Church Cooperation in Community Life

 By PAUL L. VOGT

 THE ABINGDON PRESS NEW YORK CINCINNATI

 Copyright, 1921, by PAUL L. VOGT

 Printed in the United States of America

 TO

 MY FATHER AND MOTHER

 WHOSE PUBLIC-SPIRITED AND LIFELONG LOYALTY TO RELIGIOUS WORK IN A COUNTRY COMMUNITY HAS BEEN A CONSTANT INSPIRATION TO CHRISTIAN SERVICE

CONTENTS

 CHAPTER PAGE

 PREFACE 7

 I. SOME PRELIMINARY DEFINITIONS 9

 II. THE BASIS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE 26

 III. THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH 44

 IV. THE SOCIAL CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH 69

 V. BUILDING FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE 84

 VI. THE CHURCH AND RURAL PUBLIC THOUGHT 94

 VII. ADJUSTING THE LOCAL CHURCH TO THE COMMUNITY 104

 VIII. INTERDENOMINATIONAL READJUSTMENT 124

 IX. THE CHURCH AND OTHER RURAL AGENCIES 142

 X. MISSIONARY PROGRAMS AND RURAL COMMUNITY SERVICE 152

 XI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 169

PREFACE

Many books have been written during the past few years on the ruralchurch. Some of these have given excellent concrete illustrations ofmethods that are proving successful in solving local problems. Othershave discussed the general rural church situation. The rural lifemovement, however, has been so rapid that it is believed that a briefrestatement of the place of the church in the rural life movement isdesirable at the present time. 

It has been the task and privilege of the writer for the past fouryears to be almost constantly in the field traveling from the Atlanticto the Pacific and from Canadian border to the limits of Florida andgetting so far as possible first-hand impressions of rural church andcommunity conditions. It is the purpose of the present essay todiscuss some of the general problems in rural life presentingthemselves to the religious forces of America, and to note someconclusions as to the next steps to be taken if these forces are torender the service in rural advance that it is believed is theirs torender. Suggestions as to local programs will be made only as evidencethat when the church undertakes in an adequate manner the solution ofproblems whose solution is demanded of it, it receives both the moraland the financial support of the people served. The chapters on phasesof the local program are intended only to help in preparing the wayfor the larger service contemplated. 

As with individuals, so it is with institutions. It is difficult todiscuss the place of different organizations in the rural lifemovement without arousing the antagonism of leaders in the respectiveorganizations. It is hoped that the point of view held will beaccepted as one of sympathy for the efforts of all organizationsconcerned and that the purpose of the discussion is to point the waytoward a larger cooperation resulting from a better understanding ofthe work that may be expected of each. 

 PAUL L. VOGT. 

CHAPTER I

SOME PRELIMINARY DEFINITIONS

When one begins to discuss a subject it helps very much if his readersknow what he has in mind in the terms used. In the title selected forthis text there are at least three words that need definition. Probably no reader will agree fully with any of the definitions given, but an attempt to define should at least help the reader to understandbetter in what sense the terms are used by the writer. 

The term "community" has come into such common use that it might beassumed that definition is unnecessary. And yet when learned bodiesget together to discuss community problems a large part of the time isusually taken up in attempting to define what the different speakersare talking about. 

When the writer lived in the open country several years ago he went toMifflin Center school and attended Wesley Chapel church. Theschoolhouse and the church were located at the same crossroads, andthese two institutions drew for their constituency from an area ofabout four square miles for the school and a somewhat larger area forthe church. Brownstown school, to the south, Hendrickson's to theeast, and Whetstone to the west made up other school communities. Pleasant Grove church, Salem, and Brownstown, with a differentterritory covered by each, made up church areas that did not coincidewith the school areas bounding Mifflin Center school territory. Inlike manner, when trading was to be done, Upper Sandusky and Kirby, five and six miles away, were the centers to which everybody went, generally on Saturday afternoon, when friends from other sections ofthe county might be found on the streets. The boundaries of the tradecenter were thus much larger than those of either the school or thechurch. In politics, the center of interest of the particular townshipwith which the writer was concerned was the old schoolhouse turnedinto a township house at Mifflin Center, the location of the churchand school. The local political interests of the other communitiesmentioned were at the appointed places in the respective townships. The seat of justice was for some time in the parlor of the writer'sfather's residence, or in the front yard, to which court wasoccasionally adjourned when weather conditions permitted. In a largerway county courts were held at the county seat, as were other of thelarger political activities. 

One could go on indefinitely illustrating the boundaries of interestsof various kinds. Some of them centered in the State House; others inthe national Capitol; and many a wordy political battle was fought inthe little country section over the question as to whether theprotective tariff or the Democratic party was responsible for the hardtimes the farmers and others were suffering. There were even worldinterests involved, as during the Spanish-American War or theVenezuelan difficulty during Cleveland's administration. 

This concrete illustration both raises the question, Which of these isthe "community?" and also points the way to the answer. None of thegroupings mentioned can be considered "_the_ community. " Yet each is"_a_ community. " A "community" is a psychical and not a physicalthing. It can only approximately be bounded by physical lines. In thelast analysis the true "community" is nothing more nor less than thatgroup of two or more individuals who are bound together by a singleinterest. Thus two people living within sight of one another may bemembers of the same religious community and at the same time beabsolutely separated from one another in their political affiliations. Also one person can at the same time belong to many "communities. "

But this definition, if adhered to strictly, would lead to confusionof thought perhaps more serious than a less accurate use of the term. Careful investigation of the relation of the different psychiccommunities to one another reveals the fact that geographically theareas of individual community interest overlap one another; and thatin the better organized regions the centers of interests coincide andit is only the boundaries of the several interests that are notcoterminous. The Mifflin Center illustration given above is good inthat it had the religious, educational and political interestscentered at one physical spot. The social and recreational life of alarge part of this local area also was centered here. In the otherlocal groups mentioned there was a division of interest much moremarked. A more practical definition, then, of a "community" would be"That aggregation of population which is bound together by apredominating proportion of its local interests. "

If this definition is accepted, then an inspection of almost any localaggregation, in the open country at least, will lead to the conclusionthat there are few groups of people who have any large number of localinterests in common. Perhaps the most powerful force to be consideredin determining what is an open country community is that of the sociallife. People in a given section habitually seek those with whom theyare best acquainted when they get together for social affairs ofinterest outside the family circle; and it is only occasionally thatthe mass will go out of these habitual associations in seeking socialrelaxation. This social life may be sought at one time in the school, at another in the church, again at a picnic, or in the home of someone in the "neighborhood. " But the dominating factor isacquaintanceship rather than religion or education or business. 

Villages are more easily defined as to the number of interests holdingthe group together. 

One principal objective in the modern local community organizationmovement seems to be to bring together at some central point the focalpoints of as many local interests as possible, thus strengthening thecommunity bonds and increasing the community consciousness. As thisend is achieved the necessity for the strict definition given abovedisappears and the "community" becomes _that aggregation of people themajority of whose local interests have a common center_. This is thesense in which the term will be used in this discussion. 

The term "rural" likewise conveys a different thought to differentpeople. Indeed, so likely has the term been to mislead that in arecent national survey of religious conditions, the term was abandonedand "town and country" substituted. The simpler plan is to arrive at adefinition of the word "rural" which will include what the latterterm connotes. To confuse "rural" with "agricultural" is to ignoreboth the past and the present in movements of population and inorganization of interests. To an increasing degree the interests ofthe open country are centering in the village, or even larger centers. So that in discussing the problems of the agricultural population itis often necessary to make the center of discussion the organizationof the village with an agricultural environment. The better plan is todefinitely discuss the problems of the open country under the term"agricultural" and retain the other term for all interests of groupsof population in smaller communities, whether in the open country orin the villages. In general, the division of the United States Censuswill be observed and the term "rural" regularly applied to all groupsof under two thousand five hundred population. 

At a recent meeting of country ministers an attempt was made to definewhat is the problem of the rural church. The definition as framed isherewith presented: "The rural task of the church is the nurture anddevelopment of all phases of human welfare in those communities wherethe general life and thinking of the people are related to matterswhich pertain to material natural resources. "

This definition is inadequate from the administrative point of view inthat it would exclude the small manufacturing community, theeducational center, the summer and winter resort communities, andsimilar specialized groups where population is small. The problems ofthese small communities not directly related to material naturalresources have many characteristics in common with those included inthe above definition. Size of community has much to do with the typeof problem presented; and the one who understands the problems of theagricultural village is probably better able to deal with the problemsof the villages of the type mentioned than is the one trained forservice in a metropolitan center. 

The term "church" is here used in the sense of including all religiousforces in rural life. The Sunday School Association, the ChristianAssociations, Church Federations, and other groups allied to thechurch are included in the general term. 

THE MANIFOLD FUNCTIONS OF THE CHURCH

The church is the only agency in existence that is concerned with manin all his relationships. It is concerned with keeping alive in humanconsciousness the existence of a Divine Being and of man'srelationship to that Being. It is the only agency that proceeds on thetheory of the immortality of the human soul and that has a program ofpreparing the soul for a life after death. In common with otheragencies the church is concerned with the individual life of man onthis earth and endeavors to lead human beings to that course of lifewhich will result in the maximum of personal spiritual welfare. And incommon with other agencies it is concerned with man in his relationsto others and to his material environment because these relationshipshave a vital effect on his spiritual life. 

A full analysis of the functions of the church would include adiscussion of those features of church work which have to do withman's relation to God and to an immortal existence. But in adiscussion of the church in relation to the community it is notnecessary to consider man's relation to God nor to a future lifeexcept in so far as beliefs in such relationships influence hispersonal welfare on this earth or his relationships to his fellow man. Thus this discussion falls in the field of sociology rather than inthe field of theology or psychology. A casual observation of theforces at work in human relationships, especially in the smallercommunities, leads quickly to the conclusion that beliefs both withreference to God and to a future life have a vital effect on socialconduct. But it is the effect instead of the truth of beliefs that isthe subject matter to be considered. 

Having thus defined the field of our discussion both as to subjectmatter and as to the phase of the interests of the church to beconsidered, it is next in order to note the size of the task. 

According to the census of 1920, 50, 866, 899 people in the UnitedStates lived in rural territory, that is, in communities of less than2, 500 population. This was 48. 1 per cent of the total. For the firsttime in the history of the country the records showed a largerproportion of the total population living in urban centers than invillages or in the open country. The population in incorporatedvillages of less than 2, 500 population was 9, 864, 196, or 9. 3 per centof the total, while that in unincorporated or open country communitieswas 41, 002, 703 or 38. 8 per cent, as compared with 8. 8 per cent and44. 8 per cent respectively in 1910. 

The total rural population increase was but 1, 518, 986, or 3. 1 percent. Incorporated village increase was 1, 745, 371, or 21. 5 per cent, while the unincorporated community population actually decreased227, 355, or . 6 per cent. 

These figures indicate two conclusions of importance to ourdiscussion. The first is that the villages of less than 2, 500inhabitants are sharing with the large centers in the general increasein population. Their increase proportionately is not so marked as isthat of the extremely large centers, but it is sufficiently marked toindicate that they offer opportunities that attract more than does theopen country. This village growth must be reckoned with in determiningpolicies of location of church buildings and the type of local churchprogram for community service. 

The second conclusion is that the open country is still at adisadvantage so far as its possibilities of supporting a largepopulation are concerned. Actual depopulation of the open country, theenlargement of the size of farms, the abandonment of acreage onceunder cultivation, which preliminary figures issued by the CensusBureau indicate, show that not yet is the demand for agriculturalproducts such as to make a much larger open country populationpossible. This fact also points the direction for readjustment ofrural community life. 

The data from the religious census of the United States, taken in1916, while not classified as rural and urban, give hopeful figures asto the progress of religious institutions in this country. While thetotal population of the United States increased during the decade1910-20, 14. 9 per cent, the church membership from 1906-1916 increased19. 6 per cent. The total church membership increase, 6, 858, 796, was50. 2 per cent of 13, 710, 842, the increase in total population. Thesefigures of church membership increase, covering a period before theEuropean war began to affect this country seriously, indicate that thegeneral rising ethical standards of American life have had theirreflection in the larger personal as well as financial support of thereligious forces. 

While data are not available as to the proportion of rural and urbanpopulation belonging to church, the census gives figures as to thechurch membership in communities of over 25, 000 population. Accordingto census estimates, 32. 7 per cent of the population lived in citiesof over that population in 1916. The religious census shows that 36. 5per cent of the church membership lived in communities of that size. Contrary to popular impression, the larger centers actually have alarger proportionate church membership than do the smallercommunities. The facts show that the problem of advance of theChristian Church is more of a small-community problem than it is ofthe larger centers. 

While the proportion of the total population belonging to churchincreased from 38. 1 per cent in 1906 as compared with the 1910population to 39. 6 per cent in 1916 as compared with the 1920population, the magnitude of the unfinished task is still almoststaggering. If the proportion for rural America were the same as forthe country as a whole, there would be 20, 143, 292 people not belongingto church. Church membership, of course, is not the only criterion ofthe influence of the church; nor would all denominations admit thatall the people should belong to church, since some would not acceptchildren not yet having reached the age of accountability. But in anycase Christian America is not Christian even in church membership. This does not take into account matters of social and economicrelationships which the spirit of Christianity has not yet penetratedand by which church members as well as nonmembers are bound. 

More than 50, 000, 000 rural folk rising to a consciousness of theirinherent solidarity and community of interest, and more than20, 000, 000 of these not affiliated with any religious organization, present a challenge for trained leadership unequaled in the history ofthe world. Urban interests have grown powerful. Urban life has rapidlyadvanced for at least the more favored groups until it has faroutstripped conditions in rural communities that go to make up thebest in modern civilization and culture. Germs have been found in the"Old Oaken Bucket" in the country, while the scourge of typhoid hasbeen banished from the city, and the "Church in the Dell" has crumbledin decay, while the metropolitan pulpit has taken the best leadershipfor its own. The country has been unable to compete with the urbancenters for educational, religious, or social leadership becausewealth has accumulated in the cities. Rural population has declinedbecause the prizes in wealth accumulation were in the cities andbecause it was easier to secure those things there that people havelearned to value as most worth while, in good housing, medicalattendance, education, and recreation. While city poets have sung thepraises of country life, many people who have lived in the country andendured the long hours and little pay from husbandry have, like theArab, folded their tents and slipped away; and when once they havetasted the advantages of urban life, have not returned. 

No civilization can be wholesome or permanent so long as any one greatgroup is permanently handicapped in its struggle for economic orsocial welfare. So long as any group is evidently at a disadvantagethe shift of population from the less-favored to the better-favoredgroups will continue; that is, unless castes are formed which compelpeople to remain permanently in one group or the other. And this doesnot happen in modern democratic society. And so long as there is acontinuous shift of population in one direction or another we haveevidence that conditions are such as to induce the shift. 

It is the existence of conditions such as these that makes thechallenge for a trained loyal service on the part of those selected toattend to matters concerned with rural public welfare. 

It is the purpose of the following pages to outline briefly some ofthe conditions to which the church must give attention if it is tomeet the demand now made upon it by modern rural life. It is notintended to be a treatise on practical theology in the senseordinarily accepted in courses on that subject. Very little attentionwill be given to matters of organization or administration of thelocal church. It is believed that if only ministers of the gospel canonce attain an adequate grasp of the purposes of religious service, the matter of method of accomplishing results may be left largely tothe pastors themselves. On the other hand, emphasis upon method, whichseems to be demanded by many ministers instead of knowledge of ends tobe attained, is more than likely to lead to overorganization, ororganization not adapted to objectives. One of the essentials in allleadership is that of having definite objectives toward which to work, and it is the purpose of this text to call the attention to objectivesand to organization, both local and general, adapted to the attainmentof objectives rather than the methods of attaining them. 

