South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-10-02
GIVES ADVICE To
RURAL PASTORS
Or. Mcconnell Urges COmmun-
ity Work to Gain Hearts
of Farmers.

You preacher OF the open country
don't think for a minute that you are
a failure because at middle age you are
still ministering in your rural COM
nnunity The time must come when
preachers will not be referred 70 as
being in the $500 a year class, or the
$1,000 class or the $4,000 cluss. The
preacher Of the open country has a
great task before him and in its &C
complishment he will be doing as
much for God as any follower Of the
Lord may be expected to do. The
time must come when the city minis
ters will not gather at the conference
and point to the preacher who mas
come in from his rural charge and
call him a so-many dollar man.
Thus did DR.. c. NJ Mcconnell, the
Young preacher from Ohio whose
glowing enthusiasm and tactics re-
mind one Of Dick Falkner in That
Printer of UdelFs," defend the cOun-
try minister in his second address
before the conference Friday after
noon upon The Rural Church" Or.
McConnelPs address was a revelation
Of the work that he is doing in the
two little villages Of Newkirk ana
Lakeville, o. and he brought out
many points which he said should be
taken advantage Of by rural preachers.
Must DO Community work.
1--WE must link up the church with
the tasks Of the community declared
the speaker I'm other words we
preachers of the country must do
community service. In the first place
when the preacher takes his country
parish he should Immediately learn
all the conditions OF the community.
He must take a clear eyed look or
several clear eyed looks and study
the situation, learning what are the
forces Of evil and what are the forces
of good He must know the needs OF
the community.
when l left TIE city 1 burned my
calling cards in the back yard 1 now
carry a husking peg instead of the
cards. You must get down next to
the farmer, work with him and for
him. L have gone out and worked IN
the fields With my man when they
needed hands and it there that you
can reach a mans heart.
Need Not BE An Expert.
"I don't say that preacher should
be an expert at farming or that a
course in agriculture should be taken
with his theological course but 1 do
say that the country preacher should
know where TO find experts and
should make it his business to see
that the farmers of the community
are doing the proper kind Of farming
You viii find that the results Will add
10 the strength Of the church.
"The farmer should know how to
spray as we'll as to pray" declared
Dr. Mcconnell. as he told how he had
taken old run down. worm eaten
apple orchard and put it in the care
of an expert from Columbus. O., who
showed the farmers how to care for
the trees and save the orchard.
God is not sanctioning waste on
this earth of His" asserted the
speaker. There is a Christian way
OF treating a farm"
DR.. Mcconnell said that the country
preacher should not be baked by the
rough roads and the bad weather but
should be always in touch with the
people of the community.
when one of your people falls i'll,
be there in time to call the DOCTOR"
he said.
DIR. McCOnneIls Lesson.
While going TO school Or. Neon
nell said that he was employed by
breakfast food company. distributing
samples to the houses in various
towns. One day the manager of the
crew with which he was working call
ed the men together and told them
that he wanted them TO put a sample
package of the breakfast food in every
house they could find. The manager
told the men that il at 10 minutes to
o'clock-the quitting hOur-they saw
n house far down the lane and away
from the rest of the homes. they were
TO take sample to that one house if
they did not get back until noon the
next day. The manager gave as his
reason for this that the fellow who
delivered the package would be the
only distributor who had gone that
far out of the way and therefore
would be working in a fertile field.
4 have always followed the advice
given by that breakfast food man.
said Dr. Mcconnell. If YOU are driv-
ing along the road and IL is dusk and
you know you Will be asked why YOU
let the supper get cold and YOU come
10 a lane at the far end of which
there is a house. just turn that old
horse and drive down the lane TO the
house. That is the sort OF work that
brings results"