iiiRiiiiiifiHiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF R. H. Edwards Cornell University Library BV1100 .012 olin 3 1924 029 336 801 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924029336801 THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP THE ASSOCIATION SECRJETARYSHIP C. K. OBER ASSOCIATION PRESS New York: 347 Madison Avbnub 1918 Copyright, 1918, by The International Committee ok Young Men's Christian Associations INTRODUCTION The place of the employed officer in the Young Men's Christian Association Movement is now thoroughly estab- lished. The qualifications essential to the highest success in this office and the recognized processes of preparation for a most efficient service as an Association Secretary are less understood. The presentation in the following pages of the general secretaryship by Mr. Ober has been made at the request of the Con- ference on the Association Profession on recognition of its Committee on Text Books and Reading Courses. His long experience and fine appreciation of values has enabled Mr. Ober to render a very large contribution to the Association Movement in the preparation of this little volume. As the standard text upon the subject, it is most heartily commended to Associ- vi INTRODUCTION ation officers, to instructors in the Associ- ation Training Agencies, and especially to men considering the Association as a life work. This book is one of a series of standard texts now in course of preparation. It is proposed that this series shall cover the whole range of technical Association activities. Feank H. Burt, Chairman Committee on Text Books and Reading Courses. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Origin of the Secretaryship . . 1 II. Growth of the Secretaryship . 14 III. Functions OF THE Secretaryship . 22 IV. Specialization Within the Secre- taryship 38 V. Relations OF THE Secretaryship . 46 VI. Status of the Secretaryship . . 55 VII. Compensations of the Secretary- ship 62 VIII. Preparation for the Secretary- ship 72 IX. Future of the Secretaryship. . 85 X. How TO Enter the Secretaryship 92 CHAPTER I ORIGIN OF THE SECRETARYSHIP The Young Men's Christian Associa- tion is one of the latest of the successive great movements in church history, by which Christianity has adapted itself to changed conditions in society. It is also one of the earliest of the great interde- nominational movements, in which Chris- tianity has united for a common task, too great for any single denomination. When the fountains of the great deep in the industrial and social world were broken up and the modern trend of the world's population cityward began, the instinct of self-preservation in home, church, and community created the Young Men's Christian Association. The Association Secretaryship is the executive oflBce of the Young Men's Christian Association. It is a life calling or profession for men capable, adapted, I 2 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP and qualified. It is generally recognized as a specialization in Christian work and social engineering, and within the general scheme of the Christian ministry. A "secretary," from the Latin secretum (secret), was originally a confidential clerk in private or public service, corresponding to the modern stenographer or "private secretary. " As responsibilities increased, the "sec- retary" seems to have proven himself equal to the situation, for we find him in the position of the executive, with responsibility and initiative, as leader and administrator of men and aflFairs. "The man who knows" becomes the man who not only knows but does. This evolution of the secretary from clerk to executive is described in the historical sketch of the development of the Secre- taryship of State, in the Encyclopedia Britannica: Secretary of State, in England, is the designation of certain important members of the administration. The ancient Eng- ORIGIN 3 lish monarchs were always attended by a learned ecclesiastic, known at first as their clerk, and afterwards as secretary, who conducted the royal correspondence; but it was not until the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth that these function- aries were called secretaries of state. Up- on the direction of public affairs passing from the privy council to the cabinet, after 1688 the secretaries of state began to assume those high duties which now render their office one of the most influ- ential of an administration. . . . There are now five principal secretaries of state, four of whom, with their political under-secretaries, occupy seats in the House of Commons. One of these secre- taries of state is always a member of the House of Lords. The secretaries of state are the only authorized channels through which the royal pleasure is signified to any part of the body politic, and the coun- ter-signature of one of them is necessary to give authority to the sign manual. The secretaries of state constitute but one office, and are coordinate in rank and equal in authority. Each is competent in general to execute any part of the duties of the secretary of state, the division of duties being a mere matter of arrangement. 4 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP In the United States the "secretary of state" is a member of the executive, who deals with foreign affairs, and who, in the event of a vacancy in the office of President, is next in succession after the vice-president. The title of "secretary" — "of the treasury," "of war," etc., — is used for some other members of the ex- ecutive. In various states there is an executive officer called "secretary of state. " In the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, the Secretaryship, although an evo- lution, as in the Secretaryship of State, was not an afterthought, but appears to have been a part of the original concep- tion of the Association work. The London Association, in the first year of its existence^ (1844-1845), em- ployed Mr. T. H. Tarlton as "Secretary and Missionary. " In 1850, an " Assistant Secretary," Mr. William Edwyn Shipton, was employed, who, in 1856, succeeded Mr. Tarlton as "Secretary" of the Lon- don Association, continuing in this posi- tion for twenty-three years. Mr. Ship- ton was a man of ability and education; ORIGIN S with a virile and attractive personality. He proved to be an efficient leader and executive, under whose administration the London Association not only attained a conspicuous development in its home field, but suggested and promoted the organization of Associations in other cities in Great Britain, on the Continent of Europe, and throughout the world. The Boston Association, organized in December, 1851, secured a "Librarian" in 1852, which position was filled in suc- cession by four men in six years, 1852- 1858. In 1858, the Association secured as "Librarian" Mr. L. P. Rowland, who soon after became known as " Correspond- ing Secretary," continuing in the service of the Boston Association for fifteen years. Mr. Rowland was a man of genial personality, active, evangelistic, and an enthusiastic promoter of the Association idea, not only in Boston but throughout New England. Chiefly under the advo- cacy of Mr. Rowland, Associations sprung into existence during this period in more than one hundred and fifty cities and 6 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP towns in the State of Massachusetts alone. The Philadelphia Association employed Mr. John Wanamaker as its first "Secre- tary" for the two years from the latter part of 1858 to the latter part of 1860, when he resigned to take up his remark- able business career. Mr. Wanamaker has been a constant friend and contributor to the Association work, being the largest individual donor to the Association equip- ment in his home city of Philadelphia, and erecting at his own expense four mod- ern Association buildings in the capital cities of India, China, Korea, and Japan. The Chicago Association secured Mr. D wight L. Moody as "Librarian and Agent," and later as "President," from 1865 to 1869. It was in this position that Mr. Moody's remarkable gift as an evangelist first found opportunity for ex- pression, and he always regarded the Association as the agency which, under God, had developed him for Christian work. Mr. Moody continued throughout his life a strong believer in the Association Secretaryship, encouraging not a few ORIGIN 7 very able men to enter it as their life work. Up to this time, the Association Secre- taryship had attracted strong men, but with the exception of Mr. Shipton of the London Association, had not been able to hold them. The Association itself was then a comparatively small afifair — new, undeveloped, without precedent, without property, and witholit the record of achievement which now appeals to the strongest type of men, with the assurance of a life career commensurate with their powers. The Association was a great idea, but it had not materialized. In fact, it was lacking in the very element which could be supplied only by the Secretaryship. The Association of vol- unteer workers demanded the specialist; the organization waited for the organizer. In response to this demand there had come a succession of great pioneer Secre- taries, but the typical Secretary had not yet appeared. The Secretaryship was still but little more than a promising ex- pei^iment. 8 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP There came, however, into the Sec- retaryship a man who was preeminently adapted to its requirements, and who was ready to give his life to it. Robert R. McBurney, becoming "Librarian" of the New York City Association in 1862, known as "Corresponding Secretary" in 1865, later as "General Secretary," created for himself in that position a life work of thirty-six years, in which he built a model City Association and demonstrated the Association Secretary- ship as a great calling and profession. The type of Association work developed by McBurney in New York City has be- come the model for the cities of three continents, and, since McBurney blazed the trail, it has not been difficult for yoimg men of promise, looking for a great life work, to find the path into the Asso- ciation Secretaryship. The Yoimg Men's Christian Associa- tion, however, is more than a local enter- prise. The local Associations have fed- erated, and employ (in 1916) more than five hundred of their 4,600 Secretaries for ORIGIN 9 the work of International, National, State, and County Committees, as pro- moters and multipliers of Association work in the Association's home and foreign fields. The origin of the Association Secretary- ship for this federated work was in a mis- sionary impulse, at the International Convention of the Associations in Detroit in 1868. The Union Pacific Railroad was at that time under construction west- ward from Omaha, employing thousands of men living in its construction camps, exposed to peculiar temptation, and cut oflf from social and religious privileges. The Convention authorized and em- powered its Executive Committee to send a Secretary to these men, to minis- ter to them in the name of the Associa- tions. The Committee secured for this work Robert Weidensall, a college grad- uate who had been in the Engineering Corps through the Civil War, was then employed in the Union Pacific Shops at Omaha, and actively identified with the work of the Omaha Association. The 10 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP work in the railroad construction camps proved temporary, but Mr. Weidensall has continued with the International Committee for an unbroken life work of remarkable leadership and achievement, as -interpreter and buUder of all forms of local and federated Association work throughout the United States and Can- ada. In the following year (1869), the Inter- national Committee employed Mr. Rich- ard C. Morse, a college and theological seminary graduate, with practical train- ing in