CHAPTER II

THE BASIS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

The past few years have witnessed a marked widening of the concept ofthe functioning of the church. But there is still considerablequestion concerning the basis for the program of church work that nowbids fair to become conventional. Not long ago the writer attended aconvention of a state social welfare association. Over three hundredand fifty persons were in attendance representing the leading agenciesfor the advance of social welfare in the entire commonwealth, bothurban and rural. Careful inquiry revealed the fact that but oneminister had registered, and he was on the program. On the other hand, it is the rare occurrence for those professionally interested insocial service to be present at a convention of representatives ofreligious orders. In practice there is still a clean-cut dividing linebetween those interested in social progress and those engaged inso-called religious work. The social workers are not irreligious; manyof them believe their service to be of the highest type of religiousexpression. The representatives of the church are welcomed by socialworkers into their councils, but it is feared that often theserepresentatives are not taken seriously because for so long they havehad a program that affected social welfare in but an indirect way. Thetime has come when representatives of the church should accept theirrightful position as leaders in all movements that tend to make humanexistence more Christ-like and to make the kingdom of heaven on earthmore of a reality. 

The reason for the attitude of both ministers and people toward thechurch has been the emphasis placed upon individual regeneration asthe sole and all-important method of advancing the Kingdom. The"conversion" of the individual would lead him into right conduct. Whenall individuals were converted then the kingdom of heaven would indeedbe at hand. 

But the advance of social science has made clear the fact that theindividual is very largely the expression of the group in which helives. Custom, convention, fashion, public opinion, and other groupinfluences go far to determine what individual thought and action willbe in any given group. The Tennessee mountaineer has a differentstandard of what constitutes true religion from that of the NewEngland Unitarian. The code of race relationships in Mississippi isnot the same as that in Wisconsin. The standards of the boy's "gang"determine largely the dress, the ideals, and habits not only of youthbut of the coming man. Even in the life of the individual differentstandards exist suitable to the several groups in which he carries onhis habitual activities. The capitalist who corrupts Legislatures withimpunity in business or who prevents child-labor legislation may be amodel Christian gentleman in his home and church life. 

It is admitted that in the last analysis the group mind can have itsexistence only in the individual minds that compose it. But it is alsotrue that when we consider the minds of individuals working in groupswith the consciousness of what the reactions of others are, theresults are different from what they are when the individual actsalone. Moreover, individuals as a class react in much the same way tostimuli that affect all of the members of the group at a given time. If the price of milk is raised so that there is suspicion ofprofiteering, common resentment appears. If the leadership of apolitical party is threatened, the politician, even though he losesleadership, rarely bolts his group. Instead he finds some excuse forstanding by the party organization. It is not necessary to alter theminds of all individuals by "conversion" in the conventional mannereither to change public opinion, alter physical conditions, or changethe form of social organization. When these changes are effected inthe minds of the controlling elements of the group, then the entirepublic mind and social organization are altered and the social processgoes on stimulated in newer and, it is hoped, better directions. 

One or two illustrations should make this point clearer. Several yearsago it was the custom to use common drinking cups on railways. Whenfirst legislation was passed to prevent such use, considerable publicopinion opposed it as foolish. Now, it is difficult to get any one totouch a common drinking cup even in the home. Before the eliminationof the saloon powerful and sometimes very respectable forces werelined up in favor of its continuance. But as soon as the fight againstthe saloon had been carried to the point of its legal elimination manyof those who once supported the barroom because of the profit to thembecame its opponents. Formerly the saloon was a center for thecorruption of many if not most of the youth in the community. Now, most communities are bringing up a far higher grade of young peoplemorally than they once were because it is no longer necessary to fightagainst this center of immoral infection. 

The lesson these illustrations should teach is this: that theconventional method used by the churches during the past half centuryof depending almost entirely upon individual regeneration throughpersonal appeal as a means of salvation of the race has handicappedthe church and limited its effectiveness. When it is once understoodthat the mind and the character of the individual can be influenced inas many ways as there are social contacts, and when the means ofapproach through all these contacts is understood, then theeffectiveness of the church will be immeasurably increased. Sociallife must be saved not only through individual regeneration but alsothrough the establishment of a right attitude on the part of theindividual and as many individuals as possible. On the other hand, individual attitudes can be established in large part by bringingabout, through means now fairly well understood, good economicconditions and social organization. 

The sad part about the traditional limited method of approach toimprovement of group life has been that in probably the majority ofcases impulses were aroused by personal appeal to do good and thenthrough ignorance of objectives in group advance those impulses wereallowed to die. The "backslider" is an excellent illustration of theresults of periodic renewal of impulse to right living. In most othercases the impulses thus aroused have found their expression in ahypersensitiveness in regard to certain phases of personal conduct. Emphasis upon personal moral conduct to the exclusion of effectiveinterest in social progress characterized much of the product of thepersonal evangelistic campaigns carried on periodically during thepast two or three generations, while the real work of making the worldbetter has been directed by men and women not particularly subject tothese periodical waves of religious impulses but imbued with a steadyabiding faith in the worth of social action. They have had the goodimpulses, but these impulses have been steadied and renderedpermanently valuable because faith based on knowledge of objectiveswas available. 

If the serious errors of the past are to be avoided it will benecessary for those intrusted with responsibilities of churchleadership to vastly increase their knowledge of problems of grouplife and of methods of control of group life. The following pages aredesigned to aid the prospective religious leader, either professionalor lay, as far as possible in understanding some of the problems thatmust be dealt with in making human life what Christianity hopes for. Results already have been achieved sufficient to place beyond questionthe principle that the church must approach life from every possibleangle. The effort to produce right attitudes in the individual must becontinued, but the methods used must be varied and multiplied. 

Furthermore, before the sound point of view with reference to themethod of approach to the problems of the church can be obtained itwill be necessary to have a clear understanding as to the place of thechild in the moral order. Those who derive their theology by readingand interpreting isolated passages of the Scriptures sometimes arriveat unexpected, and, from the point of view of rational living, eccentric and positively harmful conclusions. Some devoted readersfind in the writings of Paul something about "Whereas in Adam all die, in Christ all are made alive"; and in Christ's words the utterance toNicodemus, "Except a man be born again he shall not enter the kingdomof heaven. " They have drawn from these doctrines that all men are bornwith sin inherent in their natures and that there is no good in thesoul until "conversion" has taken place. So long as these doctrinesfind a place in the preaching and practice of churches the method ofworld salvation will be radically different from that for which thewriter is contending. 

In brief, if the words of Christ are taken at their face value when hesaid "Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is thekingdom of heaven, " we have an entirely different basis of approach toour problem than if we assume that all are lost except those upon whomthe mystical influence of "conversion" in the traditional sense hasoperated. If the assumption that children are born good is accepted, then we are brought to the question, "How may these innocents be keptso?" The answer is, By training them to control their naturalimpulses, good in themselves but likely to lead into wrong if notproperly directed; and by cultivating the natural tendencies to goodthat find expression in every normal child. They must also be broughtto an understanding of what Christ means to them as their Saviour andGuide. Then this must be supplemented as rapidly as possible by theorganization of group life, in such a way that evil influences will beeliminated. 

The saloon was not many years ago the center of corruption ofthousands--yes, millions--of the growing youth of this country. Theelimination of the saloon has made possible the development ofmillions of young people free from the particular type of sinfulnessfor which the saloon was responsible. In like manner, the eliminationof commercialized vice has rendered our cities incomparably safer forour young men and women than they once were. The substitution ofwholesome amusement for young folks in good environment for theunregulated commercialized amusements once the sole source ofrecreation has exerted a moral influence too far-reaching to beestimated. The introduction of cooperation in industry has eliminatedthe sin accompanying the fights between capital and labor in thoseindustries where it has been introduced. These illustrations show howit is possible, by continuing the improvement of social and economicconditions to create such an environment as will destroy the sourcesof individual corruption and degeneration and will make the growth ofthe child a continuous succession of stages of spiritual improvementand growth. "Conversion" can thus conceivably become a consciouspersonal acceptance of Christ and of the principles of Christianity asthe normal basis for right living without a noticeable break in thecourse or direction of life rather than the intense emotionalcataclysm that so often characterized the change in hardened sinners. 

When children good by nature are brought up in an environment physicaland spiritual that has been brought into harmony with the laws of God, then the problems of evil will be reduced to those arising out ofnatural causes over which man has not achieved control; and childrenwill be looked upon as the natural and rightful members of the churchinstead of being kept out of the church until they reach the age ofaccountability. The burden of getting out of the church should be puton the child instead of the usual responsibility of deciding to comeinto it. 

It is customary for leaders of the church to assume credit forpractically all the good things going on in the direction of humanimprovement by assuming that, though the church does not have a largemembership, comparatively speaking, its influence has inspired thegood work being done in social progress. It is well to face franklythe fact that, whatever may have been the situation in the past, atthe present it is questionable whether the church has been the sourceof even the larger portion of this inspiration. The public schools, including the higher institutions of learning, have been socializingthe future leaders in social progress so that their inspiration hasbeen drawn from a concrete knowledge of social problems and from thebelief that humanity can, by proper effort, control conditions ofliving. Then pragmatic results have furthered this belief untilinspiration has come from the achievement of results themselves ratherthan from any recognition of Christian influence in social life. TheChristian religion is doubtless responsible for those things mostworth while in modern life, but other sources of inspiration havedeveloped for which Christianity does not get the credit. 

The conclusion of the whole matter is that in the past two or threegenerations two marked divisions have grown up, the one a section orwing inside the church which has placed sole emphasis upon individualregeneration as the method of social progress; the other largelyoutside the church, with emphasis upon social reform as the method ofadvance. What is needed is a widening of the field so that the methodsof social improvement proved to be of value by social workers will beadopted as valid methods of bringing about the kingdom of God. On theother hand, social workers must give more attention to theregeneration of the individual. When each of these groups recognizesthe value of the program of the other, then it will be difficult todistinguish longer between churchmen and social workers. The twogroups will, in fact, join hands, and by unifying and coordinatingefforts will work more effectively in attaining a common aim. Thebasis, then, for the program for the church which will touch allphases of human interest in a vital way is that every human interesthas its effect on the welfare of the soul. And a program that fails totake into account every approach to the individual can at least be butpartial. 

Again, it will be necessary to revise popular impression as to justwhat is spiritual. The farmer who after having a most unusual"spiritual experience" at a revival service angrily opposed a localmovement for consolidation of schools because such a move wouldincrease taxes had an idea of religion that was strictly personal--andanti-social. The church leader who feared that the encouragement ofsocial-center activities by the church would ultimately result in acondition in which the social activities of the church wouldovershadow the "spiritual, " had in mind a distinction that must be metand understood if the church is to broaden its program without losingits identity as a religious institution. The minister who, whilepraising a community-club movement which had brought to the communitymany improvements and a better moral condition, stated that it wasinjuring the "church, " either saw a real conflict between "spiritual"and "social" welfare or had a misconception as to what is spiritual. 

The problem seems to arise out of a tendency which has crept intotheological thought to limit "spiritual" things to mystical personalexperiences. With this definition of spiritual things there seems tohave come a tendency to look upon any type of activity that was of apractical nature, such as providing for the recreational needs of thecommunity, organizing a campaign for better reading facilities forcountry people, or for better farming, as not spiritual, andconsequently be sedulously avoided by the church. Perhaps there is nothought in American rural life to-day that causes more trouble to theaggressive rural minister of the modern type than this. His young menand women want to broaden the scope of the church, but the trustees, and those whose word counts toward the selection of pastors and theirremoval, often oppose anything being done by the church which is notcustomary and accordingly, as they think, not spiritual. 

Christ said "I am come that ye might have life, and have it moreabundantly. " If this statement is accepted at its face value, then wehave the foundation for judging every activity in which the church maypartake. Does the activity tend to increase the material and spiritualwelfare of the community, so that the influences that tend to theextermination of the group are less? If so, then it conforms to thepurposes of the coming of the Christ. On the other hand, if theactivity does positively lessen the resistance of the community, reducing it ultimately to a lower scale of living characterized bythose things that are recognized as harmful, then it is not alegitimate part of church work. It also follows that if such harmfulconditions exist in the community without a protest on the part of thechurch or without some definite effort to eliminate them, then thechurch is not living up to the high calling expected of it by theMaster. The term "spiritual" is, accordingly, much more inclusive thanhas been popularly supposed, and one of the great contributions ofsocial science during the past few decades has been to bring to thepublic mind the knowledge that man and his spirituality cannot bedealt with individually but must be included in all thoserelationships that affect the soul of the individual. 

While the succeeding pages have to do with the social aspects of thespiritual life of man, it must never be forgotten that theregeneration or the quickening of the individual is at least half ofthe task in community progress. The life of the honest, upright man, whose soul has been set on fire by contact with the flame of divinelove, whose heart has been brought into harmony with the divine willof God, becomes in itself a point for the radiation of impulses forright living. And when these impulses are directed into usefulchannels through a broadened understanding of sound objectives insocial progress, then real advance is possible. 

There are many other phases of thought that act as a hindrance to theadvance of the spiritual kingdom in rural America, but theseillustrations will be sufficient to show what must be cleared awaybefore the broad program of the modern rural church can bewhole-heartedly accepted. In fairness to the writer it should be keptin mind, as stated in the definitions given at the opening, that thistext has nothing to do with those vital elements of religiousorganization and service which are intended to keep alive man's beliefin a divinity and in immortality except in so far as these beliefsaffect community relationships. The discussion of these subjectsfalls, rather, into the realm of theology. It is hoped that at leastthe principles underlying the movement toward broadening the programof the rural church have been clearly, if briefly, stated, and thatthe movement toward a larger concept of the religious forces as afactor in rural progress will continue to spread at an acceleratingspeed. 

CHAPTER III

THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH

As one travels through the rural districts of America and observesdifferences in the standards of living he is convinced that humanwelfare depends very largely on economic conditions. The broad, well-tilled fields of Iowa, surrounding large, well-built houses, bigred barns and other outbuildings, form a marked contrast with thepatches of corn in irregular fields cleared from the brush and scrubtrees on hillsides in Tennessee or Kentucky, and the hovels andrundown farm buildings which go under the name of homes for the hillpeople. Healthy, well-dressed, happy children attending good schoolsof the most modern type in the corn belt undoubtedly have theadvantage of the boys and girls in the hills who often do not learn toread and write before they are ten years old, if at all, and when theydo go to school must be taught by poorly trained teachers for shortterms, ending before the holidays, and in one-room schools oftenattended by nearly a hundred children. Religious service andleadership in the one section under the direction of college andtheological seminary men can hardly be put in the same class with thehighly emotional expression of religious impulses of the mountainsection led by once-a-month absentee pastors with no education, or, worse still, by wandering so-called evangelists of doubtful morality. One could go through the whole list of contrasts between theeconomically well-favored sections of the country and the less favoredagricultural sections and in no way would the advantage be on the sideof the latter. 

Efficient social and religious institutions cannot be built on pooreconomic foundations. So long as a section of the country cannotafford to pay more than five hundred dollars per year for teachers orpreachers, it cannot hope to have the leadership possible to anothersection where ministers to rural people can easily secure eighteenhundred to three thousand dollars per year. Good buildings cannot beerected, nor can any of the material comforts which go to make up thefoundation of civilized life be enjoyed. 

For the sake of the church, as well as the people, the church mustattend to the economic foundations of rural life. It is unfortunatefor many parts of the United States that the ministry has become soseparated from real life by the mystical trend in religion that it hasrendered practically no service in laying the foundations for thecontinuance of the communities themselves. 

The shift of population from rural to urban centers which the censusrecords show has continued, if anything, at an accelerated speed, indicates the seriousness of the problem. A part of the shift isdoubtless due to improvements made in methods of production. So far asthis is the cause there is no reason to be disturbed over thetendency, as it is useless to try to keep young men and women in anoccupation that does not offer opportunity for earning a living. Partof the shift may be due to the living conditions in the country. Thisis but an indication of the task of the church on the social side andcan be changed as economic welfare permits. But the fact that ruralpopulation has been leaving the farms and that agricultural landshave been abandoned by thousands of acres, indicates that urbanopportunities have far outbid the rural in financial returns, varietyof openings, and in working conditions. The farmer's income must beincreased as compared with other groups before there can be awell-balanced relatively stable American life. Until this is achievedthose who are trying to build up rural institutions as strong as thosein urban centers will be engaged in a hopeless task. 

