,,my ,,ideal ,,church ,,is              
,,characterized ,,solely ,,by ,,the     
,,very ,,simplest       ,,interpretation
 ,,of ,,the ,,old1 ,,old ,,story1 ,,and 
,,each ,,member ,,deserves ,,the        
,,name ,,of ,,the ,,friend ,,of ,,all   
,,the ,,world           ,,what ,,has    
,,the ,,church ,,meant ,,to ,,me8 ,,it  
,,has ,,meant ,,the ,,agency ,,through  
,,which ,i ,,received ,,such ,,spiritual
 ,,sight ,,as ,i ,,have4 ,,it ,,has     
,,meant ,,the       ,,body ,,through    
,,which ,,has ,,come ,,to ,,me          
,,strength ,,in ,,weakness ,,many       
,,times1       ,,comfort ,,in ,,trial1  
,,help ,,in ,,time ,,of ,,need          
,,what ,,the ,,church ,,means ,,to ,,me 
,illustration     ,,what ,,the ,,church 
,,means ,,to ,,me  ,a ,,frank           
,,confession ,,and ,a ,,friendly        
,,estimate ,,by ,,an ,,insider  ,,by    
,,wilfred ,t4 ,,grenfell1 ,m4,d4        
7,oxon47  ,superintendent ,labrador     
,medical ,mission   ,,the ,,pilgrim     
,,press  ,,boston ,,new ,,york ,,chicago

       ,copyright1 #aiaa   ,by ,wilfred 
,t4 ,grenfell     ,,the ,,plimpton      
,,press   ,w  ,d  ,o   ,,norwood  ,,mass
  ,u,s,a     ,,what ,,the ,,church      
,,means ,,to ,,me   ,the ,church to me  
means all who1 consciously or           
unconsciously1 are forwarding ,god's    
kingdom on earth4 ,in the broad         
definition of the ,master it means all  
those who are not against us4 ,the way  
in which men associate for worship1 or  
in which they consider it most          
remunerative to invest their efforts to 
forward the kingdom1 gives them no right
 to arrogate to themselves the title of 
,god's ,church4 ,any body of men saying1
 ,we are the ,church1 seems to me       
ridiculous4  ,if they try to exclude at 
the same time those who approach their  
,maker1 or who are endeavoring to do    
faithfully the things ,christ would     
approve1 only in some other way1 then   
they become offensive also4 ,i am firmly
 convinced the world is coming to this  
view1 and ,i am glad it is already      

beginning to express it4 ,through the   
,church the salvation of the world must 
come4 ,i have no use whatever for the   
critic whose heart is set on her        
destruction or who muckrakes it for a   
revenue4 ,by this ,i mean the ,church   
,invisible1 known only to ,god's ,holy  
,spirit4   ,,standards ,,which ,,christ 
,,would ,,condemn  ,the offense of the  
visible churches that tells most against
 them today in the minds of educated men
 is not worldliness or unfaithfulness2  
it is their inability to shake off their
 untenable position as judges of others4
 ,the ,church in ,jesus' day judged him 
unfit to live4 ,upon ,luther1 ,wesley1  
and many of the best servants of the    
human race the churches to which they   
belonged passed similar sentences4 ,even
 the suggestion of the                  
holding-up-of-skirts1 of this           
,i-am-holier-than-thou attitude1 because
 ,i think differently1 is repellent and 
has not yet met the fate that certainly 
awaits it1 before there can be a reign  

of universal peace4 ,science has taught 
us that doubt1 quite as much as faith1  
leads to the apprehension of truth4     
,there are countless men1 skilled in the
 exact sciences and in scholarship1     
possessed of wealth and rank1 who find  
it impossible to define their position  
in words1 yet whose humility and charity
 make us love them1 whose deeds are just
 such as those which have come down the 
ages as ,jesus' own selection for the   
most convincing evidence of his ,sonship
 of ,god4 ,we all know today men of     
inferior attainments and lives who not  
only know themselves to be infallible1  
but haven't the grace to leave even such
 men alone1 and who have interpreted    
their call to the ministry as simply a  
mandate to set every one else           
intellectually right4 ,i know that that 
which is hidden from the wise can be    
revealed to babes1 and that our         
talents--namely1 social position1       
wealth1 and brains--merely enlarge in   
,god's sight our capacity for service1  

