The young Christian and his community ; a study book for classes in practical Christian service

Front matter

The Young Christian and His Community

A Study Book for Classes in Practical Christian Service

BY

Introduction

"The Young Christian and His Community" has come to the kingdom of youth for such a time as this. Two years ago, almost, when engaged in planning for the emphasis to be placed upon the Third Department— the department dealing with citizenship and community service — during the summer and winter season of 1920-21, the Ep worth League invited the author of this book to submit an outline of what might become a text book on social service for young people.

When, some months later, the proffered outline, in manuscript, was receiving some of the attention reserved for candidates for public favor, a chance remark by one who happened to be looking it over was to the effect that "the whole thing smelt of powder."

As the outline has grown into the proportions of a volume that impression has become deeper. Its viewpoint is that of a participant, not a mere observer or student of social phenomena; its appeal is that of a comrade in arms; its deliverance is charged with the immediacy and urgency — and tragedy — of the actual. It abounds in what in works of art is called "atmosphere."

It was felt that the preparation of the long-needed book demanded three outstanding qualifications in its writer. One of these is the ability to understand young folk in such a. way that they might be introduced to themselves, as it were. To single out and capitalize the virtues they have in common and to enlist them in an enterprise together, means vastly more than lengthy

INTRODUCTION

deliverances upon what people ought to do because they profess to be Christians.

Activities and conduct make up a larger part of the "creed" of a young person than carefully defined "beliefs." And these activities and this conduct are seldom individual in their expression. They live, think and act with one another as "chums," — or other groupings — but always with the group. The point of view usually reveals a passion for being "on the square," and for consideration for the unfortunate. These strong leadings toward justice and charity, this movement with the crowd, are the beginnings of collective action, collective thinking and collective achievement.

To guide these interests into activities distinctively Christian is no small part of the task of a teacher or leader of the young. And to adjust these to the community where one lives completes the trio of demands laid upon the author.

That he possessed all three — and in eminent degree — is known to all who enjoy a personal acquaintance with him.

If it should be felt that the range of the chapters has been needlessly limited, so that the Epworth League in the rural neighborhood has been left out of the reckoning, this word should be written, namely, that it has, perhaps, been left out in the matter of suggestions for programs, but included in the message.

Ralph Felton's useful book on "The Epworth League in Rural Community Service." abounds in workable suggestions for activities * But a young church member following the chapters of "The Young Christian and His Community" through, page after page, until the end is reached, finds himself thinking of

INTRODUCTION

sin in a new way. It is no longer the individual, subjective impression upon one's heart, but it is a hideous, deforming, destroying force operating at large in the community as a community force and must be combated as such. Wrong, neglect, injustice, cruelty, ignorance, greed, lust, selfishness, are written across the sky in letters of fire; they are the great destroyers that ca*ll for the courage and consecration of crowds to conquer. This wholesome lesson is for all — and it is a lesson that needs to be laid to heart everywhere.

Therefore, Epworth League Institutes — summer and winter — are urged to arrange for the training of leaders for study classes in all our chapters, until the Christian life of the young people — the makers of to-morrow— shall come to expression in the forms of service that preach "good tidings to the poor; that proclaims release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; that sets at liberty them that are bruised, and proclaims the acceptable year of the Lord."

Charles E. Guthrie, General Secretary of the Epworth League. Central Office

Chicago, Illinois.

Chapter One The Church As A Social Service Institution

A YOUNG man was listening to a description of an undertaking that was being sponsored by an aggressive city church. Turning to his companion, he said, "Well, that is what I call practical religion," to which the friend wisely replied, "Yes, if it is religion^ it is practical. Religion is always practical."

The young man's remark is indicative of an attitude of mind widely prevalent. A distinction has been made between "practical" and "impractical" religion. Because the Church has been inclined to emphasize the> worshipful aspects of religion it has been called mystical, other-worldly, and visionary. Many young Christians, inspired by .a great passion to serve, but without a clear appreciation of the real mission of the Church, have turned to agencies outside the Church to find an opportunity that would allow a practical expression of kindliness.

But the Church has not been altogether blameless in the matter. The evangelism of the last generation

ii has laid deep emphasis upon the personal aspects of religion, and the social phases have been given onlypassing notice. During the last few years, however, a growing interest in the problems of human need has given the Church a new conception of her social mission. Her present attitude, therefore, is expressed in the words of Dr. Charles L. Stelzle when he remarks "Wherever there is need of redemption, there the church has a mission."

