/ +

Cbrlstian Q mlsslonary All~ana. I HERDQUARTERS--fjqo EIGHTH AvE., NEW YORK. CABLE ADDRESS-PA-IA, NEW YORK,

. . . . . . . . . . . . REV. A. B. SIMPSON President cE Gateval Sllpcriwtendent.

REV. JOHN SALMON. MR. CEO. MONT( sOMERY. MR. J. E. RAMSEYER. REV. 0. E. MALLORY. MR. ULYSSES LLWIS. MR. THOS. RYAN. REV. \V. C. STEVENS. REV. JOHN OEIITER. REV. F. W. FLINT. Vice- Presidenl REV. M . B. FULLER. MR A. D. JAiKSON. MR. JAS. G. REBER. REV. 0. M. BROWN. MR. JOHN McGAHIE. MR. W. E. BLACKSTONE.

. . . . . . . . . . . . REV. A. E. FUNK Gmeval S w r k w y & FovAgn S@wintendcnt. . . . . . . . . . MR. DAVID CREAR Tveosurev. 690-Eighh Awe., New Yovk. . . . . . . . . . . REV. J. D, WILLIAMS Recording Sccrctwy.

MRS. A. B. SIMPSON . . . . . . Superintendent Assignment of Misswnwk. . . . . . . REV. HENRY K E N N I N G Home Secvetcwp.

HEADQUARTERS FOR INDIA-ALLIANCE MISSION, GOWALIA TANK ROAD, BOMBAY. CABLE ADDRESS-PAROUSIA, BOMBAY.

REV. M. B. FULLER,-Chaivman of Executive Committee, Bombay. The affairs of the Mission in the field are administeced by an Executive Committee,

composed of fourteen members of the Mission elected a t the Annual Convention. The Alliance is unsectarian and its special object is the evangeliation of neglected

fields : it seeks to unite Christians of all evangelical denominations in its work. The teaching of the Alliance is often spoken of as the Four-Fold Gospel, which meam

the Gospel or good tidings of Jesus Christ as Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King. Pardon through simple faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.-Sanctification and fu lnes

of life through the indwelling Christ Himself in the believer by the Holy Spirit.-Healing and health for the body of the believer by simple faith in Jesus who "Himself took OM infirmiti- and bare our sickness" ;-and the pre-millennia1 coming of Christ.

The financial basis of the Alliance is shown in the following article from the Constitution. "The Alliance will require of all its labourers a spirit of absolute reliance upon God alone for support, guaranteeing no fixed salary to any misgionary after reaching his or her field, but providing them such moderate allowances for their actual expenses and needs as the funds provided from the voluntary gifts of God's people shall enable LLS to supply from time to time."

" Accepted candidates are required, before leaving for the field, to sign an agreement stating that they cordially approve of the principles and practice of the Mission, and heartily desire to carry out the same."

Every missionary is committed to a life of faith in God for his personal support, and the Home Board is only pledged to send to the various fields what they receive. No debt is to be incurred.

Donations for the general fund, or for special puposes, or for the personal use of any missionary can be sent to the Treasurer in New York, or to Rev. M. B. Fuller, Alliance hfiss~on, Grant Road, P.O. Bombay, or direct to the person for mhorri tt is intended, or to the Treasurer, Miss Ella illorris, Ahmedabad. Unless otherwise designated, donations will be put in the general fund.

Sbecial day of firayer, last Friday of each month.

Cbe Indla Alliance, This is intended as a monthly message from the Alliance Missionaries to the friends of their

work. I t will also deal with the general questions of mission work by original or selected , and will seek to deepen the interest and stimulate the prayers of all wlm may read it, b;

&owing the encouraghents as well as diffimlties of the work.

EDITOR :-REV. M. B. FULLER. BUSINESS MANAGER :-MR. S. H. A u E R ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ G ~ a n t Road, P.O. Bombay. Cha~isgaon, Khandesh.

TWms of Subscvi$tion In all Countries where the rupee is current Re. I 2 s . . . . . . . . . . . .

In England 3% .& in advance. Single Copies i2e. o 2 o I In .America p mk

All payments to be sent to the Rwrines Manager. Americao Subscriptions can be sent in 1J. S. or Canadian dollar btlls or f o r e i g ~ ~ money orders.

The Training School, Dholka.

THE INDIA ALLIANCE. .- --

VOL. VIII ]

" f {is infa l f # # f ~ . " (11. TIM. I. 6, R. V. M.) ---

Stir me, Oh! stir me, Lord--I care not how, But stir Iny heart in passion for the world;

Stir me to give, to go, BU'r PRAY. Stir, till the Blood-red banner be unfurled

O'er lands that still in heathen darkuess lie, O'er deserts where no Cross is lifted high.

Stir ma, Oh ! stir me, Lord, till all my heart Is filled with strong compassion for these souls,

Till Thy compelling " must " drives me to pray, Till Thy constraining Love reach to the poles

Far North and South, in burning, deep desire, Till East and West are caught in Love'sgreat fire,

Stir me, Oh ! stir me, Lord, till prayer is pain, Till prayer is joy-till prayer turns into praise ;

Stir me till heart and will and mind, yea, ALL Is wholly I'hlne to use through all the days ;

Stir, till I learn to pray " exceedingly," Stir, till I learn to wait expectantly.

Stir me, Oh ! stir me, Lord ! THY heart was stirred By love's intensest fire; till Thou did'st give

Thine only Son, Thy best-beloved One, E ' ~ ~ to the dreadful cross, that I might live ;

Stir me to give myself so back to Thee, That Thou can' st give Thyself again thro' me.

Stir me, Oh ! stir me, Lcrd, for I can see Thy glorious triumph day begin to break ;

The dawn already gilds the Eastern sky ; Oh ! Church of Christ arise, awake ! awake !

Oh ! stir us, Lord, as heralds of that day, For night is past-our Icing is on His way !