religious journalism, to become the editor of The Association Monthly, the official organ at that time of the Associa- tions of North America. This enterprise, like Mr. Weidensall's work in the con- struction camps, proving temporary, Mr. Morse was called to the position of Gen- eral Secretary of the International Com- mittee, which position he fiUed with great ability and statesmanship for forty-five years, until succeeded by Dr. John R. Mott, in 1915. In this year of 1869, in which Mr. ORIGIN 11 Morse entered the work of the Interna- tional Committee, Mr. McBurney, after seven years of preliminary work, saw the New York Association established in its magnificent new building, the first of its kind in existence and the first to provide for the fourfold work of the Association — a building which for a quarter of a cen- tury was to be an inspiration and a model for similar Association buildings through- out the world. Mr. McBurney was a member of the International Committee and for thirty years, until his death, in 1898, worked in closest fellowship and cooperation with Mr. Morse and Mr. Weidensall in building up the Association movement in both its home and foreign fields. ! It is significant that these three great Secretaries, practically the first to find a life work in the Association Secretary- ship, should come to a position of leader- ship in the Association movement in 1869 — the year in which the "Portland Test of Active Membership" was adopted, determining the evangelical character of 12 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP the Associations and their relation to the Church. It was twenty-five years from the initial meeting in the upper room in London to the model Association in the splendid building in New York City, the federated Associations of North America, and the three Secretaries whose lives were dedicated to the planting of the Associa- tion, as they had come to see it, in the cities of a continent, and outward to the strategic cities of the world. The Association had found itself and the Association Secretaryship had ar- rived. Questions for Discussion 1. What social phenomenon led to the organization of the Young Men's Christian Association? 2. What is the Young Men's Christian Association Secretaryship? 3. What is the origin and historic develop- ment of the term "Secretary"? 4. At what stage of the Association's growth was the Secretaryship in- stituted? ORIGIN 13 5. What titles have at various times been used to designate the Association em- ployed officer? 6. Name some early Secretaries who later became distinguished men. 7. Who first demonstrated the Young Men's Christian Association Secretaryship as a life calling? 8. Relate the circumstances of the securing of the first traveling Secretary. 9. Who was the third member of this first group of three great pioneer Secre- taries? 10. What was the first important material expression of McBurney's genius? CHAPTER II GROWTH OF THE SECRETARYSHIP By the time that Shipton, McBurney, Weidensall, and Morse had discovered the Secretaryship, in 1869, the Associa- tion was twenty-five years old. In this brief period, the Association movement had established itself in the principal cities of Europe and America, had planned and erected a typical building in New York City, at a cost of half a million dollars, to provide for and give expression to its many-sided work, and had attracted to its Secretaryship at least four excep- tionally strong men. These men had seen the vision of a new calling, a great profession. In their minds, the Association Secretary was more than a private secretary, more even than a trusted executive. He was the promoter, builder, organizer of a working Associa- tion. He was the man who knows and 14 GROWTH 15 does, but he was also, and chiefly, the man whose knowledge and executive ability were consecrated to the object of making the Association know and do its work through the associated eflforts of its members. The growth of the Association move- ment is the outworking of this idea. If these efficient men and their associates and successors in the Secretaryship had undertaken to do the work of the Asso- ciations, the Secretaries might have ui- creased, but the Associations would have decreased and possibly would have dis- appeared. The fact of the Young Men's Christian Association and its place and opportunity in the life and work of the twentieth century is a living witness to the greatness of their conception of the Secretaryship. Starting with and holding fast this conception of its mission, or "high call- ing," the Association Secretaryship has experienced a phenomenal development. 1. Growth in Numbers. The number of positions for Association Secretaries in 16 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP North America has increased as follows: 5 in 1866 108 in 1876 517 in 1886 1,311 in 1896 2,490 in 1906 4,642 in 1916 S. Growth in Variety, The beginnings and growth of the Secretaryship in the different groups of Associations and de- partments of Association work may be seen from the following table: Association Secretaryships 1866 1876 1886 1896 1906 1916 General Secretaryships City Associations 6 68 273 S71 626 758 Railroad Associations 55 100 219 231 , Student Associations 1 18 87 129 Army and Navy Associa- tions 32 27 Department Secretaryships Physical 35 220 398 680 Boys* 18 111 341 ' Educational 10 38 68 iEleligious 22 67 Other Depts. (Memb., Emp., Social, Financial) 8 7 63 229 Asst. Secretaryships (Gen- eral and Departmental) ... 24 111 272 626 1601 County and Asst. County Secretaryships 6 33 108 State and Asst. State Sec- retaryships 11 23 65 106 204 International Secretaryships (Home) 6 13 28 63 121 International Secretaryships (Foreign) ^ 7 66 199 Special Secretaryships , , ■■ 97 GROWTH 17 3. Growth in the Dimensions of the Task. The task or responsibility of the Associa- tion Secretaryship is four times greater than it was twenty years ago. This may be seen by the following survey of the growth of one hundred City Associations and the growth of Association religious work. 100 Selected City Associations Annual 1896 1916 Percentage of Growth Average Membership 741 1,982 8.4 « Value of Buildings $99,120 $328,473 12 " Secretarial Staff 3 11 13 « Educational Dept. (students) 151 648 13 " Secretarial Executives 1 4 15 " Boys' Dept. (membership) . . 106 472 17 " Current Expenses $8,013 $52,551 28 All Associations (except student) Annual 1900 1916 Percentage of Growth Attendance all Religious Meet- ings 1,917.018 7,234,134 17 United with Churches 1,322 8,385 33 StudenU in Bible Classes 13,676 116,593 46 Attendance, Shop Meetings and Bible Classes 76,000 2,044,946 164 Note: On account of changes in the questionnaire by which reUgious work statistics were gathered, exact information con- cerning several items of Association religious work is not available for the years 1896-1899. These statistics are, there- fore, given for sixteen rather than for twenty years. 18 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP -4. Growth in Term of Service. The Asso- ciation Secretaryship, from the time of the definition of the fourfold work of the Association and its relation to the Church, has attracted and held the strongest type of men. Edwyn Shipton entered the Secretaryship of the London Association in 1850 and continued for twenty-three years; McBurney of New York City, Sinclair of Dayton, See of Brooklyn, and Shurtleff of Cleveland remained in the Secretaryship until their death, after an average service of more than twenty -eight years. Budge of Montreal, Morriss of Balti- more, Whitford of Buffalo, Messer of Chicago, McCoy of San Francisco, and John R. Mott of the International Com- mittee, have already seen an average of thirty-seven years of secretarial service, and Morse and Weidensall, entering the Secretaryship in 1868-'69, still continue after a service of forty-eight and forty- nine years. "But," some one will say, "these are exceptional men." This is true, and the GROWTH 19 life work argument for the Secretarysliip is all tlie stronger for that; for only a great and growing work can satisfy and hold such men. The Association Secretaryship is an exceptional life work opportunity for exceptional men. While the number of major secretarial positions iu the North American Associations is three times greater than it was twenty years ago, the number of life work opportunities for exceptional men is more than ten times greater. This is the principal reason why so many men do not find a life work in the Secretaryship. The life work is there, but it is for the men who are equal to it. Of the 4,401 Association Secretaries and Assistants in 1916, 1,018 had served for less than two years. The records of the Secretarial Bureau show that 56 per cent of the men leaving Association work do so before they have completed two years of service. Considering, therefore, this initial two years as an investigation or testing period in the Secretaryship, there were 3,383 men in 1916 with a 20 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP record of two or more years in the As- sociation Secretaryship, with the follow- ing record of service: 1,270 (38 per cent), 2 to 5 years. 1,054 (31 per cent), 5 to 10 years. 1,059 (31 per cent), 10 to 47 years. This number of 1,059 Secretaries and Assistants who had served for ten years or more is 48 per cent of the 2,201 men in Association work in 1906, the beginning of the ten-year period. Of these 1,059 Secretaries, 519 had served from 15 to 47 years, an average of 22 years. Questions for Discussion 1. What was the conception of the Secre- taryshipi in the opinion of the early Association leaders? 2. What bearing had their conception of the Secretaryship on the interest of the members in the work? 3. How many employed officers were there in America in the decades from 1866 to 1916? 4. Name ten branches of the Secretary- ship, indicating its growth in variety of specialization. GROWTH 21 5. To what extent was the Secretary's task bigger in 1916 than it was twenty years before? 6. "What relation has the growth of the As- sociation in dimensions and equipment had to the religious activities for which the Secretary is responsible? 7. What Secretaries have remained long in the service? 8. What qualities of character contribute to length of secretarial service? 9. During which years of their service do the largest number of Secretaries drop out? 10, What is it in the Young Men's Christian Association that has made the Sec- retaryship increasingly and most strongly appeal to strong men as a life calling? CHAPTER III FUNCTIONS OF THE SECRETARY- SHIP The Association Secretaryship possesses functions distinctive as the Association itself, and varied as its many-sided work. To describe the functions of the Associa- tion Secretaryship, therefore, it is neces- sary to note the character and work of the Association. The most characteristic thing in the Young Men's Christian Association is the Association itself; and the best interpre- tation of the Association is doubtless that of "The Paris Basis," adopted by the first World's Conference of the Associa- tion, in Paris, in 1855, and reaffirmed by the World's Conference, in Paris, in 1905. According to the Paris Basis, "The Young Men's Christian Associations seek to unite those young men who, regarding Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour, 22 FUNCTIONS 23 according to tlie Holy Scriptures, desire to be his disciples in their doctrine and in their life, and to associate their efforts for the extension of his kingdom among young men." The executive officer of such an Association, seeking to unite such young men with such a purpose regarding their own development, and to lead them to associate their efforts for such an ob- jective, has been compelled to develop and exercise functions commensurate with the importance and greatness of his task. 1. Religious Leadership. The Associa- tion is primarily a religious organization. Its program of religious work is not merely one of many departments, but pervades all departments. It is in fact, as in name, a "Christian" Association. It is the re- ligious appeal that rallies to the member- ship of the Association the men and boys with capacity for unselfish service, and it is the religious motive that prompts and makes effective their associated "ef- forts. " All of the great Association Secre- taries have been religious leaders, and the strongest element in their call to the 24 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP Association Secretaryship has been the appeal of the opportunity to exercise their gift of reUgious leadership with men and boys. Their expectation was not disappointed by the Association, for the response to their religious leadership has given to the world one of the greatest religious movements of modern times, and the religious efficiency of any par- ticular Association or department has been in direct proportion to the religious leadership of the Secretary. The Association Secretary is not merely a religious leader within the Association, but also in his relation to the churches, as the executive of the principal iater- denominational agency in the commu- nity. This gives him an exceptional op- portunity to help all the churches and to promote the spirit and practice of Chris- tian unity, which is one of the greatest things iu the program of Christianity. 