Modern scientific surveys have taught us where to find enemies of a wholesome personal piety. The assembling of facts shows the relation of cause and effect. We find, for instance, that long hours, with small opportunity for recreation, result in fatigue and nervous exhaustion, which in turn produce little interest in spiritual things. Therefore a campaign- in the interests of good working conditions has a distinct religious value. Better housing, which lowers the death rate, decreasing disease and lifting debts and doctor bills, is part and portion of the Gospel which proclaims rest for the weary and healing for the sick.

The problems of one generation are not always the problems of the next. It is true of science as well as religion. This is because life is always changing. The swish of the winds, the stirring of the sap, and the falling of the rain work perpetual change in the life of the plant. The migration of peoples, the development of industry, and the wonders of invention work a profound change in the life of nations. The religious zeal of our fathers, unaffected by tenements, food combines, price regulations, profiteering, shifting labor markets, commercialized vice, and economic disturbances, could spend itself in fighting the evils of a simpler civilization. But the Christian in this generation must give battle to all those forces which defeat the aims of religion, regardless of where the battle line may take him.

If there is evil anywhere in the world, the religion of Jesus Christ is the implacable foe of that thing. If any evil is too strong for the power of God, then this is evil's world and not God's world. But God cannot be defeated in His own world and remain in control. The Christian's faith is in the God of this world, the God of righteousness , able to triumph over evil.

Jesus of Nazareth, the Christian's God in human form, gave battle to evil of every sort. He defied the grafters (Luke 19. 45), denounced exploiters (Luke 18. 1-8), assailed unscrupulous wealth (Luke 12. 13-21), and preached the "Gospel of otherdom." Having exhibited the character of a loving God battling against evil in the interests of His children, He went back to our Father, committing the task of world redemption to those whose lives had been transformed by the incoming of His marvelous Spirit. His words were, "Ye shall be my witnesses." His meaning was, "You shall be the evidence of God's power to redeem men in a world beset with evil."

When American soldiers crossed the Atlantic to battle the enemies of democracy on European soil, many conscientious Americans objected seriously. It was a radical departure, but a new day had come. Soldiers of America, the world power, were needed wherever a world problem needed solution. Perhaps the battle in which the social obligations of religion involve us must be fought in fields new and strange. The exigencies of a new situation call for the exercise of the forces of true religion wherever evil is menacing and defiant. Perhaps the Church, as an organization,

J3 need take no part in the fight, but the Christian, inspired by his training in the Church and loyal to the Kingdom of Rightness, cannot be true to the Church or Christ and keep out of the fray.

An Unfortunate Estrangement

Many Christian people have made a serious mistake, as they have conceived of Christianity as salvation from this world instead of salvation in and for this world. Men have looked upon the world as bad and have sought escape from it. It is true that evil has worked terrible havoc, but humanity is still capable of wonderful good. Genesis records that "God saw the world, that it was good." Thousands of years afterward God saw the world reeking with sin, but He saw so much good mixed with the bad that He invested His own Son, in the hope that it might be redeemed from evil. When God hopes, let no man despair. Good men must invest in it their lives.

Social workers have been impatient with religious workers because they have struggled to save men from the world. Religionists, on the other hand, have deprecated the work of the social service expert because he has seemed to ignore the spiritual interests of men. Because of intolerance, the Church has lost the valuable friendship of many whose splendid consecration and unselfish goodness has driven them to give their lives in service. Because of impatience with a Church that had no understanding of the social implications of religion, the social worker has held aloof and lost the spiritual inspiration and power which the world could not give.

A successful settlement worker, whose rare combination of spiritual insight and social vision had made him a trusted leader, one time explained his religious interests by saying, "Why should I give these people everything but the thing that sent me here?" Let the young Christians of the new generation purpose in their heart to seek the spiritual power that the Church promises, that they may go forth into the highways of men equipped to battle victoriously and establish the reign of God, even in the midst of a material world.

The Social Heritage of the Church

It is the firm conviction of the author that the Church affords an unrivaled opportunity for the young Christian who seeks to give himself in service to his community. Consider the wide variety of service the church uses — teaching, preaching, healing, singing, friendly visiting, poor relief. Consider the number of societies that the Church maintains to serve the needs of the community — Sunday school, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, study classes, musical organizations, mothers' clubs, lecture courses, etc. The young Christian who has time and talent to spend for the good of the community will find a score of openings in almost any Church, no matter how rural or isolated. Indeed, he owes just such service to the Church, and for this the Church is training him.

