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"PERSONAL ANSWERS II"--MO April 24, 1971 NO.67
THOSE WHO MADE HISTORY ARE NON-CONFORMIST, DIFFERENT AND CONSIDERED CRAZY BY THE VAST CONFORMIST MAJORITY!
1. My Precious Children: Greetings in Jesus' Dear Name! OUR FIRST EPISTLE ON PERSONAL ANSWERS TURNED OUT TO BE A PERSONAL ANSWER FROM THE LORD in prophecies inspired by the New Nation News--so we never did get around to personally answering you: but here we go again; and I'm glad we got a personal answer from the Lord first, aren't you? That always makes everything else go easier when the Lord starts you off by letting you know you're on the right track. Praise the Lord! He sure has given us some doosies lately to the point that some people think I may be losing my marbles, as they said to the Apostle Paul, "Thou art beside thyself! Much learning hath made thee mad." Well, about all I've learned has come from the Lord, and if He wants to make me crazy about Him, that's up to Him, and O.K. with me--and I hope you enjoy it!
2. BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, TOO MANY OF THESE PROPHECIES AND DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE TO ACCUSE THE LORD OF MISSING THE MARK, and me of being a false prophet; and, if by their fruits ye shall know them, then you're the best proof I've got, that God's got my number and is ringin' the bell, Praise the Lord!
3. AS THE FELLOW SAID, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A LITTLE CRAZY IN THIS JOB--BUT IT HELPS!" and the Lord said, "My people are a peculiar people" (Deut.14:2), and if people think we're a little eccentric, it's not because we're off the centre--it's because they're wobbling around themselves, away off the one and only true Centre, Jesus Christ!
4. SO NEARLY ALL THE PROPHETS AND MEN AND LEADERS OF GOD THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE AND PAST AGES, WERE THOUGHT TO BE NUTS BY THE REST OF THE WORLD,--dreamers, visionaries, hearing voices, having hallucinations, and pretty well flipped out over religion--but if I'm dreaming, let me dream on, as dear old Gypsy Smith wrote, one of the world's greatest Gospel preachers and song writers--just a crazy old Gypsy storyteller, who could run circles around all the theologians put together, with their long-forked tails of degrees!
5. THE CONVENTIONALIST, TRADITIONALIST, AND CONFORMIST ROBOT, NEVER MAKES NEWS: he's just like all the rest--and who gives a damn about hearing about anybody who's no different than anybody else, and is right on man's so-called norm! It's the unconventionalist, non-traditionalist, non-conformist, individualist, radical, fanatical, iconoclast, idol-smasher, breaker-downer, tearer-upper, rooter-outer, and destroyer, like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Gideon, and all the rest that really make the news! The guys that stay put and never go anywhere and behave themselves, just like everybody, don't even raise an eyebrow--don't even wake you up, or stir you, or cause a stir. The placid little pip-squeak Mr. Milquetoasts, milk and water, string-for-a-backbone-jelly-fish, that just float around and drift with the tide, like everybody else, and never change anything, never do anything different, never buck the mainstream, never get out of line, are never out of step with the vast, spineless majority, and, or course, therefore, are never even heard of. They sink down with the rest in the morass of anonymity--in the mire of Nowhere, and fade into oblivion, never making history! They always do what they're supposed to do, and what they're told they should do, and what they should be like, and wouldn't be caught dead doing what just isn't done, and what nobody's doing!
6. BUT THE CRAZY NUTS, LIKE Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Joshua, Gideon, Samson, Little David, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jesus, Peter, Paul, John, St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Dominick, Savanarola, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Tyndale, Henry the Eighth, Cromwell, Don Quixote, Christopher Colombus, Galileo, Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, John Fox, John Wesley, General William Booth, Dwight L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Mordecai Ham, Eli Whitney, Alexander Graham Bell, Marconi, Maxim Gorky, Karl Marx, Lenin, Tchaikovsky, Paderewski, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan the Terrible, Rasputin, Napoleon, Julius Caesar, Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolf Hitler, Beau Brummel, William Pitt, Emile Zola, Dreyfuss, Dracula, Frankenstein, Venus DeMilo, Helen of Troy, Aphrodite, and that gal who rode naked through the streets, bare back with her hair wrapped around her--what was her name?--Florence Nightingale, Jenny Lind, Eve, Ruth, Naomi, Esther, Mary Magdalene, Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, Carrie Nation, the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindberg, Thomas Edison, Einstein, Alexander the Great, Charles Darwin, the Duke of Windsor, Madeleine Murray (oh, yes, that was Lady Godiva, who did that bareback and bare front ride), Aaron Burr, Pancho Villa, Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, Sally Rand, Faith Bacon, Madame Pompadour, Disraeli, and my secretary can't even remember the name of the guy who invented the steam engine, after all those years of education!--Werner Von Braun, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, John Bunyan, Amiee Semple MacPherson, the Beatles, Billy Graham, Fred Jordan, Teens for Christ, and the Children of God--ALL THESE SCREW BALLS MADE NEWS, DARED TO CHALLENGE THEIR SYSTEM, DARED TO BE DIFFERENT, dared to buck the tide, dared to shock their generation, or defy their science, or challenge their morals, or champion an unpopular cause, or do something beyond the call of duty, heroic, or fiendish, good or bad, certainly unusual, above or below the norm, abnormal, radical, heretical, revolutionary, crazy, ridiculous, far-out, heavy, bottle-breakers, freaks, misfits, dropouts, lone wolves, discoverers, inventors, explorers, history-makers, diabolical criminals, angelic saints, both good and bad, but certainly none of them indifferent!
7. ALL THESE INSANE DREAMERS, WHO ENVISIONED DOING THINGS THAT NOBODY ELSE HAD EVER DONE BEFORE, WHO THOUGHT DIFFERENTLY, acted differently, and did differently, than their predecessors, were all thought to have a few screws loose, bats in the belfry, or to be just a little off their rockers, compared to the rest of the people--the sickening average, the nauseating lukewarm, whom even God throws up and can't stomach: He'd rather have them hot or cold, good or bad, than just plain zero, because the zeroes never do anything--they never accomplish anything, good or bad; they never change anything; they never even make a dandy bad example; they just drift along with all the other slop, the garbage, the flotsam and jetsom, the froth and the foam, the slime and the ooze of normalcy--the silent majority, who have never made a sound in all history, never made a dent in progress, never changed a jot or a tittle, never sank so low or rose so high, never made a mark, never made any impression, so you never even knew they ever existed!
8. DON'T JUST STAND THERE: DO SOMETHING! I always wanted to yell my objection at some wedding, when the preacher asked if anyone had a reason why these two shouldn't be married, to speak now or forever hold his peace! I always felt like somebody was about to throttle me forever, silence me for always--that somebody ought to say something, in that horrible and senseless calm just before the final storm; so I finally got my chance, and yelled out at one of them--two of our own back-sliding students--and God bless her father: he yelled, too: "Give that man a cigar!"--But I beat it down the fire escape, rather than make any further history! I just never liked to be like everybody else! If everybody was going one way, I wanted to go the other way! If everybody else was following the trail, I wanted to go straight up the cliff! Beaten paths are for beaten men!--And burning the candle at both ends may look crazy, but it sure gives a better light! You live in fame, and die in flame, but nothing can stop you, 'cause they don't know how to handle it; they don't know where you're going, because nobody's ever done that before--and the rest just aren't prepared for it--so you can get away with it for quite a while before they catch up with you! Of course, the silent majority always manages to smother the flame, overwhelming it with the sheer number of their dead bodies, but they're never able to put it out of the memory of mankind--that here was a man that stood out from the rest, outstanding for his achievement! He dared to be different, and did what they told him not to, or they said couldn't be done, because he thought it oughtta be, should be--and he could do it, no matter what the hell anybody said--and he did it, by the grace of God or the Devil--and the world heard about him! But who the hell ever heard of the rest of 'em?
