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Buck Hill Falls mission consultation, after 1957, side 2.
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- speakerAnd even though there is the reader didn't see the need for this autonomy you do where
- speakerconditions undue haste may ruin the chances of working out a satisfactory solution
- speakerto the problems involved. There's still another cause for concern in the development of the church
- speakerin Cameroon that sounds like heresy. But one would be remiss not to mention it
- speakerwhen the church was placed under the.
- speakerChurch must become a part of the church universal.
- speakerAnd even` though there is the realtor didn't see the need for this autonomy due to world
- speakerconditions undue haste may ruin the chances of working out a satisfactory solution
- speakerto the problems involved. There is still another cause for concern in the development of the church
- speakerin Cameroon that sounds like heresy but one would be remiss not to mention it
- speakerwhen the church was placed under African control. It was expected that at the outset there would
- speakerbe blunders made by inexperienced personnel.
- speakerIn the traditional and then the transitional period. There might be some retrenchment until the new
- speakerimpetus and drive of national leadership should begin to assert itself. This was the
- speakercase and the unfortunate thing is there is still no sign or few signs
- speakerthat vitality and drive that we anticipated. Two reasons are becoming increasingly
- speakerapparent. The African pastors have drifted into the older better paying churches
- speakerand their pioneer fields have been deserted and abandoned. One sees the perimeter of the church
- speakerboundary shrinking. I said settles down into its old areas of activity.
- speakerIt is as if the wave of the evangelistic expansion had reached out into the unoccupied field some
- speakeryears ago and the effort once spent is receding on an ebb tide.
- speakerAs pastors concentrate in these older areas there is less and less for them to
- speakerdo and the inevitable result seems to follow. There is a growing moral laxness
- speakerand laziness which many of them decry but seem powerless to control. Would be
- speakersimple to say that the solution is for the ordained missionary to take the newer field.
- speakerOf going after the manner of a modified Brazil plan allowing the National Pastors to
- speakerabsorb the newer churches into their presbyteries as they developed as a matter of fact the
- speakerpresbyteries generally assigned the missionaries to these new fields anyway.
- speakerBut the increasing pressures of station life schools administration and other institutions
- speakertake so much of the missionaries time that little is left for these faraway places. For
- speakerinstance Dr. Love [Love, Danvers Coe] retiring this April after 42 years in Africa.
- speakerHas three churches 200 miles apart assigned to him. And when Mr.
- speakerNeely [Neely, Harry Campbell] left on furlough use made moderator two more churches 75 miles in another
- speakerdirection from the station if you it. This time was taken up almost entirely if you
- speakerwonder. As moderator of the large city church as well as administrating the station itself.
- speakerThe other hand in and around a lot. One of the older stations one can count seven African
- speakerpastors in a field largely evangelize living sometimes less than 10 miles from each
- speakerother. This is not being said in the spirit of idle criticism I
- speakerstated above almost everyone is conscious of this movement and no one is willing to make the
- speakerinitial move to remedy the situation. The African pastors have to criticize the
- speakermissionary pastor for not attending to the newer appeals and then missionaries too critical of
- speakerthe Vatican for wanting to stay at home near his cocoa plantations which material augment
- speakermaterially augment his salary. The newer dudes kind of support a man with his family
- speakerand the church is not giving enough in Cameroon to support these men even if they did volunteer to go
- speakerout into the newer deals. It seems probable that we can expect fewer and fewer
- speakerreinforcements in the way of evangelistic missionaries for some time to come because of the
- speakerinstitutions the borders of our work which logically form part of the church in Cameroon
- speakerare being taken over by the Seventh Day Adventists. Maurice and the Jehovah's Witnesses.
- speakerBring these areas the first arrivals generally gain the loyalty of the people. It would be
- speakersimple the funds and personnel were available. Since they are not a strategy must be developed
- speakerwithin the church demand these fields offering them is not acceptable to the church as a whole
- speakerbut seems to be the only possible solution. Looking back at the history of
- speakerthe mission it would now seem to have been a mistake to use paid
- speakerlate evangelists. We have twenty four hundred of them currently working in the mission under the church.
- speakerVery successful very successful and noble body of men these humble folk where the
- speakersystem created the impression that any church worker is worthy of his hire an all Christian
- speakerservice is due some remuneration. When one suggests some form of the Navy as
- speakerused in Korea violent opposition is expressed as was stated
- speakerabove a wave of evangelistic efforts once reached out into almost every corner of the
- speakerland in these faraway places. Although presently abandoned there can
- speakerbe found. True followers of Jesus Christ unlettered simple folk who have but who
- speakerhave seen the light. It is conceivable that a pastor missionary or African could
- speakerserve to supervise the training of such laymen at certain periods of the year and then could send them
- speakerout to become the center of Christian teaching each in his own village unpaid and yet
- speakerrecognizes the Christian leader of the community. Over a period of years. These individuals
- speakerwould have had several years of training and should be able to develop Christian communities in the distant
- speakerplaces of the Interior in order to make this plan work that will be necessary to sell the
- speakeridea to the church. One can sense a lessening of the opposition to the plan as
- speakereveryone realizes we should lose what is logically our territory. If some famine is not
- speakerdevised to meet the situation in the very near future to aid these humble folk and their
- speakerwitness in their Pagan communities the graduating classes of the theological seminary are spending
- speakertheir internships in these areas and it is hoped that more of them will follow the lead of two or
- speakerthree who have a vision of service in these difficult fields and have given their youth to the
- speakerproclamation of the Gospel in the interior. The only other practical solution of this
- speakerproblem and one that should be seriously considered is that of inviting some other branch of the
- speakerReformed Church to occupy the eastern field so that can be adequately cared for.
