church can meet; unheeding the fearful sin in this land to expel which will solidify the most diverse Christian elements in existence. I want the next Council, and many others want it also, to set aside seven or eight whole days to discussing, with the most prophetic and ardent leaders in our denomination speaking boldly, the seven great evils of this land, and we saying whether or not we, as a unified denomination, are not ready to say these things must stop.

There are seven things that are the greatest hindrances to the kingdom of God to-day, and against which the Church, forgetting everything else, should now hurl herself with a united passion before it is too late. And I mean it when I say too late. I am no pessimist. I am no more pessimistic than the facts. These things are,

(1) The growing indifference to religion even among the respectable people.

(2) The downright dishonesty being practiced in business. and state.

(3) The growth of militarism, especially in England and Germany, but now beginning here. Militarism and Christian brotherhood cannot exist together.

(4) The tyranny of capital over labor, and the selfishness of the trades unions. The chasm grows. Nothing but real religion can heal it.

(5) The danger of lowering the Puritan ideal in America by the tremendous infusion of foreign blood.

(6) The power of the saloon, the drink habit, and its always accompanying sexual vice.

(7) The growth of the great Eastern and Mohammedan nations into material and political power without the attendant controlling force of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I say that if the next National Council would set aside one whole day for the discussion of each of these problems by big men, men who know what they are talking about, leaving plenty of time for free discussion from the floor, it would do more to present the Congregational Church to the nation as a great, powerful, united, Messianic, solidified church than all the ecclesiastical organization in the world. It would bring hordes to the Council. Every daily paper would print its proceedings. The great world which outside of New England and a few western

states never heard of Congregationalism would begin to think it was the American Church. I know another church has begun to call itself the American Church. But then we should be the American Church, and we should have no more of what we are continually hearing of the nervelessness of the church as a religious and ethical force, when it stands face to face with the real sin and the real evil of this nation, which are the things mentioned above.

THE SCOPE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
BROTHERHOOD MOVEMENT.

WILLIAM H. LEWIS, OF SEATTLE, WASH., PRESIDENT OF THE CONGREGATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF AMERICA.

Mr. Moderator, I once knew a remarkably successful business man, who said, "Some people work hard to succeed; my policy has been to find out what Providence was going to do, and then get in the way of it."

The National Council, three years ago, put itself in the path of the Brotherhood Movement. This movement is not confined to the Church of God. The increasing respect for the rights of the people, as against the former regard for the rights of the individual, or the privileged few, is an evidence of this.

The great reform measures in England, such as the educational bill, the personal damages and old-age pension bills, were Brotherhood measures. The disestablishment of the church in France and the revolution in Portugal are further evidences of the same movement toward Brotherhood.

In this country, men who are now shouting, enthusiastic insurgents, clamoring for equal rights and justice to all, ten years ago were voting with the gang, clamoring for regularity, and insisting that the party must stand by its friends. They said corruption and favoritism were unavoidable. The carelessness of men towards political evils then is well illustrated by the story of the western card game, where a player was advised by a bystander that the dealer had a high card up his sleeve, and he replied, "Well, it's his deal, isn't it?"

The Brotherhood work in churches is not confined to America, but in England it has been aggressively adopted. In this country all the leading denominations have their Brotherhood organizations, and are pushing this form of activity. Not only this, but they are coöperating in great movements, such as the Laymen's Missionary Movement and the Men and Religion Campaign, and securing a harmony of action heretofore impossible.

Our own Brotherhood has its national organization, sixteen organized state Brotherhoods, and nearly all of the large cities have city Brotherhoods, giving opportunities for fellowship and conference, and adding to the efficiency of many of our churches. They bring to the front in our Congregational life capable laymen, who will be influential in the future of the denomination.

Five hundred local men's and boys' organizations in Congregational churches of the United States are enrolled with the national Brotherhood. This, however, is only a small portion of the organizations existing and actually working.

The Brotherhood sprang up when the denomination greatly needed to develop new lay leadership. Laymen could not be found for responsibilities in state and national organizations. The support of missionary societies had not increased with the increase of church membership.

The Brotherhood developed when the church was emphasizing new ideals of social service. It needed a new and more adequate agency to express these ideals in practical fashion. Groups of men can and are doing this.

The Brotherhood Movement came in a time when theology and ecclesiasticism did not command men as they previously did. The church needed a new emphasis to meet a new need. That emphasis is found in the appeal to human brotherhood. That appeal is fashioning our phrases, our plans, and our approach to the work of the world. The mass of men are not enemies to be fought, but brothers to be helped.

A short time ago I attended a meeting of a state Congregational conference. The subject "What Changes are Necessary in Our Churches" was discussed. The prevailing cry was that the churches are not reaching the men. Various suggestions were made for getting hold of men. The one thought of the members of the conference, who were chiefly ministers, was that if men were not coming into the churches it was because the ministers were not preaching the right kind of sermons.

Suggestions were therefore given. Special music, special advertising, popular topics, stereopticons and moving pictures, to draw the men into the churches.

It reminded me of how the third Napoleon, when a revolution threatened and he was advised of the danger, said to gild the

dome of the Invalides and give the people something to amuse them. Soon the beautiful dome of this great building was covered with gilt paint. It became a nine days' wonder to the spectacle-loving people of Paris, and the revolution was forgotten.

I told the ministers in that conference they were on the wrong track trying to draw men into the church by amusing them; that the trouble with the church to-day is it puts too much of its emphasis on church attendance and too little on actual service. A man's Christian character and loyalty to the church is judged by his attendance on Sunday rather than by his activities during the week. A small boy, who in the Sunday-school was asked by the teacher what was his favorite parable, replied, "The one where every one loafs and fishes." That might well describe many of our churches to-day.

Speaking to our Brotherhood men at luncheon, Tuesday, Mr. Harry Wade Hicks, head of the Young People's Missionary Movement, said, "My conversion did not date from the time I stood up in B. Fay Mills' meeting at Oberlin, and promised to give myself to Christ; it did not date from the time I joined the church. It dated from a later time when I went with other students for a long, hard trip on a hand-car, one dark night, to hold a service to lead men to Christ. My conversion came with my going to work."

The problem of holding men in the churches is like the problem that faced the captain of the sailing vessel who took a scientific party to one of the South Sea Islands, and was forced to remain at anchor at this deserted island for many months. His problem was to hold his crew on the ship, and keep them under control. He did not give them books to read or a graphophone to hear. He pulled his vessel up on the beach, painted it from stem to stern; overhauled the rigging, and scrubbed, polished, and repaired every inch of the hulls, masts, rigging, and equipment. Then, for want of further occupation, put his men cleaning the rust off the anchor chains. Heroic treatment, you will say; but it kept the men under control and loyal to the ship.

You say the theory is all right, but the trouble comes with the practice. You have been striving for years to get your men to work. I say the church of to-day is not planned to give every man a job, and expect him to be on that job regularly and