J.F. Cowan: A chapter about trifles will not necessarily be a trifling chapter. The little things sometimes count most heavily. Any one of this catalogue of "littles" may make some one wish he had stayed away from the meeting.
1. Promptness in beginning and closing is a small thing, but it is better to begin on time, even with no one to play the accompaniments, and only half a dozen worshippers, than to lose ten minutes waiting for the laggards. A meeting begun behind time carries a sense of weakness all through. If it is the leader's fault that it is late, he must begin with the handicap of a consciousness of having cheated every one present of five or ten minutes, to say nothing of having put an affront upon God that he would shrink from putting on his employer, or upon any business man with whom he had made an engagement. If he cares for this, he will be hampered all through by a sense of shame and regret. If he does not care, he is too callous to lead a meeting.
2. The atmosphere of the room is another important trifle. By this more is meant than the proportion of oxygen, though that is an important matter. More than one public-school teacher has told me that if the ventilation of her schoolroom was looked after no better than that of the prayer-meeting room, she should expect that her pupils would go to sleep over their tasks, as she has an irresistible desire to do in the prayer-meeting. A musty room is anti-devotional. Leaky gas-fixtures are Satanic. Dust is diabolical. But the spiritual atmosphere is to be reckoned with, also. Cordiality and brotherliness are more than oxygen. The young people's society has a social committee which sometimes greets strangers at the door. Often in the church prayer-meeting, the minister is on the rostrum, and there is no one to show a stranger a seat, or make him feel a bit at home, as he enters. It is a great thing to get the ice melted before the meeting begins. Bearing in mind what was said in the last chapter about getting as large a number as possible to bear some part in this service, many will take part who otherwise would not do so, if the atmosphere is warmed above the congealing point before the meeting opens. It is a mistake to save all the sociability for the close of the meeting. The minister feels that he cannot well get near the door to shake hands until the, meeting is dismissed. The members of the church, who are in the relation of hosts to visitors or newcomers in the community, sit as stiff as ramrods until the service is concluded. They are afraid that a handshake might be sacrilegious. But mark this, one handshake before the meeting is worth half a dozen after it. It used to be the custom in conventions of young people to have an "acquaintance" or "fellowship" meeting at the close: now this feature is almost always held first of all, because it has been found that all the other exercises of the convention were doubled in value if those taking part were well thawed out at the very start. This is as true of a prayer-meeting as it is of a young people's convention. Sociability before the meeting is less likely to dissipate the spiritual effects, than after it.
3. The physical comfort of those present should be looked to. Discomfort in the meeting is another name for the devil. Bad ventilation and a chilled furnace are twin devils. A great many churches would have better prayer-meetings if they had a better janitor. They would have a better janitor, perhaps, if they appreciated him more. They could double their numbers on hot nights if they put in electric fans. They would improve their winter attendance by having storm doors. Do we really want better prayer-meetings? Are we willing to spend a few dollars to get them?
In worldly affairs, even where entertainment only is concerned, these things are assiduously looked after. An acquaintance once found Maurice Grau, the great opera manager, in the topmost gallery of the Metropolitan Opera House, throwing bits of paper in the air. Questioned as to his motive, he answered, "Trying to discover draughts. One sneeze will interrupt and blemish a prima donna's song."
Dim lights in a room make against the success of a meeting. Who has not seen an audience "queered" past restoring to its normal frame for fifteen minutes, by so small a thing as a leader trying to read the scripture selection by a light that made him squint and stammer, and finally cross the room, mumbling apologies?
A remedy for a "dopey" atmosphere is to have the audience rise and sing a hymn, while the windows on opposite sides of the room are wide open. No one will take cold while singing, and those that won't try to sing, ought to take cold. Have the windows closed during the singing of the last stanza. Oxygen is a fine promoter of spirituality.
Another mistake is to keep people sitting too long in the same position. Cramped and weary limbs, and bodily discomfort distract the mind from worship. The psalmist said of the Lord, "He remembereth our frame" (Psa. 103:14). Some leaders don't. Enough of the hymns should be sung standing to give needed changes in position.
4. Good order is a concomitant of a good meeting that may most concern young people's meetings. Whispering, low talking, laughter in the room distract attention from worship. When there are many young people of the "tee-hee" age, such disturbance is likely to come through thoughtlessness, and needs to be met with tact. Scolding adds fuel to the flame. What might repress levity, if it came from an elder, only provokes defiance, coming from a stripling or a young miss. If the leader shows irritation or loss of control, the case is hopeless; he must control himself before he can command others. Some giddy girl will give her head a saucy toss and whisper to her chum, "Mr. High-and-mighty needn't think that he can lord it over me." Or, the "gang" of young "hobble-te-hoys," "half man and half boy," will proceed to make it interesting.