- speakerThe Swedish Baptist mission is working in a bonga Sherry east of the Cameroon border
- speakeramong tribes related to those of Eastern Cameroon. The possibility of their
- speakertaking over their work in our eastern field has been discussed at the meetings of the
- speakerFederation of missions in Cameroon and French equatorial Africa. But the Swedish mission looks with
- speakerdisfavor on having their work spread into Cameroon where they will be under two government
- speakercontrol. Another objection to this plan is that this mission has been most
- speakeruncooperative since the formation of the world Council of Churches. Are separate this
- speakertheologically and otherwise.
- speakerI have this conclusion to offer
- speakerconsidering the foregoing brief and inadequate survey of existing conditions and
- speakerbranch Cameroun in the light of our budgetary and personnel problems.
- speakerThere are two main problems that arise first the necessity of a full scale advance in education is
- speakernecessary now not two or three years hence. Men and women are needed to
- speakersupervise the primary schools from half a dozen. There are thirty thousand children in these primary schools by the
- speakerway and half a dozen professors capable of teaching at the college level.
- speakerMust be appointed to carry that class of 18 young men. Now with the college.
- speakerWith their college course up to being BSEE degrees the success of our new venture.
- speakerThis initial stage of a development will do much to establish the college's reputation. These young
- speakermen have been brought up to six years and we must carry them next three years to the conclusion.
- speakerOtherwise they will go either to France to continue their education and will lose most of them
- speakercommunists and they do their best to destroy the faith of the men to go there. I can
- speakerto aid the apparent stagnation within the national church and to consolidate our gains in the territory
- speakerof Cameroon already occupied by former pioneering efforts more personnel must be released
- speakerprobably generation under church auspices. Those are the two private.
- speakerRemedy to these two problems will have to be drastic and immediate the mission and the church have
- speakernot discussed the following two possible solutions. I'm it on my own.
- speakerFirst the board has given birth to an institution that bids fair to outstrip its resources.
- speakerSome of its other work is sacrifice to meet the new need.
- speakerFor something outside the board will have to be organized to
- speakersolicit funds for the Cameroun college. There have been precedents that can be followed
- speakerin the history of the board. We realize such a plan cannot be taken seriously
- speakerwithout consultation by the board general counsel and the other organizations on what
- speakeris conduct what is contemplated is the organization or the funds of time Ron Christie the
- speakerbrains of tamarin Christian college incorporated legal bodies set up to receive
- speakerdonations from foundations and interested individuals which in turn will make available to the
- speakerboard funds sufficient to appoint teachers to the Cameron Christian College outside the
- speakerregular budget. Second the second solution is for the board to the Africa
- speakerCommittee of the Foreign Division of the national churches of Christ. Seek out some other church
- speakerorganization which will work in cooperation with the national church and mission Cameroon
- speakerin developing the eastern area of IAAPA and thus relieving us of that expense
- speakerin order to concentrate on the education of evangelistic and social demands referred to in the
- speakerforegoing pages. The only two solutions I can see. I have not brought in the
- speakermedical plans Dr. Newman who has just been transferred from China.
- speakerI was been shocked beyond measure by the lack of.
- speakerEquipment and the horrible state of our buildings. In time
- speakerwhen. And the low the low
- speakerstandard of our training our medical assistants. He wants to
- speakerstart medical school. In connection with the Caiman Christian
- speakercollege. At that site. After seeing what was available in
- speakerChina he wonders why Africa has been neglected. He's quite fed up about it
- speakerbut the only trouble is that the government simply would not.
- speakerRecognize any students we'd graduate from medical college. Unless it was
- speakertaught by French citizens and recognized by the French medical authorities.
- speakerRestarted Steinmann. Did not. I haven't mentioned here theological education. A letter from
- speakerMr. Chido reports on the visit of Mr. Van Dusen said he was helped
- speakervery much by Dr. Van Dusen visit. And that Dr. Van Dusen was shocked
- speakerto hear that permission provided $3500 a year for theological
- speakereducation and the hope that that could be right. There are a lot of things of course that have been brought in
- speakerthis is more or less with Jenny.
- speakerDescription of the problem not ready for.
- speakerThe system. If there
- speakerhad been any question in the minds of people before we came
- speakerto this meeting up here at Buck Hills I
- speakerthink that the questions would have evaporated for
- speakerthe field representative system is being proved in practice.
- speakerWe still got some things to look at and that's our business this morning and this afternoon.
- speakerBut nevertheless that it was a good thing as it began that
- speakerit is proving itself as we go is it. To my mind there's no question
- speakerwhatsoever.
- speakerIt developed as I see it as an idea.
- speakerIt was put into practice with that in the Philippines
- speakerand in Thailand the oldest
- speakerman with the least hair is rye Byrne.
- speakerIn point of service the youngest is dicked with.
- speakerWe have that range with us and in each case
- speakeras we began we began with a tentative name and with a
- speakertentative description of the job. I have a file here of the
- speakeractions that were taken by the bard in
- speakerdefining the work of the field administrator. We begin with the
- speakerPhilippines and then Thailand and then Korea and then on down the line
- speakerand in each case that the definitions are not exactly the same.
- speakerWe were experimenting with an idea and seeking to define it. We
- speakereven experimented in the terminology at least for the purposes of the
- speakerboard and for the purposes of the record the name that has now been chosen is field
- speakerrepresentative. There has been a lot of discussion which I don't think we need to open up now.
- speakerWe have suggested some things that would mean a change in the manual. I don't think we want to start
- speakersuggesting something else that would involve that. I
- speakerknow that Dr Hooper in re writing the manual
- speakertook into consideration all of the actions of the board and many of the
- speakersuggestions that had arisen in actual experience before he began to
- speakerdefine just what the field rep position
- speakerinvolves and you find that definition
- speakerin Section 103 particularly in
- speakersections 103 and 105 of the board manual
- speakeralthough the manual at times becomes outdated by actual practice.
