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T H E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S
At Home and Abroad
D r. H e n ry C hu rch ill K ing rem inds us th a t m en easily fo rg et th a t “ success in m erely m ate ria l schem es is, a fte r all, only bu ild in g ’g re a te r barns,* n o t necessarily g re a te r lives.” N ot only is th is tru e, b u t ab so rp tio n in g re a t m ate ria l e n terp rises easily resu lts in lesser lives, in shriveled souls. Still is th e q u estio n p e rtin e n t: “W h at shall it pro fit a m an if h e gain th e w hole w o rld a n d lose his ow n soul? T h e E xecutive C om m ittee of th e L ay m en’s M issionary M ovem ent— th e c h a ir m an of w hich is Mr. S. B. C ap en—-ven tu re s to re q u est th e m issionary agencies of th e ch u rch es to set a fre sh befo re th e C h ristian m en of N o rth A m erica th e fu n dam en tal n eed of a new life of p ra y e r m connection w ith th e w o rk of m issions as th e pro v id en ce of God is now pressin g th a t w o rk u p o n th e C h ristia n church. Rev. F ra n k E. H iggins left New Y ork D ecem ber 9 to plu n g e in to th e A d iro n d ack m o u n tain s. O th e r p eople go to th e A d iro n d a ck s in th e sum m er, b u t H iggins, “ sky p ilot to th e lum b erjack s,” ta k e s to th e w oods only in th e w in ter, w hen th e lum bering in d u stry is a t its height. Mr. Higgins* e rra n d is to establish m issionary w o rk am o n g lum b erin g m en in th e A d i ro n d a ck region, u n d e r th e supervision of th e New Y ork S ynod’s hom e m ission com m ittee, w hich w ill fu rn ish th e funds. T h e Salvation A rm y is engaged in th e effort to e re c t as a m o n um en t to G eneral B ooth a m odel b uilding in New Y ork w hich shall serve a s its h e ad q u a rte rs. T h e re w as once a stra n g e te a c h e r w ho said: “ I cam e to call n o t th e rig h teo u s b u t sin n ers to re p e n ta n c e ,” a n d W illiam B ooth w as a m an a fte r th a t te a c h e r’s own h e a rt. A n d th ey tre a te d him m uch a s his ex em p lar w as trea te d . T h ey cast him o u t of th e synag o g u e; th ey h o o ted him , stoned him , called him m ad, said h e h a d a devil, b u t th e h a rlo ts a n d thieves h e a rd him gladly, a n d th ey becam e his follow ers.
In E ngland a n d A m erica th e re a re said to b e ov er 700 C h ristian m inisters of full o r h a lf Jew ish b irth . A m e ric a n B aptists now have six chapel c ars trav elin g ov er th e railw ay lines of th e c o u n try . T h ey a re n am ed E vangel, Emm anuel, G lad T idings, G ood W ill, Mes senger of Peace and H erald of H ope. T h e C h u rc h of O u r S av io u r in S h an g hai, a C hinese E piscopal C h u rch , h a s ju st com pleted a p a rish building costing $3 0 0 0 , all subscribed by th e C hinese them selves. S everal ch ild ren have b een tu rn e d ou t of th e public schools in C a rth a g en a , C o lom bia, b ecau se th ey a tte n d e d th e P ro te sta n t p re ac h in g service. T h e teach ers a n d children a re ^required to a tte n d m ass once a day. T h e last issue ^>f th e A m erican Jew ish Y ear Book gives these statistics of th e grow th of Jew ish p o p u latio n in th e U nited S tates: 1818............................. 3,00.0 Jew s 1880............................. 2 3 0 ,2 5 7 Jew s 1912......................... 2 ,0 4 4 ,7 6 2 Jew s D r. C hapm an in evangelistic m eetings refuses to c o u n t converts, b u t h e tak e s sa t isfaction in th e fact th a t as a traceab le resu lt of his A u stra lia n lab o rs ov er 600 y o u n g m en have offered them selves for th e m inistry, a n d m eanw hile 300 y o u n g w om en have v o lu n teered fo r m ission w ork. It is related of th e D uke of W ellington th a t w hen h e w as in India m any friends of m issions w ould a sk him q u estions con cern in g them . “ Do you th in k , D uke, th a t we a re m aking p ro g ress th e re ? Do you th in k India will ev er be C h ristian ized ?’* T h e old D uke w as w o n t to d raw him self u p a n d an sw er th u s: “W h at do I th in k of m issions? W ill India ev er b e C h ris tianized? W h at is th a t to m e? T ell m e th e m arc h in g o rd e rs.’’
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