125 106 125 116 124 117 120 107 རྩ་ཚ 1868. 1867. •བ981}* :83:2ཊྛཱe3 £ ཆེ:1+ཚེ :::3223:;Zཊཆ ་ཚ :ཅ 3འེ ::ལྦ :: 152::༄73:ཝེཎྜ་ཆེ =27 ཎྜ 79 བཅའ : 1864. 69 87 58 10 30 15 80 101 74 Readington and Allertown.. Vienna and Janes Chapel... High Bridge and Lebanon.. 147 158 159 Linden. Sergeantsville....... Basking Ridge, etc... 156 149.126 127 148 206 206 180 172 204 210 202 149 111 133 141 111 67 102 126: 98 150,120,138 53 62 68 75 61:129 73 85 49 66 74 63 98, 64, 39, 31. Summerfield and Montana.. 151 139 120 130 162,143 164 Communipaw. ...... 67 75 90 100 157 169 164 163 155 204 210 147 116 185 187 157 164 113 131 131 132 124 138 119 96 116 123 119 111 106 Harmony and Stewartsville. 161 162 162 186 180 204 164 172 165 146 120 134 137 West Town and Unionville.. 162 185 183 180 172 176 175 202 179 130 130 156 145 113 133 Deckertown 163.184 153 141 129 143 119 65 91 86 109 90 64 92 79 68 112 114, 89 83 64 Branchville & Frankft Pl'ns 164 147 149 130 106 79 93 135 98 121 153 126 132 91 122 Thiells and Garnerville.... 165,119,171 82 111 124 39 126 137 123 106 104 96.115 Stillwater and Swartswood.. 166 175 178 176 155 154 156 174 141 149 121 134 130 137 113 127 122 70 104 94 106 Hilton.... 167 144 206.. First Church, Rahway, 168 159 148 171 73 87 125 46 90 75 59 13 22 17 20 50 38 45 38 Parsippany and Whippany.. 169 206 172 180 162. 119 133 84 62 85 67, 86 70 63 Green's Bridge, Phillipsburg 170 143 152 15183 Boonton.. Market-street, Newark.. Centerville, (Elizabeth Dist.) Middle Smithfield. Riverdale. Hope... 38 210 96 77 70 126 47 25 21 48 58 58 73 77 91 60 12 4 13 7 89 124 106 102 90 69 86-91 84 171 174 173 176 205 204 125 146 122 160 92 106 176 206 206 135 180 204 210 202 52 26 154... 177 156 146 106 115 178 173 175 180 187 1 72 180 133 145 185 187 177 152 140 137 .... 32 21 17 16 12 180, 153 206 194 245 204 210 202 170 180 142 177 164 112 131 129 Mechanicsville, (J. C. Dist.) 182 125 104 93 Paterson Avenue, Paterson. Houston-street, Newark.. New City and Centenary.. Union Village (85). Scotch Plains. Strawbridge, Newark.. Mount Zion.. Oakland.. 187 170 170 126 121 191 154 140 126 153 151 180 174 168 154 187 ... 206 55 206 163 205 204 210 202 195 206 206 144 168 162 204 210- 206 206 206 190 169 187 195 133 187 177 164 156 142 115 136 12889 105 123 206 189 141 146 151 204 156 152 69 152 155 206 161 206 190 203 204 210 181 172 178 163 165 150 124 82 115 206 206 206 168 143 87 11373 166 173 142 78 164 156 142 48 46 47 61 51 121 106 111 121 58 19 23 14 17 20 9 14 11 14 18 Wanaque Clifton Mariners' Harbor... Caldwells and J.... Middleville Hamburg and 0.. 120 Centerville, Staten Island.. Springfield and New Village, Godwinville. 157 210 202 161 149 187 177 42 93 55 48 54 49) 91 145 136 130 69 111 73 195... 17 82 164 155 171 155 177 56 156 125 57 19 97, 41, 59 32 195 192 187 177 164 156 91 138 123 130 113 115 112 124 1315 49 52 29 108: 76' 55 78 105 99 129 100 102 130 20 29 86 14 120 125 126 94 136 126 126 121 The Fall Conferences have all been tabulated in like manner for three successive years. In them are 5,608 charges, 825 of which show a regular advance each year, and 1,200 show a regular decline; 792 show variation with upward tendency, and 1,784 show variation with downward tendency, and 1,007 cannot be traced; about 150 of these last are new charges; some of them are differently constituted in different years, but the identity of most of them is concealed by change of name in reports without any thing to show by what name they had been previously known. The Spring Conferences have been thus tabulated for two successive years. Let this or a similar tabulation proceed; then, from year to year, a striking history will be unrolled, showing the progress of every charge and of every pastor. It will be self-acting in fixing the responsibility of failure where it belongs, and in showing where remedial influences should be applied. OBJECTIONS TO GRADUATED TABULATIONS. 1. "They do not fairly represent the benevolence of the Church. Some churches are doing nobly for Conference claimants, etc., and receive no credit in these tables." The reply to this is: They were never intended to show the general liberality of any church, but only to show what was done, and, by inference, what ought to be done, for these collections for aggressive evangelical work. They stand on an entirely different basis from all eleemosynary claims. Those are for the body, and these are for many souls. Those are given at the bidding of human sympathy, these by the love we bear to Christ, and by his great command. 2. "They say nothing about the comparative ability of the churches." And in that they are no more objectionable than any other kind of reports, except that they show more clearly and quickly to the eye what ordinary reports reveal only to the careful examiner. A church known to be poor and taking a respectable position does itself greater honor often than a rich one standing much higher. 