[CONTENTS]
| PAGE | |
| Preface | 5 |
| Contents | 7 |
| [CHAPTER I] One of God's Tools | |
| God's Man Sent in God's Time—Sunday's Converts—Religionand the Common People—A Great City Shakenby the Gospel—Popular Interest in Vital Religion—Sundaya Distinctively American Type | 15 |
| [CHAPTER II] Up from the Soil | |
| Sunday's Sympathy with Every-day Folk—Early Life—TheSoldiers' Orphanage—The Old Farm—Earning a Living—TheSchool of Experience—First Baseball Ventures | 22 |
| [CHAPTER III] A Base-Ball "Star" | |
| Fame as a Baseball Player—Eagerness to "Take a Chance"—RecordRun on the Day Following his Conversion—TheParting of the Ways | 33 |
| [CHAPTER IV] A Curbstone Recruit | |
| Mrs. Clark and the Pacific Garden Mission—Sunday's OwnStory of his Conversion—Winning the Game of Life | 39 |
| [CHAPTER V] Playing the New Game | |
| The Individuality of the Man—His Marriage—Mrs. Sunday'sInfluence—Work in the Y. M. C. A.—A FatherDisowned—Redeeming a Son—The Gambler—A LivingTestimony—Professional Evangelistic Work | 45 |
| [CHAPTER VI] A Shut Door—and an Open One | |
| Sunday Thrown Upon His Own Resources by Dr. Chapman'sReturn to Philadelphia—Call to Garner, Iowa—"Thisis the Lord's Doings" | 57 |
| [CHAPTER VII] Campaigning for Christ | |
| Splendid Organization of a Sunday Campaign—Church Co-operation—ThePower of Christian Publicity—DistrictPrayer Meetings—Sunday's Army of Workers—TheSunday Tabernacle—The Evangelist's Own Compensation—Personnelof the Sunday Party | 61 |
| [CHAPTER VIII] "Speech—Seasoned with Salt" | |
| Vivid Language of the Common People—"Rubbing theFur the Wrong Way"—"Delivering the Goods"—Shakingsfrom the Sunday Salt-cellar | 69 |
| [CHAPTER IX] Battling with Booze | |
| An Effective Foe of the Liquor Business—"Dry" VictoriesFollowing Sunday Campaigns—"De Brewer's BigHosses"—The Famous "Booze" Sermon—Interest inManhood—Does the Saloon Help Business?—The Parentof Crimes—The Economic Side—Tragedies Born ofDrink—More Economics—The American Mongoose—TheSaloon a Coward—God's Worst Enemy—WhatWill a Dollar Buy?—The Gin Mill—A Chance for Manhood—PersonalLiberty—The Moderate Drinker—WhatBooze Does to the System | 80 |
| [CHAPTER X] "Give Attendance to Reading" | |
| Sunday's Reverence for "Book Learning"—No Claim toOriginality—Some Sources of His Sermons—God'sToken of Love—The Sinking Ship—"What If It HadBeen My Boy?"—A Dream of Heaven—The Battlewith Death—"Christ or Nothing"—Calvary—TheWorld for God—A Word Picture—The Faithful Pilot | 121 |
| [CHAPTER XI] Acrobatic Preaching | |
| Platform Gymnastics—The Athlete in the Preacher—Sunday'sSense of Humor Stronger than His Sense ofPathos—His Voice and Manner—Personal Side ofSunday | 138 |
| [CHAPTER XII] "The Old-Time Religion" | |
| Sunday's Power of Positive Conviction—His Ideas of Theology—TheNeed of Old-time Revival—The Gospel Accordingto Sunday—Salvation a Personal Matter—"AndHe Arose and Followed Him"—At the Cross-roads—"HeDied for Me" | 146 |
| [CHAPTER XIII] "Hitting the Sawdust Trail" | |
| Origin of the Phrase, "The Sawdust Trail"—ImpressiveScenes as Converts by the Hundred Stream Forward—VitalReligion—Mr. Sunday's Hand—All Sorts and Conditionsof People | 158 |
| [CHAPTER XIV] The Service of Society | |
| Social and Ethical Results of Sunday's Preaching—The PotentForce of the Gospel—Religion in Every-day Life—Testimonyof Rev. Joseph H. Odell, D.D.—Testimonyof Rev. Maitland Alexander, D.D.—The "Garage BibleClass"—Making Religion a Subject of Ordinary Conversation—LastingResults—A Life Story | 167 |
| [CHAPTER XV] Giving the Devil His Due | |
| Sunday's Sense of the Reality of the Devil—Excoriationof the Devil—"Devil" Passages from Sermons | 182 |
| [CHAPTER XVI] Critics and Criticism | |
| Storm of Criticism a Tribute—Preaching "Christ Crucified"—Recognitionfrom Secretary Bryan—Pilgrimage ofPhiladelphia Clergymen—Heaven's Messenger—PlainSpeech from Sunday Himself | 188 |
| [CHAPTER XVII] A Clean Man on Social Sins | |
| Clean-mindedness of the Man—A Plain Talk to Men—ChristianCharacter—Common Sense—No Excuse forSwearing—Family Skeletons—Nursing Bad Habits—TheLeprosy of Sin—"But the Lord Looketh on theHeart"—The Joy of Religion—A Plain Talk toWomen—Hospitality—Maternity Out of Fashion—TheGirl Who Flirts—The Task of Womanhood | 202 |
| [CHAPTER XVIII] "Help Those Women" | |
| Sunday's Honor of Womanhood—The Sermon on "Mother"—AMother's Watchfulness—A Mother's Bravery—GoodMothers Needed—God's Hall of Fame—A Mother'sSong—A Mother's Love—A Mother's Responsibility—Mothersof Great Men | 231 |
| [CHAPTER XIX] Standing on the Rock | |
| The Old-Fashioned Loyalty of the Evangelist to the Bible—Someof His Utterances on the Bible | 249 |
| [CHAPTER XX] Making a Joyful Noise | |
| No Gloom in a Sunday Revival—The Value of a Laugh—TheValue of Music—The Tabernacle Music—The CampaignChoirs—A Revival of Song | 261 |
| [CHAPTER XXI] The Prophet and His Own Time | |
