16-The Administration of Service

CHAPTER XVI THE ADMINISTRATION OF SERVICE THE CHURCH FAMILY

ALL true worship, evangelism, and religious education create the spirit of service. Those charged with administering the church as an organization should plan intelligently for the wise expression of this spirit. Generally speaking, these activities will be directed toward a threefold object, The Church Family. The Local Community. The World Community.

It will be impossible in practice always to distinguish sharply between these several types of service. Each will shade imperceptibly into the other. The distinctions, however, serve a purpose if they help us to clear thinking about the whole task of the church. i. THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON SERVICE probably should be larger than the other great committees, for its field is so broad that it may be necessary to distribute its work among several subcommittees. It should be composed of representatives of all the major organizations in the church which seek to minister to human welfare in some vital and consistent manner. These usually are the official board, the Sunday school, the Ladies’ Aid Society, the Epworth League, and the local auxiliaries of the Women’s Missionary Societies. A physician, a deaconess (if one is employed by the church), at least one philanthropically disposed person who is informed about the principles and methods of modern charity, and an educator should be additional members of the committee, 172 THE CHURCH FAMILY 173 The function of the committee is to unify the various programs of service which are outlined by the several organizations within the church so that waste may be avoided, on the one hand, and no worthy object be overlooked, on the other; to nourish the spirit of service by making it intelligent and comprehensive; to assist in providing such equipment as may be needed if service is to be efficient; and to develop such a system of records as will tell quickly and accurately the story of service rendered by the church. The division of labor within the committee would naturally be determined by the several objects of service, and permanent subcommittees might be appointed on (i) Local Church Relief, (2) Community Service, and (3) Missions. The work of this standing committee is necessarily related intimately to that of every other committee, and joint meetings should be held as frequently as necessary in the interest of perfect cooperation.

2. SERVICE IN THE LOCAL CHURCH. This service embraces every activity that is designed to maintain the local organization in good working condition, and to promote Christian fellowship among the members of the church as distinguished from non-church members in the community. This is not its only duty, but certainly the church is under an obligation to care for its own in every possible way. a. One thinks first of the duty toward dependent members of the church. These would include the unemployed, the sick, the aged, and all who are infirm for any cause. The obligation here requires that provision shall be made for their systematic care, and for the comfort that is afforded by friendly interest and personal visitation. It is disgraceful for the church to permit one of its members to become a charge upon public charity. If the resources of the local organization are not adequate to meet the situation, then the matter should be laid before the district superintendent with a view of securing help from other churches of the denomination. Of course the aid given should never pauperize the beneficiary. The social workers on the committee 174 THE PASTORAL OFFICE should formulate a plan for the rehabilitation of the sufferer, if that is possible; otherwise for his regular support. And whatever is done should be done intelligently and in the spirit of Christian love. Quite probably an important part of the task will be to control the interest of several church organizations so that the object of their regard shall not suffer from too much attention at one time and too little at another. fe. The next great opportunity for service to the church family is found in the need of all, old and young alike, for recreation and amusement. In most of the Christian centuries play has been looked upon by the church “as a more or less permissible sin rather than a natural, right, and beautiful expression of the human spirit.” The last thirty years, however, have witnessed a change that is very like a “renaissance/ 3 Teachers have come to regard play as the chief instrument of physical, mental, and moral growth for the young. There is larger appreciation too of its value for adults in its power to renew the jaded spirit. Indeed, the “amusement problem” within the church is only a part of the larger problem of community play to which the church sustains a definite relation, and of which we shall speak later. That problem is positive rather than negative in character. It does not mean primarily standing guard over young people to see that they refrain from certain amusements forbidden by the church. It is, rather, the much more difficult task of providing all people in the church and community with such opportunities for play as are indispensable to a full, rich life. No simple and final answer can be made to the question, “What shall be the social and recreational activities of the church?” That will depend upon (i) the provision that the community as a whole makes for play; (2) the type of community in which the church is located; and (3) the financial ability of the church. For example, if the community supports a well-equipped Y. M. C. A. with competent directors of social work and physical education, it is THE CHURCH FAMILY 175 not necessary for the church in that place to duplicate this equipment. Or where the community supports regular exhibitions of moving pictures, it is not quite clear that the church should render a similar service, even for its own people. The wiser plan is to cooperate with each agency that is doing well some special work, giving it financial and moral support in return for the service which it is willing to render the church. On the other hand, if the community is not providing for the play life of its citizens, and cannot be induced to do so, the church, up to the measure of its ability, is obligated to engage in this special form of service.

Again, a church located in an industrial community may be expected to supply a special ministry that is not required of a church in a rural village or in a suburban town. Or, again, it would be folly for a church composed chiefly of wage-earners to attempt the achievements of a church of wealthier people.

Certain ideals should control the church in serving the need of its own family for wholesome recreation. First, it is not often imperative that the equipment be elaborate. The organized Sunday-school class, the Boy Scout Troop, the Camp Fire Girls’ Patrol and other such organizations are well designed to meet the requirements of the. “gang spirit” of youth without spending large sums of money.

After a comfortable place for regular meetings has been provided, the resourcefulness of active young people will usually supply whatever more may be needed. Generally, the pastor and his wife will do much better to train others to lead such groups than to undertake that work themselves. This is especially true in the Methodist Church, where the pastor is subject to sudden and frequent removals. Among the simpler forms of amusement within the reach of any church the following may be mentioned, (1) Athletic teams for boys and girls baseball, basketball, tennis, etc.

(2) Social activities of organized classes.