9. PRAISE GOD! WE MAY NOT LAST LONG, BUT WE'RE HAVIN' A HEAVEN OF A TIME GETTIN' THIS FAR! We may wear out fast, but we're sure generatin' a lot of heat!--And I love it! And when this life is over, and the angels beckon you--the world will remember you! And if what you did was right, God will never forget it! You'll shine as the stars forever! (Dan.12:3) Well done thou good and faithful servant--enter thou into the joy of thy Lord--and all the rest who dared to be fools for Christ's sake! PTL!
10. AND THAT INCLUDES ALL YOU NUTS WHO'VE BEEN WRITIN' ME ALL THESE CRAZY NOTES and letters lately and these insane reports of what you're accomplishing in spite of everything; when they said it couldn't be done--we're doing it, Hallelujah! Thanks for all your precious love letters, thoughtful little notes, prayers, faithful reports, tapes, pictures, cartoons, and what not--all those zany things you send me, including sand and seashells, which helps me to know you're as crazy as I am, and have joined the Club! Congratulations to dear Willie, Gideon, Aaron, Reuben, Joy, Abigail, Tabitha, Joseph and Israel, Tzaddi, Hermon, Chebar, Woodsman, Luke, Malachi, Simeon, Rahel, John, Adron, Amoz, Shimron, Rama, Heth, Marcus, Stephen, Shuite, Belt, Ruth, Miguel, Becky, Joash, Brother Fred, Justin, Jeth, Elizabeth, Aeneas, Judith, Lucius, Tekoa, Apollos, Chloe, Maacha, Kim, Jared, Shemariah, Shera, Keturah, Timotheus, Ready, Nogah, Ava, Naama, Judah, Junia, Phenice, Vashti, David Z, Adria, Dura, Lystra, Kanah, Martha, Hosanna, Nahum, Zeresh, Omar, Matthew, Rene, Endureth, Michal, Ezra, Benjamin, Shem, Samuel Judah, Timothy, Arod, Hermas, Daniel Gad, Asa Nimrod, Rodent, Lil Andrew, Hepzibah, Joanna, Matthew Canada, Ebed, Hezir, Aquilla, Terah, Reuben, Shoshannon, Bart, Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat, Zebedee, Shammua, Jeremy, Urim, Kenaz, Kish, Simeon, Shaphat, Idumea, Nun, Hodiah, Lucas, Jonathan, Eman, Lydia, Eloth, Leah, Phil Ham, Abdon, Moriah, Malichi, Ptolemais, Shad, Caleb, Syria, Mehetabel, Hope, Hubim, Javan, Joab, Uriah, Phininnah, Helah, Von, Tabitha, Jeremiah, Rachel, Salome, Lasha, Stephen, Shemaiah, Fiona, Sia, Dinah, Cephas, Shula, Japeth, Hannah, Magdalene, Gershom, Agabus, Cornelius, Jerusha, and Bear.
11. Also Christian, Ashah, Zechariah, Joel, Macedonia, Carmel, Simon, Barnabus, Grace and her little hospital scribe; Eli, Artaxerxes, Zadok, Diane, Amminadab, David, Julia, Miriam, Ben, Esther, Ruhamah, Druscilla, Sallai, Ami, Candace, Ara, Tamar, Eve, Hosea, Bathrabbim, Naarah, Rose of Sharon, Azubah, Midian, Leah, Jael, Shua, Josh, Kedar, Kishi, Bela, Psalms, Hadasseh, Alimeth, Jahmai, Aaron, Deborah, Abishalom, Abishag, Ammiel, Kalita, Merad, Kanan, Shema, Phebe, Boaz, Annanias, James, Charity, Silvannus, Theopilus, Samson, Faith, Ruth, Amos, Abigail, Abner, Shiphra and Watchman, and all the rest of you who've written us, God bless you!
MAIL MINISTRY--STOCK PARAGRAPHS FOR STOCK QUESTIONS
12. I HOPE TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY SPECIFIC COMMENTS, AND ANSWER ANY SPECIAL QUESTIONS of yours, before we finish this letter, God willing; that is, those that need same. But while I'm on the subject of personal answers, I want to correct any mistaken impression I may have given regarding STOCK PARAGRAPHS. STOCK PARAGRAPHS ARE ONLY GOOD FOR ANSWERING THE USUAL QUESTIONS, that are so often duplicated and so much the same that stock paragraphs can take care of them! But never fail to make it sound personal, and give it that personal, intimate touch, so vital to good public relations, especially if it requires a special answer, personally dictated, to meet a particular need! For God's sake, let's not have any more people writing us, back in disappointment saying they hadn't expected to be answered by a machine, and had hoped we'd take a personal interest in their problem.
13. WHEN A CERTAIN VOTER WROTE HIS CONGRESSMAN ABOUT A PROBLEM, in his district, the high and lofty representative had gotten so out of touch with his constituency that he wrote back, "I'm sorry, but I'm too busy with the important affairs of the state to be bothered with such petty matters!" Whereupon his constituent replied, "I guess I'll have to pray about it, since our Lord, when last seen, was not that busy!"
LISTENING AND PERSONAL ANSWERS ARE KEYS TO THE MAIL MINISTRY
14. SOMETIMES, ALL SOME PEOPLE NEED IS FOR SOMEBODY TO LISTEN, AND THAT'S HALF THE JOB OF BEING A WITNESS! Let's not fail them in showing them we're willing to listen to their troubles, and to give them some personal word of comfort or counsel to let them know we're thinking of them individually, and not as just another name, number, etc. Do not minimize the Ministry of the Mail, and the importance of the individual! This ministry was built on personal, individual witnessing, and personal, individual instruction by the clinical method! Don't knock it, or neglect it! Use it! Answer! It's much easier to tear down, than it is to build, and sometimes one disillusioned enemy can do you a lot more damage than a whole bunch of friends can do you good! It's just as important not to make enemies, as it is to make friends; that is, if we can help it! You can't always help it if you tell the truth! Of course, you don't always have to tell everything you know, and blast 'em with both barrels! You can be like the little boy who said he was a peacemaker, because he knew something he didn't tell. Some of us have a hard time doing this--I'm a born blaster! Please try to improve on the stock and do better! Learn how to win friends and influence people, instead of losing friends and antagonising people! Everybody's important!
15. IF YOUR OFFICES HAVEN'T GOT THE STAFF TO TAKE CARE OF THESE PERSONAL ANSWERS, GET OUT AND WIN 'EM! The harvest is plenteous!--We need more labourers!--Don't neglect!--Like I've neglected some of you! Forgive me! Let's all try to do better! Amen? So here goes. We're gonna try to catch up a little bit in this letter, God willing!
