J.F. Cowan: The primary meaning of monotony is, using one tone. In a meeting, it is keeping in one rut. In some ways ruts are good. The gullet that carries the food from the mouth to the stomach is a rut - a "gully" that nature has provided for a good purpose. If but a small portion of the food gets out of this rut and into the windpipe, a fit of strangling is a very pertinent reminder that sometimes a rut is a good thing.
Some ruts are in place in the prayer-meeting. It is helpful, indeed necessary, to observe certain forms; such as, having a set time at which to begin and close, having the audience seated, having the leader face the audience, and invariably having prayer. These things do not become monotonous in themselves. Vital functions never become monotonous - breathing, eating, heartbeats, sleeping. It is needless repetition in non-essential things that becomes tiresome. The audience needs be seated, always, but it need not always be seated in the same stiff, military precision. The leader must face the audience, but he need not always sit in the same part of the room.
A prayer-meeting should always have prayer, and song, and reading of the scripture, but the same prayers need not always be made by the same persons at every meeting, week after week; and the same precise order of song, scripture-reading, prayer, need not be observed unvaryingly. Tiresome monotony in a prayer-meeting is an indictment for thoughtlessness against those in charge of the meeting. It is an indication that no one is putting brains into the meeting. Let us notice some of the effects and cures of monotony.
1. Too much monotony makes a dull, tiresome meeting. People do not give attention to an exercise that is dull, and their interest corresponds to their attention. Variety and freshness, even in small things, give piquancy, and stimulate attention and interest. Monotony puts people to sleep. For example, rocking the cradle is another name for monotony. It is, "rock, rock, rock, rock" - always the same rhythmical, monotonous movement. And we sing, "Hush-a-by, hush-a-by, hush-a-by" - the same soothing, monotonous repetition, and of course the baby goes to sleep. Do we realize that monotony works the same way in a prayer-meeting? The same invariable order of things week after week - it matters not whether it is, pray, sing, read; or, read, sing, pray; or, sing, pray, read - and the same prayers by the same people, and the same songs sung in the same way, make a monotony that tends to kill interest and put the meeting to sleep. Ought not such a condition to appeal to some one to try to get the meeting out of the ruts?
2. Monotony represses individuality. God has made each of us unlike every one else for the express purpose of introducing variety into the world. Variety; therefore, is sanctified; monotony is unsanctified. When we do things just as other people do, we stultify our personality and rob our action of a certain piquancy that the free play of our personality gives it. Naturally, one person's way of conducting a meeting would be different from that of others, unless he repressed his individuality by slavishly imitating others; in which case the meeting would lose the charm of his personality. Where conventionalism rules as much as it does in the church, it is easier to be a parrot than to be a man or woman. Self-assertion is hard. But there are ways in which we can give play to our individuality, and so make the prayer-meeting helpful and interesting, and at the same time keep clear of the two extremes - timidly fearing to be ourselves lest we be thought eccentric, and thinking that we must be eccentric in order to be ourselves.
(1) Variety in the arrangement of the room is worth attention. If the prayer-meeting room is seated with movable seats, and it has been the custom to have them always in straight, prim, unsocial rows, so that every one must look at the back hair of the others, ask the janitor, for once, to arrange the seats in sociable semicircles. If it is a stormy night, and but few are present, place the seats in a circle in the center of the room. As people enter, they will straighten up with a new interest. They will be on the qui vive. An air of expectancy will pervade the meeting. This is not an adaptation of "yellow journalism" to the prayer-meeting; it is simply recognizing a principle which is constantly requiring new adjustments in the furniture of our homes, in our dress, and our food. Why should the same people who rearrange everything else to get new effects, be confined to the one, unvarying, tedious treadmill, in the prayer-meeting? In other words, why should a prayer-meeting be dull, any more than the social gathering, or the primary election in which the same people participate?
If the table at which the leader sits has always stood at one side of the room, move it occasionally to another place, but be careful not to move it farther away from the audience. If there is a frigid, empty space between the leader and the front row of occupied seats, move the table nearer the congregation. In some prayer-meetings the leader is so far away from those whom he leads that a megaphone would seem to be a natural accessory.
