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Laymen and Their Work "HARNESSING THK MAN POWER OF THK CHURCH." We have heard a great deal about harnessing the water power of the country, and now men of science are talking of harnessing the power of the tides. All those who have looked into the matter at all realize that a vast amount of power has been going to waste on almost every stream in the land through all the ages of the past, just because the water in its de scent has not been harnessed to a wheel. No thoughtful man has ever stood upon the seashore and watched the tide come in and go out with irre sistible force without wondering what could be accomplished if all the tides of all the seas could be harnessed to some kind of machinery that would put this power to some practical use for the immediate benefit of mankind. No thoughtful man can look over the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ without realizing that there is a tre mendous amount of man power that is going to waste so far as the Church is concerned. Two sayings are very common thought to the Church. One is, "Not more than 10 per cent, of the membership of any church are ac tive workers." The other is, "The women do most of the church work." If this be true, the man power of the Church is far from being fully harnessed up. When one sees how man power has developed the great corporations in the business world that have accom plished such wonderful results, and when he thinks of the way in which the man power of this country cre ated, equipped, trained and moved the great army and navy that were sent across the sea, it seems that there is no limit to what it can do. When one realizes that a very large proportion of this man power is in the Church, that most of the great "captains of industry" are members of the Church, one wonders what could be done by the Church if the man power could be harnessed up to its work. The men of the Church are waking up and they are seeing their oppor tunities, their responsibilities and To Serve You That's what we are here for. For over 55 years this strong, friendly Bank has been success fully serving Richmond and the South. No side lines; just com mercial banking with a Savings Department for the thrifty. We will be glad to write your name on our books. Planters National Bank Main Street at 12th RICHMOND, VA. Capital $1,000,000 Surplus and Profits $2,250,000 their privileges. And men of vision are coming forward to lead their fel lowmen out into the blessedness of doing real work for their Master and Saviour. One of these leaders, who is giving his whole time to the work of lead ing men to see that the work of their work, is Captain F. L. Slaymaker, Secretary of the Laymen's Missionary Movement, with headquarters in Athens, Ga. He has just published a book with the title, which appears at the head of this article. This book is one that any Christian man will find helpful; but if he does not want to be awakened so as to see his duty, we would advise him not to read it. When he has read it, it will be hard for him to sleep as soundly as he may have been doing. Captain Slaymaker shows that there is a great need for an awakening on the part of the men; and he shows how the man power has often been used in other directions, when it ought to have been used for the Church. He then gives some very practical remedies for the present conditions. He suggests that pastors should study their men as the head of a business concern would to see what the ability of each one is, and give to each one some work according to his ability. This study should be made by the officers of the church as well, and they should make out a program of work that will include every man in the church. Being sure of his own salvation, the author says, is the ne cessary foundation of any work a man may do for the church. The book suggests a number of ways in which the man power may be utilized in simple and practical ways. It urges the adoption of defi nite plans, just as the successful busi ness man does in his business. The author lays great stress on the importance of every church having a definite program, carefully planned, and olTers helpful suggestions for pre paring one. Many a man and many a church is willing to work if some one will tell him or it what to do. This book will remove the oft-given excuse of ignorance. This ends with a chapter which shows the Joy that comes to the man who realizes that he is working for God and for the advancement of His cause among men. He says: "Men! Launch out on these sug gestions, offered by a layman with the earnest prayer and hope, that they may be a help in showing other lay men, who have been laymen in every sense of the word, how to get on their feet and be upstanding MEN. "You may not believe what I have said is true, but like John and An drew of old, I would say, 'Come and see,' and I know from my own test ing that if you will really come in sincerity and give true Christian ser vice a fair testing for yourself, like James and Simon, you will find Christ as you have never known Him. You will catch a true vision of the cruci fied Christ." Every layman in the Church and every pastor will find this book worth far more than the dollar it costs. Write to the author and get a copy of it, and read it before the great Laymen's Conventions are held. OUTLOOK FOR THE CONVENTIONS. A letter from Rev. W. E. Hudson. Synodical manager for Virginia, to Captain F. L. Slaymaker says there will be no auditorium in Staunton big enough to hold the crowd that he ex pects to attend, and an overflow meet ing will be necessary. Rev. T. P. Al len, Synodical manager for West Vir ginia, warns Staunton to be prepared for an avalanche from West Virginia. Mecklenburg Presbytery is planning for special cars from Charlotte to take their crowd to Greenville, and Rev. Daniel Iverson, of Charlotte, is ar ranging for this. North Mississippi Presbyterian Laymen's Association re ports they are coming strong to Me ridian. Reports are coming in that show a very strong interest in all the conventions, and big attendance is looked for. LAYMEN'S OONVENTIONE. (Continued