Missouri Country Life Conference. 195 



over the community, and any one would represent appearances 

 in all. There is not a tree about them that I know of, nothing 

 there to beautify the grounds or to make them attractive. One 

 school has seven scholars in it maintaining a teacher at fifty 

 dollars per month. You see it is wrong economically as well as 

 lacking in efficiency. We have a proposition for a consolidated 

 high school which will be adjacent to our church. Of course, 

 we have some opposition in this, the same that has run all along 

 throughout this development period, but we are hopeful that we 

 shall realize our desire. 



The next thing of which we desire to speak is regarding 

 co-operation. There is a twofold duty between the church and 

 the community in country life development — a twofold duty, 

 a twofold responsibility. Now the church owes the community 

 a real service and in turn the community owes the church co- 

 operation and support. One of these cannot possibly divorce 

 the responsibility which she has in this development process, 

 because their responsibility is coequal. 



The Church's Debt to the Community. — It owes the com- 

 munity a resident pastor efficient in service that is peculiar to 

 country conditions. I want to say a word regarding our theo- 

 logical seminaries. Don't you know our theological seminaries 

 are turning out young men to fill the position of the minister in 

 these communities who are just like people have learned to sus- 

 pect, long on theory but deficient in practical understanding of 

 the needs of men. There are, no doubt, many of them, as has 

 been suggested, know very little about geography — "this side 

 of Jordan." These kind of young men turned out of theological 

 schools and sent out into the country only make bad matters 

 worse. This is especially true unless they have a superabun- 

 dance of wisdom and intelligence. In this our theological 

 schools err. I believe our theological schools ought to add to 

 their curriculum a course of lectures on agriculture. I believe 

 this especially for young men fitting themselves to become coun- 

 try ministers, because in doing this they would prepare a man's 

 sympathies for the country people and their problems and enable 

 him to help them. If I were to choose in expertness or working 

 knowledge in the country minister I would say, give him a work- 

 ing knowledge of biblical theology but an expert knowledge of 

 country conditions, needs and reforms. 



Here is a very sad thing that has come under my observa- 

 tion in rural church economics. It sometimes happens that I 