and therefore our responsibility4 ,but  
,i know also that the prizes of our high
 calling can be purchased only by our   
fidelity in following1 and that involves
 other than intellectual processes4     
,,the ,,case ,,of ,,the ,,working ,,man 
,as for the working man1 to my mind if  
he doesn't join a visible church today  
it is simply because he doesn't see any 
good in it4 ,the teachings of the       
,church's ,master still appeal to him1  
but the churches to him don't stand for 
them4 ,he has seen the visible churches1
 organized to perpetuate ,christ's      
teaching1 striving for centuries only   
after privilege1 patronage1 and         
political power4 ,was ever such a       
topsy-turvyism8 ,instead of being a     
bridge over the great gulf between      
wealth and poverty1 the ,church still   
savors to him too much of the be content
 where you are sentiment4 ,to him she is
 insincere1 and consequently his pew is 
empty4 ,he doesn't want an insurance    
agency only for the next world2 he wants

 a kingdom of righteousness1 joy1 and   
peace1 first in this world1 where       
,christ intended it to be1 as well as in
 the next4 ,church authority can no     
longer compel his interest2 she cannot  
compete as a popular entertainer2 only  
the proof of her unselfish love in      
matters of everyday life can save her   
from becoming a useless hulk1 stranded  
on the beach of time4 ,rainsford1       
,stelzle1 and others have shown that the
 downtown churches need not close if the
 message is given in ,christ's own      
undeniable way which the people can't   
misunderstand4  ,though ,i do see the   
various churches just beginning to rouse
 themselves--no longer wholly absorbed  
in making every one say shibboleth with 
an h1 still just as in politics the     
party machine becomes ,god1 crushing    
truth and righteousness before it1 so   
the church machine is only too often a  
,juggernaut's car1 destroying all faith 
in ,god and man4 ,the machine has       
usurped the pedestal of ,christ1 as in  

,rome and ,russia1 and nearer home1 if  
,judge ,lindsey of ,denver is to be     
believed4 ,for there the very clergy of 
#ade out of #aej churches refused to    
come out boldly against dives and       
brothels that were defiling the girls   
and boys of the city of ,denver1 because
 they dared not endanger the interests  
of their machine4 ,vox populi was right4
 ,they were presumably afraid to take up
 the cross1 which real fighting the     
devil involves as much today as it did  
in ,judea centuries ago4 ,many1 outside 
all churches1 support hospitals1        
orphanages1 soup kitchens1 relief funds1
 and so forth4 ,big corporations and    
even heathen armies on the war path     
support ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a4 work1 because   
that is a demonstratively valuable      
working factor4 ,the church which is    
afraid of offending rich members cannot 
have a faith in ,god which is worth     
anything4  ,thank ,god for all the      
illustrations of her direct watchful    
vitality that she does show4 ,as1 for   

instance1 when the ,christian           
,endeavorers fought the question of     
prize-fight moving-picture shows and won
 out or when a ,parkhurst fought bravely
 for a clean police force4 ,even if the 
world today does not vex itself so much 
as formerly about predestination1       
original sin1 the actual presence1 or   
even the correct mental attitude to     
insure heaven hereafter1 the churches   
may surely count it as a product of     
their work that the people do trust ,god
 more simply for the past and future1   
and are more in earnest about securing  
justice for the downtrodden and the     
square deal in the present4 ,in this    
they need as much as ever the ,church's 
leading4   ,,what ,,makes ,,the ,,church
 ,,attractive  ,that which attracts to a
 church today is not higher criticism1  
elaborate ritual1 hair-splitting creeds1
 but fearless fighting for public       
health1 for good government1 for        
righteous labor conditions1 for clean   
courts of justice4 ,it was the leader of

