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T

COOPERATION
AND THE WORLD MISSION

JOHN R. MOTT

INTERNATIONAL MISSIONARY COUNCIL

NEW YORK

1935

Copyright, /pjj
John R. Mott

RUMFORD PRESS
CONCOKD, IT. H.

FOREWORD

THIS book is based on first-hand study of Christian
cooperation conducted while on successive journeys
of service and investigation in Asia, Africa, Latin
America,, and the Pacific island world as well as in the
lands of the older Churches in Europe, North Amer-
ica, and Australasia. It reflects also the discussions
of international missionary conferences and the
studies of commissions of the last three decades, and
the light thrown upon the subject by recent corre-
spondence with leading minds of different nationali-
ties, races, communions, and schools of thought
related to the world mission of Christianity. The
aim has been to bring the treatment into brief com-
pass. To this end the history or evolution of mis-
sionary cooperation, showing its remarkable progress
and increasing momentum, has been omitted, since
this is readily accessible in Volume VIII of the of-
ficial report of the Edinburgh World Missionary
Conference of 1910, in my own paper on international
missionary cooperation presented at the Lake Mo-
honk meeting of the International Missionary Council
in 1921, and in subsequent annual surveys in be
International Review of Missions.

The original plan was to combine with this volume,
and as a part of it, an authoritative record of as many
missionary cooperative agencies and projects as
practicable their origin, history, constituent bodies,
character, scope, direction, and support; but it was
finally decided that the objects in view would be best

3

4 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

served by Issuing such material in a separate volume
for reference purposes. This has been ably accom-
plished by Charles EL Fahs and Helen E. Davis in a
volume just printed entitled. Conspectus of Coopera-
tive Missionary Enterprises.

It should be pointed out that,, while I am pro-
foundly interested in the subject of the organic union
of the Churches, having been identified with the
Conference on Faith and Order from the days of the
fruitful initiative of Bishop C H. Brent, it has not
been my intention to deal with that vital matter in
this treatment. It will be recognized, however, that
sound policies of cooperation have done much to
facilitate the drawing together of the Christian
Churches. These two processes, that of church
unity and that of cooperation on the part of Christian
bodies, are not antagonistic to each other. The
former, as a rule, involves long periods of research and
negotiation; the latter may, without any compromise
of vital principles, be achieved within a relatively
short time.

I would acknowledge with deep gratitude my in-
debtedness to missionaries, to administrators of mis-
sion boards, and to leaders of the Churches through-
out the world. It may be of interest to add that
the present volume is the last book authorized and
published under the auspices of the Institute of Social
and Religious Research before the dissolution of that
organization.

JOHN R. MOTT

New York, September, 1935

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. Cooperation at a Parting of the Ways . . 7

II. Secrets of Successful Cooperation .... 23

III. Why Cooperation Fails 45

IV. Wider and Closer Cooperation Indispensa-

ble and Urgent . 68

Appendix 77

I. COOPERATION AT A PARTING OF

THE WAYS

THE present grave world situation confronting the
Church should cause the leaders of the mis-
sionary forces unitedly to restate and replan their
work, wherever necessary, so that with available
resources the need and opportunity may be far more
adequately met. Few seem to have a vivid and pro-
found appreciation of the greatness of our task and of
the resources of the powers that oppose us. We are
at the beginning of a new era and we fail to recognize
as we should the part that anti-religious forces are
playing in shaping it. In all parts of the world we
are facing common enemies. Never was there a more
critical moment. The best men must be mobilized.
The wisest strategy must be employed. The ma-
terialistic philosophy of the day, the violence of the
destructive communistic activity, the powers of
paganism and of faiths and systems contrary to the
teachings of Christ, the reactionary attitude of so
many governments with reference to religious liberty,
the perilous subordination of religion to serve the
political ends of the totalitarian conception of the
state, and the necessity of recasting the prevailing
industrial and commercial system so that it will not
negative the principles of Christian love and brother-
hood nor conduce to international war all present a
challenge to Christ's followers which has never been
surpassed in gravity and urgency. In truth we are
facing stupendous changes in the whole make-up of

8 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

the world, changes as revolutionary as any in the
history of mankind.

The future, as far as we can forecast it, seems to be
bringing us steadily toward a division of the whole
world into two opposing camps one which can be
designated as Christian, though it may be very
imperfectly so as yet, and the other definitely to be
described as anti-Christian. This alignment became
apparent to those gathered at the Jerusalem Meeting
of the International Missionary Council in 1928, and
it is becoming more and more evident as the years
pass that this insight perceived truly. The call,
therefore, that the time brings to us all with urgency
is a call to stand on the side of Christ against the
hostile forces that oppose His Kingdom and that seek
to prevent its coming. It is surely required, accord-
ingly, that what is central should have the central
place in our plans, and that to its realization all
should "with one accord" as in the first age of
Christianity direct their efforts under the sole
Leader.

With such changes taking place, well may we ask
ourselves, Are we exerting our maximum influence in
the extension and establishment of the Kingdom of
God? Have we sufficient workers? Are they ade-
quately qualified? Above all, are we united? Are
we able to think, plan, pray, and act in terms of the
wholeness and oneness of the task? If Protestant
missions continue, as they have been for decades and
still so largely are, a disunited complex of separate,
individual bands or bodies of missionaries, and of
scattered indigenous Churches, working with more

AT A PARTING OF THE WAYS 9

or less varying alms and methods, what hope have we
of triumphant success? At such a time duplication
of independent effort, or lack of concerted plan, is a
criminal waste. Piecemeal application of the coop-
erative principle is not good enough. Something
more radical and far-reaching is necessary to give
substantial reality even to the many scattered pieces
of helpful cooperation already existing. There is
imperative need of a more masterly diagnosis of the
situation, of a clear definition of the aims or ends to
be realized, and of the program to be carried out.

The Christian forces must unite on a much more
comprehensive scale, and this at an accelerated pace,
for if we perpetuate the luxury and Inefficiency of our
divisions, we shall surely miss the day of our visitation
and the realization of our largest possibilities. Is
there any reason that can stand before the bar of
experience, of sound and unselfish judgment, and of
sensitive conscience why the Christian forces of to-
day should not unite and concentrate as never before
on the areas of population and of human relationships
which have not been brought under the sway of
Christ? Only as we thus transcend our denomina-
tional, party, national, and racial boundaries and
barriers can we hope to fulfil the mandate of our
Lord. Surely a way can be discovered by which*
notwithstanding all the admittedly grave difficulties >
our different Christian bodies can rise above their
separatism and cooperate In a real world expansion
of the Christian faith. The time Is ripe for a great
and striking emphasis upon the Kingdom of God as
preached by Jesus Christ an emphasis which shall

io COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

be truly relevant to present-day needs and conditions,
which shall dominate all other considerations and
incentives, and which shall become contagious and
irresistible.

At such a time any failure to coordinate our scat-
tered efforts and to present a united front cannot be in
accord with the divine will. The great central
motivating fact must be emphasized, as never before,
that the governing consideration for undertaking this
larger and more vital cooperation is not the present
unprecedented crisis, or the still grave economic
conditions, but the conviction that Christ wills such
larger and closer cooperation for His Church in our
day. Of this the convincing evidence is His high-
priestly prayer. In praying that His followers across
the ages "might be one/' the very least He could have
meant is that in our conception and practice with
reference to the spread of His Kingdom and reign, we
might be so at one in our thinking, our fellowship,
our planning, our action, and our intercession, that
the keenest critic could receive no other impression
than that we are presenting a united front to the
world-wide need and task of bringing all mankind
into vital relation to Him. Thus cooperation must
be insisted upon, not on grounds of expediency, but
on grounds of unshakable conviction that this is good,
and is God's will for His servants.

The clock has struck, the time has come when the
leaders and supporters of the missionary societies or
boards, the missions, and the Churches should enter
wholeheartedly upon the third stage of cooperation.
The first stage was the period preceding the World

AT A PARTING OF THE WAYS n

Missionary Conference at Edinburgh in 1910 the
period when experiments were initiated which were
ultimately multiplied into a large and increasing
number of detached pieces of cooperative effort scat-
tered all over the world. The second stage embraced
the years between the Edinburgh conference and the
meeting of the International Missionary Council at
Jerusalem in 1928 the period which had as its
distinctive characteristic the creation and develop-
ment in many parts of the world of national and in-
ternational agencies, or councils, for the express
purpose of inaugurating and fostering interdenomina-
tional, international, and interracial cooperation.
Moreover, during this second period cooperative or
union projects > largely local or regional in scope,
though at times also national, continued to multiply
at an almost geometrical rate. The third stage, upon
which we entered at Jerusalem in 1928, is the one in
which the Christian forces related to the missionary
enterprise pool not only knowledge and experience
but also plans in the making, personalities, funds,
names, and, increasingly, administration. It is thus
the period in which the implications of cooperation
are taken, generally speaking, much more seriously
than ever before.

We have reached the critical point, as the Rev-
erend Walter J. Noble with deep insight has pointed
out, at which cooperation either must go very much
farther, and that soon, or has already gone too far.
As he says, "If the years behind us were recognized
as preparation for far more rapid progress, they have
been well worth while. But if they are to be re-

12 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

garded as accomplishment., and not as a preparation
and a stimulus for greater things, they have scarcely
been worth while/' Why delay longer in giving
decisive effect to our deepest convictions on this
whole subject? It is true that there are difficulties
in the way, but these are our salvation. They insure
beyond peradventure our counting the cost., and that
process is always priceless. For, let it be emphasized,
it is the mind of Christ that we count the cost with
reference to paying it.

Among discerning leaders there is a decidedly
growing sentiment in favor of the adoption by mis-
sionary societies, and by the missions and Churches
specially concerned, of a policy of dealing coopera-
tively with specific areas. The present economic
crisis has facilitated the adoption of such a policy.
It has forced the societies to rethink their work, and
now to begin to replan it, so that, with the resources
available and such other means as can be secured, we
shall do far better work than we are now doing.
Societies are coming to see that they must get to-
gether to pool all experience, to plan their work as
part of a whole, and to carry it on unitedly as con-
tributing to a common end. At times this policy
might involve an entire country; again, it might
confine itself to a province or other large section or
region of a country; and still again, it might be con-
centrated on a large city, or a city and the immedi-
ately surrounding territory. The aim is that the
various bodies now serving a given area shall unite in
plan and effort to minister to the best possible ad-
vantage to the entire area. The scope of the plan

AT A PARTING OF THE WAYS 13

might vary,, from the uniting of all the agencies on one
phase of the program (for example, the educational
work, the medical work, or the rural work), to a
union of all bodies to conduct practically the whole
range of the program.

The stage that is now being reached in cooperation
is also one in which we begin to see the younger
Churches taking their separate roads and loosening
the ties that bind them to the older Churches that
have been fostering them. We must now keep in
view the necessity that these young Churches be
preserved from isolation and from the dangers that
isolation brings. We must, therefore, strengthen the
bonds of friendship and intercourse between them,
and between them and the older Churches. This
must be done not denominationally, but as between

^provinces of the one Church of Christ. Both the

"Bolder Churches and the new will profit by this fellow-

^hip and the super-nationality of the Church will be

^manifested.

^Q Happily, cooperation is being increasingly thought
of and defined, not in terms of two or three denomina-
tional units combining in program and action so

^ much as in terms of aH the Christian forces in a given
field uniting to serve the entire field. Surely, in
every field, large or small, there is great wisdom in
coordinating our separate planning to discover where
we are and whither we are tending. This will throw

^valuable light on the wisest plans for enlarged service
retrenchment, for reorganization and, above all,
the use of combined resources. The preliminary
stages in preparation for such a concerted program

14 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

are: (i) survey; (2) application of standards of meas-
urement which have been generally agreed upon; (3)
definite plans based on these facts and standards.
These processes will prepare the way for necessary
reorganization and realignment of the available forces,
as well as for the joint administration of the whole
work. National Christian councils and the Inter-
national Missionary Council should be prepared to
place themselves at the service of Church.es> missions,
and boards to further such policies. Above all dis-
cerning and forward-looking leaders of Christian
agencies at work in given areas should take prophetic
initiative.

