The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-04-29
N Country Pastor.

Bemies is? No? Well, he's thu
Reverend c. O. Bemies, pastor OF the
Presbyterian church at McClelland-
town, Pennsylvania.
You think l ought not to call him
"Bemies'-short off, like that. It's
the greatest compliment l can pay
him. 1t involves the thought that
there is no other Bemies-which is
the truth.
He is the running mate OF McNutt
OF DuPage, Illinois, in the great
work Of making the rural school
worth something. Do you remem-
Der that once in this column | start
led you by asking whether or not the
rural church is to live or die? Well
II is still dying-except in spots. 1t
isn't dying in McNutt's parish, nor in
Bemies.'
And If there were ten thousand
pastors like these two in the United
States, the rural church would at
once leap into leadership in the
making Of our rural life what it
should be. Bemies says CT am
quoting, but condensing a little.):
81. The rural pastorate is a
specialized calling, demanding a
high grade Of Christian manhood and
abusive training"
Do you get that? 1t takes real
men, and specially trained men for
rural pastors. The skips and culls of
the city yards won't do.
"2. 1t must have more permanency
and definiteness Of purpose"
DO you see his point? He stayed
eight years in one church before he
round the way to make the church
really. And he began at two hun.
dred dollars year. The charge is a
better-paying one now. Again Benz
les says
'3. There should be an increasing
development of the Biblical and mod
eTn conception of the Kingdom of
Heaven among men. by infusing the
Spirit OF the Master Man into an
adaptive progress OF the moral. So
cial, civic, intellectual. economic and
commercial life Of the rural parish"
Note the words civic, intellect
ual.' "economic"-the new Bemies
touch is in them. If you think the
church has nothing to do with '.co-
nomic" things, you differ from Bemles.
For he goes on:
"a. AS God is everywhere. and His
power creates and possesses everything
and His spirit Of life animates all
living things, the earthly Kingdom of
Heaven relates to every thought and
activity of human life."
In other words. while religion con-
Germs itself with things of the next
world, it mustn't forget that we live I'm
this world. Bemies doesn't.
I'm going to skip sections 5, 6, 7,
nailed to the rural church door. They
are interesting, but l have to have
some of this space myself. In es-
sence, they assert that peace happi-
mess and prosperity ara things to be
accomplished by religious activities.
What does he mean by prosperity"
hi
everyday prosperity-better farming.
better hogs and COWS and guaranteed
eggs. IF Christianity" says Bemies,
doesn't belong in every part of life,
1T doesn't belong in any part" Bemies
says further.
10. The rural pastor should be
able to guide the development of the
human and natural resources of the
community. according to the unity Of
the earthly kingdom"
And so Bemies, having preached
better farming to his peole for ten
years with Indifferent success, has
taken three e-thundred-acr farm and
10 SoihS 10 put on the whole armOr OF
God in the shape Of overalls and
wammus. I wish we could all listen
70 his sermons for the next few
years.
In Articles IL and II he tells us
that the meek shall inherit the earth
and the pastor should help them to
do 1t; and that. instead OF secular
izing' the church by making it a
Farming influence, he is spiritualizing
the farmers life. And he adds,
There is nothing secular but sin"
In the next Article Of Faith he says:
"13. The rural church is the com
munity center, and the rural pastor
Is the community builder"