Social service is not a new thing to the Church. True, the changing tides of life have altered the form of that service a little,' but the spirit has always been the same. The Franciscan and Dominican monks of the middle ages were primarily and essentially the servants of the people. The teaching friars were the educators. Monasteries and nunneries were social service institutions under the direct control of the Church. Practically all teaching for centuries was done

J5 by the Church. Hospitals and asylums are the direct product of the Church's interest in the sick and poor. Read the story of Tom Chalmer's work in Glasgow. The school, the hospital, the library, the art gallery, and the conservatory of music, with their allied professions, are all children of the Church.

During the Reformation the emphasis was shifted somewhat to personal religion. The Wesleyan revival in England, however, went among the colliers, the prisoners, the down-trodden, and the poor, and ministered through medicine, education, and philanthropy, as well as in the preaching of "the Word." Wesley himself wrote pamphlets on medicine, law, dentistry, economics, physics, and almost every subject under the sun. He established dispensaries, clinics, schools, orphanages, hospitals, and printing presses. One of the first institutions founded by the Methodist Church in America was a college. John Wesley would have been perfectly at home in a modern institutional Church. It was his daily habit of ministry.

The "practical" aspects of the work the Church is doing have been overlooked, even by Christians. A certain good man one time declared, "My lodge is doing more in the way of practical religion in this community than all the Methodist Churches put together." When asked to explain, he said, "Well, look at all the Thanksgiving baskets we put out." An editor was asked why his paper gave so much space to the fact that the lodge had distributed Thanksgiving baskets, when no mention was made of those the Church put out. His reply was, "When the lodge sends out Thanksgiving baskets, that is news. When the church sends out poor relief, it is 'old stuff.' "

It is encouraging sometimes to consider the actual achievements of the Church in its practical efforts to serve. The histories of more than half the States of the Union reveal the fact that the first educational institution for higher learning was established by some Church. By far the majority of the hospitals of the six largest American cities are the product of religious zeal. Subtract the orphanages, asylums, rest homes, charitable agencies and societies, and helping-hand organizations under religious direction from the total, and see what a pitiful few are left. The Church of Jesus Christ is still carrying out the injunction of her Master to heal the sick, raise the fallen, and feed the poor.

Community Methodist Church, Chicago, works in a district inhabited largely by foreigners. The ward has one of the highest percentages of juvenile delinquency of all the wards of the city.' Yet the pastor of that Church, after eight years on the field, directing a Sunday school which has handled hundreds of children, declares that he has never been called into the juvenile court for a single child from his school. Compare the cost of that Sunday school during those eight years with the cost of one policeman for eight years.

Consider the community value of one week's activity in the average Church. A large group of children are gathered in for a weekly period of training in citizenship and good morals. A choir of young voices is trained in good music. The women meet for an hour's study of problems of government, religion, and home life in foreign lands. The young people hold a "stunt fest" or "social," where good fun is mixed with wholesome companionships, with no after regrets. Twice each week the people gather to listen to an address on some helpful theme to which a trained man has given time and experience in preparation. Moreover, the people sing together songs that inspire and encourage. Nowhere else but in the Church do people habitually sing together. Community singing, so popular during recent months as an innovation, has been practiced by the Church for centuries.

Think of the educational value of the Church. Whatever their failings, the ministers are men educated considerably above the average. Begin to reckon the number of useful things you have learned at the Church and in its services. Consider the sermons, lectures, missionary addresses, and discussions of public issues which you have heard from the pulpit of your home Church. How many people learn good manners, courtesy, kindliness, and neighborliness through the Church. What a host of friends you have made among the Church peopled

It is the habit of department editors in the city papers to refer their enquirers to the Church as the best place to find friends. Every movement in the interests of community good seeks first the endorsement of the Church. Ministers and laymen are on the governing boards of libraries, hospitals, schools, commercial associations, city clubs, and all manner of civic organizations. Lyceum lecture courses, chautauquas, choral societies, and uplift movements of all sorts find their staunchest friends among Church people. An institution that inspires to such service, that gives itself so unselfishly, that lends the helping hand and word of cheer to so many upward-looking agencies, is deserving of all the loyalty and support that the good people of the community can give. An institution so regularly on the side of all good movements should have the personal allegiance of every man who hopes for the day of things "as they ought to be."