2. Friendship. The Association is not merely a religious organization. It is fundamentally a brotherhood, an expres- sion and a promoter of friendship among FUNCTIONS 25 young men and boys. It "seeks to unite" young men both for fellowship and for service with other young men. The Sec~ retary or executive of such a friendship movement should be a friendly type of man, one who makes and holds friends, who is interested in young men and boys for their own sake, whose influence is contagious throughout the Association membership, who wins men to himself and to the work of the Association. The Association also lends itself in a remark- able way to the promotion of friendship, through the breadth and unselfishness of its program and by affording almost unlimited opportunities for close and frequent personal contact and cooperation with young men and boys. The Secre- tary, therefore, may become the friend of multitudes of young men, including men of promise, who are tempted to hide their talent, or to use it selfishly; and, having won the friendship of these men, he may capitalize and utilize their com- panionship as a practically irresistible force in the winning of other young men. ^6 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP S. Organization. One in seven of tlie Association members in North America is a member of a working committee; and the Associations employ a staff of about six Secretaries for every one thousand members. The committeemen and secretarial asso- ciates in each Association are to each General and Department Secretary what the fighting men and junior officers are to the commanding officer in an army division, and their efficiency is in pro- portion to their organization. The Sec- retary is an organizer as contrasted with an individualist. He is working on Mr. Moody's idea of setting ten men at work, rather than trying to do the work of ten men, even if that were possible. On this principle of organization, the Secretary selects and coaches the Asso- ciation members, and they go out to reach the entire young man and boy population of a city, at a thousand points of contact. In the process, workers are developed and leaders discovered, any one of whom, with encouragement and FUNCTIONS 27 training, may become a greater leader than the Secretary himself. 4. Coaching and Training. The Secre- tary needs to give special attention to the coaching and training of the younger Secretaries, Assistants, and committee members, not only that the work of the Association may be efficient, but that these potential leaders may be developed and take their places of leadership in Association, church, and community serv- ice. The kind of work Christ did in the training of the twelve, the Secretary may do with many times twelve men; and scarcely any other work that he can do will be more important. To some of these men special attention will be given, and one or more may be in the place of understudy to the Secretary, in training for positions of largest responsibility. The Secretary proceeds on the principle that the surest way to make one's work immortal is to find and develop the men who are capable of reproducing and per- petuating it. The great apostle had this in mind when he wrote to his understudy. 28 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP Timothy, "the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." (II Tim. 2:2.) 5. Promotion. The work of an Asso- ciation is progressive, expanding, almost daily confronting new situations, and every department is constantly projecting many and varied activities. In a certain City Association, more than six hundred events were scheduled in a single week. With so much work to be done, and Secre- taries and committeemen wUliag to do it, little or nothing would be done, how- ever, without secretarial initiative. If the work is to move forward, some man must promote it. The Secretary, therefore, must be a promoter, a man of vision and initiative, seeing the right thing to be done, getting it started in the right way, and getting the right men to become responsible for it and to see it through to a successful conclusion. 6. Executive Direction. The work of an Association, however, is much more FUNCTIONS 29 than a succession of new undertakings; it has unity, character, and continuity. The Association Secretary, therefore, is more than a promoter: he is a continu- ous executive, like the captain on the bridge or the engineer with his hand on the lever, determining the direction of the movement, and making its schedules effective. As the executive oflBcer of the "Board of Directors" or the "Executive Committee," the Secretary represents the guiding and motive power of the Asso- ciation, and is expected to take initiative and responsibility for the execution in detail of the general policies and plans determined by Directors or Executive Committee. In all doubtful, or especially important, matters, he is expected, of course, to take counsel with and secure the cooperation of the President of the Association, or Chairman of the Execu- tive Committee, who share with the Secretary the executive fimction of the Association. The position of "Chief Executive" is thf! highest office in the gift pf the 30 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP American people; thus, even if the execu- tive were the only function of the Secre- taryship, the position would be one in which men of the highest order of ability would find field and scope for their largest and best capacities. 7. Administration. Every Secretary is entrusted with money, many with the use of valuable property, and not a few with the administration of large business and financial undertakings, for the prosecu- tion of their work. In the City Associa- tion Secretaryship, it is almost inevitable that a successful Secretary, in the course of his experience, will find it necessary to take the lead in one or more new building enterprises, involving the raising of a large amount of money, the planning and supervising of the erection of the building, and the working out of the new and larger business and financial problems necessi- tated by the larger work which the new building makes possible. It is absolutely essential, therefore, that a Secretary should have good business sense, sane ide9.s about money, and an accurate FUNCTIONS 31 method of accounting. For lack of these elementary principles of business and finance, more Secretaries have failed than from any other cause. 8. Education. The Young Men's Chris- tian Association is a standard educational agency, conducting three main lines of educational work, and training its secre- tarial and committee force, which is in itself an educational process of the first importance. The Association has entered and is occupying a great and needy field in the educational world, placing emphasis on evening educational work for employed young men; providing scientific physical education and athletics on a clean sport and character-building basis; and develop- ing its system of religious education on the plan of trained volunteer leadership. The executive officer of such an educa- tional organization should not only be a man of liberal education, with the student habit, but he should be familiar with the principles and methods of modem educa- tion. 9. Social Engineering. The Young 32 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP Men's Christian Association in many cities is the most attractive social center for young men and boys in the com- munity, conducts many programs of social work within the Association build- ing, and seeks also to serve socially the young men and boys of the entire com- mimity. The Association, therefore, comes into relation with all the social conditions, forces, and agencies affecting the lives of the young men and boys of the community; and in many cities the Association Secretary is the best known, best informed, and most consulted man in the community, on matters of community welfare. The Association also includes in its activities departments and programs of social service, educates its membership on social problems, and develops and sets at work a force of social workers who work not only within the Association but also with other agencies for com- munity betterment. The Secretary of such an Association must be not only a j-eligious leader but ia social engineer. FUNCTIONS 33 10. Community and Problem Diagnosis. In order that the Association may plan and prosecute its many-sided work with reference to the real conditions and needs of young men, the Secretary must make frequent surveys of his field. New prob- lems present themselves constantly, and the Secretary must know how to "size up the situation." He must be "a good diagnostician. " The writer was in the ofiice of the Gen- eral Secretary of a City Association when the Boys' Work Secretary entered and remarked to the General Secretary, "I am up against it." "Well," replied the General Secretary, "it is up to you, and you will be up against it every day." The chief was not lacking in sympathy; he was quite willing to help, but he could not do his associate's work for him. This particular Boys' Work Secretary sur- rendered to his problems too easily, and soon after dropped out of Association work — chiefly because he lacked the capacity for diagnosis, with the ability to prescribe and apply the proper remedy. 34 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP 11. Vocational Guidance. To guide a fit man into his life work is second only in importance to the winning of a man to Christ, especially if the man in question be guided into Christian work; then it may be vastly more important. The scheme of the Association work, in which volunteer workers are expected to take initiative and responsibility as committeemen, develops leadership in young men and older boys, challenges capacities for unselfish service hitherto unsuspected or unutilized, and promotes self-discovery. The Association's reli- gious work, Bible study, social service, educational, and employment depart- ments, also provide exceptional oppor- tunities for vocational training and guid- ance. It is, therefore, the privilege of the Association Secretary frequently to coun- sel with young men seeking guidance on this supremely important subject. 