Missionary Volunteer Department
By Meade MacGuire
M. E. KERN — — — — — — — — — — — — General Secretary
MATILDA ERICKSON — — — — — N. Am. Div. Secretary THE loud and insistent cry throughout our ranks is for leaders. More leaders and abler leadership would soon change the whole aspect of this movement. The work is advancing and expanding so rapidly that it seems as soon as a man demonstrates any ability as a leader in a small sphere, he is thrust into a position of greater responsibility, for which he is not always qualified. It is so to a great extent throughout the religious world, but it is not so in the business world. This practise lacks system and foresight, and is fatal to the highest degree of success. There is a saying that "no man has made a true success in any work until he has trained a successor." We have quoted this, but we have not taken it seriously. Perhaps it is just as well, for it is only half the truth. The most successful leader is the one who trains many leaders. No amount of theorizing will settle the great question of leadership; in fact, the Lord himself has not left any doubt as to the divine plan in this matter which is so vital to the success of his cause. The whole plan of Christ may be stated in a sentence. He came to the world to establish the Christian church, and during the whole three and one-half years of his ministry he was training leaders. He chose them at the very beginning of his work, and led them about with him. Day by day he counseled and taught, and, above all, lived his message in their presence. When he departed, he left but a small number of converts, but they were veteran leaders, and they quickly swept over the civilized world with the gospel. Christ's personal ministry was confined to a very small territory in this world. Apparently because he had so short a time and recognized the necessity for trained leaders, he devoted much of his time to them, and let it especially be emphasized that his training consisted in constantly practising in their presence the things he taught and desired them to continue teaching and practising. He said to his class who were candidates for leadership that he came to seek and save the lost, to lift the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free. Then he took them into the streets and lanes of the city where he found the publicans and sinners and saved them, and the sick and halt and blind and healed them, and the distressed and sorrowing and comforted them. Then he said to the disciples, "Now you may begin, working as you have seen me work." Under his wise direction they did mighty works, but they sometimes made mistakes and failed. They went with him alone and questioned him as to the reason of their failure, and he told them. The next time they succeeded. Day by day as their confidence in their Leader grew, their ability as leaders increased, so that when he left them to carry on the work alone—without his visible presence—their courage and zeal and wisdom and power were irresistible, and the church grew and prospered marvelously. Now what would be the result of the adoption of this plan in our work and with our present system of organization? Beginning with the local church, it would mean that the elder and other officers would first learn how to win souls to Christ and this truth, by earnest, definite, personal work. This would be new work for many who now occupy the position of leader. The precious blessing of God that would fall upon them as a result of this work would inspire in their hearts a great burden to enlist all the members in the same service. They would not say, "Now we have done our duty, the rest of you ought to do something." That was not Christ's method. His representation of the work was such that his disciples felt there was nothing else worth living for. It linked them to the divine. It made all else in this life—every object and ambition—appear cheap and insignificant. If our conferences would adopt the Saviour's policy, it would mean that soul-winning would be held up as one great test of the presence of divine life and power, and of the divine call of the workers. It would be esteemed above finances, or institutions, or administrations. And the president and conference committee would be, first of all, deeply consecrated men, with a great passion for souls. How else can they be true spiritual leaders, training the younger workers as Christ trained his disciples? Is not the greatest need of the cause of God today just this kind of leadership? If this plan were followed in our schools, how solemn and yet how enviable would be the position of our teachers; for if upon the training of one leader may hang great events and even the destiny of nations, how great the responsibility of training scores of leaders. If Christ counted twelve a sufficient number in that generation to storm the battlements of the enemy and evangelize the civilized world, what tremendous results may be secured by the right training of an army of leaders for the work in this last generation. To a certain extent this method of Christ's in training leaders is practised in our publishing department. The missionary agent goes out into the field, and trains the new recruits by doing in their presence the very work he desires them to do. The principle applies with equal force to the Sabbath School and Medical Departments and every phase of our work. I have mentioned the other departments before our Missionary Volunteer Department because it is the demand for leaders and recruits in all the other lines of work which is one of the primary reasons for the organization of this department. In order that we may pass the young people on for service in other departments with a keen, vivid conception of at least the supreme principle of leadership, and a correspondingly genuine experience, we as Missionary Volunteer workers must be leaders after the divine order. No other will do. God save us from the careless, the indolent, and the indifferent. God give us men and women of strong convictions, mighty power in prayer, unbounded zeal in spiritual things, and well-balanced judgment. If all who now occupy any position of responsibility in this work would engage at once in training leaders according to Christ's method, a large share of the problem of evangelizing the world in this generation would be solved. We should economize time, minimize the requirements of routine work, and count those hours an infinite loss which might be spent in definite personal soul-winning and the training of leaders but are allowed to drift by with little or nothing accomplished. Is it not clear that the quickest way to evangelize the world is to enlist all the recruits we can to assist us as we go about in definite, personal soul-winning to evangelize our particular part of the world? Soon our recruits will be leaders, gathering about them other recruits, and a mighty army will have carried the message to every soul.