The Church and The Labor Movement

The last fifty years has seen the development of a social phenomenon called "The Labor Movement." Modern industrialism, in which single firms employ thousands of workers, has made it necessary for laborers to organize in some form to secure equal bargaining powers in the labor market. The economic struggle for better pay and improved working conditions has brought about a class consciousness which is ripening into a desperate conflict between labor and capital.

But the mission of the Church does not always make it necessary to take sides with either party in the industrial dispute. The call to the Church is to preach an unsparing justice in a warring industrial world. To espouse the side of the workers in order to win their support for the Church would be to betray a sacred trust just as surely as if the employer's cause were espoused to secure his financial support. The Church of Christ is to be the agent of righteousness, not the spokesman for a social class. If capitalistic methods have been reprehensible, let the Church demand justice with all her powers. If labor has been guilty of breaking faith (and the hands of organized labor are none too clean), let the Church preach the principles of an unyielding honesty. It is through the untrammeled expression of the clear conscience of the Church that the redemption of the future industrial order lies.

To this end the Methodist Church, by General Conference action in 1908, took an advanced position when it adopted the "social creed," drawn up by its social service commission. In 191 2 the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America adopted (with a

J9 few minor changes) the Methodist statement of social conviction and published it as the expressed judgment of American Protestantism concerning the whole social problem. This statement stands, at the present writing, as one of the most advanced positions taken by any organized body in Christendom.1 The next task of the Church is to translate that "creed," fine in its expression and superb in its social vision, into action. Some means must be found to make the Church's belief take tangible form in action.

This effort is not to be some beautiful dream of splendid achievement and service in some far-off country or generation. The need is immediate; the task is all about us. There is no town or hamlet which is not calling loudly for the unselfish ministration of consecrated young people. Jesus sent His disciples out to work first in Jerusalem, then in Judaea, and finally in the uttermost parts of the earth. The first task of the young Christian is in his home town. A religion that will not work there will not work anywhere. The need is not for some great program, but for some effective plan which will meet the needs of our own "home town." The sins of the home community are our challenge.

Planning a Community Program

Many a distressing situation has resulted from a misguided enthusiasm in which a Church has endeavored to impose on its community a program of service which has been successful in another community of a vastly different character. Each community, like each individual, has a distinctive per-

1 For a thorough and scholarly discussion of the Social Creed, see "The Social Creed of the Churches," by Harry F. Ward.

sonality. Plans that meet the needs under one set of circumstances will fail utterly under the conditions which are encountered in another community. For a Church to multiply activities for the sake of keeping busy is neither good judgment nor good religion.

In planning a social service program for any community which may be expected to serve in a constructive way through a considerable period of years, three principles should be kept in mind. A careful observance of these simple suggestions will save much energy and not a little bitter disappointment.

i. Never proceed upon any plan for community service without exercising great care to get all the facts which may have a bearing on the case.

It would seem that this suggestion was almost unnecessary, its reason being so obvious, yet those who have watched social experiments through the years will testify that more elaborate plans have gone awry and more money has been wasted through failure to take all the facts into consideration than from almost any other cause. Too often we assume that we know the facts. A careful scrutiny too often reveals that what was considered a fact proves to be nothing more than hearsay evidence, personal opinion, or current prejudice.

2. Having gathered the facts, analyze them and discover the actual needs of your community.

A minister in a rooming-house district in Chicago remonstrated with one o'f his young people for patronizing a neighborhood vaudeville house. The young woman replied, "But where can I go? There is no other place open except my little bedroom on the third floor." This reply set the minister to investigating. He found no place in the neighborhood open for young people in the evenings except those places to which he had been raising objections. Moreover, in the entire membership of the Church there were not four parlors that were available for social gatherings. Evidently one of the religious needs of that community was a wholesome social center where young people could gather for an evening's fun. Another Chicago minister found a young woman visiting with her "friend" on the parsonage porch, pretending to the young man that the minister's home was her own. When questioned more closely in the privacy of the pastor's study, the girl confessed that she was ashamed to take the young man to her own home, for it was so uninviting. The public places in the neighborhood were of a character that she did not care to frequent them. She took the alternative and used the minister's porch. In this case the need was for some meeting place for young people free from evil temptations.

3. Having your facts •, and having decided as to the character of your community needs, set about to devise some remedy for the conditions which shall take the facts into careful account, and which shall be distinctly Christian in its purpose and method.