12. Evangelism. The Young Men's Christian Association is not only evangel- ical, but evangelistic. To relate young men to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord FUNCTIONS 35 has been from the first, and is still, the major objective of the Association, which seeks to unite young men "for the exten- sion of Christ's Kingdom among young men. " The methods of evangelism used by the Association include whatever Asso- ciation experience has shown to be most effective with young men. In the earlier periods of the Association's work, the gospel meeting, the evangelistic Bible class, and personal work were given spe- cial emphasis. Recently, these methods have been supplemented by "the inter- view method, " which has been adopted in many Associations. In some Associa- tions, every member, not already a pro- fessing or active Christian, is related in unhurried personal interview, or series of interviews, to some prepared Christian business or professional man or Secretary, for conference on his life problems, includ- ing his relationship to Christ and the Church. In addition to regular organized meth- ods and programs of evangelism, the daily casual contact with young men and boys 36 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP seeking counsel furnishes the Secretary of an Association what may be his greatest opportunity to win men to the Christian hfe. An Association with such a tradition and opportunity of evangelism requires for its executive a man with a correspond- ing master passion. He need not be a professional evangelist, or even an effec- tive public speaker, but the compelling reason for his choice of the Secretaryship as his life work should be that he has heard and heeded the Master's call: "Come ye after me, and I will make you to become a fisher of men. " Questions for Discussion 1. Judging from the Paris Basis, what is the most distinctive or characteristic thing in the Young Men's Christian Association? 2. Upon what special phase of the Secre- tary's leadership does the fruitfulness of the Association depend? 3. What relation does a friendly person- ality bear to secretarial success? 4. What is the numerical relation of Secre- taries to members and what bearing FUNCTIONS 37 does this have on the possible work of the Association? 5. What satisfaction can a man with a genius for organization find in the Young Men's Christian Association? 6. Upon what quaHty in a Secretary will the continuity and multiplication of his calling depend? 7. Show the difference between the func- tions of "organization," "promotion," "executive direction," and "adminis- tration." 8. What four lines of educational work must a Secretary conduct? 9. What tasks does a Secretary undertake as a social engineer? 10. Discuss the Secretary's opportunity in vocational guidance. 11. What phase of evangelism will most frequently find expression in the typi- cal Secretary? 12. Which of these twelve functions of the Secretaryship can be dispensed with? What essential functions have been omitted? CHAPTER IV SPECIALIZATION WITHIN THE SECRETARYSHIP The functions of the Association Sec- retaryship, combined as they are in one office, make this office one of the greatest of the great altruistic caUings or profes- sions. In whatever type of Association, or department of Association work, any particular Secretary may find his field, his position is one of executive leadership in a cooperative Christian work with young men and boys, for the promotion of their Christian character and all-round efficiency, and for the enlisting of their efforts for the extension of Christ's King- dom among other young men and boys. This is the common denominator of the Secretaryship, and is due to the unique character, method, and opportunity of the Young Men's Christian Association. The Secretaryship, however, has vari- 38 SPECIALIZATION 39 ety as well as unity and, like the pro- fessions of law, medicine, and engineer- ing, offers not merely one life work oppor- tunity, but a choice of several specializa- tibns within the profession. There is a choice of at least fifteen major life work opportunities within the Association Sec- retaryship, any one of which is an un- crowded profession for men of ability and adaptation to its requirements. The City Association was the original type of Association work, and the City General Secretaryship the original secre- tarial office, called "General" on account of its responsibilities being general rather than departmental. With the growth of the local Association, "Assistant Secre- taries" were first employed; then various phases of the Association's work, such as Physical, Educational, Boys' Work, Em- ployment, Membership, Business, Bible Study, and Evangelism, developed into departments, and demanded Secretaries for their special executive leadership. As men of ability and vision specialized on the problems, fields, and work of their 40 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP respective departments, fields have been explored, problems have been solved — or well started on their way to solution — principles have been discovered, new sciences of Association work have been created, and the oflSce of Department Secretary in each of the major Association fields or departments has become a "pro- fession" as well as a "calling." The development of a group of special executives within a local Association has not robbed the General Secretary of his executive function, but has greatly re- enforced and extended its application. He is no longer the sole Executive Secre- tary of the Association, but its chief executive. Any one of half a dozen de- partments of the work in many Associa- tions is now using and serving more young men and boys, and more effectively, than were used and served by that entire Association a few years ago. To initiate and coordinate the general strategy of such an Association, a much stronger and more resourceful man is demanded in the oflBce of General Secretary than would SPECIALIZATION 41 have satisfied the situation in the "day of small things." Specialization withia the Secretary- ship, however, has developed not only in departments of an Association's work but in types of Associations. The city has its problems, so great in fact that some have thought that "the problem of Christian- ity is the problem of the city"; and the city type of Association has arisen to help solve this problem. But there is also a "problem of the country," and in the rural field, including the villages and towns, the majority of the young men and boys of the nation as a whole are to be found. In response, therefore, to "the challenge of the country," the rural or County Association Work has been evolved, on the County unit or plan of organization. The County Work oper- ates, as a rule, without equipment, and demands the strongest and most versatile men as Secretaries, since their work must be done with fewer accessories, a smaller secretarial stafif, more limited resources, and under more diflBcult conditions. 42 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP Association Work with Boys, beginning as a minor, then developing into a major department of the City Association, has now become a distinct type or division of Association work in city, coimtry, school, and factory, in and out of Association buildings, and calls for as many kiads of specialization within the Association Boys' Work Secretaryship as there are special fields, problems, or conditions in boy life. Other types of Association work with large and growing groups of Associations have been developed, demanding Secre- taries with special interest and adapta- tion, to meet the needs of young men in college and university life, in railroad service, in the great industrial fields, in the army and navy, and among colored men. Several hundred Secretaries also specialize on the general or supervisory as distinguished from the local work of the Associations, in the service of State organ- izations, the Canadian National Coimcil, and the International Committee, in its home and foreign departments. SPECIALIZATION 43 A group of these Secretaries, in the Secretarial Bureau of the International Committee, and others connected with the Association Colleges and Association Summer Schools, are specializing on the recruiting and training of men for the Association Secretaryship. Others specialize on editorial work, publication, publicity, financial and mem- bership campaigns, the planning, con- struction, and equipment of Association buildings, business efficiency, business administration, Bible study and evangel- ism, and other tasks in which their special qualifications or interests enable them to render their greatest service to young men and boys, or to the upbuilding, develop- ment, and efficiency of the Association movement in city or country, in intensive or extensive work, or upon its home or foreign fields. The chapter on specialization within the Association Secretaryship is not com- plete, and cannot now be completed. New departments of the Association work will be developed; new fields will 44 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP open to the Association Movement; and new tasks will be undertaken, as tlie Association moves forward in the ful- filling of its ever expanding mission. These unsolved problems, unoccupied fields, and unassumed tasks invite men of vision, the pioneer spirit, and a genius for original work. To such a man will be given the opportunity for crea- tive work and the reward of great achieve- ment in the service of "his own genera- tion by the will of God," in the exten- sion of the Kingdom of Christ among young men and boys throughout the world. Questions for Discussion 1. In what respect are all Secretaries at work on the same task? 2. Show how the Secretaryship is open to a variety of types of men. 3. What was the original type of Secre- taryship? 4. Of "profession" and "calling" which do you consider the more appropriate term, and why? SPECIALIZATION 45 5. How far has the splitting of the secre- tarial function robbed the General Secretary of his calling? 6. Make two lists, one of the types of de- partmental Secretaries, and one of the types of general Secretaries, such as city and rural. How many types in all? 7. Describe the type of Secretary who can work without equipment. What is his chief asset? 8. Why do men consider the Boys' Work Secretaryship as having a great future? 9. Name some special developments in the Secretaryship. 10. How much further will specialization within the Secretaryship proceed? CHAPTER V RELATIONS OF THE SECRETARYSHIP Clearly to recognize and faithfully to observe relationships are the marks of a gentleman, a statesman, and a Christian. They are also among the attributes of a successful Association Secretary. The relationships of the Association Secretary- ship are an outgrowth and recognition of principles of the Association and of reli- gious leadership in Association and com- munity. 1. The Principle of the Association Brotherhood. "The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands. " In the Association Movement we have a modern instance of the phenomenon of organization without authority, which attracted the attention of "the wise man" so many years ago. "When, in 1854, the individual Young Men's Christian Asso- ciations in North America affiliated in 46 RELATIONS 47 International Convention and Commit- tee, and when in 1866 they began the creation of State Associations and Com- mittees, they yielded nothing of their independence or local autonomy to these so-called "supervisory agencies." And yet, these International and State organizations, and, later, the National Council of the Canadian Associations, have become remarkably strong and influ- ential, in fact indispensable to the effi- ciency, development, and extension of the local Associations. These great supervisory agencies of the Association movement, however, are the servants, not the masters, of the local Associations: They exercise "supervi- sion without authority" and provide ex- perts and promoters for various types and departments of the work of the Associa- tions. They also serve as a clearing-house of ideas and representative agencies for the carrying forward of important projects for the increased efficiency of the Associa- tions, their missionary extension, and their work upon their home and foreign fields. 