A METHODIST PROGRAMME.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1067, 4 March 1911, Page 4

A METHODIST PROGRAMME.

The address of the Rev. C. H. Laws at the opening of the annual Conference of -"the" New"-''ZeaTatid Methodist Church, which is at present being held in , Christchurch, struck a decidedly optimistic note which was amply justified by facts and figures showing the steady progress of tho Church in the past, and. -i-by. well-found-ed expectations of ■ continued, if not greater, advancement in the future. In the inspiring programme which Me. Laws placed before thoi.Conference he gives special promincnco to the question of a trained and effective ministry, and he rightly contends that this ministerial training should teach the skilful use of the weapons the ministers will have to handle in their life's work. It is reassuring to be told by one who can speak with the authority which careful inquiry imparts that the standard of the Methodist Ministry has been steadily, rising, •tnd it is equally satisfactory to know that the leaders of New Zealand Methodism fully rccognise that the Conference must bo careful of the type of racn it sets up "to expound Christianity and to present the claims of faith in such an age as this." In this matter it behoves the_ laymen of the Church to rise to their-responsibilities, for high ideals of this nature cannot be realised without cost-; but, as Mr, Laws says, "if it costs money the money must bo found. A Church can make no better investment of its funds." It is only by means of a ministry educated on the best modern lines that the Church can exercise a thoroughly effective influence for good on the general life of the community. Like all other religious bodies the Methodists are eager, as Mn. Laws tells us, "to bring the Church into fuller touch with the life of the Dominion at every point." Such a policy, if wisely carried out, is, of course, in every way commendable, but it would be disastrous alike for Church and nation, if the ministry was to neglect its primary duty as a witness to those great fundamental spiritual instincts of humanity which have grown and developed with the growth and development of the human race, in order to. promote the latest novelty in political programmes or to run a ticket for_ municipal honours. In this connection some words by Bishop Julius at the great citizenship meeting in connection with the Conference are well worth thinking over. He said: "The Church would never better the world by making religion cheap.. It - could not do its work in the world's ways. The world worked from without, and the Church' must work from within. The Church must' not seek to be popular with the world. It did not matter twopence whether the world hated the Church or not, but it mattered a good deal if the world should come to despise the Church. Whenever the Church was strong the world rose up and persecuted, crucified and put to death, but it did not despise. They must beware of the world saying: 'You are jolly good people; you do no harm, and perhaps a little good'." Mr. Laws appears to agree with the Bishop in this matter, for his-programme for the future does not .include any plunge into tho turmoil of party politics. He makes this quite plain in the following words:' "I do not mean that we must proceed to feverish activities and denominational advertisement, but rather that there should be an earnest taking up of the opportunities that are presenting themselves on every hand, and that the impact of Methodism upon the life of the people should be made ,to count for more than it does. We need to do our own work in our own way, and. to do it quietly .and confidently, but, above all, to do it. We must man our city and suburban pulpits with all . our ministerial strength, and with j men whoso outlook is not bounded by ■,

a Methodist parochialism. And, beyond this, we must dispose our forces so as to follow up the rapidly increasing settlement in many parts of the Dominion." This strikes one as being a practical, sagacious, and progressive policy. The address as a whole was full of hope and encouragement and should have an excellent effect in stimulating the Methodists of New Zealand, and confirming them in their determination to carry forward the high traditions of their Church.