- speakerYou got to I think in this particular case there's no question that this is the later
- speakerand certainly the most accurate statement of what we are seeking
- speakerto operate under at the present time. You'll find under one
- speakerhundred and three five things that the bardic
- speakerspecs of the field representative. Interpret the needs of the field or the
- speakerboard to keep the field adequately and personally informed as to
- speakerpolicy and plans of the board to relate the board of the church
- speakerto council with individual missionaries and to study and deal with
- speakermatters. That may or may not have to be referred to New York
- speakerbut which can be dealt with in the first instance more adequately by a board
- speakerrepresentative on the field than there are responsibilities under Section
- speaker105. That may be designated by the field.
- speakerAnd in general that is a is a is a responsibility for
- speakerstrategy and planning on an overall basis in relationship to the total
- speakerproblem in the area.
- speakerTwo comments before we call on the field
- speakerrepresentatives at the Denver meeting of the National Council of
- speakerChurches in the far eastern area discussion under the division of Foreign Missions.
- speakerThere was a serious discussion about the
- speakerproblem of relating the two pools of authority
- speakerin the work of of the world mission of the church
- speakerthe authority of the field and the authority of the board.
- speakerAnd the difficulty of bridging the authority
- speakerand Reverend Benjamin gwon saying
- speakerthe new president of the Union
- speakerTheological Seminary in Manila a man of Methodist background but with the
- speakerexperience in interdenominational relationships got up in this American
- speakerGathering and said that the one solution that had been
- speakerfound for bringing these two poles together was a solution of the
- speakerPresbyterian Board and appointing a field representative to the field
- speakerthat in his conception as an outsider without having seen this
- speakerdefinition but having seen it in actual practice under Henry little and then under Paul
- speakerLindholm he said the Presbyterian Board is
- speakersolving this problem of bringing that to pose of authority into a
- speakercloser relationship and workable relationship.
- speakerI think Mr. zanier would not mind if I quoted something that he said last week
- speakerafter three or four days of conference and I was
- speakercommiserating with him about having to sit through meetings and telling him of
- speakerthe experience of a new secretary of the Board of Christian Education.
- speakerSeveral years ago being invited from a Midwest pastor to come to Philadelphia
- speakerand having resigned his church and come on to become secretary and having
- speakersat through two days of such meetings and I'm told this is an actual
- speakerfact at the end of the two days he called up the clerk of session and asked if they
- speakerwould reconsider the acceptance of his resignation. And he
- speakerwent back he went back and took his job back. And
- speakerI asked Mr. Pena if if perhaps he didn't begin to feel something
- speakerlike that and he said no. He said it's been very interesting from a standpoint of
- speakerhis background in the church and in business. And then he said
- speakerhe says you know these are not ordinary man.
- speakerThese are exceptional people coming to grips with death with difficult
- speakerproblem.
- speakerNow it's with that background and with a sense that
- speakerthat we have been doing something in the last five years
- speakerconstructively and dealing with these problems that we have a long ways to go
- speakerthat we now face this problem of of what we can do to improve.
- speakerThe administrative process in the field relationship. Now as I
- speakersaid at the beginning before some of you came in instead of asking each of the field
- speakerrepresentatives to make a speech. To the subject that's under discussion
- speakerlet's start alphabetically and Ernie Frye will take his
- speakerplace because in the in the field office though he's not feeling that
- speakeryou hear another him right.
- speakerHe has got.
- speakerWell he's got a bad.
- speakerHand there are a lot of
- speakerpeople that make fun of it. Do
- speakerthey ought to do that.
- speakerSo no that's all right.
- speakerThey said that the guy
- speakeris great.
- speakerThe second item was so similar it's almost the same thing and that is to close with
- speakera few rabid only one at a time one night.
- speakerSo that is why is he OK. All right.
- speakerCommittee work putting responsibility on to him and putting and making them
- speakera committee man on every every committee that comes.
- speakerAll right.
- speakerHenry would you come up and put them on the blackboard.
- speakerAll right.
- speakerRight Madeleine very much
- speakerloading him up with something else
- speakerincluding at the time and the committee.
- speakerAll right.
- speakerAnd I don't have any
- speakerI don't have any particular.
- speakerGripes any difficulties any problems connected with this business.
- speakerThe one difficulty that does come up occasionally is that it's often
- speakerdifficult to keep from getting involved in the work with the mission you're supposed to keep yourself separate.
- speakerI see what's going to happen when I go back. Doctor Mrs. lover who have been there all these
- speakeryears are leaving and there's no one to take their place. And that will be the over care of
- speakerfive or six churches. And we've been preaching five or six times since Sunday.
- speakerIt is. Trying to help out to the load and that's going to increase
- speakerand I'll have the administrative job as well I shouldn't do it but to there's no one else to
- speakerdo it. And you can get an African pastor to live in the expensive city if you want to.
- speakerSo one of the big problems is to keep separate from the work mission your heart is in
- speakerit. You want to do it. And to keep yourself free enough from the entangling involvements of
- speakermissionary work. That's the main problem on the field. Second problem
- speakerperhaps it shouldn't come in here.
- speakerHow about this.
- speakerThis is the board relationship relationship with field administrators to the board.
- speakerI don't know if it's something people are going to have to settle here. That is getting down
- speakerbelow below the level of the executive secretary of the board. We.
