How The Work Was Done: In Response To Brother Slater
The article which was written by Brother Will Slater and appeared in the January 28th issue of the Gospel Guardian is rather amusing to me. From the things he said it would seem that he is of the opinion that no one has done, or can do anything without the aid of the "Herald of Truth," the Encampment Meetings, or the Orphan Homes. I know of no one who is objecting to the good that has been done or is being done, but only to the manner in which it is done, or financed.
First of all, I want to say that I am not including myself in with the BIG BOYS, if there be such, but just want to let Brother Slater know that some things can be done without the aid of these institutions of which he speaks. Twelve years ago I left Wichita Falls, Texas, and came to the northwest to do mission work. (The way it looks from here, I may have to return to Texas for the same purpose.) I moved to Boise, Idaho, in 1946. The church had but few members, and their meeting place was in the southeast part of town, perhaps two miles from the business district. Now the church has a very nice building just four blocks from the heart of town. This building was purchased a little more than a year before I left there, and the church was working. I talked with one of the elders about two weeks ago, and he told me that their 1954 budget called for three hundred dollars per week. When I went there it was around eight dollars per week. No, we did not have the "Herald of Truth," the Lubbock setup or any other institutions helping us.
The same thing was done in Brawley, California. We lived there for four years. They had no building at all, but were meeting in the Women's Community Club. Now their property is worth forty or fifty thousand dollars and they are growing. The only institution we had there was the church of the Lord. I am now laboring with the church in Albany, Oregon, and the results are gratifying.
May I also add that all these churches have done much better since I left them, than they did while I was with them, so you can see that I am not trying to brag on what I have done. Perhaps this church in Albany will grow and prosper much more after I have gone than it is at present. I am praying that it will do just that.
Now as for the orphans: We have not cared for but six ourselves, but would have cared for more if the institutions had not had a monopoly on them. I know of many Christian couples who are wanting children, and have been wanting them for years, but cannot get them.
I am making this statement without fear of successful contradiction, and here it is: Any institution that is needed, is also permissible, but any institution for which there is no need, has no excuse for its existence. If one will follow the teaching of the New Testament, and can find a need for these institutions, after he has complied with its teaching, then I shall have no more to say.