from page 12) Professor Alfred Hume, of the Uni versity of Mississippi, is an elder in the First Presbyterian church of Ox ford, Miss., and a man widely known and beloved, and is an earnest Chris tian and a speaker who delivers his message with sincerity and power, and is a man eminently fitted to speak on Christian Education after a quar ter of a century given to educational work, as he will speak from personal experience. He will speak at Meri dian. Mr. M. M. I>avies .of Atlanta, Ga.. head of the leading printing and pub lishing house of Foote & Davies, well known throughout the South, is an earnest Christian who puts first things first. He is an outstanding religious leader in his own commu nity and a man always ready to give time and service to the cause of Christ. He is eminently qualified to speak on the subject assigned him, "A Christian and His Business," and his message will carry weight, for he lives what he says others should do. He will speak at Meridian. Mr. R. It. Clinton, president of the Memphis, Tenn., an elder in the Pres byterian church and superintendent ot' his Sunday school, also chairman of the Laymen's Association of the Memphis Presbytery, and though a big business man, is always ready to give time in vital Christian service. He will speak at Waco. Mr. H. IC. Todd, of Birmingham, Ala., general agent for the whole Southeast for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company, an elder in the South Highland Presby terian church, an able teacher of a large organized men's Bible class in that church. He is a profound Bible student and will present the Bible teachings as to the individual respon sibility of every Christian to work to win other individuals to Christ. He will speak at Meridian and Nashville. Mr. M. L. Swini'hart, treasurer and manager of the missions of our Church in Korea, was an engineer and business man in Texas and mem ber of the Executive Committee of the Southern Commission Congress when the call to take his present post was given to him, and he turned his back on business and has since been an enthusiastic worker in our Foreign Mission field. When on furlough in this country last year,- he received tempting offers to return to business, but declined these all to return to his field in Korea. He is a man wtrn a burning message, and will speak at all five of the conventions on "What the World Expects of Christian Amer ica." The Men's Club of the First Pres byterian church, Deland, Fla., of which Rev. C. H. Ferran is the pas tor, had a delightful and enthusiastic supper In the church parlors at which nearly 125 men sat down to the ta bles. Reports of the work and plan? of the club were made by the pastor and President Warden, of the club. The address of the evening was de livered by Karl Lehmann, Vice-Presi dent of the Montverde Industrial School. Mr. Lehmann spoke on the subject, "The Men of America for the Man of Galilee." Each winter thla club gives several of these suppers especially to interest the large num bers of visiting tourists as well as the men of the church. Henry Lof quist, a member of the Deland church and Christian Endeavor Society, who is now a student for the ministry, studying in the Union Theological Seminary at Richmond, gave a brief talk in which he thanked the mem bers of the Men's Club for the share they are having in his preparation for the ministry. WOMAN'S WORK. (Continued from page 6) dies called in several ministers for advice. Rev. R. C. Gilmore, of Fredericks burg, spoke in favor of the budget system and against special objects. He was frequently interrupted by a lively discussion of the subject. As stated by the president of the Pre.v byterial, Mrs. Hampton Fleming, spe cial objects lie very close to the fem inine heart, possessing a peculiar in dividuality ? "ours" being one of tha strongest appeals. ' Mr. Gilmore mod ified his suggestions as follows: Have a definite budget for all expenses of the Auxiliary: its active business, Sy nodical assessment, thank offering or whatever it may be called (Mrs. Mc Faden gave as reason for thank of fering, to avoid multiplicity of spe cial objects), and everything neces sary to run the Auxiliary. Then make a definite appeal for such special work as it may be decided best to under take, such as Mission Court, Scholar ships in Training School, help of weak churches, etc.; culminating in the wise advice, "Do not mix expenses and benevolences." Rev. L. W. Curtis, Superintendent of Home Missions in East Hanover, emphasized the importance of the Presbyterial knowing the work of its own Presbytery, territorially and in regard to its needs, claiming that East Hanover presents the largest problems in Virginia, and to solve the problem is in a peculiar sense "our work," imposing the strongest claim upon us. He called attention to the little church of Windsor Shades in New Kent County, being the only church of any denomination in that community, whose growth has been phenomenal. Mr. Curtis closed his remarks by referring to the Progres sive Program as set forth in the reli gious papers of last week, urging the ladies to read it carefully. The last speaker was Mr. Buchholz, who in a forceful manner presented the Assembly's Training School, lay ing emphasis upon the Correspondence Course about to be inaugurated in Bible Study and Christian Work. He called attention to the help such a course would prove in establishing Bible study in the home, for which he made a strong appeal. All of the auxiliaries were urged to have their reports in before April 1st. Mrs. W. S. Rhoads was appoint ed as historian of East Hanover Pres byterial. THK Illlil.K HONOKKI). One large secret of the spiritual growth of the Church in Korea in the honored place always given the Bible. It is taught thoroughly in all Chris tian schools every day as well as Sun day. The older reoMe commit ft to memory. The "System of Bihl<* Studjb." already mentioned reveals much, and Christians walk miles to attend it, and bring their own rice. "The entrance of Thy word glveth light." This is the light seen in their faces. And then they believe what God says about prayer in H1b Word.