- speakerAre related to them. In another sense that it's related to I don't know what you call them the people
- speakerthat are just under the executive secretary ship. The the and the clerical staff
- speakerwith this group of managers in between the two Fred and you Hauser face
- speakerall of this group Chuck goes and all these sort of business. Is there some way of getting those
- speakermen organized into some group that we could meet as viewed representatives and iron out some of our
- speakerproblems. The the executive secretary hasn't got a chance to go down and complain about the
- speakermistakes being made in shipping that sort of stuff. But if we could meet with that group with Dan who who's
- speakersupposed to oversee it or something we administrators and have our gripes laid in the board.
- speakerI've been having lunch with these fellows one after another discussing our problems and I find out they don't know what
- speakerI want and I don't know their problem. And it's been a great help. They could be formed
- speakerinto a council that met once a month or something to air their grievances and we
- speakerare there's I think it's going to help tremendously. That may not be a pace here but it will solve the
- speakerdifficulty my friend.
- speakerAll right. OK. I think it is at play here.
- speakerAll right.
- speakerArbitrament candidates come by the very nature of the definition of my
- speakerjob and relationship that I have a dual
- speakerdefinition.
- speakerI'm a field administrator for our work in Europe and at the same time
- speakerrepresentative of our board on the department of energy aid
- speakerand service to refugees of the world council of churches.
- speakerNow to take the second one first to show you the difficulty of the
- speakercombination although it's it's something one doesn't do anything about
- speakeris the fact that in the parlance of Japan
- speakerfor example that the Department of Energy or trade and service to refugees is a kind
- speakerof inter board committee of various people. And I have to sit on in a
- speakerkind of executive capacity there where we discuss these
- speakerproblems of church aid. And you saw perhaps from my presentation how they
- speakerrange from questions of state relief immediate relief
- speakerto deep questions of the renewal of the life of the
- speakerchurch and the finding of new patterns for life with the church in Europe.
- speakerThere's a whole gamut there on which we must decide. And then secondly
- speakeror the first one which I know as well as field administrator for our
- speakerboard. I administer the work of
- speakerone mission as it were which is in also a
- speakercooperative mission with two other churches work in Portugal
- speakerand which is the only clear cut sort of situation we have. And then
- speakerwe have personnel 12 of eight other
- speakerpeople scattered all the way from Madrid to Berlin.
- speakerAnd those people are in a relationship in which they work
- speakerunder the churches and they are so widely scattered that
- speakerjust plain administrative problems and bring the insights of the board to them and bring
- speakertheir problems to the board.
- speakerIt is physically a difficult one.
- speakerI think my problem is just the opposite of Lewellen and
- speakerwhere I have for mission. Not a question of my getting involved
- speakerin the work of anyone because I travel so much that I can't be involved in any one. It's a
- speakerquestion of having a real valuable relationship
- speakerto the work of anyone. Since there must be in each mission
- speakera continuing secretary of the mission I'm not the secretary of any mission. I'm the field
- speakerrepresent since there must be in every mission a continuing secretary
- speakerwho is able in the case of an emergency to really do considerable executive
- speakerresponsibility because if I'm in Mexico and something happens in Venezuela. After all there's got to be somebody
- speakerthere who can assume and is able to assume responsibility.
- speakerThe question comes out comes up as to well then just what does the field
- speakerrep do and how valuable is his work. And also
- speakersince the field secretary. Must have responsibility
- speakerand. Must have correspondence with new york
- speakeroften I feel out of the stream because there's something to feel
- speakerlike he rights in New York about and it's all decided and I'm in Mexico.
- speakerAnd I didn't know until three weeks later the ship was in the 19
- speakerstates I was I had been in and Venezuela I knew there was a problem there.
- speakerI had to go right away to Guatemala because there was a problem. And three weeks later or nearly a month later I
- speakerdiscovered that within five days of my departure the ship must have resigned from that I had left the
- speakerfield never to return.
- speakerIf you think our problem is Iran
- speakerwill be faced with many other fields in dealing with Superman.
- speakerYou have picked kilted to replace them when a man drops out
- speakeror put that down in rain or the man goes home on furlough.
- speakerWho is the board's going to put in his place. The board of cards is
- speakeron the spot. Is there an app to send somebody
- speakerwho will give on the part time to the office in this emergency which from my
- speakerexperience lasts very much longer than has been anticipated.
- speakerThe field administration suffers that. We have discussed among
- speakerourselves some fractures how nice it would be to have a roving graduate who could
- speakercome out and take the place while the treasurer goes on furlough it very
- speakerwell be that the board will have to come to the point that he is a man.
- speakerIsraeli qualified can go around and take the place
- speakerwhen a representative goes on furlough or when an emergency arises.
- speakerThe problem I want to speak of is in the here and in the situation
- speakerand in human nature I don't think we can get away from it.
- speakerIt will always be with us and that is for a field
- speakerrepresentative to persuade
- speakerand get things accomplished without enforcing by
- speakermeans of a big stick. When I went Syria-Lebanon I think
- speakermany of the missionaries thought that I had a stick hidden under my coat tail
- speakerif not actual tail hiding under a two
- speakerhorns on the heart. But
- speakerwhen I was introduced at the mission meeting almost a year after I got there it
- speakerwas said humorously but I think with some real meaning behind it
- speakerthat when this fellow Johnson came out as field representative the
- speakerpeople pretty soon decided that the board had sugar coated this bitter pill
- speakerand then a lot of time had gone by and the sugar coating hadn't worn off and they were
- speakereven beginning to doubt whether there was a bitter pill there after all.
- speakerWell there can't be too much sugar coating. And yet I think
- speakergood administration gets things accomplished not by
- speakerone person handing down orders but by
- speakerpersuading people getting new ideas into people's minds so that they do that
- speakerjob. I think that is a difficulty. I am a
- speakermember of the various missions and the various executive committees without
- speakerboth. I prefer it that word. It means that if I get a
- speakerjob done it's got to be by effective persuasion.