Sometimes a plan that has worked successfully in another community can be taken over and used with equal success in your own, but it will usually need some changes. Let the facts determine that. Often it is necessary to devise something entirely new. In the instances mentioned above, the Church opened community parlors which were kept open every evening, equipped with piano, magazine tables, victrolas, and screens. Resolve to devise something to meet the need. Use a good idea wherever you get it. Appropriate any good thing and ally it to the cause of Tightness. Make it serve a purpose or reject it. Always be willing to change your plan if it does not seem to be meeting the need. A willingness to admit a mistake is oftentimes better than genius.

STUDIES FOR THE FIRST WEEK THE COMMUNITY BOUNDARY LINES

First Day — First Week TAKING STOCK OF OUR COMMUNITY

"The Lad with the Loaves and Fishes"1

And Jesus and his disciples went off by themselves in a boat to an uninhabited place. But many saw and recognized them as they were going. And running together on foot from all the cities they arrived before them. So when Jesus disembarked he saw a large crowd. And moved with pity for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd he began to teach them many things. And as the day was far advanced his disciples came to him and said, It is a desert place and it is now late in the day. Send the people away that they may go to the neighboring farms and villages, and buy themselves something to eat. And he answered and said to them, You give them something to eat. And they said to him, Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii upon bread and give them to eat? And he said to them, How many loaves have you? Go and see. And when they knew, they said, Five, and two fishes. Then he commanded them to recline in groups on the green grass. So they lay down in companies, by the hundreds and fifties. And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, -and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves in pieces. And he went on giving them to the disciples to set before them. He also divided the two fishes among

1 The translations, where noted, have been taken from "The Historical Bible Series," by Professor Charles Foster Kent, Vol. on "Life and Teachings of Jesus." (Kent.) Hereafter only pages will be indicated.

them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. Also they took up twelve baskets full of fragments of the bread and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. (Mark 6. 32-44.1)

This is the only parable reported by all four Gospels. Violent opposition was developing, and Jesus was training His disciples to carry on the work when He should have to lay it down.

The twelve had just returned from a preaching tour in need of rest (Luke 9. 1-6). They had started for the back-country and were met by a multitude which included many who were sick or lame. Their misery touched the heart of Jesus, who stopped to preach to them. During the morning He inquired of Philip, the head of the Commissariat, concerning the possibility of feeding them. Philip began to investigate, and later in the afternoon reported that five loaves and two fishes was the total food stock available. But it would have required two hundred denarii ($35) worth of bread alone for such a multitude.

Jesus proceeded to use the materials at hand, and ordered the company seated in groups to facilitate the distribution. In His hands the little stock fed them all, and some thrifty persons, seizing the great market baskets which pilgrims were carrying, gathered up twelve baskets full of fragments.

The average town underestimates its own possibilities It is living far below its privileges. Its trouble lies in the fact that it does not utilize to the full its own powers. The lesson just studied shows Jesus'

habit of using the materials at hand. Many a rural community could have a good choral society if it would train the excellent voices that are going to waste through lack of cultivation. God has never confined talent to the big city.

Before the war broke out the United States Government had made a survey of its manufacturing resources, and had listed every factory in the nation, together with its size, location, equipment, capacity of production, workmen employed, etc. When necessity arose it knew exactly what it had to work with.

Have you ever tried listing the forces for good in your community? Try making a list of all the forces working for good, and another of all those forces working for evil. Try to discover why the forces for good are losing. Perhaps there are some good people whose sympathy is with righteousness who have never been lined up with any organization working for right. Have you ever wondered why? Such a study would have a cheering effect, for almost any town will be surprised to find what a large number of people have never "bowed the knee to Baal" (i Kings 19. 18).

How can you, as a young Christian, help to develop the forces for good in your community?

Have you ever listed those forces or influences in your community which make it harder for a young Christian to develop Christian character?

How many of the evil influences of your community seem to be necessary? If a thing is evil, is it necessary ?

How would you proceed to unite the Christian young people of your town in a fight on evil ?

The Epworth League of Cimarron, Kansas, undertook to make a survey of the town (about 800 inhabitants) as a help for the new pastor. The young people were organized into teams and the town was divided into districts. They called on the people by twos, every home in the community being visited. A list was made of all children not attending some Sunday school, all young people living away from home, all young people not members of some young people's society, etc. The names of all those connected or interested with other churches were furnished to the other pastors. All Methodist young people were followed up systematically. The Sunday school gained ten per cent and the League gained twenty-five per cent as a direct result. For the best advice on making a religious survey, read "The Community Survey," by Carroll.