In our early decades we did not have the complex organization and the complicated promotional program that now make such heavy demands upon our time and energy. Men gave much more time and effort to personal and group study in those formative years, and to the comparison of notes and views in order to reach united conclusions, to build a faith, and to present a common front to the world.
Whether or not it sounds pleasant to the ear, those sturdy pioneers were often more studious and more determined to investigate and to master the essential evidence of the full message than some today. Great strides were made in those pioneer years in framing a well-rounded and enduring body of doctrine. And great books were produced that have stood the test of time —substantial books like Smith's Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation and Andrews' History of the Sabbath—that have been wrought into the very fabric of this movement.
Today, a century later, despite great advances and advantages that mark our day, many seem to have lost the pioneer spirit of investigation and the passion for intensive and comprehensive study. Everything must be streamlined. Brevity and simplicity are demanded. Many want only condensations, epitomes, tabloids, capsules. They are too busy for the full evidence. They wish to have their information provided in easy, superficial, journalistic style. Vigor of thought, soundness of reasoning, completeness of evidence, and adequacy of treatment are, by some, neither demanded nor desired. Something "short and simple" is the common request.
But in these years of the established maturity and great expansion of this movement, when its momentum is accelerated and its case is being presented before the world with greater prominence than ever in the past, we should be powerful thinkers and cogent reasoners, competently setting forth the fundamentals of this message in ways that surpass all former successes. This calls for thorough preparation and constant study. And it necessitates substantial books that will become authoritative classics in their respective fields—books that will meet the exacting demands of trained minds, and satisfy the expectations of thinkers who are studying this faith. We must be prepared to lead them in this study. This calls for skills not required in the past.
We need stalwarts in the pulpit, in the class room, and on the evangelistic platform. The dignity and majesty and greatness of this heaven-born message demand it. The claims and potentialities of truth require it. Then let us check this unworthy gravitation toward the light and superficial that has become a familiar strain. Let us frown on the trend toward in adequacy and superficiality. Let us become a highly informed ministry, rising to the demands of the hour.
Fellow workers, let us set ourselves to solid study and substantial thinking. Let us master our message, and know its foundations from every angle and approach. Let us apply our selves until we are able to answer all leading objections and sophistries, and then adequately dispose of them. But, infinitely more important, let us study to present the positives of truth with a freshness and vigor heretofore unknown. Let us become preachers of power—winsome, thought provoking, persuasive, and compelling —rising to the demands of the times and the expectations of God as well as to the rightful expectations of the church for its public ministry.
This calls for determination to follow a systematic study program. It will not be easy. We must resolutely set apart certain regular times for study. This will probably call for letting some inconsequential go. We must address ourselves to first things, and give them priority. We must read worth-while books, and demand adequate treatment of vital issues and themes.
The new Ministerial Reading Course presents five such volumes. They are worthy of our enthusiastic acceptance. The Reading Course is designed solely to help you. It is not something your association is trying to put over—another burden to carry, another goal to reach. These are precision tools, to sharpen and to inform the mind. They are new equipment, to increase your efficiency and success as workers. They are indispensables, not heretofore available, which meet long-felt needs. They are reliable, and can be trusted. They are specifically pre pared after long years of study, principally to serve our workers. They are priceless in value, though slight in cost.
Note their scope: One is on pastoral evangelism in action—the supreme field in our soul- winning task; another is on creationism, our vital message to a world of evolutionists; a third is on the challenge of Islam, one of the greatest problems of all modern missions; the fourth is on temperance, the full counsels of the blueprint in a world of tippling; and finally, a candid survey of the resurgence of Catholicism in a world of religious confusion and com promise. What a feast of good things! What would not workers of former days have given for them! And they are now available for you.
We should become recognized giants in the desk, superior preachers of the Word. This can all come to pass if we resolutely set ourselves to such a task. It will doubtless mean a readjusting of emphasis. It will call for a new program for some. It will mean getting up an hour earlier, or staying up an hour later, for others. But it is infinitely worthwhile. Yes, it is imperative. What do you say, brethren? The heights beckon us; the times call us. Let us leave the lowlands of contentment with lesser things. This is our day of opportunity, our time of all times to achieve for God. What say you?