- speakerThe main problem in relation to my work I think
- speakeris centered in long range planning with the
- speakerboard. I would like to amplify that only with a
- speakersentence with only one sentence. For example when
- speakerit comes to the question of saying what is to be done for any limited
- speakertime with missionary residences which have not been occupied for a number of years.
- speakerI feel that the confidence of the church and the board's good strategy is weakened.
- speakerAnd I cannot say immediately. It can be done with that but must wait until New York
- speakerclears it. I think it makes the church feel
- speakerthat I am not sincere when I tell the church that we are out there to strengthen the church
- speakerthat I think has to do with all property but especially residents and.
- speakerI would hope we could arrive at a place where we could project
- speakera realistic hopeful estimated budget over a five year period.
- speakerAnd on the field therefore plan more creatively for an
- speakerongoing program. Because a part of our difficulty
- speakerlies at that point. Of budget and the field administrator is
- speakerstymied because he doesn't know how far he can commit the board.
- speakerAnd the third part of that program is when there are earmark funds such as we had in
- speakerThailand in restoration and five year program earmarked funds covered by
- speakerboard action as to allocation.
- speakerI think then when it comes to the field the field should be released by the
- speakerboard. Go right ahead with that without clearing again with
- speakeranother board action which is merely reiterating the former one.
- speakerAnd may the administrator responsible to the board board hearing to the original board
- speakeraction.
- speakerWith words to spend $5000 I don't think it's necessary to have two board actions on the same side of
- speakerI think that in two years time I'll be able to say it better what the problems are.
- speakerI know the immediate problem is that it cannot be said that the
- speakerBrazil mission has yet. Taken the pill. The
- speakerbill is in the hands.
- speakerThe mission is looking at it.
- speakerAnd the people are
- speakersort of wondering what to do. The.
- speakerDifficulty right now is the combination of the two
- speakerofficers Mission Secretary and field
- speakerrepresentatives in one. I think there are others in the same
- speakerposition. Maybe the circumstances in their countries
- speakerallow them to solve that problem with some bs I don't know.
- speakerI know that as far as I am concerned.
- speakerThe two offices are almost.
- speakerImpossible to execute is actually arrived at the present
- speakermoment. I think that. They will have to be separated
- speakersomehow. We've even discussed in Brazil organizing into
- speakertwo missions again so as to have an executive secretary for each
- speakermission and then your field representative.
- speakerActing only in the capacity of the board's representative in connection
- speakerwith the two mission. You haven't come to any decision.
- speakerThe immense amount of paper. In connection with
- speakerthe mission Secretary. And all the
- speakerliaison. Asks that your field representative
- speakerhas. Of all the different organizations in the Brazilian church.
- speakerAs well as in the mission organizations and other mission organizations
- speakermakes it almost impossible for a field representative to be Up-Hill represented
- speakerin. I would say that that is the outstanding problem and that's more
- speakeran organizational thing administrative problem to be settled perhaps by the field
- speakerrepresentative himself.
- speakerWally
- speakerHammill from the poor.
- speakerOver a history of of 30 years
- speakerunder the structure of the China Council the missions in China became
- speakeraccustomed to the essence of the idea contained in the field administrator.
- speakerConception in the chairmanship of the China Council.
- speakerThe designation feel representative. And given to the
- speakertask to be done. The. Times have been so abnormal that
- speakerany problem growing out of the that are in here and in
- speakerthe field administrator I have not even heard. There's just been one
- speakersuccession of abnormal. Situations in a.
- speakerBice's period. Have had to be dealt with. And that it would be
- speakerdifficult to point out any particular. Problem.
- speakerThere has been for the last 15 years a growing
- speakeropinion in what is now in the markets that we're
- speakertop heavy the way. You know our organisational set up
- speakerwe have their eyes you know the India Council and it
- speakerwas thought when the field representative idea was presented with a
- speakerlittle reorganization the NDA Council could have taken over and done the
- speakercarried the functions that are supposedly in the hands of the field representatives.
- speakerTherefore when we arrived we were welcomed cordially as
- speakerindividuals but even some of our best friends said to in the world you have to come out to
- speakerdo a job that strictly could have done just as well.
- speakerAnd that was my own opinion.
- speakerDo all those documents with that prosaic
- speakernumber on 112 carried out to the
- speakerfield and all across the church the back
- speakerfor a time of testee which we call briefly the crisis
- speakerstrategy has been enormous demand for
- speakercopies of this during the last two years it's been surprising we had
- speakerlots of extra ones printed. And then last week only a week
- speakerago we woke up to the fact that probably some of you are NOT have along with your
- speakercopies. We tried to get the words we needed from the filing room and found that we
- speakerwere down to the last word.
- speakerI'm awfully sorry personally that we don't have them all before us and I hope some of you do.
- speakerI certainly am not going to try to read it all the way through.
- speakerNow I have just read it through more than once. Some of the rest of us have done it
- speakerand I shall refer to it the best way I can without all of you having it for
- speakeryou in the first place. I don't think any of us could read it
- speakerover now without finding that it's packed with
- speakerpractical steps which we've got to take and
- speakerI really will agree that that even after two years
- speakeron the whole it seems sane and
- speakerwise in most of the suggest. But of
- speakercourse the question is.
- speakerAbsolutely we want to go over now. How many of them have we put into effect.