There are a score of other little things that may be done to freshen a prayer-meeting room. Sometimes the whole order of things may need to be turned, just as we turn an old garment and make it almost as good as new, by a new pattern, a little fresh binding, and a few new buttons. Don't be afraid of introducing the element of surprise into the meeting. Do the unexpected and informal thing when it seems to be the thing to do. Get the church choir to come and sing. Ask the young people to visit the church prayer-meeting in a body. Invite the pastor and deacons to visit the young people's meeting. Don't court novelty for the sake of novelty, but use novelty as an inducement to worship. God wants His sheep led into "green pastures"; are our prayer-meetings keeping them on the old, dry stubble? There is enough individuality in almost every church to make the prayer-meetings fresh and attractive. It isn't looked up and enlisted. We leave all the praying and speaking to "the faithful few," when a little more "gumption" would draw out new voices, and a little more thoughtfulness would lead us all to lay aside our stilted, conventional manner.
(2) The way in which the meeting is opened counts for a great deal. If it has been the unvarying custom to do this in a set way, don't do it that way; it isn't necessary. There are so many other ways, if one will just think a moment. Open with silent prayer. Open with a solo. Open with sentence prayers. Open with a blackboard talk. Open, by prearrangement, with remarks from some one in the pews. In the young people's meeting open with comments by six members on the six daily readings. Open with Bible verses given by the members as testimonies. Open with the scripture reading. It would be unpardonable to create the impression that new ways in a meeting are a substitute for the Divine presence which all have come to realize; new ways are simply a means for arousing those present out of lethargy, and helping them to expect and seek the presence of Him who alone is the life of the meeting.
(3) Much variety may be introduced into the reading of the scripture lesson. Perhaps the most common, and least interesting way, is for the leader to read the entire selection. Often that is necessary; there are no Bibles in the hands of the congregation. But often when there are Bibles, the leader does all the reading just the same. It is an element of monotony. There are at least half a dozen ways of varying this part of the program. The leader may have the congregation read responsively with him. He may have them read in concert. If the passage is familiar, like the Twenty-third Psalm, or the Beatitudes, it may be repeated from memory. The gentlemen and ladies may read alternately. Those in the front row may read the first verse, those on the second row the next, and so on.
(4) Variety may be had by new combinations of the three or four elements that enter into every prayer-meeting: prayer, scripture-reading, testimony, remarks by the leader, announcements, etc. Leaders who fancy that it must be very difficult to be original in planning a prayer-meeting, and to introduce any variety, need only remember what a simple and easy thing it is to make an original song, just by changing the relative positions of the eight notes of the musical scale. A similar rearrangement of the constituent elements of a prayer-meeting may give as new and pleasing results. For instance, if the meeting has always had a praise service at the beginning, open your meeting in some other way. If it has been the unvarying custom to follow the praise service with prayer, bring the prayer in at some other time. Get out of the rut. Change the meeting end for end, if desirable. Make a new combination, and you will awaken a new interest, because you will set people to thinking. Doing things in a mechanical, routine way is one of the most fatal hindrances to thoughtfulness; it is an opiate in the prayer-meeting. We should never come into the presence of God like unthinking machines, therefore we should not have a set routine for the prayer-meeting.
(5) The use of set, pat phrases is another element of monotony. The leader of the prayer-meeting should study to be unstudied. He should not fall into the stereotyped way of saying and doing things. If every other leader has said, "The meeting is now open, and we hope that you will improve the time," don't say that. Say something different. Let it be dignified, and perfectly natural to yourself, but avoid stale, trite expressions, as you would a rattlesnake. In so many prayer-meetings there is so little that sounds spontaneous or has the ring of actuality, that religion seems to consist mostly of a lot of pious phrases that people use in the prayer-meeting and nowhere else.
One of the most deadening things for a young people's society is to fall heir to a collection of stock phrases that have been handed down from one leader to another, until every one present knows in advance just what the leader is going to say at a given point in the meeting. Eschew all such "prayer-meetingisms." Be yourself, and you will render better service to God and your fellows, than if you try to be a vest-pocket edition of Deacon A-, or Parson C-.
