East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-09-13
RURAL CHURCH
IS LOSING out
Jmes W. Street Declares That Rural
Ministers to Blame for Decad-
ence.

lNDlANAPOlAlS, ina. sept. ID
Hundreds of rural churches are dead
and hundreds more are dying and the
rural ministers are to blame entirely.
according to James w. Street. of
Mackinaw of the Rural Church De-
partment at Bethany Park, Ind. In
an article written for the United Press
w. Street scathingly denounces the
young minister who accepts a rural
pulpit merely as stepping stone for
charge in the city. His article fol-
lows:
That the rural church is decadent
is not questioned by those who have
scanned the stream that overflows in
! TO the urban centers of population. 1t
no longer possesses the strength to
mould the lives of its people on large
spiritual plane. Rural communities
are no longer immune from modern
evils. The grossest forms OF sin are
now found amid the most attractive
rural surroundings Country slums"
are no longer curiosity but an alarm
! ing situation demanding immediate
attention. Hundreds of rural church.
es are dead and other hundreds are
/ dying. 1t is not because there is no
want or desire for the services rural
churches might render that so many
are dead. 1t is because the right kind
OF leadership is not present.
The largest single item in shaping
the policy of the rural church is the
minister He comes as a nevangelist
and organizes the congregation. He
! Is called to direct its workers in their
efforts to brink the Kingdom of God
! among men" He is given full charge
of the work. His time is his to be used
as he directs. Seldom does his peo-
! pie question the use he makes of IL.
The people have confidence in him and
trust him in all church matters. They
usually pay him a larger salary than
any member of his congregation re-
ceives, notwithstanding the great flu
rore regarding the low salaries for
ministers. The homes of the commu-
nifty are open to him. Every officer
of the church has the right to look to
him for help in directing the work Of
the church. How has ne acted under
such circumstances?
Only Stepping Stone.
From a careful investigation OF
many cases II has been established
that nearly every man who has accept
ed a call to a rural church does so
only as a stepping stone to city work.
He has been imbued with the idea that
only beginners and broken down fail
ures find a place in the rural service.
He believes that the big men and the
strong men always go ultimately to the
I.n ,..f1r III
idea results in sermons that smell o!
the roar and rush of the city. They
are favored with the city opportunity
and its task. They are colored with
the city needs and its sins. He sees nc
local observation except to preach
some sermons that he expects to use
later in his city church. He reads nc
hooks except those that deal with the
city service.
Ask him about the problems of his
community and he will look at you a.
though you were a fool. Ask him Il
he has planuned for the enlargement
o. the service his church renders thu
people and he smiles at your simple
] ity. The Great White Way of the cit,
} holds him enthralled and he does no
know that many of the evils Of the cit.
: are already transplanted in his owl
, locality.
Many Are Being Narrowed.
With this attitude Is 1t any wonde
e that his farmer folk grow hungry 70
q spiritual food suited to their needs
4 They grow weary of being harrowe'
: with the sins of the city while thei
4 boys and girls are going to the devi
y along the county lanes. Is It an
wonder they have turned away from
the church and the rural minister