| The Evangelist's Arraignment of the Sins of Today—HisTreatment of the Church and Society | 267 |
| [CHAPTER XXII] Those Billy Sunday Prayers | |
| Unconventionality of the Prayers—Specimen Prayers—"TeachUs to Pray"—Learning of Christ—PrideHinders Prayer—Praying in Secret—Praying in Humility—Menof Prayer | 271 |
| [CHAPTER XXIII] The Revival on Trial | |
| The Sea of Faces—Laboratory Tests—"The Need ofRevivals"—What a Revival Does—Revival DemandsSacrifice—Persecution a Godsend | 288 |
| [CHAPTER XXIV] An Army With Banners | |
| Unique Plans for Reaching the Masses of the People—VisitingDelegations—Parade at Close of Campaign—"SpiritualPower"—Derelicts in the Church—TheMeaning of Power—Church Needs Great Awakening—LostPower | 299 |
| [CHAPTER XXV] A Life Enlistment | |
| Some Notable Instances of the Lasting Results of SundayRevivals—"Gospel Teams"—Sermon on "Sharp-Shooters"—TheValue of Personal Work—"My Father'sBusiness"—Feeding the Spiritual Life—The Dignity ofPersonal Work—Five Classes of People | 311 |
| [CHAPTER XXVI] "A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ" | |
| Astounding Number of Conversions—Statistics of Campaignsin Various Cities—Sunday's "Consecration"Sermon—God's Mercies—The Living Sacrifice—A Glassof Champagne—Denying One's Self—Thinking forGod—What God Asks | 326 |
| [CHAPTER XXVII] A Wonderful Day at a Great University | |
| Visit to University of Pennsylvania—"What Shall I DoWith Jesus?"—"Real Manhood"—"Hot-cakes Off theGriddle"—Comment of Old Penn—Opinions of Students—Commentof Religious Press | 343 |
| [CHAPTER XXVIII] The Christian's Daily Helper | |
| "The Holy Spirit"—No Universal Salvation—HappiestNation on Earth—Ambassadors of God—Holy Spirita Person—The Last Dispensation—"Little Things"—TheFame of a Christian | 359 |
| [CHAPTER XXIX] A Victorious Sermon | |
| Conquests by the Sermon on "The Unpardonable Sin"—WhatIt Is—Resisting the Truth—"Too Late"—Representativeof the Trinity—Death-bed Confessions—AForgiving God—Power of Revivals | 370 |
| [CHAPTER XXX] Eternity! Eternity! | |
| "What Shall the End Be?"—Men Believe in God—At theCross—The Judgment of God—Glad Tidings to All—TheAtonement of Christ—God's Word—Eternity andSpace—God's Infinite Love—Preparing for Eternity—ALeap in the Dark—"The End Thereof" | 383 |
| [CHAPTER XXXI] Our Long Home | |
| "Heaven"—"I, Too, Must Die"—No Substitute for Religion—MoralityNot Enough—The Way of Salvation—Rewardsof Merit—A Place of Noble People—"A Placefor You"—The Missing | 404 |
| [CHAPTER XXXII] Glorying in the Cross | |
| "Atonement"—Suffering for the Guilty—Jesus' AtoningBlood—No Argument Against Sin—"There is Sin"—"HowLong, O God?" | 424 |
[CHAPTER I]
One of God's Tools
I want to be a giant for God.—Billy Sunday.
Heaven often plays jokes on earth's worldly-wise. After the consensus of experience and sagacity has settled upon a certain course and type, lo, all the profundity of the sages is blown away as a speck of dust and we have, say, a shockingly unconventional John the Baptist, who does not follow the prescribed rules in dress, training, methods or message. John the Baptist was God's laugh at the rabbis and the Pharisees.
In an over-ecclesiastical age, when churchly authority had reached the limit, a poor monk, child of a miner's hut, without influence or favor, was called to break the power of the popes, and to make empires and reshape history, flinging his shadow far down the centuries. Martin Luther was God's laugh at ecclesiasticism.
While the brains and aristocracy and professional statesmanship of America struggled in vain with the nation's greatest crisis, God reached down close to the soil of the raw and ignored Middle West, and picked up a gaunt and untutored specimen of the common people—a man who reeked of the earth until the earth closed over him—and so saved the Union and freed a race, through ungainly Abraham Lincoln. Thus again Heaven laughed at exalted procedure and conventionality.
In our own day, with its blatant worldly wisdom, with its flaunting prosperity, with its fashionable churchliness, with its flood of "advanced" theology overwhelming the pulpit, God needed a prophet, to call his people back to simple faith and righteousness. A nation imperiled by luxury, greed, love of pleasure and unbelief cried aloud for a deliverer. Surely this crisis required a great man, learned in all the ways of the world, equipped with the best preparation of American and foreign universities and theological seminaries, a man trained in ecclesiastical leadership, and approved and honored by the courts of the Church? So worldly wisdom decreed. But God laughed—and produced, to the scandal of the correct and conventional, Billy Sunday, a common man from the common people, who, like Lincoln, so wears the signs and savor of the soil that fastidious folk, to whom sweat is vulgar and to whom calloused hands are "bad form," quite lose their suavity and poise in calling him "unrefined."