 a darky revival who1 when asked why he 
didn't sometimes read the ,old          
,testament1 replied3 ,no1 sah4 ,dem     
commandments just upset de whol'        
revival4 ,there is no need that taking  
up politics and social questions should 
exclude the preaching of the ,christ4   
,men will follow today a ,kingsley and a
 ,maurice1 a ,lincoln1 a ,beecher1 a    
,brooks1 or a ,worcester as they will a 
,heney1 a ,hughes1 or a ,folk or any man
 in whom they see plainly reflected the 
unselfish love of the ,christ4  ,who    
cares1 as a matter of fact1 which way   
these men said their prayers8 ,they may 
have been ,catholic or ,protestant1 or  
in honest doubt1 but we love them and   
will follow them4 ,to us they stand for 
real love to man1 and so real faith in  
,god2 for true pluck and willingness to 
take up their cross4 ,oh1 if every      
member of the churches and every wearer 
of the cloth realized the privilege of  
standing by every uplifting effort1 and 
was always so valiant for truth as to   

make a ,rueff or any agent of the devil 
occasionally think it worth while to    
take the risk of trying to kill them--as
 in the case of this same ,lincoln1 of  
,heney1 of ,lindsey1 and of the         
,master--the world would recognize then 
that the ,church was worth while1 and   
there would be no discussing whether it 
was going to die out or not4 ,a little  
physical shooting wouldn't hurt the     
,church4 ,the world wants a ,church     
,militant1 not a backboneless           
intellectualism4 ,only the great ,church
 victorious can be the ,church at rest4 
,nowhere is this fact more unanswerably 
demonstrated than in the missionary     
field4 ,faithlessness in this respect   
and fearfulness of expenditure1 both of 
men and money in missionary work1 have  
always stood in any church for choked   
channels of spiritual power1 and        
subsequently spelled anmia1 atrophy1 and
 death4 ,constant metabolism is as      
essential for spiritual life as         
physical4 ,a church must die that       

doesn't use up and give out energy as   
surely as a physical body4 ,the period  
of latent physical life is not long4    
,god in his mercy has seemed to prolong 
latent spiritual life almost unduly in  
the case of some churches4 ,those who   
love the ,church are breathing a little 
more freely because of the ,laymen's    
,missionary ,movement4   ,,lack ,,of    
,,clearness  ,to me personally it is    
hard to know exactly what the ,church   
has meant2 it is hard to know one's     
self4 ,the attitude of practically all  
men's minds is to excuse their own      
shortcomings by attributing the cause   
elsewhere4 ,thus ,paddy blames the      
,government for the hole in his         
trousers1 just as he does for the       
typhoid resulting from the dump heap in 
front of his own door4 ,when ,i first   
essayed to write on this subject1 ,i    
several times tore up the manuscript1   
feeling that ,i had written that which  
was calculated to rend her at whose     
breast my own spirit had first found    

life-giving sustenance and afterwards   
wisdom1 encouragement1 and aid4  ,yet   
history seems plainly to show that there
 have been times when the world would   
have been more ,christian if the        
organizations to which men often limit  
the name of church had ceased to exist4 
,i presume the experience we have all   
had with organizations calling          
themselves the ,church has driven us1 at
 times at least1 to the same conclusions
 in our own day about those particular  
branches4 ,but this bears no reference  
to the body of men who love ,christ     
better than their own lives4 ,they are  
really the ,church1 and mean everything 
to me1 to the world outside1 and to all 
aspirants to the dignity of the name of 
,christian4   ,,organizations           
,,essential  ,the visible ,church stands
 to me above all else as appointed of   
,god for all that organization means in 
the attainment of any other object4     
,atmospheric religion is desirable1 but 
to progress1 to permanence1 organization