BESSIE PORTER HEAD. --

THE RELATIONS OF INDIAN WORKER^ TO THE FOREIGN MISSIO,YARY ---

[A paper read by the Rev. M. R. Fuller a t the Gujarat Missionary Conference in Bombay.] ---

HE wording of the subject suggests T that there are various relations between the Indian workers and the Foreign

missionaries, and this is very true, and these relations need to be recognised and clearly defined. In this as in other matters we may find much help from the study of the

MAY, 1909 [ N o 11 --.

New Testament, for our work is the same as that of Philip and Paul and Barnabas. There are many minor matters in which conditions of place and time differ, and Paul might not have followed exactly the same methods had he , lived in the nineteenth century as he did in the first century. ~ a u l had a wonderful talent for adapting himself to the various circumstances j in. which he found himself. He worked amid t the learned and the unlearned, the rich and the poor, the Jews and the Gentiles, and he became all things to all men that he might by all i means save some. i

In considering the question i t will help " US begin the beginning, and start -i wrth a pioneer missionary, one who enters 1 a new field alone. It is evident that before he can have ~ ~ d i ~ ~ workers any sort, paid or I I unpaid, well educated or crude and untrained, he must first have converts, and these will hold 1 to him the relation of spiritual children. As 1 Paul says t o the Christians a t Corinth: " I have beaotten you all in the ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ l ; ~ and this b relation of spiritual fatherhood was always recognised by Paul, so that in his old age he still addresses Timothy as his son. Every spiritual child that is well born should in time become a worker, though most of them will be

i unpaid workers, and may give most of their I time to what we usually speak of as secular 1

work. The aim of the missionary and the motto of the Indian Church should be, "Every Christian a witness and a sincere worker for ; Christ. " I s u p p o s e h i s was Paul'saim. So far as we know he had no paid workers ; but in I

the 20th chapter of Acts, in his farewell address . to the elders of the Church of Ephesus, we hear him say, "These hands have ministered unto my ,,necessities, and to them that Were with me. One can only wonder who those with him were, who were willing that Paul, with his great gifts as a missionary, should spend his time earning money ~ ~ - ~ ~ n u a l k~bour for their support, or a t least their food. I arn glad Paul did not tell us their names ; for our feelings of disgust for them might be increased ; and we may hope that they sool? became ashamed of themselves and shared 1n the toll wlth Paul,

122 THE INDIA

But their family has-continued unto this day, and has perhaps increased as fast as other portions of the Church. I3ut perhaps Paul still found them helpers, and was willing to bear with them because of what he hoped they

- would become. Perhaps we may say that these were

in Paul's Training School. We read of Paul choosing Timothy and Titus for helpers, and they were long in his Training School before Timothy was left a t Ephesus and Titus a t Crete. But there was a large number of workers who were ordained as elders or deacons, or bishops (overseers) as Paul called the elders from Ephesus, and these remained probably for the most part in their homes, serving in their local churches and supported wholly or in part by their churches. The Jewish Christians had been accustomed to support priests before, and the tithe system was familiar to them, and i t would seem no burden to give a t least as much for the support of the elders and evangelists under the Gospel, as they had given under the Law. The Gentile converts had also been accustomed to use money freely for religious purposes, as the people of India, the Hindus, Muhammadans, and Parsees, are to-day, and Paul taught his converts that God had ordained that they that preach the Gospel ! should live of the Gospel ; that is, that they should be supported by their fellow Christians, although Paul for personal reasons refused to press his claim for such support.

There were a t that time noorganised Societies like our Foreign Missionary Societies of to-day. Individual churches sent gifts to Paul, and pro- bably to other Apostles and evangelists, to sup- port them in theirwork among non-Christians, and the real principles of Foreign Missions were already a t work ; and no one would think of criticising Missionary Societies any more than he would criticise Sunday Schools, because we do not find them developed in the New Testament. Eighteen centuries after Paul's death, both these great institutions had developed as they are to-day, and we may deal with the problems before us freely, recognising that we must not try to imitate New Testa- ment method.; in detail, but must deal with the whole great problem of evangelising the world on the principles set 'forth in the New Testament adapting them to present conditions in the various countries where Mission work is being done.

In the case then of the pioneer missionary, the relation of the Indian workers, paid o r , trnpaid, will always be that of children to a

ALLIANCE. -

parent. But he is not only parent, but teacher, and that brings the relationship of teacher and scholar, and this is an important relation. As they love him as a spiritual father, so they will honour him and trust him as a teacher.

But he is not only spiritual father and teacher ; he is also the overseer or bishop of the work of the Mission in a whole city or taluka or district, and as such he comes into another relation which is less pleasant sometimes than that of parent or teacher. He has to get the work done, and school teachers and evangelists have to be chosen from among the hitherto unpaid workers, and employed on salaries of various grades, and so the workers hold the relation of employees to the missionary, who is the employer, or the agent of the Mission which is the real employer. It becomes his duty in this new relationship to choose care- fully and without partiality those who are fitted to do the various kinds and grades of work to be done, and also to see that they are doing i t efficiently and conscientiously ; and also to see that they are maintaining a personal character consistent with the work entrusted to them.

It is in this relationship that strain and un- pleasantness are apt to arise. As children he had to bear with their failures and even their sins, the most serious into which they fell, and sometimes to discipline them, and even for a. time to exclude them from membership in the Church. As scholars he, as teacher, had to correct their misconceptions of truth, to help them to unlearn many of the old non-Christian ideas that had been ingrained in their minds, and to fill their minds with truth and establish them in sound doctrines, and in Christian character, until he felt that they were ready to teach others and to become fellow-workers with him, fellow-agents of the Mission which

1 sent him out and supports him in the work. The ideal pioneer missionary should, till the

end of his life, be able to maintain his authority as father and teacher and overseer or bishop of the work, but he will be glad to divide the authority as fast as he finds among the workers those who will really share the responsibility and help to bear the burdens of the work. It would be a very unwise father who would wish his sons always to remain children. A wise father would rejoice to r u t responsibility and commensurzte authority upon each son of his family as fast and he found him capable of sharing them. It is a principle which ought always to be kept in mind, that authority and responsibility must always be commensurate.