A group of British societies have recently under-
taken important steps in the series of consultations
they have had with reference to a united approach to
their work in Bengal and a united plan for its prosecu-
tion and administration. Another promising illustra-
tion is afforded by the negotiations now in progress
between the American boards which are serving the
Philippines and the Churches and missions of that
country looking toward a joint program and adminis-
tration. Similar approaches and negotiations are in
progress, or in prospect, with reference to other fields
large and small Godfrey E. Phillips of the London
Missionary Society has voiced a conviction which,
God grant, may prove to have been prophetic: "The
next ten years would be well spent if at the end of
them the non-Roman missions had a clearly outlined
joint program for their enterprise in each of the
major fields of their operation/' The question may
well be raised whether, in the period immediately

AT A PARTING OF THE WAYS 15

before us, mission boards of Europe and North
America should not unite in sending out to the fields
which they are serving groups of their most states-
manlike representatives to take counsel with the
trusted leaders of the Churches and missions with
this commanding objective in view,

What is true of whole countries, or of provinces in
a given country, is likewise true of all large cities*
Because of denominational Interests and the inade-
quately correlated programs of the missions and the
Churches, we have failed to minister in any satisfac-
tory, united way to the needs of these metropolitan
centers, or of the surrounding country. Such an
approach to Shanghai has been seriously proposed.
W. W. Lockwood, one of the best Informed workers in
that city, has expressed clearly with reference to
Shanghai what might be urged on behalf of scores of
other major cities of Asia, Africa, and Latin America:

"It would seem," he says, "that some organization represent-
ing the organized Churches of a city like Shanghai is essential if
the Church's program is to be adequately developed. Here, at
the present time, perhaps thirty or thirty-five Churches are
working independently, knowing little and apparently caring
little for the other Churches or for the church movement as a
whole. The only union organization is a pastors* union which
meets regularly for spiritual fellowship and arranges once each
year for union evangelistic services. There is no laymen's or-
ganization for the city and no cooperation or exchange of ex-
perience among church workers. Such an organization is
needed, not to start union projects, perhaps, but to make more
effective the work that is being done In each center to represent
the Churches as a whole and to unite in tasks which require that
the Church as a whole should be represented. One of the great
needs to-day is to demonstrate in a few cities in China the possi-

16 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

bilities of local cooperation between Church and Church, be-
tween mission and mission, between Church and mission, and
between local and national organizations. In my opinion this
is one of the necessary next steps in cooperation. It is a difficult
task, but urgent and necessary."

Very special attention needs to be given to the
question of the proper financing of cooperative or
union undertakings. Here and there are individual
projects in which the financial plan has been carefully
worked out and administered through a period of
years with gratifying results, but as the number of
such pieces of work has multiplied, the matter of sup-
port has been handled in a very uneven and unsatis-
factory way. It would be difficult to mention even
six missionary boards which give evidence of having
thought through the whole subject thoroughly as a
matter of principle, and which have adopted a settled
policy. As a result there is much confusion in
thought and practice. Boards are troubled by re-
peated 3 detached appeals for financial grants toward
all sorts of cooperative enterprises that are of concern
to the related missions and Churches., not to mention
those which concern the home base*

What is needed in the case of nearly every mission-
ary society is some such action as the following: (i)
Let the society, under the guidance of a suitable sub-
committee, study the whole subject of the proper
financing of cooperative ventures in which the society
is or should be unmistakably involved or concerned;
and let the society come to a clear conclusion as to
which of these things that have a claim on it can best,
if not only, be conducted cooperatively. (2) List all

AT A PARTING OF THE WAYS 17

such agencies and projects and their budgets and
decide as to the proper sum or share to give to each;
for example,, educational, medical., rural, or literature
projects, national Christian councils, the Interna-
tional Missionary Council, and other cooperative
agencies and projects. (3) Have the total coopera-
tive budget presented, expounded, discussed, and
acted upon at the meeting of the body which has the
authority to decide such matters. This budget
should include all the separate items, with the es-
sential facts about each tabulated in project form.

(4) Then have this cooperative budget included as a
major section in the full budget of the organization.

(5) Let the budget be restudied and revised from year
to year. In the meantime have the authoritative
body, or committee, related to each agency or project
submit its requirements in advance in ample time to
insure proper consideration and action.

Suppose, as a result of such a procedure, the society
is confronted with claims which aggregate considera-
bly more than had been contemplated. If the work,
so far as it passes muster, is found by impartial,
thorough study to be of really Important and ap-
parently indispensable character and, let It be
repeated, work which can most advantageously,
perhaps only, be done in cooperation Is it not best
to take cognizance of it and, with the greatest con-
scientiousness, to face it? The world mission is not
static. Well might we be alarmed If it did not, as the
years unfold, give unmistakable evidence of growth,
take on larger dimensions, and assume new forms.
In a world in the midst of stupendous and almost

i8 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

unbelievable changes, and at a time when in every
department of the world's work the economic and
educational cooperative movements are advancing by
leaps and bounds, what could be more serious than to
assume that the world-wide mission of Christ had
become set or rigid? It is a reassuring fact that, as a
result of such attitudes and procedures as are here
emphasized, even in periods of depression and eco-
nomic distress it has been found possible both to
strengthen and to expand the missionary enterprise.
To insure giving largest effect to the entire coop-
erative program and process throughout the world,
attention should be directed toward strengthening the
various national Christian councils and the body
which gives them united expression, the International
Missionary Council. There are at present nearly
thirty of these national, interdenominational bodies.
One-half of these are in the countries of Europe,
North America, Australasia, and South Africa which
send missionaries, and these represent and unite the
foreign mission boards of their respective countries.
The other half are in the lands of Asia, Africa, Latin
America, and the island world which receive mis-
sionaries, and these represent and draw together the
missions and Churches of their respective fields.
Besides these, others are in formation, notably in
East and West Africa. When it is remembered that
as recently as 1910 there were only two of these
national bodies in existence, it will be recognized
what a remarkable evolution there has been in the
cooperative life of the missionary enterprise. The
fact that these national councils are now bound to-

AT A PARTING OF THE WAYS 19

gether in a world-wide fellowship accentuates the
importance of the development.

What is the design and significance of this extensive
and comprehensive organization of the forces of the
world-wide mission of the Christian faith? Why
these many national fellowships and the International
Missionary Council, the result of so much corporate
thought,, prayer, and sacrificial effort? Were these
striking developments in cooperation and unity de-
signed to be simply ends in themselves, or merely
symbols of a wonderful and truly Christ-implanted
idea? Rather have they not one and all been called
into being by the Ever-Living and Ever-Creative
God Himself for high ends and great unselfish achieve-
ments? Expressed quite simply, is not their provi-
dential mission that of fostering united fellowship,
united thinking, united planning, united intercession,
and united action? Has there ever been a time when
these vital and sacred functions were as much needed
throughout Christendom and the non-Christian world
as they are to-day? Granted this, what can be more
important than to strengthen their personnel and
leadership, to integrate them more closely with the
Churches and the auxiliary agencies of the Churches,
and to give them adequate facilities and resources
that they may fulfil their great trust?

Cooperation at its best is a spiritual process and
achievement. Important as are organization, tech-
nique, financial resource, human strategy, and states-
craft, these must all be transcended and subordinated
to the spiritual motivation, and be made the vehicle
of the Spirit of God. The supreme hope of all perma-

20 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

nent and satisfactory cooperation must be sought and
found in Christ, the Source of spiritual vitality and
creative energy. In other words, we must recapture
the superhuman atmosphere of New Testament days
in which Christian missions were born and in which
only can they be carried forward in triumphant
unity. The path to the realization of the greater
things which are in store for the world mission, as a
united and conquering movement., is beset, as we
shall see in this study, with difficulties many and
grave.

We do well to remind ourselves that Christ was
familiar with divisions, maladjustments, and lack of
unity among His followers and apostles. His solu-
tion was strikingly original and unique. On that last
great night He took them to an upper room for the
most significant act, the Last Supper. He there not
only shared with them the deepest truth underlying
human relationships, but also enforced it by the un-
forgettable lesson He taught when He washed the
disciples' feet; and He added the penetrating word
which lets us forever into the secret of the most
happy, the most deeply satisfying, and the most
fruitful cooperation, namely, the spirit and the prac-
tice of mutual, unselfish service "If I then, your Lord
and Master^ have washed your feet; ye also ought to
wash one another's feet." Again, some days later,
after the Resurrection, when He gave the world-wide
mandate. He directed them to another upper room,
enjoining them to tarry there until they were endued
with the power infinitely greater than human the
power of the Holy Ghost. In this time of unhurried

AT A PARTING OF THE WAYS 21

fellowship in thought and prayer the Spirit brought
them into one accord (which is in reality true coop-
eration and unity) , and they went forth with ir-
resistible might ori their world-wide mission.

Great is the need in the years that lie just ahead of
multiplying the number of apostles of reconciliation,
that is, men and women with a passion and sense of
mission to weave together in effective united action
the still all-too-divided Christian forces related to the
world-wide missionary enterprise. This mission in-
volves the highest order of constructive Christian
churchmanship. It also calls for the ability to clear
up recognized objections, misunderstandings, dif-
ficulties, and doubts. Those who believe with ever-
deepening conviction in cooperation are either right
or wrong. If they are right, then in the pathway of
patient, sympathetic, prayerful consultation the
truth will increasingly prevail Those who devote
themselves to this high mission must have a rever-
ential regard for the past, coupled with unclouded
vision and wise foresight that pierce the coming day.
Firm must be their belief in the Living and Ever-
Creative God, and, therefore^ the God who is able and
eager to do new things. They must have the ability
to recognize the wholeness and the oneness of the
Christian task. They must have large tolerance^
possessing the spirit of counsel; open-mindedness
toward people with other backgrounds^ relationships,
and convictions; capacity to understand, sympathize
with, and love those from whom they may differ;
recognition of the variety of Christian experiences and
of the comprehensiveness of the Kingdom of God;

22 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

readiness to seek in common the larger truth in which
the individual lights are completed and unified; belief
in the divine leadership of those whose opinions and
experiences seem to differ from one's own. Such
apostles need to possess great faith, for they will be
called upon to exercise great acts of trust. Above all,
theirs must be the consuming passion for the realiza-
tion of the known desire of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that His true followers all may be one.

II. SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL
COOPERATION

DURING the history of modern missions the
movement in the direction of closer cooperation
and unity on the part of the missionary forces has
been increasing in volume and in momentum. A
study of the large and varied experiences In such
united effort across the world., as well as across the
years., throws much light on the secrets underlying the
most fruitful and satisfactory cooperation. With
concrete experiences in mind we would direct atten-
tion to the attitudes, methods, processes, and other
factors explaining why certain cooperative agencies
and undertakings have been most successful.

The initiative and leadership of one person who
believes heart and soul in the particular cooperative
project, and who works for It In season and out of
season, constitute the adequate explanation of many
notably successful pieces of cooperation. Here and
there is an outstanding personality who has become
the leader and symbol of the undertaking. We think
at once of Dr. C, Y, Cheng, whose vision and untiring
zeal rallied the Christian forces of China for the Five-
Year Movement; of Miss Eleanor McDougall, whose
quiet guidance has accomplished such a wonderful
work in the Union Women's Christian College of
Madras; of the late Mr. W. Henry Grant and his
model union project at the Canton Christian College;
of Dr. J. Leighton Stuart, who in his leadership in the
development of Yenchlng University has shown such

24 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

a genius for synthesis and for harmonizing and
unifying the diverse.