 is essential4 ,moreover1 being         
conscious of the idiosyncrasy of the    
human mind1 ,i have every use for the   
various communions if no man is to be   
excluded4  ,but ,i look on one and all  
simply as a means to an end1 and as     
agencies1 not entities4 ,theoretically  
there is no reason why they should not  
love one another4 ,alas6 they haven't   
always done so4 ,a large membership of  
ineffective persons may be only an      
incubus4 ,like sailors on my vessel1 if 
they are incompetent they are a         
hindrance1 and in every way expensive   
and undesirable4 ,i never care to       
emphasize the large number that the crew
 of my hospital ship consists of4 ,as   
long as ,i can do the work ,i take pride
 in the small number ,i can handle it   
with4 ,it is far better for the         
individuals themselves to have more     
responsibility and see clearly the      
result of their own handiwork4 ,they    
feel also1 then1 that it is more        
important to be ready at all calls1 and 

when at it they will work far more      
keenly4 ,history proves that when       
,constantine filled the ,eastern ,church
 with nominal ,christians he led        
directly to its downfall4 ,yet one of   
the most difficult things ,i have had to
 learn is that religious people find it 
impossible to believe that others do not
 care one iota whether a man is labeled 
a ,methodist or an ,episcopalian4 ,i    
certainly do not1 and ,i do not believe 
,god does4   ,,christ ,,counts1 ,,not   
,,creeds  ,i sat in a small1 mean little
 cabin on our coast some time ago while 
a trained nurse from ,new ,york washed a
 sick baby and taught the mother how to 
save the poor little mite's life4 ,it   
was that gentlewoman's ministry for     
,jesus ,christ4 ,for the privilege she  
was paying her own expenses and         
receiving no salary4 ,if ever ,i        
realized the ,master standing by in my  
life it was then and there in the       
semi-darkness of that hut4 ,that kind of
 ministry never fails to grip the       

laboring man4 ,an hour later1 as ,i     
spoke to a preacher about this angel of 
mercy1 he said1 ,yes1 but it is a pity  
she is a ,roman ,catholic4 ,yes1 it is  
hard1 this faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,it 
will bring her no praise of men4 ,yet it
 was such sermons as this nurse's that  
,jesus thought it worth while wasting   
his time on1 when the world lacked      
theology far more than it does today4   
,those sermons of his in their modest   
settings have been the most brilliant of
 the world's possessions ever since4 ,i 
think the ,church grades her preachers  
wrongly4 ,there is no failure of        
,christ's aims4 ,his message is bearing 
fruit in the hearts of many men whom    
the-necessary-to-define-your-mental-atti
tude school would rule out of the       
kingdom4 ,even ,elijah made a mistake in
 the matter of how many servants ,god   
had4   ,,usefulness ,,the ,,supreme     
,,test  ,these divisions of the ,church 
mean to me cargo vessels1 and if for any
 reason they can't carry1 they should go

 out of commission4 ,if one is beyond   
repair or the type has been superseded1 
it should go out permanently4 ,we       
continue to run old three-deckers for   
fighting battles1 or ,columbian caravels
 for freighting purposes4 ,it appears to
 some to cause a temporary setback to   
fighting efficiency to send a once      
serviceable ship to the scrap heap1 but 
it is the best and cheapest in the end4 
,in the ,north ,sea fishery ,i saw      
hundreds of sailing craft that had      
helped to make fortunes1 that had kept  
the markets full1 and that still had    
years of life1 laid up1 and then sold   
practically for old junk4 ,why8 ,simply 
because swift steam-trawlers had been   
found to do the work better4  ,these    
sub-organizations1 as far as ,i am      
concerned1 are existing merely to help  
men to work in the spiritual field4     
,they are not like some yachts1 just to 
carry bunting and paint to be admired4  
,as for church affiliation1 what ,i like
 to see is a hungry man going where he  

