T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S The F ir st E ssen tia l Dr. Biederwolf, in his recent work on Evangelism , strikes a vital point when he declares th a t th e conviction th a t men are lost is th e first requirem ent for suc cess in the m inistry. He says: “There is no use throw ing a life-line to a man on dry land. “A house burned down in Albany some tim e ago. The fath e r and son went down into th e basement dining room to drag but a large piece of valu able fu rn itu re. I t got wedged" in the doorway and they couldn’t budge it ano th er inch. The fath e r was pulling, and so he was outside in the hall, but th e son was pushing, and so he was penned up in th e basement room. The flames broke in and th e smoke rolled round about him . The fran tic fath er threw himself against th e obstruction, bu t it was of no use, and realizing the extrem e peril and the ho rro r of the situ ation he ran around to the basement window and grabbed hold of the iron bars held in th e ir place by th e masonry, and w ith superhum an streng th he tore them from th e ir fastenings and pulled his boy out of the very jaws of death. “A friend of' mine told this story to illu strate th e point I am making, and th e Christian people were m ightily stirred. I had ano ther friend who heard him do it and he tried it the next Sun day in his own pulpit. He told how th a t fath e r made a hum an battering-ram out of him self and nearly telescoped him self trying to b u tt th a t fu rn itu re out of the doorway, and how, like a w ild eyed madman, he ran around th e house and took hold of those bars and tw isted and pulled to th e bursting point of his veins and to re them out and pulled his son out of th e very jaws of death. But the audience was not moved and there was no response, and he asked his wife when h e got home to tell him what was th e m atter. He said, ‘I thought I was doing ju st fine.’ ‘Yes, d ear,’ she said, ‘you did do it very well, indeed;
274 your h eart and said, ‘I w ant to see you become a child of God’? ” “ I must confess,” said the m inister, “ th a t I have never spoken to him personally and di rectly concerning his salvation.” “Then,” said the evangelist, “perhaps he is not impregnable afte r all.” T h at n igh t the evangelist, afte r service, caught the man before he got to th e door. And th e next evening in the “afte r service,” in which so many souls have found last ing peace and etern al life, th e man was on his knees w ith th e tears stream ing down his cheeks. It was th e personal touch th a t did it.—W illiam Thomson McElroy, in th e N orthern Christian Ad vocate. New O rder of Service The W atchman-Exam iner suggests th a t if you make a note of th e people who come late into th e church next Sunday; then make a note of those who are tardy th e following Sunday; and keep th is up for a month, you will find th a t the very same people have been late practically every Sunday. These people have been missing the worship p a rt of the service for many years. M ight it not be a good idea, fo r th e sake of variety, fo r the pastors h ereafter to open the service w ith the sermon so th a t these d ear people who have n o t heard the Doxology sung since they were children may have ano th er chance to h ear it before they go to glory? We suggest as an order of service for next Sunday: (1 ) The sermon; (2) th e choir anthem ; (3 ) th e hymn singing; .(4) the Bible reading; (5) th e collection; (6) the doxology; (7) the benediction. This program would create a distinct sen sation, and the whole congregation would be present once, a t least, in time fo r th e offering. Mark th is paragraph a n d send it to th e friend who needs it. P erhap s it will make him angry, but th a t will no t m a tte r if it leads to a change in his h ab it of church atten d ance. You have to make some folks ang ry to wake them up.
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