Eminent, conscientious Christian gentlemen, leaders in religiousthought, and occasionally country ministers, have accused those whomaintain that the church should have a vital active interest inimproving economic welfare of trying to make hog-cholera experts outof preachers, thus taking them away from their real tasks. It isbelieved that knowledge of hog cholera and of the agencies that canhelp the farmer to prevent it will not injure the standing of anyrural minister. It is maintained with reference to care for economicwelfare that it is the business of the church to encourage economicimprovement so far as possible (1) by giving advice and assisting indemonstration work when no other organized agency is in a position torender this service, and (2) by opening the way to other organizedagencies to perform this service. This is the prime business of theagricultural colleges through their extension service. But it has beenthe experience of agricultural colleges that they have the greatestdifficulty in establishing relationships in those agriculturalsections where their service is needed the most. The minister of thegospel, being one of the two or three paid leaders in a localcommunity, enjoying a measure of the confidence of the people, andhaving a large part of his time available for pastoral duties, has theopportunity and the obligation to tactfully bring to the community theassistance of these other agencies now provided by the State. When hehas done this he can rest assured that he has accomplished somethingthat will become the foundation for a far higher, more satisfyingrural life. 

Although ultimately the problem of production in agriculture willprobably be a most serious one, because of influences such assoil-mining, deforestation, and depletion of soil through erosion, the immediate problems are, rather, the adjustment of production todemand so that the farmer will be on a more equitable income basiswith other elements in the population. When there is newspaper talk ofagain burning corn for fuel, when wool is a drug on the market, andwhen farmers' organizations are urging the decrease in the acreage ofcotton, it is idle to talk of agricultural welfare being synonymouswith ability to increase crop acreage or production per acre. Agricultural colleges and other State agencies have devoted the largepart of their efforts to study of problems of production. The resultsof their services to date have been to so improve production as tohasten the population movement from the farms to the cities. Thistendency to aid production to the point of exceeding equitable demandhas been of economic value to the great centers but it has notencouraged the continuance on the farm of a large population, nor hasit enabled the farmer to compete with the townsman in maintaining asatisfactory standard of living. It would seem that the producingability of the farmer has been his misfortune, and that his friendswho have taught him to produce more have been his worst enemies. 

When a manufacturing plant closes down because it cannot sell itsgoods at a given price, or when a retailer refuses to handle goodsbelow a price believed by many to be excessive, little is said. Butwhen the farmer tries to adjust his production to demand by limitingproduction there is widespread criticism of his conduct. There shouldbe continuance of efforts to retain the fertility of the soil, toimprove methods of cultivation, and to prevent destruction of wideareas through erosion. The patrimony of the nation must be preservedthrough wise policies of reforestation and reclamation of waste lands. But the great immediate task is that of adjusting production to demandso that the rural population may advance in material welfare alongwith other groups. In a competitive organization of industry thefarmers success is gauged by his net income rather than by the numberof bushels of corn or bales of cotton he produces. 

A sinister tendency in the higher-priced general agricultural sectionsis that of increase in the number of farms operated by farm tenants. Certain writers have attempted to prove that this tendency is takentoo seriously. But the evidence of the United States Census fromdecade to decade indicates that the danger is real; and that thesooner a policy of control is adopted the better. 

The handicaps to agriculture through this increase are manifold. In alarge proportion of cases, as shown by studies in typical areas, thelandowner does not live on a neighboring farm, nor is he a retiredparent or other relative of the tenant farmer. He lives in theneighboring city. Consequently, the rental from the farm goes to helpbuild up the material welfare of the urban center. The contributionsof the absentee landlord to church work go to supplement the salary ofa city pastor on a scale far beyond the competing ability of the ruralchurch where his land is located. His contributions to benevolencesare paid for out of the income from his four-hundred-acre farm but arecredited to the city church of which he is a member instead of to therural church in the community where his land is located. Because ofthe transient nature of his residence the tenant, who remains on thefarm on the average less than two years, has but little permanentinterest in the life of the community and lacks the stability tobecome a valuable factor in building up strong rural institutions. Thelandlord, as previously suggested, has been known to oppose measuresfor consolidation of rural schools because such consolidation mightincrease taxes, and has been known to threaten tenants withdispossession if they should vote for consolidation. The constantmoving of the tenant has handicapped the children in getting a goodcommon-school education because of the breaks in their trainingresulting from this constant changing of residence. 

The tenant house, with all its implications of class-distinction, hascome to the country side in increasing numbers. And slowly butgradually a landed aristocracy is growing up in rural America asmarked as the landed aristocracy based on the purchase of a few acresof Manhattan Island several generations ago. And with the tenant hascome the farm laborer, alien to the community, transient, and as mucha member of the proletariat as if he were working in a great factoryin the city. The I. W. W. Movement in the wheat fields and lumbercamps of the Northwest is but the beginning of the wage-earningconsciousness as it spreads out from urban centers. 

The short term of tenant operation is lowering the standards ofagriculture. Instead of farming on a long-time schedule, expectingreturns on a system of husbandry reaching through the years, thetenant is inclined to produce such crops as can be disposed of at theclose of the year, regardless of the effect of such a form ofagriculture upon the fertility of the soil. Tenant contracts as yetoffer little inducement for the tenant to remain permanently on agiven farm or to keep up needed improvements. 

The tenant for the time being may even make larger profits as a tenantthan as an owner. But the tendency everywhere for rents to rise, andthe consequent increase in the value of the land, will ultimatelybring the tenant to the position of securing from his labor on thefarm an income not much in excess of what he would receive fromworking as a day laborer. The result in the long run will be that thebest agricultural sections of the country will be occupied by apopulation lower in ability than in a landowning section andconstantly kept down by poverty. This prediction may be deemedfanciful by some, but the writer believes that it is worthy of themost careful consideration and study. 

Since the organization of the great combinations in the oil and sugarindustries during the 70's and 80's of the past century the movementtoward close industrial organization has proceeded with littleinterruption. Legislation has been passed designed to break upindustrial combinations and from time to time various industries havebeen disintegrated. But the layman has not been able to discover thatsuch disintegrations by court order have had any marked influence onthe progress of the fundamental tendencies toward industrialconsolidation. The farmers have been the last to get into theorganization field on any extensive scale. The Grange and the Farmers'Alliance, and later the Farmers' Union, have made attempts and, although many failures are recorded, their work paved the way for afar larger movement toward farm organization now under way. Thetendency toward close organization of industrial groups may also beseen in the labor movement, the American Federation of Labor and theIndustrial Workers of the World in this country, and the syndicalistmovement in Europe; and in the organization of employers' associationsand the National Chamber of Commerce on the part of business men. Whatever may be thought of the unfortunate phases of this movementtoward closely organized group consciousness, however Bolshevistic itmay be said to be, it must be recognized that class consciousness hascome to stay. The old-type citizen who voted as a Republican or aDemocrat and as an individual regardless of his industrialaffiliations is passing away, and to-day the business men as a class, the wage-earners as a class, the farmers as a class, approach theleaders of both traditional parties with their ultimatums as to whatthey will do if certain policies are not recorded in their respectiveplatforms. And the best-organized groups, those that can swing themost votes or can produce the largest financial inducements, are theones that get most consideration. This may be Bolshevism, but if itis, it is a fact in American life, and we may as well adjust ourselvesto handling the situation wisely instead of lamenting the passing ofthe system of individual representation which was the basis on whichAmerican government was founded. 

The farmer cannot be accused of leadership in this change in theAmerican State. Business men and wage-earners began it, and the farmerhas been forced to follow their example. The old type individualism ofthe landowning-operating farmer has long handicapped the farmer in hisrelations with other industrial groups. And it is with many mistakesand setbacks that he is now endeavoring to follow the example so ablyset by the multimillionaires of the other groups. Better organization, not for exploitation but for protection and maintenance of a safebalance of influence in economic affairs, is fully justified, and theminister of the gospel is serving the farmer best when he encouragesright and efficient organization. 

The American Farm Bureau Federation, begun a few years ago through theencouragement of county agricultural agents in order to give them apoint of contact with groups of farmers and to give local support ofthe county agent's work, has now taken into its own hands the task offarmer organization. And now, with resources far beyond what couldhave been dreamed of a few years ago, this organization is embarkingon programs of farmers' business organization almost too staggering intheir size to be comprehended. If rightly managed, and if farmers canprove loyal to their own organization, this movement is destined tosolve many of the problems of intergroup relationships confronting thefarmers during the past few decades. 

As a part of the modern farmer organization movement, and holdingwithin itself the largest promise of social values, is theencouragement of cooperation. Since the days in 1844, when a littlegroup of wage-earners in England, out of work and gathered round afire in a tavern, decided to go into business for themselves on abasis of one-man one vote, and distribution of profits on businessdone with the concern instead of stock held, the movement hascontinued to spread all over the world until to-day it holds a veryimportant place in many lines of industry in leading countries. 

In this country cooperation has been an agricultural rather than anurban development, primarily because economic conditions have made itmore necessary in agriculture than elsewhere. Farmers' elevators, live-stock shipping associations, insurance companies, fruit-andproduce-marketing organizations have all gained a sound footing andeach year shows an increase in their numbers. The movement has beenconsistently fought by competitive profit-seeking interests butwithout avail further than to delay the movement. In the early daysdiscrimination in furnishing cars, underbidding, misrepresentation, adverse legislation all had to be overcome, in addition to the factthat ignorance of business principles often led to failure. Even now, within the past five years, agricultural colleges have been preventedfrom adding advisers on cooperative organization to their extensionstaffs, retail merchants' associations have prevented cooperativeorganization legislation, and insidious attempts have been made toprevent popular education with reference to the movement. 

The cooperative movement offers the greatest opportunity for thecountry minister for definite service in the farmers' economicprogress. The principle underlying the movement is "Each for all, andall for each. " Instead of the capitalist and laborer being in oppositecamps under the necessity for bargaining, and each doing as little aspossible and getting as much as possible for their respective sharesof the product of the industry, the cooperative movement brings theminto harmony for production of goods, in the belief that all are toshare fairly in what is produced. The storekeeper and the buyer nolonger haggle over the price because both will share in the returns ofthe business done. The cooperative movement bids fair to solve many ofthe problems of open and closed shop, collective bargaining, labororganization, and of relations between producer and consumer. Itssteady growth is bringing about industrial peace and since itrepresents the true spirit of Christianity the minister is justifiedin encouraging its development wherever he may be. 

What is the challenge to the church of the economic conditions andtendencies outlined above? First and foremost, the minister must inseason and out of season preach honesty in business relations. One ofthe most important discoveries in the study of problems of thefarmer's business relations is that his success or failure dependslargely upon the moral principles of the farmer as a group. The farmerwho puts poor apples or potatoes in the middle of the barrel, who usesfalse weights and measures, who fails to produce the best of which heis capable, lowers the price of all farm products. The dealer who mustthrow out a certain proportion of bad eggs in his miscellaneouspurchases makes the buying price low enough to protect himself. Theconsumer's demand is gauged very largely by the quality or reliabilityof the goods he purchases. So dishonesty in farm business hurts thefarmer more than it does anyone else. The minister can render aservice when he imbues his people with the highest ideals of businessmorality. 

Moreover, he can help in eliminating the loss to the farmer throughattempted sale of ungraded, miscellaneous products by encouragingstandardization and guarantee of quality. This requires organization;and while it should be the pastor's aim to encourage the formation ofagencies independent of the church to attend to this and to establishcontacts between his community and State and independent organizationsthat will assist in this work he should not hesitate so far as histime will permit to organize such standardization work andorganization for guaranteeing products until other agencies can takethe work over. His obligation as community leader extends to theencouragement of every phase of life that makes the country morelivable in the way demanded at the particular stage of development inwhich he finds the community. 

As stated before, his primary task in encouraging production is nowthat of establishing contacts with State agencies and encouraging thesupport of their work. In some sections of the country, as among thecolored people, for example, a country preacher might well be atrained farmer capable of doing in a local community what a countyagent tries to do on a larger scale. But the State has now progressedin most sections to the point where, if opportunity is offered, it canassist in this work and relieve the pastor for other duties. 

The rural pastor should be a leader in community economicorganization. It is accepted now that economic organizations alongcooperative lines should be independent of either educational, religious, or social groups. After such organizations are wellestablished the pastor has met in this respect the challenge to thechurch and to the pastor as community leader. 

The church as a whole should have some form of organization whereby itcan register its influence in favor of State legislation making safethe development of the cooperative movement, the better organizationof marketing, the proper control of land ownership, taxation, andother business relations affecting the farmer. Many of these problemscannot be solved by a minister working alone in a local community. Hecan preach honesty, stability, loyalty to community organization withall the fervor and liberty of a prophet, but so long as the tenantcontract remains an inducement to transient tenant population; solong as class distinctions continue to become more marked; so long asdiscontent over high rents, high prices of land, and other conditionscontinues, he will not get far toward the establishing of the kingdomof heaven in agricultural life. These problems must be attacked by thechurch as a whole as the obligation of the general church to theminister who is on the firing line of the great world-wide strugglefor the establishment of industrial peace. 

One or two concrete illustrations will show the necessity of generalchurch action on these matters if the rural church is to be saved fromconditions now acute in the large centers. Wage-earners in the largecenters who have no assurance of permanence of jobs are not inclinedto give liberally toward providing adequate building and equipment forreligious services. No wage-earner can be expected to give hundreds ofdollars out of his income toward building a church when the next monthmay find him compelled to move to some distant city. In like manner itis difficult in large centers to get wage-earners even to maintain achurch adequately. Consequently the church is to-day spendingmillions of dollars to provide church buildings for wage-earners inlarge cities. Yet it does not have any program for bringing about wagereturns, permanency of employment, or interest in business that wouldmake it possible or desirable for the wage-earner to finance his ownchurch building. Neither does the church have a plan whereby theindustries of a city make any adequate contribution to the housing ofreligious institutions for those connected with the industry. Althoughthe wealth of America is centered in the great cities, the provisionfor religious service to city people is being made by people living insmall towns and in the open country. 

As in the city, so in the open country. It has become necessary forthe general church to provide even pastoral maintenance in certainsections where land is worth three hundred dollars per acre. Thetransient tenant has no abiding interest in the community because heexpects to move at the end of the year. This condition is graduallybecoming worse; and unless the general church undertakes the solutionof problems affecting the local church but over which the localchurch has no control, the future will bring either a decline inreligious influence in rural sections or a continuous burden onnational boards that should and would under proper conditions be caredfor by local communities. 

That the church can help in improving economic conditions to theadvantage of all rural life has already been abundantly demonstrated. On the Brookhaven District, Mississippi Conference, MethodistEpiscopal Church, the missionary board of that denomination made acontribution of three hundred dollars toward the support for thesummer of a man and woman engaged in organizing community clubs. Twenty-one clubs were organized, and as a result of their efforts overfifty thousand pounds of fruit and truck were saved during the periodof the war when food conservation was a necessity. As a result of thiscontribution, at last reports there were three colored countyagricultural agents employed in counties of that district, allsupported by the State, and no further contribution of missionaryfunds to continue the work was necessary. For years Bishop Thirkield, of the New Orleans area of the Methodist Episcopal Church, had beenencouraging keeping of gardens by the pastors and land ownership amongcolored people. It is impossible to estimate accurately the results ofhis broad program, but one district superintendent reported for hisown official boards that while at the opening of the year 25 per centof his official board members on the district were in debt, at theclose of the year not one of them was in debt. They had been taughthow to save money and to pay their debts, and the members of thechurches were encouraged to follow their example. 

On a little charge in southeastern Ohio the pastor began to preachgood roads. Before the end of the first year a township organizationhad been formed and a vote taken providing for the macadamizing ofevery road in the township. 