- speakerAnd if not what you will notice these questions here on our topic
- speakerwhat has been done. What has been left undone and why
- speakerthen three long shot strategy be the framework around program for what
- speakerthat I shall not do in my
- speakeropening presentation here try to do more than run over one and
- speakerdo not always will I know the reason why some of the
- speakerthings have been left undone. I should probably make mistakes in the
- speakersummary at least references. That because of course
- speakerwhen I try to read everything that comes by way of letters and I've had
- speakerjust had the privilege of reading over all of these annual narratives just before they go to
- speakerthe printer for the annual report yet I realize
- speakerthat in any one field is one part of
- speakerthis but then I have something to say to somebody who knows more about that particular thing.
- speakerSo this must be a free for all. I don't know whether it's wiser for me to run through
- speakerfirst and then come back or whether you want to stop at certain points and
- speakertake up one section at a time to see how it works.
- speakerNow something a while after we wrote this paper which in a way is
- speakerdiscursive and we came right out of the heat of the last
- speakerconference and perhaps might have been better organized in some ways because it had figures and
- speakervarious other things with it. We found it necessary to gather together.
- speakerThe book made your objectives not all and these were actually brought before the
- speakercommittee on foreign missions of the General Assembly and were put into our annual
- speakerreport and their report as things that they
- speakerfelt were the major objects it to me we saw a lot of time and I got those
- speakerdown. I had put it on the board and I didn't
- speakerput everything on the board as we sent them up. And I think it would be well for me just to read these over
- speakerwith a little fuller way first. A Christian
- speakerevangelistic approach to come and listen to those threatened by coming.
- speakerTo a fresh region regions are many new avenues of evangelism with wide use of
- speakermass communication. Three top priority to the training of leaders in the younger
- speakerchurch. For a more rapid transfer of responsibility to national Christian
- speakerLeadership by a more adequate undergirding of all the work with prayer and
- speaker6:08 call to the Presbyterian Church for a dedication of use to military
- speakerservice and were sacrificial support of the world mission on the part of all
- speakerits members. I went over this 112 with knees
- speakerbefore me.
- speakerI found one rather important objective which we did not include here. I don't
- speakerknow why I did that. In the same phrase that we used in the
- speakerletter God commanded killing parent. I've also listed. Maybe
- speakerwe were get to them at the end. Certainly miscellaneous items which again
- speakermay not come under any one of these which we thought should be included and which perhaps we should
- speakerdiscuss here. No less than some question at
- speakerthat point I'd like to go back to number one approach to communists.
- speakerHas already been mentioned here. I happen to have been secretary of the
- speakerrather chairman of the committee Chuck foreman
- speakerwho was the secretary.
- speakerWhich carried this through. I read most of the time and I'm fairly
- speakerfamiliar with what.
- speakerAnd therefore I'd like to give just a little detail because I believe that here is something that really has
- speakertaken hold out of this new. You all know that we had the study
- speakerfellowship under Chuck's direction. They were
- speakerpractically all of those. The first year were Presbyterian missionary.
- speakerI think there were 20 of ours. Two or three of them. Last year
- speakerthere was the second one which was entered domination. And again where
- speakerwe had I think two again now starting just last
- speakerweek. There is a third one entire denominational line
- speakerand again we have to do it all together we've had I think twenty four
- speakerdifferent missionary share in the study fellowship.
- speakerIt is very interesting to see that it does seem to become a regular part of the problem of the Foreign
- speakerMissions to be and BlueScope going to our house portfolio and that
- speakerdivision is heading it up and it must satisfy some of us
- speakerto see our whole idea of it particularly the scholarship to
- speakerstudy all that is going on and much of what we did now
- speakerreaching our people through this interdenominational chant are not
- speakergoing to happen. Overseas. Apart from
- speakerthe effect of the Fellowship itself which I imagine some of these
- speakermissionaries will will never forget and which has been continued by Mr. Copeland
- speakerin constant bulletins to the older and newer members
- speakerof the fellowship. First thing that we learned and which had been
- speakercarried through were these series of institutes so that the people who
- speakerwere here could carry on some of the same things that they did here. Now some of you
- speakermay want to comment on the effectiveness of the reports came in. I
- speakerwould say on the whole that in most fields they had a satisfactory series
- speakerin some fields they were delayed and others they were not right so
- speakersatisfactory.
- speakerWe hope that part went through and one might
- speakersay that we are now right still in the midst of the second
- speakerphase. I'll get adequate literature on the approach to communism
- speakergrowing out of the study scholarship and those institutions
- speakerfor example. I was interested in some other areas so fresh that
- speakerthe park Juxon apparently hadn't heard of any of the decisions and the
- speakermoney being granted forced several quite a program
- speakerof Monthly have books and the
- speakertranslation of a book in the Syria-Lebanon mission with
- speakerDohrmann is our first band from that deal. And Anderson
- speakertook Anderson the literature secretary chairman working together. It was just a fine
- speakerteam in that production of literature
- speakeron the approach to come.
- speakerAnother result of literature science is that you may remember that at the
- speakerfirst group a group of the first fellowship the
- speakerparodic Christian handbook on comments that was circulated
- speakerin mimeographed form but again was picked up in interdenominational channels
- speakerand the committee that was which Mr. Alfred Moore secretary has published
- speakerthese in a printed form and the first edition I
- speakerimagine was pretty well sold out. It's amazing a great many of them being sold right in this country.
- speakerThey're going all over the world and all that last week again from the Syria
- speakerLebanon we had a request for 100 copies to go out to be used in
- speakerEnglish and in English. That is another one of these that
- speakeris being you. Know all sorts of pamphlets and books which are going out
- speakerwhat could make up the list. It would be quite lot. One interesting
- speakerdevelopment is that John Elder Irish or in India has had prepared
- speakerin Iran the government has or has prepared
- speakerhas written two books and there are five for the Chinese scripts
- speakerAldo's and mimeographed for the path of social reform and the
- speakerthe or the other the influence of
- speakerChristianity on society. The first one particularly has already been translated into several
- speakerlife and it is an approach to communism. In
- speakerPortuguese recently in Brazil.
