The Sunday School’s True Evangelism
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changes in the lessons for the Beginners, Primary and Junior De partments. The Lesson Committee of the Southern Baptist Con vention entirely reconstructed the Intermediate courses, using in the main the material put out by the International Committee, but making changes in the arrangement and in the titles. The series of lessons which we are putting out is essentially different from that which you condemn, and has few, if any, of the points which you point out.” Marion Stevenson, of the Christian Board of Publication (St. Louis, Mo.), writes: “I t should be noticed that we are follow ing the Biblical lessons so strongly approved by the International Sunday School Association a t San Francisco and also at Chi cago. As your editorial stands, it is a blanket indictment of the Graded Lessons, to which we would respond tha t we are not guilty. The characteristics complained of are true of hardly any graded literature except that published by the Syndicate. But the Syndicate is a diminishing association. Since its organ ization the Presbyterian bodies have withdrawn and are prepar ing their own literature, thus leaving the Syndicate to the Metho dist Church, North and South, and to the Congregationalists. Some smaller denominations are selling agents for the Syndicate material. But from the first the Baptists, North and South, and the Churches of Christ, have chosen their own writers. The in dictments against the Syndicate material may not therefore be drawn against all graded lesson literature. They are certainly not true in regard to the graded literature prepared by the Chris tian Board of Publication.” Every movement away from the perils that would injure the Sunday School is to be heartily welcomed; and the writer gladly gives prominence to these letters of denominational leaders. The Social Service program, which includes so many things Christian in spirit, but which in many cases so disastrously puts fruit ahead of root, is a danger against which the Sun day School needs to guard, especially in its adult classes. The salvation of society regardless of the salvation of the indi vidual is a hopeless task; and the Sunday School of true evangelism will not enter upon it. But the Sunday School that brings the good news of Jesus Christ to the individuals of any community lifts society as the usual Social Service program can never do. A striking illustration of this princi ple has been noted in the work of Evangelist “Billy” Sunday. Sunday preaches the individual Gospel of the apostolic church. He says little about social service. But the community-results where Sunday’s evangelism has had an opportunity are revolu-
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