EVANGELIST FLANAGAN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 29

EVANGELIST FLANAGAN.

FOUNDER OF THE- SOUTH-EAST ; . . LONDON MISSION. j A notable figure amongst the delegates -to _ the Primitive Methodist Conference, j wliich assembled on the' 9th inst. in DunI edin, Js the Rev. Jas. Flanagan, a veteran evangelist and the founder of the South- * east London Mission, where he has accomplished a wonderful -work amongst the lowest of London society. Mr "F-}flTmg*flT7 arrived in £be jDoininion -iowai-cla j ; theyend of last year, t and has since been | conducting revival services in various parts of the .North Island. His appearance at . the Dunedin conference is only tbe preliminary to -hSs conducting an extensive mission throughout Otago. . Mr' Flanagan's life-story is so remarkable that a brief outline will be in-_ teresting and serve as introduction to a man wno can searoely fedl to make his , mark in our religious community. Professor A. S. Teake, iM.A., D.D., who r stands in the foremo#t rank of Primitive Methodism in England, and whose soholari ship and erudition ase universally acknowledged outside his own denomination, ,Has i in an introdilfibion to a recently-published book of Mr Flanagan's, entitled " Scenes from -My Life, Bofh Gnave and Gay," adanirafoly summed up both the strength of the author's character and the secret of his success in revival- work., • In the course of that introduction the Professor remarks: — Mr Flanagan has for many years proclaimed the Gospel to multitudes all over our land, and to his enthusiastic and faithful ministry thousands owe"! their experience of its cleansing and rede'em- '_, ing $ower. - He could ' make his own Dido's hnmoxtal words: — Myself not unversed in misfortune, I learn to succour wretched. 1 He has' toiled in ihe slums among the outcasts and- the hopeless ; he has faced, deadly disease and loathsome squalor for their sake;- he has kindled-' in the lost a new hope. - " ' 1 His work began in lowly conditions, i with none of->the glamour that now often, -gathers about' the successful missioner. , Through, discouragement and difficulty ' he held steadily on his. way, impelled by * a Jove for his fellows which 1 drew its ' inspiration- from the Cross and "' susi j tamed by a fai£h. that would not despair . of tihe' worst. He has lived to find_ his quality tested by the subtler "temptations of success. ' It is hard for us whose days . and nights are not passed in the i glare of public app.lause tq_ gauge the [ spiritual perils of the missioXier's life. It is often his lot -to watch the crowd. [ ha!nging- on., his Jips, 'to bask in the ', 'flattering, recognition of his powers,.^ to [ be the central figure of the daily throng. , Such experiences " may all too easily^ sap ! the humility and self-distruet of the un- !• watchful an "feed" the urihallowed fires, of ' < vanity and pride. x We may^ sometimes : ... * feel -tempted to envy him his vast oppor1 j tunities, forgetting that-«ll service counts L the -same with, God, ' and , that' He may mercifully nave withheld us from such giddy heagfcts. It is for us, to whom the J\ . evangelistic gift has not been entrusted, .to pursue in contentment our lowlier 1 path, and pray that our brethren may ' , pass through the furnace , without the * i smell of the fire" upon, their garments. ; I have often thought of Mr Flanagan's perseverance in'^ overcoming _ the initial disadvantages as one of his most exemplary qualities. He could not read when he attained manhood, and he has ' , vividly described to me the difficulties he '' i found in compelling 1 his mind to "concen- : trate itself on attaining even -the elements of learning. Yet he struggled on till he became familiar with much of the best in our literature^ and essayed the 1 i paths of more difficult scholarship.- I ■ well remember, when he was mjr guest 10 or 11 years ago, .taking him into a bookshop, when he bought the ' 20 volumes of ".Meyer's Commentary ,on •"* the- New Testament." The masterpiece of that great German e^tegete and his i ' colleagues is of litle use to one who is not prepared to work steadily at £he i text.of his Greek Testament and patiently folloV the' author's, track through his labyrinthine discussion on conflicting views. -It was not as if it had been a homiletib' exposition with abundance of ready-made sermon - material. • - That a man with sucb. natural gifts of oratory - and humour,' such insight into spiritual things,' such evangelistic powers, should. 1 discipline- himself and seek to give depth to his -' teaching by severe exegetical '• study, seemed to vine most commendable. The temptation to do without it was so ,great. 1 The force- of the foregoing can only be 1 properly appreciated after a careful perusal ' \of the life story of this veteran evangelist, " as told by His friend and admirer, Mr Denis ; Crane, in a brief biography published by ; S. W. Partridge some' few -years' since. 1 And to this biography, we are indebted for ' the appended- particulars of what has ; rightly been designated " A Remarkable 1 Career." ; BIRTH AND BOYHOOD. * James .Flanagan was born on December * ■ 18, and therefore has just spent his 1 , fifty-sixth birthday in the Dominion. •He ' is the son of an Irish father and an English i , mother. His father was a native of Water- ' ford, who emigrated to England on account of the cruelty of an uncle to whom he was * apprenticed.' James Flanagan's grandfather j was an old man-o'.