2. Qualifications. The ideal secretary of a Sunday school should possess the following characteristics:
(1) A Business Man. He should possess the instincts of a man of business, being willing to work, systematic in method, and thorough in care of details.
(2) Regular in Attendance. He should make the Sunday school his business on Sunday, with a fidelity equal to that which he manifests toward his vocation through the week. His regularity should also embrace promptness, coming in advance of the hour; for much of the secretary's work may be done before the opening of the service.
(3) Good Writer. He should be able to write legibly, and possess skill in framing sentences correctly, and in writing them plainly, without unnecessary flourishes.
(4) Quick Mental Action. His mental processes should be sufficiently rapid for him to set down an ordinary motion, presented in a public meeting, without requiring it to be repeated or written out by the mover. An able recorder will promptly express in the minutes the form of a motion or the spirit of a speech, thereby saving much time in the meeting and much space in the report.
(5) Quiet Manner. The secretary should watch the program and do his work without interrupting it. He should never appear among the classes during prayer, during the reading of Scripture, or while a speaker is addressing the school. Only under urgent necessity should he come to a class in the lesson period, and in that case only at its beginning. During intervals in the service, or during the singing, he may find it needful at times to pass among the classes; but he should do this necessary work quietly, without distracting the attention of the school.
(6) Courteous Conduct. His bearing should always be that of a gentleman, refined and courteous, thoughtful of others and patient toward all; a manner enabling him to win the friendly aid of every teacher, upon whom the accuracy of the class record must depend.
Whoever can be found, in the school or the community, possessing these qualities, or approaching them, should be chosen as secretary of the Sunday school, whether man or woman. Often a young woman, accustomed through the week to business methods, becomes an efficient secretary of the Sunday school.
3. Appointment. The secretary should be elected by the board of officers and teachers. As he is not merely an assistant to the superintendent, but an officer of the school, it is not necessary that he should receive a nomination from the superintendent. His term of office should be one year, with as many reëlections as will promote the good of the service.
4. Assistants. In almost any school the secretary will need an assistant, whom he should nominate, subject to confirmation by the board of teachers and officers.