(3) Camping trips, hikes, outings, etc.

176 THE PASTORAL OFFICE

(4) Boy Scouts.

(5) Camp Fire Girls.

(6) Reading Circles.

(7) Amateur dramatics, pageants, etc.

(8) Socials, entertainments, lectures, dinners, etc. The second ideal that should be controlling for the church in this matter is respect for the educational value of play.

Certain institutions may be warranted in thinking of amusement as an end in itself. This cannot be true of the church.

It recognizes the play instinct as of divine origin, but an instinct which makes for growth. Any attempt to satisfy this instinct should be intelligently designed to promote moral and spiritual development. An illustration of the wrong use of play by the church may appear in athletics. A baseball team in the Sunday school might seem desirable because it would advertise the school. To do this well the team must be a “winning team.” To create such a team the school authorities are tempted to blink at questionable practices; for example, make it worth while for good ball players to come to Sunday school to play ball rather than to receive education in religion and morals. All the trouble starts from the wrong use of play. If an athletic team is organized in a Sunday school, it should be because such an agency is desirable educationally. Baseball easily lends itself to religious and moral training if the end be honest, sportsmanlike fun rather than to win a game at any cost.

Otherwise, it may educate in the wrong direction. To select the team out of the regular members of the Sunday school, who come winter and summer; to teach them to play the best game possible, but always an honest game; to train them to despise evasions, insincerity, ungentlemanliness, and to learn such self-control that they are “good losers” this is to utilize play for educational purposes.

(3) A third principle is implied by the second. To have educational value, all play must be supervised. This does not mean that some one must prescribe in detail all that young people may do. It does mean that a wise senior shall THE CHURCH FAMILY 177 be at hand to guide and direct the play activities so that only good may come of them. This is of especial concern to those who may be planning better equipment for play, such as a gymnasium, without thought of employing a competent person to superintend it. Let nothing not even a Sunday-school picnic be planned in the way of recreation unless it is properly supervised. The young of the race must play, but they cannot play by themselves without danger to themselves. c. A third specific service which the church must render to its own membership is to train them in and for Christian work. Obviously, much of this training is accomplished through worship and instruction. But these must be supplemented by activities designed to serve a threefold function, namely, (i) to express and deepen the faith of the believer; (2) to make the organized church an effective instrument for redeeming life; (3) and to support every agency in the community which helps to make the world a decent place in which to live.

Ideally, every member of the church should be responsible for doing a worthy and specific task that will call forth constantly his best efforts. It is a commonplace, however, that the work of most churches is done by “a faithful few,” and that pastors find it difficult to increase their volunteer staff because of the reluctance of church members to enlist for active service. By giving the matter careful consideration, nevertheless, some have been able to approximate the ideal of “a task for everyone.” They have exalted in pulpit and private conversation the dignity of church work.

They have classified the things that were to be done about the church in an Opportunity Book* and asked each member to place a check opposite the service in which he was most interested. And they have refused to limit Christian service to “church work.” It includes, they insist, a helpful social ministry through community organizations, ’Send ten cents for the one prepared by the Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago.

178 THE PASTORAL OFFICE and the application of Christian principles in the daily routine of life, as well as doing specific tasks assigned by the church. It will never be possible to put everyone at work in the narrower sense. Many members are children; others are housewives and mothers who do their own work and cannot assume responsibilities outside their families; still others find that the demands of everyday work interfere with “church work.” But it is quite possible that the proportion of active workers is much larger than is generally supposed if the broader view of Christian service be taken into account. The “Unit System” of the Methodist Episcopal Church, by which each member of the church is assigned to a group called a “Unit” in charge of a “Unit leader,” is a device for putting everyone at work. In the average church some such list of tasks and needed workers as the following may be made, (1) Evangelistic Mission workers.

Personal workers.

Singers in the choir, etc.

(2) Educational Sunday-school teachers and workers.

Leaders for boys’ and girls’ clubs.

Officers and committees of organized classes.

Leaders of mission study classes.

(3) Church Organisations Visitors, canvassers, ushers, etc.

Officers and committeemen.

Clerks to assist in keeping records, etc.

(4) Social Friendly visiting for local charity organizations.

Social settlement workers.

Leading local corn, pig, potato, and other community clubs.

Representing the church in law-enforcement organizations.

Assisting the unemployed, etc. THE CHURCH FAMILY 179 Conducting farmers’ institutes and fairs.

Holiday celebrations.

Hospital supplies.

Some of these workers may be enlisted by a public appeal for volunteers. For the important tasks, however, the principle of the “selective draft” must be employed if the best workers are to be secured. In training these workers, the wise pastor will utilize the best literature that has been published and, when possible, hold local training conferences. Moreover, he will send each year as large a group as possible to the nearest summer institutes conducted by the Board of Sunday Schools, the Epworth League, or other church organizations. The local church can well afford to pay the expenses, in part, or wholly, of all such delegates.

BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR FUBTHER STUDY E. T. Devine, Misery and Its Causes; Principles of Relief; The Practice of Charity.

R. C. Cabot, What Men Live By, Part II.

J. V. Thompson, Handbook for Workers with Young People.

H. R Cope, Principles of Christian Service.

Dan B. Brunurritt, The Efficient Epworthian.

Christian F. Reisner, Social Plans for Young People.

Jessie H. Bancroft, Games for Play Ground, Home, School and Gymnasium.

Luella A. Palmer, Play in the First Eight Years.

Mary E. Blain, Games For All Occasions.

Leader’s Manual for Boy Scouts Movement.

Allan Hoben^ The Minister and the Boy.