Again,, it has been a band of kindred spirits with
strong, unshakable conviction as to the absolute
necessity for united action, who have devoted them-
selves with abandon to its realization. Consider, for
example, the men who did so much to establish the
Union Christian University at Chengtu in West
China, such as the Reverend Joseph Beach, Dr.
Henry T. Hodgkin, and Dr. E. W. Wallace on the
field, and backers at the home base like the Honorable
N. W. Rowell and Sir Joseph Flavelle in Canada,
Dr. J. F. Goucher, Mr. Mornay Williams, and Dr.
Frank Mason North of the United States, and Sir
Michael Sadler and Mr. H. T. Silcock of England.
There is no finer illustration of highly successful
international and interdenominational cooperation
across a period of years. Another splendid illustra-
tion is the marked achievement of the Committee on
Cooperation in Latin America during the last two
decades as a result of the services rendered by Dr.
Robert E. Speer and Dr. Samuel G. Inman. The
examples of such men accentuate the importance of
exercising the greatest care in the selection of leaders
for cooperative ventures. In each case we should
ask, Is the man really efficient for the particular job in
mind? He must not be placed there because of
seniority, or because he represents the society that is
putting the most money into the undertaking, but
rather because his character and ability will give and
retain confidence. It is supremely important at the
beginning of a cooperative movement, especially in

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 25

the precedent-setting stage, to place in charge thor-
oughly competent men and women.
.x" Another secret of the most fruitful cooperation is
thoroughgoing preparation. If there is to be a large
result, there must be a large cause. Back of the
pieces of cooperation which have through the years
maintained a record of consistent progress, and have
commanded the confidence of discerning workers,
have been well directed processes of original study or
research, of consultation by representative groups, of
foresighted planning, of unhurried spiritual retreats,
and of prepared intercession. No pains have been
spared to get at the actual facts. The managing
committee and the members of the staff have main-
tained a reputation of submitting no plan or pro-
posal on which their preparatory work has not been
absolutely first-class.

The Archbishop of York has expressed his judg-
ment that the explanation of the great influence of the
C.O.P.E.C. Conference in England, and of the
Jerusalem Meeting of the International Missionary
Council, was the thoroughness of the previous prepa-
ration. The cooperative agreement recently reached
by the British and American Bible societies may be
traced to the same cause. Moreover, in the case of
the Kingdom of God Movement in Japan, the best
part of two years was spent in preparation. During
this time a quiet educational effort was carried on
among the Christian forces of the entire country.
Goals were set and explained. A technique for the
Movement was worked out. Expectations were
awakened. Prayers were enlisted throughout Japan

26 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

and in other parts of the world. It Is doubtful
whether in modern times there has been another
piece of cooperative work where so much time and
effort were expended in preparation.

The relevancy of the program and activity to the
meeting of deeply felt needs explains why some
cooperative undertakings are much more satisfactory
than others. They deal with areas and problems in
which all the members of the group have serious
interest, or a vital stake. The evident aim is not to
build up an organization but to render real service.
It is not something imposed, as it were, from outside;
it has grown up naturally and unrestrained out of a
real need. Something generally and greatly desired
has been undertaken together, rather than saying,
"Come, now, let us have unity." Thus those con-
cerned have believed in the needed cooperation so
much that they have striven for it at all costs. This
has been the history of the union schools for the
children of missionaries. It explains the success of
the language schools,, and of institutions like the
Henry Martyn School of Mamies. It accounts for
the provision made for religious worship among
foreigners In Oriental and Latin American ports.
The success attending the united campaign on behalf
of women's colleges in the Orient was due to the same
cause. The Christlike ministry on behalf of lepers all
over the world is another illustration of comprehen-
sive and fruitful cooperation directed to the meeting
of a tragic need/Mn days like the present when
every penny has to be counted, it is necessary to
show that cooperation is achieving something of high

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 27

value in relation to actual needs of which people are
conscious.

The pressure of serious problems and baffling dif-
ficulties and a right attitude toward them serve to
stimulate strong united action. Enterprises are not
made stronger by traveling along level, easy roads.
It requires obstacles and mountain climbing to call
out their strength. Great human needs and grave
situations liberate latent energies, and, above all, lead
Christians of different affiliations to see how neces-
sary they are to each other, to sink minor differences,
to discover essential unity, and to present a united
front. They also tend to draw men to God, to
deepen their acquaintance with Him, and this in-
variably tends to draw them closer to one another.
But the existence of overwhelming difficulties and
testings and the awareness of impossible demands are
not enough to lead to effective cooperation; in addi-
tion there must be a right attitude toward these dif-
ficulties and demands. What is that attitude?
That these difficulties and demands are to be met and
overcome. This turns them from stumbling-blocks
to stepping-stones, leading up into the higher reaches
of significant concerted effort.

The fearful trials and sacrifices of the Boxer War
advanced by many years the drawing together of the
Christian forces of North China. The menace to
religious liberty in Congo in recent years has brought
about a wonderful spiritual solidarity among the
various missions and has promoted greatly the ef-
fectiveness of the Conseil Protestant du Congo. The
significant tasks with which the World Missionary

28 C(X)PERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

Conference at Edinburgh confronted the world mis-
sion accelerated the cooperative movement in every
field. The present period of unparalleled world- wide
depression has multiplied the number of serious
measures in the realm of cooperation, both in the mis-
sion field and in the countries which are furthering
missionary action. Man's extremity has ever been
God's opportunity, but He seems to have made this
opportunity the occasion for teaching and enforcing
some of His deepest lessons regarding the relation
which His children are intended to sustain to one
another.

It requires opportunities and undertakings that
are vast, exacting, and worth while to justify and
demand something much more than divided and un-
related efforts to bring about the needed concert of
effort. Tasks that are unmistakably of paramount
importance and that can best, if not only, be accom-
plished in cooperation facilitate greatly the drawing
together of the Christians in united fellowship and
action. The vivid recognition of the great need of
Christian literature for use among Moslems through-
out the Mohammedan world led to a comprehensive
and statesmanlike interdenominational and inter-
national plan and organization to meet the require-
ment. The critical situation confronting the chain
of Christian colleges in the Near East influenced the
united program and campaign which yielded $14,-

000,000.

When Christian leaders become possessed with
visions of the range and depths of human need, and
of the infinite value of Christ's program to meet it, the

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 29

spiritual obligation of combined action becomes evi-
dent and compelling. In these days it requires
measures of large dimensions to appeal to the imagi-
nation, to command the attention of men and women,
young and old, and. let it be reiterated, to draw the
believing Christians into triumphant unity of purpose.
In those pieces of Christian cooperation which are
achieving the most notable results the work is so
conducted as to transcend denominational, national,
and racial barriers and distinctions* The project is
interdenominational, not undenominational. Therein
lies all the difference in the world. Still the cooperat-
ing agency acquires a personality or individuality of
its own. The union project seeks to realize a dis-
tinct, concrete purpose. It is autonomous and yet
individually responsible to all the cooperating bodies,
The unity is a means and not an end. Among mem-
bers there is on the part of none of them any sense of
superiority or inferiority. In the conduct of the en-
terprise there is full recognition of the varieties of
Christian experience and also of the comprehensive-
ness of the Kingdom of God. There is frank admis-
sion that no one member of the group possesses all the
truth, but that each has some special contribution
which should be appreciated by afl. There is honest
conviction that truth is truly catholic and that its
many-sided beauty can be revealed to the world only
in the fellowship of many individuals, denominations,
and races. All the members of the staff are regarded
as equals regardless of race or denomination. The
loyalty to Christ is so real and the unity of spirit is so
great as to transcend all differences.

3 o COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

A quite different kind of union effort is that af-
forded by Achimota College at Accra on the Gold
Coast of Africa under the inspiring leadership of Alec
Fraser. It is not interdenominational but undenomi-
national cooperation. It is a good illustration of how
people of different races and communions can work
together. The following comments by a discerning
observer of this work let us into the real spirit of
the place:

"On the staff of over fifty men and women there are Evan-
gelicals, Roman Catholics, Anglo-Catholics, Presbyterians, Wes-
leyans, Quakers, clergy, laymen. Some are Africans, some
Europeans, some Indians, some from the West Indies and other
parts of the world. . . . Watching the way in which the various
denominations and races in this college gradually feel their way
toward a proper and fall expression in their worship of the same
Lord is a help in visualizing the great, wide, united Church
which is eventually to be, and the ways in which many of the
obstacles to reunion can be overcome.

*0n Sundays the Roman Catholics are sent into Accra, eight
miles away, on lorries for mass. Twice a month a communion
service is held in College after the manner of the Evangelical
Anglicans and once a month or, if there be five Sundays, twice a
month after the Anglo-Catholic manner. Once a month a
Methodist-Presbyterian service is held. All Christians may at-
tend any of these services in the College, Most attend their own
type only. The Society of Friends have a special meeting of
their own once a month.

"The complete unity in the work has to be seen to be believed.
I attribute it, first, to the fact that all our African members of
staff have the same status thereon as Europeans. They are
present at all staff meetings, have a vote for the staff representa-
tives on the College Council, and influence all discussions.
They have not been bred in the denominational acerbities of
Europe and are anxious for unity and cooperation. That pro-

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 31

found grip of the necessity for love and unity Is understood by
Africans as it is not seen by us. We see the difficulties in the
way, and the distance from unity is so great as to make it seem
unreal and small in perspective. To the African, unity bulks
large and the difficulties seem comparatively small/*

Another fine example of the same kind is that of the
Omi Brotherhood in Japan, founded in 1905 by
William Merrell Vories. It includes workers of dif-
ferent denominations and races. All have equal
status., and all salaries and policies are decided by the
Brotherhood in Japan.

Right of way is given to the central purpose and
governing spiritual objective. The aims, objectives,
and guiding principles determine the real character of
the cooperation. These must be thought out unit-
edly in advance, and clearly stated. In intimate
conference and intercession they must be accepted,
and then be trusted and followed with conviction and
conscientious care. To a clear sense of direction and
of mission growing out of unswerving loyalty to a
common end, to wise guiding principles, to God-
inspired objectives, and to our Divine Lord may be
traced the marked success of cooperation, often in the
face of the most baffling difficulties and opposition.
Steady progress is assured through the undiscourage-
able will to cooperate.

Well planned and efficient means are indispensable,
and are employed in all cases where cooperation is
steadfastly maintained year in and year out and
carried from strength to strength. First among
these is a carefully worked out constitution, or articles
of agreement. This should embody the principles

32 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

and procedures based on the most satisfactory experi-
ence in Christian cooperation. Next is a thoroughly
representative and able committee, or administrative
body. Its members are persons genuinely interested
in the project, and believers in drawing together the
Christian forces. They should, wherever possible,
have had experience in the particular line of work to
be undertaken. Each stands ready to do his full
part, and to work in team. This directing body
holds stated, unhurried meetings, and in connection
with each meeting there is adequate preparation and
vigilant follow-up work. To insure attendance at all
policy-making meetings the expenses of members are
paid, if this is necessary.

Related to the organization, in the case of every
highly successful enterprise in cooperation, are one or
more able, trained full-time executive officers, direc-
tors, or secretaries. Even where voluntary service is
afforded at its best, such full-time paid workers are
indispensable. They do not take the place of volun-
teer workers; on the contrary, their chief and most
distinctive function is to augment the volume and
efficiency of the voluntary forces. Under the direc-
tion of the executive staff is an efficiently functioning
office with the most modern equipment and facilities.
Wise use is also made of the printed page. A system
of reports of all committees and staff members, show-
ing with fulness and accuracy the record of progress,
and likewise the shortcomings and disappointing
aspects, of the cooperative enterprise, is in operation.
At least annually the administrative committee, the
staff members, and others responsibly related to the

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 33

undertaking hold a spiritual retreat for the purpose
of maintaining a vivid and commanding sense of
direction, of divine mission, and of divine companion-
ship. -Only so is adequate motivation insured.