will be fed and get strength4 ,i trust  
it does not seem flippant to say that ,i
 look on all church organizations in the
 same way1 and that the tradition of a  
long past suggests to me the            
inefficiency of a dotage1 quite as much 
as the stimulating aroma of potency     
which1 as in the case of some wines1 can
 only be acquired by the lapse of time4 
,some will say that this ,modernism has 
no sense of obligation1 no sense of     
veneration1 makes no allowance for the  
idiosyncrasies of others4 ,well1 that   
may be so4 ,i may plead1 on the         
contrary1 that what we call the ancient 
,church was the youthful ,church4 ,the  
,church of the twentieth century is the 
ancient1 grown-up ,church4   ,,the      
,,building ,,itself1 ,,pro ,,and ,,con  
,experience has convinced me that bricks
 and mortar and sectarian loyalty have  
more often been hindrances than helps to
 that expression of faith in him which  
,jesus looks for in our lives4 ,i admit 
,i have not lived long enough in one    

place fully to appreciate the           
possibilities for stimulus and help this
 tying up into bundles can afford4 ,on  
the other hand1 ,i feel so certain that 
buildings set aside for public worship  
are essential in every place1 that where
 none exists ,i feel wretched1 and ,i   
have shares in quite a number all along 
our ,labrador coast4  ,i love to wander 
through an ancient edifice in which     
generations of men have come and        
worshiped and found help and comfort4 ,i
 like looking at the ,viking ship1 but  
,i don't want to cross the ,atlantic in 
it4 ,personally1 ,i like to hear1 to    
see1 and to understand4 ,the dim        
religious light and sonorous sounds do  
not waken me to a keener sense of the   
call of ,god to be up and doing4 ,they  
just make me sleepy4 ,besides being     
difficult as a rule to hear1 there is   
too much around to distract my          
attention4 ,i don't think ,westminster  
,abbey helps me personally to attend to 
the service4 ,on the contrary1 ,i think 

it makes me think of the building4 ,i   
used somehow to imagine that service in 
the open air was necessarily associated 
with cant4 ,now ,i like it far the best4
 ,not merely because it is more         
sanitary--till some one learns how to   
ventilate a building decently--but      
because it absolutely forces you to feel
 insignificant1 and anxious that the    
great ,creator should condescend to care
 about a mosquito like you4 ,moreover1  
,i have often noticed out in the open a 
unity between those of different sects  
that was perfectly delightful4          
,meanwhile ,i am not unmindful that in  
many1 if not in all1 a deep inborn      
spiritual craving1 no child of          
philosophy1 is a powerful factor in     
helping men ,godward4 ,also that many   
find their only help in authority and   
the faith of others4 ,all these the     
,church has to provide for4 ,it is no   
easy task to be prophet and conservative
 custodian at the same time4   ,,the    
,,new ,,and ,,better ,,spirit  ,one     

great trouble with tying one's self to  
any one church1 from my peripatetic     
point of view1 has always been the fact 
that so many other churches say1 ,if you
 are not one of us1 you are against us4 
,it is almost too personal to illustrate
 this from my own somewhat sad          
experience in my early days1 but every  
worker in wide fields must have felt it4
 ,jesus had specially to rebuke his own 
disciples for forbidding any man from   
casting out devils4 ,for whatever his   
opinions1 he must be on our side4       
,thank ,god there is a new spirit       
entering the churches1 a larger spirit6 
,only those can survive eventually who  
cultivate it4 ,a spirit that wants to   
use every effort to raise humanity1 and 
seeks a return for its outstretched     
hand1 solely in the fact that it thereby
 grasps more of those of his brethren4  
,,the ,,only ,,right ,,way ,,to ,,grow  
,this is the way for a church to grow4  
,the more it exercises its muscles in   
pulling men out of their pits1 the more 