KEY POINTS ON PERSONNEL MOVES AND SELECTION OF TEAMS
16. ONE OF THE MOST URGENT THINGS I'M CONCERNED ABOUT AT THE MOMENT IS SOME RATHER SURPRISING PERSONNEL SHIFTS. It's always been MY POLICY that when you've got a winning team of good staff members who know how to work together, and who get along well together, with as little personality friction as possible to try to keep 'em together, use it, and not destroy it, or tear it down, or break it up, except in the most dire emergencies. When people are happy, hard-working, cooperative and productive in a certain position, it's sometimes risky to change. It could be for the better, but it could also be for worse. It might destroy a good machine that it's taken a long time to build. Any idiotic would-be mechanic can take things apart--I oughtta know--I've been doin' it ever since I was a little kid!--Including my first hot-rod which I decided to do a ring job on without any previous experience. Well gettin' it back together was another thing,; it took me about two months, and when I did, I immediately knocked out all the bearings, because I didn't know I was supposed to put in new inserts, so I wrecked the crank, and had a worse job on my hands in the long run than I had in the beginning--so I had to take it to the expert--the man who knows how to repair all the do-it-yourself-damage I had done. It's always easier to tear down than it is to build up! Almost anybody can tear down, but it takes a lot of time, patience, hard work, and wisdom, to build! I oughtta know! I've done it! I built a house and one of those damn church buildings with my own hands! So you name it--I've done it--good or bad! And the best thing I learned from it all was what not to do next time, by all my mistakes--but that's the hard way! When you've got a pretty good colony, fairly successful, running pretty smooth, with a good workable staff, and not too many problems, productive, profitable, and fruit-bearing, and taking pretty good care of itself--for God's Sake, don't tear it apart, ship all the pieces out to parts unknown, and completely obliterate all that's been accomplished!
17. WHEN YOU CLOSE DOWN ONE OF OUR COLONIES, YOU DESTROY SOMEBODY'S CHURCH, put out the light, lock the door, and send them away friendless, with no fellowship, no leadership, no source of instruction, and nobody to go to! To whom shall they go? We alone have the words of Eternal Life, and everyday living. I've upheld Kentucky as our model small colony, and example of future scatteration, when the day of big colonies is over. Nahum and Jael have done a miraculous job under impossible conditions, and Ky. is performing an important function in our body. I don't know why you want to destroy this vital organ and good country sample, and its valuable ministry!
18. WE ALL REALISE THAT WHEN THERE'S AN EMERGENCY, like Detroit, YOU HAVE TO GRAB THE NEAREST THING at hand to meet the immediate need. So that a lot of people were yanked out of their usual jobs in other colonies nearby, to fill the gap! We're in a battle, and when there's a sudden opportunity to take advantage of a break-through, an open door in a certain direction where God is leading, we have to seize the opportunity quickly, even if it means some serious sacrifices on the part of some of you.
19. BUT EVEN THESE QUICK MOVES SHOULD NOT BE MADE, IF POSSIBLE, WITHOUT CONSULTATION WITH THOSE INVOLVED, both staff and leaders, as well as the individuals involved, if there's time, as I've always found it's THE BEST POLICY to present the need to those we need, and let them pray about it and make the choice, if possible. I like volunteers, and I like people to make their own choice--and I expect it to be the right choice, if we've trained them right, and they're led by the Spirit, which I expect them to be.
20. AS SOME OF YOU WHO HAVE WORKED SO CLOSELY WITH ME KNOW, when it came to organising a new team or staff for some new project, mission, or colony, it was always MY POLICY to call together the leaders involved first, discuss the personnel possibilities with them and the Lord, including the pros and cons, assets and liabilities, needs and lacks, strengths and weaknesses of both the individuals involved, the jobs they would be leaving, and the new job they'd have to fill, how much the vacancy would hurt, who could possibly fill it, how suited they were for the new job, and how happy they would be in it. We leaders would then draw up a prospective list of candidates for the new project, and then go around to the individuals involved, and try to sell 'em on the idea, and persuade them to volunteer, show them the need, why they were best suited for it, how they could be spared from their present job, consult with them on who could fill it for them, and their own qualifications for the new job.
PLAN AND SCHEDULE FOR LEADERSHIP TRAINING
21. IN OUR OLD SCHOOLS, WE USED TO HAVE A GRADUATING CLASS EVERY THREE MONTHS OF BASIC TRAINEES. These then went into three months of leadership training on the job under supervision, usually at the school itself, or in one of our other schools, where they would be teachers, assistant teachers, or have other leadership responsibilities under the leadership of others.
22. AFTER THREE MONTHS OF BASIC, PLUS ONLY ABOUT THREE MONTHS OF THIS ADVANCED LEADERSHIP TRAINING, WE WERE READY TO TEST THEM IN SOME LOCAL FIELD ON THEIR OWN, not too far from the watchful eye of some experienced supervisor, to see if they could make it, and to catch them if they fell short, rescue them if they got in hot water, commend them if they succeeded--and in any event, make sure their project succeeded, so it would not be totally dependent on the success or failure of the new shepherd trainee, but a nearby seasoned veteran would be able to come to the rescue if needed.
23. WE HAVE BEEN USING THIS PLAN MORE OR LESS THROUGHOUT THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, and it has worked very well, thank the Lord. It's really a system of crash course training to meet a sudden emergency, similar to that of WWII army training courses: three months basic, three months officer training, and three months field training--nine months in all, or up to a year, if need be, to produce a seasoned veteran leader, well trained and experienced in his job.
24. IF ANY ONE HAS BEEN WITH US A YEAR, AND IS STILL NOT A LEADER, WE HAVE FAILED, or somebody has failed, because producing leaders is our principal task at this stage of the Revolution. After a year in this outfit, he ought to at least be a leader of the Clean-Up Crew, Dish-Washers, Floor-Sweepers, or Toilet-Swabbers, if nothing else--and don't minimise these jobs: they're just as vital to our operation as front-line witnessing. In some armies it keeps ten men busy behind the lines, to keep one man busy on the line.--But I think our CLINICAL METHOD OF TRAINING and operation has improved on this ratio, with a maximum of efficiency and productivity and usefulness of every talent available of even the lowliest babe in the shortest possible time, with the least possible waste--and it's working; we're rolling, and sweeping the nation quicker than anything I've ever heard of before.
25. MOST OF THIS, OF COURSE, IS DUE TO THE MIRACLE-WORKING POWER OF GOD, the marvelous way in which He is supplying our needs, the miraculous way in which He is developing labourers, the wonderful way He is protecting and keeping and strengthening us, and the present remarkable gigantic wave of favourable publicity, which we must take advantage of, RIGHT NOW, while it lasts!
FOLLOWING ORDERS--IT'S BEST TO ALWAYS EXPLAIN DECISIONS, BUT YOU CAN'T ALWAYS
26. THIS MEANS WE HAVE TO MOVE FAST, MAKE MANY SPLIT-SECOND BATTLE-FRONT DECISIONS, sacrifices to fill these gaps and holes and open doors, which will always multiply faster than the labourers! God is more willing to give than we are to receive. He'll always furnish the fields if we'll supply the labour. He doesn't draft you: you have to volunteer. "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest will send forth labourers into the Harvest." (Mt.9:38). He'll be glad to send you, if you're willing--but you have to be willing. He likes whole-hearted volunteers, 100 percenters, forsake-allers--total commitment!
27. I KNOW SOMETIMES THIS MEANS FOLLOWING LEADERSHIP BLINDLY BY FAITH on the spur of the moment, when there isn't time to explain, or even ask you if you'd like to. But when the emergency is over, perhaps this can be rectified and readjusted afterwards. Perhaps the emergency soldier can be sent back to his regular outfit when it's over.