Four years ago the missionary board of the Methodist Episcopal Churchmade a contribution of four hundred dollars toward the support of apastor in a village in New York. He organized a community club, led insecuring a community house, installed moving pictures, and providedfor the recreational life of the community. To-day no contribution isbeing made by the Board for this work. Yet the membership of the clubhas increased from fifty-nine to two hundred and twenty-five. It hasbeen responsible for the establishment of a national bank which hadone hundred and seventy thousand dollars deposits in the first sixmonths; it paved over five hundred feet of street; it provided for theconsolidation of four rural schools with the village school. And planswere under way for opening a ferry across the Hudson that had not beenrun for thirty years and for the establishment of an importantmanufacturing plant. Thus a little stimulation has resulted ineconomic development that must result in better financial support ofall community activities. 

In conclusion it may be said that it is the business of the pastor toconcern himself with all economic problems that affect the welfare ofhis people. The type of problem will vary with the community and itsstage of development. As rapidly as possible the church should turnover to private or State agencies the task of economic development. But the church should encourage in every way every movement that isdestined to bring about a higher stage of economic welfare; and thepastor cannot relinquish his obligations in this respect until he hassucceeded in establishing other agencies that can effectively performthis task. His duty, then, is to encourage this form of development byeducating the people as to its value and by giving it his moralsupport. 

CHAPTER IV

THE SOCIAL CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH

The task of the minister is primarily to deal with man, either in hisown personal life, his relations to his Maker, or to his fellow-man. Unlike the farmer, whose interest lies in the control of animal orplant growth, or the mechanic, who controls and molds the forces andconditions of inanimate nature, the minister has to do with that mostdelicate and elusive subject of all--the human soul. His business isto tune the individual soul instrument so that it will harmonize withthe musical vibrations of the Infinite Will; and to bring about such arelationship between the different instruments in his little groupthat all together will produce a heavenly harmony. 

The Christian religion, except when it has degenerated into formalPharisaism, has been an ethical religion; and the ethical conduct ofthe individual has been a criterion of the depth of his religiousexperience. Ethics have primarily to do with the relation of man toman, so that the conclusion is logical that the church is vitallyinterested in the ethical problems of humanity and in anything thattends to lower or raise the moral standards of the individual or thecommunity. 

There is no other agency more vitally interested in moral problemsthan is the church. Business organizations may be interested, buttheir efforts have apparently not been to conserve moral standards, even in business. The school is interested, but its emphasis has beenplaced more on mental development without regard to moralimplications, or on utilitarian objectives. The church has beenpreaching right living, and other objectives have been incidental. Since this is true the thesis is advanced as the basis for thischapter that it is the business of the church to provide building, equipment, and leadership for conserving the moral life of thecommunity. Since the moral welfare of any community finds itsexpression largely in its social and recreational activities, suchprovision involves providing for the social and recreationalinterests. This is a function which is not to be encouraged and thenturned over to other agencies, but is to be retained by the churchitself as its legitimate service. 

In view of the fact that the efforts of various agencies have not beenin entire harmony with this point of view it deserves furtherconsideration. For many years it has been argued that the schoolhouseshould be so built that it could be made the community center for alltypes of activities. Without intending to limit the public schools inany laudable endeavor to enrich rural life it should be noted:

1. That so far as villages and open country schools are concerned itis not believed that the agitation for the wider use of the schoolplant has yet resulted in any marked nation-wide response to suchagitation further than to provide room for physical training ofupper-class students. 

2. In general, the schoolhouse is so located that it is not suited forcommunity service. It is usually located on the outskirts of thevillage, where plenty of ground may be had for outdoor school games. When people gather for social life and leisure they do not go awayfrom the lights of the village street but move toward them. Thewell-lighted poolroom near the village store will attract more boysthan the building on the village edge that must be reached through thedark. Villagers have their downtown as well as do the great urbancenters. 

3. The school teachers and principal are busy five days in the week inthe classroom. The schools cannot assume charge of community centeractivities without danger either of overworking the teachers or ofhaving to hire special assistance for this service. Many villagescannot afford to hire special workers for this purpose alone. 

4. It has been argued that the school is the democratic institutionsince it is tax-supported, and thus every one may go there as a right. To this it may be replied that, as with the church, only thosecontribute who have resources from which to contribute. The onlydifference is that in the public school the majority decide that allthose who are able must contribute to the support of publicinstitutions, thus it falls short of complete democracy, which must, in the last analysis, be a purely voluntary association. In thechurch the only force compelling contribution is personal desire andpublic opinion. Thus it is as democratic, if not more so, than theschool. 

5. On the other hand, a large part of the time of the country ministeris available for pastoral service. The establishment of communityservice activities under the auspices of the church bids fair torescue pastoral calling and service from a routine of personalvisitation by giving it a definite community service objective. Again, in the beginnings in the medium-sized and larger villages and probablycontinuously in the smaller places the pastor is the only salariedservant of the community with free time during the week for theorganization and direction of community service. 

6. The church building and parish house can be located conveniently atthe center of the village, thus obviating the objection to the schoolbuilding for this purpose. 

7. True religion is a loyal supporter of everything that is safe insocial and recreational life. It is subject to the control of thecommunity in the same way as the school; excessive puritanism need notbe feared under its auspices more than under the auspices of otheragencies. 

The usual argument against serious consideration of the church as thecenter of community life is that religious agencies are so divided upby dogmatism that it is impossible for any one religious organizationto assume leadership in this respect without incurring the oppositionof other agencies. While this is true in many cases, it should beremembered that dogmatism does not have the influence in more highlydeveloped communities that it once had. Moreover, considerableprogress has already been made toward intergroup agreements, includingthe two great divisions of the Christian Church giving responsibilityfor community leadership to one denomination or another. In caseswhere local adjustments have not been made it may be necessary todepend on other agencies to conserve the social and recreational life. In these cases the church loses its rightful heritage. 

8. The popular response to projects of building community churches andparish houses in small communities leads to the belief that thegeneral public accepts as the correct one the principle that thechurch should provide these facilities. The Methodist Episcopaldenomination alone, through the aid of its Church Extension Board, aided in 1920 in building or remodeling over four hundred church andparish houses equipped to provide for all or a part of a communityservice program; it is not known how many more made such advanceswithout outside aid. The question of whether the church or some otheragency than either the church or the school should provide communityservice facilities may be answered in much the same way. In someStates local communities may levy a tax for the building andmaintenance of community buildings. Where this is possible there seemsto be no serious objection to such a course. But a community buildingwithout adequate supervision is likely to become a center of moraldeterioration. On the other hand, such a public building can belocated more strategically than can a schoolhouse. The objection tostock-company-owned community houses is much more serious. These arelikely to become mere pleasure resorts, often of a very questionablenature. 

The judgment of the American people seems to be rapidly determiningthat the safest plan is to look to the religious agencies forconserving the social and recreational life; and this judgment is inharmony with the thesis advanced at the opening of this chapter. 

If the principle is accepted that it is the business of the church toconserve the social life of the community, then it is next in order toconsider some of the problems of social life that are a challenge tothe church at the present time. 

The social organization of this country in its smaller communities asin the larger centers, such as it is, is the product of undirecteduncoordinated efforts of special interest groups. A generalclassification of the types of rural organizations may be made, first, into political, including the incorporated village, towns, townships, counties, and political parties; economic, including specialassociations around specific interests such as farm bureaus, stockbreeders' associations, potato-growers' associations, etc. , and theincreasing number of cooperative organizations, such as farmers'elevators, fruit-marketing organizations, live-stock, shippingassociations; social, including the Grange, the various types offarmers' clubs for men and women that perform much the same functionas the Grange, and the more or less permanent groupings for purelyrecreational purposes, such as dancing parties, card parties, etc. ;and the conventional religious organizations as represented by thedenominations and their many subsidiary groups for special purposes. 

As was pointed out in the chapter on definitions, each of thesevarious groups has a customary center for coming together. But owingto the fact that each interest has grown largely without reference tothe others, their centers of activity have been determined largely byconditions of local convenience. Now, these centers may have been welladapted to the times when they were established, but as time haspassed shifts of population have come, road improvements have beenmade, and new interests developed so that the traditional centers notonly tend to lessen community solidarity but also tend to prevent itsaccomplishment. One of the first tasks of the community leader is tomake a study of his proposed field of activity for the purpose ofdetermining what are the present centers of group interests, whatchanges have taken place in rural life conditions which makereorganization and readjustment of centers desirable, and then, inconsultation with representatives of the community, to organize acommunity plan toward ward which the entire community may work. Cityplanning has long been an accepted principle for service in the moreprogressive larger centers. The time has come when plans for the mostefficient organization of village and open country communities shouldbe made. It is interesting to note that already in many sections ofthe United States the movement toward community planning has madeconsiderable progress. It is now generally recognized that with rareexceptions the village rather than an open country point is the normalbasis for such a plan. In accordance with this, movements are nowunder way to displace the traditional township boundaries created aspolitical limits for government and to replace them by boundariesconforming as closely as possible with those limits that carefulinvestigation indicates are now and probably will continue to be themost representative of what the future limits of rural communitieswill be. In like manner educational work is being reorganized toinclude the community territory instead of the political areasinherited from the methods of survey adopted under the ordinance of1787. As this movement continues, doubtless farm bureaus, and evenreligious agencies, will try to adapt themselves as far as possible tothe program of other agencies. 

The breakdown of social life in the open country and the veryquestionable forms it often takes in the villages has long been thenightmare of the minister of the gospel who stands for a high ethicalplane of social life. The church, with its Ladies' Aid, its youngpeople's societies, its occasional men's clubs, fails to reach morethan a very limited number of those living in the open country or inthe village. The lack of a definite, well-organized social programresults in all kinds of association often anti-social and lowering ofthe moral fiber of the entire group. It is unnecessary to go into thesordid details of moral conditions existing among both young and oldin many village communities. The pastor with a program of absenteeservice consisting of an occasional sermon and holding a Sunday schoolfinds his efforts continually nullified by more powerful social andrecreational impulses expressing themselves in ways recognized asmorally deteriorating. When a plan for ultimate centralization ofwholesome and legitimate community interest has been made it is theminister's task to organize a plan for bringing to the community anabundance of wholesome recreational life. The traditional plan hasbeen to preach against dancing and card playing. Such preaching hasmore often alienated the young people from the church than it hasattracted them to religious life. The modern plan is to overcome evilwith good; that is, to provide such a program of unquestionedrecreation that the evil will die of itself. 

That this actually happens has been demonstrated over and over again. The Rev. Matthew B. McNutt, on arriving at Du Page, Illinois, found alarge building near the church turned into a dancing center. Withoutsaying a word against dancing he began to organize his young peoplefor singing. In a short time the dancing mania had ceased and did notreturn in the twelve years of his service on that charge. The Rev. L. P. Fagan found dancing all the rage when he went to a little town inColorado. He began to develop a wholesome program of recreationallife, and before long dancing had ceased and had not returned twoyears after he had left the charge. At a little town in New YorkState, the young men of the town were accustomed to gather at the firehouse and indulge in cards with more than occasional playing formoney. A recreation hall opened in the village broke up thecard-playing and brought the young men into something more wholesomeand which they preferred. A village in Southwestern Ohio had a gang of"Roughnecks, " as they were called, who were accustomed to loaf in thepoolrooms and find their amusement in neighboring cities. A room inthe upstairs of the town hall was opened up and fitted for basketball. Leadership for clubs was provided by college students training forcommunity service. The result was that this group of young men, ofexceptionally good native qualities but spoiling morally for want ofadequate provision for recreational life, came to the community centerand for the time being avoided the lower forms of social andrecreational activity. 

These illustrations prove three things: first, the need of suchequipment; second, the fact that young people prefer and choose thebetter when it is provided for them; and, third, that the church cansolve many of its most serious problems most readily by attacking thesource of corruption of the morals of young people through caring forrecreational interests. The minister who neglects this powerful forcein attempting to build a Christian civilization is failing to takeadvantage of one of the greatest instruments God has placed in hishands. Yet it is the sad fact that in too many instances ministers arefailing to take advantage of the forces at hand, and that even thosewho have caught the vision of the possibilities of these other forcesare not trained to use them safely. 

The number of village communities that have organized social andrecreational life is still so small that when such movements arediscovered they receive widespread comment in the public press. Onecan drop into almost any village in America and make inquiries as towhat is being done for conserving the recreational life by the churchor any other community agency, and the answer will be that nothing isdone either in providing leadership or buildings and equipment. Muchgood work has been done for specific groups by the ChristianAssociations, and now the American Playground Association, the RedCross, and other organizations are applying themselves to the task ofbringing about a better condition in smaller communities. But the workaccomplished by all of them is still, as compared with the task inhand, scarcely more than a beginning. The church with a paid communityleader in each community offers the solution for most rapid andpermanent progress; and the outlook for rapid development underreligious auspices is most hopeful. 

CHAPTER V

BUILDING FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

The thesis that the church should provide building and equipment forconservation of the social and recreational life of the churchintroduces standards and objectives that do not find expression in thegreat majority of church buildings now erected, nor even in themajority of plans sent out by religious agencies or architecturalconcerns bidding for contracts for church planning and building. 

The traditional village and open country church was a one-roomstructure erected for the sole purpose of providing a place forworship. This amply met the needs of a pioneer time when socialactivities were largely carried on in the homes. In a very largenumber of communities this is still the only type of church buildingto be found. As the idea of providing for Sunday school began toprevail gradually side rooms were added to provide for extra Sundayschool classes. In the course of time the needs of a wider program forthe church began to be recognized, and then basements were added withan occasional kitchen. Thus the entertainments for adults and of theyoung people old enough to enjoy banquets and like amusement wereprovided for. But the needs of the young people under sixteen years ofage and many other community needs were still uncared for. 

The new program demands a building or buildings that will provide forthe threefold program of worship, religious education, and communityservice. In view of the lack of standards for rural church building, the present discussion is offered in the hope that it may contain somepractical suggestions in terms of the program demanded of the modernopen country and village church. 

It is believed that the type of building suitable for an open countrycommunity will be somewhat different from that needed in a villagecenter. The number of rooms will be less. Usually, two main rooms, onefor worship and the other for recreational purposes, with such siderooms for kitchen and special clubs and classes as the community canafford, will be sufficient. The recreation room should have stage, lantern slide, and moving picture equipment, and a very simpleprovision for games. Problems of plumbing and heating must be workedout in accordance with local conditions. 

In the larger centers, in addition to the facilities mentioned above, other rooms may be added as a careful study of village equipment andneeds, present and probable future, indicate. Rooms for library, committees, clubs, offices, shower baths, lockers, art center, andsimilar interests should be provided for if other agencies have notdone so. 

In building for community service the community should not make themistake of economizing because it imagines it cannot afford the best. No community should build less than the best. If it does so, ithandicaps the community for a generation or more; and this is tooserious a matter to be lightly permitted. At the present timereligious organizations have national agencies which are serving to anever larger degree as a reserve resource for the purpose of aidinglocal groups to build adequately. Thus the general organization aidseach year the limited number of local groups that find it necessary torebuild and renders unnecessary the maintenance of a replacement fundby the local church for an indefinite period. 

If it is impossible to build an entire building at one time it isbetter to build by units, so that in the course of time a structure ofwhich the community may be proud will be completed. It should beremembered that a community's solidarity and spirit are gauged largelyby the type of buildings it erects, and the church and communitybuilding, representing as it does the deepest interests of man, shouldbe a living monument to community loyalty. Such a building becomes alasting inspiration to both old and young, pointing the way to thehighest and best in human life. 

The building should be strategically located. As has been suggested, people like to come to the center of the village for their social andrecreational life. The owner of a poolroom or a picture show thatwould place his building a half mile in the country would not have alarge and enthusiastic patronage. The main street, near the center ofthe village, is the place to be selected for the principal building ofthe city, the community center. 

Sometimes a well-meaning citizen will offer to a church a plot of landfar out on the edge of a village free of charge, provided the churchwill accept it for the erection of the new structure. Sometimes theBoard of Trustees, thinking they will save a few hundred dollars, gratefully accept the gift, thus violating the principle expressed inthe preceding paragraph. When a business man plans to put up anexpensive building he does not seek the cheapest land but the bestlocation regardless of the cost of the land. For illustration, a loton the edge of a village may cost but five hundred dollars, while alot in the center of the village may cost five thousand dollars. Ifthe proposed building to be erected is to cost fifty thousand dollars, even the larger land cost is but ten per cent of the total; and thevalue of the building to the community after erection on the morevaluable lot far more than justifies the extra expenditure. 