dexterous1 powerful1 and altogether     
desirable it will be1 because the world 
will need it1 and it will no longer     
appeal only to those who prefer its form
 of worship or have a bias towards its  
particular church polity4 ,the law of   
demand and supply should be recognized  
as applying equally to the church as to 
other agencies4 ,the desire to be       
needed1 to find work1 and not merely to 
be a big party product can alone develop
 communions able to remove the stigma of
 being either parasites or fads4  ,if a 
church is really anxious to fulfil its  
functions as set down in the only book  
of instructions for each of them2 if it 
wants to call forth latent energy1 as a 
,washington from his homestead1 or a    
,lincoln from his farm1 it must cease to
 lay stress on orthodoxy and get to work
 where the world really needs it4 ,a    
surgeon may be ever so correct in his   
knowledge of operative surgery1 but he  
must find a practise or he is useless4  
,it is not so much for holding services1

 as for rendering services1 that the    
world is looking to the ,church today4  
,,human ,,need ,,the ,,true ,,objective 
,today the ,church should not only have 
a message for the strong and well4 ,in  
,christ's day it had a message for the  
sick and suffering also4 ,i admit that  
the medical profession has neglected too
 much the influence that mind has over  
matter4 ,it therefore frequently        
endeavors to treat a human being as if  
he was nothing but a conglomeration of  
material cells4 ,but the ,church1 it    
seems to me1 is making an infinitely    
more serious mistake in entirely        
abandoning the valuable aid it can give 
the physician when he has found that no 
organic cause accounts for the symptoms 
of his patient4 ,what is known in       
,america as the ,emmanuel ,movement has 
my entire sympathy4 ,it is an honest    
effort of sane men to bring to the aid  
of physical sufferers demonstratively   
valuable spiritual influences4   ,,the  
,,minister ,,only ,a ,,servant  ,the    

priest or minister is the navigating    
lieutenant of the ,church ship4 ,he is  
the tactician of the army4 ,he is the   
specialist whose experience is          
invaluable4 ,he is not called to be one 
whit holier than ,i am1 but being on a  
lofty pedestal he will possibly be more 
closely watched4 ,his1 indeed1 is a     
pitiable condition if he has not the    
spirit of his ,master4 ,his creed may   
seem infallible1 his faith most         
orthodox1 but for my part ,i would      
rather not be so sure of what ,i did    
believe1 and pray with the man after    
,god's own heart1 ,teach me to do the   
thing which pleases thee4 ,this is a    
sure step on the road to the answer of1 
,lord1 ,i believe1 help thou mine       
unbelief4 ,i am convinced there would be
 no lack of worthy candidates for the   
ministry if only the churches would lay 
more stress on the infinite privilege of
 human service it opens up4 ,there are  
more medical students than are needed4  
,,the ,,futility ,,of ,,the             

,,intellectual ,,test  ,is it then a    
necessity1 or an advisable thing1 that  
before a man can become a worker with   
the ,church he must pass an intellectual
 test8 ,is it imperative for him to find
 exactly what he does not believe8 ,that
 makes it almost impossible for him to  
get back afterwards4 ,the effect on the 
unfortunate heathen of warring          
messengers1 all calling for different   
faith tests for membership in ,christ's 
,church1 has always seemed to me little 
short of disastrous4 ,the theory of     
,christianity wouldn't convince the     
heathen of the ,congo that religion is  
desirable1 or make a ,russian ,jew wish 
to adopt ,russian ,christianity4 ,the   
same applies to the ,turkish views of   
,austrian ,christianity1 or the attitude
 of the ,indian of ,south ,america      
towards ,christian ,spain4 ,as for me1  
,i am satisfied in my own work1 and ,i  
think my ,master was1 with the faith    
that makes a man anxious and willing to 
come and help me1 ever believing that he