28. WHEN SOME OF YOU WERE SMALL, DAD USED TO TRY TO EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY HE WAS ASKING YOU TO DO CERTAIN THINGS, and try to get you to choose to do them of your own accord, after understanding the reasons why it was necessary; that is, if we had time! However, in certain sudden emergencies, I had to tell you to do it quick, when there wasn't time to discuss it or argue, "Just because I said so; I'll tell you why later." And you usually obeyed in these emergencies, because you knew I was usually right--that I usually tried to be fair to you, and explain to you when I could, and let you make your own choice when it was possible! When we didn't have time for this, you trusted me to make the right decision. This is true of any general in battle. In peace-time, there's more time for training and explaining, and even suggestions from the ranks, and even requests for transfer, when some buck private figures he's a square peg in a round hole.
29. BUT IN WARTIME, WE'RE IN A HURRY, AND WE CAN'T ALWAYS TAKE TIME TO EXPLAIN, OR FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT IN ADVANCE, AND WAIT FOR YOU TO VOLUNTEER. We have to move, and move fast, before the Devil moves in ahead of us--and you'll just have to trust us, that we're doing what's best, the best way we know how, and hope to be able to explain it to you later.
PIONEERING OPEN DOORS--SOMETIMES BEST TO SURPRISE RATHER THAN SCOUT
30. WE FAILED TO FILL SUCH A GAP QUICKLY ENOUGH RECENTLY, and those who had held the door open for us, turned to others for help, such as the opportunity in Tennessee. Maybe it's not always wise to send a scout team ahead to some positions to reconnoitre the field. [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
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31. [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
"] SURPRISE IS ONE OF THE PRIME ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRATEGY: Hit 'em hard and fast, and bowl 'em over, before they knew what hit 'em--much less give them advance information on your operational strategy and methods of attack. I believe we've made a mistake on this in some cases. [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
"] Never let your roots grow too deep--stay mobile, fluent, and fluctuating. [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
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THE UNDERGROUND STRATEGY OF WORKING WITH KINGS--MO'S EXAMPLE
32. WE ARE PRIMARILY AN UNDERGROUND CHURCH--the called-out, dropped out, separated ones--so the right hand doesn't know what the left hand's doing--the only way we can survive. As a result, we have accomplished more, grown more, and received tremendously more publicity, far out of proportion to our numbers, than the static, visible, aboveground, recognised, organised, so-called church of today. They beg for publicity. They even pay for it by the millions, on the church pages, on the so-called Gospel radio and TV programmes at regular commercial rates. Or, as one station manager once told me when I asked him if they had special rates for churches, he said, "Why yes, twice the normal commercial rate!" And when we were getting two million dollars worth of free time a year for our Gospel programme on hundreds of television stations, and over a thousand radio stations from coast to coast, people like Oral Roberts, A.A. Allen, and Billy Graham, were paying millions for theirs, and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to commercial advertising agencies, just as agents, to buy them the time!
33. WHILE THEY WERE BLABBING THEMSELVES ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH HIGH-PRICED ADS, expensive blurbs, and exorbitant TV and radio time, one little guy was just moving quietly underground, alone, out of sight, from station to station, and dickering confidentially and privately for millions of dollars worth of free time from hundreds of station managers and programme directors--and it worked! I've done a little procuring, too, Boys, so I know what it's like; in fact, I spent nearly fifteen years at it, and I may be at it again soon, God willing, if you keep up the good work of making such a great show. I just won't be able to resist the temptation to put you on television all over the world, as I once did your dear old Grandpa Fred, when we dressed up some of the most revolutionary preaching with one of the churchiest little fronts in order to invade the System--about as ridiculous as some of you scoundrels in those stuffed shirt tuxedoes. I nearly cracked up and rolled on the floor when I saw that photo of all you damn rebels dressed up for the System! That was really a blast--I liked to flip my lid! The dear old King really knows what he's doing. He's about as sly as they come, when it comes to knowing how to please the Systemites, and get 'em to say Uncle, and give. Man looketh on the outward appearance and he knows it!
34. ANYHOW, FOR THE SAKE OF SOME OF YOU STUPID IDIOTS WHO DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER, and who think the King is just plain dumb, putting up that big churchy front on TV--that just shows how dumb you are! He's plenty smart--head and shoulders above all of us, Brethren,--and he knows exactly what pleases the people--and while using that big churchy front for a cover, he was really sockin' it to 'em all those years with the most revolutionary kind of doctrine, which struck at the very false foundation of their whole damn churchianity system, and got past their pious hypocritical preachers while they were yodeling their lullabies to the faithful on Sunday morning--right to the hearts of their congregation and all the members of it that had stayed home!
35. HOW'S THAT FOR STRATEGY? THAT'S REALLY BYPASSING THE MAIN FORCES, AND STRIKING DIRECTLY AT THE BASE--straight to the grassroots, in a direct appeal to the people themselves--right past all their damn churchianity, ceremonialism, and false doctrine, straight into the home and heart of the common man--and we built a Gospel television empire on this basis!
36. SOME OF HIS MAJOR COMPETITORS EVEN TRIED TO PAY ME, and pay my expenses to come tell 'em the secret of how we did it! But you know, you don't always have to tell 'em "No." You can just make 'em think you're saying "Yes." That's good strategy, too: relieves friction, avoids confrontation, and helps keep the peace! So I just played it cool, and went along with their little ole game, just like dear old Aunt Amanda, the best ice cream maker in town. When the ladies of the church came over to ask her how she made it, she handed 'em a lot of malarkey about the ingredients, and then said, "Den I takes it down to dat der church of yours, and sets it up alongside of it, and when I goes back in the mornin', it's frizz just as nice as anything you ever seed!" In other words, she didn't tell 'em a thing: she just pretended to, while she was actually spying out their own operation--and slyly indicating what she thought of it!
37. I'LL NEVER FORGET THE TIME ORAL ROBERTS PAID ME TO TAKE A WEEKEND OFF, to come down and tell him how we did it!--So while they put me up sumptuously in the best hotel, and fed me steaks, and soft-soap, I was handing them a smooth line on how they couldn't possibly do it like we did it, but another way they oughtta try instead! And I'll never forget the last thing I told that business manager of theirs, as he was offering me everything he could think of in the way of an abundant life, and showing me around their elaborate setup to try to subvert me into working for them, and all the wonderful things they had to offer me, if I would just fall down and worship them! I as good as gave my final reply as I waved goodbye, "Nope, Sorry! 'A man's life consisteth not of the abundance of the things which he possesseth.' (Lu.12:15), as Jesus said--and these trifles and baubles don't interest me! I've gotta have something I'm willing to die for--something that could change the world, no matter what it costs--something more revolutionary--and you just haven't got it! I'm more interested in changing hearts than bodies!" And the poor guy just stood there looking kinda bewildered and stupefied, and more mystified than ever! He was absolutely unable to understand why I didn't think they were the greatest show on earth--and wouldn't be willing to join them in return for such juicy rewards!--When the fact was, the whole thing just sickened me! It was sick, sick, sick, man-worship, and I just couldn't stomach it!
38. IT ONLY TOOK ME TWO DAYS TO GET A BELLYFUL OF IT, and I could hardly wait to get a breath of fresh air of our own dear TV show, and our own dear old Brother Fred sockin' it to 'em again, right where it's at--right below the belt, Hallelujah!
