Eevietc of Reviews, iO/SjOS. 



INTERVIEWS ON TOPICS OF THE MONTH. 



AUSTRALASIAN INTERVIEWS. 



LXXi.— A GREAT SCHEME OF SOCIAL REFORM. 



THE REV. A. R. EDGAR. 



guidance 



One of the most daring schemes in connection 

 ■with religious and social reforms has just been in- 

 augurated by the Methodist Conference sitting in 

 Melbourne. For years past the great Central Mis- 

 s-on, has been the O'Utstanding feature of that sect 

 ii Victoria, and its unvarying success has been a 

 ^-landing matter of wonder. Under th 

 of the ^ Rev. A. R. 

 Kdgar, esteemed by 

 a.l shades of opin- 

 ion, the Central 

 Mission was trans- 

 fonned from a tiny 

 congregation in a 

 huge church, to a 

 great one of over 

 two thousand. The 

 social activities de- 

 veloped in connec- 

 tion with it have 

 .aiso<. become one of 

 the greatest fea- 

 tures of charitabl<' 

 aid in the city, and 

 now an extension of 

 its area and efforts 

 is arranged for, 

 which will either 

 prove a tremendous 

 •sjccess or be a 

 g'gantic- failure. 

 '-"-':' latter, howe\er. 

 ;"l is hardlv lik^lv !• • 

 be. 



1 had a chat with 



Mr. Edgar, and got sarony] Rev. 



the salient ffaturt S Snperintentient of the recently 



of the scheme for the information of " Review "' 

 readers, whose sympathies lie closelv with .schemes 

 of refonn. 



"What is it \f»u actually propose?" I asked. 



" What is actually proposed is a great extension 

 of a very radical alteration of the time-honoured 

 policy of the Methodist Church, in order to provide 

 tor intense concentration of effort in particular 

 <'hurches now grouped for the purpr)se. The minis- 

 ter appointed to one of these mission churches, 

 instead of having a number of separate churches 

 claiming his attention, and thus dissipating his 

 energies, will concentrate his encrgv rjn one <)n]\ so 



that his personality may have fullest opportunity, 

 and to secure continuitv of such influence, these 

 mis^ioners are placed outside the operation of the 

 itinerant law, requiring ministers to be moved ever}^ 

 three years. The three large central churches will 

 have therefore five ministers who may concentrate 

 and continue the'r efforts on this great enterprise 



of reaching the 

 masses of people in 

 this part nf Mel- 

 bourne." 



'■ Is this develop- 

 ment necessarv in 

 order to cope with 

 present difficulties ?"' 

 " This de\elop- 

 nient is rendered 

 necessary b\ difficul- 

 ties created by the 

 failure of the pre- 

 sent circuit methods 

 in the crowded cen- 

 tres of population. 

 The drift of the 

 w n r k i n g classes 

 away from the 

 churches has assum- 

 ed alarming propor- 

 tions, not through 

 the failure of Chris- 

 tianity, but for want 

 of the adaptation of 

 Church methods in 

 applying Chris- 

 tianity to the pro- 

 A R. Edgar. piioio-] blems of the time. 



extended Melbourne Central Mission. \)i advance On the 



part of the churches is called for, and the Mt-thndist 

 Church has responded to that call." 



" I hope you intend to develop a social reform 

 side of the movement, and that you will not work 

 simply on evangelical lines. The Church of the 

 future must be social to succeed." 



" The movement is essentially evangelical, but I 

 agree with you that the full interpretation of evange- 

 lical truth in the future must include ' social rt^- 

 form " as part of the ' good news ' declared by Christ. 

 We certainly intend to see that the message of the 

 Gospel embraces the will of God for society as well 

 as the individual. This means that the Christian 



