Vanishing! — The line of demarcation between the ministry and the laity is being rapidly and successfully obliterated by some. Dress, speech, and deportment are commonized. Not that we are to be stiff, reserved, or aloof, but that conversatism shall blend with dignity and grace. Loud socks, flashy colored clothes, ultra styles, are inconsistent with the spirit of this message and the high plane of the ministry.
Publicity! The fact that one of America's great periodicals, with the tremendous circulation of more than two million weekly, has suffered a decline of 40 per cent in printed advertisements because of radio advertising, should serve as an indicator of the possibilities and effectiveness of this mightiest modern avenue of publicity. There are 650 broadcasting stations in America, and 468 in other countries of the world. May the children of light take heed to the wisdom manifested by the children of this world.
Capitalize! — The hour has passed for camouflaging our identity and affiliations in evangelism. The name Seventh-day Adventist must become a household word. This faith and movement is destined soon to become the theme of world discussion. Our name has already become an asset. The inroads of modernism in the popular churches and the loss of a message, with the resultant substitution of social service and decadence into a system of moral ethics, gives us the most magnificent opportunity in modern history to stand for the " faith once delivered." Let us capitalize our name. We will have a more respectful hearing because of our frankness.
Dependence! — There is a subtle human tendency more prevalent than we are wont to admit, to depend unwisely upon our plans, our policies, our achievements, instead of placing out trust solely in God, from whom cometh our help. And so long as the funds roll in yearly with proportionate increase, this temptation will not be lessened. But let a lean year Appear or a crisis come, and we will be driven to our knees with heart searching and humility. How well the writer remembers that tense, bewildering committee meeting of the Far Eastern Division after the cabled budget cut in 1918, when noble men, after a period of despair, rose to the challenge of an extremity. With faith in God they accepted the situation, and set about making readjustments, sacrifices, and greater self-support. May we recognize the source of our strength now, and be spared the chastening of a crisis. The hour will come when our choicest plans will collapse, and our marvelous operating machinery will be crushed under the heel of oppressive restrictions, as we become the thorn in the religious world's flesh. Yet God's work will go on. He is not dependent upon our plans. Blessed the privilege of serving such a God!
L. E. F.
