Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

nothing."
ministers'
glory."
HURRAH! WHAT DOES IT MEAN
The whole Budget has been raised, also the extra
$5,000, also some thousands more. It is wonderful
what a special dramatic appeal will do by its vivid
ness. It has brought forth a response passing that of
many years. It has turned many members into cheer
leaders,
and made still more into responsive partici
pants. It has given a large number a sense of
strength and hope.
$12.57"
"BALANCE
better in the Minutes than last years
looks so much
$353.94."
"Balance OVERDRAWN
That
first is imagination, but the latter is an actual record.
Last year the Board of Pensions recommended in
their report a cut of 10% in
pensions,
since the Board had paid out $1,600 more than it re
ceived. This year's receipts fill up the $1,600 with
$675.04 more. How different a feeling every board
when the year's results of their
and committee has,
management seem a demonstration of wisdom!
How differently the Church feels at the larger
giving ! The total should be impressive this year. It is
good to remember, in any discussion of giving, that
our Synodical Budget is not much over a fourth of
our total enterprise in most years. Last year's total
of $430,243 will be moving on up toward $500,000.
Less than 5,000 communicants give that each year
and keep it up, year after year. Tell that to any per
son who mocks at the "little denomination" which
they think "does
And now, what does this year's achievement
mean for the future What does it mean in sustained
giving The missionary supposedly is to go to Japan.
Then what happens Is he to be self-supporting at
the end of the year Is he to come home at the end
of just twelve months Is he, indeed, to stay there
still, but without money for rent or sufficient means
to buy food Of course not! Well then, that means
a permanent increase in the Budget, does it not
Last year the Foreign Mission Report showed,
on p. 98 of the Minutes, an overdraft of $1,264.72 for
the year,
even though page 97 shows that $10,000
was transferred from the Gihon Estate to meet the
demands. Not all problems are settled by one year's
unusual success. An additional missionary calls for
increased support, year after year; and that means
obviously that sustained giving is necessary.
What does this year's success indicate has hap
pened where it counts most, in the hearts of church
members Was the triumph only the temporary suc
cess of special appeal, which will lose its power when
repetition makes it commonplace Or is it the result
of a sharp increase in the number of tithers, a be
ginning of systematic giving by a larger part of the
membership who will do the same kind of thing year
after year as a matter of conviction If the joy of
giving this larger amount this once is sufficiently
strong, some may decide now to make a habit of find
ing that joy.
Plainly there is room for the Covenanters to do
better than they have done, better even than this
year. The Free Methodists maintain a far higher
average with a much larger number of members.
So do the Seventh Day Adventists and the Wesleyan
Methodists. They 'all do it on the tithing system. So
watch for the report on the number of tithers this
year.
May 25, 1955
May it be that a goodly number of the givers of
this past year will cultivate a sense of greater de
votion to God and His work as a continuous experi
ence One of the most remarkable and appealing
facts about tithing is that few who accept it ever
drop the plan. Indeed, in full Christian faith and de
votion there is a "joy unspeakable, and full of
Let those who promised at Grinnell to labor for more
tithers "be here dedicated to the unfinished work"
of bringing all Covenanters to the full measure of de
votion. Then all sorts of good things will be pos
sible, under God's promised blessing, with joy and
glory.
George S. Coleman
How can I be sure that the Bible is the Word of God
This booklet by the Moody Press is prepared
for use in DVBS or for released time Bible teaching
for youngsters of the 5th or 6th grades.
Other material may be needed, but this book
let will help the teacher in planning to teach chil
dren the answers to the great question which is the
subject of the book. It gives helps so that the chil
dren can be assured that the Bible is the Word of
God.
It sells for 50c but for anyone planning to
teach such a course, it will be well worth the price.
All of these books can be ordered through any
bookseller or from the Moody Press at 820 N. La
Salle St., Chicago 10, 111.
R.C.F.
GLIMPSES continued from page 322
ing in reputable journals that do infinite harm to the faith
of young people, and make the task of Christian parents in
creasingly difficult .... The whole theory of evolution has
received such a setback in recent years by a series of frauds
that one would think reputable men would be careful before
going
out on a limb with such rediculous statements con
cerning the origin of man. Only a year or so ago the much
publicized 'Piltdown' man faded away as a shameless hoax,
and is now the subject of a book by the British Association
explaining the fraud!"
A Confucian Mason
A Chinese-born Confucian has been made Master of a
Masonic Lodge in New York. His name is Sang Mun Hoe, is
a naturalized American,
and is a Confucian.
Mr. Hoe was received not as a Confucian, but as a man
worthy to be received into the Order because he believed in
a Supreme Being. He could have been a Christian or a Jew
a Buddhist or a Moslem. We are told that on the grand seal
of the Grand Lodge in Israel are emblazoned the Star of
David, the Cross and the Crescent. The Jew, the Christian
and the Moslem are viewed alike.
$50 to Quit Smoking
The National Voice tells of an oil man of Wichita Falls,
Texas, who is willing to pay any of his employees $50 to quit
smoking. He told his men in a letter that he had been read
ing with great interest what some of our great medical men
have to say about smoking, that lung, throat and stomach
cancer and many other troubles are on the increase due to
who makes the offer, says: "I have
smoking. Mr. Bridwell,
watched some of my very good friends become seriously ill
and some go to their death, all because of smoking."
327