The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-12-15

to lend his time and his energy to
4 the amount of organization which Ia
/ necessary outside the church. as well
as for the benefit Of the community
I III seems to me that the country pas
/ tor has an unparalleled opportunity
! 70 be country leadet. to make every
body realize that he as the represen-
tative Of Christ, believes himself re-
lated TO everything human to every
thing human that has az its object
! the uplift and construction and in
SEPARATION Of the community for the
hetterment of any of its conditions.
And that IL any pastors will make it
felt throughout the community that
that is his spiri, and that is his in
terest. and that he Is ready to draw
his elders and his deAcons and his
vcstrymen with him az active agents
in the betterment of the community.
the church will begin to have a
dominating influence in the commu-
nifty such as 1t has lost for the time
being. and which we must and means
to regain
I hope that our society is not going
ito exist in the next world. 1t needs
amendment in several particulars.
venture to say, and ] hope that the
society in the next world will be
amended in those particulars, which
ing to do with society in the next
world We may have something to
do with the individual soul in the
next world, by getting it started for
the next world. but we have nothing
to do with the organization of So
ciety in the next world. We have got
TO save society SO far as il is saved
by the instrumentality of Christianity
IN this world. 1t Is a Job. therefore.
we have got to undertake Immediate
~ ard work out all the time, and 1t
IS he business Of the church. Legis-
iation cannot save society Legisla-
ltion cannot even rectfy society. A
law that will work Ia merely the sum-
ming up In legislative form Of the
moral Judgment that the community
has already reached.
Law w. Moral Judgment
Law records show how far society
has got; and there have got to be in
umentaiities preceding a law that
got society up to that point where it
Will be ready to record. Try the ex-
pertinent of enacting law that is
the moral Judgment OF a very small
minority OF the community, and 1t
won't work. Most people won't I'M
dersfand 1t. and il they understand It
they will resent 1t, but whether they
understand, it. and resent it or not,
they won't obey it.
zone 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
methods of cooperation with regards
| to marketing their crops. how to
handle their crops in cooperative
fashion, SO that they can get the best
service from the railroads, how to
find the prevailing market prices in
the accessible markets. so as to know
where 1t will be best and most profit
able to send their products, how to
draw themselves together In co-opera-
! tive associations with these objects
! in view. The church ought TO lend
its hand TO that. The pastor ought
to say If you want somebody to look
| after this for YOU / give part OF my
time, and | will find other men in my
congregation who will help you at the
organization and help you without
charging you anything for it. We want
you 10 realize that this church is in
terested in the lives of the people OF
this country, and that it will lend
itself to any legitimate project that
advances the life. and interest of the
people OF this country
If I can lend such little contrihu-
Ition Of spiritual force as ] have to
lmy neighbor and to my comrade. and
Ito my friend, and we can draw a
circle of friends together and unite
our spiritual forces. then we have
something more than example. We
have cooperation, and cooperation is
the vital principle Of social life.
II think l know something about
organization. ] can make an organi-
zation; but 1t Is one thing to have an
organization. and another thing to fill
IT with life. And then 1t In very
important matter what sort Of life to
fill It with. If the object Of the or
ganization is what the object of some
bushes organiza tons Is. and the OBJ
ject of many political organizations Is
to absorb the life of the community
and run the community for its own
benefits, then there is nothing profit
able in IT, But II the object OF the
community is to afford mechanism
by which tho whole community can