39. HE'S DONE IT FOR YEARS, BUT HE COULDN'T DO IT BY HIMSELF--and that's what God sent us along for! We've got the guts, and the youth, and the strength, to put it into action! We're doing what he's been talking about all these years! He just had to find somebody willing to put it into action, and prove it could be done--and we're doing it! Praise God! Hallelujah!
40. SO DON'T JUDGE THE BOOK BY ITS COVER! DON'T JUDGE THE ICEBERG BY ITS TOP, nor the underground by its surface! "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart!" (1Sam.16:7). I've been awfully mad at Fred sometimes for some of the stupid mistakes I thought he made, or because he couldn't see things my way--but I often found out afterward, there was a method in his madness!--And also God knew what He was doing, and I believed that if Fred was wrong, God could show him, if He still wanted to use him!
41. ALSO, YOU WEREN'T READY YET, SO GOD HAD TO DELAY THE WHOLE SHOW FOR YOUR COMING! By now we're rolling again, so let's don't muff it anymore! I believe our wave this time, is gonna wash the shores of every continent, and keep on rollin 'til Jesus comes, if we're faithful and don't make too many mistakes. Praise the Lord! Amen? Hallelujah!
MAKING MISTAKES OF TAKING BABES FROM THEIR PARENTS TOO SOON
42. SO PLEASE TRY TO KEEP THESE MISTAKES DOWN TO A MINIMUM! And, of course, sometimes when I think you're making a mistake, it all ends up that it's just another one of God's little peculiar ways of doing things, contrary to my natural expectation, contrary out of all reason with the way it should have been done, but God did it anyhow, and it worked, Praise the Lord! He knows best!--So if He wants to do it that way, that's His business! Amen?
43. SO THESE LITTLE RURAL COLONIES that I didn't have much hopes for in such conservative areas, HAVE TURNED OUT TO BE SOME OF OUR STRONGEST AND BEST SAMPLES, AND BEST TRAINING PLACES, FOR BOTH BABES AND LEADERSHIP! So don't knock it--Use it! Amen?
44. SO IF DEAR LITTLE STEPHEN who was Baby Marcus's Buddy, and felt useful and important as Jael's righthand in Nahum's absence, is now not happy in his big city scene of Detroit, when snatched away from what he liked to do, and his Mama Jael, it shouldn't be surprising! Maybe it was a mistake! And if Papa Nahum and Mama Jael are a little sad about having to leave their babies in our Old Kentucky Home to pioneer some parts unknown, it's no little wonder, since they've poured their very hearts into that work, and God has used them to help it survive against seemingly insurmountable obstacles. And if Baby Jeremy is a little unhappy and homesick when snatched away unexpectedly from Papa Apollos, think it not strange, since he was the one who led him to the Lord, or into God's work!
45. AND FRANKLY, I THINK THESE RELATIONSHIPS SHOULD BE CONTINUED AS LONG AS POSSIBLE UNTIL THESE BABES ARE WEANED ON THE WORD, and are strong enough to stand, walk, talk, and feed and dress themselves, if need be, and do without Mama or Papa when the occasion warrants--just like our physical babies--when they should go on to advanced training, and more responsibility for both themselves and for others!
NEED FOR PARENTS TO GIVE THEIR CHILDREN TO GOD [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
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46. I NOTICE, HOWEVER, THAT EVEN SOME OF THE MAMAS AND PAPAS ARE FIGHTING THIS HARDER THAN THE BABIES, and are resisting change more than the children. [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
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"] ? If you can't take this, you don't belong in the Revolution! "He that withholdeth more than is meet, it tendeth to poverty, but he that scattereth abroad, it increaseth!" (Prov.11:24). If you hold your children back from God's best, God will surely take them away from you, or cause them to be a disappointment and a heartbreak; but if you give them to God, you can't lose! [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
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49. MY MOTHER PUT ME, HER ISAAC, ON THE ALTAR OF GOD, AND GAVE ME TO THE LORD--and that's why I am where I am today! As a result, because she was faithful, God gave me back to her many years later, when she needed me the most! You'd better wake up [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
"] ! Nothing short of right is right, I don't care how good a job you're doing in every other way! This ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone! [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
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SELECTION OF TEAMS--LEADERS CONSULT
50. SO I AM PERSUADED THAT, SINCE YOUR LEADERS AT THE TOP--the very top--who have to MAKE SOME OF THESE QUICK AND SUDDEN DECISIONS TO SKIM OFF THE CREAM OF YOUR MANPOWER for some new project and some sudden emergency--since these top leaders cannot possibly know all of your individual men of the rank and file and their personal qualifications like you, the local leaders do, especially the larger we get and the more numerous we become--I'm therefore convinced that YOU LOCAL LEADERS SHOULD BE CONSULTED, if possible, on who you think is best qualified for the job that you can spare, the top leaders having told you what they need, so you'll not be stripped of some vital part of your machinery, or send somebody that's not suited for the job, and won't be happy in it!
51. IF THERE IS TIME, I BELIEVE THE LEADERS OF THE LOCAL COLONY SHOULD PRESENT A LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE TASK, whom they have found able and willing to do it and whom they can spare if they have to; then from these lists the new team should be compiled by the top leaders and the leader of the team in conference, leaving the first choice, if possible, up to the team leader himself who is to have responsibility for the project, who must go according to his faith and the faith he has in his men.
52. THIS ALSO LEAVES NOBODY ANY EXCUSES FOR FAILURE BECAUSE SOMEBODY ASKED 'EM TO DO SOMETHING they didn't wanna do, or pushed somebody on 'em they didn't want in the first place, or gave them a team or team members they couldn't work with, or put them under leadership they didn't get along with!
53. THIS CAN'T ALWAYS BE TRUE, OF COURSE, BECAUSE YOU'RE ALWAYS BOUND TO HAVE A FEW RUBS HERE OR THERE, personality clashes you didn't know existed, weaknesses you hadn't detected, etc.--but if you let the local colony leaders submit their own choice of candidates they can spare, and let the team leader himself choose his team from these, in consultation with you, this should solve a lot of problems, and eliminate some unnecessary and inadvisable dislocation of forces!
54. TO PUT IT SIMPLY: FIRST OF ALL I WOULD GATHER THE BISHOPS AROUND AND ASK THEM point-blank "What do you think we oughtta do about this situation?" or "What do you think the Lord wants us to do about it?" Then after hearing their opinions and leadings, since we're all supposed to be on the same channel and in tune with the same Spirit, I would usually say, "Well, that about confirms what I thought, and what the Lord showed me!"--"Now let's ask the under-shepherds if they agree, and who they each think they can spare for the job".
55. AND YOU REMEMBER HOW EACH OF THEM USED TO MAKE US UP A LIST OF PROSPECTS that they thought would make possible candidates. When we had gone over these and agreed on the choices, we would then have them contact them personally, and say, in effect, "How would you like to go to Detroit and work with Ebed and Watchman and their crew?--Or, if not, what would you like to do, or where do you think you oughtta be? What is your vision, and what do you have faith for?" Because if they don't wanna do what you think they oughtta do, you better find out what they do think they oughtta be doing, or you may discover someone who's already out of God's will, and whom you'll have to help find it! Some of their answers may surprise you, and you may find they have some project of their own they'd like to do instead, but just hadn't had a chance to tell anybody until you asked them! So you may then have that to consider--and they may be right--or they could be wrong! You'll have to pray about it together, and promise to discuss it with the leaders, and let them know! I think we've lost some good material because we didn't consult with some people about what they really wanted to do: we just told 'em to do something they didn't like; so they quit!