The inan who wants authority must prove that he can carry the responsibilify, that he can bear the burden which authority implies. In this matter I am sure that we all rejoice that the National Missionary Society was organised before the Swadeshi agitation became pro- minent. It was not started by those who were clamouring for authority, but by those who felt that there was a great responsibil~ty upon the Indian Church to take up the ~vork of evangelising India, and who with admirable consecration and self-denial bowed their necks to bear the burden of the work, to go as pioneers to the unoccupied fields ; and these leaders will, I trust, be able, t o the end of life, to maintain their place as pioneer miss~onaries, as fathers and reachers and overseers of the work which, by God's blessing, will grow up in their respective fields. I have the highest hope for the National Missionary Society. As the Society grows and the work develops, i t will find its leaders developing and new ones being raised up, and the relations of the Indian workers to the leaders and pioneer rnissionaries of that Society will be essentially the same as those of the Indian workers and the Foreign Missionary in otlzer Societies. SpiriLitai Iatllcrs, and teachers and leaders, overseers or bishops, there must alctays be ; and as the Indian Church develops these, I am sure that every thoughtful missionary will rejoice to recognise them and give them all the responsibility which they can bear, a l l the authority which they can wisely use. Every missionary of any experience finds himself overwhelmed with work which he cannot do, and is longing for fellow-workers, even the crudest and humblest, to share the work and also to share the responsibility and the authority. Every missionary must rejoice when he is able to form a simple Panch and feel that they will share the burden of the discipline of the Church, and, in the financial responsibility, the use oi the poor fund and other matters.

A wise father is justly proud and delighted when he finds that his son has entered into the interests of the business as a partner, and will be quick to have his name put into the name of the firm ; and he looks forward wilh pleas'ure to the time w h ~ n he can retire from the active management, and see his son deve- lope the business far beyond what he had been able to do ; and he rejoices if he sees that his son has business ability far beyond that of his father. But if he sees, or so long as he sees, the son unable to carry on the business, he will secure the services of a competent manager,

that the business may not suffer, and the in- competent or inexperienced son a'nd all the younger children suffer with it.

And this brings us to the second part of t l z subject. We have spoken hitherto of the Pioneer Missionary, and many of us have been pioneers. We have begun in new fields, but in many Missions in India to-day the younger missionaries are not pioneers. They come to we11 estabIished Missions, and find the work well organised. T o use the business figure again, they are a sort of business Managers put in by the wise father until the son and lawful heir has reached his majority and become corn- petent to manage the business himseIf. We are still dealing with the first generation of Christians in many places, and even where the second generation, or even the third, js riow living, it would be unreasonable to expect many of them to be equal to the most carefully chosen men sent from churches in other lands, who have a dozen or even scores of generations of Christian ancestors. But the young mis- sionary to-day, however well prepared spirit- ually and intellectually for his work, is in a different relation from the pioneer missionary. He is not the spiritual father of those to wllonl he comes, and he rnust remember this and not presume too much on his nqtionnlity. IJe maj7 findhimself ministering to people nluch older than himself, and some of them more mature in their Christian lives than he is, even though they have little education, and modesty and humility should be very prominent charac- teristics of young missionaries. 1 am exceed- ingly sorry to say that these most attractive characteristics ale not so prominent in many young missionaries either in relation to their Indian fellow-workers or to the other Indian Christians, or even to the older missionaries. Excessive niodesty and humility are very rare faults in young rnissionaries in these days, and could be more easily borne with than the opposite ones.

The new missionary cannot be the spiritual father of those born into the Church before he came out. He may be a teacher of the oldest, but this he will have to prove, not by his certificates or diplonlas or parchments written in Latin, but by teaching; and especially in his relation to the older I n d ~ a n worlters will this be true. By a little vanity, or love of novel ways of presentir~g the truth, or a little delight in shocking people by saying smart and startling things, he may forfeit the confidence of his Indian brethren for years, and make them afraid of hini as not sound compared, as they

t i4 THE INDIA ALLIANCE. -"

will compare him, with the man who led them to Christ.

Just as to-day, in the political field in India what has been gained by the older and the past generation of officials, who used to mingle more with the people, and by personal acquaintance gain their confidence, is in danger of being lost through the lack of wisdom and sympathy and personal acquaintance on the part of many of the younger officials; so in the work of Missions there is the same danger. The young missionary who comes, not only as a teacher but also as leader and overseer or bishop of a district, must prove his power of leadership by actual spiritual and intellectual ability, which be manifest in his work. Hasty changes of methods, which imply a serious criticism of some oIder missionary, or a love of authority which manifests itself on every, occasion, must injure the influence and so injure the work of any young missionary. Older missionaries, the pioneers and veterans, have not learned all that is to be learned, and so have not taught i t all to the Indian workers whom tile young missionary finds on the field; but they have learned sonle tllin:qs worth knowing, and the younger man is safe in taking the place of learner rather than of critic, even in dealing the ~ ~ d i ~ ~ workers. H~ will have to distillguish M,hat they have learned from old missionaries from what they have simply failed to learn, that is, from their ignorance or misunderstanding of what llas been taught them. The ability of a missionary to recognise the gifts of his Indian workers, and a disposition to develop the best that is in them, and to make them feel that he trusts them just so far as he possibly can with authority and responsibility-this ability will- be largely the measure of his success.