48 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP The fundamental principle of the Asso- ciation brotherhood is cooperation, the strong bearing the burdens of the weak, "all for each and each for aU." The supervisory agencies have no "rights" in the local Associations except by invita- tion and approval, and no special "priv- ileges" except the privilege of service. The relationships, therefore, between the local and the State and International Secretaries, are those of counsel, coopera- tion, and community of interest. 2. The Principle of the Association. The Association employs the Secretary; the Secretary builds the Association; the Association directors, members, and com- mitteemen are the Association. No Asso- ciation can give its Secretary a "power of attorney" to do the work of the Asso- ciation, for in doing this it would commit Association suicide. The fundamental principle of the Association is that the responsibility for the work of the Asso- ciation rests with the members. The re- lationships of the Association Secretary- ship to the Association members, direc- RELATIONS 49 tors, and committeemen, therefore, are those of a promoter, organizer, leader, and executive. Here we have a remarkable balance of power between the Association "layman" and "professional," with the layman in the place of authority and the professional in the place of initiative, influence, and leadership, each dependent on the other. The result is the Young Men's Christian Association, increasingly effective and in- creasingly attractive to both layman and professional. 3. The Principle of the Staff. In every efficient athletic team there is leadership, discipline, coaching, specialization, sub- ordination of excessive individualism to the rule or plan of the game, and the spirit of sacrifice when the other fellow is in the place of opportunity. This prin- ciple of the team is the principle of the secretarial staff of an Association. The relationships, therefore, of the members of an Association staff to each other are those of mutual appreciation, loyalty, co- ordination, and fellowship in service. 50 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP It. The Principle of Leadership. To be a leader in the Association is greater than to be an executive, for an executive may be mechanical, but an Association leader must win the personal loyalty and the spiritual confidence of the men who fol- low him. To do this, he must have char- acter, sincerity, unselfishness, superior ability, breadth of view, insight, judg- ment, initiative, and a forward look. Possessing these elements of leadership, and having recognition as a leader, the relationships of the Secretary to the com- mitteemen, oflBcers, and staff of the Asso- ciation are those of friendship, consider- ation, consultation, recognition, and sup- port. A great leader frequently will not ap- pear to be leading, so successful is he in putting others forward and securing for them recognition and support. He is working for permanent results, for the upbuilding of the Association by develop- ing efficiency and leadership in its mem- bers. He may seem to decrease, but it is in order that they may increase and the RELATIONS 51 time win come when He that "seeth in secret" will reward him "openly." 5. Relationships with Church and Com- munity Leaders. The great principle enunciated in the "Portland Test" of active membership in the Associations is not the definition of what constitutes an "evangelical" church, but the subordina- tion of the Association to the Church. The Association is constitutionally and fundamentally loyal to the Church. Evi- dently this loyalty should express itself not merely in definition, but in service. The relationship, therefore, of the As- sociation Secretary to the churches of his community should be that of a servant. This, as a rule, is true to Association practice and the principle is being increas- ingly worked out in programs of co- operative work in which the Association Secretaries help Church, Sunday school and Young People's Society to solve the problems of their own young men and boys in their own organization and work. The Association, in the working out of 52 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP such a program, becomes the laboratory of the Church, and the results of experi- mentation and achievement by Associa- tion specialists in work with young men and boys become the property of the Church, so far as it can appropriate them. A similar relationship exists between the Association Secretary and the community leaders, particularly in the physical, ath- letic, social, and educational work of the Associations. The development of the playground system and of evening educa- tional classes, now largely conducted un- der community auspices, as a result of the pioneerLag and promotion of Association Secretaries, illustrates the practical out- working of this principle of community service in the relationship of the Secre- tary to the leaders of the community. 6. The Secretary's Personal Religious Life. The personal religious life of the Secretary has a most important bearing on the entire range of his relationships. The love that "envieth not, seeketh not its own, is not easily provoked, thioketh no evil, suffereth long and is kind" makes RELATIONS 53 all relationships easy. The man who has this "most excellent way" of dealing with others is "a comfortable man to work with." This brings us to the Secretary's per- sonal relationship to Jesus Christ. Un- less the Secretary is a Christian of reality, these relationships of the Secretaryship will hopelessly involve him. He needs the spirit of Christ to become a leader of men, as much as he needs the method of Christ to become a fisher of men. This is not a luxury, but a necessity, otherwise we have a "religious leader" without either religion or a following. Does this not ex- plain many failures in the Secretaryship? Questions for Discussion 1. Discuss the unique characteristic of supervision of State and International Secretaries. Which predominate, good or bad features, and why? 2. How can effective supervision be exer- cised with no other relationships than "counsel, cooperation, and community of interest"? 54 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP 3. Discuss the relation of the Secretary and of the members to the work of the Association and to each other. 4. What qualities of character qualify a man for Association leadership? 5. What relationships within the Associa- tion grow out of these qualities in the leader? 6. What is the relation of the Association to the Church? 7. To what extent is the preservation of these relationships dependent upon the Secretary? Upon the minister? 8. Should a Secretary help to develop boys' work in a church? 9. How far should a Secretary go in giving public night schools, playgrounds and other community welfare projects the benefit of Association experience and his personal cooperation? 10. Notice that point about a religious leader without either religion or a following. What relationship will secure both these essentials? CHAPTER VI STATUS OF THE SECRETARYSHIP Has the Association Secretaryship an ascertainable status, or ground for its existence, for the assurance of the man who may contemplate his commitment to it as a life calling? Thirty -five years ago, the Secretaryship was largely an idea, and the man who entered it at that time was obliged to claim by faith many things that men who enter the Secretary- ship today can note and appraise as evidences of the faith of their predeces- sors, and of the greatness of the idea by which they were attracted. The Secre- taryship of today rests on an historic basis and the idea is reenforced by a permanent deposit of experience. 1. The history of the Young Men's Christian Association, its well-known and tested principles, its record of ac- complishment in many fields of effort, its 55 56 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP phenomenal growth, and the demand for its extension throughout the world — these give the Association Secretaryship a standing in the court of public opinion. Wherever the Young Men's Christian Association is mentioned today, the Sec- retaryship is understood to be an indis- pensable part of the enterprise, necessary to its operations, as the engineer is essen- tial to the running of the engine, and the Christian minister to the upbuilding of the church. One has but to reflect on the place of the Young Men's Christian Association in modern Christian civilization to ap- preciate the significance of the historic status of the Secretaryship. 2. The already great and steadily in- creasing investment in Association equip- ment in North America (now aggregating $100,000,000) is an evidence of the public confidence in the Secretaryship, as well as a trust committed to its keeping for the effective prosecution of the work for which the equipment has been provided. Business men would not have given STATUS 57 largely to Association work if it had been conducted on a purely voluntary basis. The Secretaryship gave promise of stabil- ity and assurance of specialization in ad- ministration. Association buildings every- where testify to the status of the Secre- taryship in the judgment, generosity, and confidence of business men. 3. The recognition of the Association by tl^e Church as an ally gives to the Secretaryship a status similar to that of the Christian ministry, while at the same time the confidence of the general public in the Association as a practical force in the social and economic life of young men and boys gives it a place of influence in the community as a social service agency. 4. The Secretaryship has a status also with the great railroad and industrial corporations and with the United States Government in the Army and Navy and on the Canal Zone, as an indispensable welfare agency and a promoter of co- operative relations between labor and capital, employer and employe. The 68 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP fact that the entire time of more than five hundred Secretaries (1916) is given to Association work with railroad, industrial, and government employes, made possible by corporation and government support, gives emphasis to this corporation and governmental recognition. 5. The popularity of the Association with young men and boys and the friendly way in which it enters into their recrea- tional, athletic, vocational, and religious life and enlists them in the prosecution of its multiform activities give to the Secretaryship a status of community of interest with multitudes of men and boys, unreached by other religious, social, and educational agencies. 6. The demonstration of the signifi- cance of the Association Secretaryship in the lives and work of great Secretaries, known on several continents, has given the Secretaryship a status in the record of human achievement among the great altruistic callings. One of America's great business and financial leaders re- turning from an extended trip to a dis- STATUS 59 tant part of the country, said recently, "I met all their great men, railroad men, bankers, business men, professional men, but no men impressed me more than the five leading Association Secretaries. There are no stronger men out there and they are looked up to as leaders in the larger affairs of that section of the country." The life service of such men as McBur- ney, Weidensall, Morse, Budge, See, Shurtleflf, Sinclair, Messer, Mott, and many others still living and leading in the Association Movement has given a status to and set a standard for the Sec- retaryship, that have lifted it immeasur- ably above the plane of the commonplace and have made the Associations and the community forever intolerant of medi- ocrity in the Secretaryship. 