56. GOD GIVES US A LOT OF LEEWAY AND CHOICE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT; SO I THINK WE OUGHTTA TRY TO DO THE SAME FOR THEM IF POSSIBLE! Of course, this may not always be possible, and they at least deserve an explanation why, so they can pray about what is possible.
57. ANYHOW, IF THEY RESPOND ENTHUSIASTICALLY OR AT LEAST WILLINGLY TO YOUR INVITATION to a certain project, you should then report their reaction to your leaders and the team leader, and they can take it from there! Notify them in due course as to whether they've been accepted. Let it be as much their own idea as possible. You'll get a lot better cooperation that way, and go a lot further in the long run than just commandeering forces, and shanghaiing labourers for your job, without consultation or sufficient prayer and consent! Praise the Lord! Amen?
EXAMPLE OF TRAINING SYSTEM THAT WORKED WELL
58. SO AT THE END OF EVERY THREE MONTHS, WE WERE SENDING ONE BATCH OF FULL-FLEDGE MISSIONARIES TO SOME FOREIGN FIELD, while another group was taking their place in local field training, while the basic class was taking the places of these leadership trainees in leadership training, and a bunch of green, new, raw recruits were becoming the new babes, in Basic. It was a beautiful system, and it worked, and it put over three hundred missionaries into 33 foreign fields in about three short years! That's quite a record for any man's outfit! God bless Brother Fred, because it was he and some of his helpers that designed it by the help of the Holy Spirit, and the guidance of the sample of the New Testament church, as well as the experience of the U.S. Army, in which I was an engineer! You're bound to learn something from every experience--even from the army, the Early Church, Jesus and His Disciples, and the example of others--so use it: don't knock it! I'd even do business with the Devil if it glorified God! Wow! Listen to those bottles poppin' their corks! Ask our provisioners!
KEEP CARD REFERENCE FILE ON BABES' PROGRESS AND TRAINING
59. EVERY COLONY LEADER, FOR THIS REASON OF KNOWING OUR PERSONNEL THOROUGHLY, AND THEIR ABILITIES AND DISABILITIES for every job, should be keeping a brief, thorough, accurate CARD-REFERENCE FILE on his little babes, and their growth progress, etc., to be referred to his overseer at a moment's notice to fill any job! A colony leader should know his men so well, he'll be able to advise and recommend to the overseer who he thinks could do it, and who he could spare, so the overseer can pass on this information to his overseer when there's a need.
PIONEERING--SELECTING LEADERSHIP AND TEAMS
60. I DON'T THINK THAT LEADERSHIP FOR PIONEER WORKS CAN ALWAYS BE TAKEN RIGHT OFF THE TOP, lest this weaken or even destroy that colony's effectiveness, unless there is very good leadership there who knows the operation, and is ready to take its place. Neither, of course, can it be taken off the bottom, from the inexperienced, untrained and untested novices. However, I am convinced that after the Crash Course, or at least our old Three-Month Basic--that these grads should be ready for more responsibility, and some, much more than others. You may have to give a young Simeon an important and responsible position, if he can fill the shoes, if there's a desperate need, and there's not an older brother available who can do it! At least give him a chance. If he muffs it, that's his funeral. Many officers have had to be appointed on the field of battle, on the spot, when their superiors were knocked out in combat, or there was a need for special leadership that wasn't readily available from the home front!
61. THAT'S WHAT I DID WITH SOME OF YOU: I PUT YOU IN POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY, some of you when I hardly knew you, because we were desperate--and somebody had to do it--and you were there. It's like that story about the girls in Australia. They didn't have any more than the girls back home--but they had it there--ready, willing, and available. So knockers up!--Use it!
62. SO I THINK MOST OF THIS PIONEER LEADERSHIP WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO COME FROM NEAR THE TOP, OR AT LEAST THE UPPER HALF, of those trained, tested, and experienced in considerable leadership responsibility! The Apostle or Elder at the head of such a team, it seems, should certainly have been with us at least a year of proven loyalty, and longer, if possible or available; but his men should come at least from the ranks of the leadership trainees, if not the actual field trainees--certainly not basic trainees! No battle front general in his right mind wants to have to nurse a bunch of babes, and train raw basic recruits with one hand, while he's trying to fight the enemy with the other. I certainly agree with you on this, Ebed, and I don't see why they sent you any new babes at all. This was ridiculous, and must certainly have been some emergency!
63. I ONCE SAID, A LEADER, IF HE HAS TO, CANT TRAIN HIS BABES ON THE ROAD--BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T DO IT UNLESS YOU HAVE TO! If there are any trained and experienced soldiers available, let them be your first choice for a pioneering team--and as you found out, two dozen people in a new situation can be quite a handful, especially if it's a new team not used to working together. It would be easier to move a whole colony up there--an already well-organized staff that knows each other and is used to working together--if you need numbers! But if not, I'm still persuaded that Jesus' idea of using a small team of a dozen for a starter, is about all you can handle in a new situation, and earn while you learn, especially if you haven't worked together before.
64. THIS IS ANOTHER REASON WHY I'M IN FAVOR OF THE TEAM LEADER PICKING HIS OWN MEN, if possible--so he'll have a staff of at least a few whom he's used to working with and can count on, for what he knows they can do, and who know him and have confidence in his leadership! But breaking in a whole new organization, or brand new situation, who haven't worked together before, at a moment's notice and without proper preparation, I agree with you, is almost madness--but I don't know if it could have been avoided in this case, due to the proximity, urgency, and immediate availability of helpers. Sorry about that! We live and learn!--And I hope we can do both, PTL!
SHARE THE VEHICLES TO EQUIP NEW TEAMS
65. I'M ALSO SORRY ABOUT YOUR VEHICULAR PROBLEMS IN SOME OF YOUR NEW COLONIES--but to be caught with a colony of thirty with insufficient transportation for either witnessing or provisioning is almost unthinkable. This has happened too many times to be overlooked! Somebody's goofing--and I know it's not God, because He never fails to provide wherever He guides. I just think some of you colonies probably have more than your share, and need to be a little more sacrificial with your transportation, to help these new teams. You may think two coats is not enough for you, but it's too many, when your brother has none at all! Think it over! For God's Sake, give them the tools and the men that they need for the job. It's hard enough to be a missionary without being unequipped and undermanned. Next time I hear of this kind of foolishness I'm just apt to tell some of your older and over-staffed and over-stuffed colonies, to get up there and do it yourself, instead of sending out some of these poor babes with bare hands.--After all I said about not sending out a new team until it's well-prepared, well-trained, well-equipped, well-organised, with all the necessary personnel! I know it was an emergency, but let's do better next time!
NEW LEADERSHIP TALENT
66. OF COURSE, THIS DOES HELP TO PRESSURE US SOMETIMES, AS LEADERS, TO PUSH NEW AND UNTRIED TALENT TO THE TOP, in such an emergency, so it'll either make 'em or break 'em So let's hope they make it! You may discover you have some hidden talent that the Lord wants to use.--But it even took the Lord three and a half years to get 'em ready for full responsibility, in the case of the first twelve! So don't feel too bad if we can't get ours ready in three and a half months, or even a year an a half! Just keep tryin'! The Lord is able, Praise God!