Mr. Hoste, who is a t present the successor of the late Mr. Hudson Taylor as Director of the China Inland hliesion,when a young nlissionary was put in charge of the work in a Iarge district where Pastor Hsi, that real apostle ill the Chinese Church, had been a t work for some years. when M ~ . H~~~~ saw pastor ~~i and the wonderful work he had done before any missionary came to superintend the work, he recogniseiJ the fact that God had appointed a superintendent over that field and he wisely put himself under pastor hsi's leadership. Some man far inferior to Mr. Hoste rnigllt have insisted upon his authority and presunled upon his nationality, and have done incalculable injury to the work, but he would never have become the Director of the

China Inland Mission. The Indian Chxrch will some day have her Apostles like Pastor Hsi in China, and i t is thework of the highest type of missionary to help to produce them, or to be able t o discover and recognise then1 if God prepares them outside our Mission, and to honour them as God's chosen ones.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR INDIAN FELLOW-CHRISTIANS " ---

E have come to this country as Christian W Missionaries, and the chief relationship which we bear towards the Indian

Christian community is that of being fellow- members with them in the Church of Christ. In the recognition and remembrance

this fact is be found the to most of the practical difficulties which this subject raises.

I suppose on our first arrival in India we all experierxed an indescribable thrill of

when we stood face to face with n ~ e n and women of strange customs and strange language, were journcqing life with the same lzopes and the same aspirations

united us by the strongest of all ties we know-a conlnlon faith in and a common devotion to our Saviour Jesus Christ. It may be that in the stress and toil of the way our sense of this union has often been dulled but there is no reason why we not take pains have i t renewed ; nay, there is every reason why we should cultivate i t with the most sedulous care. It is a very thing-and surely every one of us has felt the wonder of i t "gain and agaia,-as+e jLIhed in worship with our brethren-to be meeting on common ground, in regard Our deepest tlloughts intimate concerns, people so utterly different from Perhaps it of all when we sit in silence around the Lord's table. Speaking for myself, I am disposed to think we make far too little of the great opportunity the communion service affords. It ought lzever to be a hurried service, and it may well be prepared for beforehand, and

up afterwards, prayer and It is

estimate the spiritual value of a.n institution, but I not be surprised if we find, when the are made that Our Own country has been immensely the poorer for the abolition

j j A Paper read at the Rajputana Presbyterian Conference, Beawar, and November 1908.

has a 1iving';nterest in Foreign Missions, and ]

.of the old "Fast Day." There and here alike the religious life of the community has suffered. Modem institutions like Keswick, Sialkot, Jabalpur, have endeavoured to supply the want; but while sincerely grateful for all the good that these have done, it has occurred to me to ask whether a more spiritual use of the Communion season in the Indian Church may not in a still more practical and more satisfying manner meet our case. For this reason I would here a t the outset make thls practical suggestion,-that we try to make more of the Communion service; for only in the spirit of i t --eating one bread and drinking one cup with the humblest, conscious that apart from Christ we are but sinners equally with others, needing ourselves quite as much as any one of our Indian brothers or sisters to come to the table with the old song-

"Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling,"-

there to receive of G the fulness of ~i~ that filleth all in all,- only as being thus uone in Christ Jesusw can we rightly re:~lise, and only by rightly realising can we fulfil, our responsibility to our Indian fellow-Christians.

in christ jesus :- in ~ i ~ , let us pmember, and therefore in His Church there is no East and West, no master and servant, no E~~~~~~~ and xndian. ~h~ church of christ is the great mediator between the races : the nearer we come to ~ i ~ , and the more the church is permeated by ~i~ spirit, the more thoroughly the middle ayall of partition is broken down and the barriers of race prejudice disappear. Can you imagine any European Christian-let alone a Missionary-making light or making little of the ~ ~ d i ~ ~ church ? While \\,e are in India, the Indian Church is o u r Church : our own branch of it has been well named Presbyterian church in ~ ~ d i ~ . l ~ ~~d in so far as Mre on the one hand separate our English services, our English prayer meet- ings, from the Indian Church, and our Indian brethren on the other hand separate or tend to separate their N~~~~~~~ ~i~~~~~~~~ society from us, they and we alike are travelling, I am afraid, on wrong-because non-Christian- lines. I have never been quite able to under- stand the christianity of those christians who live in an Indian town alongside of an Indian

community, and yet never once from end to end think of worshipping with them. we reckon nowadays that a living member of the church at home

(Continued on page 127)

we cannot conceive of a living member of that Church coming to India, even on a three months' sojourn, and neglecting to visit an Indian Christian congregation. Is a like interest in Missions not to be expected of our European neighbours in India ? Or, in so far as i t is not apparent, is it we who are to blame for not cultivating it or inviting this manifesta- tion of it ? For some the language is undoubtedly a difficulty, and one would not think of asking weekly attendance a t verna- cular services on the part of those who are able to join only in spirit ; but-if I may make a second practical suggestion-may we not, with great advantage all round, i.e., to ourselves, to our fellow-countrymen, and our Indian fellow- Christians, make a practice of united gather- ings, say a t the Communion service-none more suitable, for there language is not necessary-or, if preferred, on Christmas morn- ing? Every Christian heart, one feels sure, will respond to any feasible suggestion of this kind.

Personally, I feel disposed to go even further and Say, why not, wherever practicable, encourage our friends, who accept our ministry, and have against Presbyterianism* to enrol themselves as regular members of the Presbyterian Church in India? Why should not Our Ajmer Institute whose worship is in outward form as " Presbyterian"

can be, a regularl~-constit'-'ted congregation of this Church, with its own elders and representatives in the Presbytery ? And as' for Our friends of the Episcopal Church, who are pleased that we should conduct their devo- tions and expound the Scriptures to them, Were come amongst us as active members of the Church in India-I have known those when the subject was brought

them, were pleased do so,-wou1d they not, besides being a source of strength t o US, help to lead us forth into the still larger

have begun crave ? As we have come to feel that in

India at least we are and our Indian brothers and sisters too. W'hen the Presbyterian Union in India was consurnmated a t Allahabad, our friend Dr. Mackichan gave an address on " the Essential Unity of Indian Christians." The title expresses a great truth. Though as yet but partially organised, the "Indian Christian community" is a reality : i t has a unity of spirit and life that may well make us Europeans ashamed of our divisions. We have a healthy enough view of the evils of

