“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.” Luke, 6:43-4

“No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John, 15:4

“If a religious community or church is to be judged by the fruits of its activity and not by its numbers, its condition of internal unity, or the spiritual vitality of its local congregations, then one might conclude that American Quakerism at mid-[20th]century was in a healthy condition.  One may suspect, however, that Twentieth Century Quakerism cannot long produce such fruit without nourishing the vine which gives it forth.  As one person has expressed it, ‘Friends have been so busy saving the world that they have failed to save themselves.’  Although Friends must not forget the Biblical injunction that ‘he that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it,’ nevertheless Friends must cultivate a vital religious community as a base from which to minister to the needs of the world.  This brings us directly to the point of this study, namely, the condition of Friends at the local Monthly Meeting and Yearly Meeting level and the problem of adequate leadership.”

Wilmer Cooper, Survey Report on Proposed
Friends School of the Ministry, (1959) pg. 7