Sometimes architects are inclined to sacrifice utility to beauty. Theyare inclined to make the recreation room too short because a properlength would not harmonize with other lines in the building. The goodarchitect accepts the beautification of a useful building as achallenge and does not sacrifice utility because a useful structuredoes not embody some feature of Gothic or Old English parish churcharchitecture. This tendency should be carefully guarded against. 

Details as to the slope of ground best adapted to church building, heating, plumbing, and other features can best be learned byconsultation with a trained architect. Care should be taken to seethat the recreation room is sufficiently large to carry on the simplergames, such as basketball, when the community so desires. The limitsrecommended are fourteen feet high by forty feet wide by sixty feetlong. Many communities, however, are getting along with roomsconsiderably shorter and narrower than this. The ceiling should besupported by steel beams instead of posts. In most sections of thecountry it is recommended that recreation rooms be erected on the samelevel as the church instead of in the basement, as has been thepractice. 

In many sections of the country there is a distinct objection tohaving the community service features and the house of worship underthe same roof. It is thought that the light-heartedness of play timetends to lessen the sacredness of the house of worship and to lessenrespect for religious service. While this attitude is largely a matterof custom, and while people who have caught the vision of God canworship him any place, it is believed that wherever possibleconsideration should be given to this sentiment and the communityservice features of the church should be housed in a separate buildinglocated adjacent to the church or attached to it by some smaller clubroom. The two should not be located in widely separate parts of thevillage, as the connection between the two may be lost and the serviceof the church to the community in this way not recognized. Both houseof worship and community or parish house should be located near thecenter of the village. 

In villages where there is room for several houses of worship thequestion of community service is much more difficult. The YoungMen's Christian Associations and the Young Women's Christian Associationshave made partial provision in some communities on an interdenominationalbasis. But in the ordinary small town there is not room for a buildingfor each of these organizations. The rural Christian Associations havebeen proceeding on the policy of using such buildings as are nowavailable, but it is evident that in the vast majority of smallcommunities, present buildings can at best be but a makeshift forcomplete community service. It is hoped that the time will come whenthe several denominations will find some way of pooling their financialresources so that as religious organizations they can provide a commonbuilding for community service. The writer knows of no village in Americawhere this has yet been done. One village in New York State, Milton-on-the-Hudson, has a community club under the direction of aBoard of Trustees of ten members, two from each of the five denominationsrepresented in the village, the Catholic church included. This club hasbeen very successful in operating a community house and developing acommunity program. It has been suggested that where property rights areinvolved one denomination might make its contribution by providingand maintaining the building, while the other denominations mightcontribute the equivalent of interest on building investment, depreciationand maintenance of building to cost of operation of the plant. It isfeared, however, that in the course of time, the original cost ofbuilding to one denomination would be forgotten and the communitywould demand that all groups contribute to operating expensesaccording to their membership or some other agreed upon distributionof maintenance expense. This should be the ultimate method ofmaintenance. 

In a number of communities one denomination has provided the buildingand the operating force, while other denominations have cooperated byacting on the Board of Control and contributing what they could to themaintenance cost. Such denominational leadership almost invariablyleads in the beginning to interdenominational jealousy and antagonism, but in some cases the community has accepted the situation and allhave cooperated, it being understood that such provision for communitypurposes is not for the purpose of proselyting. Sunday school andchurch membership is encouraged in the denominations from which theyoung people come, and thus a contribution by one denomination hasstrengthened the work of all the churches. Some form of cooperationagreed upon for a common development is preferable and independentaction by one denomination should be undertaken only when thedifferent groups concerned are not in a position either by traditionor financial ability to cooperate in a common enterprise. 

The movement now is very strong in the direction of provision ofbuilding and equipment for community service by the church. May thechurch not fail in doing justice to its high obligation in the type ofstructure it may erect!

CHAPTER VI

THE CHURCH AND RURAL PUBLIC THOUGHT

Many city pastors, and some rural ones too, lament the fact thatpeople do not come to listen to them preach. This condition is inmarked contrast to the good old New England days, when the wholeneighborhood would turn out and listen to sermons four hours long. Itis a question whether such intellectual giants as Jonathan Edwardsbuilt up such congregations or whether such congregations brought outthe best in Jonathan Edwards. 

People to-day go to church for a variety of reasons. But the dominantmotives that should prevail are those of worship and for instruction. All Christians should attend religious services for worship regardlessof the quality of the sermon or the personal attitude of the peopletoward the minister. The message from the pulpit should be such thatit too would attract for its own sake. It is the exceptional cityminister that can fill the pews from week to week and from year toyear because of the type of message given. The daily papers and themany other agencies for discussion of live topics have become sonumerous that the pulpit has lost much of its original importance asan agency for instruction. But in the village and the open country thepulpit still has a large field for service in this respect and thusbecomes an especial challenge to the one who wants to develop as aleader of thought. The village minister has an opportunity unique inAmerican life in this respect. Some of the greatest leaders of thoughtever produced were the product of the village churches of England andScotland. There is no reason why the village church of America shouldnot become the seedbed for the best contributions to religious, philosophical, and literary thought of the present day. 

It will be impossible to give more than a few illustrations of presentneeds and opportunities for service in this respect in the smallercommunities. One of the first tasks of the church is the introductionof correct thought in regard to religious beliefs. It is almostunbelievable the amount of actual superstition and positively harmfulbeliefs that prevail under the guise of religion not only in rural butin urban communities. An example of this is the widespread belief inthe second coming of Christ at an early date. Educational institutionsof national note are continuously laboring to extend this form ofbelief. The question as to whether Christ will ever come again is onethat does not appear to have any immediate social significance otherthan it may have some influence on conduct as to the method ofpreparation for his coming. Those who believe in such coming mayeither believe that all efforts at social improvement now arefruitless, because the ultimate inauguration of the Kingdom willresult from the sweeping away of everything that now exists and in theinauguration of a new social order out of the ruins of the old. Orthey may believe that the efforts of the churches and other agenciesnow are preparing the way for such coming, and the inauguration of theKingdom will be but the next step in an orderly process of socialprogress. There is reason to believe that many of those who areteaching the second coming are inclined to the former point of view;and wherever they gain a hearing their influence practically nullifiesall efforts to enlist their followers in any program of socialimprovement. 

The effect of a belief in an immediate coming of Christ as indicatedby present world conditions interpreted in the light of Old and NewTestament prophecy is to paralyze all motive for social action. Suchaction, if this belief is correct, is useless. The devotee is drivento the position of finding his sole religious duty that of gettinghimself and those in whom he is interested ready to enter the newkingdom through the observance of the personal elements in religiouslife. 

Another belief that in some sections has a limited influence is thatof observance of Saturday instead of Sunday as the day set apart bybiblical authority as the Sabbath. Without commenting on the rightnessor the wrong of the contention, it should be remembered that thisbelief has resulted in some sections in practically the breakdown ofobservance of the Sabbath by rural communities, without acorresponding gain in Saturday observance. Community solidarity foreither social or religious purposes is thus broken up. From the socialpoint of view this is distinctly unfortunate. 

Again, in some sections religion has taken an extreme form ofantagonism to anything of a practical type. The extremes to which theemotional expression of religion has gone have been such that thesegroups have become popularly known as "Holy Rollers. " Wherever thistype of religious expression breaks out in a rural community itseverely handicaps all efforts at making the church function as anagency for rural progress. The energies of such devotees are soexhausted in their services that they lack the energy, even if theyhad the inspiration, to link their efforts to any program of communitybetterment. This group is usually found not only opposing progressivemeasures in the church but also opposing other progressive activitiesin the community, such as better schools, road improvement, etc. 

In isolated sections of rural America all over the country may befound groups of Latter Day Saints. These groups are not yet ofsufficient strength to be of great importance outside of Utah and afew other Western States. But the existence of an organized groupanywhere, particularly if it is of a missionary character, is likelyto spread and ultimately become a factor of considerable importance. Anyone visiting the Mormon Temple at Salt Lake and reading on themonuments to Joseph and Hiram Smith the testimony in letters of stoneto the effect that Joseph discovered the message of the Book of Mormonon gold plates, and that Hiram was the witness thereof, will realizehow easy it is to spread almost any belief under the guise of religionif the children are taught such doctrines during their youth. 

It will be unnecessary to go through the whole catalogue of beliefsfinding expression in the dogma of practically all religiousorganizations, and in times past dividing the followers ofChristianity into denominational groups. The most serious problems ofadjustment of religious institutions for community service grow out ofthese differences in belief on points of dogma. 

The solution of the problem of clearing the field of unwholesome andinjurious belief lies not in writing polemics against them but infilling the minds of the people with unquestioned truth. As the ruralmind is directed to the consideration of topics of vital importancethese things that have crept in and disturbed social order anddissipated precious energies in fruitless discussion will disappearthrough lack of attention. On the other hand, persecution will attractattention to and arouse the fanatical support of them and distract theattention of the group from matters of more vital importance. 

In addition to preaching those sermons which keep alive in communityconsciousness the sense of man's obligations to his Maker, thesignificance and solemnity of death and those other epochal events inthe course of human existence, and the hope given to man of a fullerlife through the coming of Christ, the minister has certain greatmoral ideals that he should instill into the minds of his people. 

The matter of honesty in dealing with both the farmer and hisneighbors both near and distant has already been mentioned. 

The right attitude toward wealth accumulation must also be preachednot only for the safety of the rural community but also for theentire nation. By the very nature of the business the vast majority ofpeople living in small communities and on the farms must remainindefinitely people of modest means. The possibilities of large wealthaccumulation are limited because the farm must continue to be a smallscale industry. It can be improved so as to afford adequate leisure. But farm life does not promise large enjoyment to those of anepicurean turn of mind. The ideal of the farm must be that ofproducing wealth so that the modest comforts of life may be insured. But the minister must exalt the appreciation of those things that maybe obtained without lavish expenditure of money, such as localentertainment produced by the community itself, literature, music, andart; and the simple pleasures that come from democratic associationwith intimate acquaintances. 

It is believed that with all the material progress of this country, ithas had to sacrifice many things that are worth far more than thetypes of enjoyment obtained by slavish imitation of the extremelywealthy leisure class in the cities. The exhortation to preach thevalues of the simple pleasures possible in smaller communities is notfor the purpose of keeping people contented with a lot that cannot beimproved, but because it is believed that the smaller communitiesto-day contain within themselves and their ideals the seed ofrejuvenation of all life, and that a greater contribution can be madeby rural communities to civilization by adhering to their ideals thanby being diverted from them by the money-seeking, materialistic idealsof the urban centers. The best in rural ideals must ultimately becomethe ideals of the city if we are to avoid the degeneration that willinevitably follow a too materialistic urban civilization. 

The pastor should be able to bring to his people from time to time theinterpretation of national and world events in terms of their relationto the advance of religious progress. This obligation will requireconstant and wide reading about the social movements of the time. Inthe more progressive communities many of the farmers and theirfamilies will have access to literature that will enable them to formtheir own conclusions to a large degree. But not many of them, eventhough they be college graduates, will have the time to read aswidely as they would like on any of the great changes taking place;and they will welcome an intelligent interpretation of these by theone who has the larger opportunities for such service. 

Finally, the preacher must be a prophet. He must have caught thevision of tendencies in human life and be able to bring to his peoplethe evidences of the hand of God working out the course of the humanrace in the infinite stream of human history. He must believe, withTennyson, in a "far off divine event, toward which the whole creationmoves, " or with Shakespeare when he said "There's a divinity thatshapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will. " If he can bring hispeople to see that, even though they may be living in some obscurecorner of the earth, they have a part in the great movements going on, and that they can render a service by doing what they are able insupporting the programs for which the church stands, he will becontributing his share to the wholesome attitude needed in our ruralcommunities. 

CHAPTER VII

ADJUSTING THE LOCAL CHURCH TO THE COMMUNITY

In his book on Social Control Professor Ross has pointed out thatcertain institutions are essentially conservative in their nature. They are solid, permanent organizations but are not inclined to assumeleadership in social progress. He includes in this list the church. The fact that the church is a conservative institution is notnecessarily a criticism of it. Other agencies develop new phases ofsocial expression, sometimes in actual opposition to conservativeagencies. The good innovations live and after they have demonstratedtheir utility the conservative institutions such as the church and thestate take them over and insure their permanence. 

The rapid advance of the social spirit in modern life has outstrippedexisting agencies in their preparation to meet the new approach tothe solution of problems of living. Many forms of existinginstitutions were created under entirely different conditions and tomeet different needs. To-day these old forms do not adapt themselvesto new demands, and in many cases prevent effective action on the partof religious organizations that are ready in spirit to broaden theirprograms to include the new demands upon the conservativeorganization. 

The minister, trained for the modern service of the church to thecommunity, cannot solve alone all the problems of maladjustment hefinds in his local community. He finds that the contacts and interestsof his local church organization are far broader than the interests ofthe local group he is called to serve; and that in many cases hislocal efforts are nullified by these larger contacts. It is thepurpose of this and succeeding chapters to outline some of theconditions existing within the church itself that must be adjustedbefore it can act most effectively in meeting the challenge discussedin preceding chapters. 

The first and probably most important problem is that of enlarging thevision of church officials, ministers, and people as to the need forbroadening the program of the church and as to the need of astatesman-like reorganization of adjustment of the church to thecommunity. 

It is believed that quite generally the membership of the largerreligious organizations in this country are now in sympathy with theprinciple that the church should have a social-service program. Thereis still wide diversity of opinion as to the form that service shouldtake. In too many cases there is no opinion at all; and whileadmitting the principle, active opposition develops to any attempt toput the principle into practice in a specific project. This conditionis to be found most marked in those sections of the country that arenot in the direct line of thought movements, or where livingconditions are such as to make rural life monotonous. The monotony ofthe plains is as deadening as is the lack of contact of the mountainvalley; and both fields offer fruitful ground for the spread ofunsocial types of religious expression. 

The solution of this phase of adjustment of the church to communityneeds lies in a patient educational program carried on by theminister of the gospel. He must be a man of broad vision and must havethe fullest appreciation of the slowness with which the rural publicmind works. He must be everlastingly tactful and not attempt more thanthe simplest advances at the beginning and not more than one at atime. He should have at hand an abundance of educational material inthe way of literature, lantern slides, and periodicals which can beused in showing what actually happens when the church embarks on abroader program of rural service. A national educational program ofthis type will in a few years create a demand that must be met andthat rural churches will pay well for as the value of such work willbe recognized. 

The more serious phase of this problem is the lack of adequatepreparation for this service on the part of the ministry. In one ofthe leading denominations (Methodist Episcopal) over twenty-nine percent of the charges are cared for by supplies, men who by reason ofeducational preparation, age, or for some other cause are not now and, in a large proportion of cases, never will be eligible to membershipin the Conferences. Of the remainder, only a small proportion aregraduates of schools of higher learning, such as colleges andtheological seminaries. At a time when a large number of those livingin rural communities are either agricultural college graduates or haveattended short courses in agriculture, it becomes apparent that anuneducated ministry is becoming a menace to the future of the ruralchurch. 

