Abingdon Press (M. E.), 150 Fifth Ave., New York City. Association Press, 347 Madison Ave., New York. Erker Bros., 608 Olive St., St. Louis, Mo. (Lan¬ tern slides.) Friends’ General Conference, 150 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa. International Sunday School Council of Religious Education, 1516 Mailers Building, Chicago, Ill. Judson Press (Northern Baptist), 1701-03 Chest¬ nut St., Philadelphia, Pa. Keystone View Co., Meadville, Pa. McKinley Publishing Co., 1619-1621 Ranstead St., Philadelphia, Pa. (Outline Maps.) National Motion Picture League, 381 Fourth Ave., New York, N. Y. (Information regarding films suitable for use in Churches.) The Perry Picture Company, Malden, Mass. The Pilgrim Press, 14 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. Religious Advertising Association, Columbia, South Carolina. Fleming H. Revell Company, 158 Fifth Ave., New York City. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 597-599 Fifth Ave., New York City. Sunday School Board, Southern Baptist Conven¬ tion, 161 Eighth Ave., N., Nashville, Tenn. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill. Westminster Press, Witherspoon Bldg., Phila¬ delphia, Pa. 2 37 Appendix B SUGGESTIVE CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS ARTICLE I. NAME This class shall be known as the. ..Class of the.Sunday School of the..,. Church at. ARTICLE II. OBJECT AND MOTTO The object of this class shall be Bible study, Evangelism, Christian fellowship and the promo¬ tion of practical Christian living among men. The class motto shall be: “ .” ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP Sec. i. Any man between the ages of 25 and 35 may become a member of this class on presentation of name, and election by unanimous vote of the members present. Sec. 2. Any one desiring to encourage the work of this class may become an honorary member on presentation of name and election by unanimous vote. Sec. 3. No members are to be dropped from the class roll, until a thorough investigation of causes of absence has been made, and a unanimous recom¬ mendation to drop the name be made by the Execu¬ tive Committee. 238 Appendix B 239 ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS Sec. i. The officers of this class shall be the fol¬ lowing: Teacher, President, Vice-President, Secre¬ tary, Treasurer, Visitor, Librarian, Entertainer, and Reporter. Sec. 2. These nine shall constitute an Executive Board. They shall have general supervision of the work of the class and shall have power to fill all vacancies between elections. Any five members of this board shall constitute a quorum. ARTICLE V. ASSISTANTS Sec. i. The Executive Board shall meet within one week after their election, and shall select mem¬ bers of the class to serve with the officers as assist¬ ants. Sec. 2. In making these selections, effort shall be made to assign, as far as practicable, every mem¬ ber of the class to duty as assistant to one or more of the officers. ARTICE VI. DUTIES OF OFFICERS Sec. i. The Teacher shall have charge of all educational work of the class, and be advisor and friend to every member. He shall be consulted on all matters of importance. Sec. 2. The President shall preside ac all meet¬ ings of the class, have the direction of the personal work, and devotional interests, and be the general class executive. He is also chairman of the Execu¬ tive Board. Sec. 3. The Vice-President shall have charge of 240 The Mens Class in Action membership increase. He shall secure new mem¬ bers and introduce them to the other members of the class. He shall also act as President in that officer’s absence. Sec. 4. The Secretary shall have charge of the class records. He shall keep a roll of the mem¬ bers, preserve minutes of all meetings, mark the records, and attend to all business correspondence. Sec. 5. The Treasurer shall have charge of all moneys. He shall see after the regular and special contributions, and shall seek to promote the grace of liberality. Sec. 6. The Visitor shall have charge of class visitation. He shall look after absent members, and shall also aid members in securing employment. Sec. 7. The Librarian shall have charge of the class library. He shall see to the distribution of Bibles, song books and papers, shall seek to promote the reading of wholesome literature, and preserve a file of class publications and other printed matter. Sec. 8. The Entertainer shall have charge of class recreation. He shall arrange for music, so¬ cials, receptions, lectures, athletics, and the like. Sec. 9. The Reporter shall have charge of class advertising. He shall see that due announcement is made of all meetings, and that items of interest are furnished to the papers. He shall also have charge of the editing of any class papers or the like. ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS Sec. 1. This class shall be a constituent part of the Sunday-school, subject to its rules and regula¬ tions, and shall meet at the regular Sunday-school hour, unless such other arrangement be made as ■■■ Appendix B 241 shall meet with the approval of the Superintendent and Pastor. Sec. 2. Other meetings may be held as arranged by a vote of the class or by the Executive Board. Sec. 3. A meeting may be called at any time by any five members of the Executive Board, provided notice be given at a previous Sunday meeting. Sec. 4. A business meeting shall be held as often as every three months. ARTICLE VIII. ELECTIONS Sec. 1. Officers shall be elected annually, in the month of September, and elections shall be by ma¬ jority vote. Sec. 2. The Superintendent and Pastor shall be consulted in regard to choice of the Teacher, and his election shall be subject to their approval. Sec. 3. The new officers shall be inaugurated at the regular business meeting following their elec¬ tion, and shall assume their duties at that time. Sec. 4. Any officer shall be subject to removal from office upon two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular Sunday morning service