From time to time those responsible for the direc-
tion of the cooperative undertaking test its efficiency
by applying to its conduct the following guiding
principles and governing considerations, every one of
which is deemed indispensable:

In determining the sphere of cooperation due re-
gard is paid to the objects to be achieved, namely,
(i) to meet real and recognized need; (2) to obviate
regrettable waste; and (3) to accomplish important
results which cannot be secured as well, if at all, by
the cooperating agencies working separately.

At the very beginning of the undertaking the
various bodies joining in the cooperative arrangement
enter into an understanding as to the objectives,
scope, direction, assignment of responsibilities, sup-
port, and all else vital to the success of the undertak-
ing, and this understanding is set forth with clarity
in writing.

Satisfactory cooperation is officially representative
of the bodies entering into the undertaking*

The cooperative agency possesses only such power
as the cooperating bodies confer upon it.

The machinery is simplified to the lowest terms
consistent with achieving the major objectives of the
undertaking.

. There is an effective correlation of the various
bodies to avoid overlapping and confusion, and to

34 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

insure that their combined experience., wisdom., and
dynamic purpose are brought to bear upon common
problems.

Everything is done openly and in consultation.

There is a sincere determination to understand the
viewpoints and the distinctive characteristics of the
different units.

The members of each group welcome with open-
mindedness and generosity the maximum contribu-
tion of the other cooperating groups.

Wherever cooperation is undertaken it is carried
through so thoroughly and helpfully that it affords
confidence and stimulates to ever wider union of effort.

The leaders are on their guard lest in their own
lives there be manifested or tolerated those things
which tend to destroy cooperation or to make im-
possible true Christian unity; for example, ignorance
and prejudice, hazy thinking and vague statements, self-
ish ambition and jealousy, suspicion and lack of frank-
ness, poiitical-mindedness or finesse, and disloyalty.

The principle of rendering the maximum of Christ-
like service is given absolute right of way.

First and last in point of importance is the recog-
nition of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the convic-
tion that He Himself wills cooperation and unity.

No large venture of cooperation can proceed to
high success without adequate financial resources,
but it is believed that these will be forthcoming if the
other conditions here emphasized are met.

The atmosphere of unselfishness affords the climate
in which vital Christian cooperation ever thrives.

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 35

The dominating note is not what we can get but what
we can give. It is he who loses his life for Christ's
sake and the Gospel's who shall find it. It is this
abounding willingness to decrease that the great
cause may increase that makes joint action trium-
phant. In this spirit each worker is ready to see his
own favorite ideas and plans delayed, or set aside>
unless perchance the whole group under the influence
of the Spirit come to recognize their value. Dr.
Johannes Warneck of Germany takes us to the very
root of the cooperation of most highly multiplying
power when he points out, "For cooperation we need
sincere humility and the will to self-renunciation/'
Cooperation rightly understood is love, and love
never offends or hinders; but much which passes for
cooperation may not be love^ but suspicion creating
a deadlock.

One of the finest illustrations of the spirit of unself-
ish action, both as a cause and a result of cooperation,
is that given by Bishop S. Baudert of Germany.

"In 1925," he writes, "when the German missionaries re-
ceived permission to reenter the Tanganyika Territory, the ques-
tion had to be decided whether the Moravians were willing to
occupy again the mission field at the north end of Lake Nyasa.
The heavy blows our Moravian work had received by the war
and the inflation seemed to render this impossible. So, after
having conferred with our British and American brethren, there
was nothing else to be done but to give the statement, * We are
not in the position to take up the work again in this field/ We
had to ask the Scots not only to continue their charge over our
congregations, but to take them over for good. This resolution
was a very hard one for us to take, for previous to the war the
Nyasa mission field was the most hopeful of all Moravian mis-

36 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

slon fields; moreover, it was the favorite child of our German
congregations.

"At the very moment when the decision had to be made the
German missionary societies of the German Evangelical Mis-
sionary Council came to our support. They declared, 'We are
willing to help you take up the work again. We pledge our-
selves to give for the next five years one per cent, of our receipts
in Germany, in order to enable you to take up service out there
again/ According to their offer they acted. Not all societies
which belong to the Evangelical Missionary Council were able to
give one per cent., but we had the experience that one society
which in 1925 was in great distress, and which was struggling
for its existence, after recovering a little, wrote of its own accord:
4 Now we also want to give our contribution for the Nyasa
mission. We don't want to be missing in the circle of those who
for this cause are cooperating/ The help we received from the
various societies was fully unselfish. None of the societies
which supported us had any advantage by so doing. Thus we
have a piece of cooperation which in mission history may be
considered one of a rather unique character."

Few things have contributed more to the fostering
of the real spirit of cooperation than the development
of intimate Christian fellowship, especially among the
leaders of the various constituent bodies. Coopera-
tive efforts depend to a great degree on the personal
relationships of those united* This is particularly
noticeable among those of different races. Coopera-
tion begins where love begins and ends where love
ends. In such genuine cooperation combined with
the conduct of the regular activity or technical work,
is a warm spirit of fellowship and of devotion to
Christ. Such intimate fellowship is in no sense a
bargain but an adventure of faith. Each unselfishly
contributes to the utmost of his abilityj without

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 37

reference to what others are doing. A splendid
example is that afforded by St. Stephen's College at
Delhi, India. In the early days of C. F. Andrews,
and later of Principal Rudra 3 down to to-day under
Principal Mukerji, this college has shown how in
such an atmosphere the differences between Anglo-
Catholic and Baptist, as well as racial differences, can
be overcome.

Mingled with unselfish action and sharing is sincere
union in waiting on God in intercession. Without
doubt it is this happy relationship in daily life to-
gether, and this fellowship in prayer, which underlies
the great helpfulness of cooperation among the work-
ers of different communions, races> and nationalities
in the Madras Women's Christian College. This
also explains the power and great spiritual influence
of the Christian Unity Association of the clergy of
various religious bodies and races in Johannesburg,
South Africa. The same can be said of the wonderful
fellowship under the leadership of Bishop Gwynne in
Cairo. Dr. D. E. Hoste, the head of the China
Inland Mission, in commenting on the helpfulness of
the China Continuation Committee in its early days*
thus expresses his appreciation of this fellowship:

<C I wish to say that I much valued and benefited by the con-
tact and fellowship with Chinese and foreigners of other organi-
zations afforded by the China Continuation Committee- Many
a rime, my heart was warmed, my sympathies enlarged* my ap-
preciation of others deepened, and my mind invigorated by the
intercourse thus afforded, and by thought which, if not exactly
new, was expressed and applied in ways different from those to
which I was accustomed. I still cherish those experiences of
true enrichment and mourn because of the causes which have de-

38 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

prived me of them. Names such as those of the chairman and
the secretaries at that time, both Chinese and foreigners, as well
as not a few others* still move me."

Dr. Hoste has also shared an earlier experience
which suggestively enforces a much needed lesson
with reference to maintaining most helpful relations
between workers of widely differing races and back-
grounds.

"I may refer/* he says, "to my fellowship with the late Pastor
Hsi during my first period of service in China, from 1885 to 1896,
which was, in large measure, fruitful and satisfactory to both of
us and to the work In which we cooperated. As time went on,
this latter extended into four provinces. The reasons for this,
an my side, were somewhat as follows. My limitations due to
being a foreigner and also to Inexperience in the earlier years
were, on the whole, perceived and acted upon by me. Advice
or opinion was seldom given by me unless asked for; nor did I
mind if they were disregarded. That is, the relationship was
based upon the measure of its moral and spiritual influence, not
upon an official standing. This was all the more reasonable,
seeing that Mr. Hsi was my senior by over twenty years, and had
initiated the work of which he was the executive head, which
work was financially self-supporting. As time went on, my ac-
ceptance and influence with him grew 3 I> on my part, being
more and more able to profit and learn from him regarding the
Chinese point of view and method of action, both in evangelism
and church affairs. The need of much prayer and living close to
God, in order to be in a state rightly to appraise what he said
and did, and also to know what to say and do myself, as occasion
arose, became increasingly impressed upon me. This relation-
ship with Mr. Hsi carried with it a measure of relationship with
his workers and with the Churches gathered through his min-
istry also calling for adaptation of mind and method, not easy to
a Westerner, but essential to the kind of cooperation needed.
As already indicated, instead of attempting to bring the Chinese

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 39

into my racial environment and to that extent denationalizing
them, the aim was rather to denationalize oneself, with a view to
a closer and more intelligent cooperation along purely Chinese
lines."

Pastor F. W. Stein thai, who has left such a pro-
foundly spiritual impression upon the students and
other groups in India and in Denmark, has let us into
the secret in the following testimony:

"My richest and most fruitful experience of cooperation I
consider without hesitation that connected with the Calcutta
Young Men's Christian Association. Among the members of
the staff I remember Americans and Canadians, English and
Scotch, Danes and Indians, belonging to various communities,
Anglican and Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist, Lutheran
and Congregational, the Brethren and the Christians; but I
never remember a single quarrel on national or denominational
lines, and the spiritual fellowship, sustained by the short prayer
meeting with which the day always began, was a daily inspira-
tion, strong enough to counteract the inevitable personal fric-
tions and differences of views and methods as the work devel-
oped and the staff more than doubled. This personal contact
and good fellowship kept the various departments of the work in
due balance and was a great help to win and preserve the sym-
pathy and good will of the various Christian communities in the
city. How was this unity and successful cooperation made pos-
sible? Above all by common loyalty to the common task, by
seeking first the Kingdom of God and what was right in His
sight; wherever this failed and selfish, national, or racial ends and
preferences came first, the bond of fellowship was weakened, the
mutual confidence gave way, and failure proved the disruption/*

K. C. Chacko, an outstanding Indian Christian
leader, member of the staff of the Union Christian
College at Alwaye in Travancore, India, writes out
of a full and rich experience in the following statement

40 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

regarding the attitudes and processes underlying the
Christian fellowship of the staff of that institution
and of the Christian Settlement:

"The main factors which have contributed to whatever
measure of fruitfulness has attended these pieces of cooperation
may be summarized under two main headings:

* s The centraiity of the missionary purpose. Cooperation
became possible in these two institutions and continues to be a
growing reality because of the emphasis upon the common op-
portunity and supreme responsibility of theTravancore Churches
for the evangelization of India.

"Emphasis on realizing the full value of Christian fellowship.
The nucleus of the staff both in the College and the Settlement
is a body of Christians who trust each other's honest resolve to
be open to Christ in all things. The members of these fellow-
ships seek to realize the distinctive values of Christian fellow-
ship along the following lines: Helping one another to desire
wholeheartedly Christ's presence among them, whenever they
meet to exercise the privilege of corporate thought and prayer,
and to value His presence above everything else and to value all
things only in so far as they are compatible with His continued
presence and control. Welcoming and sharing one another's
suggestions, however small, and waiting together upon the Lord
until a common mind is reached regarding the direction of God's
will in ail important matters. Building upon God's faithfulness
that He will give sufficient resources in answer to united prayer
In Christ's name for the carrying out of His revealed will.
Helping one another to keep to God's friendship and God's will
as the only aim and standard in all aspects of their individual
and corporate life without allowing any unconfessed or uncon-
quered sin to block their openness to Christ and to one another
(especially in their united deliberations) or to hinder their
growth in love one to another. Faithfulness on the part of all
the members in their daily waiting for the Holy Spirit's power to
make them Christ's united witnesses, and united perseverance
In intercession and in the listening to God's voice regarding every

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 41

other way of expressing the Saviour's love to those who stand to
them in the relation of * neighbors * each new day, so that they
also may share in the joy of Christian fellowship."