But of those who have had the advantages of a college or theologicalseminary training, the type of training has not fitted them foreffective rural service. The training of ministers has gone throughthe same process as other types of training. It was once thought thatsince the sole business of the minister was the personal appeal toaccept Christ, with the emphasis on the personal atonement features ofChristianity rather than on the principles of Christian living, thesame type of training would fit one to deliver the message whether hewas in the slums of the city, on the shores of Africa, or in themountains of Colorado. Moreover, for some reason, it appears to havebeen accepted that the rural ministry was the simplest of all andthat any one could be a rural minister. It would be amusing if it werenot so tragic to accept the testimony of some of those who have notyet seen that the rural ministry is a type demanding such acosmopolitan understanding of human nature and of conditions of humanexistence that it demands the best intellects and the highest type ofmissionary spirit to carry on successfully. We have heard of collegepresidents recommending young men for important rural positionsbecause the young man was "not ambitious for any important work in thechurch. " It has been known that officials in the church would bid fortheological seminary graduates with the assurance that while theywould have to accept an "undesirable" rural charge for a year or so, they would soon be "promoted. " The writer knows of at least one youngNegro minister, a holder of a Master's degree from a large educationalinstitution, whose major work for his higher degree was in the deadlanguages. The attitude of our educational institutions, and theattitude in public thought has been that progress for the individualhas been in the direction of getting away from the country instead ofremaining with rural folk and giving one's life to the advancement ofthe group as a whole; and the courses of study have had primarily inmind the personal appeal rather than that of dealing with man in hisparticular environment. 

It is now recognized that modern life demands a specialized ministry. The one who can handle successfully a rural industrial or a downtownurban situation may not be at all fitted to deal with the problems ofthe village or the open country. On the other hand, the one who canserve farmers successfully might not be at all fitted to fill ametropolitan pulpit. Beginnings only have been made in attempting toadjust educational work to meet this modern demand. In the meantimethe problem remains of the ministers trained under former conditions, if trained at all. Many of them have not yet caught the vision of thelarger program of the church; and of those who have caught this visionthe handling of the tools of the new program is such a delicate taskthat many failures are sure to be recorded. It will take years tobring the church to the place where it can meet successfully themodern demands upon it. 

The second great problem is that of maladjustment in thought. Protestantism is still suffering from the effects of extremeindividualism in religious belief. Strong leaders, obsessed with someone variation in interpretation of the Scriptures, have pulled offfrom the main body of the church and have started independentorganizations committed to the development of the particularinterpretation they have made. When once these organizations have beenformed and have secured a financial backing, they have continued tospread, until to-day rural America presents the spectacle of religiousforces agreeing on the broad general program of the relation of thechurch to community needs but paralyzed because of dissensions overless essential principles of theological dogma. The reasons forseparate organizations have often been forgotten and loyalty to aparticular organization as such has taken its place. 

The solution of this problem is not that of attempting to eliminatedifferences in dogmatic belief by argument, but of emphasizing thepoints of agreement of the various religious groups. Error andnonessential dividing lines will disappear if neglected. But if theyare agitated, they will thrive under persecution and conditions willbe worse than ever. 

The third problem is that of maladjustment of buildings to communityneeds. This problem presents itself in two aspects: first, that oflocation of church buildings, and, second, that of location ofpastors' residences. In the original settlement of this country, people located their new homes in neighborhoods partly for social andeconomic purposes and partly for protection. Where these new groupswere founded the church building soon found a place. As thecommunities grew, and aided in the course of time by ambitiousnational agencies, the sectarian interests mentioned above establishednew churches to care for those of each particular belief until manycommunities soon became overchurched. The rapid decrease inopen-country, and even village, population which began during the 70'sof the past century and which has continued to the present made theproblem still worse, until to-day probably the least efficientinstitution in all rural life is the rural church. 

Moreover, the first settlements did not always mark the spot ofpermanent development of population and interest centers. As time haspassed, many of the places which it was once thought would bepermanent centers have lost their preeminence and others have takentheir place, until now many very small communities have too manychurches, and others are lacking in adequate facilities for religiousservice. 

The time has now come when it is believed that rural population andagricultural tendencies are sufficiently well known to enable thoseinterested in rural life development to determine what are the mostsuitable centers for community development. The Interchurch WorldMovement, had it been carried to a successful conclusion, would havegone far toward determining those centers for the entire UnitedStates. As it is, the Movement made possible such determination forabout one fifth of the United States and the task of completing thesurvey may be accomplished in the course of time. 

When this task is completed, then the challenge to the churches ofAmerica will be to so readjust the location of their church buildingsand to remodel them in such a way as to be adapted to the present andprobable future growth of communities so determined. This work isscarcely begun, but it is believed that it has gone far enough toinsure its ultimate achievement. When this is done, then the localchurch will be in a position to deal most effectively with thecommunity problems mentioned in preceding chapters. 

The situation as to location of pastors' residences is even moreserious than that of location of church buildings. During the pioneerperiod of church organization ministers were under the necessity ofdividing their efforts among a considerable number of small groups. These were organized into circuits and the pastor's residence wasprovided at the point either where the original church was establishedor where it was most convenient for him to serve the preaching pointsunder his care. Each denomination developed its own work regardless ofother groups and in many cases from the same common center, so that wenow have in rural and village organization pastors' residencescentralized in the minority of rural communities and the greatmajority of such communities without resident pastoral care. 

In the State of Ohio, for example, in one county of twenty-fourcommunities but twelve have resident pastors and in these twelvecommunities thirty-nine pastors reside. In another of sixteencommunities but eight have resident pastors. Yet in each county thereare enough ministers to supply each community with a resident pastor, if readjustment were to be made. In the northeastern part of the Stateon a single Methodist district are to be found two instances ofMethodist and Presbyterian pastors living in the same village andgoing on alternate Sundays to another village, in one instance largerthan that wherein the ministers live. The facts as to the growth anddecline of churches with resident or non-resident ministers elsewherepresent (see Church Growth and Decline in Ohio) are a sufficientindication of the effects of maladjustment of pastoral residences torural community needs. Since the modern demand of rural life upon thechurch is for community leadership as well as for holding Sundayworship, it is clear that no adequate program of church leadership inrural life can be worked out until this vital need of readjustment ofpastoral residences to community service is met. 

A third serious problem is that of lack of coordination ofdenominational effort in community service. Where two or morereligious organizations find a place in the same small community, noplan has yet been successfully tried whereby these organizations assuch have been brought into harmonious and continuous action forcommunity service. The presence of two or three ministers of socialvision in the same small community is not always an asset, since smallcommunities do not have a place for more than one leader and sectarianinterests forbid cooperation under the leadership of either of thechurch pastors. This situation has given rise to such organizations asthe Christian Associations, the Sunday School Associations, and alarge number of nonreligious agencies now trying to provide forcommunity leadership independent of the church. It is intended here tocall attention to the problem. A suggestion as to methods of solutionwill be taken up more at length in a succeeding chapter. 

A fourth serious problem resulting from the above is lack of adequatesupport for rural religious institutions. Owing to the general lack offinancial resources of rural communities as compared with the urbancenters, they have not been able to compete financially with citychurches in bidding for men who have high standards of living and whodemand large financial returns for services rendered. This conditionwill probably continue indefinitely because of the tendency oflarge-scale industrial production to centralize wealth control inurban centers; that is, unless the economic motive is taken fromChristian service through the equalization of salaries. This is asolution much to be desired, but it is feared that pastors will nottake kindly to such a movement; and members of city churches willcontinue to contribute to the support of their own particular pastorinstead of to general pastoral support. But the weakness in supporthas been seriously increased because of dividing of such resources asrural communities have among so many different agencies. Manycommunities that could support a pastor at two thousand dollars ormore a year now have men serving denominations at one thousand dollarsper year or less. 

The same is true of church building. When five church buildings mustbe erected and maintained for sectarian purposes in a town where thereis room for but one school building there is little wonder that thecontrast between church buildings and other rural institutionalbuildings is so marked. And it is little wonder that when people beginto think in community terms they are inclined to pass by the church asan institution offering hope of community service conservation andturn either to the school or to some other agency that they hope willserve the purpose. 

Closely akin to the problem of inadequate support for the countryminister and the country church is that contention often made that thejob of a country preacher does not offer as great a challenge as doesthat of service in other branches of church work. It is believed thatthis contention is erroneous because the rural work, while notdemanding the same qualities of service as other types, does demandqualities of its own that equal, if they do not exceed, those of thecity pulpit. The ability to serve people long and continuously inclose personal relation to them; to deal patiently with conservatism;to endure the hardships of living under conditions far below what areto be found in city environments; to get the support of the people forprogressive measures, and to keep alive mentally in an environmentthat is not the most conducive to study because of lack of readingfacilities and because of the ease with which one may shirk the meansof personal growth--all these make the task one for the speciallycapable and devoted. 

But if there is truth in the statement that the country ministry doesnot offer the opportunity for the exercise of personal abilitiesrequired by the city pulpit, then, unless we frankly recognize thatthe limit of possibility of building up the rural work is to alleviatean unavoidable discrepancy in personal challenge, it becomes necessaryto so reorganize the local parish that it will be a challenge fit toattract the best minds in the church. 

The first step already has been mentioned: that is, to adjustrelationships between denominations so that a minister will have soleresponsibility for community leadership. 

The second is to enlarge the parishes under the control of one pastorthat he will have ample field for the exercise of his abilities. Insome sections of the country two or more communities may still have tobe assigned to one minister, with the expectation that he will developlocal volunteer leadership in the respective communities, or haveadequate assistance in the way of special workers among the childrenand in the homes and have directors of religious education for full orpart time in each community. In most sections of the country thecommunities are now of such a size as to demand the full time of apaid minister and to pay a satisfactory salary for services rendered. 

The third is to increase the functions of the pastorate so that peoplewill be willing to pay more for the service rendered. This resultsdirectly from the adoption of the larger program for the church hereinrecommended. 

The practice--still all too rare--of supplying the pastor with anautomobile for pastoral work, should be encouraged everywhere, particularly when the charge has a pastor who has the vision of thebroader program of the church and is specially trained for his work. There are complications in the connectional system of makingappointments that tend to prevent liberality in this respect. When acharge is brought up to adequate self-support the tendency is toooften to make the charge a place to "take care" of a Conference memberof that grade regardless of his fitness to follow up the type ofprogram introduced by his predecessor. The taking of the automobile bythe departing pastor deprives the community of its use. Leaving it forthe use of an inefficient pastor is too great a burden on thecommunity. Experience will determine the best means of handling thisproblem and should ultimately put ministers on the same basis as tohaving means of transportation furnished as County AgriculturalAgents, County Superintendents of Schools, Christian AssociationSecretaries, etc. 

The soldier in the ranks will probably never be looked upon as in thesame grade of responsible position as the captain of the company. Sothe country minister has a right to look forward in due time to"promotion" in natural channels; that is, to the districtsuperintendency. It is to be feared that too often at the presenttime, the rural minister is discouraged from remaining in the ruralwork because he sees that a very large proportion of the positions inthe church that are recognized as personal promotions are filled fromthe city pulpits. His course of advance is now from the country pulpitto the city pulpit, thence to the district superintendency or detachedservice, thence to the bishopric, a position very few ministers refuseif offered. The rural work would be strengthened if rural districtsuperintendencies were filled by rural men who have demonstrated theirability to build up a rural charge successfully, and then if thesesame rural district superintendents were to have an opportunity tofill the highest possible positions in the church, thus bringing tothe highest administrative offices of the church the tried experiencethat comes from building up a district in Methodism. When thenecessity of leaving the rural work in order to get "promotion" iseliminated there will be a marked strengthening of loyalty to therural work. 

The illustrations given have been taken from Methodist Episcopalexperience. Other denominations have similar problems, but probably toa less degree because of the more marked form of localized democracyin church polity. 

If the churches of America permit this crisis of lack of adjustment ofchurch to community needs to pass unchallenged, and if they delay inmaking the adjustments needed, the time will soon come when otheragencies, supported by rural communities, will make provision forthese needs and the opportunity of the church will be goneindefinitely. Other agencies will be performing a real Christianservice, and the church, by reason of its failure to live up to thedemands upon it, will have an increasingly difficult task ofjustifying its existence so far as relationship to this world isconcerned. 

CHAPTER VIII

INTERDENOMINATIONAL READJUSTMENT

Rural progress under church leadership has been much like the firstdrops of water on a placid lake at the beginning of a rain. Littlerises of water appear and some waves circle out, but the ultimatelevel is not much raised. So with the church. Here and there aminister stirs up some local community, some definite progress ismade, attention is attracted from other communities and they may havea few symptoms of a rise, but too often the minister moves, anothercomes, and the general level of community life falls back to what itwas before. 

The difficulty is that with the overlapping of interdenominationaljurisdictions it is impossible for any group to lead in progressoutside of the local community. Methodists cannot lead in a countyprogram because Baptists and Presbyterians will not follow them. Neither can the other groups lead because Methodists are not giftedin following the leadership of other denominations. It is perfectlynatural and justifiable that this should be so. Before the churches ofAmerica, Protestant or Catholic, can render the entire servicedemanded of them there must be a thoroughgoing system ofinterdenominational cooperation worked out which will insure jointresponsibility of all denominations concerned in providing forcommunity leadership on a large scale. If this is impossible, then theinevitable alternative must be accepted of passing by the churches ofAmerica in carrying out comprehensive plans of progress and of turningto other agencies for this service. 

During the past, largely owing to the apparently hopeless situation sofar as interdenominational cooperation is concerned, Christianorganizations, such as Christian Associations and Sunday SchoolAssociations, have sprung up to do for the denominations and for theministers what they could not do under present conditions. Theseagencies have done notable work. They have accomplished much inpreparing the way for a nation-wide recognition of what the broadfunction of the church is; they have brought representatives of alldenominations together and have gradually increased the social spiritwhile at the same time lessening the emphasis upon those things whichhave divided the Christian Church into so many isolated camps. Theyhave pioneered and experimented. They have had failures as well assuccesses, but their failures have been a real contribution to the sumtotal of human experience and have taught us many things that shouldbe avoided. The service rendered by these agencies must ever beremembered as of the most vital and important character. 

But it will be admitted by representatives of all organizations that alarge part of what is now found in the programs of those otherreligious organizations, "arms" of the church, is a legitimate part ofthe work that should be supervised by the minister of a communityprogram and included in his program, and that in those communitieswhere such trained pastoral leadership exists the functions of theseother agencies can be materially modified and their activitiesdirected into still further new and untried fields of endeavor. Thechurch needs organizations supported from funds not coming through theregular channels founded on the budgets of individual churches. Thesesubsidiary organizations can go ahead with experimentation, and theirfailures do not bring the discredit to the parent organization thatthey would if done by the church directly. On the other hand, theirsuccesses can be adopted into the regular program of the church andthus conserved. Complete control of experimentation or demonstrationwork is likely to destroy or prevent initiative, which is the soul ofprogress. 

In adjusting problems between denominations in local communities anumber of plans have been tried with greater or less success. One ofthe oldest is that of the "union" church. This is a type oforganization in which the people of the local community, tiring of theuneconomic system of interdenominational competition, and without hopeof uniting on any one of the local organizations represented, decideto separate from all and form themselves into an independent localorganization. 

No large denomination to-day is favorable to the so-called "union"church; and all are opposed to the plan sometimes followed by ruralindustrial concerns of erecting a church building open to anyone whopretends to speak with authority about religious matters. The "union"church usually begins with enthusiasm, but because of lack of outsidecontacts, because of lack of continuity of program, because of lack ofa broad missionary spirit, it is generally shortlived and gives way tosome church with denominational affiliations. The "union" churchwithout denominational affiliations should not be confused with the"community" church with denominational connection. It is the lattertype that most religious organizations are now agreed is mostdesirable as the solution of the inexcusable overchurching nowexisting in many communities. 

In these days of get-together movements denominational leaders shouldthink clearly with reference to "federated" churches. A few of thesehave had a fairly long life. But their growth in the past fifteenyears has not been such as to inspire confidence that they offer asatisfactory solution to the overchurched situation. The "federated"church idea is not in harmony with a connectional polity nor with theprinciple of world democracy with centralization of administrativeresponsibility for carrying out democratically adopted plans impliedin that polity. Local federation involves giving of full power ofselection of pastors and of determination of policies to the localcongregation. Whatever may be said about the occasional failures ofthe connectional system in finding suitable pastors, or in other ways, it is nevertheless true that this system has a vitality and efficiencythat are now being recognized by many of the leading religiousorganizations. The polity of the "federated" church is congregational;and extreme congregationalism and connectionalism do not mix readilyso far as polity is concerned. The growth of the one form involves thedecline of the other. This is why the Methodist Episcopal Church, forexample, has developed so little sympathy for the "federated" churchidea. 

