Article July 1, 1911 Issue

THE BUSINESS MEETING

JANE STANNARD JOHNSON.

The business meetings of every branch Church of Christ, Scientist, merit the support of church-members and others entitled to participate in them, for the reason that organization must be effected and maintained in a legal and orderly manner, conformable not only to the by-laws of the Manual of The Mother Church, but to the laws of the state as well. We cannot afford to overlook the legal foundation of the church or forget that law and order should characterize its government. Should Christian Scientists feel it unnecessary to attend the business meetings, it can readily be seen that its activity would cease. On the other hand, the larger the number of sincere workers who gather for these meetings, the greater the good which must necessarily result from their united action.

Not only does the business meeting bear direct relationship to the prosperity of the local church, but to the highest success of the Christian Science organization as a whole. It is also a matter of deep import to the individual Christian Scientist in working out his own salvation in accordance with the teachings of our revered Leader. Mrs. Eddy has given the business meeting a place in the Manual, and obedience to the by-laws relating to church organization and government is no less essential than obedience to any other rule or requirement in the problem of demonstrating Christian Science. In speaking of these by-laws in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 148), our Leader says: "They sprang from necessity, the logic of events,—from the immediate demand for them as a help that must be supplied to maintain the dignity and defense of our cause; hence their simple, scientific basis, and detail so requisite to demonstrate genuine Christian Science."

Careful study of the foregoing statement discloses the reason why the business meeting is a factor which cannot be separated from one's personal problem. It answers "the immediate demand," and its nature calls for a knowledge of church affairs and the details of management on the part of the church-member. It is legitimately expected that every member shall be familiar with the activities of his church and that he participate in these activities, and this information cannot be secured authoritatively elsewhere than in the meetings themselves, where all questions relating to the work in the local church and to cooperation in the work of the field are considered, where every contemplated forward movement is systematically outlined, the method of procedure is discussed, and every matter pertaining to the welfare of the church is duly submitted and acted upon.

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