The Modern Sunday School and Its Present l ay Task BY HENRY FREDERICK COPE NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO Fleming H. Revell Company LONDON AND EDINBURGH Copyrigh r, 1 07-1916 1, by FLEMING H PJSV LV COMPANY New York 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago 17 North Wabash Ave. London 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh 75 Princes Street PEEFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION THE last ten years have seen greater progress in religions education than any preceding decade, perhaps greater than any five decades. When this book was first published, a little over eight years ago, , it advocated many reforms which have now become accomplished facts. On the educational principles then laid down the school has been reorganised or at least the principles have been accepted and the newer methods accepted so that it is no longer necessary to treat them in a prophetic manner except to explain their elabo ration and intrication and to look forward to their further development. In addition so many new opportunities have opened up to the school and, as our social life has changed, some new duties have appeared before it. Perhaps the need for a thorough revision of a book on methods is the best evidence of the progress and increased efficiency of the Sunday school Chicago. CONTENTS CHAPTSSB I. INTBODUCTOBY THE PLACE OB 1 THE SCHOOL .9 II. THE SETTING OF THE MODEBN SUNDAY SCHOOL 12 III. THE SCHOOL IN THE CHUBCH . . 19 IV. PLAN OF ORGANISATION 28 V. OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES . . 40 VI. THE PASTOB IN THE SCHOOL ... 51 VII. OBGANISING THE SCHOOL AS AN EDUCA TIONAL AGENCY .... 61 VIII. EECBTJITING AND RETAINING PUPILS . 74 IX. BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT ... 86 X. PBOGBAH OF WOBSHIP .... 95 XI. CLASS WOBK 105 XII. MANUAL METHODS .... 112 XIII. THEGUBBICULUM OF THE SCHOOL . 124 XIV. THE TEACHING OF MISSIONS . . 138 XV. DISCIPLINE ...... 145 XVI. GIVING AND FINANCES .... 153 XVII. THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS MOVEMENT . 163 XVIII. TBAINING THE WOBEOTG FOBCES . . 173 XIX. THE LIBBABY PBOBLEM, . .189 XX. A SCHEME OF CHUBCH OBGANISAITON 200 XXI. PABENTS AND THE SCHOOL, . 21 XXII. WEEK-DAY RELIGIOUS INSTBUCTION . 226 XXIII. A FACTUAL BASIS .... 233 XXIV. FACTOBS nr SUNDAY SCHOOL SUCCESS . 241 INDEX . . ., v 240 IFTKODUOTOKY THE PLACE OE THE SCHOOL THE Sunday school no longer lies among the neg ligible factors of life. Men and women do well to study its history and its present activities, not alone, because such, study is prescribed as part of the preparation for service in the institution, , but be cause the school has become one of the most Im portant forces in modern affairs, and particularly because to this school we must look, at least in large measure, for the solution of our great problem of religious education. It occupies a pre-eminent place as a character-forming institution in an age which Is slowly coming to recognise the supreme place of character and the regnancy of righteous ness. It owes Its place to two causes, the force of necessity on the one hand, and the fact that it is fitting itself to meet that necessity on the other. The force of necessity has been on the Sunday school as an agency for religious education because no other institution is doing this work to any gen eral extent to-day. Education has passed from a domestic to a civil duty, while the civil powers have decided, at least in the majority of the States, that 9 10 THE MODERN SUNDAY SCHOOL their institutions for education cannot include instruction in the Bibleor in religion in their curricula. It has, therefore, fallen to the church, as the organised eommunal force for religion, to undertake this work...