Far different from this is allocation of responsibility for communityleadership. This insures leadership to one denomination or the other. Then the local congregations can work out their problems of adjustmentas local conditions indicate is best. Usually some form of affiliationin worship and in sharing local expenses with continued separation ofsupport of missionary and other benevolent enterprises has proven themost satisfactory method of local adjustment. By this methodconnectional interests are preserved and fixing of responsibility ineach community assured. 

With the vastly increased missionary resources made available by themissionary "drives" of the leading denominations there is positivedanger of the problem of interdenominational adjustment being madestill more serious. If the Home Mission Boards, through unwise use ofmission funds for the purpose of assisting in competitive struggles, should precipitate retaliation by other denominations, a misuse ofmissionary funds would result that would not only dry up the sourcesof missionary support but bring Protestantism into lasting disgrace. 

In working out a program of interdenominational adjustment thefollowing plan has been tried with success on at least threeMethodist Episcopal Annual Conference districts:

1. A survey of the district and the preparation of a map showing thelocation of all churches, residences of all pastors, circuit systems, and whether churches are located in villages or the open country. 

2. Separate lists are then made of cases of apparent competitiverelations with each denomination. 

3. Conferences are then called with the representatives of eachdenomination to consider the problems of competition between theMethodist Episcopal Church and the particular denomination with whichthe conference is called. 

4. After tentative plans have been adopted representatives of bothdenominations visit the local field together, confer with the churchesconcerned, and arrive at some agreement as to adjustments to be made. 

5. This method is followed with each denomination, separately, withwhich Methodism has competitive relations. 

This plan has been tried with success in the State of Vermont, whereMethodists, Baptists, and Congregationalists had to cooperate orabandon the field; in the Portsmouth district, Ohio Conference, wherethe principal problems were with the Presbyterians, United Brethren, and Baptists; in Montana, where a conference was held to consideradjustments affecting an entire State; and in the Wooster District, North-East Ohio Conference, where adjustment of relationships isproceeding satisfactorily. 

The results of this program already noticeable are:

1. The increase in salary of rural ministers made possible by unitingthe financial resources of all religious forces in the community. 

2. Saving of missionary money by eliminating duplication of missionarygrants by competing denominations. 

3. A marked increase in membership and church attendance. 

4. A more vital relationship of the church to community welfarethrough unified action of all religious forces under the trainedleadership of one pastor. 

5. Resident pastorates to more communities through better distributionof pastoral residences of the denominations concerned in adjustmentsmade. 

6. A more vital appeal to life service in rural work can now be madeto young people who have objected to service in rural charges whereefforts at community service have been handicapped and even nullifiedby the presence of competing religious organizations and pastors. 

It is believed that the results obtained far outweigh the possiblelosses that may come through Methodists intrusting leadership inservice to Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, or thereverse. The good work made possible by fixing responsibility forleadership to a given denomination in one community is destined by theforce of example and imitation to compel similar progress incommunities to which leadership responsibility has been assigned toother denominations. 

A word of caution to ministers in charge of local fields is desirablein regard to settlement of interdenominational difficulties. Theinterests involved are so much larger than the local church that theinitiative must be taken by the district superintendent, always inthe fullest consultation with the resident bishop, or the properState, synodical, or other representative of the other denominationsconcerned. In a number of cases local initiative in this matter hasresulted not only in defeating the end sought but has createdembarrassing situations between the supervisory representatives of thedenominations. If a local situation needs adjustment, the mattershould be gone over fully with those responsible for churchadministration, and it is believed that in most cases such adjustmentcan be made satisfactorily. The experience of those in the MethodistEpiscopal Church who have tried to bring about adjustments by themethod suggested has been that in most cases other groups are ready tocome to an agreement. 

If other groups refuse to make adjustments, then the denominationmaking the advances has no other alternative than that of caring forits own obligations as adequately as possible and with every resourcethat can be made available. But no blame can attach to this policyafter effort has been made to cooperate with other groups and theseefforts have failed. 

After communities have been allocated for leadership to one or anotherof the denominations, then the problem of a united program by alldenominations remains to be solved. Unless this end is attained, thenrural churches must continue to work largely alone, each in its owncommunity without relation to the program of neighboring churches orcommunities. Unless there is coordination between the churches, thenwe shall continue to witness the spectacle of the threeinterdenominational branches of the church, the Sunday SchoolAssociation, and the Christian Associations, each moving in its ownself-chosen direction, each raising an independent budget, and eachestablishing county organizations without reference to the interestsof the other; and none of the three doing anything to encourage theorganization of county groups of the churches as such. The time hasarrived when the church as such should take the lead in bringing aboutinterdenominational cooperation for community service under its ownauspices and in the most inclusive way. 

For many reasons the county offers the best basis for this type oforganization. It is the most permanent political unit, next to theState or the incorporated town or city. Social progress finds theclosest opportunity for cooperation with economic and politicalagencies in the county. The following proposal for a County ChristianAssociation, supported out of the budgets of local cooperatingchurches, has been worked out:

SUGGESTED PROGRAM FOR COUNTY RURAL CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OR FEDERATIONOF CHURCHES[1]

 1a. Proposal for County Christian Association or Church Federation. 

 1b. Board of Directors. 

 1c. County Council chosen by each cooperating denomination on basis of membership. 

 2c. Election or appointment of denominational representatives to be left to each denomination. 

 3c. Selection of county secretary. 

 2b. Duties of county secretary. 

 1c. Survey--Follow up what interchurch county office has done. 

 1d. Location of all churches. 

 2d. Residence of pastors. 

 3d. Community boundaries. 

 2c. Organize county religious movements as:

 1d. Evangelistic drive. 

 2d. Membership rally. 

 3d. Go-to-church campaigns. 

 4d. Religious worship in the home. 

 5d. Common programs with reference to moral and spiritual problems. 

 6d. Other religious movements. 

 3c. Interchurch adjustments. 

 1d. Act as secretary of Committee on Adjustments--provide office for interchurch activities. 

 2d. Depository for interchurch religious information. 

 3d. Follow-up plans made as result of interchurch survey, including:

 1e. Encouragement of building parsonage and getting resident pastor in every community. 

 2e. Getting a community church building in every community adequate to its needs. 

 3e. Getting a community building under joint religious auspices where need exists for several houses of worship. 

 4e. Clearing house for membership conservation. 

 5e. Determination of parish boundaries. 

 6e. Establishment of new work in communities where there is none. 

 4c. Social and recreational. 

 1d. County field days. 

 2d. Cooperation in organizing boys' and girls' clubs in Sunday school or otherwise. 

 4d. Direct social and recreational activities. 

 5d. Assisting in selection and training leaders for church and community service. 

 5c. Religious education. 

 1d. Recruiting membership campaigns. 

 2d. Perform all functions now expected of volunteer county Sunday school secretary. 

 3d. Assist in analysis of Sunday school methods and organization in local churches in organizing for larger service. 

 4d. Week-day religious instruction plans. 

 6c. Social service activities to be encouraged:

 1d. County free library. 

 2d. County hospital and nursing program. 

 3d. Adequate provision for dependents, defectives, delinquents. 

 4d. Securing desired State public service. 

 5d. Health and sanitation campaign. 

 6d. County Farm bureaus. 

 7c. Cooperation with other agencies. In general, give moral support to agencies doing effective work in the fields mentioned in (6c). 

 8c. Act as bureau of advice with reference to appeals for charitable purposes. 

 9c. Religious publicity. 

 3b. Budget. 

 1c. Estimated Salary of Secretary $3, 000 Travel 400 Office rent 300 Equipment 200 Stenographer 750 Publicity 400 ------ $5, 050

 2c. How to raise. 

 1d. Estimate amount that should come from each cooperating church. Ask each church to assume its share on a three-year guarantee. 

 2d. Make list of special givers who may become a private source. 

 3d. Communicate with respective missionary boards for aid in carrying balance of budget until such time as it can be brought to self-support. 

FOOTNOTE:

[Footnote 1: Prepared in Collaboration with C. J. Hewett, GarrettBiblical Institute, Evanston, Ill. ]

This form of organization has many advantages, among which are:

1. It coordinates all the religious forces of Protestantism, for acommon community service. 

2. It insures ultimate permanent support by being financed out of thebudgets of the cooperating churches instead of by a limited number ofprivate givers of large funds. 

3. The county organization develops its work through the churches, strengthening the program of the minister instead of developingindependent organizations locally with volunteer leadership related toan "arm" of the church instead of directly to the church. 

4. By organizing to do their own work in this way the churches obviatethe necessity of private Christian agencies organizing with outsidesupport to carry on interdenominational work. 

If the churches of America do not rapidly work out plans ofinterdenominational cooperation in the development of their work, other agencies will enter the field and will receive popular financialsupport for doing those things in rural progress that are thelegitimate task of the church and for which the church should receivesupport. Church people will supply the large part of the funds forcarrying on these activities through nonreligious agencies; andbecause of the narrowness of program the church will have chosen foritself many of the brightest and best minds, and consecrated heartsnow found in our student groups in educational institutions will findtheir life's activities outside the church instead of within its rankswhere they would prefer to be. This will be the misfortune of thechurch and she cannot clear herself of the wrong of depriving heryoung people of the opportunity of rendering a service to humanitywithin her own ranks and of forcing them to render that servicethrough independent social agencies. 

CHAPTER IX

THE CHURCH AND OTHER RURAL AGENCIES

Since the arousal of interest in rural welfare by the studies made bythe Country Life Commission in 1908, probably no movement has mademore rapid progress than that concerned with rural life. Studies ofrural church conditions made by the Presbyterian Board of HomeMissions and other agencies, of rural health by the National PublicHealth Service and by a number of the large philanthropic foundations, of educational conditions by the United States Bureau of Education, and of other problems by various agencies concerned, have revealed themore important conditions and have made possible the organization ofprograms for their amelioration. The conditions still further revealedby the problems incident to preparation for the World War and thefacilities made possible by that preparation for mobilization of theforces for improvement still further advanced the rural-life movementuntil now no other interest is occupying more public attention thanthis. 

The list of agencies with programs of rural service on a nationalscale that have found representation in the National Council of RuralSocial Service affiliated with the American Country Life Associationwill indicate the large number of groups now contributing to theadvance of rural welfare. This list is as follows: National Grange, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Board of Farm Organizations, Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union, American Home EconomicsSociety, American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts ofAmerica, Federal Council of Churches, National Catholic WelfareCouncil, Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church in theUnited States of America, American Baptist Home Missionary Society, Board of Home Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Young Men'sChristian Association, Young Women's Christian Association, UnitedStates Department of Agriculture, States Relations Service; UnitedStates Department of Agriculture, Office of Farm Management; UnitedStates Public Health Service, United States Bureau of Education, United States Department of Labor, Children's Bureau; NationalOrganization for Public Health Nursing, National Child LaborCommittee, Child Health Organization of America, Russell SageFoundation, National Tuberculosis Association, National EducationalAssociation, Rural Department; American Library Association, NationalUniversity Extension Association, National Child Health Council, Playground and Recreation Association of America, Community Service, Inc. 

The above is a list of thirty-one different agencies that have anational definitely organized rural-service program. This listdoubtless is incomplete and will be increased in the course of time. 

The problem before us is to determine just what place the churchshould have in this formidable galaxy of agencies, and to considerwhat advantages and difficulties present themselves to the churches ofAmerica in functioning unitedly and successfully in doing their partin the entire movement. 

It must be recognized that it is impossible for the church to assumeleadership in all the interests represented now by various specializedagencies. It has been contended that the task of the church has beencompleted with reference to a number of these interests when it hasencouraged their organization in a local way and has continued to givethem its moral support so long as they render effectively the servicefor which they were intended. Rural interests are so complex thatspecialized groups are necessary to insure adequate attention to allthe interests concerned. 

It must also be recognized that until the two great branches of theChristian Church--Catholicism and Protestantism--learn to cooperate intheir service to the community, the religious forces of America cannotpresent a united front in rendering the service that belongspeculiarly to them. It is assumed that the effort will be made bythose responsible for community service in both branches of the churchto work out this problem so that the church can do its part in thegeneral movement. 

The physical basis for organization of all forces for service on acomprehensive plan is recognized to be the political units, county, State, and nation. The township is giving way gradually to thecommunity as the more local unit of organization. In cases wherecommunity boundary lines do not coincide with county lines localadjustments will be made whereby the integrity of communities may bemaintained within the organization of one or the other of the countiesconcerned. 

The present movement is toward the appointment of county worksecretaries on a salaried basis to administer the work of therespective interests concerned. Thus we have now developed whereverthe spirit of the people has made it possible salaried County Y. M. C. A. Officers, Y. W. C. A. Officers, International Sunday Schoolofficers, Red Cross Chapters, Boy Scouts, Community Service, Inc. , andso forth. There is no regularity or uniformity in the selection of thecounties by the different agencies with reference to each other, butit appears that when one of the groups succeeds in getting a countyoffice established, it is increasingly difficult for other agenciesconcerned in rural social service to gain a foothold on a salariedbasis. The agency that succeeds in gaining a foothold originally tendsto incorporate into its activities the full program of social service. Theoretically all admit their readiness to turn over to other agenciesthe functions belonging to other groups as soon as they are ready toassume their proper duties, but practically the organization of aninterest group county office delays indefinitely the organization ofrural service on a proper basis. 

The normal course of development is for the agency that is prepared toorganize and finance a comprehensive rural program for a county shouldrender this service; but it should at the same time use its influenceto bring about at the earliest possible moment a county council ofsocial agencies that will give unified control of the rural serviceprogram to all agencies that should have a voice in rural progress. Ifthis policy is adhered to, there will be the heartiest support of thework of any agency that wishes to begin its work on a county basis inany section of the country. 

The first impression that may come to one not familiar with thevastness of the organized movement for rural welfare may be that alarge number of agencies have undertaken rural service for their ownsakes rather than for the sake of the community. This is not the case. It is recognized that rural organization for definite objectivesshould take the place of previous uncoordinated, haphazard opportunismin rural progress, and the present sporadic and unrelated movementstoward organization are but the result of a very rapid developmentwhich has not yet found time to make the desired adjustment desired byall concerned. The National Council of Rural Social Agencies, theState Councils coming into existence, the County Councils and thecommunity councils that have appeared here and there are but thebeginnings of a well-ordered, economical and necessary coordination ofrural social forces. 

How is the church related to this movement? Repeated investigationshave shown that the churches of America have within their membershipby far the larger proportion of those whose public spirit registersitself in voluntary financial support of public enterprises. The"friendly citizen" is largely a myth. Those who build churches atlarge personal sacrifice, and pay the bills in maintaining religiousservices are those whose names appear at the top of most subscriptionsto benevolent enterprises. It was the Christian ministry and thechurch membership that made possible the Red Cross drives during thewar, and the other financial campaigns for relief and other callsincident to the war. Thus history has continued to show the samecondition so far as financial resources for public welfare support areconcerned. 

Since this is the case, it appears that the most natural method ofinitiating social service work on a voluntary basis is to expect thechurches to take the lead. As has been pointed out, the church and theschool are the two local institutions that have salaried officials tocare for their public service. Other agencies, with the possibleexception of public health nursing service, will probably not in thenear future be able to secure financial support for full-time salariedlocal officials. The nearest they can approach to such salariedservice is the county official who must depend for local service upontrained volunteer help. This condition puts upon the church anadditional responsibility because through the organization of a countyreligious organization outlined in the preceding chapter it can notonly mobilize local support for such work on a permanent basis mosteffectively, but it can also provide the salaried local leadership forcarrying out a well-organized community service program. Moreover, inharmony with principles presented in an earlier chapter, the church asa conservative institution is one of the permanent organizations thatin the last analysis must be expected to take over and insurepermanence to well-tried advances in community organization andservice. If this thesis is admitted, then it logically follows thatall who are interested in rural progress should encourage theorganization of the religious forces on a comprehensive basis toinsure the perpetuation of the work now being inaugurated by a largenumber of private agencies. 