Occasions of spiritual awakening have often fur-
nished the conditions which make possible and foster
cooperation and unity. Christian missions abound
in illustrations. In the pathway of the memorable
meetings of Dwight L. Moody many a union Chris-
tian institution and cooperative missionary move-
ment was launched. Witness, for example, the be-
ginning of the Student Volunteer Movement for
Foreign Missions, and the sending forth of the famous
Cambridge Band. The Sialkot Convention for the
deepening of the spiritual life exerted a profound
influence for united fellowship and action on the part
of the Christian missions and Churches. The visits
of Dr. E. Stanley Jones, whether in India, China,
North America, or Europe, have invariably made for
the drawing together of those concerned for the world
mission. The same can be said for the evangelistic
campaigns conducted by Sherwood Eddy. One of
hisjneetings was the occasion for the beginning of the
consultations leading to the second or recent stage in
the movement for the union of the Churches in South
India. It will be recaled that the irst stage was the
successful union of the Churches related to the mis-
sions of the Reformed Church, the American Con-
gregational Church, the United Free Church of Scot-
land, and the London Missionary Society. In a
recent letter Dr. Toyohiko Kagawa of Japan states:
**In the cooperative movements with which I have
had experience those I have thought have succeeded

42 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

have been the year of evangelism after the Jerusalem
conference, and the Kingdom of God Movement/*
He gives the reasons as follows: " (i) Every one made
mutual concessions and worked together for Japan's
evangelization- (2) There was a central committee
which held meetings once a week and did not change
in personnel (3) Those who went out traveling
to rural districts worked gladly in the spirit of

service."

Bishop J. Y. Neide of Japan thus reports a similar
experience: "From first to last I have had an evan-
gelistic experience in Osaka of close upon forty years,
during which period the Churches of all denomina-
tions united in work together; nor have there in all
that time been any difficulties/ 1 The Reverend A.
Stanley Beaty, telling of the united evangelistic
campaign in Colombo, Ceylon, in 1933, makes this
significant comment: "It was proved in the campaign
that people who hold the most divergent views on
such matters as the sacraments can at any rate pro-
claim together the great basal truths of Christianity.
What at one time seemed impossible was achieved
through the working of God's Spirit." The ripe
experience of the Right Reverend James H. Linton^
Bishop of Persia, one of the most difficult fields in the
world , is also confirmatory: "We have no difficulty in
cooperating on this field. We have inter-mission
committees., inter-Church conferences in which the
whole of Persia is represented s also a Bible school, and
college Christian unions. I think one secret of the
success of all these is that we have complete trust in
one another, and all are out to direct all our activities

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION 43

toward evangelism in some form or other. In a very
real sense it is true that we are "all one in Christ
Jesus/

In reality genuine Christian cooperation is a mani-
festation of the sovereign work of the Spirit of God.
The spirit of foreign missions is this unifying Spirit.
Those who have ever done most to advance the cause
of unity and cooperation are those who have freed
their minds of prejudice (that is, judgments formed
beforehand), and left themselves open to the guidance
of the Holy Spirit-, or what the Right Reverend E. J.
Palmer, formerly Bishop of Bombay, so well charac-
terizes as " the Spirit of Counsel/' They depend not
on human wisdom and devices but on the living God.
The great influence exerted by the Edinburgh and
Jerusalem conferences and also by the other and much
less widely known meetings of the International
Missionary Council came, not so much from the deci-
sions and resolutions arrived at, important and sig-
nificant as these were, but from the unmistakable,
enlarging, vitalizing, unifying work of the Spirit.
Referring once more to the union movement in South
India > the Bishop of Bombay has stated in one of his
articles on the subject that again and again, when the
Joint Committee seemed to have come to an impasse,
the power of the Holy Spirit was felt to be among
them compelling them to go forward. Alexander M.
Allan of Colombia takes us to the heart of the matter
in thus voicing his conviction :

"'Cooperation is an organic quality, not an abstract relation.
Cooperation like faith worketh by love. It is not nearly so

muck the problems wMch wreck cooperation as the distorted

44 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

seeing of them by people who have lost perspective through
neglect of unhurried* silent meditation > of prayer, and of atten-
tiveness unto God. Union with Christ Is not only the quickest
way toward the solution of the Church's problems; it is the only
way."

III. WHY COOPERATION FAILS

IN RECENT years there have been an ever-mul-
tiplying number of cooperative undertakings.
While many of these have succeeded, not a few have
failed; and some have been only comparatively suc-
cessful. What are some of the most obvious reasons
for these unsatisfactory experiences?

At the very outset should be mentioned denomina-
tional exclusiveness, prejudice, or pride. Generally
speaking,, denominationalism is stronger than most of
us admitj or even recognize in ourselves. In some
fields there has been a recrudescence of extreme
denominationalism, although this manifestation is by
no means general. Some of the most liberal-minded
missionaries, when they get to the field, become very
sectarian. Denominational "necessity" becomes de-
terminative, not the statesmanship of the Kingdom
of God. In certain fields, for example South Africa,
the nationals carry the denominationalism of the
white man much further than does the white man
himself, greatly increasing the number of sects.
Some are unwilling to make any kind of sacrifice in
order to effect a greater accomplishment. Thus
lower loyalties come into conflict with higher purposes
and requirements. To the extent that fear, or selfish-
ness, is permitted to mar efforts for cooperation, the
cooperating parties fall short of their Christian pro-
fession and ideal. In serving the whole Christian
cause we are in truth being most loyal to our own
communion. It must be borne in mind that

46 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

siveness, prejudice and pride are not the only causes
of denominationalism. There are also basic and vital
reasons and factors to take into consideration.
Churches and missions enter into cooperation, not to
sink differences, but to pool their most distinctive and
vital merits for the benefit of the larger whole.

Questions of faith and order, or of doctrine and
polity, or of creedal and ecclesiastical differences often
hinder the freest and finest development of fruitful
cooperation. We think at once of the fundamentalist
and modernist controversies, or of the Anglo-Catholic
versus the evangelical disputes, or of the sacramen-
tarian and non-sacramentarian differences of view
and conviction. This explains why certain Churches,
missions, and missionary societies have withdrawn
from or failed to enter national Christian councils and
other cooperative movements. The effort has been
to unite on a doctrinal basis, rather than on the basis
of a common loyalty to Christ and participation in a
common service. In connection with a certain inter-
denominational project in China one important de-
nomination holds aloof because the Apostles* Creed
is in its judgment not sufficient as a basis, another
because of a desire to have no creed at all, although
neither would deny the deity of our Lord.

The outlook of some groups of Christians on ques-
tions of theology, or of the social significance of the
Gospel, leads them to adopt an attitude of suspicion
toward those who differ from them. The chief
executive of one of the leading boards of Canada
writes: "We have not yet discovered any harness by
which the fundamentalist and modernist can be

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 47

yoked together. Instead of plowing they fight It out
In the furrows/* It Is deplorable when sincere Chris-
tian men refuse to work together In perfectly normal
and legitimate activities. The following resolution
on "Missionary Cooperation In View of Doctrinal
Differences/ 1 adopted unanimously by the Interna-
tional Missionary Council at Its meeting In Oxford,
England,, in 1923, has proved, wherever trusted and
tried, to be a sound and satisfactory basis for coop-
erative effort:

"The International Missionary Council has given attention to
the anxiety which is felt in many quarters about the possibility
of missionary cooperation In face of doctrinal differences, and
thinks it opportune to review the cooperation which has actually
been undertaken under Its auspices or those of the national and
other councils which It correlates and other similar cooperative
action, and to set out afresh the principles which have emerged
from these experiences.

"The International Missionary Council has never sought nor
Is it Its function to work out a body of doctrinal opinions of Its
own. The only doctrinal opinions in the Council are those
which the various members bring with them Into It from the
Churches and missionary boards to which they belong. It Is no
part of the duty of the Council to discuss the merits of those
opinions, still less to determine doctrinal questions.

"But it has never been found In practice that in consequence
of this the Council is left with nothing but an uncertain mass of
coniicting opinions. The Council is conscious of a great meas-
ure of agreement which centers in a common obligation and a
common loyalty. We are conscious of a common obligation to
proclaim the Gospel of Christ In all the world, and this sense of
obligation Is made rich and deep because of our knowledge of the
havoc wrought by sin and of the efficacy of the salvation offered
by Christ. We are bound together farther by a common loyalty
to Jesus Himself, and this loyalty is deep and fruitful because we

48 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

rejoice to share the confessions of St. Peter, c Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the Living God/ and of St. Thomas, *My Lord and
my God.* The secret of oor cooperation is the presence with us
of Jesus Christ, Human Friend and Divine Helper. From this
common obligation and this common loyalty flow many other
points of agreement, and our differences in doctrine, great
though in some instances they are, have not hindered us from
profitable cooperation in counsel. When we have gathered to-
gether, we have experienced a growing unity among ourselves,
in which we recognize the influence of the Holy Spirit. At
these meetings we have come to a common mind on many mat-
ters and have been able to frame recommendations and statements.
These have never had the character of command or direction,
and it has always rested with the churches or missions to give
them authority, if they would, by adopting them or carrying
them into action.

"Cooperation in work is more likely to be embarrassed by
doctrinal differences than cooperation in counsel. Yet there is
a wide range of matters, such as negotiations with governments,
the securing of religious liberty, the combating of the evils aris-
ing from the sale of narcotic drags, collection and survey of
facts, investigation of educational method, etc., which are not
affected by doctrinal differences, A still more imposing list
might be drawn up of types of work in which impediments from
doctrinal differences might have been anticipated, but experience
in many lands has shown that most valuable cooperation is pos-
sible between many Churches and missions. Such are the trans-
lation of the Holy Scriptures, the production and dissemination
of Christian literature, the conduct of schools and colleges and
medical institutions, and provision for the training of mission-
aries. Every piece of cooperation in work which this council or,
as we believe, any council connected with it encourages or guides
is confined to those Churches or missions which freely and will-
ingly take part in it. It would be entirely out of harmony with
the spirit of this movement to press for such cooperation in work
as would be felt to compromise doctrinal principles or to strain
consciences."

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 49

Race feeling or prejudice constitutes a very real
obstacle to cooperation. At the same time the very
existence of this peril presents one of the strongest
challenges to such united action, because this dif-
ficulty exists on virtually every mission field. From
the very nature of the case the missionary movement
is a great interracial movement. Failure to secure
the interest, adhesion, and loyalty of the nationals is a
denial of the dominating Christian objective, There
are still fields where the missionaries exhibit an at-
titude of master and servant toward their brethren of
other color. The missionary must lay aside his pride
of race or position. He may be called upon to suffer
real privation; he may feel at times that he is not
wanted., and that the people whom he is serving do
not comprehend what is really good for them. He
will remember Jesus who "came unto His own and
His own received Him not/' In Japan there have
been three distinct stages in the development of
cooperation between missions and Churches: first*
what is tantamount to dictatorship; second, affilia-
tion; and, third, partnership. It is the last stage
which makes possible the highest order of cooperation.

Conflicting national or party points of view,, stand-
ards, and practices often embarrass cooperation.
Differences of national tradition, outlook, and psy-
chology stand in the way of its smooth working.
Such disagreements at times cut deeper than denomi-
national differences, A recent 'effort to unite eight
theological seminaries in the Far East failed because
of their almost complete absence of standardization.
No two of than spoke the same language with ref-

So COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

erence to governing principles and methods. The
same degree given by the various institutions meant
something different in each case.

A discerning and cooperative British missionary in
the Orient has commented helpfully upon the practi-
cal difficulty experienced at times in bringing about
concerted action between British and American mis-
sion work in the sphere of education. I venture to
quote the following extracts from his personal letter:

**That international differences are a greater stumbling-
block than interdenominationalism is a point to be noticed.
The latter has, in my own experience, counted for practically
nothing* As illustrations I will choose American and British,
and* since my sphere is theological education, place their differ-
ences in the two categories * educational* and 'theological*:

Educational

AMERICAN BRITISH

1. Projects are the order of the A certain definite standard of
day. Material is grouped knowledge has to be reached.
around and to some extent Material is arranged chiefly
conditioned by these. with regard to its historical

order. The student is ex-
pected to relate it to his needs
himself, since he is here as a
responsible person called to the
work of the ministry.

