The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1927, Page 10

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chewing a black crust of bread in one of our large
cities, where we have only ‘one city missionary in-
stead of a half dozen.

Twenty-three million went for sports,
hundred and fifty-eight million for ice-cream,
which would make our Missouri Synod’s share
$230,000 and $2,580,000, respectively. But why go

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further? The money is spent. —

Is there any left? Is there any more to be
had for missions? Yes, there is, for we paid
$15,000,000 alone for pocket-books in a year, our
share of which would be $150,000.

Under the circumstances, can we afford to
spend $500,000 for missions as we did in 1925?

In all honesty, now, was the business man right
when he said, “We are spending too much for mis-
sions — we can’t afford it”? F.J. 1.

Systematic Giving.

While it may neither be the proper nor the wise
thing to assess church-members, it is wise and proper
for a person to assess himself. It is wisdom to make
up some kind of budget of expenditure, based on
the expected income. And there can be no doubt
that a budget can be worked out to meet the par-
ticular and specific conditions in each case. But it
is very important that, once having worked out
such a budget with due care, it be strictly adhered to.

Of course, in making this budget, the Church
and its various enterprises should’be duly considered.
A certain definite proportion of one’s income should
be set aside for the Lord and His kingdom. Spas-
modie giving never amounts to much in the long
run. ‘There are people who attend some kind of
enthusiastic meeting in the interest of some mis-
sionary cause, we will say, and, while their emotions
are much aroused, will give liberally to the cause
presented and advocated. After the emotions have
subsided and the enthusiasm has cooled, obligations
that are closer and have far greater claims, because
of pledged support or of long association, have
to suifer. :

We have read somewhere that after a big revival
in some city, where two itinerant revivalists had
stirred up the people, the members of a number of
sectarian churches had given so liberally to the
evangelists that for a month the regular church
collections fell off forty per cent. This is neither
wisdom, nor is it justice. Our regular contributions,
such as church dues for the home enterprises as
_ well as for synodical benevolences, and any other

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

regular obligations should be provided for first.
After that, emergency cases and special appeals
may be considered.

How much of our dollar should we use for legi-
timate material claims, and how much should go to
spiritual claims? How may we spend wisely and
to the best advantage, and with the least amount of
waste, that which is God’s? These are important
and pertinent questions, and when we once get
down to them with the same intensity that a manu-
facturer tackles the problem of production and waste
in his own business, we shall see that the Church’s
dollar conscientiously goes to the Church, to be
used for the Lord’s business. PF. J. I.

“Book Talk.’’

T’o be successful in their work, missionaries must
be experts in all methods of attack, or approach,
on the native mind. Here, as in warfare, “flank
attacks” often succeed where frontal attacks, or
direct measures, absolutely fail.

In dealing with the Monsemble people of the
Congo country, Africa, two pioneer missionaries
failed in their first attempts to interest the people
in the matter of education. ‘The natives looked
upon the white man’s book as a powerful fetish,
able to influence evil spirits and make them work
mysterious harm to body and soul; in fact, they
flatly refused even to touch anything in the form of
book or paper.

But the natives could not overcome their natural
curiosity and their love of fun and laughter. They
watched the missionaries in wonder while they read,
and, believing that the books “talked” to the reader,
they came close and tried to hear also. But their
greatest curiosity was aroused when they saw the
missionaries laugh as they read their books. They
would lay their ears very close to the book and try
to catch the joke or the fun that made the readers
laugh. When they could not hear anything and yet
saw what pleasure the missionaries were getting out
of their reading, they appealed to the missionaries.

“White man,” they said, “how does the book talk
to you? Can you make it talk to us?”

The missionaries explained the system of letters,
syllables, and words, but affected to believe that the
native would never have the wit to understand it.

“Cannot you give us some ‘medicine’ to make us
understand the ‘book talk’?” they pleaded.

“No,” said the missionaries, “there is no medi--

cine that can give you such wisdom. You must

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