Evening star., 1933-05-24
Header IS NEEDED
lin TIME OF CRISIS,
|BAPT|STS ARE TOLD
President of Northern Group
SAYS Another Roosevelt
Would Aid Church.
SEES EMERGENCY FACING
HIS DENOMINATION
Calls Upon Church to Fight for
Disarmament, Unemployment
and Against Repeal.

johnson, its president, told the 5000
delegates attending today's opening
annual session that what Is need is
another Franklin D. Roosevelt to lead
his church through hard times.
DR.. johnson addressed himself to
"The Present Challenge" and declared
the Baptist organization is being con-
stantly reminded that to meet the
challenge of changing conditions the
church must speedily adjust and re-
adjust its machinery to the task In
hand. He said:
! "We must have in our situation
something akin to the daring courage,
the business sagacity, the political
acumen, the wholesome confidence IN
his fellow men, the straightforward
frankness, the readiness Of attack,
, which has been evidenced by that
veritable human dynamo now residing
in the White House-Franklin D.
Roosevelt"
This sort of leadership, DR.. johnson
told the convention when the applause
had subsidized, vested in some Moses and
directed toward our present denomina-
tional distress would right early have
us on our way out Of our Egypt toward
the promised land of greater achieve
ments for Christ's kingdom"
Summarizing the Baptist situation,
and for that of the emergency facing
other denominations, he paraphrased
the famous report to the allied army
by Marshall Foch during the crisis
Of the first Marne:
"Our foreign line is broken, our home
line is wavering, the spiritual life in
the church is ebbing, the situation is
excellent for Baptists to attack
on their knees.
A great many delegations to the
Southern Baptist Convention, which
closed its own annual sessions with an
historic reunion meeting with the
Northern group all day yesterday, at
tended the opening session Of the
Northern branch of the church in the
sions will continue through Sunday.
A welcome to the convention was
extended by DR.. w. s. Abernethy, pas
tor of Calvary Baptist Church, and the
response was made by President john
son. Rev. U. S. Clutton of Indianapo-
lis gave the opening prayer.
DR.. johnson urged responsibility Of
the church to the solution Of world
problems, such rs unemployment and
disarmament.
"Is there no challenge to the follow
ers of the Prince of Peace in the fact
that while the horrible wounds of the
Warld War are still bleeding. the ma
tions of the entire world are even more
completely armed to fight each other
than they were in 1914?"
dtions which face the church, DR..
johnson added:
Are we challenged and aroused by
the widespread and for the most part
untruthful propaganda which has re-
suited in the first step being taken to
repeal the eighteenth amendment and
bring back the saloon with its corrupt
ing and blighting infiuence?"
Financial reports on the status Of
the various wideflung activities of the
Northern Baptists were being rendered
at today's session.
For the Board Of Mission Co-opera-
ton the executive secretary, w. H.
Bowler, declared the budget for the
coming year had been reduced 80 per
cent. This was necessitated by eco
sary, he said, to close down many
bureaus. dismiss many employees and
reduce salaries. The changes, he added,
will bring the remaining forces of the
board under unified control.
The report of the Finance Committee
fixed the total operating budget for the
fiscal year ending April 80, 1884, at S.
676,1A. This amount Is made up of
3,747, ,496 as q share Of denomination
receipts, and $1,928,648 estimated in
come from non-denomination receipts.
Chairman w. A. Staub declared, in
view of the fact that denomination re-
ceipts had fallen steadily behind for
number of years, a reduction of ap-
folv rart froY,, fbjc cotrra
had been fixed in the budget for the
coming year. The total Of $3,777 ,496 to
be asked for carrying on missionary
benevolent work next year, the COM
mittee believed, was well within the f.
nancial ability of the Northern Bap-
fists, despite present economic condi-
tions.
The spending budget for next year,
Chairman Staub said, has been fixed at
IS per cent of the donated receipts.
plus the actual receipts from invested
i income and other non-donation sources.
Last nights session concluded the one
day reunion meetings OF the southern
and Northern groups, which had split
SO wears ago over the slavery question.
DR.. M. E. Dodd, leader of the South
ern Convention, broke through formalt-
| ties to admonish every one: Now, forget
| the North and South, yeu rebels and
you Yanks, and shake hands with your
| neighbors"
Earlier in the day the Northern and
Southern leaders had visited the White
House as further mark of the historic
event.
DR.. George w. Truett of Dallas was
the principal speaker last night, sug-
gesting in his address the need for can
unfailing faith"
There is no need for any perplexity
about faith" DR.. Truett said. Faith
holds all things together. Our
| need is for consciousness Of God and
| His sovereignty"
! Dr. Clarence A. Barbour, president Of
Brown University, declared it was the
duty of the state to see that every man
| has a fair chaice, and that the state
has other obligations outside the pres
ervation of peace.
, There were separate meetings for men
and women in the afternoon, the for
mer meeting in Calvary Baptist Church,
the latter In Constitution Hall.
After their session the Northern and
Southern men held q fellowship supper