A p ril 1931
T H K K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
184
cide whether he is to follow the concord ant, the analytical, ..the doctrinal,, or the topical approach in the working out of the discussion topics for each member. The following ■ five meetings, while not planned for the May topics as prepared by the International Young People’s Com mission, should, nevertheless, provide sug gestive material which can be adapted to almost any subject. Frankly, after hav ing examined the topics suggested for May, we are again at a loss to see how they might be made worth while for real Christian discussion. The subject for May 24 is onë which is well worth us ing, and we are retaining it in the Bible meeting as suggested below. —o— May 3, 1931 A “Heart” Meeting “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4: 23). P rogram 5 :40—Lifting the Heart in Prayer (Pre prayer circle)-, “Joybells in thé Heart.” “I f your ' Heart Keeps Right.” “Since Jesus Came into my Heart.” “Joybells Ringing in your Heart.” 6:15—What the Bible Says about our Hearts (Prepared Scripture read ing with the heart as the theme). 6:20—Getting our Hearts Right with God (Sentence prayers). 6:28—Prayer Song-—“While our Hearts are Warm for Thee” (Special-mu sic: duet, quartet, or solo)'. 6:30—Speaking from our Hearts (Dis cussion .period). What was the greatest factor in bring ing you to surrender your heart and life to Jesus;— Several members of the group which is leading should have minute-and-a-half talks ready to start put this discussion period,,in an informal manner; others will follow naturally. 7 :00—Why you Should Give your Heart to Christ (Talk by leader, pastor, or some special speaker). 7:10—Closing Song— ‘Let Jesus Come in to your Heart.” 7 :12—Benediction. 7 :15—Musical Postlude. —o — May 10, 1931 A Testimony Meeting “Whosoever therefore shall confess trie before men, him will I confess also be fore my Father which is in heaven’’ (Matt. 10:32). ' ,5:40—Testimony in Prayer (Different groups meet in different rooms of the building for prayer circles). 5:55—Testimony in Melody (Violin and piano prelude). Childhood training ? Personal evangelism? Music? A sermon? Prayer ? A life? The Bible? 5 :55—Musical Prelude’, 6 :00—Praise Service. '
ing. Everything should be done in a lively manner. 3. Seasonal Meetings. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, and many other special days will provide subjects for special meetings. 4. Inner Circle Meetings. The chairs are divided into two circles, one inside the other. As the members as semble, they occupy the chairs in the out er circle. As each member takes part in the meeting, he moves to the inner circle. The service is closed with the song, “Are You in the Inner Circle?” 5. Memory Meetings. An excellent and tried plan is to have a meeting in which everything is done by memory. Familiar choruses are sung without books, the Scripture is read from memory, and no notes are used. 6. Musical Evening. The entire '¿service can be arranged by use of hymns.; The meeting may open with hymns of praise, followed by. a pray er hymn or two; then there may be hymns relating to special subjects, grouped to gether to form a real testimony for each individual. 7. University or School Night. This is especially valuable for high school or college age young people. It proves of special interest either at the commencement of a term or near gradua tion time. Special numbers, provided by members of the university, college, or high school, will add interest. The rooms may be decorated in college pennants. 8. Parents’ Meeting. In junior, junior high, high school, or college age departments, such a meeting would prove of much interest. Each member of the department should invite his parents to attend the meeting as guests of honor. The subject of “The Family Altar and the Home” or “What We Owe to Our Parents” would be ap propriate for this meeting. A similar idea is the father-son, mother-daughter, fath er-daughter, or mother-son meeting. Many varieties can be worked out'. 9. Fellows’ Evening or Girls*'Evening. Two meetings can be planned-—the first week, the girls taking charge of the meet ing and doing all the speaking; the sec ond week, the fellows having complete charge. The slight element of competi tion adds' to the zest of this plan. 10. Installation Service. This service should be held at the be ginning of each term. The pastor of the church should prepare a service of in stallation for the incoming officers and should give them a charge of office. The department membership should be pledged to loyalty to the new officers. An effec tive feature is to have a single large candle on the table in the front of the room. Each officer is given a small candle. At a certain stage of the meet ing, the president walks to the front, lights the candle, and gives a brief word. He is followed by each of the other officers in turn. They may all be seated in a circle facing the rest of the department. The outgoing president should preside at the first part of this service, and then turn the meeting over to the incoming presi dent. An almost endless number of types of meetings can be used. With a little study,
The R isen Lord Christ hath risen! Hallelujah! Blessed morn of life and light; Lo, the grave is rent asunder, Death is conquered through His might. Christ hath risen! Hallelujah! Friends of Jesus, dry your tears; Through the veil of gloom and darkness, Lo, the Son o f God appears. Christ hath risen! Hallelujah! He hath risen as He said;. He is now the King of glory And our great exalted Head. —Fanny J. Crosby:
meetings can be planned that will create much interest by their attractiveness. Nov elty should not be substituted for spirit uality, yet variety has never been knowtt to hurt any meeting, if the leaders put real prayer., into its preparation. Above everything else, the effort should be made to keep the aim and the type of the meeting in harmony, thus providing the unity that is essential for real effec tiveness. Planning the Program After having decided upon the aim of the meeting and the type to be used, the next step is to plan carefully the entire program. This should be done in detail, allotting a certain number of minutes to each event. The time may not be followed exactly in the meeting itself, but this ar rangement will provide a schedule that will be helpful. Special music and other features of various kinds should be work ed in at the proper places. Topics and questions on the subject should be thought out and typewritten to serve as sugges tions for the discussion time. These should be given out the Sunday before the meeting, so that- members will have time to plan their: talks. This page of Notes on Christian En deavor is not intended to furnish a ready-made, cut-and-dried series of out lines to be’copied by leaders or by Chris tian Endeavor committees. It is intended, rather, as a means whereby sluggish and torpid members may be made to think for themselves. The attempt has been made at the outset to vary the suggestions of fered each month. Thus far, the effort, has been concentrated upon a study of various methods of approaching the top ic. For the January meetings the con cordant method was suggested; for Feb ruary, the analytical approach was given; in March, the suggestions were’ consid ered from the standpoint of doctrine; while in April, topical outlines were sug gested. This month, we are leaving, to a certain extent, the consideration of the meeting topics and subjects, in order that a few suggestive entire meeting plans may be presented. In working out these plans, the leader should go back over the last four months’ suggestions and should _de- — o — Meetings for May
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