(6) The details of the prayer-meeting should be studied carefully. That means a good deal of plodding. Let no one get the impression that only a genius could avoid monotony, and make a meeting interesting. Patient attention to details is better than genius. Geniuses are not as good leaders as common plodders. Geniuses want to do it all themselves. Plodders draw out others. They are willing to plod in little byways. They are willing to be helpful, where geniuses want to shine. The thing that the leader forgot, is usually the thing that mars the meeting. A big idea in the rough is not worth half so much as a small idea carefully worked out. Plan your meeting:- the opening, the closing, the middle, the song, the Scripture-reading, the ventilation, the lights, the arrangements of seats, the tone of voice you will use, the coat you will wear, the sub-divisions of the topic, the persons who are to cooperate with you, the reception of strangers, the announcements, the accompanyist's work, the ushering, the sexton, everything that enters into the meeting that is under your control. When you have planned your plan, polish it, perfect it, familiarize yourself with it, and watch its execution.
(7) Variety may be found in meetings of different character - special meetings designed to be out of the ordinary, and to pull the prayer-meeting out of a rut. Some of these special meetings are:- Praise meetings composed almost entirely of joyful songs; promise meetings, in which each one repeats Scripture promises from memory; evenings with popular hymn-writers, like Fanny Crosby, in which the hymns of that author are sung and a sketch of her life and a history of some of her hymns given; biographical meetings, in which the life of Luther, Wesley, Knox, Finney, or some consecrated man, is the basis; for the young people's prayer-meeting, committee-meetings, in which the committees take part, as such, and express some purpose for larger work; quotation-meetings, in which helpful quotations from some popular religious book, like "In His Steps," or "The Sky Pilot," are given; favorite-passage meetings, in which each one repeats his favorite passage of Scripture, and tells why he likes it best. These are a few of many special kinds of meetings that may be used to stir a new interest in the prayer-meeting when it has become a treadmill affair. Later, an entire chapter of the book will be given to plans in detail for a variety of meetings.
Just here one is given which was rather a feature of a meeting, than a program for an entire meeting. The following blank was given out a week in advance to all who were likely to attend the meeting, to be filled and returned without signature. The topic for the meeting was, "Our Heavenly Home." [Actually, a somewhat misunderstood topic, see Is Heaven the Christian's Reward?.
"Does heaven appeal to you most as a place corresponding to the beautiful descriptions in the Bible, or as a state of purity, peace and perfection that would itself be bliss, regardless of place?
"What part of the symbolism of heaven used in the Bible is most closely identified in your thought of heaven - robes, palms, crowns, singing, golden streets, the throne, etc.?
"Do you think of heaven as a condition of rest from labor?
"Do you think of heaven as a chance for new achievement?
"Do you look forward to enjoying again association with friends already gone?
"Is this hope a helpful influence in your life?"
The answers were tabulated, and a report of the result was read in the meeting, with specially interesting answers quoted in full. It proved to be a most quickening and helpful variation from the stock prayer-meeting, and many expressed their appreciation of the innovation.
But let none think, from the emphasis that has been laid upon variety and freshness, that the most important thing about a prayer-meeting is to have new methods. Motive is always more than method. New methods are like new cogwheels in a machine; unless there is steam power to drive them they are only dead weight. What is needed is not so much a revamped prayer-meeting as a revitalized prayer-meeting. Life is always more attractive and potent than machinery: But mechanical devices often help life. The splint binds the broken bones together until vital union can be effected. Methods may be a help to introducing new life into the prayer-meeting; but we must depend, not on the methods as an end, but as a means to an end - life. It may be said that if we have the Holy Spirit present, we shall need no newfangled methods. If we have the Spirit we shall have all the best methods, the Spirit is the inventor of all that makes worship more helpful. "Having the Spirit" is no substitute for the exercise of our own wits. The Spirit does not favor lazy Christians. If we are not inventive and progressive we shall not long "have the Spirit," and that is just what ails many prayer-meetings.
By John F. Cowan, New York, 1906
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By John F. Cowan, New York, 1906
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