7. The consideration of the status of the Secretaryship would not be complete without reference to its honorable and useful place on the foreign mission field among the great missionary agencies of the Church. The late Professor Hender- son, then of the Department of Sociology 60 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP of the University of Chicago, retumiag from a tour of the world, said in public address that the best expression of social service that he had seen anywhere, was the regular work of the Young Men's Christian Associations on the foreign field. The Association Foreign Work, in con- centrating on national problems, and on the developing of typical Association work in the political and commercial capitals and the university centers of the non-Christian and the Latin American world, in specializing on the most influ- ential and hitherto comparatively inac- cessible classes, and in placing the em- phasis on native leadership, both volun- teer and secretarial, has won a status and an influence entirely out of proportion to the number of its secretarial staff. Questions for Discussion 1. Show the difference between the chances in the Secretaryship as a Hfe work to- day and making the same choice thirty-five years ago. 2. To what does the Association owe its standing in the court of public opinion? STATUS 61 3. What relation has the large Association equipment to the status of the Secre- taryship? 4. What eflFect does the Association's recog- nition as a church agency and as a social service agency have on the status of the Secretaryship? 5. What has the Association done to deserve its standing with large employers? 6. How has the Association employed officer demonstrated his community of inter- est with all sorts of young men and boys, and what bearing does this have on the status of the Secretaryship? 7. What bearing has the personality of our leading Secretaries had upon the Asso- ciation profession or calling? 8. Discuss the relation of our foreign work to the regard in which Association leadership is held. CHAPTER VII COMPENSATIONS OF THE SECRE- TARYSHIP "What shall we have therefore?" is an insistent question, even with, unselfish men. It pressed for an answer even with the men who were considered good enough to be invited by Jesus to join him in the organization and direction of the initial impact of Christianity on the world. Following the Master's example, we will not evade this question; but, in seeking to answer it, we will, like him also, put the more important considerations first. Jesus assumed and taught that the man who sought the higher things in life and service would insure the second- ary things to the limit of his need; but that the man who put the lower things first would lose the higher. The funda- mental principle is, "your heavenly Fa- ther knoweth that ye have need of these 6« COMPENSATIONS 63 things," and "the laborer is worthy of his hire." The important thing was, and is, that the man should fit his calling, that he should choose the work in which he would find and do the will of God for his life. Given the right man in the right place, working with God, and the "hire," or compensation, is sure. What is the " hire " of the Secretaryship? Here again, as in considering the functions of the Secretaryship, we are helped by observing the nature and opportunity of the Asso- ciation work, of which the Secretary is the executive. 1. It is a Christian work and, as such, is included in the original assurance of Christ that "he that reapeth receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life eter- nal." Re-read the record of the incident as given in John 4 : 1-36, and note the con- ditions under which these words were spoken. Consider the Master, spent, hungry, but forgetting everything in the joy of "reaping," illustrating in his own 64 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP experience the "wages" he promised the men who would reap with him in his "harvest." Among the high places in human experience, this is one of the very highest. Can there be anything greater or more satisfying than the exaltation of spirit, with its sense of value and achieve- ment, of which Jesus was conscious when he invited these comparatively inexpe- rienced men to give themselves wholly to Christian work? There was something closely approximating this when, as re- corded in Luke 10 : 17-24, "the seventy returned again with joy." They were receiving the "wages" of their first great adventure in Christian work, and "in that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit," and they had a double wage, their own ex- perience of joy and the consciousness of having rejoiced the heart of the Master. But we must not lose sight of that other compensation promised by Christ, in ad- dition to the joy, or present satisfaction in doing Christian work, namely, that the reaper would achieve a permanent result, TV^puld gather "frujt imtQ life COMPENSATIONS 65 eternal." Christian work deals with personality and character, imperishable substances, and it brings to bear upon them the transforming and vitalizing forces of the Gospel. The joy of the achievement, satisfying as that may be, is not so important as the assurance that one has accomplished something per- manent, as well as beneficent. 2. It is a work of many friendships. The man with a million dollars, or a great reputation, and no friends, is poorer than the man who has friends, but is living in poverty and obscurity. Friend- ship is a compensation ia itself, and is well worth estimating when one is mak- ing his choice of a life work. A college man, who a short time before had given up an assured future in engi- neering to make a trial of the Association Secretaryship, reported it as a discovery that "in Association work, results are obtained not at the expense of others, but simply by helping others." 3. It is a work of rich and broad fellow- ships. Fellpwship in service is ^ stronger 66 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP and richer experience than friendship, for it is friendship shot through with service and glorified by sacrifice. In the Association work, a Secretary has fellpw- ship with the choicest spirits, the strong- est and most unselfish personalities of the community, and this is one of the com- pensations of his office. The strongest business and professional men, ministers and laymen, are deeply interested in the well-being of young men and boys and greatly appreciate the work of the Asso- ciation and the Association Secretary, in their behaK. If a Secretary proves himself worthy of their confidence, they will support him to the limit. In fact, the theory of the Association is that the work is theirs rather than his. That is what the word "Association" means, and if the Secre- tary acts on this principle, these men will take initiative and responsibility in the work of the Association, and feel that the Secretary has placed them under obliga- tion in making such a work possible. They regard him as the honored and COMPENSATIONS 67 trusted leader of a community movement, who could probably have made a fortune in business or a name in professional or political life, if he had chosen to do so, but who has consecrated his talents to higher uses. Such fellowship in service is a mighty factor in a Secretary's life, and a stim- ulus to help him to live and work at his best. 4. It is a work that offers almost un- limited opportunity for achievement. The Association is organized for work rather than for discussion, and the Hon. John Wanamaker says that it "has a patent on opportunity. " The Secretary is the builder and execu- tive of the Association, as Kitchener and Joffre were the builders and the execu- tives of armies. The work of one man is limited; but, if that man is an organizer and builds and works with and through an Association, the Association can do any- thing that the one man can plan for it and persuade it to undertake. There is a great joy in achievement. 68 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP Like friendship, it is a compensation in itself. "The reward of work is more work," and the man of deeds, rather than dreams, "rejoices like a strong man to rim a race," in overcoming the seem- ingly insurmountable and achieving the hitherto impossible. This is life in its fullness and the greatest of its satisfac- tions. ! The Association is "just getting its stride," and no man has yet been able to carry it to the limit of its possibilities. It is a "world power," and, as such, is laying the foundations of a new social and religious order, not only in North America, but in the Orient, the Levant, Latin America, and Europe. If a man has a capacity for empire building, the Asso- ciation work would interest him, and, after interesting, it would hold him, for he would never be conscious of a finished task. 5. Concerning salaries: of the 4,401 Secretaries and Assistants in Association work January 1, 1916, the salaries wer§ as fglJpwg; COMPENSATIONS 69 Average for all Secretaries and Assistants . . $1,381 Group A. 502, or 11 per cent, from $180 to $600 Averaged $510 Group B. I,311,or30percent,from $600to$l,200 Averaged $900 Group C. 1,289, or 29 per cent, from $1,200 to $1,500 Averaged $1,300 Group D. 1,041, or 24 per cent, from $1,500 to $2,500 Averaged $1,952 Group E. 258, or 6 per cent, from $2,500 to $9,000 Averaged $3,083 Groups A and B are composed chiefly of first and second year Assistants in local Associations, of whom there were 1,501 in 1916. In Group C are the younger Secretaries in their first fields, or first, second and third years in responsible positions as department executives. Groups D and E are the goals at which every young Secretary expects to arrive, and to which 30 per cent of the men in Association service for two or more years have already attained. 1. Is it proper to inquire as to the com- pensation of the Secretaryship be- 70 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP Questions for Discussion 1. Is it proper to inquire as to the compen- sation of the Secretaryship before committing oneself to this calling? 2. In choosing their life work, how many men seek a calling in which they can create Christian character in others? Are those who so choose ill advised? Defend your opinion. 3. To what extent is the opportunity of making friends an attractive feature of a calling? 4. Into what sort of fellowship does the Secretaryship bring one? 5. What effect does this sort of fellowship have on a man's efEciency? 6. Does Association work offer a man a chance to have a hand in the doing of big things? How? 7. What limits of achievement are found in the Secretaryship? 