-wai'e roan, who fought* i under Nelson, and who claimed to be first " J cousin to .William Charle3 Macready, the ! tragedian. Young Flanagan's father was a ■* victim to the drink habit. When sober he ■ was good-natured and kind to his children, J but when under the influence of alcohol ' he was furious and unscrupulous, his p'oweri ful physique making him a terror alike to " bis family and to his neighbours. He was " an enthusiastic Catholic and a disciple of j William Cobbett. whose writings he studied " ! with avidity. When living in Mansfield he > married a Protestant young Tvoman, thus f bringing about the inevitable and undesir5 able conflict between a father's Romanism 3 and a mother's Protestantism. Of this ? union James Flanagan was born in a Mans- »^ field slum, he being the youngest of- five ' children, four of "whom were sons._ At 1 birth he was so, delicate that his life was 1 more than once despaired of. The child 1 wa3 little mere than, a year, old when his : » father lost hie situation owing to his in3 temperate habits. Often" mother and chil1 dren were turned out upon the cold, pitii less street to wander where they would till J morning, a tattered shawl their only'lioverfc ing 'and a doorstep their' only shelter from i biting wind Qr drenching rain. From this A struggle for existence the boy was rescued

by an aunt, under whose care he passed the first seven or eight years of his life. ■■ ' His father made a somewhat precarious' living by clay-pipe making and pattern burning, and when only nine years old James was taken home and taught his father's trade. His weekly earnings amounted to two and sixpence, and by toiljng sixteen hours a day lie soon became the best hand in the shop. The first lasting impression made upon his boyish mind was when attending the national scho.ol in \, the- town, where one afternoon the children were addressed by a. missionary-. CThe boy Tememberecl nothing of what the missionary said — and returned missionaries were a rarity in England at that time, — but the man's tall and 6tooping figure, his pale cheeks, sunken eyes, and dark haix, impressed themselves upon his mind with gxeat^ vividness. When he timidly asked his teacher the inissionory's name the .teacher replied, "Boy, thatis David Livingstone." % Although James's father desired him to be brought up a. Catholic, and even took v him to a Ca^holio day school, and enjoined the master to make a true Catholic of him, yet in .the end his., mother's influence prevailed;, what training he had was in the Protestant faith. Yet wlien he reached theage of twenty one^ not only was ho entirely . ignorant of the truths of the Bible, aCa. could scarcely read or 'Write, but .he became tlie prey of many vicious habits which seriously affected his health. -LOVE AND MARRIAGE. - He had a remarkable voice, which made him popular ' wherever he went, especially ' in the hotels he Visited on his rounds, and where he was' offered drink in return for his entertainment. " Had he devoted himself to singing as a profession he would doubtless have become a celebrity. His gift brought 'him into^ -contact with traveilipg theatrical troupes, who often enlisted his services. In this- way he became acquainted with -some of the celebrities of. the day ; he heard Lorraine" interpret Jean 'Valjean, and saw Dillon impersonate Hamlet and Charles Keane Shylock. His marriage was an illustration of loye at s £rst sight. The" girl's parents Were pro-" prietors of an Tiotel, adjoining which was a large hall 'used for concerts. One 'eyening when James Flanagan was singing there his voice arrested "her attention, and when he went, out of ■the hall at the -close of the entertainment their eyes met. Quick as thought it flashed into -his mind that this was the girl he would like to marry. And so it proved to be-. Mr Flanagan declares that his was one of the marriages' made in heaven, for ■&& influence of his wife was , one of the main factors in his reform and changed life. After their marriage Mr and Mis Flanagan removed to llkeston, and. l here a. teacher in~ ihe Primitive ",Methpdist | Sunday. School, Joseph Parker by name, was induced by /Mrs Flanagan to . Visit • her husband? As £he outcome of this visit Jemes Flanagan was persuaded to take the pledge, this being the preliminary to attendance .at the Primitive < Methodist. Chapel. He quicMy responded to the religious influences wlhioh.now surrounded him, and, feeling that a change of occupation j would be beneficial-/an"d help 1 him to break with/ his old associates, and failing any other occupation he turned to the laborious work of coal-mining in the pit at Woodside. -THE CALL TO PREACH. But the religious impulse now awakened within the man. caused James Flanagan to desire a wider sphere and more congenial work. He wished to qualify as a preacher, but. he was handicapped with, to use his own words, "an empty brain and a hand that had lost the power to write." His first task was to commit to memory the 103 rd Psalm, and "the next to