272                THE A. M. E. REVIEW

one million souls we will not need to ask for the one million
dollars; we have it already, and many millions more.
    Throughout a large section of our Church this season
of the year is a time set apart for revivals, for the quicken-
ing of the spiritual life of the church and the winning of
souls.  It must be confessed that in very many instances
each year the results are far from gratifying.  We  have
often seen people in these meetings work themselves into
a frenzy almost like that of the prophets of Baal to get the
Lord to "come here and bless some poor dying soul."
    Not to speak of lack of preparation on the part of the
Church, we think that the chief cause of the failure of many
of these meetings to result in conversions is that they at-
tempt to apply antiquated or outworn methods to a new age
and time.  The hymns our fathers sang  were mighty in
their day, and their words are still those of strength and
power; but the people of this day do not know them, and if
they learn them, they cannot sing those old tunes with any
spirit. We must give them the hymns of today. For aside
from a few deathless hymns, each generation writes its own
songs.
    The anxious seat, or mourners' bench, may be made just
as effective today as it ever was, but a different method of
appeal must be made to get people to come forward from
that used 40 years ago. The "mourners' bench" is any
place in the church or out of it, where a person repents of
their sins and seeks God's pardoning grace. The time is
largely past when people will remain until midnight, or after,
in a hot, ill-ventilated room, with a great din of noise, as
necessary to the conversion of a soul. We are learning also
the value of the individual, personal or direct method of
dealing with souls, like Philip with the Eunich of Ethiopia.
    Do we believe in pastors calling to their aid evangelists?
Most assuredly we do. "He gave some apostles; and some
prophets; and some evangelists, and some pastors and
teachers." (Eph. 4:11).
    But there are evangelists, and evangelists.      If the
pastor assumes the proper attitude toward the man he has




			

African Methodist Episcopal Church Review, Vol. 29, Num. 3

Editorials

Volume:  29
Issue Number:  03
Page Number:  260
Date:  01/1913