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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S which is really primary and fundamental fo that which is more advanced and on to that which is the culmination of all that precedes, and giving to the one who completes the course a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible as a whole, its books and their relations to one another, its doctrines, its ethics, its histories, its biographies, its characters, and above all of God and His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord? If there is, we do not know of it. We are somewhat familiar with the various courses of so-called “ Graded Lessons,” but while the intention was good the execution is exceedingly poor. As for the International Uniform Lessons they have gone from bad to worse, and the lessons for 1919 cap the climax of lack of intelligent system and order.: the hop-skip-and-jump system of Bible study has been carried to a madden ing extreme. Our Sunday Schools have accomplished, and are still accom plishing, immeasurable good; but they might do So much more good, if some competent person or persons would only take the time to map out a course of study for persons of all ages that would have a really intelligent begin ning and intelligent ending and intelligent progress from the beginning to the ending. In our secular grammar schools and high schools we have sys tematic courses of study that have a definite aim in view from start to finish: why not in our Sunday Schools, in the study of the greatest of all books and all subjects? It can be done, why not do it? The fact is that in many of our series of lessons we have oftentimes had more in view the pocketbooks of our publishers of Sunday School Helps than the needs of the scholars in our Sunday Schools. T he war problems of thechurch 1 The war is making great changes in our churches and presenting grave problems to the churches. Almost all churches are being depleted of many of their most enthusiastic and most effective members by their responding voluntarily or through the draft to the nation’s call to arms. Literally hun dreds of bright, energetic, efficient Christian young men have gone from some of our churches to do their bit. Of course they will have fine oppor tunities for service among their fellow soldiers, finer opportunities most of them than they would have found at home; but while they are not by any means lost to the Church as a whole, they are for the time being largely lost to the local church from which they have gone forth. Then many of our best and most effective ministers have heard the call from the front, and it is a very loud and insistent call, and they too have gone. Indeed it is very difficult for any really live minister to keep from going. They are not lost to the Church as a whole when they go: they will most of them accom plish more real and lasting work for God in a few months than most' of them ever accomplished in many, years at home, and they will come back if God spares their lives to do a better work at home than they ever did before: but they are in a measure lost for the time being to the church at home. Not a few are disheartened by the gravity of the problems confronting the church at home and the regular organizations of the church. But there is no suf ficient reason for that. We must simply organize our churches better and thus get more work out of those we have left than we ever got before out of our entire membership. And we must now make those who hitherto have
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