153
March 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
*------------------------- ¡--------:------■— patients. Why is it that a visitor will speak in tones of misery, commenting on one’s paleness, loss of weight, weakness, slowness of recovery, or even of ap proaching death? Why will they bring all their own or any one else’s aches, pains and troubles to those who are al ready overburdened? We have known of cases where a visitor would contradict even when the patient tried to speak op timistically. After the departure of such a visitor, the fever is sure to go up and every bad symptom will become aggra vated. There are those, however, whose pres ence acts as a medicine. They come with something cheerful and encouraging. They do not try to be funny. They show a real interest. They call attention to the encouraging side. They avoid any con troversial matter that. would arouse the patient’s antagonism. They are not! un sympathetic. They relate no harrowing details of some terrible accident. Above all things, they do not relate their exper iences on the operating table. And they leave before they have worn the- invalid out, and get an invitation to return. A short, cheerful prayer, or the reading of a few appropriate verses of Scripture be fore leaving is often appreciated. D ictating to a S tenographer How many preachers know how to dic tate to a stenographer? If the reader should ever be fortunate enough to have one, here are some pointers worth re membering : (1) Speak in phrases, not complete sentences. (2) Speak distinctly and not too rapidly. Guide your speed by the stenographer’s speed. (3) When you come to a new paragraph, say : “Para graph.” In some cases give punctuation. The following of these simple rules wills save the necessity of your secretary’s ask ing you to repeat, and your phrase groups will aid you in clear thinking, and in writ ing good English. Jonathan Edwards, in his diary of David Brainerd, says that this apostle to the Indians for some time thought that the best way to make men sober was by preaching to them the attributes of God, and keeping the Cross in the background. But he found the whole thing a failure; he could not produce one sober man. “Then,” he says, “I bethought me that I would go and preach Jesus Christ; and many a hard face relaxed, many an eye shed tears that had never wept before, and I found that the best way to make men: sober was to make them spiritual and from that -time he glorified in and held forth nothing but the Cross. I —o— , T he K ing ’ s C ommands 1. Go and teach all nations (Matt. 28:19). 2. Go and preach the Gospel (Mark 16: IS). 3. Go to the lost sheep (Matt. 10:6). 4. Go into the vineyard (Matt. 20:4). 5. Go into the highways (Matt. 22:9). 6. Go into the streets and lanes (Luke 14:21). 7. Go home to thy friends (Mark 5:19). 8. Go'and do likewise (Luke 10:37). *■— : ----------------- :---------------------------------------------------- * POINTERS FOR PREACHERS | H elps for B ible T eachers Here are some pointers for Bible teach ers: (1) Begin, if possible, by making a strong point of contact with knowledge already possessed by your pupils, linking up with some former lesson. (2) One of the greatest secrets of successful teaching is making as many points of contact as you can throughout the lesson. (3) Make every step of your lesson so clear that the dullest pupil can understand if he pays attention. (4) Always teach in accord ance with a preconceived plan. Know where your teaching is leading and make your pupils conscious of your plan. (5) Summarize results in a terse way at the close of every lesson. —o— T aking P art in M eeting If Christians who take part in prayer meetings could be instructed, it would add greatly to the interest of the meetings, and would save many a misunderstanding. Here are a few general suggestions:, (1) Never speak at great length. It is not fair to others. (2) A public meeting is not the place to deal in personalities. Do not indulge in intimate revelations. (3) Do not open up a controversial subject. (4) Do not reveal a spirit of bitterness or contempt for anybody. (S) Never speak egotistically of boastfully. God’s house is a place for humility. Y our I mpromptu S peech If you were called upon to speak im promptu, what would you do ? The ordi nary person begins by making excuses, complains of being taken at an unfair ad vantage, stutters, mumbles off a few inco herent words, and sits down conscious of failure. Here are some good suggestions that will save the situation. (1) Say no thing about your surprise or not being prepared. (2) Having in your pocket a note book in which you have jotted down some brief Bible outlines, helpful thoughts or wholesome anecdotes fitted for use on just such occasions, take a glance at it, and launch out. (3) As soon as possible," turn attention to some one serious thought appropriate to the occasion, express it with conviction, and close up before you, have run out of thought. '■ — <>— : W hen Y ou ’ re C ontradicted Bible teachers are often thrown off guard by some member of a class inter posing a contradiction. Sometimes people are most discourteous, and if the teacher loses control of himself, he places himself in the same rank. Always maintain poise, and when contradicted, no matter how rudely, say: “You may be right. What authority have you?” Nine times out of ten the opponent will be dumbfounded by your call for evidence. If he has evi dence, and the teacher is in the wrong, it is always the part of wisdom to let it be known that he, like all members of the class, is in search of truth. ^ o— S peaking to U nfortunates How few ministers, and how few Christians, well-meaning though they may be, know how to deal with the unfortun ate! Those who are given to talking pes simistically to the sick should be listed in every community and notified, by the doc tors that they are to stay away froffi their Tha t's One On Us! “He who never made a mistake never made any thing.” In our February num ber, the last part of Rev. A. W. Orwig’s article which begins on page 128, in some strange manner was carried back to page 127 under the heading, “A Time of Anxious Inquir ies.” I f our readers zinll connect up the two arti cles, they will have the whole of Mr. Orwig’s splendid article.
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