But these pert young misses, and these hoodlumish boys are splendid material in the rough. They are a challenge to the Christian young people to redeem them. Any open clash ought to be avoided. It is a case for much prayer, and tact, and winsomeness. Usually it will be found that the disturbers were unruly simply because they had nothing else to do. Remove that temptation. Find a way to use them. Organize them into a choir. Get them to take part in a Bible-reading, or a song service, and a repetition of the offense will have been obviated.
5. Indistinct speaking sometimes makes discord in a meeting. A hymn is announced so indistinctly that the accompanist turns to one piece and begins to play it, while the audience turn to another and begin to sing it, until the discord stops everything, and they sit and stare at each other. It is better never to announce at the same time the number of the hymn and the number of the page on which it is found. Some one is sure to get mixed. It is good to repeat the number of the hymn, so that some dull ears that did not quite catch it the first time, but are straining to do so, may get it correctly the second time. When some one other than the leader suggests a hymn, the leader should always repeat the number distinctly. Mumbling is another devil that works great mischief in the prayer-meeting.
If certain stanzas of the hymn are to be omitted, it is better not to state that in giving out the hymn; for some one will be sure to forget which ones are to be omitted, and part of the congregation will sing a wrong stanza, while the other part sing the right stanza, and the effect will be anything but edifying. If the third and fourth stanzas are to be omitted, just at the close of the interlude after the second, announce, "Fifth stanza."
6. Fussiness in a leader is a little thing that mars a meeting. A nervous leader puts every one else on nettles. To fumble the pages of the hymn book while another is speaking is disconcerting, to say the least. Some leaders think that they must keep talking or the meeting will not "go." They interject so many remarks, that others are afraid to take a part lest they interrupt the leader. Fussiness may be shown by frequent changes of position-crossing the leg over one knee, and then uncrossing it and crossing the other leg; pulling at the necktie; running the fingers behind the collar; feeling of the lower ends of the cuffs; playing with the watch-charm, snapping the case, etc. Another type of leader whose fussiness is objectionable, is he who is in mortal terror lest a minute should go to waste, and who, every time he hears the clock tick, thinks that there is a sinful pause that should be filled. A leader is not a driver. He is not there to see that certain tasks are performed in a stipulated time. He is simply the leader; he should be quiet, cool, tactful, the servant of all, and yet the leader.
7. Diversions from the central theme need to be guarded against. The main purpose of the prayer-meeting is to promote the devotional spirit in unison with the theme assigned. If there is congregational or society business to be transacted, let it come first, and not break in upon the devotions. For this reason, the announcements that need to be made, communications that are to be read, and all matters not related to the theme of the evening, should come early in the meeting, so as not to switch the minds of the worshippers off the theme later.
Then, a watch needs to be kept against those things that are anticlimactic in their nature. Thoughtless or obtuse persons often spring irrelevant questions. The man or woman with a hobby is often present. Some one lacking in sweetness wants to administer a castigation. After such wrenches, the thought of the audiences must be guided back to the main channel. This must be done without seeming to administer a rebuke to the offender. A hymn that is in full sympathy with the theme from which thought has been diverted may swing the ship back to its course. A prayer by one of the most tactful saints may set matters right. Some well-chosen words, which, while they graciously recognize the value of what has been said that was in the nature of a digression, gently but firmly lead back to the main thought. To keep the meeting on the main track, and prevent its being side-tracked in some unexpected way, by an untimely hymn, or prayer, or remark, or fainting fit, or a fire engine, is a delicate and creditable work.
A host of small things that fall into this category suggest themselves, but we must satisfy ourselves with one or two brief hints more. Giving out a hymn for which you are not sure the accompanist has music may make confusion. Leaving the leader's place to go to the rear of the room to speak with the sexton is not conducive to devotions. It is better to beckon him, or still better to send a note. Disputing about any matter is hardly in good form. The violent use of the handkerchief, facing the audience is sure to be offensive to some. As good breeding is required in the house of God as in the parlor of a friend.
Perhaps some one who is restive under a conviction that the prayer-meeting is losing its popularity and power, may turn from this chapter impatiently, exclaiming, "Why say so much about little things, when the prayer-meeting is dying for want of spiritual life?" If we are not willing to study the problem of the prayer-meeting in its relation to little things as well as great things, we show a lack of appreciation of it, and of patience and thoroughness in dealing with it, that does not augur well for bringing more spiritual life into it. Not that it can be renewed in vitality by scientific methods; "not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord" (Zech. 4:6). But the Spirit of God comes in response to a spirit of consecration in the church, and we need to be willing to consecrate ourselves to painstaking in little things as well as great.
By John F. Cowan, New York, 1906
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By John F. Cowan, New York, 1906
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