grapple with the difficulties of language, endeavouring to get lid of' the vulgarisms and uncouth pronunciations which disfigured his speech, and -labouring to increase his vocabulary so ..that he might be able to give better expression to his thoughts. He adopted a novel method of word-learning: He filled "the finger nails of his left hand with the, words he wished to master, and repeated them over and over again on his way to work until they became his own. Admirers of the " fluent and graceful speech with which he to-day charms his- audiences would scarcely believe by what patient effort and protracted 6tudy it has" been acquired. -In the same way;' with the aid' of a copy, book, he set himself to learn -to write until- his stubborn finerers had learned to form the characters with skill. With a view of gaining .experience in actual work, in company .with" some friends he utilised his holidays "in holding evangelistic meetings, forming themselves into a ring in the open e-ir wherever .there was a prospect of getting auditors. This was .in the days when there was no Salvation Army. Mr -Flanagan" -has published , an Interesting little book entitled' " The Romance of Evangelism," in which he cites manystrange instances of his early efforts, and •which go to prove that truth is stranger than fiction. It was not long- before Evangelist Flanagan was called to give up his secular avocation and devote himself entirely to preaching. At the conclusion of a mission at Clawson, th© Melton Mowbray quarterly meeting passed the following resolution: — " That the Rev. S. Barker correspond with Mr Flanagan with ffie view to securing hisservices for six months at the rate of £1 7s i per week, with the understanding that in the event of a second engagement a further sum shall pc given . if money matters warrant it." ' Mr Flanagan accepted the engagement "with alacrity, and without hesitation. The success of the Melton Mission ivas followed by_ like successes elsewhere, and he received numerous calls to conduct evangelistic services at ," places further afield. From March,, 1881, to the end of 1885 he gave himself up to the Primitive Methodist connexion, labouring wherever he was called, dependent upon the people he served for the maintenance of his wife and family, and enduring all the vicissitudes -of so precarious a mode of living in the spirit of truest devotioft. - A"5 showing the success of his work it" has to be borne in mind that for the most part he" laboured almost single handed, often going to places where no preparation had been made, and staying" for a fortnight or three weeks only. Gradually he had to create" bis own atmosphere in ; both town and village, and it required a man of more "than ordinary heart and energy -to, infuse life, to say nothing of enthusiasm, into apathetic rural communities. Durina: the first 18 months of his, ministry pver 1100 persons professed conversion, the following year and nine months 850 more, after which the evangelist lout

count of numbers.- And as his biographer exclaims, " How could it. be otherwise with : one who ever bore the burden of souie, whoso , passionate cry at the beginning .of each new year was ' A thousand^ souls for Christ,' and who in the midst of his successes never failed to say, r To God be every of praise.' " Early in 1886 Mr Flanagan wag appointed' by the Nottingham 1 Gospel TemperanceCommittee a missionary in that v town, and during the 18 months thus employed be became well known for his passionate devotion to ills cause of ike poor^aj>3 for his labours among the* vicious and criminal «lass._ One of the meet important branches of his work was the systematic) visitation of the lodging-houses in the lower "parts of the town, and in hie fifst yearly report he records that over one thousand services had j been conducted", .chie#y pn Sundays, in these anodes of wretchedness. He next spent four years in charge of tne Gospel Mission in the" Temperance Hall, Nottingham, and these four years lie regards as the happiest . and most successful of his < life. In 1891 he accepted- the call of the Primitive Methodist Conference to take up special work jn London, and in the greatmetropolis his name will ever be remembered as the founder of the Soutn-East. Jkmdon Missipn. The story of that mision is too long tcT attempt in detail, suffice it to say that it brought- out all Mr Flana ; gan's latent powers, for in addition "to ■ a successful evangelist and ' a powerful preacher he proved himself a most efficient organiser and a splendid, money-raiser. Early, in 1904- the New Zealand Conference sent him a " cordial invitation tp visit the then colony, but he had' still another £1000 to raise to pay off the debt on his schemes in connection with ,the mission, and thus his coming had been deferred until now. Later iv 1904-, however, he found time to .pay a brief visit to the United ' States." v . The -foregoing particulars all go to show that Mr Flanagan Js a most interesting personality, -and a man who should be heard not only for his personal qualities and hie gift of speech, but because of his arduous efforts in the cause of God and humanity. And trust that; his stay in tho city will prove' profitable" in- the best and sense of the word-