8. Have you ever seen a man with more talent than he could use as a Secre- tary? 9. With what other callings does the Secre- taryship compare in the matter of salary? COMPENSATIONS 71 10. How much income does an educated man need? 11. Does the Secretaryship pay "a Hving wage" for capable and educated men? CHAPTER VIII PREPARATION FOR THE SECRETARY- SHIP The Young Men's Christian Associa- tion offers to its employed executives, who are qualified and prepared, a life work of achievement, usefulness, and compensation. Here is a great organization — Christian, social, athletic, educational — with a world outlook and world recognition. It con- tinues to grow iu extent and content, since it is founded on the fundamental needs and undeveloped possibilities of young men and boys. It is progressive and constructive, is highly specialized, and is calling for permanent executives. The functions of the executive office in the Association are the marks and to- kens of a great profession, and call, or wait, for the man of corresponding ca- pacity and versatility. If this man is 7i8 PREPARATION 73 looking for a life career in the Secretary- ship, special preparation is required. First in importance, however, is the discovery of the man who fits the pro- fession, and the discovery by that man of the Secretaryship as the profession in which he can probably render his greatest life service and give fullest expression to his major or most characteristic qualifica- tions. Let us therefore consider: 1. Who Should be Encouraged to Prepare for the Secretaryship? Association leaders are in agreement that the candidate for the Secretaryship should have the following qualifications: a. Good health and an attractive per- sonality. b. Ability to make and hold friends, ability to cooperate with others, and freedom from marked eccen- tricities in habit, manner, and ap- pearance. c. Sound business sense and good judgment, with executive ability, initiative, and tact. 74 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP d. A liberal education, preferably a college course, or its equivalent, with willingness to take whatever special vocational training and ex- perience may be necessary for ex- ecutive leadership in the general or departmental work of the Secre- taryship on which he may plan to spfcv.Idlize. e. Loyal membership in an evangelical church, with strong Christian char- acter and convictions, religious lead- ership, a sacrificial purpose, and ability to help young men and boys religiously. f. Freedom from the least suggestion of moral delinquency, such as any form of self-indulgence, sex weak- ness, or unreliability in financial matters. It is absolutely essential that an Association leader, because of his close relations with boys and young men, should be morally above reproach. 2. Why Prepare for the Secretary- ship? PREPARATION 75 To build a true and abiding type of Association work, the plan must be true to the perspective of Association history; the foundation must be laid in tested Association principles, and the builder must be inspired and sustained by the genuine Association spirit. The modern City Association is the survival of the fittest of a multitude of experiments, failures, and partial suc- cesses, and the product of specialization in more than a thousand cities. The type of Association work which was fairly successful fifteen years ago is obsolete, to- day. The Associations are a chain of affiliated laboratories, whose experiments, resulting in discoveries, have been in- corporated and perpetuated in the ap- proved plans, efficient organization, and successful methods of the modern achiev- ing Association. The executive officer of a modern Association, therefore, must have the knowledge and skill of a techni- cal expert, which can be acquired only by special study, training, and experi- ence. 76 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP To insure a life career in any calling, one needs to take his profession seriously; and to assume that one can safely under- take the executive leadership of a modern Association without special preparation is to underestimate the Association and practically to make provision for a brief and disappointing experience. From the point of view of the Associa- tion, the interests at stake have now be- come too important to justify their com- mitment to uninformed, untrained, or inexperienced leadership. The man of ability, without preparation, would doubt- less succeed in building something — but that something might only slightly re- semble, or might even caricature, the Young Men's Christian Association. To prepare men for and in the Secre- taryship, the Association Movement has developed a comprehensive training pro- gram, including thoroughgoing profes- sional school preparation. It provides also, in the Assistant Secretaryship, op- portunity for acquiring experience before assuming the responsibility of an execu- PREPARATION 77 live position, or before enteriBg upon a course of professional training for the Secretaryship as a life work. 3. How Peepare for the Secre- taryship? There are three approved training agencies of the Young Men's Christian Association and one apprenticeship op- portunity in preparation for the Secre- taryship: a. The Association Professional Col- leges. b. The Association Summer Schools. c. The Association Training Centers established in leading Associations. d. The Assistant Secretaryship in some Associations. a. The Association Professional Col- leges The standard professional training for the Association Secretaryship, expressed in resolutions of representative Associa- tion Conventions and Conferences, is that aflforded by the two Association Colleges located at Springfield, Mass., and Chica- go, 111. Here in an orderly and compre- 78 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP tensive way the entrant upon the Asso- ciation Secretaryship may lay a broad foundation for his professional career. Each college has a modern equipment with a strong faculty and is conducted in accordance with the best ideas and progressive methods of modern educa- tion. While there are certain common ele- ments in their curricula, yet each college has individuality, developed through its history, traditions, the personality of its faculty, its student body, and the influ- ence of its alumni. The Springfield College offers a four- year course combining cultural with voca- tional preparation. Graduates of regular academic colleges are given credit for work done, by which the course may be completed in two years. The Chicago College, in addition to its three-year regular course, is placing emphasis on its two-year graduate course and is also so affiliated with some of the Middle West academic colleges and uni- versities as to make possible a five-year PREPARATION 79 coordinated course leading to both aca- demic and professional degrees. Both colleges enrol only students who have completed at least high school courses. A candidate for the Secretaryship should fully inform himself as to the courses of instruction offered by the Asso- ciation Colleges, and advise with his State Recruiting Committee, the Secre- tarial Bureau of the International Com- mittee, or a representative of an Asso- ciation College as to his personal prob- lems. b. The Association Summer Schools The oldest of these schools is located at Lake Geneva, Wis., and was started in 1884. The largest is the Eastern Associa- tion School at Silver Bay, on Lake George, N. Y. Other schools are con- ducted at Black Mountain, N. C, Estes Park, Colo., Lake Couchiching, Ont., Arundel, Md., Asilomar, Cal., and Sea- beck, Wash. The aggregate annual enrol- ment exceeds 1,200 men. The Summer School teachers are, for 80 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP the most part, Association leaders and Secretaries — ^men who are dealing with the actual problems of work with young men and boys in their respective fields. The instruction is, therefore, of high practical value. The student body is composed mainly of three groups of men: younger Secre- taries and assistants, young men who desire to investigate the Association vo- cation, and older Secretaries who come for advanced work and to keep in touch with the progress of the Association Movement. The courses leading to a certificate require three summers' attend- ance of two weeks or four weeks each for completion. The Summer Schools also offer an un- usual opportunity to become acquainted with Association leaders and with the Association spirit. Probably the greatest value of these Summer Schools is not in the classroom work, helpful and stimulatiog as that is, but in the in- spiration that comes from contact and fellowship with the Association leaders. PREPAEATION 81 The training aflforded in the Summer Schools is regarded as secondary to that provided by the Association Colleges and should stimulate and prepare men to secure for themselves a standard course of professional training whenever this is possible. c. The Association Training Centers Some forty of the leading American and Canadian Associations have devel- oped a local program of class instruction, systematic coaching, and varied experi- ence for their assistants and younger Secretaries. It is to be expected that many beginners in the work will find in these Training Centers the stimulus to avail themselves of the more fundamental and technical instruction oflfered by the Association Colleges. This Training Center Movement paral- lels within the Young Men's Christian Association the modern plan of training executives on the apprenticeship principle and understudy plan, extensively used by leading American transportation, man- ufacturing, and commercial corporations 82 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP — such as the Pennsylvania Railroad, Western Electric Company, and National City Bank. The Training Center period extends over two years. Associations conducting such work are referred to as Training Centers, and have formed a federation for the standardizing, progressive develop- ment, and extension of their work. d. The Assistant Secretaryship The extraordinarily rapid growth of the Young Men's Christian Association Movement has in many cases made neces- sary the filling of the ranks of the Assist- ant Secretaryship with the most available men, the majority of whom are employed for specific tasks, without special ref- erence to their possession of the distinc- tive qualifications for a life work in the Secretaryship. With this in mind, the fact that many men have found the Assistant Secretary- ship an open door to the Secretaryship constitutes both a menace and a promise for the future leadership of the Associa- tion Movement. PREPARATION 83 Standard Associations — that is, those Associations with a modern, well-devel- oped type of work — are now discouraged from filling any assistant positions on their staffs with men who do not give promise of real secretarial leadership, or who are not looking forward to a life work in the Secretaryship; and they are urged to cooperate in filling such positions with men of demonstrated business abil- ity and experience, or with college grad- uates possessing the fundamental quali- fications for the Secretaryship. They are also advised to encourage and aid assistants of promise to secure a course of professional training before assuming the responsibilities of an executive position in the Secretaryship. Questions for Discussion 1. What facts about the Association justify preparation for the Secretaryship.? 2. What bearing has each of the following qualities upon fitness for the Secre- taryship? a. Health b. Ability to cooperate with others 84 ASSOCIATION SECRETAEYSHIP c. Business sense d. Education e. Religious leadership f . Fine moral character 3. Show wherein Association work is suflS- ciently technical to require special preparation for the Secretaryship. 4. Why are Association directors justified in preferring trained executives for Association positions? 5. How much and what sort of training should these executives have? 6. Discuss the Association professional col- lege as a training agency. 7. What sort of secretarial training can be secured in the Association Summer Schools? 8. Where are the leading Association Sum- mer Schools? 9. To what extent can a Training Center fit a man for executive leadership? 