110 Missouri Agricultwal Report. 



people in these families. We needed them at church, we wanted 

 them in the Sunday school, and we thought of a way to get them 

 to come. We had a picnic. And the people of our own community 

 and church were back of it — there is not a good thing anywhere 

 that the church is not back of it — and so I said, "We are going to 

 have a community picnic." Of course, that was a little more at- 

 tractive than a church picnic. Well, we had our picnic. God gave 

 us a beautiful day. I never prayed more in my life that I might 

 enter into the spirit of that day. And we had races and all sorts 

 of fine games, and you ought to have seen those young people enjoy 

 themselves. I would run and jump and umpire a baseball game. 

 They had never seen a preacher like that. Possibly they said what 

 so many folks say, "He lacks spirituality." I don't know of any 

 way in which God's spirit works, that you and I know a thing 

 about save that He works through something human, a man or a 

 woman. Have you any such idea? I will confess I have not. Well, 

 we had a fine time at that picnic, and at the close — we had brought 

 a little folding organ and hymn books, and these young people who 

 hadn't come to Sunday school, well, we brought the church to them. 

 It was nearly sunset, and I proposed that we gather under a big 

 tree near where we had our games and pleasant times and sing a 

 song or two, and after we had sung one or two pieces there was 

 a hush and I said, "Let us thank God for this beautiful day we 

 have had." So we had prayer and we worshiped God, and thus 

 we closed the day, and I believe it was sealed with God's approval. 

 Do you know the next Sunday every one of the families were repre- 

 sented there, and the Sunday after that, and so on. That old stiff- 

 ness was broken down, we were flesh and blood after all, and were 

 Christians. I am glad we are over that old idea ; it used to be that 

 a Christian couldn't do anything. I remember old Deacon Barns, 

 and mother used to say, "Clair, if you could just be as good a man 

 when you grow up as Deacon Barns." I want to tell you about 

 Deacon Barns. He had a face that looked like an ax, and I never 

 saw him smile in his life. I think he had chronic dyspepsia. I 

 think it would have cracked his complexion if he had smiled. He 

 had all the dignity of a corpse and if there is a thing dignified in 

 this world it is something like that. 



I thank God that we begin to realize that the religion of Jesus 

 Christ is a joy-bringing thing into the world. Isn't that what it 

 means? When the Blessed Master was on the way to the cross he 

 turned to his disciples as he was going to the Garden of Gethsemane 



