Editorial Postscripts

Power!—Our source of preaching power lies in the Word, not in human eloquence, cleverness, logic, wit, or persuasion. The effectiveness of a sermon lies not in its arrangement, progression, and climax, but in its dependence upon and ex­altation of the Word, which is living and powerful, the attested message of God, en­forced by His Spirit. Conversely, the weakness of some sermons, and their powerlessness to transform lives or to produce abiding re­sults, are not hard to detect. The almost pathetic eagerness with which men and women listen to real food for their souls, and to solid facts upon which to base their faith, is an arresting challenge to preach the Word, not the fabrications of the human mind, no mat­ter how clever and persuasive. Preach the Word !

Scaffolding!—Tragic is the lot of those who, for a time, aided in the erection of God's majestic temple of truth, but who, having served such a purpose for a season, became valueless and had to be cast aside. Yet no one needs to be mere scaffold­ing. Some of the tragedies of past and pres­ent are men who effectively served this cause, introduced some of its truths or enlarged its boundaries, then became soured, bewildered, and antagonistic, and had finally to be sepa­rated from the movement and cast aside as superfluous. But the abiding structure stands unmoved amid these disintegrating elements.

Vacations!—Some workers never take a vacation, and pride themselves upon it. Driving on ceaselessly, they contend that they cannot spare the time, or that the work would collapse or go awry without their continuous presence. Such a concept, however, is noth­ing to be proud of. Even Christ said to His disciples, "Come ye yourselves apart, . . . and rest awhile ;" and we cannot improve upon His counsel. A man has his work poorly or­ganized when he cannot leave it for a few days without his personal presence and supervision. Neither is he properly training his associates. So the "imperative presence" argument is not one to be extolled. And as to indispensability, somehow the work goes on no matter who drops out. Some drive themselves day and night, thereby violating natural law to do God's service. They flout the ordained law of life, and often cut short their usefulness just when they have the greatest experience, wisdom, and value to contribute to the cause.

God never asks nor condones such. Periodic, recreative rest is legitimate, desirable, and necessary. Change of environment, separation from routine problems, formation of new acquaintances, and the invigoration of new scenery and perspective are highly essential to the maximum of service.

Cities!—The terrible havoc wreaked upon the great cities of the Old World, under the impact of contending mar­tial forces, should lead us to recognize the obviously broader intent of those Spirit of prophecy admonitions to leave the large cities because the woes of the last days will be visited in their most intense form upon these great aggregations of humanity. We have, naturally enough, applied these expressions primarily to the New World. But they were worldwide in their intent—Old World and New, Occident and Orient, as we have already seen, and will see even more fully. These principles apply everywhere, and tragic is the lot of those who permit themselves to be caught under the impact of great martial, po­litical, industrial, or economic forces of de­struction which are beginning to break over the world. We must not think that these warn­ings were lightly spoken or are to be followed or disregarded at will.

Provincialism!—Periodic cir­culation of workers is vital to their own devel­opment, to the welfare of the field in which they labor, and to the cause at large. When men live and toil continuously in a given section, union, or small country, they become provincial, circum­scribed in outlook, and handicapped in growth and results. Their concepts become constricted and their achievements retarded, for they have limited inspirational contacts with fellow workers, and limited opportunities of observing new methods. This circumscription is uncon­scious, but is nonetheless real and hurtful. It is rarely recognized or admitted by those con­cerned, until they are actually out of the situa­tion. Periodic exchange is imperative. This means interchange of method and experience through institutes and councils, and through transfer of workers. While the initial cost of transportation may seem considerable, the increased returns will fully justify the invest­ment even in a monetary way. Our sister­hood of divisions must follow this policy to preserve the consciousness of world unity essential to the united advance of this movement.

L. E. F.