 that is not against us is on our side4 
,joshua1 a servant of ,god if ever there
 was one1 is often quoted as saying1    
,decide1 ,choose4 ,we must remember that
 what he said was1 ,choose whom you will
 serve1 not what your final belief is   
going to be4 ,christ never sought for   
admirers1 but for followers4 ,the most  
voluble protestants of their faith in   
,jesus as ,god's ,son were devils4 ,they
 knew it1 but benefited little by it4   
,thank ,god1 ,jesus never made the      
opposite of confessing our belief in him
 before men to be the non-apprehension  
of his divinity1 but always the denying 
and being ashamed of his service and    
becoming a stumbling block4 ,though ,i  
know what a wonderful thing it is1 as a 
source of power1 to be able to confess  
our faith in ,jesus as the ,son of ,god1
 and what infinite peace it affords to  
have that confirmed by experience4  ,the
 shrewd judgment of ,wall ,street would 
not lend a man ten cents because he had 
been accepted as a member of a church on

 confession of faith4 ,often enough     
members of the same church wouldn't     
either1 although they probably both     
would to a doer1 like ,livingstone4 ,so 
let us abandon the creed-judging of     
others4 ,jesus accepted the following of
 the adulterers1 publicans1 and the     
harlots1 and the man who has honest     
doubts may be a ,christ follower or a   
,christian1 who ever says the contrary4 
,,banded ,,together ,,for ,,manly       
,,service  ,i have always loved to think
 of ,jesus ,christ and to commend him as
 ,master because he accepted all who    
came--whether for comfort1 for help1 or 
for service4 ,when a man sets to work on
 the road that leads to heaven here1 he 
will be tasting the sweetness of the    
believing that involves everlasting     
life4 ,in our ,labrador work we form no 
church4 ,our fellow-workers pray and    
worship in every denomination as the    
bias of their mind and temperament leads
 them to find peace and comfort and     
strength best4 ,yet we are a definite   

body associated together for certain    
purposes4 ,these we believe are         
translations into action of our         
interpretation of our debt to ,god and  
to our neighbor4 ,in that sense are we  
not a true ecclesia8  ,will it horrify  
my readers if ,i confess ,i have        
accepted doctors for our hospitals1     
nurses for our districts1 and workers of
 every type1 and yet have never known   
which way they prefer to worship8 ,nor  
have ,i ever played the censor on their 
right to help us by defining what they  
ought to believe before ,i allowed them 
to set to work4 ,before a member joins  
the permanent staff we must know he is  
in absolute sympathy with our aim to    
glorify ,god and serve our brother1 and 
that he or she is willing to give their 
best for that object4 ,but that is all4 
,i am fearless to confess that ,i would 
enroll for a colleague in the clinics1  
which hold in their hands the lives of  
my friends1 a man who is facile princeps
 in the art of surgery rather than a    

second-rate surgeon who can subscribe to
 the very same intellectual tenets as ,i
 do myself4  ,our claim to be capable   
servants of our ,master and             
reincarnations of his life is judged in 
our little world by the good work we do2
 if as surgeons or nurses1 by our skill2
 if as storekeepers and labor employers1
 by the clean deals we give4 ,if we are 
second-rate in our work all our talking 
won't persuade men of our fitness for   
our position4 ,securus judicat orbis    
terrarum--and to my mind ,god seeks     
first men diligent in business1 fervent 
in spirit1 serving the ,lord4  ,all the 
sects have only the same work for the   
same ,master to accomplish2 it is       
through being fellow-workers and not    
identical thinkers that love for all who
 love ,christ must come4 ,this is unity4
 ,the camaraderie of a fighting force is
 not disturbed by the feeling that one  
is of the cavalry1 another of the       
infantry1 a third of the artillery2 or  
even1 as has often been shown in        

