Larger evangelistic efforts may today require the services of trained office secretaries. It is generally expected that these young women should also take an interest in the people who attend our public meetings. Occasionally such a person has musical ability, and can thus make a special contribution to the effort. Again, aside from her office duties, she may serve as an '"usherette." Our present trend seems to be to designate all these various types of evangelistic helpers as "Bible instructors."
The calling of the Bible instructor should be a distinctive office, as much so as that of the minister or the evangelist. It does not suggest a misplaced ego on her part to raise a question regarding our present growing practice of classifying workers of journalistic ability, stenographic training, artistic talent, and other various skills as being Bible instructors. Then there is also the problem of the young intern's wife, whose preparation did not include any particular training for Bible work.
Although it may be a matter of expediency on the part of evangelistic directors and conference officers to classify such assistants as Bible instructors, we still wonder whether this is the best arrangement after all.
There is indeed a place in our growing work for these various accomplishments. There is also a place for the teacher-type youth worker who is a normal graduate and trained to take an interest in the juniors and young people who attend the evangelistic meetings. Again, there is a place for experienced teachers who can bring into our present Bible study correspondence plan a touch of real efficiency which the average Bible instructor may not have time to give to this phase of evangelism. We should recognize their services in our evangelism, but we seriously question whether some of them should be classified as Bible instructors.
It appears to us to be the wiser course to give these various professional skills high recognition in our evangelism without classifying such assistants generally as Bible instructors. Since they do not belong to this group as such, we should guard their, needful professions, as well as the Bible work itself. It would build up our efficiency in evangelism to have secretaries, journalists, musicians, and youth directors on our staff, as well as our specially trained Bible instructors. We could then hold to our former practice of considering the Bible work actual personal work and Bible teaching. There is danger that this God-given plan of the Bible work will be confused with clerical office work, and we should all be jealous to hold it to its true pattern, even as we would guard the ministry.
Unless we see alike on this point we may add to the present problem of Bible instructor scarcity and unconsciously become the cause of having taken away the challenge for this special type of evangelistic work. Temporary helpers, and men or women who are drafted locally and not from the ranks of those trained for our denominational Bible work, might better be classified as evangelistic aides. To confuse their services with those of the trained Bible instructors is not fair to the experienced, skilled worker. If we are to lift the Bible work to where it really belongs in God's plan, then we must safeguard the profession for gifted men and women upon whom God has placed the signet of His approval as Bible instructors. Such an attitude will bring new life into this waning profession. If we do this then we may soon realize a larger group of trained and gifted Bible teachers, whose efficiency will not be behind that of the ministry.
L. C. K.