2. The Credit System. In high disfavor with most

non-American educators.

3. Education is an experiment, It is taken for granted that we
the syllabus 5s fluid and is to do know what theological edu-
be kept constantly diang- cation is and that all we have
ing. to do is to get on with the job.

WHY COOPERATION FAILS

The goal (however distant)
tends to be after the pat-
tern of the school of reli-
gions of an American uni-
versity.

The ideal is the theological hall
where men are preparing sim-
ply and solely for ordination
and the work of the Church.

AMERICAN BRITISH

1. Extremes of radicalism and
fundamentalism seem to
have been greater. Atti-
tudes which are destruc-
tively critical seem to have
persisted longer than among
British theologians,

2. Historic forms and beliefs, and

a traditional church order have
done most to shape our ideal of
the Church, This is true of
the Free as well as of the
Established Churches.

3. Church order, ministry,
sacraments a and creeds are
also matters for experiment
in a new age and a new

country.

"In the foregoing I have probably been more frank than fair.
My sole object was, however, to' Illustrate that there are national
differences which cut deeper than denominational ones, and are
harder to bridge. It also, however, has its positive side in. indi-
cating the need of American and British missions for each other,
to redress the balance/ 9

The missionaries from Anglo-Saxon North America
and the nationals of Latin antecedents often find it

52 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

very difficult to understand each other. The associa-
tion of the former with so-called "Yankee imperial-
ism " is a great handicap. The Anglo-Saxon asks to
see your program of activities, whereas the Latin
asks to see your constitution. Moreover, in the rela-
tions between Anglo-Saxons and the Christians of the
countries of the Continent of Europe there are
marked differences both of national traditions and
religious type. These must be frankly recognized,
thoroughly considered in all their bearings, and sin-
cere efforts made to achieve at least a practical work-
ing synthesis.

Widely varying economic standards, such as the
scale of salaries and other expenditures, between mis-
sionaries from different lands, or between missionaries
and nationals, prove to be a stumbling-block in de-
veloping cooperative arrangements. What often
injures team work is the feeling on the part of mem-
bers of the team that they represent, and, therefore,
must stand ' for and emphasize, various society or
sectional interests, and that they are not "playing
the game 5 * with those they represent unless they do.
On the contrary, it should be borne in mind that no
participating, or cooperating, missionary is there as a
representative of his particular society.

Cooperation is injured and at times destroyed by
lack of frankness, by political-mindedness, or by
ulterior motives, for these result in lack of confidence,
and confidence is the foundation of all genuine coop-
eration. How often have the desire for self-aggran-
dizement and the triumph of personal opinion entered
in to explain the breakdown of cooperation. More-

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 53

over., the failure to consult all the cooperating mem-
bers is invariably prejudicial to the best results.
Again and again neglect on the part of the missionary
to take the nationals into full confidence in making
plans which, after all, chiefly concern them blocks
cooperation. A little group doing all the planning
and keeping the direction too exclusively in their own
hands is not conducive to the development of satis-
factory union undertakings. It is a great mistake
also to provide no adequate opportunity for criticism
and constructive suggestions. An important mission
has held itself aloof from nearly all cooperative proj-
ects in its area because plans were framed and
adopted before they were even consulted. In this
matter of insuring vital union action on the part of the
Christian forces, the maxim of Sir Henry Havelock
should be observed, "Christian things should be done
in a Christian way." Real discernment and wisdom
characterize the following judgment expressed by
Mr. J. B. Tayler of China:

"Unions are apt to fail when they result from a surface com-
promise and not from a real underlying fellowship. Such a
compromise tends to rule out all that is not held in common, and
so each member is reduced to something less than himself, in-
stead of making his full contribution to the common fund. Or
again unions fail when people come together with different mo-
tives or motives less than adequate for the spiritual purpose in
view. The same thing is perhaps also true of the leadership
within the union or group, that it must be adequate and com-
petent to the end to be achieved. There needs to be a balance,
which can be maintained only in an atmosphere of friendly
mutual confidence, between the expression of the truth within
one and the spirit which esteems others, if not better, at least 'as
equal to oneself/'

54 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

Cooperation is at times held back when mission
boards, or the older Churches, are not ready to
follow the lead of their own missionary representa-
tives and of the younger Churches on the mission
field. Cooperation in Mexico suffered a serious set-
back not many years ago because the boards in the
United States had gone ahead without adequate
consultation with the nationals. The chief executive
of one of the most important union projects in China
states that "one of the greatest problems in mis-
sionary cooperation is the retaining of control in
Europe, or America, which makes it impossible for
those actually dealing with the problem to progress
as they should/* He adds that "the missionaries
can better be trusted than the people at home, who
do not so well understand the situation and are not
so nearly up to date/" Often the mission mentality
dominates the home base and there seems to be no
remedy for this, for only the one set of interests are
effectively represented, namely, those of the mission
as contrasted with the native Church. This dif-
ficulty is not recognized as much as it should be.
The Reverend R W. S. O'Neill of Manchuria thus
expresses the same idea: "However wise and good a
home board in New York or Edinburgh or Belfast
may be, it cannot know what should be done at the
other end of the world as well as the men on the spot
unless these men are fools, and then why not sack
them at once?" Boards should, and happily in-
creasingly do, give instructions and liberty to their
missionaries to launch out on cooperative lines.
Missionaries on the ield are likely to experience the

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 55

maximum force of local difficulties in cooperation,

whereas the board is supposed to concern itself more
with the governing principles involved and is in
possession of facts affording a wider basis for decision
or recommendation. It is only just to add that in
not a few cases the boards and committees in America
and Europe have shown themselves to be prepared to
go further in cooperation abroad than are the mis-
sionaries and nationals themselves. This> for ex-
ample, has been true in recent negotiations between
the boards in America, on the one hand, and, on the
other hand, the Christian leaders in Japan and the
Philippines.

The fear that is felt by some of the cooperating
bodies that they may be submerged in the whole, and
thus lose their identity and freedom, explains why
they do not enter more whole-heartedly into coopera-
tive arrangements. This loss of identity is, in fact,
the problem in world politics of the present day, when
many countries West and East have to such an extent
thrown over parliamentary rule and established dic-
tatorships. It is also the system exemplied so
largely by the Church of Rome. Members of some
of the smaller societies say that the larger societies
take a lofty attitude and make them feel that they
are not wanted or needed in their councils* Without
doubt there is a tendency at times for the dominant
and more aggressive group to absorb the others rather
than to - move joliitty, tad it may be more slowly,
toward the hanBoaized or unified whole. There ane
instances, also> in' which bodies making the largest
investment have exercised disproportionate or unwise

56 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

influence. It is not surprising that there is unwilling-
ness to surrender freedom for individual initiative in a
common enterprise in which the group and not the
individual necessarily determines policy and direc-
tion. An example of the danger which ensues when
the more prominent boards neglect to carry with them
the smaller societies in cooperative enterprises is
provided by the experience of the League of Nations.
Negligence of this kind on the part of the larger
nations has repeatedly threatened the unity of the
League. The fear of a super-board persists; that is,
there is a shrinking from losing one's identity and
liberty and from having to take a subordinate place
in the combination. Many excellent missionaries
and board secretaries feel utterly weary of being at
the beck and call of such a superior body, and of its
interference with their complete devotion to what
they regard as their own- work, a work which in their
judgment is more important than what they conceive
to be the vague benefits of joint effort. As a rule,
though not always, this is caused by a misapprehen-
sion due largely to ignorance of properly functioning
cooperation.

Cooperation lags and fails to realize its possibilities
when some of the parties in the enterprise do not pull
their full weight. Wherever there is delinquency in
the fulfilment of responsibility, or a disposition to
"pass the buck," the results must be disappointing.
It is strange that some otherwise able leaders of
sound judgment appear to think that, because the
cooperative project, or union institution, with which
they have identified themselves has its own board, or

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 57

committee, or officers, and because their organization
is represented on it by one or two members* the union
project, or institution, can in some way carry on
without their taking a very deep or personal interest
in its work. This, however, is not the case with those
cooperative ventures which have been and are out-
standingly successful Cooperation means work and
sacrificial devotion on the part of all who cooperate.
Inactivity and reluctant, inadequate support will
destroy all hope of higher success in cooperation.

Lack of conclusive thinking and unwillingness to
face the whole situation go far to explain why coop-
eration does not command the more enthusiastic
backing and hearty participation of leaders belonging
to some of the constituent, cooperating bodies,
Many fail to estimate relative values. Others lack
the vision to interpret the signs of the times with
reference to present-day challenges to the Christian
forces to draw together in victorious unity. Many
are absorbed with a fraction and do not take in the
possibilities of the larger whole* Here and there are
recognized leaders who are really uncertain as to
whether the elements of devotion, of sacrifice, and of
the feeling and bearing of responsibility can be main-
tained in cooperative work as well as in separate
denominational and national action. Some fear the
danger of bigness in cooperative work; that is, they
fear that the bigger an institution grows, the more
impersonal and soulless it becomes. It must be
admitted that there are also those who seem to think
that national preeminence, ecclesiastical correctness,
and theological uniformity are more important than

58 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

Christian fellowship and mutual sacrificial service one
of another. In these and other instances of feeble
interest in cooperation, or of lack of deep conviction in
favor of it, there is need of fostering clear,, thorough,
and conclusive thinking on the unmistakable ad-
vantages of cooperation advantages spiritual, moral,
apologetic, and intellectual, as well as material or
economic. Mutual understanding would grow faster
and deeper if we discussed our difficulties and our
grounds for hesitation frankly, open-mindedly, and
exhaustively rather than pretending that they are
not there.

Personal unfitness, idiosyncrasies, and maladjust-
ments stand in the front line among the hindrances to
effective cooperation. In fact, one might rate the
difficulties in the pathway of successful cooperation in
this order: personal, national, denominational. The
personal factor is decisive in any colleagueship,
whether between colleagues of the same, or of dif-
ferent, Churches, or nations, or races. All too fre-
quently the management of cooperative enterprises is
committed to persons who are really lacking in
cooperative spirit. Wherever there is narrowness,
bitterness, self-will, 111 will, or downright discourtesy,
caused by a deterioration of spiritual life, by any
sense of social superiority, or by suspicion of the
sincerity of motives, cooperation becomes difficult, if
not impossible. Often die difficulties are greatest in
relation to those with whom we are most closely
associated. It may be easy to keep on good terms
with one's friend at the other end of China, or Amer-
ica. The test comes in the daily immediate contacts,

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 59

it may be in the same station, or home office, where
personal, national, and other peculiarities become
apparent and greatly affect lives.

Lack of continuity in the administration of the
cooperative undertaking, or in the carrying out of its
program, often explains relatively meager results.
Some of the most promising ventures in the field of
cooperation have, as a result of inadequate follow-up,
failed right on the threshold of success. The number
of disappointing pieces of cooperation due to this
cause is legion. One explanation is that cooperating
bodies make too frequent changes in their representa-
tives on the directing committee. A principal of a
leading college in the Orient thus calls attention to
this difficulty:

"Some missions send different representatives every year and
these cannot make any effective contribution. It Is felt to be a
privilege to come up to the meeting in the city at the expense of
the college, and a privilege that should be handed around im-
partially. Also it is felt that this method makes more mission-
aries acquainted with the college. But the result is that the
council does not really govern us,"

Dr. C Frimodt-Moller, in commenting on the
administration of the important union hospital of
which he is the head, emphasizes the same weakness:

"There is a lack of knowledge on the part of the governing
body because of continual changes in its membership. Missions
seem to ind it difficult to realize that there is a necessity for
continuity In the governing body* and that it is necessary to
their best men and women* and this notwithstanding the cost of
travel and the fact that the best are very busy."