- speakerIn Hindi and now in
- speakerSyria Aleppo that's one of the projects that I may have forgotten some of these. It's on its way
- speakerand has been picked up as an interdenominational project.
- speakerThan the one use we made of the funds available to us. I was blessed to
- speakerhave Jim Alder give a full year to surveying the
- speakersituation particularly along the line of the church where he made a tour of India to try to find out
- speakerparticularly in the villages how people felt about communism. The fact is the Christians their attitude
- speakerwas what they needed and now he and I are an opinion. Mr. Dean
- speakerI've been settling down for some months preparing what they felt was not adequate literature to meet that
- speakersituation. Some of it will be ready I think in a few weeks.
- speakerNow and then I think I might pause a minute to show how just not one great country
- speakeryou got different points of view. Jim alter
- speakerfelt that the Christian village Christian you practically nothing about
- speakercommunism. He was inclined to favor it in many ways
- speakerand he wondered somehow as some way whether we would be able to satisfy me with the kind of
- speakerliterature which we could prepare. This summer he has gone
- speakeraround amongst some.
- speakerOn the other hand we just had a letter from from Bernie camel
- speakerwho has just started his new project which I might just just just a sentence or two and I
- speakerquote it he says when I talk to the pastors of our plans we heard some reference to those
- speakerplans in the villages. They said that the influence of communism was such that
- speakerChristianity had to show its applicability to every sphere of life or be branded as
- speakerentirely other worldly or insignificant. It is truly amazing how
- speakerlocal Christians have kept pace with the urgency that has been moving the World Council church.
- speakerThat comes right out of the village. I don't know whether the difference between what you found and you found
- speakersome special excavation or not yet another interesting
- speakerdevelopment which shows that we really are getting under the skin of the communists has come from
- speakerfrom two sources almost both last week both
- speakerfrom people who are in this that. One came from again from
- speakerAndreasen in Beirut. And he speaks of the fact.
- speakerMid-majors but curial there preparing these books are being scrutinized going over with great care
- speakerthat the words that are used in Arabic do not convey a word wrong meaning they are trying to get
- speakerChristian. To antagonize. But he said it even
- speakerbefore they got out this material they are beginning to be attacks in the press. The
- speakerCommunists are getting concerned and they're beginning to attack the mission.
- speakerI still thinking we must know that I think and watch out for it. Just last Sunday one Beirut
- speakerweekly contained a curious item stating that had become known that the
- speakerAmerican government is compelling missionaries and pastors underskirt.
- speakerCarry out and propagate. Protests that had been war
- speakerthat their support would be cut off if they did not comply.
- speakerYou can see the implications of that. And then coming to India
- speakeragain from the Jim O. He says that there's a book out
- speakernow with an introduction by a Christian Gandhian Gomorrah.
- speakerAnybody know who he is and to which he reviews what has appeared John
- speakerBennett's visit.
- speakerBangkok conference. Various other thing. Ben makes this conclusion.
- speakerAmerican missionaries have taken it upon themselves to intervene reluctantly against communism and
- speakerChristian as well as among the people in general by thus ending the political field. They have waived
- speakerthe privileges granted to purely religious folk.
- speakerIndians who assist missionary activities of a political nature might be looked upon as foreign
- speakeragents. Now it looks almost as if a directive has gone out from Moscow. Are we going to
- speakercome to a different country. And. Here's your chance now to get something on the mic.
- speakerWell perhaps we made a mistake. But of course if we keep within our rights of
- speakerway from politics and making a Christian approach which was our original one.
- speakerUndoubtedly we should go.
- speakerI don't think it's any by any. This literature part but degree on all.
- speakerBut we have exhausted our full. We had $90000
- speakerin the new strategy two years ago. Two years ago for everything that included the
- speakerconferences in this country on the subject. It included arts scholarships for these three years
- speakerfor this study fellowship and it included the Gibraltar's expenses and
- speakerincluded all of these productions and we just made our committee made
- speakerprobably the last grants which were approved at the last board meeting.
- speakerAnd the. Money is practically exhaust. But I submit that to
- speakerthis it was $19000. You look over the whole world and realize it. How
- speakerhard has taken hold entered in nomination and all the people who
- speakergot out with a new bill and given that the the literature on its way. I don't if the board
- speakerhas secured greater results from $19000 spent another way
- speakerduring these last two.
- speakerNow you may want to comment on that at a later period. Now let me come to number two.
- speakerThis hour of fresh outreach to adventurers and remembering
- speakerthat if the original statement said that there are many new avenues with wide use of
- speakermass communication what have we done along that line.
- speakerAgain may I speak of the thing I know about most. First I believe that in some
- speakercountries we have made real progress. In a mass use in a
- speakerwider use of Christian literature. Referred particularly
- speakerto Norman. You may have been I'm not if we had not started this
- speakernew strategy but certainly in these two year. Taylor has an
- speakeramazing. Of what can be done.
- speakerA good many Latin American countries.
- speakerThe use of inexpensive. I read many many different.
- speakerEvangelistic tracks. Literally by the hundreds of South.
- speakerAnd that is certainly a mass you.
- speakerReport on India. We heard that they're making plans there.
- speakerFor a mass literacy program in the way that we haven't done in two Christian channels
- speakerbefore.