or regular Get-together meeting, notice having been given at a previous regular Sunday morning service or regular Get-together meeting, and copy of same sent to officer in question. ARTICLE IX. FINANCES Sec. 1. This class shall contribute of its means in accordance with the financial plans of the Sun¬ day-school. Sec. 2. This class may also raise additional sums 242 The Mens Class in Action of money for the prosecution of their work as a class. ARTICLE X. AMENDMENTS This Constitution may be amended by a two- thirds vote of those present at a duly authorized business meeting of the class, provided notice of such amendment shall have been given at such previ¬ ous meeting. BY-LAWS (These By-Laws are those adopted by one par¬ ticular class of men, and will hardly be suited to other classes just as they stand. They do, however, indicate the scope of the By-Laws.) ARTICLE I. MEMBERSHIP Sec. I. Any young man, 25 to 35 years of age, wishing to become a member of this class, may do so after two consecutive Sundays’ attendance, upon presentation of his name and election by unanimous vote of those members present. Sec. 2. New members may be voted in at any regular Sunday morning service or at any regular class business meeting. ARTICLE II. OFFICERS Sec. 1. Each officer shall make a written report at every Get-together meeting of the work accom¬ plished during the previous month. Appendix B 243 ARTICLE III. MEETINGS Sec. I. The class shall have a Get-together meet¬ ing the third Tuesday in each month. These Get- together meetings shall be for the purpose of carry¬ ing on the business of the class, for furnishing entertainment, and for promoting sociability among the members. Twenty-five per cent of the resident membership shall constitute a quorum for the trans¬ action of business at any class meeting. Sec. 2. There shall be a meeting of the Execu¬ tive Board at least once a month. Sec. 3. Each officer shall call a meeting of his assistants at least every three months. ARTICLE IV. ELECTIONS Sec. 1. The annual election of officers shall be held at the September Get-together meeting. Sec. 2. All elections shall be by ballot. ARTICLE V. FINANCES Sec. 1. Each member shall be expected to con¬ tribute, if financially able, twenty-five cents per month as dues, for carrying on the class work. Sec. 2. The usual Sunday-school offering shall be taken each Sunday, and turned in to the School Treasurer. ARTICLE VI. ORDER OF BUSINESS Sec. 1. The business of this class shall be con¬ ducted according to the following order: 244 The Mens Class in Action 1. Prayer. 2. Roll call. 3. Reading of minutes. 4. Reports of officers. 5. Unfinished business. 6. New business. 7. Adjournment. ARTICLE VII. AMENDMENTS Sec. 1. These By-Laws may be suspended at any regular class meeting by a two-thirds majority vote of those present. Sec. 2. These By-Laws may be amended at any regular class meeting by a two-thirds majority of those present, notice having been given at a previous regular meeting. Appendix C A SUGGESTED STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE (Some of the Boards have denominational Standards of Excellence. The Class Officers should strive to meet such standard.) I. Organization (a) The class shall have the following officers with duties as specified: T eacher—Instruction. President—Executive and Religious. Vice-President—Membership Increase. Secretary—Records. T reasurer—Finances. Visitor—Holding membership. Librarian—Literature. Entertainer—Social Life. Reporter—Publicity. It is not necessary that the officers be known by these particular names, but the work should be cov¬ ered as indicated. (b) The Class shall be definitely connected with the Sunday School. (c) The Class shall meet with the Senior or Adult Department of the school, either in the en¬ tire opening or closing worship service, according to the rule of the school. (d) The Class shall be enrolled with the denom- 245 246 The Men’s Class in Action inational board, and shall display the class standard and certificate of enrollment. (e) Age limits—18-25; 25-35; 35 and up. (f) All offerings of the class shall be made into the treasury of the main school for general expenses, and for benevolences fostered by the school, except when the management of the school shall agree that a certain per cent of the offerings shall be kept in the class treasury, which shall never be more than twenty-five per cent (25%). (g) The Teacher shall hold a New Standard Teacher Training Diploma, or possess equivalent training, or should be regularly pursuing this course. Adult specialization units should be included in the training work. (h) The Teacher shall be uniformly punctual, with average attendance at least eighty-five per cent (85%). If to be absent, shall notify the depart¬ ment superintendent in time for a substitute to be secured. (i) The class shall have its own room, isolated by walls or solid partitions, and properly furnished. II. Service (a) Bibles, and not “helps/’ shall be used in reci¬ tation of the lesson. (b) The attendance shall average at least one- half the enrollment, in lieu of which, all absentees must be communicated with each week. (c) The annual membership increase shall be not less than 15 per cent of the active membership. Newly organized classes, week-day classes, or addi¬ tions to the Home Department of the Sunday School through class efforts may count toward this per¬ centage. 247 Appendix C (d) The class shall foster the work of Teacher Training, study classes or reading courses of the denomination, with a view to larger Christian service. (e) 50 per cent of the class membership at preach¬ ing services. (f) Definite, personal evangelistic efforts. (g) Class membership urged to cooperate with the Church benevolences according to the Church plan. (h) Some definite Christian work in the com¬ munity. THE END “X I N Date Due 4/ ; £ r <*" \/i - 1 ; 'i H W i n $ 1% 3-'* 'M >*£ 8 l - ill * 1 0 ’40 "T- SI 2 - V 41 . »iy 11 '4 N 8 '4.1 * N a 2 '43 w ’ f* *45 i M 1 7’5 4 \ .* a K I l I