I 26 THE INDIA ALLIANCE,

by them the formation of a federation and a plap for their consideration. This plan or consti- tution was carefully considered and discussed article by article and modified and amplified

/wi th all the new light shed upon it, and AST month our editorial was on finally heartily and unanimously adopted.

the subject of the unity of the 1 . . i:r :::

of and One of the the month was a brief

notice Of a meeting of the committees appointed by the

It was gratifying to see how few real disculties there were when they were fairly faced and dealt with by brethren who trust one another and are willing to grant to others

Irish Presbyterian Mission and I the same freedom in non-essentials which they our own to confer on the matter of federal ask for themselves. union, a meeting which made al l our hearts glad a s we found really nothing to hinder such a union. hi^ month we have to report the meeting of similar committees or delegations sent by seven Churches and missions to confer on the same subject. hi^ Ineeting was held at ~ ~ b ~ l ~ ~ ~ on the gth of ~ ~ ~ i l and was attended by delegates sent by the following Churches and missions viz 6 The Presbyterian church of lndia. s&th ~ ~ d i ~ united church. ~h~ ~ ~ t h ~ d i ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ l church. The Friends9 ~ i ~ ~ i ~ ~ . The Christian ~ i ~ ~ i ~ ~ .

PI ;I< 3.1 0

This constitution will soon be ready for publication and as soon as we receive the correct copy from the we shall publish it. And i t will be published in many papers in English and will be translated into Several vernaculars and published widely among the various churches. It is to be a federal union of churches not of missions and missions are dealt with only in , cases where the church has not yet an organization sepa-

The American Marathi ~ i ~ ~ i ~ ~ . The Christian rate from that of the mission. Missions have and Missionary*Alliance. I come from various countries and from various

o . . SsL

R ~ ~ . W. A, wilson, D.D., of lndore was chosen chairman and R ~ ~ . N. Mac-icol of Poona and S. R. Modak, Esq., of Ahrnednagar joint Secretaries. ~ f t ~ ~ reading of the Scrip- tures and prayer by the chairman, the subject was introduced by a short address by M ~ . Modak on the prayer of christ that the church should be one, followed by a carefully prepared paper on the desirability of union, and bring- ing out the thought that as organic union seemed impossible, a federal union, should be accepted as the basis on which the committee should proceed. T~ this all seemed agreed. T~ some this federation seemed to be a long stpp toward organic union they felt was the ideal, while others felt that federation was the ideal. The chairman read a very valuable paper giving a history of the union of all the various Presbyterian bodies in India, in the presbyterian church of ~ ~ d i ~ , and of

the formation of the south ~ ~ d i ~ united Church, and of the progress toward the Union of various denominations in Canada and the United States.

2% . . ;.?

The joint committees then proceeded to the discussion of some carefully prepared

branches of the church in Christian lands, and it is not strange that the converts in these m i ~ ~ i o n s accepted from the mis~ionaries not only the essentials in which al l true Christians agree, but also the non-essentials in which the various denominations differ. Rut when these coverts from various missions, W ~ B have forsaken Hinduism or Mohomedanism and have accepted and the great essential truths of Christianity, meet one another and find how n~uch they have in Common and how mall are their differences, i t must seem strange to them that Christians in other lands have taken their differences seriously enough to make them a cause of divisims and alienations. And surely the time has fully coille when honest differences of opinion among those who are born of the one Spirit, and have been baptized in one Spirit into one body should not be allowed to hinder true fellowship, or the heartiest recognition of the unity of al l who are united to Christ.

. - . . . . 1.i

The Alliance mission is an interdenomina- tional mission and svitllmembersof perhapsmore than a dozen different denominations there has never been a strain in our mission because of denominational differences. The difference

resolutions of federation and finally resolved between a well-saved Baptist and a well- i t o recommend to the severhl bodies represented saved Methodist is small compared with the

THE INDIA ALLIANCE. 127

difference .between a saved Baptist and an 1 spirit that has with such startling suddenness unsaved Baptist, or between a true disciple appeared all over India is probably as strong of Christ and one who rejects Him. The articles in the Christian Church as anywhere, and of federation or the constitution of the though she may continue for years to walk in federated church of Christ nus st necessarily i the paths already marked out for her by be general and must leave the individual conscience free. The time has fully come when Indian Christians must be allowed to take the New Testament and to follow it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and t o follow their own honest convictions in many matters of church polity and practice, and there will be no need of seperations and alienations on account of these differences. We are not required to say that we think as others do on points of difference, but we are xequired to love and to respect and trust those who differ from us. . . O . .

1

Foreign Missionaries, she is not likely any longer to respond in the old way to external influence which does not appeal to her own sense of the fitness of things. None the less, there is a place for us in this Church. Circumstances have changed, and our duty takes a new form, but we have a duty still. Just because of the strongly-marked tendency towards a national development of the Church, we are needed to-day ; for, as we have seen, the Church of Christ can never be a merely national institution without surrendering one of her grandest prerogatives, without ceasing to discharge one of her most important functions.

We hope in our next issue to give in full the constitution to be recommended to the churches and missions.

(Continz~ed f vom +age 125)

caste : we know that we can never have a purely Brahman Church, or a purely Sweeper Church, without essential loss. In the very same way, though certainly in a far less degree-but then in this case sve are responsible, whereas in the other we may not be,-we cannot found a purely Presbyterian or a purely Baptist Church without inflicting some injury on "the body of Christ."

