"The real power in Sunday School teaching is not methods, important as it is to have the best of these, nor in equipment, valuable as this is, but in the teacher's own spiritual life. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit," is the divine revealing of the secret of power in all Christian work. "It is the aim of these simple chapters to put emphasis upon some of the vital elements in the Sunday School teacher's life and work." James Russell Miller was a popular Christian author, Editorial Superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication, and pastor of several churches in Pennsylvania and Illinois. He was the General field Agent for the United States Christian Commission, an organization established by the Young Men's Christian Association after the First Battle of Bull Run. Miller authored nearly 100 books and articles.