TELEPHONE MINISTRY OF WITNESSING
67. I'M SORRY I'VE HAD TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ADDING TO SOME OF YOUR PHONE BILLS in some cases of emergency, in communicating from over here--but I never do it unless I have to--and I'm hoping pretty soon I won't have to--at least not from such a great distance, God willing! Some of you are even putting in more phones right now, but I still think a telephone is the world's biggest bargain--even if our bills do look like the national debt. NEGLECT NOT TO COMMUNICATE--AND GOOD COMMUNICATION IS VITAL TO SYNCHRONISING AND COORDINATING OUR OVER-ALL OPERATION, as well as rescuing those in need! And don't underestimate the power of the telephone--and the Telephone Ministry of witnessing on the phone! What if God couldn't hear our cries for help? We've got to have some of our telephones available to the crying need of this generation, and you should take this ministry very seriously! Los Angeles, you seem to be doing an excellent job along this line. Be sure to get the names and addresses of these callers if you can, so you can at least send them some literature, even if they never come around!
68. Which reminds me, when you send us your new address, please always give us the zip code, as well: it's impossible to get those over here! Did you hear that Detroit! We need the zip of your new box.
COFFEEHOUSE OR CLUB SOLUTION TO WINTER WITNESSING
69. Toronto does sound like a good possibility, but the Lord'll have to open the door! I THINK THE COFFEEHOUSE OR CLUB, SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY PRESENT SOLUTION TO WINTER WITNESSING IN THESE COLD COUNTRIES, or the weather may prove our worst enemy, as in the case of many other armies in famous battles lost because of the weather. This is another case of being well-prepared for what's bound to happen, and the Lord has promised that winter will continue as long as the world goes on as it is. This is also true here in Britain, where it's still clammy, wet, and cold--and the wind outside is nearly freezing, though this is supposed to be Spring. You gotta have some place where you can get the kids inside out of the rain, the cold, and the snow, and the wet, where it's warm, and cosy, and cheerful, and they can relax and take time to listen, while you fill their empty stomachs and even emptier hearts! CLUBS ARE A MUST IN COLD COUNTRIES, and we've proved this on several occasions! He is able!--And you've gotta have the clubs where the kids are, in the city, or within easy reach! Your training camp can be almost anywhere, but your contact house has almost gotta be in town, especially here where they can't afford cars!
SMALL TEAMS AND COLONIES--THEIR ADVANTAGES
70. THIS AGAIN, IS WHERE SMALL TEAMS WILL COME IN HANDY, where you haven't got much room for housing, and your ministry is mostly witnessing, until you have a place for training. Some of you thought what I said about the need for new small teams was contradictory to an older discourse on Colonisation; but the truth is that both are needed, each for different situations, and at different times. I believe we need a few large colonies to impress the System and for power and unity, and strength and the handling of major projects such as the mail, printing, photography, etc.--Headquarters operations, with which little colonies should not have to be worried until such time as the larger ones are no longer possible, and we are scattered and driven underground. Then each small team will have to be as self-sufficient as possible.
71. BUT RIGHT NOW, SOME CENTRALISATION OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS SUCH AS PRINTING AND PROCESSING OF MAIL IS NECESSARY FOR THE SAKE OF EFFICIENCY, economy, and coordination. The day of large colonies is still with us; but the SMALLER COLONIES ARE ALREADY NEEDED, EVEN NOW, FOR PIONEERING NEW AREAS AND OPENING UP NEW FIELDS. If we had the place and the manpower to move in on a new field 100 strong as you did on the Texas beaches, fine! But when you haven't got it, you have to do the best you can with a small team. And frankly, I think if you can spare a hundred in Texas alone for those beach invasions, you should be able to spare some sizable teams for some other areas like the East Coast, which need to be opened. I had to laugh when I read in one report that everything at TSC had virtually come to a halt, and all was at a standstill because there were only a hundred people left in camp. Ha, Ha, that's a riot--or at least we used to think when we only had a hundred it was a riot--and that's about all we had when we first moved in there, and things were surely hopping then! How would you feel if you only had Ebed's thirty, or Nahum's twelve. I guess you'd think you couldn't do anything!
72. BUT THESE SMALL COLONIES HAVE PROVEN YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH A LOT WITH ONLY A HANDFUL, and have proven to be excellent units for training babes and leadership both, and have been a good sample to all of us. Sometimes I think they're more efficient because they use everything and everybody they've got to the hilt and the nth degree, and they can't afford to waste anything. But some of you big guys who are used to having so many, if you get down to a hundred you start getting lonesome; if you don't have a couple dozen vehicles, you're afraid you're gonna have to walk. Wait'll we have to go to horses and wagons; then these farmers are gonna run circles around you, with their primitive effectiveness! Better take another look, and quit griping about your pitiful hundred or two. After all, they did hand you the keys to the city, didn't they? Congratulations!
73. AND YOU BIG BOYS QUIT TRYIN' TO CLOSE UP OUR LITTLE ONES, just because they put you to shame and you don't wanna spare some of your own staff--so you spare your own flocks, and wanna take our little ewe lambs, which do eat of their master's own plate, Hallelujah! God bless 'em! Maybe we oughtta ship your colony to Florida, or at least half of it--but please, not until we have some place for them to land. God must open the door--and He will, if it's His will!
USING THE SYSTEM!
74. AS FAR AS GETTING THE KEY TO THE CITY--NOW YOU WON'T HAVE TO KNOCK--JUST USE IT! This kind of publicity will help you with the System, and don't hesitate to use it on 'em--but for God's sake, keep it away from the kids! System recognition certainly won't help you with them, and could even hurt you in reaching them, if they found out the System liked you. Of course, this is a rather rare exception, so I don't think it's gonna hurt too much-- [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: "
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75. However, I don't think you'd get away with that kind of thing on a Florida beach, as you've noticed they've pretty well cracked down on those former "Where the boys are" gatherings on holidays, in places like Ft. Lauderdale and Daytona; and of course the kids were never able to get away with anything like that on Miami Beach, or conservative areas like Florida's West Coast.
76. Florida's Republicans may have gotten rid of their embarrassingly Nazistic governor, but I'm sure it hasn't changed the leopard's spots any, and it's still the land of the filthy rich who don't want the clean little poor, such as hippies, kids, radicals, etc. How many demonstrations have you heard of in Florida, marches, college riots, or even rock festivals--precious few, if any! Maybe we'll be the first, but you better be ready for martyrdom.
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PIONEERING OPEN DOORS--CAUTION IN RACIAL AREAS
83. WHICH LEADS ME TO REMIND YOU THAT I AM CONVINCED WE SHOULD FOLLOW GOD'S LEADINGS, as He is the one who is doing these miracles, and using us to perform His Will. Where He guides, He'll provide--and where He's providing open doors, He's obviously guiding! So don't bother to knock: just walk right in, sit right down--and fill it up, fast, before somebody else fills it for you.
84. I AGREE THAT DETROIT IS PROBABLY YOUR BIGGEST PUSH IN THAT DIRECTION RIGHT NOW, and should be given some of our best material--and all the help we can spare! Which also reminds me that when you get some of these offers of the use of property or buildings, you should always remember to ask them what the zoning and building code situation is, the actual legal status of the property at the moment, what it's zoned for, how particular the inspections are, and whether the officials are cracking down, or tend to overlook--because they can kill you with restrictions, and only God can spare you in certain of these bad situations.