warfare1 whether they are of different  
races1 climes1 or temperaments4 ,there  
is nothing like common work to beget    
intelligent love for your fellow4  ,how 
did ,christ admit his members8 ,by their
 profession of faith8 ,i think not4 ,by 
their readiness to work8 ,yes4 ,those   
were workers he chose1 every one of     
them4 ,did he wait until they could say 
they believed1 even that he was ,god's  
,son1 before he sent them out to work8  
,not at all4 ,he said if you are willing
 to go out and work you will get faith  
by working and seeing others work4  ,in 
this way most men get faith now4 ,the   
empirical method is the very best way to
 get it firmly rooted4 ,experientia     
docet4 ,now we believe1 not because of  
what you say1 but because we have seen  
for ourselves4 ,did not ,judas work with
 ,jesus8 ,yet it is absurd to contend   
that ,jesus was unequally yoked with    
unbelievers on that account4 ,at the end
 of ,christ's life only ,peter seemed   
even to guess who he was1 and his       

protestations were not even the asset he
 thought they were4 ,for a few minutes  
after he had openly1 to ,christ's face  
and before witnesses1 asserted his      
faith1 ,christ called him ,satan and    
told him to get behind him4 ,when he was
 in trouble they every one ran away4    
,they would never have done that from a 
handful of soldiers if they had honestly
 believed he was the very ,son of ,god4 
,to sum up1 ,what has the ,church meant 
to me8 ,it has meant the agency through 
which ,i received such spiritual sight  
as ,i have4 ,it has meant the body      
through which has come to me strength in
 weakness many times1 comfort in trial1 
help in time of need4 ,through the      
,church of ,god1 which ,phillips ,brooks
 said is the kingdom of good hearts     
united in love1 have come the talents to
 use in the work to which my life is    
given4 ,when ,i want more help it is to 
this wide ,church ,i go to look for it1 
and ,i have never looked in vain4 ,as a 
man loves the members of his family1 so 

,i love the ,church of ,god4 ,for       
resources it stands to me as a permanent
 war office stands to an army in the    
field4 ,fine uniforms and titles are of 
little moment as compared with wisdom   
and efficiency for supplying men and    
sinews for war4 ,we fully value the     
great leaders in our home country1 and  
we also love our ,bobs or our           
,wellington because when called on they 
are willing to march in the front rank  
themselves4  ,as a peripatetic worker   
myself during open water in my little   
hospital ship1 and in winter with dogs  
and sleigh1 ,i recognize that it is but 
transient help which ,i can give alone4 
,so ,i love the little hospitals1 which 
speak of permanence4 ,when a call for   
help comes for me1 often enough my place
 is vacant4 ,but the cheery haven of    
refuge is always there4  ,the grip of   
fellowship the visible churches give us 
on our homeland visits is a real factor 
in our work4 ,it makes them real sharers
 in it4 ,and ,i thank ,god for the real 

,church of ,god4 ,i realize as never    
before how essential that is4 ,besides  
all this1 she stands as a great reminder
 of ,god to the world4 ,lest we forget4 
,lest we forget4  ,my last is purely a  
private confession1 and it is this3 ,if 
it were only through association1 ,i    
love also that organization within      
,god's ,church of which ,i am myself a  
humble member4 ,it is because ,i love it
 ,i am willing to write exactly as ,i   
feel4 ,for ,i love it enough to wish    
with all my heart and soul and strength 
that ,god might be able to use it to a  
fuller capacity1 as with open eyes and  
unprejudiced heart and with wisdom      
developing by experience it becomes     
willing to see that ,,it also must have 
its scrap heap1 or its museum for       
honorable antiquities1 on which to lay  
aside the weights that are impeding it  
in the race1 which are crippling its    
usefulness1 and which are bound         
eventually to destroy it if it blindly  
continues to cling to them4  ,the       

qualification for life eternal is to    
have done well4 ,the final test is to be
 ethical1 not theological4 ,i expect to 
find more roads leading into the ,golden
 ,city than many seem even to wish for4 
,after the school day of life ,i look   
for an ecclesia1 a mighty host1 called  
out for more perfect service4 ,my ideal 
church is characterized solely by the   
very simplest interpretation of the old1
 old story1 and each member deserves the
 name of the friend of all the world4