IT WAS still dark at seven o'clock in the morning at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Delta Flight 523 was scheduled to depart from Pier C at 7:15 A.M. I was intending to fly to Houston by way of Atlanta. The flight attendant announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Delta Flight 523 is now ready for boarding." Of the 55 passengers trying to board the flight, I was the twelfth person to stand up and get in line. Nine persons had already been ushered through the security check, and there were two ahead of me. Suddenly two shots rang out, and the tall, good-looking young security guard I had especially noticed just a few minutes before sank slowly to his knees. I saw his head fall over his shoulder. He was dead. The hijacker who had shot the guard twice in the head from behind was now scurrying aboard the plane.
When he finished his bloody work that day, two people were dead and the pilot critically wounded. The hijacker was himself felled by two bullets from a guard's gun before he ended his own life by shooting himself in the head. The security guard was to be relieved of his duties at 8:00 A.M. that morning. As he stood there prior to the shooting, he had no idea that within five minutes he would be dead. Certainly, there is a thin line between life and death. When we realize this fact, as I realized it that morning at the Baltimore Airport, there comes with the realization a tremendous sense of urgency to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus to the waiting millions.
On the cover of this magazine you see a preacher in a wheat field surrounded by an abundance of this valuable grain. But apparently he sees nothing of it. His question is "Where is the harvest?" And to his question, Jesus gives the answer, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few."
There are honest-hearted men and women all around us, in the language of our prophet, "waiting only to be gathered in." The problem then is not the nonexistence of the harvest, but the paucity of laborers. This shortage of our labor force may be viewed from a twin perspective: (1) The number of employed gospel workers who are actually involved in the business of soul saving, and (2) the neglect of the large body of laymen who should be employed in the King's business. There are scores of employed denominational workers who give no active time at all to personal contact with lost men. This large labor pool must be tapped before the church witnessing program can come into full bloom. All employed personnel must understand their part in this God-ordained plan. Second, in the pastoral ministry itself a "superstition" still seems to linger that a man may pastor a church without soul-saving contact with the unsaved. We should have long ago buried the concept that a man can be a pastor and neglect evangelism. Of course, this is not deliberately done, but there should be no such thing as a man's making himself indispensable in other ways as a minister and not being required to carry the gospel to the lost. It is true that not all men will be equally fruitful and that one man's method of labor will differ from another, but there should be no retreat from the position that all ministers should "do the work of an evangelist."
The laborers are few also because of the evident fact that even if all preachers gave their full time to gospel evangelism they could not possibly spread the "good news" to the ends of the earth. There is, however, a large body of laymen out there who should be involved in the work of the ministry. Among the laymen "the laborers are few." There are several reasons for this.
When people are baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church, lay participation in soul winning does not receive the stress that other principles do. If our situation is to be remedied it would seem to me that it must begin at the baptismal pool. This is necessary for the salvation of the baptismal candidate himself. Witnessing is an essential ingredient to the maintenance of one's own spiritual experience. "Strength to resist evil is best gained by aggressive service." --Christian Service, p. 100.
It is therefore essential that we teach the "incoming saint" this divine principle at the beginning of the Advent experience. In addition, he should find a continuing program in the Adventist Church that fosters this.
Most of our churches have not been organized for one hundred per cent member participation in soul winning. Apparently church leadership does not anticipate this and therefore does not set it as a goal. We have seemingly settled in our minds on the concept that a "faithful few" will have to carry the burden of the church. But where is our faith, Brother? As long as we have the "faithful few concept" we will have the "faithful few" realization. It was Jesus who said, "According to your faith be it unto you."
What would happen if, in all our churches in North America we sought to enlist every member in every church, and on a week-by-week basis put an effective tool in each member's hand to use? This is why the Mormons are growing. This is why the Jehovah's Witnesses are growing. They have mustered the administrative will to do this. Like the Marines, they have cultivated the concept of being an action unit.
In the past, most of our lay programs have been spasmodic in nature. We begin with the blowing of trumpets and the rattling of drums, but when the music dies out in the air and the festive aura is gone and the sun beats down hot on the day-to-day practitioner our zeal wilts like Jonah's gourd, and we stagger away skeptical of any plan of continuing evangelism ever becoming a habit as far as the saints are concerned. The problem is that as a ministry we have neither been trained nor conditioned to the conducting of a sustained thrust. The shortening of our evangelistic campaigns is indicative of our impetuosity. Those of us who still preach ten to twelve weeks and longer are familiar with the spirit of the siege. We have learned on the field of battle how to stay with an established pattern until it becomes reality. This missing link in the Adventist ministerial personality must be recovered.
There are as many different programs going on in our churches as there are pastors. Now, no one can argue with the blessings of individuality, but when the basic evangelistic program suffers from constant change, it is difficult to establish a habit pattern among the saints. In short, administratively a firm decision has to be made a decision that approximates the one that was made with reference to Ingathering. Changing pastors never changes the Ingathering program. It is there. It is a fixture. The new man must participate in that program. There are a few exceptions to this, and I know of no administrator that shies away from making this clear.
The net effect of this is to convince the individual pastor that the church's well-being, as well as his own, is involved in the faithful execution of this program. This flexing of administrative muscle accomplishes miracles in the field. It is this same administrative commitment that is required YESTERDAY. In those conferences where this is the case, the MISSION '74 program is moving ahead. In those areas where administrators have a "take it or leave it" attitude, there is wavering, bickering, and in decision.
In making this point, I'm not necessarily speaking of homogeny. Different pastors may have different names for their particular brand of the church program, but as long as the basics are there the requirement is met. General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and American Motors all make their different brands of auto mobiles, but when one comes riding down the street, it is recognized as an automobile because all of the basics are there.
This is the concept of MISSION '74. Whatever name is given it in the local field, there are certain basic provisions that are necessary to the conduct of church business that must be going on in that field, namely public meetings where the gospel is preached to the large masses, home study groups where only a few may be gathered, and the enlistment, training, and employment of the saints with the pastor in this wonderful business.
In the book Christian Service this theme is hammered home again and again. "Each has his place in the eternal plan of heaven. Each is to work in co-operation with Christ for the salvation of souls. Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God." --Page 99. "The Lord has His eye upon every one of His people; He has His plans concerning each." --Ibid. "Your duty cannot be shifted upon another. No one but yourself can do your work. If you withhold your light, someone must be left in darkness through your neglect." --Ibid., p. 100.
But someone may object, "Cleveland, you are being repetitious." I would answer, "When I studied English, I was taught the principle of repetition for emphasis, and that is what a habit pattern is all about. It is repeatedly doing or saying the same thing until it becomes a way of life. It is my sincere hope that you too, my brother, will join me in this meaningful repetition until lay witnessing becomes a way of life for the saints.
Where's the harvest? It's all about us. But the question Jesus asked long ago still demands an urgent answer, "Where are the labourers?"