3. " They do injustice to churches having large revivals, and having received large accessions, and so having reduced their average; also to churches raising large sums for payment of debt, or engaged in church or parsonage building, and also to churches passing through seasons of special adversity." 66 Let an asterisk be placed with the figures of the first class of these churches, pointing to a foot-note saying, "Large accessions;" a dagger to those of the second, with a foot-note saying, Large amount raised for payment of debt;" a double dagger to the third saying, " Church building," etc. Those connected with a note telling of "Special adversity" would receive none the less honor or sympathy, or perhaps needed help, by showing a brave struggle, like the Macedonian brethren, to give out of their deep poverty abounding to the riches of their liberality. Those having large revivals, and those conducting church building and debt-paying enterprises, are apt to be among the most efficient of pastors, and those standing by their churches in times of hardship deserve all honor. None of them should have their merits belittled. And to them all the graduated tables may be made to do more complete justice than any ordinary statistical report. It must be remembered, however, that a revival greatly stimulates a church, and makes it easier to raise generous sums. The collections should have their full share of the prosperity; and when they receive their full share of attention and effort by a superior man with a superior opportunity, the results are sure to show accordingly. Many pastors also tell with glad surprise that a faithful presentation of the collections, asking the people to do what they could in years of heavy financial burdens at home, have resulted in some of the best returns in the history of the charge. In most cases where the collections have suffered greatly through these local enterprises, it is because they were entirely neglected, and the effort intentionally not made. If the local burden or distress does not prevent the payment of a considerable part of the pastor's salary, it is in order for him to rise and explain the neglect of the collections. If he can do so, his reputation will be as good as his explanation; if not, it ought to be as bad as his record. The merit of this system of tabulation is that it singles out the delinquent churches and fixes upon their delinquency their own attention, and that of those who are over them in the Lord. And as the tabulation is repeated and becomes historic, it presents to the eye of the neglectful pastor the part of his record that specially needs improvement, and it points out to the faithful presiding elder the pastors and churches on his district that most likely need encouragement or stimulation, that these interests suffer not in his hands. It also furnishes in compact form the weightiest facts for his use in Quarterly Conference when he seeks to commit the official members to measures of improvement. And it wakens emulation, which is the noblest of the secondary motives, and an appeal to which is warranted. by emphatic Pauline precedent. WHAT IMPROVEMENT TO OUR METHODS CAN BE SUGGESTED? Many things about them are excellent, and admired by the foremost men of sister denominations. Our connectional system and superintendency gives us the greatest facility for promoting these as well as other general interests. The episcopal connection with the different boards, bringing the broadest general knowledge to blend with the specific knowledge of the places represented by the members, enables the boards to give the best information to all who will study their reports. The custom of asking a given amount, and of its apportionment to the Conferences and then to the churches, must commend itself as business-like to all who are anxious to see this business well done. The provision for appointing missionary collectors in every charge cannot be too highly valued, and it should be extended to all the benevolences. These things ought to be sufficient. And they are to many, but to the vast majority of our pastors and people they are as if they were not. And why? Not because of conscious unfaithfulness, but rather because so large a part of the human family, high and low, including a majority of our preachers and most of our people, are creatures of habit and imitation more than of reflection and generalization as to their duties and the interests committed to them. So it comes about that most pastors construe all that is published or said or asked of them by what they have been accustomed to do or by the habits and customs of their people. Such a clear and strong presentation of these things on their merits, as will not be construed, strikes them as a hyperbole. Then, too, the general habits of surrounding changes form a vis inertiæ, hard, indeed, |