Evening star., 1915-12-11

what it lives by: by what it intends:
! by the visions which its young men
dream and the achievements which its
| men of maturity attempt So that
| each nation eXalts. when it writes its
poetry or writes it's memoirs, the char
acter of it's people and of those who
spring from the loins of it's people.
There is an old antithesis upon which
| do not care to dwell, because
| there is not great deal to be
got from dwelling on it-between life
| and doctrine. There is no real antithe-
sis. man lives as he believes he
ought to live or as he believes that it
is to his advantage to live. He lives
upon doctrine, upon principle, upon
| an ldeal--sometimes very low princi-
pie, sometimes very exalted principle.
Il used to be told when l was a
YOUTH that some of the old casuists re-
duced all sin to egotiSm, and l have
thought as I watched the career of
some individuals that the analysis had
some vital point to it. An egotist is a
man who has got the whole perspective
of life wrong. He conceives himself
of himself as the center of affairs even
as affects the providence of God. He
has not related himself to the great
forces which dominate him with the
little kingdom all his own in which
he reigns with unhonored sovereignty.
SO there are some men who set up
the principles of individual advantage
a S the principle. the doctrine, of their
life. and live by that, and live generally
a life that leads to all sorts of ship
wreck. Whatever our doctrine be, our
life is conformed to il.
Effect on the Community.
When l think of the rural church l
wonder how far the rural church is
vitalizng the lives of the communities
in which it exists. We have had a
great deal to say recently, and it has
been very profitably said. about the
school as a social center. by which is
meant the schoolhouse as social CEN
ter; about making the house which
IN the daytime is used for the children
a place which their parents may use
In the evenings and the other olsen
gagged times for the meetings of the
community. where they are privileged
to come together and talk about any
thing that is of community interest and
talk about it with the umost freedom
Some people have been opposed to it
because there are some things that
they do not want talked about. Some
boards of education have been opposed.
to it because they realized that it
might not be well for the board OF
education to be talked about. Talk is
a very dangerous thing, community
gerous thing. to the men who are doing
the wrong thing: but | for my part
believe in making the school the social
center. the place that the community
can use for any kind of co-ordinatinS
that it wants to do in it's life.
But / believe that where the school
house is inadequate. and even where il
is adequate. that the most vital social
center should be the church itself: and
that. not by way of organizing the
church for social service-that is not
my topic tonight: that is another top
ic-but of making the community real
ize that the congregation. and particu-
iarlX that pastor. is interested IN
everything that is important for that
community. and that the members of
that church are ready to cooperate
and the pastor ready to lend his time
and his energy to the kind of organiza
church as well as in, for the benefit of
the community.
Best Methods of Cooperation.
"One of the things that the Depart
ment of Agriculture at Washington is
trying to do is to show the farmers of
the country the easiest and best meth
DDS of cooperation with regard to
marketing their crops; learning how
to handle their crops in a cooperative
fashion, so that they can get the best
service from the railroads: learning
how to find the prevailing market
prices in the accessible market, so as
to know where it will be best and most
profitable to send their farm products;
and drawing them together into coop
erative association with these objects
in view
The church ought to lend it's hand
you want somebody to look after this
for you. l will give part of my time
and / will find other men in my congre-
cation who will help you in the work
and help you without charging you
ANYTHING for it,
The church has too much depended
upon Individual example. SO let their
light shine before men, has been in
terpreted to mean put your individual
self on candlestick and shine Now,
the trouble is that they are very poor
candle and the light is very dim 1t
doesn't dispel much of the darkness
for me individually to sit on top of a
candlestick, but if / can lend such lit
tie contribution of spiritual force as |
have to my neighbor and to my COM
rade and to my friend. and we can
draw circle of friends together and
unite our spiritual forces, then we
have cooperation.
"Co-operation is the vital principle
OF social life. Not organization merely.
I think l know something about or
ganization. I can make an organiza-
tion, but it is one thing to have an or
and another thing to fill it
with life. And then it is a very i'm
portant matter what sort of life you
NIL 1t with. IL the object of the organi-
zaton Is what the object of some busi-
ness organization is, and the object of
many political organizations is. to abb
sorb the life Of the community and run
the community for it's own benefit. then
there is nothing profitable in it, But
!. the object of the organiZa ton is to
aNord mechanism by which the whole
community can comparatively use its
An organization without the spirit of
cooperation is dead and may be dam
geroUA.
Tendency to Organization.
This is nation which loves to go
through the motions of public meet
ing. whether there is anything par-
ucularly important to consider or not.
II Is an interesting thing to me how
the American Is born knowing how to
conduct public meeting. l remember
that when l was lad 1 belonged to
an organization which at that time
seemed to me very important, which
was known as the Lightfoot Base Ball
Club. Our clubroom was corner, an
unoccupied corner, of the loft of my
fathers barn, the part that the hay
tinctly remember how We used to con-
duct orderly meetings Of tho cluh in