When it is found that the interests of other organizations conflictwith the program of the church, the interests of the American publicwill give the preference in support to the church, or to thetax-supported institution. In the long run much of the work now beingdone by private organizations of various sorts will be inheritedeither by the church or by the state; and it is not only theopportunity but the obligation of the church to prepare itself asrapidly as possible for conserving these newer activities by financingcounty and State and national organizations for coordination ofreligious forces for community service. If county offices forcoordination of religious forces were now in existence, the churchescould provide facilities through which much of the work now beingdeveloped by other agencies could be carried on. And thus the churchcould render a much-needed service to the entire rural-life movement. 

CHAPTER X

MISSIONARY PROGRAMS AND RURAL COMMUNITY SERVICE

Long years of experience in foreign missionary service has vitallyaffected the methods of carrying the gospel of Christian living tothose who have not yet come under the influence of the Christ. Herethe demonstration method of what Christianity means in terms ofincreased human welfare has done far more to spread the gospel thansimply preaching to people. The freeing of the millions now livingunder the control of other forms of religious belief by introductionof schools, together with the message of health and better moralideals through the practice of Christian living, has done more tospread Christianity than all the efforts of attempting to build aChristian spirit into a civilization not suited to it nor prepared forit. 

The missionary agencies in the home fields have learned from theexperience in the foreign fields, and now the programs of homemissionary boards are characterized by their large emphasis upon thesocial gospel. The revival of interest in religious life in thiscountry coincident with the recognition of its vital significance insound social organization has come so rapidly and popular support hasbeen so liberal that grave danger exists lest the funds made availableshould be used unintentionally in ways that tend to defeat the purposeof the gift. The church, in its benevolent program, should takeadvantage of the lessons learned by private philanthropic agencies indealing with problems of reclamation of the unfortunate or ofstimulating to a larger life. 

Many of the efforts at social progress fail because of lack of clearstatement of objectives. So far as the rural work is concerned, thefollowing are presented as necessary objectives, if the rural churchis to succeed in measuring up to its task. It is believed that fundsof the church can be used safely and wisely in their attainment. 

1. Strengthen the weak places in rural church work in harmony withprinciples of interdenominational ethics and well-establishedprinciples of benevolent assistance. 

2. Increase effectiveness of rural ministry by training ministry nowin service in modern methods of church work and by recruiting andtraining a new ministry in sympathy with rural life and devoted to itsimprovement. 

3. Organize rural church work so that every rural family will havedefinitely assigned pastoral care. 

4. Adjust interdenominational relationships so that the ideal of butone resident pastor and one church to each community may be realized. 

5. Provide means of interdenominational cooperation so that ruralreligious forces may work together in dealing with common problems ofrural social and religious progress. 

6. Organize rural work so that it may have due consideration in thegeneral policies of religious organizations. 

7. All the above are preliminary to the one great object, from thesocial point of view, namely, that of making it possible for the ruralchurch and the rural minister to function most effectively inbringing more abundant life in the best sense to rural people. 

After religious forces are organized so that they can present a unitedfront in the attack on the great social problems of rural life, thenthe individual churches and all churches together can undertake tomeet the challenge outlined in earlier chapters of this text and alsowell presented in much of the recent literature on the subject. Buteffective organization must precede most effective and permanentservice. 

Certain principles have been the guiding influence in the program onwhich the rural department of at least one of the leadingdenominations has been working. For those who come to positions ofadministrative responsibility from time to time without having beenunder the necessity of acquainting themselves with the principles thatshould guide in the safe expenditure of funds for maintenance ofpastors, these are given here:

1. Principles of interdenominational ethics should be observed inmaking grants of missionary funds to local pastors. It is to be fearedthat too often funds have been used to sustain a local work in thepresence of another denomination when efforts at interdenominationaladjustment would have relieved the situation by removing the necessity, namely, that of division of local resources by competing religious forces. 

2. Owing to the unusual problems presented on charges asking formissionary aid only the ablest ministers should be assigned to suchpoints. They should be supported according to their needs throughmissionary aid, and their acceptance of difficult work should enhancerather than lessen their standing in the church. 

3. Rigid avoidance of use of missionary funds for purposes of charity, or for making appointments easier. The charge, not the minister, isthe objective. 

4. Centralization of effort on a few places instead of dissipation offunds in providing inefficient service in many places. 

5. Gradual but certain withdrawal of support from national or Stateboards in order to avoid pauperizing communities by relieving them oftheir local financial responsibilities. 

As one of the most serious problems connected with rural missionaryservice is that of interdenominational complications, an effort hasbeen made to work out certain principles that may be observed by allreligious organizations carrying out a rural program. At the annualmeeting of the Home Missions Council in 1914 a statement of principleswas adopted. In 1919 the rural fields committee of the Home MissionsCouncil undertook the revision of these principles in the light oflater experience and adopted the revision as a committee report. Because this document represents the best judgment of those in thevarious denominations concerned with rural work it is presentedherewith as a desirable basis on which grants of funds may be safelymade. The statement is presented in full:

 Persuaded of the urgent need of some comprehensive and united plan for the evangelization of our country and for closer cooperation to make such plans effective, the Home Missions Council proposes for the consideration of its constituent societies the following principles of comity. It is to be distinctly understood, however, that no ecclesiastical authority of any kind is implied except as ecclesiastical bodies shall adopt these policies as their own. They have only the moral force of the consent of the parties desiring to see them become effective. 

 FIRST. As to the occupancy of new fields. The frequently suggested plan for the entering of new territory is to divide it among the various denominations, holding each body responsible for the proper working of its field. 

 a. In the judgment of this Council this course of procedure would seem to be impracticable. But a sensitive regard not only for the rights but for the sentiments of sister bodies of Christian people is demanded by every consideration of righteousness as well as fraternity. 

 b. In districts or in places already occupied by any denomination new work should be undertaken by any other body only after fraternal conference between the official representatives of the missionary organizations embracing those localities. 

 c. Occupancy of the field shall be determined by at least the following characteristics:

 1. The establishment of a regularly organized church. 

 The establishing of a Sunday school shall not be deemed sufficient to meet the terms of this definition. 

 2. The appointment of a pastor who shall be expected to hold services in the community at least once every two weeks. 

 3. The provision of church building and equipment within a reasonable time adequate to the needs of the community at its present stage of development. 

 The occupation of a field by any denomination after conference and agreement shall give to that denomination the right to the field and the responsibility for its Christian culture until such changes in population shall make it desirable that it be shared with one or more other denominations. 

 If the above conference shall fail to reach agreement, it shall be the privilege of the aggrieved party to make appeal to its respective board or society, which board or society shall confer with the sister board or society concerned, and these boards may then request the superintendents of the denominations concerned for the field in question to make personal investigation and to report their findings to their respective boards. If they agree, the boards shall take action in accordance therewith. If they disagree, the matter shall be referred to the boards for such action as their wisdom may determine, which action shall be communicated to the churches concerned with whatever ecclesiastical or moral force their decision may command. 

 SECOND. In communities already occupied by two or more denominations, in case any church or mission station shall consider itself aggrieved in its relations to sister churches, the course of procedure outlined in Section I shall likewise be followed. 

 There shall be friendly conference in the spirit of the Great Head of the church and recourse be had, when necessary, to the local or national missionary authorities, whose findings properly communicated shall have behind them the moral force of this Council. 

 Where any denomination occupies a district by groupings of mission stations under one missionary the same principles shall apply and the same method of adjusting differences shall be followed. 

 THIRD. "Overchurched Communities. " Not infrequently the promise of new towns fails of fulfillment, with the result that there are more church organizations than in any economic view should be maintained--at least out of missionary funds. In many sections of the country also, because of the marked shift of population from agricultural communities to urban centers, overchurching has weakened all denominations to the point where missionary effort is necessary to restore again a wholesome religious life. Regardless of the cause of overchurching, whether from the undue optimism of the newer sections of the country or changed conditions in the older, or other conditions, the problem of overchurching must be dealt with in the true spirit of comity and cooperation for the sake of the common good. 

 a. The principle should be established that one Protestant church is adequate for each community of less than 1, 500 inhabitants; and that efforts should be made to bring about interdenominational readjustment to this end in all sections of the country where economic and social conditions have become sufficiently established to make improbable any marked or rapid increase in population within a short time. 

 b. In communities of over 1, 500 inhabitants there should not be more than one Protestant church to every 1, 000 population. 

 c. In communities of over 1, 500 inhabitants and of less than 5, 000, plans should be worked out whereby the different denominations concerned shall cooperate in providing adequate building and equipment for community service. Such building should be strategically located and should be controlled by a governing board made up of representatives, the number of whom from each denomination shall be determined by the _constituency_ of that denomination in its proportion to the total Protestant or cooperating population. The rules for the control of the activities of such cooperative community service should respect the standards of the respective denominations. The support of such community service should be apportioned to the respective denominations concerned to be raised in their respective budgets in proportion to their respective representation on the governing board. 

 d. It shall be the duty of the denomination to which responsibility shall have been allocated to provide the best-trained leadership and the best service of which it is capable out of consideration to the other denominations that have intrusted the spiritual welfare of their membership to this group. 

 e. In determining what denomination has prime responsibility in a given community of under 1, 500 inhabitants the following shall be considered. 

 1. Present resident membership and constituency. The organization having the largest bona fide membership and constituency should be considered as having prime responsibility, from this point of view. 

 2. The residence of the pastor. In general, the pastor's residence should be given larger weight than membership unless the denomination having prime responsibility according to (1) stands ready to provide a pastor's residence in the community where this denomination has prime responsibility from the point of view of membership. 

 3. The location of the church building. The denomination that has a building located in a village center should be given precedence over the denomination that has its headquarters in the open country near a village. The building of the village church should be suitably located for adequate community service; that is, near the center of the village. 

 4. As between the village and the open country church, the village church should be given prime consideration in putting on an aggressive community program. 

 5. No missionary or "sustentation" support should be given by any cooperating denomination to a pastor in an overchurched community nor to a "circuit" involving interdenominational competition until after an adjustment is made either by reorganization of the circuit or an agreement has been reached by the missionary and administrative bodies of the respective denominations concerned as to an allocation of such missionary responsibility. 

 6. Church extension aid should not be given toward the rebuilding of churches in these communities until after allocation of responsibility has been effected. 

 7. If after due effort to secure satisfactory adjustment of relationships according to the plans suggested in First above, and by such further arbitration or other means as may be adopted by the Home Missions Council or its constituent bodies, then the denomination seeking such adjustment shall be at liberty to develop its own work as it may see fit, standing ready, however, to make agreement with competing bodies whenever they wish to renew negotiations. 

 8. In the interests of the Kingdom, after missionary responsibility has been allocated, efforts at unifying local religious organizations may take the form of federation, assimilation, affiliation, or such other mode as may be determined on by the local churches concerned. 

 9. Plans should also be worked out whereby the religious forms of the different groups may be respected; that is, that membership in the remaining religious organization may be obtained by fulfilling the obligations of the cooperating body with which the persons belonging to the withdrawing organization would naturally affiliate. 

 10. It is understood that nothing in this proposed set of principles implies that withdrawal from given fields shall be forced. It is only intended to provide a plan whereby all forces both local and general shall be united as rapidly as possible in the attainment of the desired end, namely, that of unifying Christian service in given communities. 

 11. In determining the limits of communities to which this plan shall apply the Federal Census Bureau designation of communities of 2, 500 and under as rural shall be adopted except as noted in paragraph 5c. 

 FOURTH. Inasmuch as many of the constituent bodies of this Council are already by official action committed to the principles of comity which we advocate, it would seem reasonable to hope that at least gradually these principles would find realization along some such lines as here proposed. 

 It is manifest, of course, that no plan of procedure can be expected to cover all cases or to be of universal applicability. We are glad to record that in some States there are Interchurch Federations to which local comity matters would naturally be referred. For other cases this Council proposes the erection of an Interdenominational Commission, to which any matter of comity not otherwise provided for may be referred by mutual agreement of the parties at interest. One representative of each of the bodies having membership in the Home Missions Council shall constitute this commission. When any case calling for adjudication shall rise, which case shall previously have had the consideration of any one or more of the constituent bodies of the Home Missions Council, it shall be referred to a Committee of Three chosen from this committee and acceptable to both parties. The decision of this committee shall have no ecclesiastical force, but its utterance shall be regarded as voicing the united judgment of the Home Missions Council and so far forth shall be binding on its constituent bodies. 

It is recognized that these principles do not receive the mostenthusiastic support of church leaders who are thinking in terms ofdenominational progress instead of community welfare. But this lack ofsupport is an evidence of their value instead of a criticism. Denominational interests must be sacrificed for the sake of theadvancement of the entire cause when the two come into conflict. Thereis reason to hope that not only Protestants but also Catholics andProtestants can come to cooperate on programs of community service, thus overcoming forever the vital objection to religious leadershipnow made that because of fundamental differences in belief the twogreat branches of the church cannot render an organized communityservice. 

The relations of the benevolent boards of the several denominations toother church organizations are such that but little can be saidconcerning methods of relating missionary work to the larger programof community service. In each case where projects for missionary aidare presented effort should be made to see that local conditions aremade such that the pastor can render the best service. It must berecognized that the application for outside aid is in itself anadmission of local weakness. The people are poor, or indifferent tothe type of service to which they have been accustomed. There has beenunforeseen disaster, as the destruction of church property by fire orin some other way. Sudden movements of population have temporarilyweakened the support of the church and new resources have not yet beendeveloped. Circuit systems must be broken up so that people will bewilling to support full-time resident pastors with efficient programsfor service. Customs of expecting the pastor to make his living inoutside work and attending to religious service as a side issue mustbe overcome. The pastor's residence may be in such condition thatfamilies cannot be sacrificed for the sake of missionary communitiesand residences must be supplied by liberal outside aid as thepreliminary to effective service. Church buildings are inadequate, andthe trained minister must be given every assurance that aid will berendered in bringing physical equipment up to par. In each case theproblems that present themselves must be met. The demands of any onecharge do not compare with the demands of any other. And methods mustbe adapted to meet the specific needs of each charge. These arematters that must be left to those responsible for administration ofmissionary funds. 

When the religious forces of America learn their problems so that along-time organized program of religious advance can be worked out, when they learn to cooperate in carrying out this program, then thehaphazard, wasteful, competitive missionary program that hascharacterized rural religious work in the past will disappear and weshall see one of the most marked advances in religious welfare theworld has ever known. 

CHAPTER XI

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

In the preceding chapters the effort has been made to outline some ofthe conditions and principles involved in organizing the rural churchfor community service. The field has been limited by distinguishingbetween that type of service which has to do with man's relation tohis Maker and that which has to do with his relations to his fellowman. The latter service has been chosen as the field for the presentdiscussion, and the effort has been made to keep within the field, regardless of the desirability of discussion of the other phases ofthe work of the rural church. The field itself both as to size ofcommunity and the scope of the entire field has received attention. Anattempt has been made to present the philosophic basis justifying thechurch in giving large attention to community service. Some of themore general aspects of rural life demanding attention on the part ofthe church have been discussed and the reasons for assuming thatcertain phases of rural social activity properly belong to the churchrather than to other agencies have been presented to the reader. 

The problems of adjustment between religious denominations as such andbetween the parent religious organizations and so-called "arms" of thechurch have been outlined and methods of adjustment suggested. Therelation of all religious forces to other rural life agencies hasreceived some attention; and, finally, the missionary program of thechurch as the agency for strengthening the weak and of advancing thegeneral cause of conquest of all life with principles of Christianliving was discussed. It is hoped that the principles presented willat least be given careful consideration, and if they are not acceptedin full, that they will at least provoke discussion that willeventually lead to some form of organization that will more nearlymeet the demands of the time than the present unorganized, unrelatedsectarian and other efforts that paralyze and discourage thoseresponsible for service in the local as well as in more general fieldsof Christian work. If this object can be accomplished, the effort topoint the direction organization should take will not have been invain.