Bringing Ourselves Up to Date

Most of our readers are informed on Fall Council actions. Since some of the rec­ommendations at this last council touched definite Ministerial Association plans and responsibilities, we feel it wise to answer the many inquiries that keep coming to us con­cerning these matters.

A number have asked about the Minis­terial Book Club. For decades the denom­ination has sponsored a reading course, or the Ministerial Book Club, as it has been known in more recent years. Since its in­ception in 1924 the selections for this proj­ect have been the responsibility of the Ministerial Association. During the years much thought and care have gone into the choice of these volumes, and wide counsel has been taken, our aim being to always have a well-balanced group of books. But by action of the Fall Council the Book Club is now discontinued. This has brought disappointment to many as is evidenced by the numerous inquiries that have come.

There are reasons for this action, of course. During recent years there has been a tendency on the part of some to by-pass the books selected. This has brought embarrassment to us, because in order to ob­tain large discounts, which in turn have been passed on to the workers, our publish­ing houses have had to deal on a quantity basis. But when these books have lingered on the shelves, financial loss has resulted. Sometimes books published by definite re­quest, such as Aflame for God and Thine Be the Glory, have not had the sales antic­ipated. These were verbatim reports of the Ministerial Councils held just prior to the last two General Conference sessions. Much work went into the production of these volumes, but for some it was work wasted when large numbers of these books remained on the shelves for so long at the Review and Herald.

Then there were some who felt that they would rather be free to make their own individual selections even though this does not give the purchaser the advantage of substantial discounts. These were some of the reasons why we were urged to discontinue this service to the field. The hope was expressed, however, that this will not lessen the desire for wide and wise reading by our ministers and workers.

We have been urged to keep our workers well informed concerning suitable new books coming from our own presses as well as worth-while volumes from other pub­lishing houses. This we have always en­deavored to do, but in the absence of the regular book club, it will become even more important for THE MINISTRY CO keep its readers well posted on books that will en­rich their service.

In the December editorial of THE MIN­ISTRY reference was made to a forthcoming volume containing some sixty penetrating questions and answers covering the vital features of Adventist theology. This book will be off the press at an early date, and it is something that no worker can afford to be without. This publication has been care­fully prepared. More will be said about this in our next issue. These theological ques­tions were brought to the General Confer­ence by a group of Christian scholars, and the answers have provided a frame of refer­ence for a book shortly to be issued by the Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rap­ids, Michigan, entitled The Truth About Seventh-day Adventists.

This will be a forthright, up-to-date anal­ysis of our beliefs, and will be a scholarly treatise on the history and effect of our teachings. It will come as a revelation to many who have opposed our work. It will appear simultaneously with our own book. In a sense these volumes are related, ours having taken shape out of the forth­right questions of Walter R. Martin, the author of the Zondervan book. Had our regular reading course been in existence, both of these volumes would have been selections for 1957, for these are works that every English-reading minister and worker in the cause will want to possess.

Another recent plan that definitely affects us touches the work of George E. Vandeman, one of our secretaries. For ten years Pastor Vandeman has done excellent work in the Ministerial Association. His has been a rich contribution to the cause, both at home and abroad. But for a con­siderable time now he has been unable to respond to invitations from the field because of a special assignment—the making of a series of evangelistic films. It is anticipated that this work will occupy perhaps two years or more yet. The brethren therefore have lifted him out of the Ministerial As­sociation temporarily in order that he may concentrate on this protracted project. It was deemed wise to inform the field that for an extended period he will not be avail­able for Ministerial Association work. While we regret the loss of his valuable services, the fact that he is experimenting in a new evangelistic approach is some compensa­tion, for this, we trust, will prove a tre­mendous soul-winning potential.

Associated with George Vandeman is Marjorie Lewis Lloyd, who for over a year has been doing excellent work as copy editor for THE MINISTRY. She is now the research editor for this series of evangelis­tic films entitled "It Is Written." These are in color and cover the great doctrines of our faith. We will surely miss these valu­able members of our staff.

Another Fall Council action brought J. A. Buckwalter into the Ministerial Associa­tion. Many will remember him as the edi­tor of Listen and Alert—our temperance journals. For the past five years, however, as a field secretary of the General Confer­ence, he has been carrying a heavy assign­ment in extension activities of the College of Medical Evangelists. Important commit­ments necessitate some months of delay in his coming to us, but we are very happy to welcome this experienced pastor, city evan­gelist, and teacher to our staff. His contri­bution to our worldwide program of in­struction and inspiration will mean much in future ways, while his editorial experi­ence will add strength to our magazine. Our loss of Ben Glanzer's services was mentioned in an earlier issue.

Other members of our group have been particularly busy during recent months. As an example, your editor, during the sum­mer, held ministerial institutes in the Middle East, Southern European, and North American divisions. Late in the summer E. E. Cleveland began a large evangelistic campaign in Chicago. These meetings were the laboratory for an enthusiastic field school with some twenty associate workers attending his classes of instruction. The re­sults of this work are most gratifying. More than 220 have already gone forward in baptism, and the harvest of this large in­terest is still being reaped. The real con­tribution of such a work, however, cannot be measured by baptisms alone. The greater value is the instruction and inspiration imparted to those participating in this type of field school. Many catch the urge to go and do likewise.