Much has been said and written in recent years about the mistake of imposing on the Indian Church forms of creed and ritual,etc., which are purely Western and unsuited to the Indian mind. With all this I daresay most of us are in fullest sympathy, and we long to see I the Indian Church developing more naturally. We have come to realise that our type of Christianity has many elements mixed up with i t which are accidental, local and temporary. We want the Indian Church to think and feel and act for herself, believing as we do that she is capable of apprehending and interpreting the mind of Christ in a new and original way which shall add to the spiritual treasures of the world. Now, it may be feared 'that if we unite ourselves with the Indian Church, and encourage other Europeans to do the same, in the whole-hearted manner referred to, we shall interrupt and retard that healthy natural development which we desire,, and which, we are thankful to see, has begun

It is evident, then, that our position is a ' delicate one, and in our individual capacity the utmost tact and self-restraint as well as sympathy are necessary on our part. Things have not, however reached such a stage that we need have misgiving as to the welcome that awaits any assistance it may be in our power to give. Let us approach our Indian Christians, not as their rulers in this great Empire, not primarily or chiefly as their masters in Mission service, but in the spirit of that relationship which we bear to them as fellow-members and brothers in Christ, and they will be found still ready to receive us with honour. Let us accept their courtesies, and return them in the samegracious spirit. And, remembering how they differ from our- selves, let us bring to the study of their character all the good-humour we can command. 'I'o keep realising truly our union with them, sve need to have a sincere appre- ciation of their worth. I do not think such appreciation a t all difficult. On the contrary, if we have any intimate acquaintance with Indian Christians a t all, a very little reflection on the nature of the atmosphere in which they have been born and bred, and in which they are forced to pass a considerable portion of their lives, will suffice to beget warm admira- tion for the purity, the integrity, the self- mastery, by which maDy of them "adorn the doctrineof God their Saviour." But in the press of the day's work there is nor always opportunity for even a little reflection. And perhaps we take less time and thought than are needful to fortify ourselves against sudden surprises. 111 this country Europeans are

t o take place. This is not likely. The patriotic proverbially short-tempered, but however much

128 THE INDIA ALLIANCE.

allowance the Indian may make for our known and we are to "do good especially to those failings, he does not naturally appreciate our active hustling methods; and we, "careful and

who are of the household of faith." But he* also our guiding idea should be that of our rela-

troubled about many things" as we too often, tionship as members together in the Church are, do not by intuition understand the careless of Christ. The duty of caring for the poor has dreamer of the East. And so, when we are ' been, I think, i n all our Rajputana congrega- crossed in our purposes, we misjudge, we fret, ! tions, laid upon the Session, and I have f o u d we worry. We may not be altogether wrong when we attribute our bad temper in part to

- the influence of the climate, but this does not lessen the loss it entails. It alienates sympathy w i t h lightning speed, destroys confidence, and makes our work worse than useless. As for cc worrying," many of us feel we cannot help it. Certainly we should infinitely prefer the worry

\.which springs from a whole-hearted interest in our work to the indifferent spirit of lnissez faive. But to the Indian this habit of ours is apt to

- appear as either a kind of atheism or a kind of selfishness; and, when we think of it, must we not admit that his analysis is true? In neither case is i t Christian, and therefore it cannot

<under any circumstances advance the cause of -Missions. - On the other hand with patient, kindly sympathy, let us move amongst our Indian fellow-Christians, and we shall be astonished -at the deference they pay to us as their helpers

it to be almost invariably a wise arrangement to refer cases of poverty to the elders. T h e people know, or ought to know, who their elders are ; and their elders ought to know, and generally do know, the needs of their members. And when, met in session to consider the poor, the elders are left free to decide on applications for relief, not unfrequently one has reason to admire the care and impartiality with which the Poor Fund is administered. This door of help being open, we neednot feel we are mock- ing the poor and the sick when we go to them1 with only words of sympathy. Ah ! how they do appreciate even kind words.

Many of them live lonely lives, and a friend who in a friendly spirit remembers them, visits them, asks for them, will receive many a rich and undeserved reward. There may, of course, be special cases where a little assistance in the way of education and other things which d o

j not fall within the scope of the session's work, 'in Christ. If their minds move slowly some- may be appropriate ; but, as a general rule, if times towards appreciation of the truth we set 1 in our giving to the poor we wish to do the before them, their reverent, humble and 1 obedient acceptance of it in the end will often be a rebuke to our own pride. NO blind or .careless indifference to their faults will win their hearts. Too well in many ways they know those faults. Just as we ought amongst ourselves to be jealous for the honour of each other, and, above all, for the cause in which we are engaged ; just as we ought, without being 'censorious, to use our God-given ludgment, criticising others' work when necessary, yet always ready a t the same time and for the same -reason to welcome criticism of our own; so should we feel in regard to the Indian Christian community- T o be critical of them in this spirit will never veally offend or harm them. They are surprisingly quick to discern what is thespisit that animates us in our treatment of them : if in our Oneness with them and in a spirit of rmekness we say hard things, and do hard things, bearing the burden ourselves along with them, they will accept the discipline and in due time be grateful for it.

The feast suitable way in which to help an Indian Christian is generally, I should think,

maximum amount of good we may, let us put what we can afford into the collection bag on Communion Sabbath. This may mean,per- haps, denying ourselves a luxury ; i t will mean, certainly, saving our poorer brethren some humiliation ; and our own left hand not know- ing what our right is doing, we shall give for Christ's sake, and place our fellow-Christians under no personal obligation.

The wholequestion of our contributions t o the Indian Church raises various practical diffib culties. Suppose we give liberally, the Church, it may be said, gets a name it does not deserve, and is apt, further, to lean upon European aid more than is meet. If on the contrary, we stay our hand, and our example is followed by others, we cannot be surprised. Particular c i r c a m s & n ; c ~ - - - m ~ p ~ ~ ~ g be taken intG account, and occasionally exceptional action may be called for ; but soaetimes i t looks gs if we were a little over-anxious concerning the appearance of things. In this matter our object, over and above discharging our own personal duty, is to stir up our fellow-members to a higher sense of their privilege and responsi-

to givehim money. " Charity begins a t home," bility : if our example helps-and one does not

?HE IND~A ALLIANCE,, 129

quite see how we can preach effectively t o ' we hope to help the Christians themselves to others on liberality unless we are ourselves in 1 a measure responding with them to our own appeal,-if our example really helps towards a forward step, we need not inquire too minutely as to how things look in statistical tables which are studied by few beyond Presbytery and Synod clerks.

