Missouri Country Life Conference. 209 



I held services in a little rural church about ten miles 

 from Champaign lately and I knew the building would not sell 

 for two hundred dollars at auction. One woman told me the 

 seats were regular backbreakers, and I knew they were from 

 the looks of them. Yet on Children's Day eleven automobiles 

 drove up into that church lot to celebrate Children's Day. 

 Any one of those automobiles cost one thousand dollars. Now 

 the people who sport automobiles in a community surely ought 

 to afford something better than that in the community in the 

 way of a church. 



I realize that you can not do it all by ecjuipment, but, 

 other things being equal, equipment has a great deal to do. 

 God, of course, can use the weak and foolish things, and I sup- 

 pose could use poor equipment to do good work if the people 

 could not afford anything better, but I don't believe any rural 

 community that can afford to ride in automobiles will be honored 

 of God in trying to conduct services of worship in a house such 

 as I have described when they could have something better. 



And the last point I would mention is efTiciency, the method 

 — not what the program is, or the cabinet, or the equipment, or 

 the adaptation; if we do not secure efficiency all will be of no 

 avail. Efficiency is the one great thing to be aimed at, and in 

 this day and this age, when the business world and men every- 

 were are combining and striving for efficiency and economy in 

 administration of their business, why should not the church 

 be up on this question of efficiency? Now I am sure that we 

 ought to pay more attention as rural pastors and Sunday school 

 superintendents — we ought to give more attention to the train- 

 ing of leaders in the rural communities. Mr. Moody used to 

 say, "Better put ten men to work than do the work of ten 

 men." I am sure that is a good principle to follow. Get the 

 pivotal men in the offices and then train them for it. There is 

 not anything to hinder a rural pastor from getting Sunday school 

 teachers together or his church officers, or everybody that has 

 anything to do with the work, to get them together once in a 

 while and train them instead of trying to do it all himself, as I 

 find a great many ministers are trying to do. Train men to 

 lead in the various activities in the church, and then not only 

 train them to lead but exact of them reports. Might have 

 monthly meetings of all the officers and have every man in an 

 office of any kind bring in a written report. If he has not done 

 anything, make him write it out in so many words that his 



