The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-07-11

lngs, ana tnat Is partly why i am
telling this. When | started to preach
there was a man named Rankin and
he was very pious and very learned.
Hut he had no horse-sense and no
cow-sense. Shortly after he was mar
lied someone gave him a fresh COW.
Six weeks after he got her she was
dry. Now the farmers who had given
him the COW wondered and they
asked him what was the matter with
the COW. And he answered, "She has
never been sick a day" And they
asked: Don't you milk her any
more?" And the preacher answered:
Not now" And they asked; "Well,
what is the trouble that you don't
milk her? Did you strip herr" What
do you mean,' he asked. Ibid you
milk her clean, did you take all the
milk she had?" "Why, no." he an.
Swered, I'VE only needed two quarts
day and we let the COW Keep The
iuoNs hdI 10 Nhdb Ndii u"oNi'h-
tifc farming.
Here Is a farmer who says: II am
offered one hundred dollars for my
TIMBER as much as To say, all ]
want is the one hundred dollars. The
wife says: THAT timber stands right
over our spring, and you may spoil
the spring" But John Just cuts of
the timber and lets the COW keep the
rest.
In some parts of the state they
raise corn and take off the ears and
let the stalks stand in the field. Now
we have to feed our cows all winter
on the stalks or the state of Connecti-
cut would go bankrupt. An acre Of
land is like a COW because you Til
that land and it feeds you. The farm
er ought To improve the land, and
farming that improves the land keeps
up the country church. Farming does
very often destroy land, and farming
that robs the land and makes IL
poorer is undermining the church.
1t is dependent upon the goodness
Of the soil. | say, therefore, that
good man is a man who makes the
land better for his children. And the
tad farmer is the farmer who leaves
the land worse than when he got it.
Now another trouble in the coun-
try is that we have got too many
churches. In many of our cOmmuni-
ties we have three or four churches.
In one place down in Tennessee there
are four churches in a row and no
minister lives in the town. These
churches are all alike, just the same
size, four denominations. one Presby-
terrain, one Disciple. one Methodist
and one Baptist. And 50 they arrang-
ed 1t that the Presbyterian preacher
comes the first Sunday, the Disci-
pie the next Sunday, the Methodist
the next and the Baptist the next.
The buildings all stand in one line.
And they use the Presbyterian church
all one year, and then the Disciple
and then the Methodist and then the
Baptist. And this enterprising COM
munity bought one stove that is NOV
ed from church to church year after
year with the circuit. And they have
got Just one well OF water and every
enc that wants drink gets an I'M
UNCONVENTIONAL drink. And the
horses and mules stand hitched -
one long hitching post. And finally,
when they had to fence those churches
they did not fence them separately
but built q fence around them all
They have one God and one Saviour
and they assent to one faith, and
they put this one fence around all
those four churches.
What essential difference is there
among the country churches in the
things they stand for-this great,
democratic. independent faith? l do
not believe these churches should
be made one. | think we should
keep our different names and our diff
ferent traditions and our different
customs. but l say We should not
curse one another nor hate one an
other but there should be unity OF
spirit. But If we become one In
spirit and act together and hold TO
one another and help one another
then you will find that all these
churches will be one and the law
shall not say them nay. That is my
experience in the country. The great
business of the church is to be the
center Of the whole community. Not
that everybody will come into your
church but that you, as loving those
people, should visit them and know
them all and mingle with them and
make them understand that your
church, however small the member
ship. uses those few people to serve
the whole community.
In my church in the country there