In like manner, as to Church government and control, it seems to me the solution of our problems lies in a right appreciation of our relationship as brethren in Christ. Where, of course, there is within the Church a special relationship, let us act as becomes our position. If we are pastors, let us back our teaching with al l the moral authority a pastor may exercise. If Superintendents of Orphanages, let us do our duty as parents. But as elders and fellow- members, let us, while " provoking one another to love and to good works," rigidly abstain from the exercise in this relationship of any extraneous authority which we may happen t o posseSs ; let us encourage others to use their own judgment and to differ from ourselves if they please ; should they seem to be going wrong, let us warn and entreat them ; should they reject our counsel, and in doing so make a grave mistake, then let them make it. When our Lord was founding His Church He allowed His first members to take their own way, to blunder and fall ; moral suasion and sympa- thetic prayer were all the help He offered. We in our foolishness would like to offer more, because we have little faith in moral suasion and perhaps less in sympathetic prayer. In building a Church we must take long views, and work not for immediate issues, not in this interest or that, but for " one far-off divine event." It may be that, encouraging indepen- dence of judgment and allowing mistakes to be made, we suffer more than anyone: if it were not so, where would be room for magnanimity ? Hereby we prove our love for the brethren and our oneness with them, if we are willing to bear patiently, cheerfully, gratefully, the consequences of their mistakes.

I t is possible to devote too much of our time to the Christian community, neglecting the claims of the outside world, but i t is not possible to identify ourselves too closely with it. How may we ever hope to attract others to our religion if we are not one with those who have already accepted the Gospels of brotherhood which we preach? Sometimes i t is said we do much for "inquirers" till they actually become Christians, then we drop the-m? or leave them to others' care. And how may

be true Missionaries if we do not join with them on a common platform in prayer and effort ? Perhaps i t is unfortunate that the circumstances of our Missionary life in Raj- putana have so far required us to stand in other relationships to the Christian community besides that of fellow-members in the Christian Church. Some of us are influential friends ; many of us are Iandlords ; and all, perhaps, employers of labour. The m x e studious care, therefore, is required of us to restrict those other relationships to their proper sphere, and to maintain in lively exercise the sympathy, the affection, the tender, respectful solicitude, that are the natural accompaniments of the deeper and more enduring relationship of brothers in Christ.--Indian Standavd. A. R .L.

-- SHEGAON NOTES

--- E started out on tour in our large W district of Malkapur in beginning

of December and have had three months of blessed opportunities of preaching, teaching and living the Gospel of Christ among the dear village people. We were on the whole received very kindly and re- spectfully. With the exception of one or two villages near our outstation there had been no preacher of the Gospel for the last 10 years in the IOO villages we visited. In many villages they had only heard the Gospel . once 12 years ago by brother and sister Moyser. We met with more individuals who seemed really inquiring after the truth this year than any preceding. They frankly con- fessed that they were convinced that our religion was the true one. We met one man of the farmer caste who said he had read through the whole Bible and other books on the Christian religion which he had received from Mr. Fuller rz years ago in a village near Jalgaon ( Berar ). He said he wanted soon to be baptized; but had first to go with his sister who was ailing from consumption to a Hospital. He did not however return to our tent. As we got his address, we wrote to h im; but got no reply. We still remember him in our prayers and believe God will bring him to us again. In our last camping place (beginning of March) we n ~ e t another man ( fa rmer) who had studied up to 6th book Marathi $nd first English and had worked as school te8ch"er - for !5 years in a village in

-2 g

Kharngaon district. While there he had heardl Kindly remember him and his wife in brother Johnson preach several times and your prayers that he may keep true to God. also got some Gospels and other Christian books from him. When his old father found out that he was reading Christian books, he took and burned them up saying they were false. However what this man had read had taken root in his heart. He came to our tent everv dav. soriletimes twice a day, and always *listehed with deep interest, often explaining to others who came with him what we read and ~reached. Being out in other preaclling of the time- during the day, we had Our

prayers with the native workers. and others late in the evenings. He and another friend of his 'lsed often to One evening after meeting was over he went to the native

In the workers tent and sat a long while. course of conversation he asked. " Do you al- ways pray like you do in tl'ose meetings viz. for the a'' people and for those hate gou and your etc'" They said "yes." " Well " he said " I never heard anybody pray like that before." I trust You dear friends remember this man in Your Prayers. He is in - telligent and surely very near the Kingdom. The only thing that holds him back is, as he himself confessed, the fear of breaking caste. 1 gave him a New Testament and he promised he read it through and time come to see me and I should examine him from the book.

So the precious seed is being scattered and will surely bring forth fruit in due season. We had an example of this a few days ago when we had the joy of ba~ t i z in9 one Inan and his wife. He had ~ 0 r k e d for several of the missionaries who have been here before us and no doubt many Prayers have been offered for his salvation. He was quite decided to be baptized some Years ago, but was frightened by his people who threat- ened to throw him out of his home if he would dare to take the step. He has been with US as bullock driver during the whole

_ t i m . c ~ x ~ ~ - ba~ebeem-_tQUr-anda~f~-=4~&0d&kstft-decided we can see shown forth the fruit of repent- ance. His people are bitterly opposing him ; but he is gladly leavirlg his home and property and bearing the reproach for Christ's sake- His face was lightened up with great joy when he ~ u b l i c l ~ confessed Christ through baptism. He is daily praying for the salva- tion of his old parents and other relatives.

