Organized!—It is entirely possible for the mind to be filled with a vast array of valuable facts and ideas, and yet not have them organized and integrated until they become an effective equipment for service and leadership. One can become overburdened with detailed information which is not correlated behind great principles and clear conclusions, and hence may fail to derive the real and designed benefit properly accruing from his amazing fund of information.
Slides!—Stereopticon atrocities—whether of color, form or content—disgust the discerning, misrepresent our message, and discount the influence of the worker responsible for their showing, through reflection on his judgment. Men wonder if his message will bear scrutiny any better than his slides. Crude workmanship, sloppy or loud coloring, dirty thumbmarks, and lack of synchronization between operator and lecturer, irritate those who expect order, accuracy, and fitness in the execution of everything important. Dignity, artistry, and appropriateness should characterize all such pictures employed, especially in this commercialized, picture-conscious age.
Perspective!—To view a great masterpiece at close range is to see its seeming defects—brush marks, daubs, splotches, and ugly gaps. But standing back so as to get the full effect of perspective for the entire picture, it becomes a work of impressive beauty and symmetry. Ofttimes we stand so close to our little spot in the work that we do not get a full, impressive picture of the great, full-rounded movement God is leading forward to triumph. Men may fail, and men may err; the human element may be distressingly predominant in some instances; nevertheless the glorious movement of God stands forth in its grandeur and symmetry when we see it in perspective.
Provincial!—Immediate interests and responsibilities tend to fix the eyes upon local matters. The problems, needs, and possibilities at hand grip us, and are commonly the subject of our concerns, our labors, and our prayers. But our Saviour bade us lift up our eyes and look on the ripening harvest fields afar, as well as near. More than at any time in human history, gospel workers need to have a world vision of their task, and a world consciousness of their responsibilities. This is not so easy or natural for those who have never traveled outside their own country or labored in a mission field, attended our general councils and conferences, or served on our mission appointees committee. Such should make especial effort to acquaint themselves with our world task, our present mission status, and its vital problems. They should open their hearts to take in the world that "God so loved," and pour out their prayers for the world work. We are not to live and labor in circumscribed compartments. Ours is a world task. It will never be finished in the more favored sections until it is finished in the most difficult. Provincialism, sectionalism, nationalism, continentalism, or racialism have no rightful place in our program or outlook. God loves the world, and we are to love as He loves. We should pray for larger hearts, greater vision, clearer perception, and greater giving and going for the finishing of the work. This is a world movement; let us never forget it.
Conservation!—It is wasteful extravagance to permit men of wide experience, appointed to our posts of greatest responsibility, to be burdened with minor matters that consume their time and drain their strength, which should be reserved for the really great problems of leadership in this movement. Some are, because of their willingness, constantly subjected to imposition. These valuable men are breaking under the man-killing strain of the ceaseless pressure under which they are forced to operate. We rush them from one committee, commission, or board to the next. With the attendant drain upon the vitality, and the burden incident to financial problems and growing complexity of our work, they are literally wearing themselves out under the exacting round. Such is a prodigal waste of man power. A simplification of that involved system that has gradually developed to a point of hampering complexity, is clearly called for, with emphasis only on fundamental things clearly outlined in the blueprint.
Galleries!—Playing to the galleries is common in worldly affairs. Studying trends and sentiments, shrewdly voicing some rallying keynote when it will advance one's own popularity, position, or power, is the distinctive way of the world. But when this alien spirit seeks entrance into the church, it is, or should be, resisted; for it is most decidedly out of place. The glory of God and not the popular acclaim of men, the advancement of the cause and not the promotion of men eager for the spotlight, the welfare of the church and not the advancement of the ambitious,—should be the determining principle in the conduct of God's work. Men who show evidence of unfortunate leanings in this direction should be faithfully helped by their brethren, and if unresponsive, should have diminishing responsibility placed upon them.
L. E. F.