- speakerWhen it comes to use of those tangents again we turn to Norman Taylor who
- speakerhas done a great deal this last year in helping to send evangelists placing them here and there we think of
- speakerRaymond Cabrera we think of others we think of the eye. I don't know that know some
- speakerof these what we read about all this of this visit of Mr. or
- speakerto Brazil. Dick I don't know what it meant but that was something on your horizon.
- speakerThere's been more visitation of.
- speakerOur fears in these two years and I think we have had for some time in the past.
- speakerGOP. Was about mostly about the literature
- speakerparticularly I'm not so sure.
- speakerI wonder if we are where we were. We have always checked the content enough to know whether
- speakerit's on the highest level that we would like with our type of evangelistic literature.
- speakerWell I've got that much respect you have other things to contribute but certainly
- speakerwe have a long way to go yet. We're going to do anything like this sort of mass evangelism
- speakerthrough literature that the this. They are they are
- speakerexperts. We're only beginning. We're only touching the fringe. And when it
- speakercomes to to the matter of audio visual right I'm not going
- speakerto speak for perhaps but I want to say something when we get to the discussion period on whether
- speakerwe really are doing anything comparable to what we might do in the use of.
- speakerThe audiovisual methods for massive.
- speakerIs another thing I want to refer to because it's a pure several places in these
- speakerannual.
- speakerAnd that is the finest form.
- speakerOf course of our mass event.
- speakerThat is evangelism by the individual Christians by word of mouth by if they go up.
- speakerAnd you cannot help but feel as you read over the reports and I do it down year after
- speakeryear that there's a distinct difference in the national church.
- speakerAs to whether the fire in which this seems to be burning or has died will.
- speakerOne might almost write these churches and that would be a dangerous thing to do.
- speakerWhere some of them seem to be on fire and you are growing rapidly by this
- speakertype of mass evangelism. Saying giving.
- speakerI'm just going to venture to mention two or three that seem to be outstanding in that regard. I don't see that they are
- speakerall. Feel not about Korea. The church in Korea very definitely
- speakerabout the church in Brazil. Perhaps to some extent to the
- speakerchurch in the Philippines. You sense it as you read these reports that.
- speakerThe other hand. If I may say so the.
- speakerSeemed to be a. Slowness in other.
- speakerWhat can be done at.
- speakerDare I read this and report to the accounts
- speakerwhich he said there's another side around Vangelis which does not you basis for so much satisfaction.
- speakerThat is the outreach toward other. Actually or church leaders agreed
- speakerthat non-Christians are giving more friendly and receptive hearing the preaching of the gospel going to preview that at
- speakerany previous time.
- speakerBut for some reason the Church is not winning many new.
- speakerAre few additions to church members.
- speakerWhat could be expected through the natural increase of Christian.
- speakerI was interested to hear as far as Syria-Lebanon is concerned that Pastor Audi's seems to
- speakerbe starting in that direction. One would feel that there is a field Syria-Lebanon where the churches is
- speakernot reaching out perhaps as it might and some
- speakerothers had that impression about chiefly the church. There was a difference between
- speakerthat church and say the church in Brazil. Margarita
- speakerwhether or not any longer except I think we must remember that. While of course only the Spirit of
- speakerGod could make these things possible. Yet there may be ways in which we can
- speakerget our message evangelism going somehow through prayer to helping the.
- speakerWitness to start in the churches again. I was interested in that to end
- speakerthe report. Now this is brought up.
- speakerOne of the things that needs urgently to be done is to break the isolation of the church and its environs.
- speakerSo like isolation is first of all the result of an attitude of introversion in the church
- speakerthe churches should be help to understand their life in terms of their mission. Secondly this
- speakerisolation is the result of a lack of real concern for those
- speakerwho are not Christian or Christian or non-Christian meet in the normal business of life the
- speakerevangelistic encounter is not taking place. Oh that was
- speakereverywhere but that was a feeling that they had only a few weeks ago at the Lucknow Cup.
- speakerAnd as we think of this whole matter of Russian outreach you know vandalism
- speakerwe've got to consider it seems to be the spiritual state in that regard of the
- speakerchurches with whom we work and humbly try to do something to help them
- speakerin that regard. I come on two to three the matter
- speakerof training leaders. Of course we not particularly in mind the in this case to try
- speakerto get leaders on the field thinking about our own personal missionary personnel at that
- speakerpoint. And I want to make a distinction which I don't think we always
- speakersee. As I read over the reports in the plans and the strategy
- speakerthat there are two very definite levels of ISIS leadership
- speakerand to offer and I think we have been satisfied to try to do something new and
- speakerbetter about doing a lot more highly trained leader.
- speakerThe the office some quite often the profession those who are to be
- speakerthe teachers the doctors in the past in our church.
- speakerAnd I want to speak about that first but there is also the matter of training the rank and file and
- speakerthat's the thing that's most on my heart as I read over this letter and
- speakerto look as we look forward to the future in the first place
- speakerI think we can all feel that with the establishment of the office of
- speakerstudent work during these two years that we have made a
- speakersplendid progress in this and it is in
- speakerthis matter of training a lot of leaders for the higher level of scholarship use of
- speakerthe scholarships the kind of students that are that are coming on particularly that
- speakerthat friendliness and and of help to them while they're here which is going
- speakerto make a tremendous difference in the number of those who proportion of those who go back and are really
- speakeruseful in building the Kingdom of God after they get out.
- speakerI've had several experiences of having these students come
- speakerto me for something and then they disappear. And I wonder where they are and I know not always where to go and not sit
- speakerdown. I do miss his office Miss Parkinson. This boy may not be there but one of the
- speakerother or both of them is there and they just go they like bees to honey. That's their home
- speakerhere at 1:56 and they get the help that they walk there. I think we're doing
- speakera good deal more on that and I don't know just how much water we spent on on
- speakerthe