P. HAGBERG.

Extracts from Cetlers MATAR DISTRICT

--- N O ~ . 20, 1909.

N November 20th we started on our winter 0 toLlring, but before leaving the bungaloJv the dear Lord through His Holy Spirit gave us this promise Jno. 15 : 16. "Ye have not chosen

but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain."

We toiled on for some time giving out the good old Gospel story, daily following our messages wit11 prayer and supplications to God that He, through His own Holy Spirit, mould use the messages for the salvation of precious souls. And while we saw much of the Spirit's power manifested in convicting of sin although they did not confess Christ openly but we felt assured that many of them did confess hiln in their own hearts,

The first to come out and confess Christ openly were six dear souls in the of Milyataj where there were two backsliders re- claimed. We praised the dear Lord for them.

Again in the village of Tranja we found a very noted old blind man by the name Dhuro, who had visited nearly all of the most sacred shrines of fame in India but without realizing any profitable results regarding the salvation of his soul. On hearing the Gospel he decided that i t was the true religion and just what he needed, and he accepted Christ as his Saviour. He began to be happy and in this proving that the dear Lord had rnet him and graciously supplied his great need. He afterwards asked for baptism. Praise God for what he has done.

Again pressing on we came to the town of Kardu, where we found a young inan named

for the Lord, and although his friends and relatives were set very sorely against him, yet he stood firm and despite all received baptism. In this same town eight other dear souls decided for Christ Jesus to be their saviour.

This year in all 26 have confessed to have received Christ as their Saviour, out of whom eight have received baptism.

THE INDIA

Dear reader join us in prayer that these dear souls may be kept faithful unto de ( th thpt they may receive their cromn of life.

273 'g09. " Commit thy way unto the Lord trust also

in Hitn ;, and He shaIl bring it to pass." While camping near the town of Dharoda

the Dear Lord revealed unto us that there was something between us and Him, that was robb- ing Him of His glory.

It was our medicine chest, which we were carrying for the benefit of the people. On realizir~g this we a t once determined to dispo:e of it, and trust altogether in Him. A few day s later while giving the Gospel to the shepherds a t Dharoda, we met one of their number, a man of about 35 years of age, who about 6 years before had fallen from a tree and was in~ured internally to such an extent that by this time his spleen had so enlarged as to cover entirely his stomach and bowels. He had trled many Hindu medicines but all failed to relieve him. He came to us to ask for medicine, but told him we had none, but were glad to tell him that we knew of One who both :villillg and able to heal him ; we also asked him i f he woulJ. accept Him as his healer, if so we would pray for him. IHe said "not to- day." The next day while passing the Same place one of his friends called US in to see his brother, who had been suffering for about 6 months with bloody flux, and he appeared as though he was not long for this world. He also asked for medicine, and we said "we have none," and also told him of the great healer and asked him if we might pray for him. He said "Yes." We prayed and the Lord heard, and healed him. He a t once rose up and \Talked to his own house, and began to prepare his own {ood. After this he and his wife cpntlnu- ed that afternoon and all night praising tlie Dear Lord Jesus for healing.

His brother who had spoken to us the day before, seeing the wonderful Power of God ,to heal, also came and asked us t o pray with him and said that if we would do SO he would come to Our tent in the evening. T o this we gladly consented. He C3me and was prayed with, he himself following US in prayer. His pain a t once ceased and he went to his home rejoicing and praising the Lord Jesus Christ who had healed Hirn. He also testified to his own caste people, that Jesus Christ had healed him.

Some days later we were called in to pray with a womall who;was afflicted with tubercu- losis which had reduced her to a mere skeleton.

ALLIANCE. ?3r

She also was healed ; all glory and praise to the precious Lamb of God who shed His precious blood to wash away her sins and to heal her.

The same day the mighty power of God was witnessed in the healing of a man about qg years of age, who was paralyzed in one side, and not able to speak. His friends had asked Punja Mana our Indian worker to ask us to come and pray with him.

O n hearing their request we gladly turned our steps toward his home ; on reaching there we found his house filled with people and he himself in a critical condition. We then asked all unbelieves to leave the room, but they were not willing to comply with our request. After reading a passage fro111 the word of God, we three knelt a t the head of his bed keeping our eyes on Him who never turned any away who comes to him with simple childlike faith. He heard the cry of HIS little ones, and bv His own power and for His own glory, He hkaled and raised him up.

A few hours later his own priest who had been called from a distant town arrived. He a t once tried to persuade the people that our God had not dune His work right, and to make our religion of none effect, he began to administer the rites of healing according to the instruction of their gods tylllg a thread around his arm, tying a rupee on his neck and began waving some grain seven times around the head, a t the same time muttering his prayers when suddenly the man became absolutely paralyzed in all his members and to all appearances he had passed beyond all hope of recovery. His friends in their con- sternation ran to call our Indian worker who lived quite near.

He on reaching the house and enquiring what had been done gave orders to have all that had been bound oil him by the priest removed, then opened the word of God and read a passage therefrom and after this he prayed. T o the astonishment of all present the man rose up himself from his bed, and bathed himself and asked for food of which he partook heartily.

All praise to our dear Redeemer who has redeemed and healed him with His own precious blood.

We praise Him only these but "Is0 others who seeing His power mani- fested were led to seek Himas their own personal

and Redeemer. IJray that may be kept steadfast in the faith.

MR. AND MRS. MCKEE.

arded against. We ear in thought and our work is literal

n from the English, and in a high which Sanskrit bards and phrases

. Such books will never be read by e they need special R. AND MRS. McKEE sailed for ning of the unusual home by the Italian line, on ApriI st use the language 15th on their first furlough.

--- pandits may say.

r do. The thought hIr. Schelander has gone to his home in Sweden for a short visit t o licit, and expressed his father who has been very ill and will probably live but a short time. ---

-. Ci .: ^ < J ./.

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I '

Cist 01 Rlliana ~isslonarks. -

GUJARAT-

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