The failure of the various missions and boards
concerned to cany out, except in a very few Instances,

60 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

the valuable recommendations of the report of the
Burton Commission on Christian Education in China
is a striking illustration of the loss resulting from
want of continuity in the efforts to give effect to
significant findings. These resolutions were generally
accepted as sound by educators and administrators
before the Commission had departed from China.
Ten years were then allowed to elapse while portions
of the report were shuttled forward and backward
across the Pacific,, but through it all there was want-
ing a continuous direction of the processes of study,
report, and action. It is to be deplored that there
has been a similar neglect of not a few other highly
significant and valuable joint reports.

There is a subtle peril in regarding cooperation as
an end in itself* Cooperation for its own sake is not
good enough. It does not arouse any enduring
enthusiasm. Cooperation which has no recognized
immediate or remote objective is destined to fail;
that is cooperation for the sake of cooperation rather
than cooperation for the sake of getting something
worth while done, and something which can best, if
not only, be done cooperatively. In the establishing
of some union institutions their wider relationships
and possibilities have not been taken into account,
particularly their contribution to the community, the
nation^ or the world. Other union enterprises seem
more concerned with demonstrating unity than with
performing much needed and highly important serv-
ices together. There is some force in the criticism in
certain quarters that during the last two decades
there has been rather too much attention to "over-

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 61

head" organization and too little to the support of
actual undertakings with which the organization was
intended to deal. Bodies of Christian workers will
often cooperate on a compromise basis, when what is
needed is a heroic drive on what only a few courageous
souls will venture. Cooperation is not the be-all and
end-all. The Kingdom of God is the end, and coop-
eration is justified only in so far as it helps to that end.

There is too much talk. An eminent international
mind maintains that one of the obstacles to peace is
too many peace societies and movements. It is to
be feared that there is a similar peril with reference to
cooperation. Think of the great multiplication of
interdenominational,, international, and interracial
conferences within the last few years, not to mention
the countless institutes and consultations conducted
by representative groups of specialists* These gath-
erings and groups have brought forth literally thou-
sands (not hundreds) of findings, res01utions 3 and
recommendations covering the whole range of mis-
sionary program, policy, and practice. If brought
together,, analyzed, and set forth they would con-
stitute a marvelous conspectus of all that is involved
in the world-wide establishment of the Kingdom of
God. The danger, and it is very great, is that of
knowing and not doing. The problem is to multiply
on every hand the steps between knowing and doing,
and, in particular, doing unitedly. And the inter-
vening processes must be simplified.

There is one union higher educational institution
in the Orient in which any important matter, before
it can be settled, has to be passed upon first by the

62 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

faculty or staff^ next by the trustees, next by six
denominational missions, and finally by six mission
boards in two Western lands that is, by fourteen
legislative bodies. Under these conditions it has
been found impossible to make progress. Before a
change could be made in the policy of a certain
union hospital in the Far East the proposed change
had to meet with the support of each of the contribut-
ing boards. This required two years, at the best,
with the result that only one in ten of the proposals
presented was actually decided upon and put into
effect. Most of the proposals "died in transit/'
While we profess belief in cooperation, "our ma-
chinery," as a discerning board secretary well says,
"is still largely denominational. We can talk coop-
eration, but we are geared up to act only denomina-
tionally/* Dr. Robert E. Speer sums up this need
tersely and aptly:

** I believe we have been in great danger of mistaking conver-
sation for cooperation. Conversation is talking together. But
talking together about cooperation may not be cooperation at
all. . . . At the same time I believe in the fullest measure of
conference. It is in the highest degree important that men
should lay their minds together and talk over their problems and
judgments."

Insufficient time given by really competent workers
explains many of the shortcomings and failures. The
time is past when these truly exacting cooperative
enterprises can go forward simply as a result of
consultation and agreement. Most persons on co-
operative committees are overloaded^ and do not have
the time and strength to do the best constructive

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 63

work. Even after competent leaders are found,
there is at times unwillingness to grant them the
requisite time, scope^ freedom, and authority for
accomplishing work which is strictly first-class. One
reason why the proposed Union Christian University
for Tokyo, Japan, concerning which there has been so
much discussion during the last two decades, has
failed to materialize has been because of the lack,
especially when the situation was most plastic, of one
or two outstanding men to give themselves wholly to
the task and to take concrete steps toward the
realization of the plan. Cooperation is no cure for
incompetence, either in workers or in work. Mul-
tiply zero by ten, or by one hundred, and you still
have zero. Partial gifts may be increased by skilful
combination, but flat, stodgy, self-satisfied incom-
petence is only fit for the discard. The non-recogni-
tion of this has ruined cooperative schemes in the past
and is about to ruin more.

The lack of a well thought out, clearly understood,
and generally accepted policy for financing the proj-
ect, or enterprise, will in itself often account for
unsatisfactory progress in cooperation. It should be
borne in mind that cooperation does not always or
necessarily result in a financial gain, if the work is to
be strictly first-class. The advantages of cooperation
at its best are such as to justify even increased
financial outlay whenever absolutely needed. Ade-
quate funds are necessary to all really effective
cooperation. In every field a practical difficulty has
been that of securing sustained, and sufficient support
for such union agencies. A sound policy of finance is

64 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

even more necessary for a union project than for an
organization which rests on a personal constituency.
At the best, a joint body has difficulties that are due
to irregular payments, or differing methods of the
many and various elements comprising the supporting
constituency. It is hard to secure common action in
a crisis- In times of financial stringency the union
project is one step further removed from the in-
dividual denominational constituency itself, thus
making it difficult to bring direct pressure to bear on
the denomination. The tendency is to "get out
from under" and to give the denominational claims
the right of way. Thus such a cooperative piece of
work as the Indian Literature Fund is one of the very
first to suffer at a time of financial distress, in spite
of its great importance to the whole missionary
enterprise in India.

In this connection it is only fair to mention that in
the recent depression when the British societies came
together to share their experiences, It was found that
in the crisis they had made fewer reductions in their
grants to union work than in the grants to their own
separate work. The idea is that in hard times "our
own work'* must be cared for first, as though the work
done in true partnership is not quite as truly "our
work/* The whole subject is dealt with in a realistic
way in the following statement by Dr. J. H. Maclean
of South India:

"A great difficulty with all union schemes is that missions
which enter into them find themselves pledged to annual con-
tributions at a certain rate, as well as liable to occasional calls
for special contributions for buildings, etc. In a tone like the

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 65

present, when almost all missions have to reduce their expendi-
ture, they find themselves in difficulty with regard to the co-
operative institutions with which they are connected. If their
contributions to these are to be maintained at the rate hitherto
in force, their own special work suffers disproportionately. If
the contributions to cooperative work are reduced proportion-
ately the very existence of the institutions may be imperiled.
Some are even tempted to withdraw altogether from coopera-
tive effort in order that they may maintain as much as possible
of their ordinary work.

"On the other hand* we find a tendency with some of our
home authorities to lay such stress on the cooperative work as to
imperil the maintenance of the ordinary work. Most of our
work must be carried on by the missions separately, and when
calls for larger contributions to joint institutions come to us, we
on the field, while heartily wishing that the joint institution
should get all it wants, are unwilling to adopt the suggestion
sometimes made to us by those who have no vivid realization of
our work, that the ordinary grants should be reduced in order
that the joint institution may have what it requires. We feel
that this is a wrong policy, and indeed it may prove to be almost
suicidal in some cases. For example, if our school work is re-
duced we have less need of teachers, and, therefore, less need for
training institutions whether cooperative or otherwise/*

It is true that no essential work of the individual
board should be sacrificed to the claims of coopera-
tion. Fortunately it need not and should not be a
case of "either-or." Rather, as a result of compre-
hensive thinking, of foresight, and of adequate shar-
ing of the financial burden, it will, as a ra!e> be found
practicable to do justice to both the distinctively
individual and the cooperative claims.

On the hupian side the basic reason why coopera-
tion interdenominational, international interracial
falls short or fails lies in the fact that the leaders of

66 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

the bodies which should cooperate do not count the
cost, and, let It be reiterated, do not count it with
reference to paying it. Next to making Christ known
there is nothing that calls for the paying of a greater
price than the wonderful undertaking of weaving to-
gether in intimate and triumphant cooperation and
unity His followers of different names. What will
this cost? At the outset and in the end it costs per-
sonalities dedicated irrevocably to this high and holy
purpose. Cooperation also means hard work on the
part of all concerned. It demands thoroughness in
preparation. It involves no short cuts. It requires
thinking fresh thinking, penetrating thinking, hon-
est thinkingj courageous thinking, united thinking,
and, above all, conclusive thinking, that is, thinking
that leads to a conclusion. Foresight enters into the
price that has to be paid, for "nine-tenths of wisdom
is being wise in time." It costs time, although with
many this is the most expensive coin in which they
can pay. All truly fruitful cooperation costs sacrifice,
for one of the great laws of the Kingdom is "except a
corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth" not little but
<c much fruit/* It will cost spirituality, reliance upon
God, fellowship with God, prayer that is dialogue, not
monologue, that is communion with God, for Chris-
tian cooperation is a superhuman undertaking.

Therefore, in this Godlike endeavor there can be no
failure quite so fatal and tragic as the failure to take
God into account. The question of spirituality lies
at the root of cooperation as of all real Christian life
and relationships. The supreme difficulty is the lack

WHY COOPERATION FAILS 67

of adequate motivation. If Christian workers could
only get the vision of what their united effort would
accomplish; if only they could see clearly the greater
glory of Christ manifested in the real uniting of their
forces; if they would but yield themselves to the fuH
measure of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ^ and the
energizing work of the Holy Spiritj then they would
be lifted above the level of the lesser loyalties and
enter into the triumphant unity for which Christ
prayed.

IV. WIDER AND CLOSER COOPERATION

INDISPENSABLE AND URGENT

HAVING considered the factors and forces under-
lying the most rewarding and fruitful experi-
ences in united planning and endeavor in the work of
the world mission, and having examined the causes
explaining disappointing attempts to weave together
in effective unity the all-too-divided missionary
forces, let us now seek to summarize the reasons why
far wider and more intimate cooperation is absolutely
essential and of utmost urgency.

Cooperation on the part of Christian Churches and
missions is indispensable to-day because of the recent
startling development of divisive forces throughout
the world. Every argument used yesterday in favor
of united program and action by Christians of dif-
ferent names is greatly accentuated by present-day
misunderstandings, suspicions, and strife. This is
emphatically and tragically true whether we have in
view the economic, the international, the interracial,
or the religious relationships of mankind.

Experience has shown that scattered and unrelated
efforts are relatively ineffective and futile in over-
coming such perils to character, faith, and even life as
current religious persecution, attacks on missionary
freedom, the influence of the godless movement, the
activities of the able propagandists of the materialis-
tic and secularistic views of life, and the unchristian
aspects of the prevalent economic system. More-
over, on the physical plane, the recurring dangers of

COOPERATION INDISPENSABLE 69

great famines and deadly epidemics imperatively
demand cooperative action.

To come to successful grapple with certain emer-
gent evils we must have a common strategy and wage
common warfare. For example, never will the
stranglehold of the traffic in opium and other narcotic
drugs, liquor, forced labor, the war system, and
corrupt aspects of the cinema be broken save by our
presenting a united front of well thought out and ably
led opposition.

The magnitude, complexity, and difficulty of the
world missionary program are so great, and the
available resources are relatively so meager, that it is
an idle dream to assume that the overwhelming
waiting task can be performed with divided ranks.
Nothing will suffice but the statesmanlike cooperation
of the Christians of all communions, achieved through
sharing counsel, blending experiences, uniting in
planning and action, and liberating and massing
latent energies.