10. Under what circumstances would you advise raen entering the Secretary- ship to take an assistant's position? CHAPTER IX FUTURE OF THE SECRETARYSHIP One does not need to be a prophet, only an observer, to predict a future for the Association Secretaryship. The As- sociation is sound in principle, unique in method, adaptable in character, uni- versal in application, and practically un- limited in its field. The future of the Secretaryship depends on the Secretary. The Secretaryship has but one serious limitation, and that is in the man who attempts it. Some men have no future. If these men become Secretaries, of course there is no future for the Secretaryship. But, where the call of the Secretaryship is heard by the men who fit the calling, the Secretaryship of the future will be a place of apostolic opportunity. The future of the Secretaryship will he in the direction of standardization and 85 86 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP efficiency. In the ten years, 1906-1916, more than one thousand major secretarial positions, paying salaries of $1,200 or more, were vacated by men leaving the Association work. The majority of these men left the Secretaryship because the rising standards and intensive develop- ment of the Association work created or accentuated requirements in leadership and administration, for which they were not equal. This is not a symptom of weakness, but an evidence of strength in the Association, and a challenge to the strongest type of men to undertake a work which average men have found to be impossible. The future of the Secretaryship will he in the direction of its missionary outreach. The greater part of the field for Associa- tion work is still unoccupied. 1. In North America The City Associations, now organized in less than seven hundred cities, should be extended into four hundred of the more than six hundred "unoccupied" cities; and in fifty Association cities of more PUTUEE 87 than 100,000 population, one hundred "Branch" Associations should be organ- ized, with buildings and Secretaries, in the next ten years. The County Association Work, operating in the rural, town, and village field, and now being carried on in only about one hundred counties, should be extended into at least five hundred counties in the next ten years. There are about three thousand counties in the United States and Canada, of which at least fifteen hundred are " organizable " for the Asso- ciation work, each with one or more Asso- ciation County Secretaries. The Boys' Work Division of the City Associations, with its specialization in "Building," "High School" and "Com- munity" Work, and employing about 500 Boys' Work Secretaries, and the Industrial Associations, now employing three himdred Secretaries, should treble their work and secretarial staffs in ten years. Even then, they would not have occupied one-half of the fields that are ripe for organization. 88 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP 2. On the Foreign Field The North American Associations have responded to the call of the young men of Asia and of Latin America by sending out and supporting on the Association foreign field two hundred missionary Secretaries. This work wUl be continued and extended, perhaps doubled in the next ten years. The work carried on also by the North American Associations through their hun- dreds of Secretaries in the training camps, on the battle-fields, and in the prison camps of Europe and "East of Suez" is another expression of the Association's spirit of world brotherhood and outreach. In this War Work of the American Asso- ciations, Christ is being interpreted to millions of young men in their hour of greatest need, in terms of service and of friendship — a language which all can understand. The response will be seen in the period of reconstruction after the war, as a factor to be reckoned with in the future of the Association movement and of the Secretaryship. FUTURE 89 The world vision and the spirit of sacri- fice are a part of the content of the idea of the Association Secretaryship, and men of the heroic type will increasingly press into the Secretaryship, as they recognize that the Association is in fact a world brotherhood, at work on the personal and social program of Jesus Christ and in the spirit and power of the Gospel. The future of the Secretaryship will be in proportion to its religious passion. The initial motive and driving power of the Association was a dominant religious passion, and every forward step in the progress of the Association movement can be traced to the religious impulse. Where this religious motive becomes a spent force, the Association halts in the face of opportunity and either dies, or, while living on the momentum of its past, fails to achieve the object which justifies its existence. The future of the Secretaryship, therefore, is in the realm of religious achievement, possible only to men who possess and are possessed by the dominant religious motive. 90 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP The Secretary of the future will be a man in whom this motive has become a master passion, who hesitates at nothing and achieves the impossible, for all things are his. He has chosen unselfishly and without reservation to do what he had reason to believe was the will of God for his life; he has proved by experience that this will is "good and acceptable"; and he knows that before him is the work and with him are the boundless resources of God. Questions for Discussion 1. Upon whom does the future of the Secretaryship depend? Why? 2. What fact in the Secretaryship has caused a number of men to drop out, and how is this an encouragement to strong men? 3. What promise of a future is there in a city Secretaryship? 4. In the rural Secretaryship? 5. In other branches of the calling? 6. What sort of man should enter the foreign FUTURE 91 work, from the point of view of the future it offers? 7. What bearing has the evangelistic spirit upon the future of the Secretaryship? CHAPTER X HOW TO ENTER THE SECRETARY- SHIP For the man who has chosen the Secre- taryship as his Ufe work, and entered an Association College for his professional training; the way opens naturally, on graduation, into that form of Association work for which he is prepared., Doubtless an increasing number of young men, particularly those who have been developed as older boy. leaders in the Association Boys' Work, ^will prac- tically choose the Secreta-ryship as their profession before entering college, or early in their college course. These men will go forward into the Association Col- leges, in preparation for their chosen pro- fession, as others go into the medical, theological, law, and engineering schools. To many men, however, the suggestion of the Secretaryship will come as an invi- 92 HOW TO ENTER 93 tation to consider a work about which they have known little or nothing from personal experience or observation. The suggestion will come also to men of abil- ity, who, while attracted to the Associa- tion, are not sure of themselves as to their soecial adaptation to a work of this kind. How can these men fioid their way into the Secretaryship? Three sign posts mark a well-worn path, by which men who have evidently worked with God have found their way into the will of God for their life work. 1. Investigation. The work in question should be investigated as to its nature, opportunities, and requirements and its appeal to the best or major capacities in the man's life. The information and in- terpretations contained in this booklet have been assembled to facilitate such an investigation of the Secretaryship. Attendance at a conference where the work of the Association is explained, and interviews with Association leaders — especially representatives of Association State Recruiting Committees, or of the 94 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP Secretarial Bureau of the International Committee — will give information and direction. The process of investigation, however, is mutual. The men who are the custo- dians of the work, or whose judgment and cooperation are essential to the opening of the doors into it, need evidence as to the qualifications of the man, as much as he needs to be assured concerning the opportunity in the Secretaryship. The man, therefore, needs to offer himself as a candidate in order that the facts con- cerning him may be ascertained, on which a judgment may be based as to his adaptation to the work. i 2. Prayer. Doubtless there wUl be latent or unrecognized capacities in the man and undiscovered opportimities in the work not revealed by seK-analysis or investigation. For these reasons, as well as for the confidence and strength that come with the consciousness that one is working with God, the man needs to commit his life and his life program, with sincerity and obedience, to God in prayer HOW TO ENTER 95 and to wait confidently on God for guid- ance into, or away from, the work in ques- tion. 3. Service. There is such a thiag as "learning by doing," In the doing of a task, one not only learns about the work in which he is engaged, but discovers in himself aptitude or lack of aptitude for it. The path of service, therefore, leads, not only to the place of observation, but to the experience of self -discovery. There are many Assistants' positions in the Association movement, and ex- perience ia such positions, ni the well- organized Associations, frequently leads to promotion to positions of responsibility in the Secretaryship. The man, therefore, who has not "found himself, " may experi- ment as an Assistant, if a suitable opening for such experimentation may be found for him, such as is provided through "The Fellowship Plan." As a man "makes good " he realizes that the door has opened for him into a work that he can do, a work worth doing, and that brings with it the joy of achievement. He is then in 96 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP position to understand the experience of "the seventy" hitherto inexperienced disciples, whom Jesus sent out and who "returned again with joy saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." College graduates who are not con- vinced as to their call to the Association Secretaryship as a life work, or who are unable to enter at once upon a graduate course of professional training in an Asso- ciation College, may be related, through "The Fellowship Plan," to a selected Association for experience and training. This includes a diversified experience, with coaching and such instruction as may be given in the Training Center and Summer School courses. The initial com- pensation covers living expenses, and in- crease and promotion come as the Fellow- ship man "makes good. " The Plan is offered as an accommodation for college men who, without it, might not be able even to investigate the Sec- retaryship. It is hoped that the Fellow- ship experience, in not a few instances. HOW TO ENTER 97 will lead to graduate study in further and more fundamental preparation for the Secretaryship, such as may be ob- tained in one of the Association Colleges. To the man who, "following the gleam" on the path to the will of God, finds his way into the Association Secretaryship, there opens out a great life work, full of opportunities for practical service, and with constant stimulus to self-improve- ment. Such a life will be rich ia friend- ship, distinguished by leadership, unique in achievement, aboimding with satis- faction, and filled with the consciousness of the companionship of God. Questions for Discussion 1. What is the standard method of pro- fessional training for the Secretaryship when a man knows this is to be his calling? 2. By what means may a man investigate the Secretaryship? 3. How may a man himself be investigated as to his fitness for the Secretaryship? 4. What may be expected of prayer while considering entering Association work? 98 ASSOCIATION SECRETARYSHIP 5. Under what circumstances, or conditions, can service help a man to "find him- self" and his work? 6. What is the Fellowship Plan and in what particulars does it differ from an ordinary Assistant Secretaryship? 7. You have read a careful presentation of the Secretaryship and now what action will you take? What are you going to do about it? 8. To you who are already employed officers of the Association: how can you use the facts and ideas here presented? 9. Where can the men be found who measure up to the standard of the Secretaryship here presented, and how may these considerations be brought to their attention?