has a right to look forward in due time to
"promotion" in natural channels; that is, to the district
superintendency. It is to be feared that too often at the present
time, the rural minister is discouraged from remaining in the rural
work because he sees that a very large proportion of the positions in
the church that are recognized as personal promotions are filled from
the city pulpits. His course of advance is now from the country pulpit
to the city pulpit, thence to the district superintendency or detached
service, thence to the bishopric, a position very few ministers refuse
if offered. The rural work would be strengthened if rural district
superintendencies were filled by rural men who have demonstrated their
ability to build up a rural charge successfully, and then if these
same rural district superintendents were to have an opportunity to
fill the highest possible positions in the church, thus bringing to
the highest administrative offices of the church the tried experience
that comes from building up a district in Methodism. When the
necessity of leaving the rural work in order to get "promotion" is
eliminated there will be a marked strengthening of loyalty to the
rural work.

The illustrations given have been taken from Methodist Episcopal
experience. Other denominations have similar problems, but probably to
a less degree because of the more marked form of localized democracy
in church polity.

If the churches of America permit this crisis of lack of adjustment of
church to community needs to pass unchallenged, and if they delay in
making the adjustments needed, the time will soon come when other
agencies, supported by rural communities, will make provision for
these needs and the opportunity of the church will be gone
indefinitely. Other agencies will be performing a real Christian
service, and the church, by reason of its failure to live up to the
demands upon it, will have an increasingly difficult task of
justifying its existence so far as relationship to this world is
concerned.

CHAPTER VIII

INTERDENOMINATIONAL READJUSTMENT

Rural progress under church leadership has been much like the first
drops of water on a placid lake at the beginning of a rain. Little
rises of water appear and some waves circle out, but the ultimate
level is not much raised. So with the church. Here and there a
minister stirs up some local community, some definite progress is
made, attention is attracted from oth