Cooperation at its best adds enormously to the
power of appeal of the world-wide mission. This is
the secret of attracting the attention, and then enlist-
ing the help, of men and women of large affairs, of
large capacities, and of large influence. They are not
interested In fractions. They are accustomed to deal
In large dimensions. It requires the combined pro-
grams of the Churches, as they face the vastness and
wholeness of the missionary obligation, to make the
desired impression. To interest the busiest, most
absorbed, and most important laymen in these days,
missions must be presented in fresh and comprehen-

7 o COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

slve terms. The vastness and true unity of the
sublime undertaking will draw them, as the experience
of the Laymen's Missionary Movement in pre-war
days proved again and again. Here lies also one of
the essential secrets of winning to the cause the on-
coming generation. They need a challenge vast
enough to appeal to the imagination, and exacting
and heroic enough to call out their adventurous spirit
and their latent energies. Moreover, to win their
whole-hearted allegiance we must be able to show
them that ours is a united task. They will not stand
for divisive plans. Never have the indispensability
and the power of united planning and action been
burned into a generation as they have into multitudes
of the youth of our day, as they have been obliged to
face the startling divisive and disintegrating influ-
ences at work across the world.

Cooperation makes for higher efficiency and abler
leadership of the missionary enterprise. It stands to
reason that such should be the case. It Is an expen-
sive business for each Church, or for the Christian
forces of each nation, to have to acquire indepen-
dently a rare experience which through cooperation
can be shared with all Churches and countries.
There are at the best all too few creative minds. No
one denomination, country, or race can furnish a
sufficient number of men and women qualified in-
tellectually and spiritually to supply the desired
leadership In the various departments of Christian
effort. There must, therefore, be much more Inter-
denominational, international, and interracial inter-
change and collaboration. The smallest nations as

COOPERATION INDISPENSABLE 71

well as the largest., the youngest Churches as well as
the oldest, the various cultures East and West must
place at the disposal of the whole Christian movement
their most experienced workers, their most penetrat-
ing minds, and their most prophetic voices* Sound
policies of cooperation will release and make more
widely available these outstanding personalities*
Cooperation will also enable the various bodies to
stimulate one another to good work through the shar-
ing of knowledge, experience,, and skills. It in-
creases the intellectual resources of each cooperating
agency > through combining the intellectual abilities
and contributions of all.

It would be difficult to overstate the value of coop-
eration in enriching the missionary program and
message by fostering intimate fellowship and collabo-
ration of those of different religious heritage and
experience. In fact, such united action seems to be
essential to insure the giving of full-orbed expression
to the message of the Church of Christ. Christ has
not revealed Himself solely or fully through any one
nation, race, or communion. No group has a mo-
nopoly of His unsearchable riches. He requires In
this fateful hour the help of all who know Him to re-
veal adequately His excellencies and to communicate
His power. Every religious body which bears the
name of Christ and the Christians of every land and
race should have the opportunity to express them-
selves, and thus to make their contribution. How
shall this be accomplished save tiurougk the most
intimate cooperation?

Well considered cooperative effort, often results, in

72 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

effecting economies and in releasing enlarged financial
resources. As a result of the long continued world-
wide depression, every Church in the West and in the
East is to-day hampered through lack of sufficient
available funds. The difficulty is not because there
are insufficient financial resources in existence. Nor
is the embarrassment due to the fact that, generally
speaking, Christians are not disposed to devote their
money to unselfish causes. One of the principal
reasons and it prevails more widely than is gen-
erally realized is that those who could give much
more are not convinced that prevailing missionary
policies and plans represent the wisest, most eco-
nomical, and most productive use of funds. They are
allowing surplus capital to lie idle in the banks.
They are not at all staggered by the magnitude of the
sums required for the world-wide expansion of the
Christian religion. They do not object to large
expenditures, but they do object to waste due to
unnecessary duplication of expenditure and of effort,
or to ill conceived plans.

The experiences of the last few years in many parts
of Asia, Africa, and Latin America have shown the
work of the various national Christian councils and of
the International Missionary Council to be, from the
point of view of both Church and state, absolutely
indispensable to insure most satisfactory relations
between missions and governments. Again and
again in different parts of the world members of gov-
ernments have indicated their decided preference to
deal with organizations which are qualified to rep-
resent the united Christian agencies rather than with

COOPERATION INDISPENSABLE 73

several separate bodi-es. When the World War broke
upon the nations suddenly and without warning, the
extensive German missions in India, for example,
were threatened with grave disaster. The existence
of the national and provincial councils of India and
also of the International Missionary Council made it
possible to deal promptly with the situation and to
avert the danger. Moreover, in very recent days the
desperate position of the German missions, resulting
from the rulings of the German government on
certain aspects of the exchange situation, demanded
and happily received effective international, as well
as interdenominational, organized assistance. The
not distant future may well have still more critical
times awaiting us and these should find us prepared
through the development of intimate and practical
<means of fellowship and action.
\ Cooperation greatly facilitates entering doors of
opportunity. To illustrate, when the modern lite-
rati or students of China began to pour out over
the world fourteen thousand of them going to
Japan in one year, and at the same time nearly two
thousand to the American universities and hundreds
more to the student centers of Britain and the Con-
tinent it was a great thing that there was a Chris-
tian, international, cooperative movement to befriend
them, and to surround them with pronouncedly
Christian influences. On the other hand, why is it
that there are to-day virtually as many unoccupied
fields in the world as were reported at the Edinburgh
conference twenty-five years ago? Without doubt
the most important reason, next to spiritual apathy

74 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

and lack of the pioneering spirit, is the fact that there
has been no adequate, cooperative, international
program and plan for the express purpose of seeing
that such open doors are entered. What has been
everybody's business has proved to have been no-
body's business. It therefore is clear that, in order
to carry through all-important common undertakings
and forward movements, urgently desired on the part
of discerning Christian leaders, a larger synthesis or
union in the planning and effort of the Christians of
different communions is essential

Cooperation affords enlargement. Every genu-
inely united* unselfish enterprise leads into a land of
larger dimensions. No undertaking is so calculated
to widen one's horizon as that of the world-wide
missionary task in its wholeness and oneness. United
study, thought, and action necessarily make for
greater comprehensiveness of view. The signs are
multiplying here and there that cooperation is de-
veloping a real statesmanship in missions through the
cultivation of breadth of outlook, and of a deeper
understanding of questions in their larger bearings.

Genuine cooperation helps greatly to emphasize
and illustrate the truly catholic and ecumenical
nature of the Christian Church. The early Chris-
tians brought men into a fellowship which included all
nations, races, and social groups. In fact, they
looked upon themselves as in a sense a new nation, a
people of God united in a bond before which all
earthly distinctions fade. The prevailing ultra-
nadonalism is contrary to the teaching and spirit of
Christ. The Church of Christ to-day should mam-

COOPERATION INDISPENSABLE 75

fest itself Increasingly as a body consisting of all those
of all nations united by the gift of a common faith,
loyalty, and experience.

The testimony of the Church is being seriously
impaired and its influence thwarted because the
various bodies are not visibly and effectively united
and do not thus bring their combined power to bear
upon the obstinate social and national problems of
our time. Moreover, in various non-Christian coun-
tries, not to mention those of Christendom, the
multiplicity of denominations, the prevalence of
denominational rivalries, and the lack of cooperative
plans and action confuse the minds of the people and
greatly weaken the witness of the Church and its
power of appeal. Unless Christian principles can be
successfully applied to relations among the Christians
themselves in the days in which we are living, what
hope is there that Christianity with divided ranks and
without concerted plans can deal adequately with the
grave issues of the present world situation?

Supreme among the values of cooperation is its
power to help make possible the climactic and tri-
umphant apologetic that which Christ emphasized
when He prayed that His followers might be one> not
as an end in itself but that the world might believe.
Herein lies our great, our most tragic neglect. If, in
different parts of the world field, there are not mul-
tiplying and convincing evidences of men coming into
an experience of reasonable and vital faith in the
great Central Figure of the ages and the eternities, the
Lord Jesus Christ, we may be absolutely certain that,
among the causes, one of the most important is the

76 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

failure on the part of His professed followers to pre-
sent a genuinely united front in the great work of
world redemption. In the presence of a world which
to-day is unbelieving to an extent and to a depth

which should cause profound solicitude, what can be
more important in its claims upon us than the demand
to present through true cooperation and growing
unity and solidarity the oneness for which Christ

prayed?

APPENDIX

AT THE meeting of the Committee of the Inter-
jTlL national Missionary Council, held at Canter-
bury, England, in 1922, the question of the proper
financing of national Christian councils received
careful consideration and a constructive policy was
adopted. The principles and procedures there set
forth and recommended are largely applicable to
meet other union or cooperative undertakings and
are reprinted as follows:

"i. Sources of Financial Support. It is suggested that the
necessary financial support must come from one or more of the
following sources:

a. The Churches in the country in which the council is or-
ganized should contribute a fair proportion of these
finances.

b. The foreign missions in each of these fields or their home
boards should also provide their proportion of these
finances.

c. The Committee considered the suggestion that a third
source of income might be recognized in the contributions of
individuals and special groups either in the countries them-
selves in which these Christian councils are organized, or in
Western countries. While the Committee recognizes that
emergencies may arise which may make it necessary to se-
cure such individual gifts, it deprecates any dependence
upon such, income, as tending to lessen the responsibilities
of the Churches and missions for making necessary provi-
sion for the support of these councils. If and when such
appeals to individuals in the judgment of the national mis-
sionary organizations are necessary, all due care must be
taken that the officers of the missionary societies, to which
such individuals are naturally related, should be consulted

78 COOPERATION AND THE WORLD MISSION

and should approve of the making of these appeals to the
individuals in their constituency.

"2. Procedure. It is suggested that the councils present
their budgets (a) to the church bodies in their own field, giving
earnest consideration to the discovery of the most effective
methods of appealing to them; and (b) to the missions in each
field, in order that they may recommend to their respective
boards the making of necessary grants.

"It is hoped that in forwarding such budgets the councils
may at the same time be able to give some indication of what the
proportionate contribution of each mission might well be. It
may be necessary in some cases at least that these contributions
from the missions should be taken from the grants which they
now receive from their home societies, and this will be a reason
for urging upon the national councils the utmost economy in
framing their budgets*

"At the same time the budgets, together with information
showing what the councils are submitting to the Churches and
missions in the field, should be sent to the national missionary
organizations in Western countries, both for their information
and in order that they may take such action as they may deem
desirable.

"In case of those missions or boards who may have allocated
workers without charge to the service of a national council, due
regard should be had to the relief thus afforded to the budget.

"The payment by the boards and missions of such contribu-
tions as they grant may be arranged either as a payment from
the boards direct to the national councils in the field, or trans-
mitted through the usual channel of the mission treasurer.
Whatever method is adopted, it will be important to make dear
that these contributions be charged to the account of expendi-
tures on the field and not included in the expenses of home
administration.

"3. Field Budgets. With reference to the preparation of the
budget by each national Christian council, the following princi-
ples should be observed:
a. The budget should be prepared not less than three years in

APPENDIX 79

advance, in order to afford the time necessary to secure
action by the missions and boards on the field and in the
sending countries. The adoption of this method will also
tend to secure the assurance well in advance of the con-
tinued support of the work of the councils.

b. It is desirable that the councils aim to include in one budget
all the expenditures for the activities of national missionary
organizations in their respective fields, so that there may be
only one appeal each year from each field to the Churches
and missionary agencies. In preparing the budget it will
be important to distinguish between (i) the expenses of the
administration of the councils and such national inter-
denominational organizations as are affiliated to it, e*g.> the
national educational, medical, or other associations, to
which all the cooperating Churches and missions may be
expected to contribute; and (2) other forms of cooperative
work which may be undertaken by the councils on behalf
of a number of missions and Churches, to which only those
Churches and missions that participate in these lines of
work will contribute.

c. It is understood that the councils will not incur debts
which may become an obligation upon the Christian
Churches in their fields or upon other cooperating bodies,
and that they will not assume financial obligations for ex-
penditures for any given year beyond the amount available
for the preceding year, except as the funds for such increase
in expenditures may have been assured."

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