85. REMEMBER THAT DETROIT IS WHERE THE U.S. HAD ITS FIRST RACE WAR many years ago, before WWII, and it is a strange contrast between a large powerful radical population, largely Black, and an extremely strong pro-Nazi, hard-line, hard-hat, Germanic population, with the worst in extremism on both sides--where the worst race riots occurred in this present era of racial strife, and they nearly burned down the town in the worst wave of destruction anywhere in the country! It was real war--and only tough Germanic, Nazistic types of radical-right suppression, with strong-arm methods is at present holding down the ready-to-explode population, with the ruthless police tactics, similar to those of Chicago. The Radical Right is in control! Which means, that the authorities are not apt to be too sympathetic with anything interracial, semi-radical, or very demonstrative--like us--which may account for their crackdown on your building restrictions!
86. HOWEVER, THE LORD HAS THUS FAR BEEN GOOD TO US WITH GOOD PUBLICITY there, receptiveness, and a good response, from what I hear; so He always gives us friends, even amongst antagonistic authorities, and He can bring victory out of seeming defeat. miracles out of impossible situations. Praise the Lord! Hang on!--And pray!
87. THIS MAY BE ONE REASON FOR YOUR TELEPHONE PROBLEM: SOMEBODY UP THERE IN THE COMPANY MAY NOT LIKE YOU, and may be deliberately trying to hinder! I would suggest that you let your lady friend, Sister Naomi, handle these dealings with the local System, since she's your hostess and a long-time local resident, who would be more apt to be recognised than you, as well as better be able to represent you than yourselves to the System! Let her tend the tables, while you stick to the word! PTL!
SUGGESTIONS ON REPORTING
88. Thank you, Detroit, for your EXCELLENT REPORTS, particularly the personal ones from those in charge! Yes, I do want to hear personally and directly, straight to my address, wherever I am, brief PERSONAL REPORTS from those in charge at each colony, particularly the Shepherds--either a copy of the report you send the Office, or one similar to it, plus your own personal report to me personally, and a summary of your weekly log would be very helpful, plus any special reports I should have of any special events, such as special visitors, problems, outstanding victories, progress, etc. However, as we've discovered with Cincy, if you have too many people writing me personal reports, you're apt to have a lot of duplication of the same stories! SO I WANT TO SET DOWN HERE AND NOW A NEW GENERAL POLICY OF REPORTING TO ME FOR ALL COLONIES:
1) each colony should keep brief, but detailed, colony logs and visitors' logs, for its own records, but these need not be sent to us in the case of most colonies, except L.A., from whom we get very few and very poor personal reports from its directors; so we still need L.A.'s log to know what's going on.
2) However, most of you leaders are sending me such good personal reports of the highlights, major events, important visitors, problems, etc., particularly Caleb, Jethro, Nahum and Jael, Shad and Carmel or Julia, and Ebed and Watchman! all these seem to be the best at reporting, in summing up the week's events, it's victories and defeats, and personal opinions, plans and suggestions. In fact, Ebed is now writing us some of the best we have ever received, with excellent topical captioning, clarity of thought, thoroughness of details, beautiful analysis, and a wonderful grasp of the real spirit of what I need to know. Some of you need to take a tip from Ebed, since you all should be getting copies of the same. Caleb is a real natural, since he lived with me so long, he knows exactly what I'm most interested to hear, and how my mind works, so he tells me just the things he knows I wanna know, with his typical touch of humour, which cheers us, even on the problems.
89. I don't know who's doing Caleb's typing, but I take it it's Lydia by the spelling, which also helps us to enjoy it--Ha!--Or maybe that's Daniel and Timothy playing on the keys! When are those kids going to Texas? I love you! I'm not mentioning these names in any special preference--just in a sort of counter clockwise fashion, having begun with Detroit, and my mind always seems to work geographically from so much travel all my life, and I picture your location on the map when I'm thinking about you, and naturally travel the next shortest possible distance to the next colony and its needs, unless it's something unusual. I'm not getting any direct reports from Santa Barbara any more, but I would like to have one from you personally, Megiddo, postmarked Santa Barbara--not after L.A. has rehashed it, gone over it with a fine-tooth comb, and sifted out what they don't want me to hear--and the same is true of all the rest of you smaller colonies I have not heard from lately: I wanna get a personal report from each individual Shepherd of each individual colony, mailed by you personally, postmarked in your city, and mailed directly to me at my address, and not digested, revised, copied, or delayed by your local field superintendent--and if you can't spare the postage, I'll send it to you personally--and I want these Shepherd's Personal Reports weekly, please. If they're as good as they should be, and as some of them already are, you can dispense with the costly mailing of nearly all other voluminous reports, such as logs, etc. Take me to your leader. I wanna hear from him, straight with the bark on it: That includes all of you smaller colonies, including Santa Barbara, Merkle, Austin, Zion, Houston, Texas Beaches, Roving Teams, and the Ohio Farm. I wanna hear directly from you personally, mailed on the spot, directly to me, personally, so I know what's actually going on without one of your leaders trying to interpret it for me. How's that for by-passing the chain of command!--I'm the only one allowed to do it--and you better believe it! And I want these weekly, please.
90. Josh, your and Faith's very good, but very rare personal reports were greatly appreciated, but since you apparently felt we were getting all the news we needed from the logs, were not too comprehensive in that regard; but if you could include a brief summary of your weekly log, then that with your personal report would be sufficient. However, apparently this hasn't been possible, so we'd better keep getting your log.
91. Since YOUR COLONY LOGS ARE SUPPOSED TO INCLUDE REPORTS OF ANY IMPORTANT VISITORS, it would not be necessary, then, for you to continue to send us the Visitor's Logs, since you now seem to be doing and excellent job along this line of greeting, and have it well organised. Congratulations--and if your Shepherd's Personal Report were sufficiently thorough, this, too, would include any important visitations, so that we would not even need the log, as in Caleb's case, who tells me everything I need to know in his own report.
92. This is also true of Shad, who does an excellent, brief, and to-the-point job of reporting, but doesn't forget to include the important details he knows I'll be interested in--probably another result of having worked with me so long. If the rest of your Shepherd's Reports were as good as Caleb's and Shad's and Ebed's and Nahum and Jael's, we wouldn't need anything else--no others logs, reports, or anything, and could save ourselves hours and hours of God's precious time that we have to spend on the logs of some of the rest of you, trying to comb out a little vital information. They're good but take a lot of time to read, which could be saved by a good weekly Shepherd's Report. I think this is all each colony needs too, and will save them a lot of time, as well, in trying to read your lengthy and involved logs of some of you, which are mainly for the purpose of your own Colony's diary and record and for your own use.
93. FRANKLY, I BELIEVE THIS WOULD SAVE US VOLUMES AND VOLUMES OF PAPERWORK, and multiplied hours of time for all of us, if each colony could boil down its report to every other colony to a carbon copy of this little one-page sheet you send to me, plus a copy of the Shepherd's Personal Report--these two pages, or their carbon copies thereof sent to each of us, should be sufficient to apprise us of your major news, visitors, problems, progress, etc. Unless you have some feature story or important event which merits a special report attached thereto, some of which have been very good, such as a special witnessing event, like ORU, Hosea's trip, the Texas Beach invasion, etc. These again, would actually be personal reports from the Shepherd of each of these teams, so would fulfill the same rule:
1) Shepherd's Report.
2) Copy of King's Report.
3) Special team or event report; plus
4) An optional not more than one or two page summary of your weekly log, if you can manage it, although this seems unnecessary, if the other reports are good enough. Sum up in NNN with pics monthly.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family}
